Monthly Archives: August 2024

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–August 18

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Sam Wise (1857)
Wally Gerber (1891)
Burleigh Grimes (1893)
Bernie Friberg (1899)
Max Lanier (1915)
Bob Kennedy (1920)
Roberto Clemente (1934)
Billy Consolo (1934)
Joe Azcue (1939)
Paul Popovich (1940)
Bucky Guth (1947)
Bruce Benedict (1955)
Mike LaValliere (1960)
Jack Howell (1961)
Marcus Lawton (1965)
Bobby Higginson (1970)
Albie Lopez (1971)
Justin Wilson (1987)
Yimi Garcia (1990)
Austin Hedges (1992)

Marcus Lawton is the brother of Matt Lawton.  He played in ten games for the Yankees in 1989.

I am annually saddened that there has never been a major league player named Ham Fast.  There was Darcy Fast, who appeared in eight games for the Cubs in 1968 and later became a pastor.  There have been six players with the first name of Ham, most notably Ham Hyatt, who was a reserve for seven seasons from 1909-1918, mostly with Pittsburgh.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–August 18 →

Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of August 16

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INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 3, ST. PAUL SAINTS 2 IN INDIANAPOLIS

St. Paul scored two in the top of the seventh to take a 2-1 lead, but Indianapolis scored two in the bottom of the seventh to win it.

Multi-hit games:  Payton Eeles was 2-for-3.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Caleb Boushley struck out eight in six innings, giving up one run on six hits.  Jeff Brigham pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Loss:  Diego Castillo (0-4).

Opposition standout:  Bubba Chandler struck out eleven in six shutout innings, giving up five hits and two walks.

Record:  St. Paul is 18-25, in ninth place, ten games behind Columbus.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 3, ARKANSAS TRAVELERS 2 IN WICHITA (11 INNINGS)

Arkansas scored single runs in the eighth and ninth to tie it 2-2.  Dalton Shuffield singled home the deciding run.

Multi-hit games:  Shuffield was 2-for-5.

Home runs:  Carson McCusker (11).

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  Ben Ross (17).

Pitching prowess:  Marco Raya struck out five in 4.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and three walks.  Travis Adams struck out six in 3.2 innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks.  John Stankiewicz pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Win:  Stankiewicz (2-4).

Opposition standout:  Brandyn Gracia pitched three shutout innings, giving up three walks and striking out one.

Record:  Wichita is 18-25, in fifth (last) place, eight games behind Springfield.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 15, CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

South Bend scored six in the second and six in the third to take a 13-1 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Walker Jenkins was 2-for-4 with a double.

Home runs:  Rixon Wingrove (2).

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Rafael Marcano pitched four shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out three.  Gabriel Yanez pitched a perfect inning.

Loss:  Ty Langenberg (4-2).

Opposition standout:  Ethan Hearn was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two runs, and four RBIs.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 22-24, in fourth place, six games behind Wisconsin.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 12, LAKELAND FLYING TIGERS 2 IN FORT MYERS

Lakeland scored two in the first, but Fort Myers scored six in the second to take a 7-2 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Brandon Winokur was 3-for-4 with three home runs and four RBIs.  Kaelen Culpepper was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.  Caden Kendle was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.

Home runs:  Winokur 3 (12).

Multi-RBI games:  Winokur 4 (45); Culpepper 3 (7); Kyle DeBarge 2 (10); Kendle 2 (7).

Stolen bases:  DeBarge (8).

Pitching prowess:  Devin Kirby struck out five in four shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Ben Ethridge struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up a walk.  Lakeland only had one hit.

Win:  Kirby (1-0).

Save:  Ethridge (1).

Opposition standout:  Thomas Bruss struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Record:  Fort Myers is 29-13, in first place, six games ahead of Lakeland.

DSL TWINS 4, DSL METS BLUE 2 AT TWINS

The Twins scored two in the first and two in the third to take a 4-1 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Luis Fragoza was 2-for-3 with a double.  Ramiro Dominguez was 2-for-4.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Yandro Hernandez 2 (13).

Stolen bases:  Eduardo Beltre 2 (9); Fragoza (21); Luis Rodriguez (11).

Pitching prowess:  Yoel Roque struck out six in three innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks.  Nestor Cafe pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Sebastian Pulido pitched a perfect inning.

Win:  Pulido (4-0).

Opposition standout:  Alex Acosta was 2-for-3 with a double.

Record:  The DSL Twins are 28-25, in fourth place, 9.5 games behind the DSL Rangers Red.

TODAY'S TILTS

5:05  Lakeland at Fort Myers (TBD)
6:05  St. Paul (Randy Dobnak, 9-5, 3.61) at Indianapolis
6:05  Arkansas at Wichita (Jaylin Nowlin, 5-5, 4.24)
6:35  South Bend at Cedar Rapids (Connor Prielipp, 0-1, 4.91)

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–August 17

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Johnny Rawlings (1892)
Rudy York (1913)
Donald Honig (1931)
Jim Davenport (1933)
John Buzhardt (1936)
Diego Segui (1937)
Boog Powell (1941)
Ron Boyer (1944)
Skip Lockwood (1946)
Butch Hobson (1951)
Alex Cole (1965)
Jorge Posada (1971)
Mike Maroth (1977)
Chad Qualls (1978)
Brett Myers (1980)
Dustin Pedroia (1983)
Kyle Farmer (1990)

Author Donald Honig has written nearly forty books about baseball.

Ron Boyer is the brother of Clete Boyer and Ken Boyer. He played in the Yankees’ farm system for eight years, reaching AAA.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–August 17 →

Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of August 15

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INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 6, ST. PAUL SAINTS 4 IN INDIANAPOLIS

Indianapolis scored three runs in the third to take a 4-2 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Diego Castillo was 2-for-5 with a home run.  Michael Helman was 2-for-5 with a double.

Home runs:  Castillo (6).

Multi-RBI games:  Yunior Severino 2 (64).

Stolen bases:  Wynton Bernard 2 (21); Payton Eeles (9).

Pitching prowess:  Zack Weiss pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Loss:  Aaron Rozek (0-2).

Opposition standout:  Nick Yorke was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.

Record:  St. Paul is 18-24, in ninth place, ten games behind Columbus.

ARKANSAS TRAVELERS 6, WICHITA WIND SURGE 5 IN WICHITA

Arkansas scored two in the sixth to take a 6-5 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Tanner Schobel was 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk.

Home runs:  Jake Rucker (7).

Multi-RBI games:  Rucker 2 (54).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Mason Fox struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Ricardo Velez struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Loss:  Pierson Ohl (4-6).

Opposition standout:  Jake Anchia was 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs.

Record:  Wichita is 17-25, in fifth (last) place, nine games behind Springfield.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 6, CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 4 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Iowa had leads of 2-0, 4-1, and 6-2 before Cedar Rapids scored two in the seventh.

Multi-hit games:  Jose Salas was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Walker Jenkins was 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and two runs.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Rubel Cespedes 3 (65).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Juan Mendez struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Loss:  Tanner Hall (0-1).

Opposition standout:  Will Sanders struck out eight in six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 22-23, tied for third with Peoria, 5.5 games behind Wisconsin.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 4, LAKELAND FLYING TIGERS 1 IN FORT MYERS

Fort Myers broke a scoreless tie with three in the third.

Multi-hit games:  Byron Chourio was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Billy Amick 2 (4).

Stolen bases:  Brandon Winokur 2 (18).

Pitching prowess:  Jose Olivares pitched four shutout innings, walking two and striking out three.  Samuel Perez struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Win:  Perez (2-1).

Opposition standout:  Andrew Jenkins was 2-for-2 with two walks.

Record:  Fort Myers is 28-13, in first place, five games ahead of Lakeland.

DSL ROCKIES 8, DSL TWINS 3 AT TWINS (7 INNINGS)

It was 2-2 through four, but the Rockies scored three in the fifth and three in the sixth.

Multi-hit games:  Eduardo Beltre was 3-for-4.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Guillermo Sosa 2 (2).

Stolen bases:  Merphy Hernandez (35); Beltre (7); Sosa (7).

Pitching prowess:  None.

Loss:  Anderson Chacon (0-4).

Opposition standout:  Gabriel Lopez was 3-for-3 with a double and three runs.

Record:  The DSL Twins are 27-25, in fourth place, 9.5 games behind the DSL Rangers Red.

TODAY'S TILTS

10:00  DSL Mets Blue at DSL Twins
6:05  Lakeland at Fort Myers (TBD)
6:05  St. Paul (Caleb Boushley, 9-5, 4.92) at Iowa
6:35  South Bend at Cedar Rapids (Ty Langenberg, 4-1, 3.38)
7:05  Arkansas at Wichita (Marco Raya, 1-3, 5.06)

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–August 16

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Hick Carpenter (1855)
Baby Doll Jacobsen (1890)
Fats Fothergill (1897)
George Scales (1900)
Tiny Bonham (1913)
Gene Woodling (1922)
Puddin’ Head Jones (1925)
Buck Rodgers (1938)
Gene Brabender (1941)
Mike Jorgensen (1948)
Al Holland (1952)
Nick Leyva (1953)
Rick Reed (1964)
Xavier Hernandez (1965)
Terry Shumpert (1966)
Quinton McCracken (1970)
Damian Jackson (1973)
Roger Cedeno (1974)
Ryan Hanigan (1980)
Yu Darvish (1986)
Martin Maldonado (1986)
Akil Baddoo (1998)

Nick Leyva was a long-time minor league coach and manager and major league coach.  He managed the Philadelphia Phillies from 1989-1991.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–August 16 →

2024 Twins Game Logs

2024 Game 121: Rangers vs. Twins

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After sweeping the White Sux to start the month, the Twins have only managed to play .500 ball in their last ten games, the same record as Cleveland which is riding a five-game winning streak. So we're not getting much help from other teams in our quest to top the division, but we're not helping ourselves enough, either. Still, at less than five games back if we can gain a game a week on the Guardians we'll catch them by mid-September. At any rate, we have ourselves a pennant race. The pitching staff is depleted and we're missing a franchise player, but  the young guns have stepped up in key spots to help  keep this race close. So while the rest of the Twins' season may not be brilliant, it's not likely to be dull, either.

Bailey Q.S. Ober will ascend the mound tonight for the Twins. He's been as solid as a sequoia and just as tall. With 22 games under his belt this year he's notched 12 wins and 5 losses, pitching to a 3.52 ERA, a .97 WHIP and a .201 OBA. He's struck out 137 batters and walked only 31.  The Rangers counter with lefthander Cody Bradford in his 14th major league start since his debut last year. He's pitched well this season, an ERA of 3.60, WHIP of .93 and a .209 OBA. The closeness of those numbers is kind of striking and I have no idea what it might mean if anything.

Play ball!