I swear May Day was like yesterday.
Monthly Archives: May 2025
Minor Details: Games of May 16
IOWA CUBS 12, ST. PAUL SAINTS 7 IN IOWA
Edouard Julien started the game with a home run and Jose Miranda hit an RBI double to give St. Paul a 2-0 lead. Iowa rebounded with four in the bottom of the first. St. Paul got one back in the second, but Owen Caissie hit a three-run single-plus-error in the third to make it 7-3 Iowa. St. Paul came back with four in the fourth on two-run homers by Mickey Gasper and Emmanuel Rodriguez. From there, though, it was all Iowa. Matt Shaw hit a two-run homer in the fifth and the Cubs scored single runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth.
Batters: Mike Ford was 2-for-5 with two doubles and a run. Patrick Winkel was 2-for-5. Edouard Julien was 1-for-2 with a home run, three walks, and two runs. Mickey Gasper hit a two-run homer, his seventh. Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a two-run homer, his third.
Pitchers: Starter Tyler Beede lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks and striking out two.
Opponents: Lots. Matt Shaw was 3-for-5 with two home runs (his fifth and sixth), a walk, three runs, and three RBIs. Jonathan Long was 3-for-5 with a home run (his fourth), two runs, and two RBIs. Chase Strumpf was 3-for-5 with a home run (his eighth), two runs, and two RBIs. Owen Caissie was 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs. Dixon Machado was 3-for-5 with a double, two runs, and an RBI. It seems like it would be good luck to have five players in your lineup with three hits apiece. James Triantos was 2-for-5 with a run. Brooks Kriske struck out three and walked one in two shutout innings.
Stats: Mickey Gasper, .357/1.292. Carson McCusker, .350/.1.062. Mike Ford, .862 OPS. Jeferson Morales, .804 OPS. Richard Lovelady, 1.59 ERA.
Record: St. Paul is 21-19, in fifth place, 3.5 games behind Nashville.
ARKANSAS TRAVELERS 10, WICHITA WIND SURGE 4 IN WICHITA
Jared Sundstrom hit a two-run homer in the top of the third to give Arkansas a 3-0 lead. Ricardo Olivar hit a two-run double in a three-run third to tie the score. Arkansas scored one in the fourth and Caleb Cali hit a two-run homer in the sixth to put the Travelers up 6-3. Kyler Fedco homered in the bottom of the sixth, but Arkansas scored four in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
Batters: Oddly, all nine Wind Surge batters had exactly one hit. Kyler Fedco hit a home run, his sixth.
Pitchers: Ricky Castro pitched 3.1 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and no walks and striking out four. John Stankiewicz struck out four and walked two in two shutout innings.
Opponents: Caleb Cali was 4-for-5 with a two-run homer (his second) and a double. Bill Knight was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs. Nick Raposo was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third) and a walk. Victor Labrada was 2-for-5 with two runs. Jimmy Kingsbury struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up two hits.
Stats: Ricardo Olivar, .317/.834 OPS. Kyler Fedco, .893 OPS. Noah Cardenas, .836 OPS. Aaron Sabato, .833 OPS.
Record: Wichita is 20-17, in second place, one game behind Arkansas.
CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 13, PEORIA CHIEFS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
Kaelen Culpepper hit a three-run homer in a four-run third to give Cedar Rapids a 4-0 lead. Peoria scored two in the fifth, but Cedar Rapids came back with eight in the bottom of the fifth to put it out of reach. Brandon Winokur hit a two-run homer, Jaime Ferrer hit a three-run homer, and Culpepper hit his second homer of the game in the inning.
Batters: Kaelen Culpepper was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his third and fourth), three runs, and four RBIs. Jaime Ferrer was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and two runs. Danny De Andrade was 2-for-3 with a run. Brandon Winokur was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer.
Pitchers: Jeremy Lee pitched five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk and striking out three. Kade Bragg struck out six in four shutout innings, giving up one hit.
Opponents: Joshua Baez was 2-for-3 with a walk. Miguel Villaroel was 2-for-4 with a run.
Stats: Nate Baez, .333/.901 OPS. Gabriel Gonzalez, .326/.926 OPS. Kaelen Culpepper, .304/.888 OPS. Kyle DeBarge .906 OPS.
Record: Cedar Rapids is 22-14, in second place, one game behind Quad Cities.
FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 9, JUPITER HAMMERHEADS 40 IN JUPITER
Jupiter scored three in the third, helped by three walks (two with the bases loaded), a balk, and a hit batsman. Yasser Mercedes homered in the fourth to get Fort Myers on the board, but Jupiter got the run back in the fifth. Fort Myers then scored one in the sixth and three in the seventh, with a two-run single by Daniel Pena putting the Mussels ahead 5-4. Damuery Pena hit a two-run single in the eighth and Maddux Houghton hit a two-run homer in the ninth.
Batters: Jefferson Valladares was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs. Yasser Mercedes was 2-for-5 with a home run (his third) and two runs. Dameury Pena was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Daniel Pena was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Maddux Houghton hit a two-run homer, his second.
Pitchers: Dylan Questad struck out five in 2.2 innings, but allowed three runs on three hits and four walks. Tyler Stasiowski struck out three in three innings, giving up an unearned run on one hit and one walk. Zander Sechrist pitched 2.1 shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk. Hunter Hoopes struck out three and walked one in a scoreless inning.
Opponents: Andres Valor was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. Abrahan Ramirez was 2-for-5 with a run. Eury Perez pitched four innings, giving up one run on three hits and striking out three.
Stats: Rayne Doncon, .333/.833 OPS. Maddux Houghton, .840 OPS. Zander Sechrist, 1.98 ERA. Hunter Hoopes, 2.81 ERA.
Record: Fort Myers is 17-20, in fifth place, five games behind Dunedin.
FCL RED SOX 5, FCL TWINS 2 AT TWINS
The Red Sox scored one in the first, two in the second, and one in the fourth to build a 4-0 lead. The Twins scored single runs in the fifth and sixth to cut the lead in half, but the Red Sox scored one more in the seventh and the Twins had no answer.
Batters: No Twins had more than one hit.
Pitchers: Matt Gabbert struck out four in three innings, but allowed three runs on six hits and a walk. Christian Becerra pitched two innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits.
Opponents: Gerardo Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Avinson Pinto was 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs, and an RBI. Enddy Azocar was 2-for-4 with a double, a run, and an RBI. Yhoiker Fajardo pitched four shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.
Stats: Ricardo Pena, .953 OPS. Bryan Acuna, .837 OPS. Christian Becerra, zero ERA. Mitch Mueller, 2.00 ERA.
Record: The Twins are 5-4, tied for second with the Braves, two games behind the Rays.
TODAY'S TILTS
9:00 FCL Twins at FCL Red Sox
3:00 Fort Myers (Eli Jones, 1-3, 4.33) at Jupiter (TBD)
4:05 Arkansas (Adam Seminaris, 2-1, 1.63) at Wichita (Darren Bowen, 2-0, 2.63)
6:05 St. Paul (David Festa, 2-1, 3.60) at Iowa (TBD)
6:35 Peoria (Cade Winquest*, 0-2, 3.00) at Cedar Rapids (Ty Langenberg, 0-1, 6.38)
"Winquest" is an excellent name for a pitcher, even though he doesn't have any wins yet this year.
Happy Birthday–May 17
Hal Carlson (1892)
Del Webb (1899)
Cool Papa Bell (1903)
Ace Parker (1912)
Billy Hoeft (1932)
Ozzie Virgil (1932)
Dan Monzon (1946)
Carlos May (1948)
Pascual Perez (1957)
Greg Mathews (1962)
Jose Guillen (1976)
Carlos Pena (1978)
Del Webb was an owner of the New York Yankees from 1945-1964.
As you probably know, James "Cool Papa" Bell was a star in the Negro Leagues. It was said that he was so fast he could turn out the light and be in bed before the room got dark.
Ace Parker is a member of both the College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was an infielder for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1937-1938.
Left-hander Greg Mathews was drafted by Minnesota in the ninth round of the January draft in 1982, but did not sign.
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Philosofer.
2025 Game 45: A First Name Basis – Twins @ Brewers
Joe Ryan faces off against Chad Patrick. First names all over the place!
Twins will try to extend their win streak with what will probably be a steeper challenge than Baltimore. Glad to see these teams matching up for a weekend series, and hopefully there'll be great fan representation in Milwaukee.
May 16, 2025: Reunion
We received an inquiry for material so we set up a video meeting with the company. Good discussion, hopefully something comes from it, but I was searching for an email from the guy that approached us and I found out I'd actually sold him material when he was with a different company in 2017.
Minor Details: Games of May 15
IOWA CUBS 8, ST. PAUL SAINTS 2 IN IOWA (GAME 1)
James Triantos hit a three-run double in the first, and Iowa added four more in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead. Jair Camargo hit a two-run homer in the fifth for the only St. Paul runs.
Batters: Carson McCusker was 3-for-3. Jair Camargo hit a two-run homer, his second.
Pitchers: Starter Marco Raya pitched 2.2 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and five walks and striking out two.
Opponents: Carlos Perez was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fourth), two runs, and two RBIs. James Triantos was 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs. Connor Noland struck out eight in six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.
IOWA CUBS 8, ST. PAUL SAINTS 7 IN IOWA (GAME 2--8 INNINGS)
It looked good for quite a while. St. Paul scored two in the second to take a 2-1 lead, they added two in the fourth to make it 4-1, and scored one more in the seventh to take a 5-1 lead. All they had to do was get three outs before Iowa scored four runs. Unfortunately, they couldn't do it. Two doubles, a two-run homer by Reese McGuire, and a solo shot by Carlos Perez tied the score. Undaunted, Mickey Gasper delivered a two-run double in the eighth to put St. Paul up 7-5. But then they were daunted again, as Chase Strumpf hit a two-run homer to tie it and Matt Shaw hit a walkoff homer for Iowa.
Batters: Mike Ford was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs, and an RBI. Carson McCusker was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and a run. Emmanuel Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, and an RBI.
Pitchers: Darren McCaughan struck out five in five innings, giving up one run on six hits and one walk. Ryan Jensen pitched a scoreless inning despite giving up two hits and two walks. He struck out one.
Opponents: Jonathon Long was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Chase Strumpf was 2-for-2 with a two-run homer (his seventh) and two walks. Matt Shaw was 2-for-4 with two home runs, his third and fourth. James Triantos was 2-for-4. Reese McGuire hit a two-run homer, his third. Carlos Perez hit a home run, his fifth. Tom Cosgrove pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.
Stats: Mickey Gasper, .365, 1.284 OPS. Carson McCusker, .356, 1.086 OPS. Mike Ford, .849 OPS. Will Holland, .836 OPS. Darren McCaughan, 2.16 ERA. Brady Feigl, 2.35 ERA.
Record: St. Paul is 21-18, in fourth place, 3.5 games behind Nashville.
ARKANSAS TRAVELERS 5, WICHITA WIND SURGE 3 IN WICHITA
Arkansas scored single runs in the third and fifth. Wichita tied it 2-2 in the fifth. Each team scored one in the sixth. But in the ninth, Hunter Fitz-Gerald hit a two-run homer to put Arkansas ahead to stay. Wichita went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Batters: No one had more than one hit.
Pitchers: Aaron Rozek struck out six in five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks. John Klein struck out four in three innings, giving up an unearned run on a hit and a walk.
Opponents: Victor Labrada was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Hunter Fitz-Gerald was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his second) and two runs. Blake Rambusch was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run. Michael Morales pitched four perfect innings, striking out three. Brandyn Garcia struck out two in two perfect innings.
Stats: Ricardo Olivar, .322, .865 OPS. Tyler Dearden, .316, .860 OPS. Kyler Fedco, .865 OPS. Aaron Sabato, .852 OPS. Noah Cardenas, .837 OPS. John Klein, 3.26 ERA.
Record: Wichita is 20-16, tied for first with Arkansas.
CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 15, PEORIA CHIEFS 7 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
Gabriel Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the first to put Cedar Rapids up 2-0. Brayden Jobert hit a three-run homer in a four-run third to give Peoria a 4-2 advantage. In the bottom of the third, Brandon Winokur and Gonzalez hit two-run doubles and Khadim Diaw hit a two-run homer to give Cedar Rapids an 8-4 lead. They scored one in the fourth and then had a second six-run inning in the fifth to put the game out of reach. Diaw hit his second homer and Kyle DeBarge had a two-run double in the inning.
Batters: Gabriel Gonzalez was 4-for-6 with a home run, two doubles, two runs, and six RBIs. Nate Baez was 2-for-2 with two walks and a run. Kyle DeBarge was 2-for-4 with a double, two walks, two runs, and three RBIs. Brandon Winokur was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBIs. Jaime Ferrer was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs, and an RBI. Khadim Diaw was 2-for-5 with two home runs (his second and third) and three RBIs.
Pitchers: Starter Jose Olivares pitched three innings, giving up four runs on four hits and two walks and striking out two. Samuel Perez pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one. Juan Mercedes pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.
Opponents: Tre Richardson was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a run. Johnfrank Salazar was 2-for-4 with a run. Joshua Baez was 2-for-5 with two doubles, two runs, and an RBI. Jon Jon Gazdar was 2-for-5 with a run. Ryan Campos was 2-for-5. Brayden Jobert hit a two-run homer. Michael Curialle hit a home run, his fourth. Tyler Bradt struck out four in 2.1 shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.
Stats: Nate Baez, .341, .909 OPS. Gabriel Gonzalez, .333, .937 OPS. Jose Salas, .320, 1.132 OPS. Kyle DeBarge, .909 OPS. Paulshawn Pasqualotto, 0.95 ERA.
Record: Cedar Rapids is 21-14, in second place, 1.5 games behind Quad Cities.
JUPITER HAMMERHEADS 12, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 6 IN JUPITER
Fort Myers scored in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead, but Jupiter responded with two Abe Lincoln innings to lead 8-3 after five. Jessada Brown hit a two-run homer in the fifth. They scored three more in the sixth, and it was all over but the shouting. By the time Fort Myers scored its final run in the ninth, even the shouting had died down.
Batters: Maddux Houghton was 2-for-3 with a triple, two walks, and three runs. Peyton Eeles made his season debut, going 2-for-3 with a run. Miguel Briceno was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run, and an RBI.
Pitchers: Starter Michael Carpenter struck out three in three innings, but allowed four runs on six hits and no walks. Devin Kirby pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.
Opponents: Lots of them. Jesus Hernandez was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs. Abrahan Ramirez was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Yeral Martinez was 3-for-5 with a double, a run, and an RBI. Jessada Brown was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs. Ian Lewis was 2-for-5 with a double, two runs, and an RBI. Dillon Head was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.
Stats: Peyton Eeles, .667, 1.334 OPS. Poncho Ruiz, .318, .870 OPS. Ivran Romero, 2.70 ERA.
Record: Fort Myers is 16-20, in fifth place, six games behind Dunedin.
FCL RAYS 2, FCL TWINS 1 AT RAYS
Bryan Acuna singled home a run in the first, but that was it for the Twins. The Rays scored single runs in the second and third to take the lead and eventually the win.
Batters: Bryan Acuna was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Pitchers: Starter Melvin Rodriguez pitched three innings, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks, striking out one. Ruddy Gomez struck three in two shutout innings, giving up three hits. Santiago Rojas pitched a perfect inning.
Opponents: Derek Datil was 2-for-2 with an RBI. Miguel Toscano struck out five in 4.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks.
Stats: Jayson Bass, .300, .862 OPS. Bryan Acuna, .885 OPS. Ruddy Gomez, zero ERA. Santiago Rojas, zero ERA. Melvin Rodriguez, 2.25 ERA.
Record: The Twins are 5-3, in second place, two games behind the Rays.
TODAY'S TILTS
11:00 FCL Red Sox at FCL Twins
5:30 Fort Myers (Dylan Questad, 3.86) at Jupiter (TBD)
6:35 Peoria (Juan Salas, 1-3, 7.09) at Cedar Rapids (Jeremy Lee, 2-2, 8.20)
6:35 Arkansas (Reid VanScoter, 0-0, 4.05) at Wichita (Christian MacLeod, 0-1, 1.06)
7:08 St. Paul (Zebby Matthews, 2-1, 1.93) at Iowa (Peter Solomon, 0-1, 3.12)
Johnny Rodriguez – That’s The Way Love Goes
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Happy Birthday–May 16
Cy Rigler (1882)
Jim Brown (1892)
Watty Clark (1902)
Earl Halstead (1912)
Stubby Overmire (1919)
Lefty Phillips (1919)
Dave Philley (1920)
Rube Walker (1926)
Billy Martin (1928)
Rick Reuschel (1949)
Rick Rhoden (1953)
Jack Morris (1955)
Tack Wilson (1956)
Mark Funderburk (1957)
Bob Patterson (1959)
Mitch Webster (1959)
Doug Brocail (1967)
Jim Mecir (1970)
Drew Maggi (1989)
Dietrich Enns (1991)
Cy Rigler was a National League umpire from 1906-1935.
Earl Halstead was a scout, a minor league general manager, and a minor league umpire. He also invented the first pitching machine that could throw curve balls.
Lefty Phillips managed the California Angels from 1969-1971.
Dave Philley played five of his eighteen major league seasons in Philadelphia, three for the Athletics and two for the Phillies.
There have only been two major league players with the last name "Funderburk". Both played for the Twins and no one else.
2025 Game 44: Twins at Orioles
The Twins are looking for another sweep of Baltimore today after taking both ends of yesterday's double header. The offense has kicked in, the bullpen has been improving and the starters appear to be hitting their strides in earnest and getting stretched out a bit more. Paddack is back on the mound today, his last start was damn good and very efficient. Hopefully he can repeat that today. The orange birds counter with Tomoyuki Sugano. The 35-year old righthander is 4-2 with a 2.72 ERA and a low 1.01 WHIP.
Play ball!
May 15, 2025: In 5
Jimmy was -47 the last two games.