Minor Details: Games of May 14

IOWA CUBS 10, ST. PAUL SAINTS 5 IN IOWA

Iowa had two Abe Lincoln innings (four score) to take the game.  Three walks and three singles plated four Iowa runs in the fourth to give the Cubs a 5-0 lead.  St. Paul got two in the fifth, but Iowa scored four more in the top of the fifth to go up 9-2.

BattersRyan Fitzgerald was 4-for-5 with two doubles, a walk, a run, and two RBIs.  Will Holland was 2-for-3 with a run.  Patrick Winkel was 2-for-5 with a run.

Pitchers:  Starter Cory Lewis pitched 3.1 innings, allowing five runs on four hits and five walks and striking out three.  Anthony Misiewicz pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opponents:  Jonathon Long was 3-for-4 with a triple and six RBIs.  Matt Shaw was 2-for-4 with a walk, three runs, and an RBI.

Stats:  Mickey Gasper, .400 with a 1.398 OPS.  Carson McCusker, .336, 1.048 OPS.  Ryan Fitzgerald, .336, .972 OPS.  Anthony Prato, .308, .847 OPS.  Will Holland, .848 OPS.  Patrick Winkel, .839 OPS.  Jeferson Morales .818 OPS.  Mike Ford, .816 OPS.  Anthony Misiewicz, 2.93 ERA.

Record:  St. Paul is 21-16, in second place, two games behind Nashville.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 11, ARKANSAS TRAVELERS 9 IN WICHITA

Ricardo Olivar hit a three-run homer in the third to give Wichita a 4-2 lead.  Arkansas tied it 4-4 in the fifth, but Jorel Ortega hit a two-run single to make it 6-4 in the sixth.  Arkansas got one back in the top of the seventh, but Ortega hit a two-run homer in a four-run Wichita seventh to take a 10-5 lead.  Arkansas scored four in the eighth to get back into it, but Kyler Fedco singled home an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth.  Arkansas loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but getting out of the jam was as easy as 1-2-3, as a pitcher-to-catcher-to-first double play ended the game.

Batters:  Ricardo Olivar was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer (his fifth) and two runs.  Jorel Ortega was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third) and four RBIs.  Kala'i Rosario was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run.  Rubel Cespedes was 2-for-5.

Pitchers:  Starter Connor Prielipp struck out two in two innings, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks.  Cody Laweryson struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and two walks.

Opponents:  Jared Sundstrom was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs.  Victor Labrada was 2-for-3 with two walks, a run, and an RBI.  Blake Rambusch was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI.  Nick Raposo hit a home run, his second.

Stats:  Ricardo Olivar, .333, .895 OPS.  Tyler Dearden, .313, .874 OPS.  Kyler Fedco, .892 OPS.  Jarret Whorff, 1.93 ERA.  Pierson Ohl, 2.08 ERA.

Record:  Wichita is 20-15, in first place, one game ahead of Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas.

PEORIA CHIEFS 7, CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 6 IN CEDAR RAPIDS (11 INNINGS)

Peoria scored four in the first to take the early lead.  Gabriel Gonzalez homered in the fourth to put Cedar Rapids on the board.  It was 5-2 going to the bottom of the sixth, but Danny De Andrade hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to 5-4 and Nate Baez delivered an RBI single in the eighth to tie it 5-5.  Neither team scored in the tenth, but Trey Paige hit a two-run homer in the top of the eleventh.  Cedar Rapids got one back, but could not advance the tying run past first base.

Batters:  Gabriel Gonzalez was 3-for-5 with a home run (his fourth) and two runs.  Khadim Diaw was 2-for-4 with a run.  Misael Urbina was 2-for-5 with an RBI.  Danny De Andrade hit a two-run homer, his third.

Pitchers:  Tanner Hall settled down after the first, pitching five innings and giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out two.  Wilker Reyes struck out four in two perfect innings.  Cole Percival struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opponents:  Brayden Jobert was 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.  Ian Petrutz was 3-for-5 with a double, a run, and an RBI.  Trey Paige was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer.  Jon Jon Gazdar was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.

Stats:  Nate Baez, .325, .875 OPS.  Jose Salas, .320; 1.113 OPS.  Gabriel Gonzalez, .317; .879 OPS.  Kyle Hess, .825 OPS.  Cole Percival, 2.35 ERA.  Jacob Wosinski, 2.37 ERA.  Wilker Reyes, 3.15 ERA.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 20-14, in second place, two games behind Quad Cities.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 4, JUPITER HAMMERHEADS 3 IN JUPITER (10 INNINGS)

Fort Myers scored two in the first to take the lead.  It was 3-1 after five, but Yeral Martinez hit a two-run double in the sixth to tie it 3-3.  That was all the scoring until the tenth, when Yasser Martinez, as the Manfred Man, stole third and scored on a wild pitch.  Jupiter got their Manfred Man to third with one out, but he was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a grounder to short.

Batters:  No Mussel had more than one hit.

Pitchers:  Starter Michael Ross pitched three innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks and striking out two.  Zander Sechrist pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Brennan Oxford struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Hunter Hoopes struck out two in 1.1 perfect innings.

Opponents:  Andrew Salas was 2-for-3 with two walks and a run.  Andres Valor was 2-for-5 with a run.  Kevin Vaupel struck out five in four innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits.  Riskiel Tineo pitched three shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks and striking out two.

Stats:  Poncho Ruiz, .325; .896 OPS.  Jay Thomason, .987 OPS.  Brennan Oxford, zero ERA.  Zander Sechrist, 2.16 ERA.  Michael Ross, 2.77 ERA.  Hunter Hoopes, 3.00 ERA.

Record:  Fort Myers is 16-19, in fifth place, five games behind Dunedin.

TODAY'S TILTS

11:00  FCL Twins at FCL Rays
12:08  St. Paul (Marco Raya, 0-2, 12.46 and Darren McCaughan, 2-0, 2.25) at Iowa (Connor Noland, 3-1, 3.86 and Keegan Thompson, 3-1, 2.59)
5:30  Fort Myers (Michael Carpenter, 0-1, 5.40) at Jupiter (TBD)
6:35  Peoria (Darlin Saladin, 1-1, 5.64) at Cedar Rapids (Jose Olivares, 0-1, 3.77)
6:35  Arkansas (Michael Morales, 0-1, 3.00) at Wichita (Aaron Rozek, 2-1, 4.40)

Happy Birthday–May 15

Tip O'Neill (1860)
Joe Evans (1895)
Jimmy Wasdell (1914)
Al McBean (1938)
Yukata Enatsu (1948)
Bill North (1948)
Rick Waits (1952)
George Brett (1953)
John Smoltz (1967)

Scott Watkins (1970)
A. J. Hinch (1974)
Josh Beckett (1980)
Justin Morneau (1981)
Brian Dozier (1987)
Michael Brantley (1987)
Trevor Richards (1993)
Kody Clemens (1996)

Yukata Enatsu was one of the first closers in Japan, recording 193 saves.

A. J. Hinch was drafted by Minnesota in the third round in 1995, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 15

2025 Game Log 42-43 – Twins at Orioles

Rainout Tuesday, this can be game log for the doubleheader.

Wow, what a difference a week makes. Twins on a 8-game win streak that basically saved their season and made everyone excited for summer baseball. Pitching has definitely been the the difference maker, both starters and relievers, but it does look like the ass bats have been put away for a while too. Twins have barely made ground in the standings with the win streak but nothing insurmountable. Also makes upcoming series against Royals, Tigers, and Guardians that much more fun. Bring it!

The scuffling Orioles up next and they just seem like a tired beat down team. Which is too bad, they've been one the fun baseball stories these past few years. Simeon Woods Richardson for the Twins, Cade Povich for the O's. I see the streak hitting 9 games tonight.

First Pitch at 11:05a. Second Game 30 minutes after the end of game one.

Minor Details: Games of May 13

ST. PAUL SAINTS 6, IOWA CUBS 4 IN IOWA

Carson McCusker hit a two-run double in the fifth to break a 2-2 tie and put St. Paul in the lead to stay.  They added single runs in the sixth and seventh.  McCusker was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Edouard Julien was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two walks, and three runs.  Mike Ford was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Mickey Gasper was 2-for-5 with a run.  Andrew Morris pitched five innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and two walks and striking out one.  Jacob Bosiokovic struck out two in a perfect inning.  Brady Fiegl pitched a perfect inning.

ARKANSAS TRAVELERS 6, WICHITA WIND SURGE 5 IN WICHITA

Wichita had leads of 2-0, 4-2, and 5-4, but Arkansas finally scored two in the ninth to go ahead.  It was their only lead, but the only one they needed.  Noah Cardenas hit a home run, his third.  Trent Baker struck out five in five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and no walks.

PEORIA CHIEFS 13, CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 10 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Cedar Rapids scored two in the second and led all the way through the seventh.  It was, as Dolly Parton sang, nine to five when Peoria scored eight runs in the eighth to win it.  There were eight singles, a double, and an error, which has to be one of the most frustrating ways to give up eight runs (not that there's a good way to do it).  Jose Salas was 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs.  Misael Urbina was 2-for-2 with a triple, three walks, a run, and an RBI.  Khadim Diaw was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.  Jaime Ferrer was 2-for-5 with a run.  Brandon Winokur was 1-for-5 with a home run (his second) and two runs.  Alejandro Hidalgo struck out six in five innings but gave up four runs on seven hits and no walks.  Juan Mercedes pitched a perfect inning.

JUPITER HAMMERHEADS 5, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 4 IN JUPITER

Carlos Sanchez singled home a run in the sixth to put Jupiter ahead to stay.  An error gave them an extra run in the seventh which turned out to be the difference in the game.  Poncho Ruiz was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two walks, and two runs.  Miguel Briceno was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second), a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Jay Thomason was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Adrian Bohorquez struck out five in 3.1 innings but gave up three runs on five hits and two walks.  Cole Peschi pitched 4.2 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk and striking out three.

FCL RAYS 7, FCL TWINS 3 AT TWINS

The Rays took the lead with three in the second and led 7-1 after four.  Merphy Hernandez was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.  Yoel Roque started and pitched a perfect inning.  Leonardo Rondon pitched 3.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits and three walks and striking out three.  Aiberson Ventura pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Happy Birthday–May 14

J. L. Wilkinson (1878)
Alex Pompez (1890)
Earle Combs (1899)
Bob Thurman (1917)
Les Moss (1925)
Dick Howser (1936)
Tony Perez (1942)
Dick Tidrow (1947)
Dave LaRoche (1948)
Dennis Martinez (1955)
Hosken Powell (1955)
Pat Borders (1963)
Joey Cora (1965)
Larry Sutton (1970)
Roy Halladay (1977)
Luke Gregerson (1984)

J. L. Wilkinson was the long-time owner of the Kansas City Monarchs.

Alex Pompez was the long-time owner of the New York Cubans.

We would also like to wish a very happy anniversary to Lucy and SBG.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 14