All posts by Jeff A

This Week In Ex-Twins

Atlanta agrees to terms with Dusty Hughes on a minor league contract.
Atlanta agrees to terms with Peter Moylan on a minor league contract.
Baltimore signs Pat Neshek to a minor league contract.
Baltimore agrees to terms with Dennys Reyes on a minor league contract.
Baltimore agrees to terms with Willie Eyre on a minor league contract.
Baltimore agrees to terms with Steve Tolleson on a minor league contract.
Cubs agree to terms with Matt Tolbert on a minor league contract.
Cubs agree to terms with Matt Garza on a one year contract.
Colorado agrees to terms with Brendan Harris on a minor league contract.
Houston signs Livan Hernandez to a minor league contract.
Texas signs Ron Washington to a two-year contract extension.

Australian League Playoffs

Sydney 6, Melbourne 2 in Melbourne.  Sydney scored three in the seventh to take a 6-0 lead.  Mitch Dening hit two home runs, driving in four for the Blue Sox.  Tyler Collins also homered for them.  Eliot Biddle had two singles and a double to lead Melbourne.  Justin Huber hit a home run for the Aces.  Brad Thomas worked seven strong innings for Sydney, giving up a run on four hits and a walk while striking out six to get the win.  Nic Ungs took the loss for Melbourne.  He struck out ten in 6.1 innings, but allowed six runs on eight hits.  The only Twins to play were Jacob Younis, who was 1-for-4 and scored once for Sydney, and Joshua Hendricks, who was 0-for-2 for Melbourne.  Sydney takes a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.  The winner will play Perth for the championship.

Caribbean Series: Day Two

Mexico 2, Puerto Rico 0.  Mexico scored twice in the bottom of the fourth, and that was all the scoring in the game.  Karim Garcia of Mexico was the only player to have two hits in the game.  The only extra-base hits came on doubles by Jesus Garcia (Mexico) and Irving Falu (Puerto Rico).  The shutout came at the hands of three ex-Twins pitching for Mexico.  Randy Keisler worked seven innings, giving up four hits and a walk to get the win.  Dan Serafini faced two batters, striking out one and walking one.  Luis Ayala retired the final five batters of the game to get the save.  Matt DeSalvo took the loss for Puerto Rico, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks in 3.2 innings.  The only Twins player to appear in the game was Rene Rivera, who was used as a substitute for Puerto Rico but did not bat.

Dominican Republic 5, Venezuela 2 (13 innings).  Andy Dirks singled in the go-ahead run in the thirteenth and Erick Almonte doubled in a pair of insurance runs.  Pablo Ozuna had three hits for the Dominican Republic.  Almonte drove in three runs for the game.  Cesar Suarez had three hits and drove in a run to lead Venezuela.  Lorenzo Barcelo worked five shutout innings for the Dominican Republic, striking out six while giving up six hits.  Merkin Valdez threw two shutout innings to get the win in relief.  Jairo Ascenzio pitched a perfect ninth to get the save.  Starter Tyson Brummett gave up two runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings for Venezuela.  Jon Hunton allowed the three thirteenth inning runs in his second inning of work to take the loss.  Pedro Florimon was 1-for-3 with a double and two walks for the Dominican Republic, scoring twice.

The Dominican Republic moves into first place in the six-game round robin with a 2-0 record.  Puerto Rico and Mexico are 1-1, while Venezuela is 0-2.

Australian League Playoffs

Melbourne 7, Sydney 2.  The Aces scored three in the second to break a 2-2 tie and added two in the fifth to put away the victory.  Kevin David led Melbourne with a pair of doubles.  Brad Harman singled and doubled.  Ex-Twin Justin Huber hit a two-run homer and drove in three for the game.  Kevin Reese relieved to start the third inning and worked five shutout frames, striking out four while giving up six hits to get the win.  The Blue Sox were led by Boss Moanaroa, who had two singles and a double.  Chris Oxspring took the loss, allowing seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out six in five innings.  Joshua Hendricks was 1-for-4 for Melbourne and scored once.  Jacob Younis was 0-for-4 for Sydney.  The best-of-five series is tied at one game apiece.  The winner will play Perth for the championship.

Caribbean Series: Day One

Puerto Rico 3, Venezuela 1.  Ruben Gotay’s two-run single in the second gave Puerto Rico a 2-1 lead it would never relinquish.  Jeff Dominguez singled in a run in the eighth to give Puerto Rico and insurance run.  Dominguez and Gotay each had two hits for Puerto Rico, as did Jesus Feliciano.  Feliciano had the game’s only extra-base hit, a double.  Nelson Figueroa struck out eight in 6.2 innings to get the win, giving up a run on seven hits and two walks.  Saul Rivera gave up two hits but no runs in the ninth, striking out two to get the save.  For Venezuela, Cesar Suarez and Adonis Garcia each had two hits.  Seth Etherton took the loss, striking out seven in 4.1 innings but giving up two runs on five hits and two walks.  Twins who played were Rene Rivera, who was 0-for-3 for Puerto Rico, Nelvin Fuentes, who retired the only man he faced for Puerto Rico, and Pedro Guerra, who struck out two in one inning but gave up an unearned run on a hit and a walk for Venezuela.

Dominican Republic 2, Mexico 1.  Pedro Florimon’s RBI groundout tied the game in the second, and a run scored on a double play in the third to give the Dominican Republic a lead it would never relinquish.  Fernando Tatis of the Dominican Republic was the only player who had two hits in the game.  There were no extra-base hits.  Kris Johnson allowed an unearned run on three hits in five innings while striking out four to get the win.  Jairo Ascencio struck out two in a perfect ninth to get the save.  Luis Mendoza gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings while striking out five to take the loss.  Florimon was the only Twins player to appear in the game, going 0-for-3.

Happy Birthday–February 3

Lou Criger (1872)
Slim Sallee (1885)
Larry MacPhail (1890)
Joe Stripp (1903)
Buck Ross (1915)
Dick Tracewski (1935)
Joe Coleman (1947)
Bake McBride (1949)
Fred Lynn (1952)
Ronald Williamson (1953)
Fred Toliver (1961)
Joe Klink (1962)
Scott Klingenbeck (1971)
B. J. Garbe (1981)

Ronald Williamson was a catcher in the Oakland organization from 1971-1973.  In 1988, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.  He was cleared in 1999 through DNA testing and became the subject of John Grisham’s first non-fiction book, “The Innocent Man.”  Williamson passed away from cirrhosis in 2004.

Outfielder B. J. Garbe was chosen by the Twins with the fifth pick of the 1999 draft.  He was with the Twins through 2004, ended his career in 2006, and never got higher than AA.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–February 3

Spanning the Globe

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE

Sydney 7, Melbourne 5 in Melbourne.  Jacob Younis was 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch, scoring once for Sydney.  Todd Van Steensel struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit for Sydney.  Joshua Hendricks pinch-hit and was 0-for-1 for Melbourne.  Sydney leads the best-of-five semi-final series one game to none.  The winner plays Perth in a best-of-five series for the championship.

CARIBBEAN SERIES

Action begins this afternoon when Venezuela plays Puerto Rico.  Mexico takes on the Dominican Republic this evening.  All games will be played in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.