Category Archives: Keeping Track

Minor Details: Games of May 21

NORFOLK AT ST. PAUL

Rained out.  Will be made up as part of a doubleheader Saturday.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 6, SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS 4 AT SAN ANTONIO

Wichita scored two in the first and two in the third to take a 4-0 lead.  Brandon Valenzuela got San Antonio on the board with an RBI single in the fifth, but a bases-loaded walk in the sixth got the run back for Wichita.  Ripken Reyes singled home a run in the bottom of the sixth and San Antonio scored two in the seventh to cut the lead to 5-4.  But a wild pitch brought home an insurance run in the eighth and San Antonio was held hitless the rest of the way.

Batters:  Kala'i Rosario was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two runs.  Andrew Cossetti was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Aaron Sabato was 2-for-5 with an RBI.

Pitchers:  Aaron Rozek pitched 4.2 innings, giving up one run on seven hits and a walk and striking out three.  Jaylin Nowlin pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Cody Laweryson pitched 1.2 perfect innings, striking out one.

Opponents:  Francisco Acuna was 3-for-5 with two runs.  Romeo Sanabria was 2-for-5 with an RBI.  Brandon Valenzuela was 2-for-5 with an RBI.

Stats:  Tanner Schobel, .305/.832 OPS.  Tyler Dearden, .304/.828 OPS.  Kyler Fedco, .932 OPS.  Jorel Ortega, .852 OPS.  Aaron Sabato, .800 OPS.  Mike Paredes, 2.43 ERA.

Record:  Wichita is 23-18, tied for first with Arkansas.

CEDAR RAPIDS AT FORT WAYNE

Rained out.  Will be made up as part of a doubleheader Friday.

LAKELAND FLYING TIGERS 5, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 3 IN LAKELAND

Poncho Ruiz doubled home a run in the first, but Lakeland got the run back in the bottom of the first.  It stayed 1-1 until the fifth, when Fort Myers took a 2-1 lead on a sacrifice fly.  The lead lasted until the bottom of the fifth, when Lakeland scored three runs without a hit.  The inning went walk, walk, walk, balk, sac fly, passed ball, ground out, walk, ground out.  Garrett Pennington homered in the seventh to make it 5-2.  Fort Myers scored one more in the eighth, but could do no more.

Batters:  Angel Del Rosario was 2-for-2 with a double and a run.  Yasser Mercedes was 2-for-3 with a double, a run, and an RBI.  Poncho Ruiz was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Pitchers:  Michael Carpenter pitched four innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and one walk and striking out three.  Zander Sechrist struck out three in 2.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits.  Devin Kirby struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opponents:  Franyerber Montilla was 2-for-4 with a double.  Garrett Pennington hit a pinch-hit home run, his fourth.  R. J. Sales pitched five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks and striking out one.

Stats:  Peyton Eeles is batting .333.  Poncho Ruiz, .327/.879 OPS.  Zander Sechrist, 2.12 ERA.

Record:  Fort Myers is 19-22, in fifth place, 4.5 games behind Lakeland.

TODAY'S TILTS

11:00  FCL Pirates at FCL Twins
5:07  Norfolk (TBD and TBD) at St. Paul (Simeon Woods Richardson, no record and Marco Raya, 0-3, 12.06)
5:30  Fort Myers (Dylan Questad, 1-1, 4.56) at Lakeland (TBD)
6:05  Cedar Rapids (Jeremy Lee, 3-2, 6.85) at Fort Wayne (Clark Candiotti, 1-2, 6.89)
7:05  Wichita (Ricky Castro, 0-3, 6.94) at San Antonio (Henry Baez, 1-1, 3.11)

Minor Details: Games of May 20

NORFOLK AT ST. PAUL

Rained out.  Will be made up as part of a doubleheader Thursday.

SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS 5, WICHITA WIND SURGE 4 IN SAN ANTONIO

Marcos Castanon singled home a run in the second, but Wichita tied it in the third.  Romeo Sanabria homered in the fourth, and it stayed 2-1 until the seventh, when Wichita loaded the bases on two singles and a walk and Kyler Fedco unloaded them with a three-run double.  It was 4-2 Wichita, and it looked like that would hold up.  But in the bottom of the ninth, two singles put runners on the corners, a sacrifice fly tied the score, and a two-out double by Nerwilian Cedeno scored the deciding run for San Antonio.

Batters:  Tanner Schobel was 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs.

Pitchers:  Starter Connor Prielipp struck out six in 3.2 innings, but gave up two runs on three hits and no walks.  John Klein pitched 3.1 innings, giving up a run on three hits and a walk and striking out three.  John Stankiewicz struck out three in a perfect inning.

Opponents:  Romeo Sanabria was 4-for-4 with a home run (his fifth), a double, and three runs.  Marcos Castanon was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fifth) and three RBIs.  Nerwilian Cedeno was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Stats:  Ricardo Olivar, .310/.848 OPS.  Tanner Schobel, .306/.836.  Kyler Fedco, .958 OPS.  Noah Cardenas, .809 OPS.  Aaron Sabato, .801 OPS.  Jarret Whorff, 2.53 ERA.  John Klein, 3.21 ERA.

Record:  Wichita is 22-18, tied for first with Arkansas.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 5, FORT WAYNE TINCAPS 1 IN FORT WAYNE (5 INNINGS)

After a rain dealy, Kaelen Culpepper led off the game with a home run.  It stayed 1-0 until the fourth, when Cedar Rapids put up an Abe Lincoln inning to go up 5-0.  Fort Wayne got their lone run in the bottom of the fourth on Brendan Durfee's RBI single.  They completed the fifth, then called it a night.

Batters:  Kaelen Culpepper was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fifth) and two RBIs.  Khadim Diaw was 0-for-0 with three walks and a run.

Pitchers:  Tanner Hall pitched four innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits and three walks and striking out two.  Samuel Perez struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opponents:  Bodi Rascon pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two walks.

Stats:  Nate Baez, .337/.914 OPS.  Kaelen Culpepper, 312/.923 OPS.  Kyle DeBarge, .900 OPS.  Khadim Diaw, .883 OPS.  Kyle Hess, .830 OPS.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 23-16, in second place, 1.5 games behind Quad Cities.

LAKELAND FLYING TIGERS 13, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 3 IN LAKELAND

It got late early for Fort Myers.  Ricardo Hurtado hit a two-run single in a four-run first.  Miguel Briceno singled home a run for Fort Myers in the second, but Lakeland responded with five in the bottom of the inning.  Jackson Strong hit a two-run triple and David Smith a two-run single in the inning.  It was 10-1 when Fort Myers scored two in the fifth, but that was as good as it got.  Lakeland scored three more in the seventh to close out the win.

Batters:  Poncho Ruiz was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Dameury Pena was 2-for-5.

Pitchers:  Starter Adrian Bohorquez lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing eight runs on five hits and striking out two.  Hunter Hoopes struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opponents:  Cristian Santana was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  David Smith was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.  Garrett Pennington was 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs.  Duque Hebbert struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.

Stats:  Rayne Doncon, .333/.812 OPS.  Peyton Eeles, .333.  Poncho Ruiz, .319/.863 OPS.  Maddux Houghton, .808 OPS.  Hunter Hoopes, 2.65 ERA.

Record:  Fort Myers is 19-21, in fifth place, four games behind Dunedin.

FCL TWINS 5, FCL BRAVES 4 AT TWINS

It was back to a seven-inning game, so we have no idea why they played nine yesterday.  The Braves scored all of their runs in the first, two of them on a Diego Benitez single.  It stayed 4-0 until the fifth, when Bryan Acuna singled home a run.  The Twins then scored four in the sixth, the last two coming on an Eduardo Beltre double to put the Twins ahead.  The Braves all went down on strikes in the seventh to end the game.

Batters:  Eduardo Beltre was 1-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.

Pitchers:  Starter Yoel Roque pitched just a third of an inning, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits and a walk.  But the bullpen came through in a big way.  Will Armbruester pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.  Sebastian Pulido struck out one in a perfect inning.  Miguel Cordero struck out five in three perfect innings.

Opponents:  Cayman Goode pitched five innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk and striking out four.

Stats:  Irvin Nunez, .333/.900 OPS.  Bryan Acuna, .303/.894 OPS.  Ricardo Pena, .892 OPS.  Isaac Pena, .821 OPS.  Sebastian Pulido, zero ERA.  Will Armbruester, 1.17 ERA.

Record:  The FCL Twins are 7-5, in second place, one game behind the Rays.

TODAY'S TILTS

5:30  Fort Myers (Michael Carpenter, 0-2, 7.45) at Lakeland (TBD)
5:35  Cedar Rapids (Jose Olivares, 0-1, 5.19) at Fort Wayne (Clark Candiotti, 1-2, 6.89)
6:37  Norfolk (Thaddeus Ward, 2-3, 5.50) at St. Paul (Cory Lewis, 1-3, 9.27)
7:05  Wichita (Aaron Rozek, 2-1, 4.28) at San Antonio (TBD)

Happy Birthday–May 21

Fred Dunlap (1859)
Eddie Grant (1883)
Earl Averill (1902)
Hank Johnson (1906)
Mace Brown (1909)
Monty Stratton (1912)
Larry Napp (1919)
Ed FitzGerald (1924)
El Tappe (1927)
Moe Thacker (1934)
Barry Latman (1936)
Bobby Cox (1941)
Kent Hrbek (1960)
Bryce Florie (1970)
Tom Martin (1970)
Chris Widger (1971)
Mark Quinn (1974)
Josh Hamilton (1981)
Andrew Miller (1985)
Matt Wieters (1986)

Larry Napp was an American League umpire from 1951-1974.

El Tappe had a twin brother, Mel Tappe, who also played in the minors.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to zooomx.2 and a happy anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. MagUidhir.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 21

Minor Details: Game of May 19

FCL BRAVES 9, FCL TWINS 1 AT BRAVES

Carlos Monteverde hit a grand slam in the first inning for all the runs the Braves would need.  The Twins scored their lone run in the sixth on a ground out.  The Braves added a run in the seventh and scored four more in the eighth.  This was the first time the FCL Twins have played a nine-inning game this year.  We'll see if they continue to play nine-inning games the rest of the season.

Batters:  Bryan Acuna was 2-for-4.

Pitchers:  Starter Leonardo Rondon pitched three innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks and striking out zero.  Liam Rocha pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one and walking one.  Ruddy Gomez struck out two in two perfect innings.

Opponents:  Eight different Braves had one hit.  Carlos Monteverde's hit was a grand slam.

Stats:  Bryan Acuna, .300/.899 OPS.  Ricardo Pena, .833 OPS.  Liam Rocha, zero ERA.  Ruddy Gomez, zero ERA.

Record:  The Twins are 6-5, tied for second with the Braves and Orioles, two games behind the Rays.

TODAY'S TILTS

11:00  FCL Braves at FCL Twins
11:07  Norfolk (Thaddeus Ward, 2-3, 5.50) at St. Paul (Cory Lewis, 1-3, 9.27)
5:30  Fort Myers at Lakeland--no starters listed
5:35  Cedar Rapids (Tanner Hall, 1-2, 5.22) at Fort Wayne (Ian Koenig, 1-1, 5.48)
7:05  Wichita at San Antonio--no starters listed

Happy Birthday–May 20

Walt Burnham (1860)
Joe Harris (1891)
George Grantham (1900)
Pete Appleton (1904)
Hal Newhouser (1921)
Herman Wedemeyer (1924)
Tom Morgan (1930)
Ken Boyer (1931)
Sadaharu Oh (1940)
Bobby Murcer (1946)
Ralph Bryant (1961)
David Wells (1963)
Todd Stottlemyre (1965)
Ramon Hernandez (1976)
Jayson Werth (1979)
Austin Kearns (1980)
Adam Rosales (1983)

Walt Burham was a minor league manager from 1885-1907, winning 1,164 games.

Outfielder Herman Wedemeyer played for Class C Salt Lake City in 1950.  He was a star running back in the All-America Football Conference and later appeared in over 300 episodes of the original Hawaii Five-O, playing Sergeant Edward “Duke” Lukela.

Right-hander Tom Morgan was with Washington at the end of 1960, appearing in fourteen games with them.  On January 31, 1961, before the franchise played a game in Minnesota, he was sold to the Los Angeles Angels.

Sadaharu Oh hit 868 home runs in Japan.

Outfielder Ralph Bryant was drafted by Minnesota in the thirteenth round of the January draft in 1981, but he did not sign.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to hungry joe.

There do not appear to be any other major league players with connections to the Minnesota Twins born on this day.

Minor Details: Games of May 18

ST. PAUL SAINTS 3, IOWA CUBS 1 IN IOWA

It was 1-1 through eight, as Mickey Gasper singled home a run in the third and Iowa tied the score in the sixth.  Will Holland hit a two-run homer in the ninth to win it for St. Paul.

Batters:  Will Holland was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his third), a walk, and two runs.  Mike Ford was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitchers:  Andrew Morris struck out eight in five innings, giving up four hits and a walk.  Randy Dobnak struck out three in two innings, giving up an unearned run on a hit and a walk.  Kyle Bischoff pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.  Richard Lovelady pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

Opponents:  Jordan Wicks pitched five innings, giving up one run on four hits and a walk and striking out three.

Stats:  Mickey Gasper, .333/1.170 OPS.  Will Holland, .310/.933 OPS.  Mike Ford, .867 OPS.  Andrew Morris, 3.44 ERA.  Richard Lovelady, 1.46 ERA.

Record:  St. Paul is 23-20, in fifth place, 3.5 games behind Indianapolis.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 15, ARKANSAS TRAVELERS 7 IN WICHITA

Wichita scored three in the first and one in the third to take a 4-0 lead.  Arkansas came back, scoring one in the fourth and getting a two-run double from Jared Sundstrom in a three-run fifth to tie it 4-4.  Wichita then took control of the game in the bottom of the fifth, scoring a touchdown plus the extra point.  Tanner Schobel hit a three-run double and Kyler Fedco hit a two-run homer in a seven-run inning that put the game out of reach.  The lead went to 14-4 before Arkansas put up three in the eighth to make the final score look a little better

Batters:  Jorel Ortega was 3-for-5 with two home runs (his fourth and fifth), three runs, and four RBIs.  Tanner Schobel was 3-for-5 with a double, two runs, and three RBIs.  Kala'i Rosario was 3-for-6 with two doubles, three runs, and three RBIs.  Rubel Cespedes was 3-for-6 with a double and a run.  Kyler Fedco was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer (his eighth) and a walk.  Tyler Dearden was 2-for-5 with a run and two RBIs.

Pitchers:  Trent Baker struck out four in four innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks.  Joel Cesar pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one and walking one.  Cody Laweryson struck out the side in a perfect inning.

Opponents:  Hunter Fitz-Gerald was 2-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, a run, and an RBI.  Blake Rambusch was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Connor Charping was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.

Stats:  Tyler Dearden, .320/.869 OPS.  Kyler Fedco, .952 OPS.  Jorel Ortega, .844 OPS.  Noah Cardenas, .826 OPS.  Tanner Schobel, .817 OPS.  Trent Baker, 2.27 ERA.

Record:  Wichita is 22-17, in first place, one game ahead of Arkansas.

PEORIA CHIEFS 7, CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 1 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Ian Petrutz hit a two-run homer in a four-run first that put Peoria in control of the game early.  It was 5-0 when Cedar Rapids finally scored on a double by Brandon Winokur in the eighth.  Peoria added two more in the ninth.

Batters:  None.  Cedar Rapids had five hits.

Pitchers:  Chase Chaney settled down after the first, pitching five innings and giving up five runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out three.  Eston Stull pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.  Gabriel Yanez struck out five in two perfect innings.

Opponents:  Jon Jon Gazdar was 3-for-5 with an RBI.  Brayden Jobert was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and two runs.  Won-Bin Cho was 2-for-4 with a double, a run, and two RBIs.  Joshua Baez was 2-for-4 with a double, a run, and an RBI.  Ian Petrutz hit a two-run homer.  Chen-Wei Lin struck out six in three innings, giving up no hits and one walk.  Tanner Jacobson struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.  Benjamin Arias pitched 3.1 innings, giving up an unearned run on four hits and a walk and striking out two.

Stats:  Nate Baez, .333/.907 OPS.  Gabriel Gonzalez, .319/.907 OPS.  Kyle DeBarge, .919 OPS.  Khadim Diaw, .871 OPS.  Eston Stull, zero ERA.  Paulshawn Pasqualotto, 1.35 ERA.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 22-16, in second place, two games behind Quad Cities.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 8, JUPITER HAMMERHEADS 4 IN JUPITER

Dameury Pena hit a home run in a three-run first.  Jupiter scored single runs in the first and third to cut the lead to 3-2, but Fort Myers put up another three-spot in the fifth.  Jupiter got two back in the sixth to cut the margin to 6-4, but that was as close as they would get.  Fort Myers scored single runs in the seventh and eighth.

Batters:  Rayne Doncon was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs.  Daniel Pena was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Dameury Pena hit a home run, his second.

Pitchers:  Jason Doktorczyk pitched 4.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks and striking out three.  Devin Kirby pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opponents:  Dillon Head was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.  Julio Henriquez was 2-for-4 with a run.  Micah McDowell was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

Stats:  Rayne Doncon, .500/1.183 OPS.  Peyton Eeles, .300.

Record:  Fort Myers is 19-20, tied for fourth with Tampa, four games behind Dunedin.

TODAY'S TILT

11:00  FCL Twins at FCL Braves

Happy Birthday–May 19

Ed Walsh (1881)
Newt Allen (1901)
Goose Curry (1905)
Gil McDougald (1928)
Curt Simmons (1929)
Larry McCoy (1941)
Dan Ford (1952)
Rick Cerone (1954)
Ed Whitson (1955)
Luis Salazar (1956)
Eric Show (1956)
Turk Wendell (1967)
Brandon Inge (1977)
Brian Anderson (1993)

Outfielder Goose Curry was a star in the Negro Leagues, batting over .300 several times.

This author's first baseball glove was a Gil McDougald model.  I had no idea who he was.  But then, he probably had no idea who I was, either.

Larry McCoy was an American League umpire from 1971-1999.

Eric Show was drafted by Minnesota in the 36th round in 1974, but did not sign.

Brian Anderson was drafted by Minnesota in the 20th round in 2011, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 19

Minor Details: Games of May 17

IOWA CUBS 10, ST. PAUL SAINTS 9 IN IOWA

It looked good early.  Jair Camargo hit a two-run double in a four-run first.  Armando Alvarez homered in a three-run fourth, and it was 7-0 St. Paul.  Unfortunately, they play nine-inning games in the International League.  Iowa got one in the fourth, Kevin Alcantara hit a two-run single in the fifth, and Carlos Perez hit a two-run double in a four-run sixth that tied it 7-7.  Alcantara struck again in the eighth, hitting a two-run homer that gave the Cubs their first lead at 9-7.  St. Paul bounced back, as Will Holland hit a two-run single to tie it in the ninth.  But in the bottom of the ninth two walks and an error loaded the bases and Owen Caissie singled to end the game.

Batters:  Jair Camargo was 3-for-5 with a double, a run, and two RBIs.  Armando Alvarez was 3-for-5 with a home run (his third) and a walk.  Will Holland was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run, and two RBIs.  Edouard Julien was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.  Jose Miranda was 2-for-5 with two doubles, a run, and an RBI.

Pitchers:  Christian MacLeod struck out five in 3.2 innings, giving up an unearned run on one hit and four walks.  Saints pitchers issued twelve walks.

Opponents:  Kevin Alcantara was 3-for-5 with a home run (his third), a double, and five RBIs.  Luke Little struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Stats:  Mickey Gasper, .339/1.204 OPS.  Mike Ford, .856 OPS.  Will Holland .813 OPS.  Christian MacLeod, zero ERA.

Record:  St. Paul is 21-20, in fifth place, 4.5 games behind Nashville.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 11, ARKANSAS TRAVELERS 2 IN WICHITA

Victor Labrada led off the game with a homer.  Wichita scored two in the first, but Caleb Cali led off the second with a homer to tie it.  It stayed tied until the fifth, when Kyler Fedco hit a three-run homer.  They scored three more in the sixth and Andrew Cossetti hit a two-run homer in the seventh.  Tanner Schobel rounded out the scoring with a home run in the eighth.

Batters:  Kyler Fedco was 2-for-5 with a home run (his seventh), a double, two runs, and four RBIs.  Tanner Schobel was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fifth) and two RBIs.  Andrew Cossetti hit a two-run homer, his third.

Pitchers:  Darren Bowen pitched four innings, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks and striking out four.  Mike Paredes struck out five in three shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks.  Jarret Whorff pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.

Opponents:  Caleb Cali was 2-for-4 with a home run, his third.  Victor Labrada hit a home run, his fourth.

Stats:  Ricardo Olivar, .315/.848 OPS.  Tyler Dearden, .314/.873 OPS.  Kyler Fedco, .926 OPS.  Aaron Sabato, .832 OPS.  Mike Paredes, 1.71 ERA.  Jarret Whorff, 1.74 ERA.  Darren Bowen, 2.89 ERA.

Record:  Wichita is 21-17, tied for first with Arkansas.

PEORIA CHIEFS 6, CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 5 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Ryan Campos hit a two-run single in a three-run first.  Cedar Rapids came back to score two in the bottom of the first.  Graysen Tarlow homered in the second, but Khadim Diaw tripled and scored in the bottom of the second and the Kernels scored again in the third to tie it 4-4.  Peoria scored single runs in the fourth and sixth to take the lead.  A bases-loaded walk got one back in the bottom of the sixth, but Cedar Rapids left the bases loaded to still trail by one.  They had at least one man in scoring position in each of the last three innings, but could not push the tying run across.

Batters:  Kyle DeBarge was 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, and two runs.  Khadim Diaw was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run.

Pitchers:  Ty Langenberg pitched 3.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out three.  Wilker Reyes pitched 1.1 perfect innings.  Jacob Wosinski pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.

Opponents:  Joshua Baez was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.  Graysen Tarlow was 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs.  Miguel Villarroel was 2-for-5 with a triple, a double, and an RBI.

Stats:  Nate Baez, .333/.910 OPS.  Gabriel Gonzalez, .319/.901 OPS.  Kaelen Culpepper, .302/.884 OPS.  Khadim Diaw, .301/.877 OPS.  Jose Salas, 1.036 OPS.  Kyle DeBarge, .931 OPS.  Kyle Hess, .876 OPS.  Jacob Wosinski, 2.05 ERA.  Wilker Reyes, 2.95 ERA.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 22-17, in second place, one game behind Quad Cities.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 6, JUPITER HAMMERHEADS 5 IN JUPITER (12 INNINGS)

It was scoreless until the sixth, when Jupiter scored three times.  Fort Myers tied it up when Jose Rodriguez hit a three-run homer in the eighth.  It stayed 3-3 through nine.  Each team scored once in the tenth.  Each team scored once in the eleventh.  Fort Myers scored once in the twelfth, and this time Jupiter couldn't answer.  None of the extra-inning runs were scored on a hit.  Four of them came home on sacrifice flies, and one on a throw to first after a missed third strike.

BattersRayne Doncon was 2-for-4 with a double.  Yohander Martinez was 2-for-5.  Jose Rodriguez hit a three-run homer, his fourth.

Pitchers:  Dasan Hill pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up no hits and two walks and striking out two.  Brennan Oxford struck out three in two innings, giving up an unearned run on no hits and no walks.  Ivran Romero struck out two in two innings, giving up an unearned run on no hits and one walk.

Opponents:  Carter Johnson was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a run, and two RBIs.  Walin Castillo pitched four shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks and striking out three.

Stats:  Rayne Doncon, .429/1.071.  Peyton Eeles, .400/.900.  Poncho Ruiz, .311/.846.  Brennan Oxford, zero ERA.  Dasan Hill, 1.26 ERA.  Ivran Romero, 2.41 ERA.

Record:  Fort Myers is 18-20, tied for fourth with Tampa, four games behind Dunedin.

FCL TWINS 7, FCL RED SOX 2 AT RED SOX

The Twins broke a 1-1 tie with a five-run fifth.  Jayson Bass had a two-run single-plus-error in the inning, which featured two errors, two hit batsmen, and three walks.

Batters:  Luis Fragoza was 2-for-4 with a double, a run, and an RBI.

Pitchers:  Joel Garcia pitched three innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks and striking out three.  Hendry Chivilli struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Andrew Huffman struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opponents:  Enddy Azocar was 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Stats:  Irvin Nunez, .308.  Bryan Acuna, .886 OPS.  Hendry Chivilli, zero ERA.  Andrew Huffman, zero ERA.  Will Armbruester, 1.80 ERA.  Joel Garcia, 3.38 ERA.

Record:  The Twins are 6-4, in second place, two games behind the Rays.

TODAY'S TILTS

11:30  Fort Myers (Jason Doktorczyk, 2-1, 5.01) at Jupiter (TBD)
1:05  Peoria (Chen-Wei Lin, 0-1, 1.93) at Cedar Rapids (Chase Chaney. 1-0, 3.77)
1:05  Arkansas (Dylan File, 1-1, 4.93) at Wichita (TBD)
1:08  St. Paul (Andrew Morris, 1-1, 3.98) at Iowa (TBD)

Happy Birthday–May 18

Babe Adams (1882)
Arndt Jorgens (1905)
Gil Coan (1922)
Jack Sanford (1929)
Carroll Hardy (1933)
Brooks Robinson (1937)
Reggie Jackson (1946)
Osamu Higashio (1950)
Eric Gregg (1951)
Jim Sundberg (1951)
Andre David (1958)
Jim Bowden (1961)
Erik Hanson (1965)
Eric Young (1967)
Rich Garces (1971)
Joakim Soria (1984)
Randy Rosario (1994)

Pitcher Osamu Higashio is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Eric Gregg was a National League umpire from 1975-1999.

Jim Bowden was the general manager of Cincinnati and of Washington and is currently a broadcaster for MLB Network Radio.

Two players who share a name with Minnesota Twins players, Scott Baker (1970) and Roy Smith (1976), were also born on this day.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 18

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.