Perth 4, Melbourne 1 in Perth. The Heat scored single runs in the first, fourth, sixth, and seventh. James McOwen led the way for Perth with three hits, including a fourth-inning home run that gave the Heat a lead they never relinquished. Tim Kennelly added two hits. Virgil Vasquez got the complete game victory, striking out eight while giving up five hits and no walks. For Melbourne, Kevin David singled and homered for the lone Aces run. Travis Blackley took the loss, allowing all four runs on nine hits in seven innings. No Twins players appeared in the game. The win gave Perth a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three championship series.
Category Archives: Keeping Track
Happy Birthday–February 11
Jimmy Ryan (1863)
Kenjiro Tamiya (1928)
George Alusik (1935)
Ollie Brown (1944)
Ben Oglivie (1949)
Tom Veryzer (1953)
Todd Benzinger (1963)
Scott Pose (1967)
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to Moss.
Happy Birthday–February 10
Horace Wilson (1845)
Jim Keenan (1858)
Curt Welch (1862)
Billy Evans (1884)
Herb Pennock (1894)
Bill Adair (1913)
Allie Reynolds (1917)
George Sobek (1920)
Randy Jackson (1926)
Billy O'Dell (1933)
Dick Bogard (1937)
Jim Barr (1948)
Larry McWilliams (1954)
Lenny Dykstra (1963)
Lenny Webster (1965)
Jayhawk Owens (1969)
Alberto Castillo (1970)
Bobby Jones (1970)
Kevin Sefcik (1971)
Lance Berkman (1976)
Cesar Izturis (1980)
Liam Hendriks (1989)
Horace Wilson was an American professor English at Tokyo University. He is credited with introducing baseball to Japan in either 1872 or 1873.
Jim Barr was drafted six different times before finally signing. Minnesota drafted him in the sixth round of the January Secondary draft in 1970, but he did not sign.
Today is also the birthday of Twins prospect Max Kepler (1993).
Happy Birthday–February 9
Harry Pulliam (1864)
Heinie Zimmerman (1887)
Specs Toporcer (1899)
Bill Veeck (1914)
Jodie Phipps (1918)
Vic Wertz (1925)
Erv Palica (1928)
Clete Boyer (1937)
Eddie Solomon (1951)
Mookie Wilson (1956)
Pete O'Brien (1958)
John Kruk (1961)
Doug Linton (1965)
Todd Pratt (1967)
Vladimir Guerrero (1975)
Caribbean Series: Day Six
Venezuela 6, Mexico 2. Venezuela scored two in the fourth to tie and four in the fifth to get a lead it would never relinquish. Cesar Suarez singled and homered to lead Venezuela. Hector Gimenez had two hits. Seth Etherton started for Venezuela and allowed two runs on three hits and two walks in 2.2 innings. Pedro Guerra got the win in relief with two perfect innings. Chris Roberson had two hits for Mexico. Starter Marco Carillo gave up two runs on six hits in four innings. Oswaldo Martinez took the loss, surrendering four runs on two hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning.
Puerto Rico 3, Dominican Republic 1. Puerto Rico broke a 1-1 tie with a tally in the sixth and added an insurance run in the ninth. Irving Falu had three hits to lead Puerto Rico. Luis Figueroa and Andy Gonzalez each singled and doubled. Jose De La Torre got the win with three innings of shutout relief, giving up just one hit while striking out four. Saul Rivera got his second save of the series, giving up two hits while striking out two in wone inning. Fernando Tatis led the Dominican Republic with two hits. Starter Kris Johnson gave up a run on four hits and a walk in five innings. Ramon Garcia took the loss in relief, allowing a run on four hits and a walk while striking out three in 1.2 innings. Rene Rivera was 1-for-4 for Puerto Rico. Nelvin Fuentes faced two batters for Puerto Rico, striking out one and walking one. Pedro Florimon was used as a reserve by the Dominican Republic and went 0-for-1 with a walk.
The Dominican Republic wins the Caribbean Series with a record of 4-2. Puerto Rico and Venezuela tied for second at 3-3. Mexico finished fourth with a record of 2-4.
Happy Birthday–February 8
Bug Holliday (1867)
Bob Cobb (1899)
Don Heffner (1911)
Danny Carnevale (1918)
Buddy Blattner (1920)
Dewey Soriano (1920)
Willard Marshall (1921)
Hoot Evers (1921)
Joe Black (1924)
Larry Dolan (1931)
Fritz Peterson (1942)
Bob Oliver (1943)
Aaron Cook (1979)
Caribbean Series: Day Five
Puerto Rico 4, Mexico 3. Luis Figueroa singled in Chris Roberson in the bottom of the ninth to give Puerto Rico the victory. Jesus Feliciano was 3-for-3 with a double and two walks, scoring twice for Puerto Rico. Figueroa had three RBIs. Nelson Figueroa started for Puerto Rico, giving up three runs on eight hits in 7.1 innings. Nelvin Fuentes pitched 1.2 perfect innings of relief to get the win for Puerto Rico. Karim Garcia led Mexico, going 2-for-2 with a triple, two walks, and two RBIs. Miguel Gonzalez started, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk in five innings. Luis Ayala took the loss, giving up a run on a hit and four walks in1.1 innings. Rene Rivera was 1-for-3 and scored once for Puerto Rico.
Venezuela 7, Dominican Republic 0. Luis Antonio Jimenez hit a three-run homer in a four-run fifth that gave Venezuela a 6-0 lead. Jorge Cortes, Adonis Garcia, and Hector Gimenez each had two hits. Yorman Bazardo got the win with six strong innings, giving up five hits and no walks. Pedro Florimon was 1-for-3 for the Dominican Republic. Aneury Rodriguez took the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out three in three innings.
Puerto Rico’s victory over Mexico clinched the Caribbean Series for the Dominican Republic. With only one day left, the Dominican Republic is 4-1, with all three other teams tied for second at 2-3. Mexico plays Venezuela this afternoon and Puerto Rico plays the Dominican Republic this evening to close out the series.
Happy Birthday–February 7
Tom Daly (1866)
Pat Moran (1876)
Charlie Jamieson (1893)
Earl Whitehill (1899)
Paul Owens (1924)
Dick Wiencek (1926)
Al Smith (1928)
Juan Pizarro (1937)
Burt Hooton (1950)
Benny Ayala (1951)
Dan Quisenberry (1953)
Damaso Garcia (1957)
Carney Lansford (1957)
Ralph Citarella (1958)
Endy Chavez (1978)
Brad Hennessey (1980)
Dick Wiencek was a minor league infielder from 1947-1949, He then became a scout, working at various times for Washington/Minnesota, Detroit, and Oakland. Among the players he was responsible for signing are Jim Kaat, Graig Nettles, Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell, and Mark McGwire.
Right-hander Ralph Citarella was drafted by Minnesota in the first round of the January draft in 1978, but did not sign.
We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Mrs. AMR.
Australian League Playoffs
Melbourne 14, Sydney 4 in Melbourne (Game 1). Sydney led 2-0 after two and a half, but Melbourne scored four in the third and four in the fifth and it was all but over. Paul Weichard had three singles and a double and scored three times for Melbourne. Brad Harman had two homers and a single, scored three times, and drove in six. Kevin David also hit a home run. Travis Blackley got the win, giving up two runs on five hits while striking out eight in five innings. For Syndey, Mitch Dening and Trent D’Antonio each singled and homered. Aidan Francis took the loss, surrendering eight runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out eight in 4.2 innings. Joshua Hendricks was used as a pinch-runner and scored for Melbourne. Sam Gibbons pitched a perfect ninth for Melbourne. Jacob Younis was 0-for-4 for Sydney.
Melbourne 15, Sydney 3 in Melbourne (Game 2). The Aces led 4-1 after one, 5-1 after two, 11-1 after three, and 13-1 after four. Elliot Biddle had two homers and a single for Melbourne, scoring three times and driving in four. John Edwards had three singles and a double. Dominic Ramos and Darryl George each had two doubles and a single, with George driving in three. Brad Harman singled and homered. Jeff Jamnik got the complete game win, giving up seven hits and a walk while striking out seven. For Sydney, David Kandilas singled and homered. Starter Vaughn Harris took the loss, surrendering four runs on five hits and a walk in just one inning. Jacob Younis was 0-for-4 for Sydney. Todd Van Steensel yielded seven runs (six earned) on six hits and a walk in just 1.2 innings.
Melbourne wins the series three games to two. They will now advance to play Perth in the best-of-three championship series beginning February 10.
Caribbean Series: Day Four
Venezuela 7, Puerto Rico 0. The score was 1-0 through six, but Venezuela scored two in the seventh and four in the eighth. A three-run triple by Luis Hernandez put the game away. Luis Antonio Jimenez and Edgardo Alfonso each had two hits for Venezuela. Yohan Pino gave up only two hits and no walks in six innings to get the win. Victor Moreno gave up one hit in two innings to get the save. Hiram Burgos took the loss despite giving up just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six in five innings.
Dominican Republic 2, Mexico 0. Single runs in the first and ninth provided bookends for the Dominican Republic victory. Julio Borbon had two hits for the Dominican Republic. Francisco Liriano got the win with five shutout innings despite giving up four hits and four walks. He struck out five. Jairo Ascencio pitched a perfect ninth for his third save of the series. Doug Clark had two hits for Mexico. Edgar Gonzalez took a tough loss, giving up just one run on two hits and three walks in six innings. Pedro Florimon was 1-for-3 for the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic has clinched at least a tie for first in the six-game round robin. The Dominican Republic is 4-0. Mexico is second at 2-2. Puerto Rico and Venezuela are tied for third at 1-3, and have been eliminated from the championship. Mexico plays Puerto Rico this afternoon and Venezuela plays the Dominican Republic this evening.