Tag Archives: David Festa

Minor Details: Games of May 6

ST. PAUL SAINTS 6, BUFFALO BISONS 2 IN ST. PAUL

Carson McCusker hit a two-run homer in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie.  The Saints added three more in the eighth as McCusker and Mickey Gasper homered.  McCusker was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his eighth and ninth) and three RBIs.  Gasper was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third) and two runs.  David Festa struck out seven in 5.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks.  Travis Adams struck out four in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up three hits.

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NATURALS 5, WICHITA WIND SURGE 4 IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

Wichita led 4-2 after six, but Jac Caglianone hit a three-run homer in the seventh to give Northwest Arkansas the victory.  Aaron Sabato was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Darren Bowen pitched three innings, giving up two runs on one hit and four walks and striking out one.  Pierson Ohl pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

CEDAR RAPIDS 8, BELOIT SKY CARP 0 IN BELOIT

Cedar Rapids scored single runs in the first and third, then took control with a four-run fifth.  Brandon Winokur had a two-run single in the inning.  Winokur was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs.  Danny De Andrade had three RBIs.  Chase Chaney struck out six in six shutout innings, giving up seven hits and no walks.  Samuel Perez struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.  Jacob Wosinski pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 13, DUNEDIN BLUE JAYS 12 IN FORT MYERS (11 INNINGS)

Fort Myers led 6-0 after two, but by the top of the fifth it was 6-5 and after seven it was tied 9-9.  Each team scored one in the tenth.  Bryce Arnold hit a two-run homer in the top of the eleventh, but Fort Myers scored three in the bottom of the eleventh.  They had one hit, a single, but got two walks, an error, and a passed ball, with the deciding run scoring on a sacrifice fly.  Jay Thomason was 3-for-5 with a walk and three runs.  Yohander Martinez was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Dameury Pena was 2-for-3.  Poncho Ruiz was 2-for-5 with a double, a walk, two runs, and three RBIs.  Byron Chourio was 2-for-6 with a home run and three runs.  Ben Ross struck out four in three innings, giving up one run on one hit.  Hunter Hoopes pitched 1.2 perfect innings, striking out one.

FCL TWINS 7, FCL PIRATERS 3 AT TWINS

The Twins scored two in the third on three walks, a hit batsman, and a sacrifice fly to take a 4-3 lead.  They added two in the fourth and one in the fifth, scoring seven runs on three hits and ten walks.  Eduardo Beltre was 0-for-2 with two runs and two RBIs.  Miguel Cordero pitched 3.2 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and no walks, striking out three.  Ruddy Gomez struck out all four men he faced.  Will Armbruester struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

TODAY'S TILTS

11:10  Cedar Rapids (Alejandro Hidalgo, 0-0, 6.00) at Beloit (Noble Meyer, 0-1, 5.28)
6:05  Dunedin (Trey Yesavage, 1-0, 2.31) at Fort Myers (Adrian Bohorquez, 0-1, 6.75)
6:37  Buffalo (Anders Tolhurst, 1-0, 5.95) at St. Paul (Andrew Morris, 0-1, 4.57)
7:05  Wichita (Trent Baker, 1-2, 2.49) at Northwest Arkansas (Kyle Wright, 0-0, 2.25)

Minor Details: Games of April 29

A short version.

ST. PAUL SAINTS 4, COLUMBUS CLIPPERS 2 IN COLUMBUS (GAME 1)

Jonathan Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the first, but St. Paul came back with one in the fourth and one in the fifth to tie it.  Mike Ford then hit a two-run homer in the sixth for the deciding runs.  Carson McCusker was 2-for-3 with a home run (his seventh) and two runs.  Anthony Prato was 2-for-3 with a home run (his second).  Mike Ford hit a home run, his fourth.  David Festa struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs on three hits and no walks.  Richard Lovelady pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

ST. PAUL SAINTS AT COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (GAME 2)

Rained out.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 5, FRISCO ROUGHRIDERS 4 IN FRISCO

Ricardo Olivar hit a two-run single in the seventh to break a 1-1 tie and added two more in the eighth.  Frisco scored one in the eighth and two more in the ninth and had the tying run on base with two out in the ninth.  Ricardo Olivar was 2-for-5 with a double, a run, and two RBIs.  Christian MacLeod pitched three shutout innings, giving up no hits and two walks and striking out two.  Jarret Whorff struck out three in three innings, giving up one run on one hit.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 10, IOWA CUBS 4 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Danny De Andrade hit a two-run homer in a four-run first.  Iowa tied it with four in the fourth, but Khadim Diaw doubled home a run in the firth and Cedar Rapids scored five in the seventh.  Gabriel Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the inning.  Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with a home run (his second), a double, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Danny De Andrade was 3-for-5 with a home run (his second), two runs, and two RBIs.  Kyle DeBarge was 2-for-5 with a run and two RBIs.  Gabriel Yanez pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, walking one and striking out one.  Logan Whitaker struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Paulshawn Pasqualotto pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

JUPITER HAMMERHEADS 14, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 1 IN FORT MYERS

It was 1-1 after two, but Jupiter scored two in the third, one in the sixth, and eight in the eighth.  Jay Thomason was 1-for-2 with a home run (his sixth) and two walks.  Hunter Hoopes struck out two in 1.2 perfect innings.

TODAY'S TILTS

11:05  Jupiter at Fort Myers
5:35  St. Paul at Columbus
6:35  South Bend at Cedar Rapids
6:35  Wichita at Frisco

2025 Game 24: Chicago White Sox at Minnesota Twins

Bryse Wilson
vs
David Festa

Festa has made two starts this season and has totaled only nine innings. While it does make the x/9 math simple, the Twins need to let him pitch deeper. The Twins were in line for a win when Festa left both of his starts, with a bullpen meltdown losing one of those, but poor Festa can only get a no decision since he hasn't completed five innings yet. And it's not because Festa has racked up huge pitch counts since he averaged 70 this season and was often pulled with fewer than 80 pitches last season. Let him go deeper and keep the bullpen from needing to cover as much.

Minor Details: Games of April 4

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS 3, ST. PAUL SAINTS 2 IN COLUMBUS (GAME 1)

The Saints started the game with four consecutive singles, producing two runs.  That was all the runs they would get, and for six innings it looked like that would be enough.  But Scott Blewett came in to pitch the seventh and, well, he blew it.  A walk, a double, and a two-run single by Angel Martinez tied the game, and an RBI double by Will Wilson walked it off for Columbus.  Saints starters still had not allowed a run through four games.

Batters:  Mike Ford was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.  Austin Martin was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Pitchers:  Marco Raya struck out five in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up five hits and a walk.  Kody Funderburk struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition:  Angel Martinez was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.  Bradley Hanner pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

ST. PAUL SAINTS AT COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (GAME 2)

The Saints trailed Columbus 11-1 through five innings at press time.  Luke Keaschall was 2-for-3 with a double.  David Festa ended the scoreless streak by St. Paul starters, allowing six runs (five earned) on ten hits and two walks.  He did strike out four in 3.1 innings.  For Wichita, Christian Cairo was 4-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs.  Will Wilson hit a two-run homer.  Kolby Allard struck out five in four innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk.

WICHITA WIND SURGE AT SPRINGFIELD CARDINALS

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

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 4, WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 1 IN WISCONSIN

It was scoreless through three, but Billy Amick singled home a run in the fourth, Brandon Winokur doubled one home in the sixth, and Caden Kendle hit a two-run double in the seventh.  Wisconsin did not get on the board until the ninth.  There were thirty strikeouts in the game, with Cedar Rapids pitchers striking out thirteen and Wisconsin pitchers fanning seventeen.

Batters:  Gabriel Gonzalez was 2-for-4 with a double.  Caden Kendle was 1-for-4 with two RBIs.  Kyle DeBarge was 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs.

Pitchers:  Charlee Soto struck out five in four shutout innings, giving up two hits and three walks.  Spencer Bengard struck out six and walked one in four shutout innings of relief, allowing no hits.

Opposition:  Manuel Rodriguez struck out eleven in 4.1 innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits and a walk.  Aidan Maldonado struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Record:  1-0, tied for first.

PALM BEACH CARDINALS 8, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 2 IN PALM BEACH

Palm Beach scored two in the third to open the scoring and led all the way.  Jefferson Valladares singled home in the run to cut the lead to 2-1 and a wild pitch scored a run in the seventh to cut the margin to 4-2, but the Cardinals scored one in the seventh and three in the eighth to put it out of reach.

Batters:  Kevin Maitan was 2-for-4.

Pitchers:  Starter Eli Jones pitched 4.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition:  Luis Pino was 2-for-2 with two RBIs.  Jonathan Mejia was 2-for-4 with two triples, a walk, and two runs.  Cade McGee was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Christian Martin was 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, a run and an RBI.  Jose Suarez was 2-for-5 with an RBI.  Anyelo Encarnacion was 1-for-2 with a home run, two walks, and three runs.  Leonel Sequera pitched 3.2 innings, giving up a run on three hits and a walk and striking out two.  Michael Watson struck out three and walked one in two shutout innings.

Record:  Fort Myers is 0-1.

TODAY'S TILTS

1:10  Cedar Rapids (Alejandro Hidalgo) at Wisconsin (Bishop Letson)
3:05  St. Paul (Randy Dobnak) at Columbus (Ryan Webb, 0-0, 2.25)
5:00  Fort Myers (Dasan Hill) at Palm Beach (TBD)
6:05  Wichita (Trent Baker) at Springfield (Max Rajcic)

Minor Details: Game of March 28

I don't know how much I'll do with this feature this season.  It would not be accurate to say that I'm busier in retirement than I was when I was working, but the thing is that I'm busy with different things, and for the most part, those different things don't involve sitting in front of a computer screen.

So, there will be days when the feature does not appear at all.  There will be other days when it only covers some of the games, rather than all of them.  We'll see.

I hope you'll read it when it's here, but the truth is that I really do this for myself more than you.  I like keeping up with the Twins' minor league teams, and this is a way for me to do it.  I hope you'll enjoy it, too, when it's here.

And now, on to the game.

ST. PAUL SAINTS 11, INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 0 IN ST. PAUL

It's hard to open better than that.  The Saints scored early and often, getting two in the third, one in the fourth, two in the fifth, three in the sixth, and three in the eighth.  They did not hit any home runs, but the had eighteen hits, including four doubles and a triple.  They also drew seven walks.  Eight players had at least two hits.  The pitching was equally impressive, with four pitchers throwing a combined four-hit shutout.

Batters:  Emmanuel Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Jair Camargo was 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBIs.  Ryan Fitzgerald was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Jeferson Morales was 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk, two runs, and three RBIs.  Armando Alvarez was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Austin Martin was 2-for-5 with a walk.  Yunior Severino was 2-for-5.  Luke Keaschall was 2-for-6.

PitchersDavid Festa pitched five shutout innings, giving up three hits and no walks and striking out four.  Scott Blewett struck out two and walked one in two shutout innings.  Kyle Bischoff pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.  Kody Funderburk struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition:  Hunter Stratton pitched a scoreless inning despite giving up three hits.

Record:  St. Paul is 1-0 and tied for first.

Next game:  2:07  Indianapolis (Mike Burrows) at St. Paul  (Andrew Morris)

Happy Birthday–March 8

Harry Lord (1882)
Pat Flaherty (1897)
Bobby Goff (1902)
Pete Fox (1909)
Ray Mueller (1912)
Al Gionfriddo (1922)
Carl Furillo (1922)
Jim Bouton (1939)
Jacques Doucet (1940)
Dick Allen (1942)
Jim Rice (1953)
John Butcher (1957)
Mark Salas (1961)
Lance Barksdale (1967)
Mike Moriarty (1974)
Juan Encarnacion (1976)
Hines Ward (1976)
Tommy Pham (1988)
David Festa (2000)

If you have a few minutes to spare, I would very much recommend reading Harry Lord’s biography at baseball-reference.com.

Pat Flaherty pitched in the minors from 1917-1921.  He also played in the NFL from 1923-1928, was a major in the Air Force, and appeared in about 250 movies from 1934 to the 1950s.

Bobby Goff played in the minor leagues for nineteen years, 1923-1941.  He also was a minor league manager and general manager and a major league scout, remaining in baseball until 1972.

Jacques Doucet was the French-language play-by-play announcer for the Montreal Expos from 1972 until the team left.

Lance Barksdale has been a major league umpire since 2000.

NFL star Hines Ward was drafted by the Florida Marlins in 1994, but did not sign.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–March 8

Minor Details: St. Paul Saints Team Leaders

BATTING

GAMES

Yunior Severino, 128
DaShawn Keirsey, 111
Diego Castillo, 110

AT-BATS

Severino, 489
Keirsey, 443
Castillo, 385

RUNS

Keirsey, 71
Severino, 66
Anthony Prato, 60

HITS

Keirsey, 133
Severino, 124
Castillo, 100

DOUBLES

Castillo, 22
Keirsey, 22
Severino, 21

TRIPLES

Keirsey, 7
Prato, 6
Payton Eeles, 4

HOME RUNS

Severino, 21
Matt Wallner, 19
Chris Williams, 17

RBI

Keirsey, 81
Severino, 79
Castillo, 54

WALKS

Prato, 67
Severino, 67
Castillo, 60

STRIKEOUTS

Severino, 154
Keirsey, 116
Williams, 106

STOLEN BASES

Keirsey, 36
Eeles, 20
Castillo, 13
Will Holland, 13

AVERAGE

Brooks Lee, .308
Keirsey, .300
Holland, .299
Eeles, .299

ON-BASE

Holland, .428
Eeles, .419
Edouard Julien, .395

SLUGGING

Lee, .606
Holland, .556
Wallner, .544

OPS

Holland, .984
Lee, .974
Eeles, .919

PITCHING

GAMES

Hobie Harris, 44
Ryan Jensen, 44
Diego Castillo, 40

STARTS

Caleb Boushley, 26
Randy Dobnak, 24
Louie Varland, 16

INNINGS

Boushley, 134.1
Dobnak, 133.1
Varland, 83.1

WINS

Dobnak, 12
Boushley, 7
Adam Plutko, 6

SAVES

Castillo, 8
Harris, 5
Josh Winder, 4

HOME RUNS ALLOWED

Boushley, 22
Dobnak, 14
Nick Wittgren, 14

WALKS ALLOWED

Dobnak, 63
Jensen, 50
Varland, 32

STRIKEOUTS

Dobnak, 136
Boushley, 108
Varland, 96

ERA

Ronny Henriquez, 3.44
Andrew Morris, 3.48
Scott Blewett, 3.79

WHIP

Plutko, 1.10
Morris, 1.13
David Festa, 1.36

AVERAGE AGAINST

Morris, .218
Jensen, .221
Plutko, .227

That concludes Minor Details for another season.  Thanks for reading, if, in fact, anybody did.  I enjoyed it, and I hope you did, too.