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Sunday, May 11, 2008
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Diamond Moms: A Mother's Guide to Raising a Baseball Player
By Candace Conradi
see relatedFort Myers tops St. Lucie late, heads for Sara
Fort Myers 7 at St. Lucie 5
W: R. Delaney (1-2, 0.48); L: C. Hoorelbeke (0-1, 7.71); SV: A. Slama (6)
HR: None.A miraculous late inning comeback saw the Fort Myers Miracle sweep their series against the St. Lucie Mets. The Miracle now travel to Sarasota for a 3-game home-and-home series against the Reds.
The Miracle got on the board early with Juan Portes singling in the second inning, then stealing 2nd. A fielding error by Mets 3rd baseman J.R. Voyles allowed Portes to score and Danny Berg to reach base. Berg would be left stranded but the one run seemed an omen of good things to come.
And indeed, things were humming along quite well until the bottom of the third inning. With two outs on the board, Luis Rivera, Lucas Duda, D.J. Wabick and Josh Peterson all hit singles off Cole Devries to drive in one run. Josh Thole then doubled down the left field line to clear the bases, giving the Mets a three run lead.
Yancarlos Ortiz tripled in the top of the fifth, then came home on a Brian Dinkelman single to cut the lead in half.
Duda would double in the in 5th, then move to 3rd on Peterson's ground out. Following a walk to Thole, Reben Tejada sent a ground ball to left that scored Duda to restore the Mets three run lead.
Cole would get out of the inning but not return, his final line being 5 runs, earned on 10 hits and 3 walks while striking out one. Perhaps he was thinking of his mom's home cooking, as this was not one of his better performances.
Tobi Stoner would work six for the Mets, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, on 5 hits and one walk while striking out 5. Ryan Coultas would head to the mound for the top of the seventh. With 2 outs on the board, Allan de San Miguel surprised everyone with a single. Ortiz followed him onto the bags on a grounder. The Mets would put Edgar Alfonzo on the mound to try for the 3rd out, but Dinkelman send a ground ball to second that scored the Miracle's Aussie catcher, helped in part by Rivera's throwing error on the play.
Jose Lugo would keep the Mets off the board in the six, and Rob Delaney took over for the seventh and 8th innings.
Casey Hoorelbeke replaced Alfonzo in for the top of the 8th, and gave up a single to Danny Valencia. Whit Robbins would hit into a double play though, so it was Juan Portes, with a double, who would come home on Ramos single. St. Lucie's dwindled down to just one run, and they would of course get nothing from the Miracle's Sandman.
Johnny Woodard would strike out for de San Miguel in the 9th - something I'm sure Dirty could have handled on his own - and Eddie Ovalle would fly out for Yancarlos Ortiz before Dinkelman gave the Miracle a glimmer of hope with a single out to center. Rene Tosoni then following him on to base, hitting a grounder out to right. Danny Valencia doubled to tie up the game and bring in the game winning run. A missed catch by Josh Thole at the plate sent Valencia over for the insurance run. Brandon Niall would get Whit Robbins out on strikes to retire the Miracle, but Anthony Slama went three-up, three-down, slamming the door on St. Lucie and sending the Miracle out of town on the victory bus.
Valencia was 4-for-5 with 1 run and 1 RBI and he also sends his love home to his Mom and dedicated his performance today to her. Happy Mother's Day Mrs. Valencia!
Dinkelman was 3-for-5, also with a run and an RBI. Portes was 2-for-4 with 2 runs and Oritz was 2-for-3 with a run.
with the win, the Miracle are now in first place, one game over the Tampa Yankees who come into town on Thursday for a three game set.
The Miracle return home on Wednesday against the Sarasota Reds who are in 3rd place in the division, three games back for "Island Night".
Jeff Manship (4-0, 3.23) will be on the mound tomorrow night at Ed Smith Stadium against former Miracle Alexander Smit (2-3, 5.17) for the 7:00 match up with the Reds.
Homestand Happenings
Wake up early on Friday, May 16 and head to the stadium for a special “Education Day” start time of 10:35 a.m. Thousands of kids from Southwest Florida schools take this one-of-a-kind field trip. Kids learn about math, social studies and language arts and how it relates to baseball.
Beloit at Burlington
Sunday’s game between the Beloit Snappers and Burlington Bees was postponed due to rain. The game will now be made up in Beloit at Pohlman Field on Saturday, May 24th as part of a doubleheader beginning at 5:00 PM.
New Britain 7 at New Hampshire 4
W: R. Mullins (3-2, 3.25); L: A. Wideman (1-5, 7.36)
HR: NBR: S. Tolleson (4). NHM: A. Hatch (5).New Britain took an early three run lead and managed to keep it, downing the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 7-4 at Merchants Auto Stadium.
Toby Gardenhire's double led off the New Britain attack in the 3rd. Felix Molina drew a walk to get on base. Both would come home when Steve Tolleson smacked his 4th home run of the season over the left field wall.
Aaron Mathews doubled for the Fisher Cats in the bottom of the same inning and came home on Chris Gutierrez line drive to put New Hampshire on the board. The Cats took it back in the top of the next inning however, when David Winfree doubled, moved to 3rd on an Erik Lis single and scored on a Molina force out.
Ryan Patterson singled in the bottom of the fourth, and Anthony Hatch hit his fifth home run of the season to give the Fisher Cats two more.
Former Miracle lefty Ryan Mullins would work six inning allowing the 3 runs, earned, on six hits and 2 walks while striking out 2. A.J. Wideman would only make it through 5.1 innings, as New Britian turned on the offense again in the sixth inning.
Felix Molina would double before the pitching change that put Sean Stidtole on mound for the Fisher Cats. Jeff Christy then doubled to drive in Molina while Tolleson's line drive out to left brought in Christy. Dustin Martin would strike out swinging, but Brock Peterson reached on a fielding error by shortstop Ryan Klosterman allowing Tolleson to score.
Tolleson was 2-for-5 on the game with 2 runs and 4 RBIs. Winfree was 2-for-4 at the plate with a run.
The two teams rematch tomorrow with a 6:35 start.
Buffalo 4 at Rochester 2
W: M. Ginter (1-4, 6.48); L: P. Humber (1-4, 5.29); SV: R. Bauer (8)
HR: None.Phillip Humber suffered his fourth loss of the season and the Wings continued to find ways to miss the ball. Garrett Jones was 2-for-4 in the designated hitter role, but the slugger is only .175 on the season. Howie Clark was 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI.
Denard Span took a walk in the bottom of the first, then moved to 3rd on a Darnell McDonald single. Brian Buscher's line drive would bring in Span to give the Wings one, but Buffalo took back 2 in the top of the 2nd.
Doubles by Jones and Clark got them one more in the bottom of the second, but they would get little else off Matt Glinter or the three relievers that followed him.
The last game of the four game series is Monday night at 7:05 at Frontier Field.
The Red Wings wore special pink jerseys as part of Breast cancer Awareness Day. The jerseys were auctioned off and raised over $3,400 for the Pluta Cancer Center. Tommy Watkins' number 8 jersey and Julia DePaula's number 35 each brought in $200, the top money raisers for the day.
Red Wings starting pitchers have just six wins in the first 38 games of the 2008 season (6-17 record).
Former Miracle Nick Blackburn starts for the Twins against the Red Sox Sunday night, with the game shown live on ESPN.
Infielder Alexi Casilla, another former Miracle, became the fifth member of the Red Wings' Opening Day roster to be promoted to the Minnesota Twins. Overall, seven different players have played for both Rochester and Minnesota this season.
Class A Beloit outfielder Ben Revere is the Twins' Minor League Player of the Week for the week ending May 9. Revere hit .481 (13-for-27) and five steals in six games.
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Currently Reading
The New Encyclopedia of The Dog
By Bruce Fogle
see relatedMiracle crush Mets, 11-3
Fort Myers 11 at St. Lucie 3
W: T. Robertson (1-2, 3.47); L: E. Niesen (0-4, 6.28)
HR: FTM: W. Ramos (3), J. Portes (2).In what I consider a long overdue event, Tyler Robertson picked up his first win of the season for the Fort Myers Miracle, who crushed the St. Lucie Mets 11 - 3.
Robertson limited the Mets to 1 run on six hits and three walks while striking out 7 over six innings, looking more like the pitcher that helped take Beloit deep into the Midwest League playoffs.
He was helped out by a lot of Miracle offense starting in the first inning. Brian Dinkelman would be hit by a pitch and Juan Portes got the fireworks going, homering over the center field wall to two runs. Danny Valencia singled but tried to stretch it for a double, being taken out at second base. Johnny Woodard would get hit next by St. Lucie's Eric Niesen, who lated only 1.2 innings in the start. After Eddie Ovalle was taken out on strikes, Wilson Ramos went yard for his 3rd of the season, giving the Miracle another two runs for a 4-0 lead.
Dinkelman next used a fielding error by third baseman Leivi Ventura to get on the bags with one out in the second inning. Portes would strike out swinging. Dinkelman would steal 2nd, then advanced to 3rd on a throwing error by Mets catcher Jason Jacobs. Valencia then hit a fly ball to left to plate Dinkelman. With Woodard at the plate Neison would be charged with a balk which sent Valencia to second. Woodard then singled to bring in Valencia, earning himself a ham sandwich.
That finally prompted a pitching change as the Mets brought in Tim Stronach to replace Niesen, who was evidently having a very bad day on the mound.
D.J. Wabick would single in the bottom of the second, and Ventura doubled to put runners in the corners. Robertson would get the next two batters he faced out, one on strikes, before issuing a walk to Joshua Petersen to load the bags. Ezequiel Carrera then singled which brought in Wabick. Ventura would try to run for the plate, but was taken out at home as Danny Santiesteban fired a ball back from center to Ramos at the plate.
Stronach would work four scoreless innings for St. Lucie. With one out on the board. Valencia and Woodard hit back-to-back singles. St. Lucie would replace the tiring Stronach with John Wesley, who hit Ovalle with a pitch to load the bags. Ramos hit a sacrifice fly to right to bring in Valencia. Danny Berg then singled out bring in Woodard. A throwing error by 2nd baseman Luis Rivera helped move the pair over. Rocky Palacios singled out to right to bring in two more. A passed ball by Jacobs moved Palacios to second and Santiesteban would then hit a ground rule double to bring in the final runner, giving the Miracle a total of 11.
While it was not impossible for the Mets to rally back from that deep a hole, certainly we've watched the Miracle bullpen give up that kind of a lead before, it would be beyond the St. Lucie's capabilities.
Danny Hernandez has struggled and there is some speculation that because he is still not 100% and only played 7 games last season at the Low A level, that he is playing beyond his current ability in High A. His ERA of 11.81 certainly bears that out, but he would get through two innings Saturday evening, only allowing one walk. That came after he allowed a single to Ruben Tejada. Jomar Hill would take the free pass, and Josh Peterson then singled to load the bags on the Twins young reliever. Ezequiel Carrera would hit a sac-fly out to right to bring in Tejada, and Luis Rivera then sacrificed in Hill, for two more St. Lucie runs.
Danny Vais came in to shut the door, striking out 1 in the final inning.
Valencia was 3-for-5 at the plate with 2 runs and 1 BRI, Woodard was 2-for-3 with a walk, 2 runs and 1 RBI, Berg ws 2-for-4 with 1 run and 1 RBI, and Santiesteban was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI.
The two teams rematch on Sunday with right hander Cole Devries looking to give the Miracle a sweep of the series while Tobi Stoner (1-2, 3.14) will try to prevent that from happening. First pitch is set for 1:00 PM, a change from their normal 5:00 PM start which as made on Wednesday. (Press Release)
Boxscore
Log
Miracle
News Press
NDN
TC PalmHomestand Happenings
The world’s sexiest plumber stops by Hammond Stadium on Thursday, May 15. "Desperate Housewives' actor James Denton will put down his plunger and pick up a bat. Denton will take batting practice with the Miracle, sign autographs and throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the 7:05 p.m. Thirsty Thursday game against the Tampa Yankees.
If you happen to thing that promotion is as much of a dog as we at MiracleFans.com do, well, don't worry. It's also Dog Daze I, time to bring your best friend to the park for a bark. A special celebri-cat guest appearance by Reptar, Fort Myers own baseball lovin' cat, is also planned. So come on out with your trusty canine friend because - well - very bitch deserves a night out!
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Currently Listening
Rock and Roll Jesus
By Kid Rock
see relatedBeloit's five runs win fifth straight
Beloit 5 at Burlington 4
W: B. Kirwan (3-1, 3.79); L: M. Mitchell (0-3, 3.96); SV: S. Hirschfeld (1)
HR: BUR: S. Hayes (1).Brian Kirwan picked up his third win of the season as the Beloit Snappers continued to win over the Burlington Bees, 5-4.
Ben Revere tripled for the Snappers to start out the game, then came home on a Chris Cates sac fly to give Beloit an early lead. They would extended it in the second when Steve Singleton's line drive got him on base. One out later, a walk to Greg Yersich moved him to second. A passed ball by Bees catcher Todd Balduf moved them to 3rd and a Ramon Santana walk loaded the bags. Revere would reach on a fielding error by Burlington shortstop Mike Moustakas which also brought Singleton across the plate.
The Bees however tied it up in the bottom of the 3rd. Back-to-back doubles by Balduf and David Lough were negated when Balduf was taken out at home. Wilson Tucker would single however before Moustakas doubled, bringing in the pair for two runs.
Beloit would take the runs back in the top of the 5th. Cates singled his way onto base then moved over on Garrett Olson's sac-bunt. Chris Parmelee walked, but Mark Dolenc ground into a force out that nabbed him at at second while brining in Olson. Dolenc got caught stealing and Singleton flew out to end the inning.
Joe Benson tripled in the top of the sixth. Yersich drew a walk and Santana lined out before Revere's force out would bring Benson in.
Moutakas singled off Kirwan in the bottom of the 6th, and Shawn Hayes took him deep over the left field fence for a two-run home run. Blair Erickson would replace Kirwan with one out and 2 runners on base, and would shut the door on the Bees.
Singleton was 3-for-4 in the game with a run. He was the only Snapper with a multi-hit game. Yersich would go 1-for-2 at the plate with 2 walks as was Sanatana at the bottom of the order.
Kirwin was charged with 4 runs, earned, on 9 hits and one walk while striking out 2 over 5.1 innings. Erikson worked 1.2 innings, striking out 4. Steve Hirschfield picked up his first save of the season, holding the Bees to only one hit while striking out 3 over two innings.
Burlington's Alex Caldera (2-2. 3.31) will get the start one Mother's day against Beloit's Santos Arias (1-0, 1.64). First pitch is 2:00 PM Eastern Time.
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Currently Listening
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
By Foo Fighters
see relatedLiriano, Wings snap skid
Buffalo 2 at Rochester 3
W: R. Barrett (2-2, 2.53); L: B. Buzachero (1-2, 4.91); SV: D. Graves (1)
HR: ROC: R. Ruiz (2).The Rochester Red wins finally snapped their losing skid, rallying past the Buffalo Bisons to win 3-2 in front of a home town crowd at Frontier Field.
The Wings got on the board first, in the bottom of the second inning, courtesy of Randy Ruiz's second home run of the season.
Buffalo would get to Francisco Liriano in the fifth when former Twins farm hand Jason Tyner singled on a bunt, then advanced to 2nd when Liriano thew the ball into the first base dugout. Wyatt Toregas doubled out to left to score Tyner. Following a Josh Barfield fly out, Danny Sandoval would drive Toregas in with a ground ball to center. Sandoval would make things interesting by stealing 2nd and progressing to 3rd on a wild pitch by Liriano, but Michael Aubrey ground out to end the inning before further damage could be done.
Liriano would give up the 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 over six innings for a quality start. I don't think he's ready for Minny quite yet, but he's getting closer.
Darnell McDonald drew a walk in the bottom of the sixth, then moved to 3rd on Brian Buscher's line drive single to Bronson Sardinha in right. Ruiz would then sacrifice McDonald in to tie up the game.
With Bubbie Buzachero on the hill for the Cleveland farm in the bottom of the 7th, Jose Morales singled his way onto the bags. Howie Clark then tripled him in. Clark would try to go home on the play, but was take out at the plate. Still it was a good piece of work for the game winning run. Despite a Denard Span double one out later, the Wings couldn't find the insurance marker, but the Rochester bull pen did the trick.
Ricky Barnett picked up his 2nd win of the season, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 1 over 2 innings. Newly promoted closer Danny Graves picked up his first save at the Triple-A level, blanking the Bisons over the ninth inning.
Morales was 2-for-3 with a run, Buscher was 2-for-4 with a double.
The teams rematch on Sunday at 1:35 for a Mother's Day Special including a post game "Catch with Mom" in the outfield. The first 1,000 kids 14 & under also score a free baseball from Basch & Nicerson.
The Wings will be wearing pink jerseys to raise awareness for Breast Canter with the proceeds of a silent auction for the game worn apparel going to benefit the Pluta Cancer Center.
Boxscore
Log
Red Wings
Bisons
R-News
B-NewsBefore the game, former Miracle infielder Alexi Casilla was told that he was called up to the Minnesota Twins and pulled from the lineup. Chris Basak replaced him.
Fort Myers native Tommy Watkins came up slowly in his second inning at-bat after he legged out an infield hit and dove for first. He stayed in the field but was replaced by Howie Clark for his next at-bat in the fifth inning because he jammed his left thumb and couldn't hold a bat.
Boston 5 at Minnesota 2
Speaking of Minny, former Miracle Glen Perkins allowed 3 runs (earned) on 9 hits while striking out 3 over six inning, but still suffered the loss as the Twins fell, 5-2 to the Red Sox.
Carlos Gomez drew a walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 2nd that forced in a run. Justin Morneau would single into center in the bottom of the fifth to plate Matt Tolbert.
Inspired by Kevin Slowey's performance earlier in the week, Perkins would allow back-to-back home runs to Cocoa Crisp and Jed Lowrie in the top of the 7th inning before being replaced by Dennys Reyes. Perkins allowed a solo shot home run in the bottom of the 2nd to Kevin Youkillis as well.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
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Currently Listening
40 Oz. to Freedom
By Sublime
see relatedRock Cats rally falls short
New Britain 3 at New Hampshire 5
W: J. Pinto (2-0, 6.00); L: Y. Pino (1-2, 3.25); SV: Z. Dials (3)
HR: NBR: D. Winfree (8). NHM: T. Snider (3).Still without the services of Luke Hughes, the New Britain Rock Cats lost their 3rd straight, falling 5-3 to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Josh Kreuzer would be hit by a Yohan Pino pitch. He then stole second and moved to 3rd on Anthony Hatch's ground out. A double by Ryan Klosterman brought him over the plate, while second double, this one to Scott Campbell plated Klosterman for a an early 2 run New Hampshire lead.
David Winfree went yard in the top of the 4th to cut the lead in half. Back-to-back singles to Hatch and Klosterman paid dividends 2 outs later when Travis Snider put a fly ball over the right field wall to give the Fisher Cats 3 more runs.
With one out on the board in the top of the 9th, Toby Gardenhire singled to start the Rock Cats rally. Felix Molina followed him onto base with a grounder and Drew Butera's single to right loaded the bags. Steve Tolleson singled to drive in Gardenhire, and Molina scored on a Dustin Martin force out. But Brock Peterson would strike out swinging, cutting the comeback short.
Gardenhire was 2-for-4 with a run, while Molina was 2-for-3, also with a run.
Pino was charged with all five runs (earned) on six hits and 1 walk while striking out 2 in 5.0 innings to pick up his second loss of the season.
The two teams rematch tomorrow at 1:05 PM at A.J. Wideman takes to the mound for the home team for a Mother's Day matinée. The Rock Cats will counter with southpaw Ryan Mullins (2-2, 3.05).
bladesgal17
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- Name: Dianna
- Country: United States
- State: Florida
- Metro: Fort Myers
- Gender: Female
- Member Since: 3/25/2001
