Saturday Night

Hey ya'll! I'm sitting here watching the Twins/A's game and it is just flying by. Through 7 1/2 innings, the Twins offense has done nothing (except three singles) against Joe Blanton. Carlos Silva has done very well through seven innings as well, but no run support. But, the minor league games are complete, and below are the game summaries and some thoughts.

UPDATE - The Twins offense was blanked by Joe Blanton. Oakland 1, Twins 0. Luis Castillo had two singles, and Justin Morneau had one. The game was well under two hours (1 hour, 49 minutes). Carlos Silva was excellent and deserved better. He gave up one run on five hits and a walk. Ironically, the lone run he gave up came on a double play off the bat of Shannon Stewart. Silva threw just 101 pitches. Blanton only needed 108. I mean, there is really nothing more to say about the game. The offense was that bad!

Sunday, Johan Santana will head to the mound to face the A's Chad Gaudin. Gaudin was a guy I was high on about two years ago when I was sure it was just a matter of time before he was a key member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I have proof that I knew about him four years ago! In September 2006, I wrote an article called Rays of Hope. I may have been off in some cases, but I did mention a then-20 year old Gaudin. I said:

Gaudin soon went to Toronto before the A's picked him up. He's finally been given a real shot as a starter, and he is taking advantage! He is 5-1 with a 2.31 ERA this year. He has not allowed an earned run in his last two starts. So, it won't be an easy game for the team.

Here are the Twins updates from last night, including game reports of their minor league affiliates.

Saturday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Juan Portes, Ft. Myers Miracle
Saturday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Jesus Carnevales, Beloit Snappers

ROCHESTER REPORT

Saturday - Red Wings 4, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 9 – Jeremy Cummings started and gave up for runs (3 earned) on two hits and three walks in 3.1 innings. Jose Mijares came in and went 2.2 innings. He gave up four runs on six hits and a walk. Brian Bass gave up a run in his two innings. Alexi Casilla led the offense. He went 2-3 with two walks. Denard Span went 2-4.

NEW BRITAIN NEWS
Saturday - Rockcats 5, New Hampshire 8 – Kyle Waldrop threw his first really bad outing in this game. In 4.2 innings, he gave up five runs on nine hits. He walked three and struck out five to fall to 0-3 with the Rockcats. Danny Powers gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits in 3.1 innings. He struck out four. Jay Sawatski gave up a run on three hits and a walk in his inning. Trevor Plouffe led the offense going 2-5 with his fourth homer and two RBI. Brandon Roberts went 3-4. Garrett Guzman hit his fourth homer as well.

FT MYERS MEMOS
Saturday - Miracle 2, Jupiter 3 – Jay Rainville fell to 2-6, but he really has pitched better than that. In this game, he went seven innings and gave up three runs on five hits and four walks. He struck out five. Armando Gabino pitched a perfect inning. Juan Portes led the offense. He went 2-4 with his eighth double, second homer and two RBI. Steven Tolleson went 2-4 with his eighth stolen base. Dwayne White went 2-4 with his first triple.

BELOIT BITS
Saturday - Snappers 4, Peoria 6 – Last Wednesday, I named my Top Twins prospects, #31-40. #34 was Garrett Olson. I wrote, "Although he hasn't hit for much power yet this season, Olson has the size and skills necessary to develop into a power hitter at some point." Well, with his homer last night, he has hit three homers in the past four games. In this game he went 3-4 with his third homer. Danny Valencia hit his tenth homer in this game. Steve Singleton went 2-4 with his sixth double. Alex Burnett started on the mound. He gave up six runs on eight hits (including three homers). He walked one and struck out three. Jesus Carnevales went 1.2 perfect innings.

Do you have any further thoughts on any Twins prospects, minor leaguers, or these summaries? E-mail me, or also feel free to leave comments below.