Twins Territory

[gcltwins]

Former Miracle stars beat odds

Promotions to Twins make for sweet life

By David Dorsey
Fort Myers News Press

ST. PETERSBURG — The visitor’s clubhouse at Tropicana Field has two card tables and six leather couches facing a bank of four wide-screen televisions. In the middle sits a countertop filled with assorted candy. Hershey Kisses, M&Ms, red licorice, you name it.

Life has turned pretty sweet for Minnesota Twins infielder Alexi Casilla and pitcher Matt Garza, who began the 2006 season with few such luxuries as members of the Class A Fort Myers Miracle of the Florida State League.

Casilla, Garza and the Twins faced the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last week.

“I think they both have a long way to go to get to the big leagues,” Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire joked. “They’re two very talented men. At the end of the year, you don’t expect to have two guys who started the year in A-ball.”

That’s because over the past 15 years, it has only happened one other time for the Twins. Current Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz pulled the feat in 1997, when he went from Class A Fort Myers to Double-A, Triple-A and then the majors.

“Wow,” Casilla said, who had not known that fact.

“That makes me feel pretty good.”

Garza joined the Twins on Aug. 5. He has a 1-4 record and a 6.23 ERA in six starts.

“It really hit me when we got on the plane in Minnesota,” said Garza, who was used to traveling by charter bus, not plane, in the FSL. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is ours? We get on this? We don’t have to go through security? Or metal detectors?’

“It’s been a blast. I’m having a good time, and I get to play.”

Casilla earned a call-up from Double-A New Britain, Conn., on Sept. 1 and went 0-for-1, with two walks, in his first four games with the Twins.

“I was just hoping to get to Double-A,” Casilla said of his expectations before his season began with the Miracle. “I wasn’t expecting to be here. It’s so different. The speed of the game is so different.”

Casilla, 22, can add to that game’s speed. With the Miracle, he stole 31 bases to go with his .334 batting average. He stole 19 more bases in Double-A.

“He’s got lightning speed,” Gardenhire said. “He’s got a good arm, good hands. But he is a young player. It’s fun to see that talent run around.”

Casilla has been learning from Twins veteran second baseman Luis Castillo, who turns 31 today.

“Wherever he goes, I go,” Castillo said.

Although Garza, 22, has had mixed results so far, Gardenhire said that he shows promise as a prospect.

“He has great stuff,” Gardenhire said. “Great command. A good head on his shoulders.”

Said Garza: “It’s been a roller coaster. Things just went my way. I’m just trying to ride that wave.”

Originally posted on September 12, 2006

[gcltwins]

Snappers end playoff run

By Matthew Hager
Daily News staff writer

Kane County's 15-3 win takes series in 2 games

GENEVA, Ill. - The 25th season of professional baseball in Beloit ended in resounding fashion Sunday evening at Elfstrom Stadium.

The Beloit Snappers were swept by Kane County in a best-of-three Midwest League Western Division final with a 15-3 loss Sunday night. Both games against the Cougars this weekend were lopsided. Nonetheless, Beloit's first-year manager Jeff Smith had nothing but good things to say about his team following the end of the 2006 season.

“I told these guys that they can't do anything but hold their heads as high as they can, walking out of a season like this,” Smith said. “I can't be more proud of these guys. Granted, with what the score was and what the situation was, these guys fought hard all season. These guys battled all the way to the end and gave everything they could.”

The Snappers simply did not have enough offense against the Cougars. Beloit managed only three runs in each game, and the Snappers' bullpen gave up a total of 15 runs in the two-game sweep.

A rough sixth inning Sunday marred what otherwise was a solid start by left-hander Ryan Mullins. The Nashville-native allowed two first-inning runs and then settled down into a rhythm, allowing only one more run before getting into trouble in the sixth. A catcher's interference call turned what would have been a double play into a two-on, no-out situation in that frame, and the Cougars took full advantage by eventually scoring three times and chasing Mullins from the mound.

“The key for that whole inning was that catcher's interference,” said Smith of the play off the bat of Kane County's Jose Pineda. “That was really tough.”

Mullins went 5 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and five runs. He struck out five and walked three. The bullpen did him no favors, with the four pitchers after Mullins allowing 10 runs on eight hits. The Cougars scored nine of those runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

“The whole season our starting pitching has performed well,” Smith said. “Mullins pitched his (butt) off. He pitched great. He gave us everything he could tonight.”

The Snappers got on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning. Eli Tintor and Jose Leger led off the inning with back-to-back singles, and a Kane County fielding error and a wild pitch allowed both runs to score.

Beloit, which lost 8-3 in the series opener Saturday at Pohlman Field, took its first and only lead of the series in the fourth inning. Leger hit a lead-off double, and a single by Juan Portes brought the catcher home to make it 3-2.

The lead did not last long, however. A wild pitch by Mullins in the next half inning allowed a run to score from third with two outs.

In Saturday's series opener at Pohlman Field, the Snappers' offensive struggles continued in a lopsided loss. Kane County right-hander Trey Shields pitched six innings of two-hit baseball with a season-high seven strikeouts. The Snappers trailed by as much as 8-0 before Edward Ovalle snapped the shutout attempt with an RBI double in the eighth inning. Beloit scored twice in the eighth and once more in the ninth.

Smith had three 18-year olds in his starting lineup Sunday - a lineup that has gone through a lot of turnover due to injuries and call-ups in the season half of the season. One might wonder what might have happened if players like MWL batting champion Erik Lis had remained healthy.

But Smith is not one of them.

“We just tried to stress that those things didn't hurt our team,” he said. “But I tell you what, these guys in here are going to walk out of this year proud and they'll be better ballplayers next year.

“We're extremely proud of these boys.”

In the Eastern Division the league's best regular season team advanced to the MWL Championship series in another sweep. The West Michigan Whitecaps, who went a 89-48 overall this season and finished first in the Eastern Division in both halves, swept the Lansing Lugnuts. The Whitecaps won game one in Lansing, 9-3, and went on to complete the sweep with an 8-2 win Sunday in Comstock Park, Mich.

Kane County and West Michigan split its eight-game regular season series.

Smith did not say who he felt would win the title, but he did give quick and unbiased scouting report.

Said the Beloit manager: “Obviously West Michigan has way, way better pitching than Kane County does, no question about it. Both teams are older teams. Both have older guys. I think Kane County has a little more power in their lineup. I think it'll be a good series.”

Staying cool: The game got a little heated in the nine-run bottom of the eighth when Beloit reliever Frank Mata threw a pitch that nearly hit Kane County's Chad Boyd, who stared down the Snapper after the pitch. No altercation happened from it, as home plate umpire Jon Byrne warned both dugouts after the pitch. Mata also was removed from the game after the next pitch went to the backstop.

No rest for the weary: Smith will take a short break now that the season is over - a very short break. The former catcher said he will begin managing in instructional baseball in eight days. Two of those days will be driving from Beloit to his home in Naples, Fla.

“I'll be getting home, then getting right back into things,” Smith said.

Posted: Monday, Sep 11, 2006 - 12:02:39 pm CDT

[gcltwins]

Red Wings well aware of Toledo's power

Sluggers lead Mud Hens into the Governors' Cup final

Jim Mandelaro
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

In recent years, the Toledo Mud Hens have become synonymous with Jamie Farr, the Toledo native who played Klinger on the hit TV show M*A*S*H.

But the 2006 Mud Hens are more Smash unit than M*A*S*H unit. They led the International League with 152 home runs — a whopping 68 more than Rochester — and had three of the IL's top four home-run leaders.

"They're so physically strong," Red Wings manager Stan Cliburn says. "It looks like you're playing the Green Bay Packers."

Well, the Packers invade Frontier Field tonight at 7:05 for Game 1 of the best-of-five Governors' Cup finals against an upstart Red Wings team that prides itself on pitching over power.

Toledo is the defending IL champion and won the IL West last week in a one-game playoff with Indianapolis. The Mud Hens were blanked by Church-ville-Chili graduate Tim Redding and the Charlotte Knights in Game 1 of their playoff series, then used the long ball to swat the Knights into the offseason.

Durham's Kevin Witt led the IL with 36 homers en route to MVP honors, but he was followed by a Murderers' Row of Mud Hens: Outfielder Ryan Ludwick hit 28, while infielders Josh Phelps and Mike Hessman slammed 24.

The Mud Hens don't play favorites. In Game 3 against the Knights, they hit four homers off IL Pitcher of the Year Heath Phillips. In Game 4 on Saturday night, David Espinosa hit a three-run shot in the 10th inning off Jeff Farnsworth.

"When we played them, I thought they were the most talented team in the league," Cliburn said. "They're going to be a very tough challenge for us."

The Wings' 84 homers was 55 fewer than last year's club hit. First baseman Garrett Jones had 21 of them, or 25 percent of the total.

Yet the Wings earned the IL's lone wild-card berth despite a major roster turnover caused by relentless callups to the Minnesota Twins, then dominated the IL North champion Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons — owners of the league's best record — 3 games to 1 in the semifinals.

Pitching is the name of the game in Rochester. The Wings let the IL's ERA title slip away to Scranton over the final two days of the regular season but still posted a formidable 3.31 ERA. The bullpen's earned-run average was 2.76 during the season.

Rochester's rotation has been ever-changing since the first week of the season, when starter Ryan Glynn quit the team to play in Japan. Scott Baker, Boof Bonser, Pat Neshek, Dennys Reyes and Matt Garza all pitched here and now work for the Twins. But right-hander Mike Smith came out of the bullpen and won 11 games. Former No. 1 draft pick Glen Perkins overcame a 4-11 mark at Double-A New Britain to toss six innings of one-hit ball in the clincher against Scranton last Saturday. And waiting in the wings is Kevin Slowey, the Twins' No. 2 pitching prospect (behind Garza), who is scheduled to start Game 2.

Toledo also led the IL in strikeouts with 1,194, and Hessman featured one of the more unusual batting lines you'll ever see: a .165 average, 24 homers and 49 RBI over 345 at-bats. Of his 57 hits, only 22 were singles.

Toledo, managed by former major leaguer Larry Parrish, had its way with the Wings this season by winning five of eight.

Two of Rochester's victories came in extra innings, no surprise given the Wings' incredible 17-3 mark in overtime.

The Mud Hens' rotation is led by Chad Durbin, who finished 11-8 and fifth in the IL in ERA at 3.11. He led the league with 149 strikeouts and is coming off a complete-game dominating performance against Charlotte.

Durbin won't start Game 1, however. Instead, Parrish will go with Colby Lewis (6-7, 3.96) against Smith (11-5, 3.88) in a matchup of right-handers.

For years, Toledo was a laughingstock in the IL.

The Mud Hens played at rundown Ned Skeldon Stadium, a former racetrack, and drew fewer fans than an Ashlee Simpson concert. They also made the playoffs just twice over a two-decade drought.

But along came beautiful Fifth Third Field in 2002, and with it a resurgence of Mud Hens baseball. The club has drawn more than 500,000 fans in each of its five seasons at the downtown park, including a franchise record 569,380 this year (an average of 8,134 per contest).

People may laugh at Jamie Farr as Klinger, but they no longer laugh at his favorite baseball team.

The Smash Unit sees to that.

Slowey activated

The Red Wings placed infielder Donaldo Mendez on the temporary inactive list on Monday and activated right-hander Kevin Slowey.

Mendez returned to his home in San Diego for personal reasons. Slowey, the Twins' No. 2 pitching prospect behind Matt Garza, will start Game 2 on Wednesday at Frontier Field. He'll face right-hander Chad Durbin, International League's strikeout leader with 149.

Slowey was the Twins' second-round draft in 2005. He went a combined 8-5 with a 1.88 ERA at Single-A Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain. He struck out 151 and walked 22.

Wings left-hander Glen Perkins, who tossed six innings of one-hit ball in Saturday's Game 4 series-clinching win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, will start Game 3 on Thursday in Toledo. The Mud Hens will go with right-hander Eulogio De La Cruz, who was promoted from Double-A Erie on Sept. 1, where he went 5-6 with a 3.43 ERA.

Game 1
Matchup: Rochester Red Wings vs. Toledo Mud Hens, top affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

When/where: 7:05 tonight at Frontier Field. Gates open at 6.

Radio: WHTK-AM (1280) with Josh Whetzel and Joe Altobelli.

Starting pitchers: Red Wings RHP Mike Smith (11-5, 3.88) vs. Mud Hens RHP Colby Lewis (6-7, 3.96).

At stake: The winner takes the lead in this best-of-five series.

Tickets: $10, $8.50 and $6 at Frontier box office, calling (585) 423-9464 or online at redwingsbaseball.com

Wings vs. Hens

Game 1: At Frontier Field, 7:05 tonight.
Game 2: At Frontier Field, 7:05 p.m. Wednesday.
Game 3: At Toledo, 7 p.m. Thursday.
Game 4 (if necessary): At Toledo, 7 p.m. Friday
Game 5 (if necessary): At Toledo, 7 p.m. Saturday.

September 12, 2006

[gcltwins]

Toledo 6 @ Rochester 3

Toledo leads series 1-0

W: L. Davis (1-0, 0.00); L: B. Kemp (0-1, 108.00); SV: L. Gardner (1)
HR: TOL: M. Hessman 2 (2).

E: Tiffee (1, fielding), Jones, G (1, fielding).

From Redwingsbaseball.com: Mike Hessman hit a pair of home runs, bringing the Toledo Mud Hens back from a three-run deficit to beat the Red Wings 6-3 Tuesday on a cold, rainy night at Frontier Field. Toledo leads the Governors Cup finals series 1-0; the second game of the best-of-five championship series is Wednesday night at Frontier Field. Mike Smith struck out 10 in seven innings, and Terry Tiffee had three hits for the Red Wings.

Red Wings starter Smith, facing the Hens for the first time this season, got three quick outs in each of the first two innings as the light rain present at game time increased steadily.

Toledo starter Colby Lewis struck out two in the first inning, but allowed the Wings to get on the board in the second. Garrett Jones, the top hitter in the playoffs so far, worked Lewis for a walk. Jones went to third on Tiffee's double into the left field corner, setting up Kevin West's RBI single and a 1-0 Rochester lead. The Wings were poised for more runs, but Dustan Mohr made a sliding catch in shallow center to take a hit away from Glenn Williams.

After Mohr struck out, Hessman singled to left and went to second base on a passed ball. But Smith fanned Brent Dlugach and David Espinosa to send play to the bottom of the third. Rookie catcher Jose Morales, one of three Triple-A rookies in the starting lineup for Rochester, punched a single to start the inning. One out later Tommy Watkins singled up the middle, setting up a run-scoring single by Jones for a 2-0 Red Wings lead.

The Mud Hens staged a two-out rally in the fourth, with a walk and a single putting runners at second and third. Catcher Mike Rabelo faced Smith with a chance to put the Hens on the board, but Smith got Rabelo to swing on a fastball high and away for the inning-ending strikeout - Smith's sixth of the game.

The rain continued in the fifth, and so did Smith's aggressive pitching. He caught Mohr looking on a breaking ball for a strikeout, but then Hessman lofted an infield fly that Tiffee dropped in the rain for an error. Dlugach walked to put runners at first and second, setting up the defensive play of the game. Ryan Raburn singled to center, and Toledo manager Larry Parrish didn't hesitate to wave Hessman around third and toward home. Wings centerfielder Andres Torres fielded the ball cleanly, then fired a one-hop bullet to Morales - who was barrelled over while tagging Hessman out, hanging onto the ball after a violent collision for a dramatic end to Toledo's at-bat.

The Wings made it 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth; Torres walked then stole second base, and scored from second on Quinton McCracken's run-scoring single. Smith fanned two more in the sixth, and opened the seventh by making Mohr the 10th strikeout victim of the night. But Toledo's league-leading power lineup finally got to Smith when Hessman - with 24 regular season home runs - homered to left field to pull the Hens to within two runs at 3-1. Nice defensive plays by Smith and Williams sent play into the bottom of the seventh, when Lance Davis came on in relief of Lewis.

Smith finished with 10 strikeouts while allowing four hits and a walk over seven innings, with Beau Kemp coming on to pitch the eigth. Kemp hit his first batter, Raburn, with a pitch, gave up a double to Ryan Ludwick, then uncorked a wild pitch to let Raburn score. Jack Hannahan followed with a single to tie the game at 3-3. When Kemp walked Rabelo, he was pulled in favor of Bobby Korecky. Korecky got a fly ball from Mohr for the second out, but Hessman lofted a two-strike, three-run homer high off the foul pole in left field to put the Hens up 6-3.

In the bottom of the ninth inning against closer Lee Gardner, the Wings put runners at first and second. Alex Romero hit a one-out single, and Morales walked to bring the tying run to the plate. But Torres flew out to center field and Watkins struck out swinging to seal the deal for Toledo.

NOTES: Thursday's Game Three in Toledo and Saturday's Game Five (if necessary) will be shown live on Time Warner Cable Channel 98...Friday's Game Four if necessary will be shown live on WB-16...For hotel and ticket information for fans making the trip to Toledo, call the Red Wings office at (585) 454-1001 and press zero, between 9 AM-5 PM...On Tuesday the Wings placed INF Donaldo Mendez on the temporary inactive list, and added rookie RHP Kevin Slowey to the roster ...Slowey will face RHP Chad Durbin in Game Two Wednesday...LHP Glen Perkins will take on RHP Eulogio De La Cruz in Game Three Thursday.

PLAYOFF PIECES: The Red Wings have faced the Toledo Mud Hens franchise just once in the Governors’ Cup playoffs. In 1980 the Red Wings played the Mud Hens in the IL divisional series and lost three games to one. Former Red Wings manager Dave Machemer (managed Rochester in 1999 to a 61-83 record) played for Toledo and batted .533 (8-for-15) with a double, two stolen bases, and three RBI in the series. Machemer went 3-for-4 with two RBI in the game four clincher....Rochester has struggled against Toledo since 2000: 20-36 record, including just a 3-13 record vs. the Mud Hens at Frontier Field since 2002....The Rochester Red Wings are the Minnesota Twins' sixth Triple-A team in a championship series since 1961. The 1980 Toledo Mud Hens, 1993 Portland Beavers, 1995 Salt Lake Buzz, 2000 Salt Lake Buzz, and 2002 Edmonton Trappers are the other Triple-A teams that have played in a Triple-A championship series as a Twins affiliate. The 2002 Edmonton Trappers became the first Twins Triple-A affiliate to win a championship (Pacific Coast League)....In 1995, Colorado Springs (Rockies) beat Salt Lake in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Five for the PCL title. Salt Lake was managed by Phil Roof; Quinton McCracken scored the game-winning run for Colorado Springs.

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[autosave36autohit7]

keep it up ROCHESTER

[gcltwins]

Toledo 1 @ Rochester 6

Series tied at 1 each.

W: K. Slowey (1-0, 1.17); L: C. Durbin (0-1, 10.38)
HR: TOL: D. Mohr (1). ROC: G. Jones (1), A. Torres (1).

E: Tiffee (1, fielding), Jones, G (1, fielding).

From Redwingsbaseball.com: Kevin Slowey struck out six in a stellar Triple-A debut, and Garrett Jones hit a key three-run home run to lead the Red Wings over the Toledo Mud Hens 6-1 Wednesday night at Frontier Field. The Governors Cup finals series is now tied at one game each; the best-of-five championship series moves to Toledo for Game Three Thursday night.

In a matchup of rookie vs. veteran, Rochester right-hander Slowey took the mound against 11-year pro Chad Durbin. Slowey's first pitch was a strike to Toledo's David Espinosa, but Espinosa then tagged a pitch over Andres Torres' head in center field for a double. Slowey brought a season total of 151 strikeouts and just 22 walks into the game, but allowed a base on balls to Ryan Ludwick; Slowey rebounded to strike out cleanup hitter Josh Phelps and get a fly ball out from Jack Hannahan to strand Espinosa at second base.

Durbin picked up a win against Rochester in his only start against the Wings in June, but quickly got into trouble Wednesday. Torres, who hit just two home runs during the regular season, led off the Wings' first with a home run to right field - the second lead-off homer of the series for Torres. Tommy Watkins reached on an infield single before Quinton McCracken hit into a double play; Durbin then walked Jones and hit Terry Tiffee with a pitch, but caught Kevin West looking for the third out of the inning.

Slowey settled down and got two strikeouts and a pop out in the second, but Dustan Mohr's two-out home run in the third tied the score at 1-1. The Wings countered with more power in the bottom of the third. Singles by Watkins and McCracken set the table for Jones, who launched an opposite field homer to left on a 1-0 pitch from Durbin. For Jones, it was his playoff-best 10th hit - tied with teammate McCracken - and the three RBI moved Jones ahead of Toledo's Mike Hessman with nine total RBI in the playoffs.

In the fifth, Jones helped Slowey out with a great defensive play to retire Espinosa. It was Jones' second outstanding defensive play in the past two innings. With a runner at second and two outs in the fifth, Slowey faced Mohr again, and Slowey got Mohr swinging for strikeout number five on the night.

Rochester added another run in the bottom of the fifth. Torres led off with a walk; with one out Torres took off and scored from first on a hit and run play, with McCracken lacing a double to left field to make it 5-1 Wings. Preston Larrison came on for Durbin and got a double play to end the inning. With one out in the sixth, Glenn Williams doubled for his second hit of the game. Larrison struck out Romero for the second out, and then Virgil Vazquez relieved Larrison. Jose Morales punched a single to score Williams and Rochester led 6-1.

Slowey got two quick outs in the eighth before Mohr singled; Slowey exited and Kevin Cameron relieved him, and Cameron got a fly ball out from Ludwick to end the eighth. Slowey finished with a worksheet of 7 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out six. Cameron faced four batters in the ninth, striking out Hessman and finishing the game with a grounder to first to secure the win.

NOTES: Slowey threw 33 pitches in the first inning alone, then threw just 72 more through the rest of his outing..Thursday's Game Three in Toledo will be shown live on Time Warner Cable Channel 98 at 7 PM. Friday's Game Four will be shown live on WB-16 at 7 PM...Saturday's Game Five (if necessary) will be shown live on Time Warner Cable Channel 98...Twins LHP Francisco Liriano left Wednesday's start against Oakland with an elbow injury. The Twins lost the game to Oakland 1-0....LHP Glen Perkins will take on RHP Eulogio De La Cruz in Game Three Thursday.

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[gcltwins]

Rochester 10 at Toledo 4

Rochester leads series, 2-1.

W: G. Perkins (1-0, 3.86); L: E. De La Cruz (0-1, 11.25)
HR: ROC: G. Jones (2), J. Morales (1). TOL: J. Phelps (1).

From Redwingsbaseball.com: Rookie left-hander Glen Perkins struck out 10, and the Rochester offense pounded out 17 hits off four different pitchers to pace the Red Wings' 10-4 win over the Toledo Mud Hens Thursday night, at Fifth Third Field in downtown Toledo. The Red Wings have taken a 2-1 lead in the series, with a chance to end the Governors Cup finals series with a win Friday night. Garrett Jones and Jose Morales hit homers for Rochester, and Glenn Williams drove in three runs to help the Wings move within one win of an 11th league title.

Rochester starter Perkins was making just his third Triple-A appearance, drawing Mud Hens rookie Eulogio De La Cruz as the opposing starter. De La Cruz allowed a one-out single to Tommy Watkins but fanned a pair in a scoreless first inning. Perkins walked leadoff batter Ryan Raburn, then struck out Jack Hannahan for the first out. With Ryan Ludwick at the plate, Wings catcher Morales threw out Raburn attempting to steal second base for the second out. But Ludwick singled and Josh Phelps followed with a long home run to left field for a 2-0 Toledo lead. It was Phelps' third homer of the playoffs, and Toledo's 14th homer as a team in eight games.

The Wings reached De La Cruz with a homer of their own in the third, from an unlikely power source. Morales launched a 3-2 pitch onto the pavilion over the right field fence to make it a 2-1 game. Morales had just three home run in 80 games at Double-A New Britain before his promotion before the start of the playoffs.

In the fourth, Rochester got a boost from their most likely power source: cleanup hitter Jones, leading all playoff batters with a .550 average and nine RBI plus a pair of home runs entering play Thursday. Jones drilled a first pitch fast ball from De La Cruz into the seats to tie the game 2-2; the Wings then went to work on De La Cruz. Terry Tiffee doubled to left, and Kevin West singled. Williams followed with a fielder's choice grounder that tied up second baseman Hannahan and allowed Tiffee to score the go-ahead run. Alex Romero drilled a double, and after De La Cruz struck out Morales, Andres Torres dropped a check-swing hit into left field that brought home both Williams and Romero for a 5-2 Rochester lead.

Perkins grew stronger with each inning, allowing just three singles and a walk between the second and sixth innings - while striking out seven straight batters at one point, bringing his total to nine after six innings.

Lance Davis replaced De La Cruz in the fifth and posted a scoreless inning, but Rochester added four more runs in the sixth against Davis and John Ennis. Tiffee and West again combined for consecutive hits, and Williams hit a two-run double to right to boost the Rochester lead to 7-2. Torres blooped a fly ball to center that Mohr couldn't handle after slipping and falling to the ground; Watkins followed with an RBI sacrifice fly, and Quinton McCracken doubled down the left field line to add another run for the Wings and make the score 9-2.

The Mud Hens picked up a run in the seventh off Perkins, who followed with a strikeout and line out to end the inning. Perkins allowed six hits and walked three in seven innings, finishing with 10 strikeouts for the game. Levale Speigner tossed a pair of relief innings, allowing two hits and a ninth inning run.

NOTES: Tiffee, Torres and Morales each had three hits; Watkins and West each had two hits...The 17 hits were the most hits in a playoff game since Sept. 4, 1982 in a 12-3 win at Richmond...The last Red Wings pitchers to strike out at least six straight batters: Mike Oquist, 1993; J.D. Durbin, 2004; and most recently Francisco Liriano, in a game at Pawtucket last August...The Minnesota Twins announced that the results of Liriano’s MRI scan from Wednesday were favorable. The scan shows no acute structural damage and no acute ligament damage. Liriano has started a rehabilitation program, with the goal being to have him ready for the start of the 2007 season...Toledo had a 125-39 record at Fifth Third Field in games when the Hens score first, including a 27-6 mark in 2006... Morales' RBI single in the sixth inning Wednesday in Rochester marked the first run the Toledo bullpen had allowed in the postseason. Mud Hens relievers had tossed 25 1/3 shutout playoff innings up to that point. In Thursday's contest, Rochester picked up five runs in five innings against Toledo relievers.

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[gcltwins]

Rochester 0 at Toledo 6

Series tied at 2 each.

W: B. Boehringer (1-0, 0.00); L: P. Munro (0-1, 7.20)
HR: TOL: M. Hessman (3), D. Mohr (2), D. Espinosa (1), J. Hannahan (1).

From Redwingsbaseball.com: The Toledo Mud Hens pounded out four homers to shut down the Red Wings 6-0 Friday night in Toledo. The Hens' win forces a deciding fifth game for the IL Governors Cup Saturday night in Toledo; the 7:00 PM game will be shown live on Time Warner Cable Channel 98. Terry Tiffee had two hits and a key walk for the Wings, who couldn't capitalize on several scoring opportunities. Saturday's game features Game One starter Mike Smith against lefty Corey Hamman of the Mud Hens.

Veteran starters Pete Munro and Brian Boehringer, who were teammates for a couple of weeks last season at Columbus, worked through their respective opposing lineups the first time around with few problems. Munro got help from a sparkling play in the first inning from shortstop Tommy Watkins, who took away a hit from Dustan Mohr. Watkins scooted to his right on Mohr's ball hit into the hole; Watkins slid to the ground, fielded the ball, got up and threw a strike to first to nab Mohr.

Boehringer gave up singles to Garrett Jones and Tiffee to open the Rochester second, but a quick double play erased the threat. In the third, Andres Torres tripled with two outs off the right field wall, but Watkins popped out to strand Torres. With one out in the bottom of the third, David Espinosa hit his second home run of the playoffs - and Toledo's 15th in nine games - to right field to give the Hens a 1-0 lead.

Tiffee added his second hit of the night, a two-out double off Boehringer in the fourth. Kevin West grounded to short for the third out, and then the Hens added another run when Jack Hannahan homered to right off Munro.

The Wings were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position after Alex Romero hit a one-out double in the fifth, and Jose Morales and Torres couldn't reach Boehringer for a run-scoring hit. The Toledo fifth was a snapshot of their "all or nothing" performance this season: Munro struck out the side, but also gave up a two-run blast to left by Mohr, the third Hens homer of the night. Toledo led 4-0 as play moved to the sixth.

An unusual playoff occurrence in the Rochester sixth, with home plate umpire Troy Fullwood ejecting Boehringer and Toledo coach Jeff Jones. With one out, the Wings got hits from Quinton McCracken and Jones, bringing up Tiffee. Tiffee fouled off five pitches during the at-bat, with the ninth pitch called ball four inside. Boehringer stormed toward home after the call, then returned to the mound and continued to verbally challenge Fullwood's call. Jones came out to join the discussion, and when he and Boehringer argued Fullwood after a warning, they were tossed from the game. Preston Larrison replaced Boehringer, and stepped into a bases loaded, one-out situation. When West lined out to second and Glenn Williams grounded to second, Larrison was out of the jam and the Rochester offense had failed to capitalize on another great scoring chance.

Beau Kemp relieved Munro to start the sixth, and after walking the first batter he faced, Kemp got a pair of strikeouts and a groundout. Kemp added another strikeout in the seventh. Bobby Korecky pitched the eighth, and yielded a two-out, two-run homer to Mike Hessman.

Larrison retired all six batters he faced, with Bobby Seay replacing Larrison with one out in the eighth inning. McCracken singled off Seay for his second hit of the game, but Seay retired Jones and Tiffee and Rochester remained scoreless. Hens closer Lee Gardner got the Wings in order in the ninth.

NOTES: The Cup finals will be decided by a fifth game for the first time since 2000.

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[gcltwins]

Rochester 1 at Toledo 10

Toledo wins series, 3-2.

Congratulations to the 2006 Governer Cup Champion Toledo Mud Hens

W: C. Hamman (1-0, 1.50); L: M. Smith (0-1, 7.00)
HR: TOL: M. Hessman (4), D. Mohr (3), D. Espinosa (2), J. Phelps (2).

E: Watkins (1, throw).

From Redwingsbaseball.com: The Toledo Mud Hens pounded out four home runs for the second straight game, beating the Red Wings 10-1 Saturday night in Toledo. The win gave the Mud Hens their second straight Governors Cup Championship. Andres Torres had three hits and scored the lone Rochester run. The game was played before a sellout crowd of 10,300.

The loss ended an up and down roller coaster of pride and exhilaration, disappointment and frustration for Red Wings fans the past two weeks during the playoffs. The club was in first place for much of the first half of the season, fell to second place while playing through key callups and injuries, then pulled it together to make an improbable playoff run that thrilled the team's fans.

The Red Wings, who were blanked 6-0 Friday while batting 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, had a leadoff single from Torres to open the game. Tommy Watkins popped up a bunt attempt, fielded by Toledo starting pitcher Corey Hamman for the first out. Quinton McCracken, who entered the game with a playoff-best 14 hits, grounded sharply into a double play.

Toledo chipped away at Wings starter Mike Smith in the first, getting three straight hits and a sacrifice fly after one out to take a 2-0 lead. The Hens got one of the best defensive plays of the series in the second inning, when Dustan Mohr made a leaping catch to rob Kevin West of an extra base hit with a runner on first.

Mike Hessman clubbed an 0-1 pitch from Smith over the wall in left in the bottom of the second, giving Toledo a 3-0 lead that brought pitching coach Stu Cliburn to the mound for a visit. But back-to-back homers by David Espinosa and Mohr made it a 6-0 game after just two innings. For Hessman, it was his fifth home run in 10 playoff games.

Rochester got a run back in the third inning, afer Torres hit a two-out double, and Watkins followed with a double on an 0-2 pitch from Hamman to make it 6-1 Toledo. Smith was pulled after two innings, his shortest outing of the season. Dave Gassner replaced Smith, and the Hens got a quick run back off Gassner to pull ahead 7-1.

More frustration for the Wings in the fourth, after Jones drew a leadoff walk and Tiffee ripped his second single of the night to start the inning. West worked Hamman for an eight-pitch at-bat, then grounded to shortstop Brent Dlugach. Dlugach flipped to second baseman Jack Hannahan for the force out, and Hannahan somehow got his throw off to first base despite being taken out of the play at second by Tiffee's hard slide. The throw to first nabbed West by a step to complete the double play. A two-run blast from Josh Phelps with two outs in the bottom of the fourth was the knockout punch to Rochester's title hopes and extended the Toledo lead to 9-1.

Lavale Speigner pitched three innings of one-hit relief for Rochester, striking out four. Toledo added an unearned run off Beau Kemp in the eighth inning for their final run.

NOTES: Tiffee also had three hits, and led all playoff batters with a total of 15 hits...Tiffee and LHP Glen Perkins were promoted to the Twins after the game...Minnesota General Manager Terry Ryan attended the game...Wings trainer Tony Leo will join the Minnesota Twins' big league staff for the remainder of the season...The Hens led the league with 152 home runs during the regular season, then added 22 home runs in 10 playoff games...Brian Barden hit a two-run homer in a five-run seventh inning as the Tucson Sidewinders completed a three-game sweep of the PCL Championship Series on Friday with a 6-3 victory over the Round Rock Express. Tucson, the top farm club of the Arizona Diamondbacks, will face Toledo Tuesday in the Bricktown Showdown Triple-A Championship Game in Oklahoma City.

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[autosave36autohit7]

UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

CHOKE!!!

[funkytownmn]

UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

CHOKE!!!

Considering they were out-manned, with a AA and A level catcher doing the playing, along with several others gone, and having to scrape up Quentin McCracken to help finish the season. I don't think it's a choke job at all.

Smith has been inconsistent a good chunk of the season. Several good outings, then a clunker.

No surprise that Perkins leapfrogged him fora spot on the team right now.

Tiffee hit over .400 for the playoffs, and hopefully can hit a little when called upon.

Would be nice for some clinching to come before the White Sox series so the bench can spell some of these guys for the playoffs.

[NYCTwin]

Jebus... Quentin McCracken?! I'd totally missed that. Is there any team he HASN'T played for?

I lived down in Durham for a while, about 3 blocks from the Bulls stadium, when he was playing with them. My roommates and I would go over there for the $4 bleacher seats and $2 beers about 3 nights a week. It was fun to yell "QUEUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEE!!!!" whenever he did anything.

The only downside with him is that he's... how do you say... not really good at baseball.

[funkytownmn]

Roch will complete their game Thursday afternoon: suspended at 2-2 after 11 innings, was raining when play stopped.

Roch had 4 hits, The Mayor, Tommy Watkins, 2-4/double/HR #1/2R/RBI, Oeltjen 1-3.

Gassner 5IP 3H/R/2BB/K/HR
Cummings 2IP 3H/R/K/HR
JMiller 2IP 3H/BB
Korecky IP H
Venafro IP


NB dropped an 8-5 contest, Plouffe 2-5/HR #1/2R/RBI, Guzman 1-5/HR #2/2R/2RBI, Winfree 2-5, Hughes 1-2/R.

Blackburn 4IP 5H/2R/BB/K
Powers 0-1 IP 3H/4R/HR
Sawtski 2IP 2H/R/BB/2K
Lahey IP H/R/BB/2K

FM won a pair 5-4 and 6-4.

Ovalle 2-3/HR #1R/2RBI, Tolleson, moved to SS (third already this year for FM) 1-2/2BB/ST #2 (2-4), Portes 2-4, Robbins/Tintor 1-3/R/RBI, Lis 1-3/R.

Mullins 5 1/3IP 8H/4R/BB/3K/3HR
Morlan 1-0 1 2/3IP K

In game 2, 3 in the sixth, one in the seventh wrapped up the sweep. Lis 2-4/double/R/3RBI, Portes 2-4/R/2RBI, Tolleson/White 3-4/2R, Moore 1-3/RBI.

Waldrop 4IP 7H/4R/BB/2K/HR
Mata 1-0 2IP 2H/2K
Ward IP Save #1

Beloit snowed out.