Gulf Coast Game Time

The Twins are 34-21, in first place in the GCL South, 5.5 games ahead of the Reds and Orioles.

Saturday, August 22

You really don't deserve to win when you make seven errors, and the Twins didn't, falling to the Rays 3-1.  The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the second on a single, an error, and a sacrifice fly.  The Twins did not get a hit until the third, and tied the score in the fourth on an Oswaldo Arcia home run.  Nick Freitas followed with a double, but the next eleven Twins batters went down.  A single, a balk, another single, and an error put the Rays ahead 2-1 in the eighth, and they got an insurance run in the ninth on a catcher's interference, a stolen base, and two errors.  The Twins got a one-out double in the ninth, but no more.  Arcia had two of the Twins' five hits.  Michael Tonkin pitched six innings, giving up an unearned run on four hits.  Oswaldo Sosa gave up an unearned run to take the loss.

Sunday

The Twins again only scored one run, and it again was not enough as they lost to the Orioles 5-1.  A hit batsman, two singles, and a ground out gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead in the first inning.  Another hit batsman, a double, and a single increased the lead to 4-0 after four.  The Twins had a couple of threats early, but did not get on the scoreboard until the fifth, when Hyeong-rok Choi doubled and Yangervis Solarte singled.  There was no more scoring until the eighth, when a pair of walks, a ground out, and a single gave the Orioles one more run.  The Twins got two two-out singles in the ninth, but that was it.  Hyeong-rok Choi and Oswaldo Arcia each had two hits.  B. J. Hermsen had a rare bad outing for the loss, giving up four runs on five hits in four innings.  Edison Alvarez pitched two shutout innings of relief.

Monday

Late-inning runs and the shutout pitching of Blayne Weller put the Twins back in the win column as they defeated the Reds 5-0.  The Reds put runners on second and third in the first and first and third in the second, both times with two out, but did not score.  These would be the only times the Reds got a runner to third base.  In the second, Nick Lockwood was hit by a pitch, In Kyun Kang and Jhonatan Arias each singled to load the bases, and a wild pitch gave the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The pitchers then took control, with eighteen men being retired at one point.  The Twins broke through with two in the seventh on a single by Kang, a double by Brian Bistagne, and a single by Hyeong-rok Choi.  In the eighth, Hyun-wook Choi walked, went to third on two wild pitches, and scored on a Lockwood single to make the score 4-0, and a ninth-inning homer by Oswaldo Arcia capped the game.  Arcia and Kang each had two hits for the Twins.  Weller pitched six shutout innings, giving up only three hits and striking out eight to get the win.  Zach See pitched two shutout innings, striking out three, and Jose Gonzalez pitched a scoreless ninth.

Tuesday

No team scored more than one run in an inning as the Twins defeated the Red Sox 5-4.  Each team scored in the first, with the Red Sox run coming on a single, a stolen base, and another single and the Twins scoring when Hyeong-rok Choi singled, stole second, and scored on Oswaldo Arcia's single.  The Twins went ahead 2-1 in the second on a Jairo Perez double and an RBI single by Matej Hejma.  The Red Sox tied it in the third on a single and a double, but the Twins took the lead back in the bottom of the third when Arcia walked, took second on a wild pitch, and scored on two fly outs.  The Red Sox tied it again at three in the fourth on a double, a single, and a passed ball.  The Twins got the lead again in the sixth when Hejma doubled, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Yangervis Solarte, but the Red Sox tied the score one more time on an error and two singles.  In the bottom of the eighth, Trayvone Johnson reached on an error, and an RBI double by Hyeong-rok Choi scored what turned out to be the winning run.  Perez, Hejma, and Hyeong-rok Choi each had two hits for the Twins.  Eliecer Cardenas pitched three innings in only his third start, giving up two runs on six hits.  Nelvin Fuentes pitched two scoreless innings of relief, with Andrei Lobanov getting the win.

Wednesday

Off Day

Thursday

A six-run eighth lifted the Twins over the Rays 8-2.  The Twins got the early lead, scoring once in the second when Jairo Perez doubled, went to third on a Nick Freitas single, and scored on an error.  In the third, Brian Bistagne tripled and scored on a Freitas single to make the score 2-0.  In the bottom of the third, the Rays tied the score with an error, a single, and a double.  The Twins missed some chances, twice putting two runners on base, before breaking the game open in the eighth.  The one-base hit did most of the damage for the Twins, as Freitas, Hyun-wook Choi, Jhonatan Arias, Nicholas Tindall, and Hyeong-rok Choi all singled to open the inning, Bistagne hit a sacrifice fly, Oswaldo Arcia doubled, Kennys Vargas singled, and Perez and Hyun-wook Choi walked.  When the smoke cleared, it was 8-2 and the game was decided.  Bistagne and Freitas each had three hits and Arcia, Tindall, and Hyun-wook Choi each had two.  Adrian Salcedo pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits.  Jay Rehacek pitched two shutout innings to get the win.  Raynard Doran pitched a scoreless ninth.

Friday

The Orioles again snapped a Twins' winning streak, as they won 5-1.  Two singles, a walk, and a double led to two third-inning runs and a 2-0 Orioles lead.  The Twins loaded the bases in the third, but did not score until the fourth, when Matej Hejma and Nick Lockwood singled and In Kyun Kang hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 2-1.  The Twins did not threaten again, and gave the Orioles the game in the eighth, as the Orioles got a walk, a catcher's interference, three consecutive hit batsmen, and another walk to make the score 5-1.  Daniel Santana and Hejma each had two hits.  B. J. Hermsen pitched only one inning, going unscored upon.  Michael Tonkin pitched four innings of relief in taking the loss.  Oswaldo Sosa and Jean Mijares each pitched a shutout inning of relief, and Leonardo Parra pitched 1.1 scoreless innings.

Saturday

In a game shortened to eight innings by rain, the Twins defeated the Reds 5-4.  The Twins jumped to an early 2-0 lead on singles by Yangervis Solarte, Oswaldo Arcia, Brian Bistagne, and Hyun-wook Choi.  They scored two more in the third when Kennys Vargas walked, Bistagne doubled, a wild pitch scored one, and a Hyun-wook Choi sacrifice fly scored another.  The Reds came back with two in the fourth on two singles and a triple, and tied the game in the fifth on a double, two walks, a hit batsman, and a sacrifice fly.  In the bottom of the fifth, Vargas walked again, took second on a wild pitch, went to third on an error, and scored on a double play to give the Twins a 5-4 lead.  There were only two baserunners after that, both by the Reds:  a one-out double in the seventh and a two-out single in the eighth.  Solarte and Bistagne each had two hits for the Twins.  Glen Perkins pitched a perfect first inning.  Blayne Weller pitched four innings to get the win, giving up four runs on four hits.  Jose Gonzalez pitched two shutout innings, and Edison Alvarez pitched a scoreless eighth to get the save.

Statistical notes:  The Twins are twelfth in the league in runs, sixth in doubles, tied for eighth in triples, and tied for sixth in home runs.  They are tenth in walks and tenth in stolen bases.  The Twins are tied for ninth OBP, tied for fourth in SLG, sixth in AVG, and fourth in OPS.

Twins pitchers are first in ERA, second in fewest hits allowed, tied for sixth in fewest home runs allowed, and tied for first in fewest walks allowed.  They are fifth in strikeouts and first in WHIP.

Daniel Santana is tied for third in triples (5).  B. J. Hermsen is tied for third in wins (6), fourth in ERA (1.35), tied for first in complete games (1), tied for first in shutouts (1), and first in WHIP (0.68).  Blayne Weller is tied for fifth in wins (5) and fifth in WHIP (0.95).  Adrian Salcedo is fifth in ERA (1.46), fourth in innings (61.2), and third in strikeouts (58).  Andrei Lobanov is tied for fourth in saves (7).  Michael Tonkin is second in strikeouts (60).  Kelvin Mota is tied for first in holds (4).

Notes:  Glen Perkins has been assigned to the GCL Twins on a rehab assignment.