GAME CAPSULES - MAY 1-15, 2008

Thursday 5/15/08
WINGS COOLED BY COLUMBUS Francisco Liriano pitched eight innings and gave up three runs as the Rochester Red Wings were outdone by the Columbus Clippers, 3-1, on Thursday night at Frontier Field. The Wings' bats cooled off dramatically in the loss. In the previous three games, from May 12-14, the Red Wings had 16, 14 and 13 hits, respectively. Although it may have not been a hit parade, Brian Buscher got an important individual hit in the bottom of the first as he looped the ball into right field to score Jason Pridie. The run gave the Wings an early 1-0 lead. With the hit, Buscher extended his hitting streak to seven games. The Clippers quickly answered back in the top of the second with an one-out double down the rightfield line to score Ryan Langerhans, who was standing on first after a single. The run tied the game at 1. In the next inning, Columbus struck again. After Ed Rogers lined a single into center, he scored after advancing on a wild pitch by Liriano and a Yurendell de Caster single. On the play, de Caster rounded first and was caught in a run down. Whhile he was being chased, Rogers crossed the plate, giving the Clippers a 2-0 advantage. The Clippers played a little small ball in the fifth to tack on their final run when Javi Herrera singled a soft line drive to center to score Alex Escobar. Escobar advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Langerhans. The run put the score at 3-1. Clippers starter Steven Shell (2-1) shut down the Wings for the rest of the game as he earned his second win of the season. He pitched seven innings and only gave up five hits and struck out three. Chris Booker earned the save as he pitched two scoreless innings. Liriano (0-2) came out after the eighth inning. His finished allowing up three runs on seven hits, one walk and four strikeouts. Mariano Gomez came in to relieve Liriano to begin the ninth inning. He allowed a lead-off double to Escobar but made up for his mistake by diving to catch a bunt by Langerhans and doubled up Escobar's pinch runner, Pete Orr, to record two outs. He struckout Herrera two batters later to end the Clippers' half of the ninth.

Wednesday 5/14/08
SPAN GOES DEEP AGAIN, WINGS WIN Denard Span had three hits and scored four runs, hitting a home run for the third straight game as the Rochester Red Wings topped the Columbus Clippers 10-7 Wednesday afternoon at Frontier Field. In the first, Span started off with a line drive single to right field then stole second base. Span reached third on a sacrifice bunt by Jason Pridie. Howie Clark doubled while Span scored the first run of the game giving the Wings a 1-0 lead. Garrett Jones led off the bottom of the second with a double. Chris Basak hit a sacrifice bunt sending Jones to third. Basak was able to reach first on a throwing error by Clippers starting pitcher Tyler Clippard (2-4). Ryan Jorgensen grounded out while Basak reached second and Jones scored for the Red Wings. For his third consecutive game, Span hit a two-out home run bringing the score to 4-0. With only one out and the bases loaded in the top of the third, Alex Escobar came to bat hitting a line drive to second baseman Clark who was able to get the unassisted double play to end the inning. Clark made a spectacular catch, leaping high in the air to take away what would have been a run-scoring hit. Clark doubled in the third. Randy Ruiz hit a single to left field allowing Clark to score, extending the Wings' lead to 5-0. In the fifth, the Clippers were able to tie the game at 5-5 against starter Brian Duensing. David Wallace hit a two-run home run. The Clippers were able to score three more runs in the inning. Pitcher Carmen Cali (3-0) came in to relieve Duensing and struck out Larry Broadway to end the inning. Duensing pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing 9 hits and five runs (two earned).In the bottom of the inning, Clark led off with a single and Buscher walked. With one out, Jones came to bat and hit a double batting in Clark and Buscher, Rochester regaining the lead 7-5. In the sixth, David Wallace hit a double then scored off a single from Murphy cutting the lead to 7-6.With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Span hit a double and scored on a Pridie single extending the lead to 8-6. Julio DePaula came in to pitch during the top of the seventh. After hitting a double off DePaula in the eighth, Broadway scored on a wild pitch to pull the Clippers within a run at 8-7. With only one out, Tim Lahey came in during the eighth to replace DePaula and got a strikeout and groundout to end the Columbus threat. Rochester tacked on two more runs in the eighth, when Tommy Watkins led off with a single. Watkins went to second on Jorgensen's sacrifice bunt, and scored on an exciting play at the plate. Pridie singled, and Watkins rounded third and slid into home, tagging the plate with one hand to avoid the out. Span was intentionally walked, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Clark. Lahey, who struck out five in two innings Monday against Buffalo, picked up three more strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings and recorded his fifth save.

Tuesday 5/13/08
WINGS RALLY, FALL SHORT IN LOSS The Rochester Red Wings fought back from a five-run deficit, falling short in a 7-5 loss to the Columbus Clippers Tuesday night at Frontier Field. Brian Buscher had four hits and three RBI for the Wings. The two clubs continue the series with an 11:05 am game Wednesday. Columbus jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, scoring four unearned runs in the top of the first inning. Lead-off hitter Tommy Murphy reached on a Howie Clark error and took second on a balk by Rochester starter Kevin Mulvey. Pete Orr followed with a single and after a strike out of Yurendell de Caster, Ryan Langerhans doubled down the right field line to plate two. Langerhans swiped third and scored on a sacrifice fly to right. After a single and a walk Javi Herrera knocked in two more with a double to center. The Wings answered right back, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first. Lead-off hitter Denard Span scorched a home run over the centerfield wall, his second round tripper in as many games. The home run was the first that Clippers starter Collin Balester (4-2) has given up to a lefty in his International League career (167 AB). After a Jason Pridie groundout, Darnell McDonald ripped a double to center. He took third on an errant pick-off attempt by Balester and scored on a single by Buscher. Mulvey (2-5) settled down and retired six straight batters, and the Wings inched closer in the third - when Buscher crushed a 2-1 Balester pitch for a home run to right field, making it a 5-3 Columbus lead. Columbus had two runners on and two outs in the fourth when Heath Totten received the call from the bullpen to relieve Mulvey, who had already logged 69 pitches. The outing was Mulvey's shortest of the season. Totten walked de Caster to load the bases then caught Langerhans looking to end the threat. The Wings got within one in the fourth. Clark singled back up the middle to lead off the inning and scored on Chris Basak's double to the left-center field gap. Basak moved to third with one out on a Span sacrifice bunt but the Wings couldn't cash him in as Pridie went down swinging and McDonald was thrown out at first on a terrific play by Balester on a swinging bunt up the third base line. Columbus got a run back in the sixth off Ricky Barrett, who tossed two relief innings. Casey Daigle allowed a ninth inning run, the first earned run he's allowed in his last eight appearances. Rochester picked up another run in the ninth off Charlie Manning, when Span walked and scored on a two-out RBI single from Buscher. Manning recorded his fifth save.

Monday 5/12/08
WINGS PUT IT TOGETHER FOR SOLID WIN Darnell McDonald tripled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, as the Rochester Red Wings beat the Buffalo Bisons, 5-1, Monday night at Frontier Field. The Rochester offense pounded out 16 hits -- including three each from from Denard Span and Jose Morales -- while four Wings pitchers limited the Bisons to six hits. Span started the seventh with a drag bunt single. Jeff Harris struck out Jason Pridie, then McDonald clubbed the first pitch he saw from Harris off the centerfield wall to plate Span. Brian Buscher's fly ball to shallow left allowed McDonald to scramble home with another run; Span's first homer of the season in the eighth provided the final two runs for Rochester. Danny Graves made his first start of the year for Rochester in a spot start for the Wings. He threw three perfect innings to open the game. Graves allowed the first two runners to reach in the fourth on singles, but was able to escape trouble thanks to a terrific play by first baseman Randy Ruiz and a beautiful 5-4-3 double play. Graves threw 46 pitches in four innings (31 strikes) giving up two hits and striking out two. Chris Basak got the Wings on the scoreboard with a solo home run to left field to lead off the third inning. Span followed with a double to left and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Pridie, but was thrown out at the plate by Bisons first baseman Michael Aubrey on a groundball by McDonald. Graves and the Wings dodged trouble in the fourth, but the Bisons put two runners on again in the fifth inning. With runners on first and second, McDonald caught a long fly ball off the bat of Brad Snyder at the warning track and threw a strike to Howie Clark at second base to double up Andy Gonzalez, who was trying to tag from first. The Wings were almost able to escape without letting up a run, but Pridie couldn't hang on to a sinking liner off the bat of Bronson Sardinha and the Bisons knotted the game at one. Jose Morales hit a one-out triple to the left-center field gap in the bottom of sixth, but the Wings were unable to bring him home. Clark popped to second and Basak struck out swinging to end the inning. Mariano Gomez allowed one run in one inning pitched, and Julio DePaula tossed two scoreless relief innings. Tim Lahey pitched the final two innings and struck out five, pikcing up his fourth save.

Twins Minor League Baserunning/Infield Instructor and Baseball Hall of Famer Paul Molitor is in town to work with the Wings this week....INF Steve Tolleson was named Bank of America Eastern League Player of the Week Monday, going 9-for-23 (.391) with one double, one triple, two home runs, 10 RBI, six runs scored, four walks, two stolen bases and a .783 slugging percentage. Steve had at least one hit in each of the games he played in last week and drove in at least one run in five out of the six games, including a season-high four RBI in a 7-4 win at New Hampshire on Sunday... LHP Errol Simonitsch was promoted to New Britain from Class-A Ft. Myers Monday. He began the season on the Rock Cats disabled list before being transferred to Ft. Myers last week

Sunday 5/11/08
WINGS' OFFENSE STRUGGLES AGAIN IN LOSS TO BISONS The Rochester Red Wings scored first, but dropped a 4-2 contest to the Buffalo Bisons on Sunday afternoon at Frontier Field. Brian Buscher and Howie Clark drove in the runs for the Red Wings. Wings starter Philip Humber was coming off a solid outing on Tuesday against Columbus and had an effective first inning Sunday. Humber (1-4) retired the Bisons in order on three flyball outs, then watched his teammates stake him to an early lead Denard Span worked Bisons starter Matt Ginter to a full count before drawing a leadoff walk. After Ginter caught Jason Pridie on a called third strike, Darnell McDonald singled and Buscher followed with an RBI hit to make it 1-0 Rochester. The Bisons posted a pair of second inning runs against Humber, with one coming home on Ryan Mulhern's double - on a play where centerfielder Span dove attempting a catch, only to have the ball skip past him and roll toward the outfield wall. Rochester evened the score in their half of the second, on back-to-back doubles by Garrett Jones and Clark. A one-out walk to Michale Aubrey hurt Humber in the third inning, with Aubrey eventually scoring on an RBI single by Andy Gonzalez. Buffalo added another run off Humber in the fifth. Ginter (1-4) shut down the Rochester offense, working a total of six innings and allowing just one hit over his last four innings. Three relievers combined with Ginter to allow seven Rochester hits. Wings reliever Carmen Cali inherited a bases loaded, one out situation from Casey Daigle in the seventh inning, but escaped the jam with a strikeout and groundout to end the Buffalo threat. Julio DePaula pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the Wings. The Red Wings made a bid to tie the game against former Wing and current Bisons closer Rick Bauer in the ninth. With two outs Jones drilled his second double of the game and Clark worked Bauer for a walk to put the tying runs on base. But Bauer struck out pinchhitter Jose Morales to end the game, picking up his eighth save.

Saturday 5/10/08
WINGS STOP THE SKID Howie Clark's RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh inning helped the Rochester Red Wings edge the Buffalo Bisons, 3-2, on Saturday night at Frontier Field. The win snapped the season-high seven-game losing streak for the Wings. "I met with the guys before the game and told them to pay more attention to the details," Red Wings' manager Stan Cliburn said. "As tough as things were going for us, we needed a win like this." Randy Ruiz helped start that trend as he got the Red Wings (15-22) on the board with a laser beam solo home run in the second inning to left-center field. The Bisons, on the other hand, were held hitless by Wings starter Francisco Liriano until the fourth inning. But Buffalo's woes didn't last long. In the top of the fifth inning, Former Red Wing Jason Tyner dragged a bunt down the third base line. It was picked up by Liriano, but he overthrew Garrett Jones. Tyner advanced to second on the Red Wings 42nd error of the year and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. In the next at-bat, Wyatt Toregas doubled to left, scoring Tyner and knotting the score at 1. Toregas scored three batters later when Danny Sandoval drilled the ball back up the middle, giving the Bisons a 2-1 advantage. The Wings got right back into the game in the sixth inning when Ruiz hit a one-out sacrifice fly to deep right to score Darnell McDonald, tying the game at 2. Reliever Ricky Barrett came in to pitch the seventh in relief of Liriano. Liriano finished the game pitching six innings, allowed two runs on five hits and struck out five. "It was good to see him leaving the mound with a smile on his face," Cliburn said. "He's slowly starting to get a rhythm and showing that he's a true warrior out there." Rochester snatched the lead in the seventh when, after Jose Morales reached on a single, Clark hit a ball deep into right-center. After reaching third easily, Clark was thrown out at home giving the Wings their first out of the inning. The Morales run gave the Wings the 3-2 lead. After Rochester tacked on the run, the deal was sealed. Barrett ended up pitching two scoreless innings while only allowing one hit. In the ninth, Cliburn put in Danny Graves, who is the all-time saves leader for Cincinnati Reds (182). After he hit Aaron Herr with a pitch, Graves earned his first Red Wings save. "It was nice to see Graves as a part of our team," Cliburn said. "I see him coming in and showing some veteran leadership for this team." The two-time all-star will get another chance to show his stuff on Monday when he starts against the Bisons (16-20) in the final game of the series.

Friday 5/9/08
WINGS DROP SEVENTH STRAIGHT IN EXTRAS Not even home cooking helped the Rochester Red Wings as they lost their seventh game in a row, 4-3, to the Buffalo Bisons on Friday night at Frontier Field. Despite Garrett Jones' sacrifice fly that tied the game in the eighth, the Bisons came back to score in the top of the tenth. The worst part for Rochester may have been that former Red Wing Jason Tyner crossed the plate for what would become the winning run. With two outs already on the scoreboard, Tyner, who had singled to center in his at-bat, scored when Brad Snyder doubled to left field, making the score 4-3. With the loss, the Red Wings (14-22) extended their losing streak to seven games. It is the first seven-game losing streak for the team since they dropped the same amount from May 18-25, 2003. It didn't help that the Red Wings were facing the Indians' top prospect, according to Baseball America, RHP Adam Miller who started the game for the Bisons. He finished pitching five innings without allow a run and struck out four. At one point, Miller retired nine batters in a row, ranging from the second to fifth inning. The Red Wings countered with Brian Duensing, who held the Bisons (16-19) scoreless until the the third when something that has been plaguing Rochester all year happened: an error. To lead-off the inning, Josh Barfield hit ball towards Red Wings SS Chris Basak. His throw pulled Jones off first base, giving the Red Wings their IL-leading 41st error. After a sacrifice bunt and a Duensing wild pitch that put Barfield on third, he scored after DH Michael Aubrey drilled a Duensing offering down the third base line, giving the Bisons a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Red Wings, the Barfield-Aubrey tandem wasn't finished. Two innings later, in the fifth, Barfield tripled into centerfield with a ball that knuckled away from Darnell McDonald. Two batters later, Aubrey singled into center to bring him home. The Bisons tacked on to their tally as Aubrey added a run to his resume for the night. He doubled off the right field wall and then scored after the next batter, Aaron Herr, hit a single into left. The Aubrey run made the score, 3-0. The Rochester bats finally woke up in the eighth inning when three Red Wings touched home to knot the score at 3. Alexi Casilla reached on an infield single and was scored two batters later when McDonald hit a single into center. Jason Pridie reached on a throwing error and scored when Randy Ruiz raked a ball into right. McDonald scored the tying run when Jones hit a sac fly to center. It ended up being all for naught when, in the top of the tenth, Tyner scored the winning run off the Snyder double. Duensing finished pitching six innings, allowed seven hits and gave up one earned run. Mariano Gomez, Julio DePaula and Tim Lahey all pitched in relief for the Wings. Lahey (1-2) took the loss after allowing one run in the two innings he pitched. Bisons closer Rick Bauer earned his seventh save of the season with one scoreless inning.

RHP Danny Graves will be promoted to Rochester from Double-A New Britain on Saturday. Graves is 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA in seven games for the Rock Cats. Graves will take the roster spot of LHP Glen Perkins who will be promoted to the Minnesota on Saturday and start for the Twins vs. Boston. It will be Perkins' first Major League start..Double-A New Britain had their nine-game winning streak snapped Thursday, losing to Bowie 9-7.

Thursday 5/8/08
WINGS LIMP HOME FROM BUMMER ROADTRIP The Rochester Red Wings were swept in a doubleheader Thursday in Columbus, losing 5-1 and 6-4. Jose Morales had two hits and two RBI, including a home run, in the second game. The Wings head home from an eight-day roadtrip with a six-game losing streak, and will look to turn things around with eight games at home beginning Friday night.

The Red Wings offense has struggled during this six-game losing streak batting .237 (44-for-186) as a team... Denard Span entered play Thursday in a four-way tie for first in the International League with 11 stolen bases, including eight stolen bases in a row without being thrown out....Double-A New Britain had their nine-game winning streak snapped Thursday, losing to Bowie 9-7.

Monday 5/5/08
The Rochester Red Wings dropped their fourth straight game with a 3-1 decision at Columbus Tuesday. Denard Span and Jose Morales had three hits each for the Wings. One night after the Red Wings bullpen blew a late lead, Columbus almost returned the favor as the Red Wings loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth inning, but Morales was thrown out at home on a wild pitch and Randy Ruiz struck out swinging to end the game and send the Red Wings to their sixth loss in the last seven games. Columbus scored one run in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and were backed by a solid pitching performance by right-hander Garrett Mock. Mock pitched six innings, giving up six hits, one run, no walks and struck out five to earn his second victory of the season. Rochester (14-19) struck first in the third inning with a leadoff double by Chris Basak, who stole third base and scored on a one-out single up the middle by Span. Rochester starter Philip Humber escaped trouble in the first and third innings as he stranded runners at second and third each time. But he couldn't escape damage in the fourth. The right-hander gave up consecutive singles to Alex Escobar and Larry Broadway. Javi Herrera's one-out single scored Escobar to tie the game 1-1. Humber left after four innings, in which he threw 78 pitches. He allowed five hits, one earned run while issuing two walks and striking out six in his first start since a loss to Lehigh Valley on April 25. In the fifth inning, Ryan Langerhans singled and reached second on a fielding error by Span. Langerhans scored on a double by Escobar for a 2-1 Columbus lead. Basak and Alexi Casilla reached in the fifth inning but Jason Pridie struck out, stranding them at second and third. Rochester pounded out 10 hits, but was often unable to drive home runners in scoring position. Columbus (18-15) tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Ray Olmedo hit a one-out, solo home run off Ricky Barrett for a 3-1 Columbus lead. Relievers Bobby Brownlie and Chris Schroder combined to pitch three innings of scoreless relief despite a scoring threat by the Red Wings in the ninth inning, when Morales and pinch hitter Brian Buscher singled and Basak drew a one-out walk to load the bases. Basak finished 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Span also stole two bases to give him 11 for the season.

TwinsBaseball.com reported Tuesday night that the Twins will place RHP Scott Baker on the disabled list Wednesday, and call up Wings LHP Glen Perkins to pitch on Saturday. Baker's DL move will allow Kevin Slowey to be activated; Minnesota will need to make a move to open up a spot for Perkins by Saturday....Several Wings players met Cal Ripken, Jr., who was at the game Tuesday night....The Red Wings are off to a 14-19 start despite outscoring their opponents 129-127. ..Double-A New Britain Rock Cats INF Luke Hughes had two more hits Tuesday, extending his hitting streak to 15 games. Hughes was named the Eastern League's Player of the Month for April; Hughes is the first New Britain player to be honored as POTM since Jason Kubel in 2004... New Britain won their eighth straight game Tuesday, beating Bowie 5-3. ... Minor League Baseball got off to a good start in a bid to break its all-time attendance record for the fifth consecutive season.  The average crowd per playing date, through April, is up slightly from the 2007 total when the Minor Leagues drew 42,812,812 fans.  The International League, which went over the one million mark in attendance in April for the first time ever, had the largest increase among the domestic leagues. Its average crowd of 5,699 was an increase of 425 fans (8 percent). The total was bolstered by a new franchise. The Lehigh Valley IronPigs, relocated from Ottawa, ranked second in the league with an average crowd of 7,164 for 12 playing dates.

Monday 5/5/08
D-MAC STAYS HOT, BUT WINGS LOSE LATE Darnell McDonald capped a two-day span of honors with a three-run homer to put the Red Wings on top early, but a six-run eighth inning rally gave the Columbus Clippers a stunning 7-6 win over Rochester Monday night. McDonald was named Twins Minor League Player of the Week, International League Batter of the week and MiLB.com IL Player of the Week for his torrid pace last week. He got this week off to a great start, knocking in Denard Span in the first inning and then scoring on Howie Clark's RBI single for a 2-0 Rochester lead against Clippers starter Steven Shell. McDonald took over the league lead in batting average, boosting his season average to .362. Columbus notched a run in their half of the first against Francisco Liriano, combining a walk, stolen base, wild pitch and RBI single from Pete Orr. Liriano worked five innings and allowed just two hits and the one run, while walking four and striking out four. McDonald clubbed his fourth homer of the season off Shell in the third inning, bringing Span and Jason Pridie home with him for a 5-0 Rochester lead. Chris Basak's solo homer in the seventh made it a 6-1 game. Mariano Gomez added two scoreless innings but Columbus picked up three eighth inning runs against Gomez and Tim Lahey, bringing the Clippers to within two runs at 6-4. That's when Larry Broadway clubbed a Lahey pitch off the scoreboard in right field to put the Clippers ahead 7-6. Chris Booker worked the ninth for Columbus, but when he walked Span with a runner on and two outs, Columbus called on left-hander Charlie Manning to pitch to the left-handed hitting Pridie. Manning got a fly ball out from Pridie to end the game.

On Monday McDonald was named the International League Batter-of-the-Week for the week of April 28-May 4. McDonald batted .448 (13-for-29) with four doubles, one triple, two home runs and 14 RBI in seven games this week. He's the first Red Wings player honored by the IL this season, and first Rochester player to win Batterof-the-Week since catcher Jose Morales April 23-30, 2007. McDonald was also named the MiLB.com International League Player of the Week.....Prior to Monday's blwon lead, the bullpen had been tremendous the last 24 games, going 7-2 with eight saves and a 1.98 ERA. In 86.1 innings of work, the relievers had allowed just 19 earned runs on 65 hits while striking out 76...With a first inning single Monday night, Double-A New Britain Rock Cats INF Luke Hughes extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Hughes' .385 batting average leads the Eastern League.

Sunday 5/4/08
HENS WIN AGAIN (MudHens.com/RedWingsBaseball.com) -The Toledo Mud Hens exploded out of the gate by putting up 6 runs against the Red Wings in the first inning Sunday, in a 8-4 win over Rochester. Wings starter Brian Duensing (2-4) did not allow any other runs in his 5 2/3 innings of work. Darnell McDonald continued his hot hitting with a pair of hits and a run batted in. Toledo loaded the bases with one out, bringing Brent Clevlen to the plate. He hit a bases clearing double to give the Hens a quick 3-0 lead. The inning was capped off by Matt Joyce, Erick Almonte, and Nick Trzesniak each hitting RBI singles. Duensing settled down after the first and did not give up any more runs to the Hens, allowing time for the Red Wings to build a come back. Eddie Bonine was perfect through the first four innings of the game, until Garrett Jones hit a solo home run over the left field fence in the fifth inning. The Red Wings would tack on three more runs in the sixth, bringing the score to 6-4. Ryan Jorgensen hit his first homer of the season for the Wings. The Hens added on one more run in the bottom of the seventh after Jeff Larish’s RBI single and one final run in the eighth after Trzesniak’s third RBI of the day. Bonine (6-0) earned his sixth win in as many starts, making him the IL leader in wins and Blaine Neal earned his eleventh save, keeping him in the top spot in the IL save category. The Mud Hens move to 20-10 on the year, their best start in the last 15 years. Julio DePaula, Carmen Cali and Casey Daigle also pitched for the Wings. Alexi Casilla had three of Rochester's eight hits.

McDonald is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for April 26-May 2...McDonald, 29, went 13-for-30 (.433) with four doubles, two home runs and 15 rbi...he scored 10 runs and had a .900 slugging percentage in seven games...McDonald was acquired in a trade with Washington on June 24, 2007....Minnesota trailed 6-0 after one inning, but rallied to win 7-6 Sunday against Detroit. The six run deficit overcome by the Twins ties the second-largest in their history, done 13 times previously (last time July 15, 2002 vs. Ana. when they trailed 7-1 in the game and went on to win 10-8.... Double-A New Britain won their sixth straight game, scoring two in the bottom of the ninth to beat New Hampshire 6-5 Sunday afternoon.OF Dustin Martin's two-out, bases loaded hit brought in the winning run; reliever RHP Danny Graves (2-0) got the win. INF Luke Hughes singled to extend his hitting streak to 13 games...Class A Ft. Myers lost 6-4 to Daytona Sunday afternoon, snapping a 10-game home winning streak... Francisco Liriano will follow Kevin Slowey on the mound Monday night. It should be the final rehab start for Slowey, who has been named as the Twins probable starter for Thursday in place of Scott Baker (strained groin). Baker will have an MRI Monday to determine the severity of the injury. If Baker is not placed on the DL, Minnesota will need to make a player move before activating Slowey for Thursday.

Saturday 5/3/08
MUDHENS BLANKS WINGS (MudHens.com/RedWingsBaseball.com) - Chris Lambert struck out six in 5 2/3 innings, combining with two relievers to blank the Red Wings 4-0 Saturday night. The Red Wings managed just four hits, including one by Darnell McDonald - who is now batting .424 in his last eight games. McDonald singled and stole second base in the first inning, making him the only Rochester batter to reach second base in the game. The Hens picked up single runs in four different innings, tagging Kevin Mulvey for all four runs and the losing decision. Ricky Barrett, Philip Humber and Heath Totten each pitched a scoreless inning of relief, with Barrett striking out two.

Friday 5/2/08
WINGS TOP WILLIS, MUDHENS (MudHens.com/RedWingsBaseball.com) - Detroit Tigers pitcher Dontrelle Willis made a rehab start for the Toledo Mud Hens Friday night, but the Red Wings picked up a pair of runs off Willis on the way to a 6-4 win over the Mud Hens. Darnell McDonald was the offensive star for the Wings, with a homer and five RBI. Denard Span had two hits and three steals for Rochester. Willis went his scheduled 75 pitches, giving up 2 earned runs on four hits. His control was good, throwing only 21 balls to his 51 strikes. Willis struck out four and did not walk a batter. RHP Jeremy Johnson came in to replace Willis in the fifth inning and gave up a three-run home run to McDonald, pushing the score to 5-0 in the Red Wings’ favor. The Hens’ offense was dormant throughout the beginning of the game. They were held hitless by Glen Perkins and were sent down in order through the first four innings. The bats began to heat up in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth inning the Hens’ put up one run on Dane Sardinha’s double. The sixth inning brought about Mike Hessman’s 10th home run and Erick Almonte’s RBI double, moving the score to 5-3, still in favor of the Red Wings. The Hens were not able to overcome Perkins’ 101-pitch outing. He only gave up three runs, two of which were earned, on two hits. Perkins walked four Hens but also struck out four. He now moves to 2-1 on the season. Tim Lahey earned his third save as he pitched two innings to close the game.

Thursday 5/1/08
HENS HAND SLOWEY A LOSS (MudHens.com/RedWingsBaseball.com) - Kevin Slowey struck out nine in a rehab start for the Red Wings, but Toledo's relentless offense provided enough runs in a 5-1 win over Rochester Thursday night. Toledo starter Yorman Bazardo (1-0) set the pace while retiring the first nine batters he faced. His counterpart, Slowey (0-1), attacked the strike zone but the Hens took advantage with two early homers. Despite striking out seven batters in his first three innings, Slowey's two mistakes made him the losing pitcher in his first major league rehab start. In the first and second innings, Mike Hessman and Brent Clevlen hit towering solo-shots to put the Hens up 2-0. Slowey finished the outing giving up only those two runs in five innings with nine strikeouts. Toledo increased their league-leading home run total to 41. Bazardo picked up his first win of the season. He finished with five strong innings of his own, but allowed only one lone run, departing with a 2-1 lead. The Hens added three runs in the eighth thanks to Clevlen's 2-run triple. Preserving the lead, Casey Fossum was brilliant and shut the door pitching 3.1 scoreless innings of relief before closer Blaine Neal stepped in and earned the save (10th), stopping the two on, one out ninth inning rally. The Wings scored their run on a double play in the fourth inning. Darnell McDonald had two of Rochester's four hits. Casey Daigle, Carmen Cali and Philip Humber also pitched for Rochester.