The Twins had a full day of baseball on Friday, playing a day-night double header in Chicago against the White Sox. Fortunately, it was a day with a couple of exciting wins for Minnesota. Amazingly, each and every run scored by the Twins came off home runs, including several by players who spent a significant time in the Twins minor league system this year. Chris Colabello hit one in the first game. Chris Herrmann hit one in the second game. Last year’s minor league hitter of the year for the Twins, Oswaldo Arcia, hit one in each game. His 10^th inning homer in Game 2 gave the Twins the win. Of course, the two starters (Kyle Gibson and Liam Hendriks) spent most of their season in Rochester as well. Hendriks was optioned to Rochester following the game. He had been the Twins 26^th man on Friday, something they were able to do because of the double header.

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It was a big day for the Twins, and there was a lot going on throughout the minor league system too. A couple of top pitching prospects made appearances in the GCL on rehab today. Adam Walker is closing in on Miguel Sano and Chris Colabello atop the Twins organizational home run leaders. He’s also about to become the first member of the 100 RBI club. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Friday:

Rochester 2, Norfolk 11

Box Score

You know it’s not a good game when the highlight is that TWO position players had the chance to pitch for the Red Wings. Not only did they pitch, they threw THREE scoreless innings and didn’t give up a hit. Down 11-2 going into the bottom of the 6^th, Gene Glynn called on outfielder Jermaine Mitchell to pitch. The lefty from North Carolina – Greensboro, where he did some pitching, worked two scoreless innings. He gave up just one base runner, on a walk. After his two frames, he went out to right field, and right fielder Brian Dinkelman came to the mound. He pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and one of the outs was a strikeout of Alex Liddi on a fastball clocked at 88 mph.

So, that’s the good stuff. Unfortunately, Red Wings starter PJ Walters lasted just two innings and was charged with seven runs on nine hits and two walks. He struck out two. Luis Perdomo came on. He went the next 2.1 innings. He gave up four runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out just one. Edgar Ibarra came on and got the final two outs of that fifth inning.

The Red Wings bats managed just three hits in the game. Deibinson Romero did get on base with three walks.

New Britain 5, Akron 6

Box Score

It has been a rough season for righty BJ Hermsen. Following his time in big league spring training, he was hurt. When he came back, he struggled in the rotation and was sent to the bullpen. It’s strange because he was the clear choice for Twins minor league pitcher of the year in 2012, most of which he spent with the Rock Cats. He pitched I the Eastern League All Start game. He is getting another opportunity here late in the season to start. Tonight, he went 3.1 innings. He gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out just one. Ryan O’Rourke came on and gave up an unearned run on one hit and one walk over two innings. He struck out two. Daniel Turpen came on and struck out two over the next 1.2 innings. Blake Martin ended things with a scoreless inning.

Miguel Sano went 2-4 with his ninth double. Jordan Parraz was also 2-4. Nate Hanson went 1-1 with two walks. Eddie Rosario hit his 13^th double and walked. Danny Santana hit his eighth triple.

Ft. Myers 7, Charlotte 3

Box Score

Since Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario were promoted to New Britain, we have not read the name of Kennys Vargas as frequently in these Miracle game reports. In this game, he went 4-5 and drove in four of the Miracle runs. Matt Koch went 3-5 and hit his 19^th double, the team’s only extra base hit in the game. Levi Michael had a single and a walk, and he stole his 16^th and 17^th bases.

Taylor Rogers had another impressive start and improves to 10-5 with a 2.90 ERA. The lefty went 6.1 innings, and gave up just one run. He allowed four hits, walked three and struck out seven. He was replaced by Corey Williams who gave up two runs in the next 2.1 innings. He gave up four hits, hit two batters and struck two out. Tyler Jones came on with two outs in the 9^th and got a strikeout to record his fourth Miracle save.

Cedar Rapids 7, Beloit 4

Box Score

Just to think, this was a 3-2 game after six innings, but the Kernels offense exploded after that. Adam Walker was 2-5, including his 25^th home run. His two RBI give him 99 RBI on the season. Max Kepler was 2-4 with his sixth home run. Travis Harrison was 2-5, and his 27^th double gave the Kernels a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Joel Licon, Jeremias Pineda and Niko Goodrum each had two hits. Tyler Grimes went 1-2 with three walks.

Tim Shibuya made his first start of the season. He was limited to just 2.2 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out four. Mason Melotakis’s innings are being controlled with him in the bullpen. He came on and went the next 2.1 innings. He gave up just one hit and one walk, but no runs. He struck out two. Dallas Gallant struck out three over the next two innings. Brandon Bixler gave up two runs on three hits in his inning. Madison Boer came on for the ninth and got his fourth save. He struck out one.

Elizabethton 3, Johnson City 4

Box Score

Kuo Hua Lo made his first start of the season. He went four innings and gave up two runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out two. Luke Bard made his first E-Town appearance of the year. He gave up one run on one hit in one inning. Austin Malinowki gave up only a walk over two innings, but the runner scored and he gets charged with the loss. Ethan Mildren pitched a scoreless inning.

Logan Wade led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk. Zach Granite went 1-2 and walked.

GCL Twins 2, GCL Orioles 4

Box Score

It was a day of returns and rehabs in the GCL. Right-hander Alex Meyer made his first rehab appearance. He started and gave up one run on three hits and a walk. He struck out five. In the first inning, he struck out the first two batters. He gave up a two-out single before striking out the fourth batter. In the second inning, he struck out the first batter. Then he gave up two not-hard-hit singles. He struck out the fourth batter. However, after walking the next batter, he was removed from the game, having met his pitch count.

Meyer was replaced by Derek Penilla with the bases loaded. Penilla walked in Meyer’s run before getting a strikeout to end the inning. Penilla was then replaced by lefty-hander Pedro Hernandez who was making his first rehab appearance. The lefty struggled in his first inning. He gave up two runs on four hits, but those were the only runs he allowed in three total innings. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out two.

Following Hernandez, Kohl Stewart made his first appearance after cutting his foot on a shell in the ocean. The 2012 first-round pick threw two hitless, scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out two. Brandon Easton walked one in the eighth. Miguel Gonzalez struck out the side in the ninth.

Chad Christensen went 2-4 in the game with his sixth double. He was the lone player with more than one hit. Ivory Thomas, who debuted in the Twins organization after being their 34^th round pick this June, doubled in his first at bat for his first hit as a professional.

Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.