The big news of the day in Twins territory was the signing of free agent 1B/DH Kendrys Morales, but the Twins also shutout the Houston Astros at Target Field behind a strong start from Kyle Gibson. He improved to 5-5 on the year and lowered his ERA to under 4.00.

In the minors, one top pitching prospect matched Gibson’s performance while another made his 2014 debut. Let’s get to it:

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Gwinnett 2

Box score

Rochester jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning, and it would be just enough offense to give Alex Meyer his fourth victory of the season. Meyer worked six shutout frames allowing only four singles and a walk, while striking out eight. He retired twelve in a row at one point and his 75 strikeouts on the season now lead the International League in that category.

Ryan Pressly was the first to come on in relief, and after working a 1-2-3 seventh, lost his control a bit in the eighth. An infield single, passed ball, and two walks led to the end of his appearance. With the bases loaded, Aaron Thompson was summoned and limited the damage as best he could, allowing two of the inherited runners to score on a single before escaping with Rochester’s lead still intact. Michael Tonkin worked a perfect ninth inning to record his fourth save.

The Red Wings offense pounded out thirteen hits on the night, but were just 2-16 with runners in scoring position and left twelve men on base. Chris Colabello was 3-5 with a double, Eric Farris was 2-4 with a double, RBI, and run scored, and Eric Frying was 2-4 with an RBI. Despite the lack of clutch hitting, every starter in the Wings lineup recorded a hit on the evening.

ROCK CATS REVIEW

New Britain 6, Binghamton 4

Box score

Twins Daily’s #5 prospect, Eddie Rosario added to his solid 2-5 AA debut on Friday by going 3-5 in this one, including his first home run of the year, a two run blast in the fifth inning. Rosario started the game at second base, before moving to center field in the sixth inning. Three other New Britain hitters collected multiple hits, including Nate Hanson (2-4, RBI), Reynaldo Rodriguez (2-4, R, RBI), and Brad Boyer (3-4, 3B, 2 RBI).

Sam Fuld also began his rehab assignment with the Rock Cats, and went 1-3 with a double and a run scored before being pitch hit for in the fifth inning.

Pat Dean made the start for New Britain and went five innings. He gave up a solo home run in the second inning, and surrendered three additional runs in the fourth before New Britain came back for the win. Adrian Salcedo, Ryan O’Rourke, and Mark Hamburger combined to pitch four innings of shutout baseball to finish the game, allowing only one hit and two walks collectively. Hamburger struck out two in the ninth to record his first save of the year.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Lakeland 3, Fort Myers 4

Box score

Matt Tomshaw took the hill for the Miracle and pitched seven strong innings. He allowed only one earned run on five hits, with two base-on-balls and six strikeouts. He struck out the side in the third inning and the run scored on a sacrifice fly in the fourth. B.J. Hermsen came on to start the eighth inning, and promptly gave up a solo home run, a walk, and a single before being replaced by Brian Gilbert who escaped the jam. Tyler Jones gave up one run on two hits in the ninth, but recorded his seventh save.

The Fort Myers offense was led by Jorge Polanco and the surging Adam Brett Walker II. At the top of the order Polanco was 3-5 with a double and a run scored. Batting fifth, Walker was 2-4 and slugged his fourteenth home run of year, a two-run shot in the fifth inning that gave the Miracle a 4-1 lead. The two RBI for Walker gave him thirty-one in his past twenty-one games, and he now leads the Florida State League with fifty RBI on the year in addition to pacing the circuit in home runs.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 5

Box score

The story of this game was the 2014 debut of lefty Lewis Thorpe. Through three innings, he had allowed just three singles and kept the Cougars off the board, but that changed quickly in the fourth. A leadoff home run was followed by a single, hit batter, walk, and a sac fly to put the Kernels down 2-0. Thorpe also wasn’t able to get back on track in the fifth, as two walks, a wild pitch, and a single would end his night after 4.2 innings. Brandon Bixler entered the game with the bases loaded and walked the first batter he faced to score a run, and a two run single would follow. Hudson Boyd pitched two innings of scoreless ball to finish the game, walking two and striking out two.

The Kernels weren’t able to muster much offense in this one, and their only runs came in the eighth inning when a Chad Christensen double scored Ryan Walker and Engelb Vielma. Walker was 2-4 with a triple and walk on the night, and Jon Murphy was 2-4.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher – Alex Meyer, Rochester Red Wigns (6.0 IP, 4 H’s, 1 BB, 8 K’s)

Hitter – Eddie Rosario, New Britain Rock Cats (3-5, 2 R’s, HR, 2 RBI)

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Gwinnett – Logan Darnell (1-3, 2.58 ERA), 1:05PM CST

New Britain @ Binghamton – Taylor Rogers (5-4, 4.88 ERA), 12:05PM CST

Fort Myers @ Jupiter – TBD, 4:05PM CST

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County – Ethan Mildren (1-3, 4.76 ERA), 1:00PM CST