As you will find out reading the rest of this report, I don’t have to say much more in this opening other than pitching was fantastic on this night throughout the Twins’ affiliates after the clunkers the MLB team put on display in their double-header.

They were 6-0 on the day (7-0 if I include the DSL), and you can check out all the standout pitching performances, including Stephen Gonsalves achieving “Ace” status by taking down his fifth Southern League opponent in the Birmingham (Red) Barons in dominating fashion, by reading on!

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 5, Syracuse 3

Box Score

Rochester took an early lead in the first inning, thanks to a solo home run from Daniel Palka, his seventh with the Red Wings and twenty-eighth of the season. After that, it was a pitcher’s duel until the seventh inning.

Red Wings starter Nick Greenwood went those first seven innings. Through the sixth, he had scattered just five hits in keeping the Chiefs off the board. Logan Schafer added a solo home run of his own in the top of the seventh for a 2-0 lead, but in the bottom frame the Syracuse lineup finally got to Greenwood.

A single, double, and two-run single would tie the game before Greenwood induced a double-play ball to end the inning and his night. All told, he pitched seven innings, with two earned runs allowed on eight hits while striking out four. He factored into the decision as in the top of the eighth, Byron Buxton led off with a single and later scored after some small ball to put Rochester back out front 3-2.

Sean Burnett came on and pitched a scoreless eighth, “retiring” all four hitters he faced as his lone strikeout ended up with the runner on first. He was credited with his ninth hold.

The Red Wings pushed their lead to 5-2 in the top of the ninth thanks to an RBI double from Mitch Garver and RBI single from Leonardo Reginatto.

Twins organization newcomer, Pat Light came on for the ninth and picked up his ninth International League save of the year and second with the Red Wings. Hopefully that was a good enough consolation prize, as he perhaps was supposed to be on his way to Minnesota earlier in the day. He allowed three hits and one run two score in the ninth, but also recorded all of his outs via the strikeout.

Rochester got multi hit efforts from Palka (2-5, R, HR, RBI), Reynaldo Rodriguez (2-4, RBI), and Schafer (3-5, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) to lead their offense and improve to 66-53 on the season.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 7, Birmingham 1

Box Score

The Lookouts got a dominating starting performance out of lefty phenom Stephen Gonsalves in this one, who finished it for his first nine-inning complete game of his career. Interesting enough, it was also the first time he had ever finished more than seven innings in a game.

He allowed just one unearned run in the second inning thanks to a Heiker Meneses error that put a runner on second to start the inning. The rest of the game he allowed just two hits and two walks, and racked up eight strikeouts. From the third through the end of the ninth he faced the minimum, picking up three double-play balls to assist along the way. He improved his record with the Lookouts to 5-1, and lowered his ERA to 2.01.

In support of Gonsalves catcher Stuart Turner had a big game, going 3-4 with a double and two RBI. Travis Harrison scored two runs and added a double. Edgar Corcino had two hits including an RBI triple. They scored four of their seven runs in the fourth inning, and added a single run in the sixth and two in the eight for the final score. Zach Granite stole his fortieth base of the year.

Is it too early to discuss Gonsalves to AAA?! Outside of one short appearance on July 6^th in which he allowed six runs, Gonsalves has allowed just two, zero, zero, one, two, one, and zero runs in each of his other starts with Chattanooga not including today’s gem. He is striking out 10.6/9IP in AA.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Charlotte 0, Fort Myers 1

Box score

Not to be outdone by Gonsalves, the Miracle also got a fantastic outing out of Cody Stashak in his second game in the Florida State League. He went the first seven innings, holding the Stone Crabs to just four hits and one walk. He Struck out two and improves to 2-0 with Fort Myers.

The Miracle’s lone run came in the seventh inning to break the stalemate, as Tanner Witt led off with a double and would score on a double-play groundout off the bat of Alex Perez.

Fort Myers got two hits on the game from Nick Gordon and Witt. Both of Witt’s hits were doubles to give him nine on the season.

Randy Rosario finished the game’s final two innings, and picked up his first FSL save of the season in the process. He allowed no hits, walked one, and struck out two.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 0

Box Score

Like their high-A friends, the Kernels also blanked their opponent on this night.

Eduardo Del Rosario went the first five innings in this one and scattered five hits and a walk. He ran his pitch count a little high, at ninety-four four five innings, but went deep into several counts that primarily ended with strikeouts. He had eight for the game.

The Kernels scored both their runs in the second inning, after Travis Blankenhorn led off the frame with his first Midwest League double. Later with the bases loaded and two outs, an error on a Luis Arreaz fly ball to left field would score both runs.

Nelson Molina and Blankenhorn each had two hits on the game to lead the lineup.

Cedar Rapids got two scoreless innings of relief from both Williams Ramirez (2.0IP, H, BB, 2 K’s) and Anthony McIver (2.0IP, H, 3 K’s). Ramirez got his fourth Hold, and McIver his seventh Save.

The victory was manager Jake Mauer’s 300^th with the Kernels, and they improved their record to 62-53 on the season and at 26-20 in the second half currently reside in second place in the Western division.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Kingsport 2, Elizabethton 5

Box Score

In keeping with the day’s theme, the E-Twins also got a strong effort from their starting pitcher on Thursday night. In this one, it was right-hander Alex Schick.

Kingsport took a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks in part to an errant pickoff throw from Schick, but he settled in after that, scattering for hits and two walks in his six innings. He struck out five and improves to 4-1 with Elizabethton.

He got plenty of offensive support, as Elizabethton scored two runs in the second, and three in the third to take the lead for good. The big blow was a two-run home run of the bat off Mitchell Kranson, his second of the year. Manuel Guzman added two hits, including a double. The bottom third of the order consisting of Trey Cabbage, Caleb Hamilton, and Robert Molina each added an RBI.

Quin Grogan pitched into the ninth inning, but was lifted after allowing two runners on and uncorking a few ill-timed wild pitches. His final line included 2.1 innings pitched and one run allowed on one hit and one walk, while striking out one. Hector Lujan finished the ninth for his second Appalachian League save. He retired both men he faced on groundouts, but the first of those scored the run credited to Grogan.

Elizabethton improves to 25-22 on the short season, and are 1.5 games back of Johnson City for the West Division lead.

GCL TWINS TAKES

Twins 4, Orioles 3

Box Score

It was a team effort on the pitching front for the GCL Twins in this one, as they used five pitchers on the night, with all of them recording a finished game notch in their stats.

Justin Fox got the Win as the starter. He went five innings, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks. He struck out three.

Daniel Martinez, Garrett Kelly, and Callan Pearce all picked up Holds for their efforts. Martinez pitched a scoreless sixth, Kelly a scoreless seventh and eighth, and although he was charged with two runs (one earned) Pearce also was credited the ‘H’ after Zach Strecker came on with the tying runner on first in the ninth.

Strecker got the Save by striking out the first batter he faced, and getting a fly out to end the game.

The Twins scored single runs in each of the third, fourth, seventh, and ninth innings to give themselves enough cushion. No hitter had more than one hit, but Gorge Munoz, Brian Olson, and Lean Marrero each had doubles, and Aaron Whitefield slugged his second home run of the season to lead the offense.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Chattanooga Lookouts (CG-W, 9.0IP, 0 ER’s, 3 H’s, 2 BB, 8 K’s)

Hitter of the Day – Logan Schafer, Rochester Red Wings (3-4, 2 R’s, HR, RBI)

Also a special shout-out to the DSL Twins centerfielder, Humberto Muldanado, who was 3-5 with three runs scored, two doubles, a triple, and three RBI’s to lead the DSL Twins to a 12-8 victory against the DSL Orioles2.

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler (9-3, 2.97 ERA)

Chattanooga @ Birmingham (7:055PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (8-6, 3.59 ERA)

Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (3-2, 2.79 ERA)

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30PM PM CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren (3-61, 3.16 ERA)

Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (2-3, 3.34 ERA)

GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) – TBD

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday’s games.