Article: Twins Minor League Report (7/23): Red Wings Get Offensive

[Seth Stohs]

The Rochester Red Wings made the 90 mile drive east to Syracuse. The bus was full. They remembered their bats and their hitting shoes as they put together a tremendous offensive outburst. Not to be outshone, their pitchers put in a great night’s work too. The Miracle ended a streak thanks to a quality start from one of the organization’s top pitching prospects. It was one of four quality starts in the Twins system on the day. Without further adieu…For much more information on the scores and highlights from all six of the Twins minor league affiliates in the States, please continue reading.

 

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 11, Syracuse 0

Box Score

 

It was a big night for the Red Wings hitters, but I’ll always maintain that if a team throws a shutout, we’ll talk about the pitching first.

 

Jason Wheeler improved to 7-2 with a 2.57 ERA with some fine pitching (and help from the offense). The left-hander threw 6.2 shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out six. Neil Ramirez made his first Red Wings appearance since being outrighted earlier in the week. He gave up two hits, but he go four outs. Marcus Walden gave up one hit in his scoreless inning.

 

Following the win, Red Wings fantastic radio voice Josh Whetzel noted on Twitter that the 11-0 win was the widest margin of victory for the Red Wings since June of 2013. Their 22 hits where the most by the team since August of 2004.

 

All nine starters had at least one hit. James Beresford led the way with a 5-6 game. It was the first five-hit game by a Red Wings hitter in about two years, when Wilkin Ramirez did it (Again, per Whetzel). He is now hitting .285 on the season. Jorge Polanco went 3-6 with his 14th double. Daniel Palka went 3-6 with his fourth and fifth Red Wings doubles. Byung Ho Park went 3-5 with a walk and his fifth home run. It was the third straight game he has homered. Carlos Paulino went 2-3 with two walks. Darin Mastroianni and Wilfredo Tovar each had two hits.

 

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 1, Jackson 2

Box Score

 

For the second straight game, the Lookouts fell to Jackson. For the second straight start, Felix Jorge was the tough-luck losing pitcher. In this game, he gave up two runs on three hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out three. 71 of his 98 pitches were strikes. Jake Reed struck out two in a perfect eighth inning.

 

Shannon Wilkerson went 2-4. Engelb Vielma notched his fourth double. Dalton Hicks doubled for the 23rd time. Mitch Garver hit his 22nd double, and he also stole his first base.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 9, Clearwater 4

Box Score

 

The Miracle offense came through, and the team was able to snap a five-game losing streak. Nick Gordon led the way. He went 2-5 with his third home run and four RBIs. TJ White went 2-6 with his 10th double. LaMonte Wade went 2-5 with his fifth double. Trey Vavra was 1-2 with two walks and was also hit by a pitch. Alex Perez went 2-4 with a walk.

 

Fernando Romero was on the mound for the Miracle. He went the first seven innings and gave up three runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out eight. Romero improved to 3-1 with an ERA of 2.50. John Curtiss struck out two in a perfect eighth. Luke Bard struck out two in the ninth, though he gave up one run.

 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 4 Dayton 6 (10 innings)

Box Score

 

Eduardo Del Rosario has certainly had his struggles in his nine starts. However, on Saturday night, he posted his second straight quality start. He gave up three runs on four hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out six. Williams Ramirez gave up the tying run in his two innings. He walked two and struck out three. Anthony McIver threw a scoreless ninth inning, but he was charged with two unearned runs in the tenth to take the loss.

 

Nelson Molina led the offense. He went 2-5 with his eighth double. Sean Miller hit his 15th RBI.

 

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 6, Johnson City 5

Box Score

 

Lewin Diaz posted his second straight three-hit game. He went 3-5 with his 11th double and is hitting .338. Alex Kirilloff went 2-4 with his fourth home run. His average is now .367. Bryant Hayman went 2-4.

 

Sean Poppen worked the first 5.2 innings. He gave up four runs (1 earned) on seven hits and a walk while strikeout out five. He got the win and went 2-2 with a 2.35 ERA. Austin Tribby gave up a run on three hits over the next 1.2 innings. He walked two. Patrick McGuff recorded the final five outs for his first professional save.. Three of them came on strikeouts.

 

McGuff was the Twins 39th-round pick in June out of Morehead State. He began his pro career with 5.2 scoreless innings in the GCL (0 BB, 9 K). He was promoted to Elizabethton where he is yet to give up a run in five appearances as 7.2 innings. He has struck out 15. So a quick glimpse at his overall numbers as a professional: 13.1 innings, 0 runs, 24 strikeouts. That’s a pretty strong first impression.

 

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 5 (12 innings, completion of Friday’s suspended game)

Box Score

 

Some of this will be a repeat from yesterday’s report but here is the game’s complete recap. The first nine innings of the game were played on Friday, but the rains came and caused the suspension of the game until Saturday. The game resumed, and they needed 12 innings but it was decided on an unearned run.

 

Brady Anderson started the game and threw six shutout innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out six. Jordan Balazovic made his professional debut with two innings on Friday. He gave up a hit and walked one but gave up no runs in an inning. He struck out one. Matz Schutte threw the ninth inning. He got just two outs and was charged with five runs (four earned) on three hits and two walks. Both of the outs he got came on strikeouts. Clark Beeker took over on Saturday and worked 2.1 innings. He gave up just the unearned run in the 12th inning. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three.

 

Jorge Andrade wente 2-5 with a walk, his fifth double and his fifth stolen base. Aaron Whitefield went 2-6 and stole two bases. Jorge Munoz went 2-6 with his fifth double. Jean Carlos Arias went 2-4. Roni Tapia hit his second home run of the season.

 

GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 7 (10 innings, regularly-scheduled game)

Box Score

 

Of course, the regularly-scheduled game needed extra innings too. Taylor Clemensia started. He gave up three runs on three hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out four. Daniel Martinez came in and gave up one run in his 2.1 innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out four. Callan Pearce gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits in 1.2 innings. He struck out one. Matt Jones pitched the tenth inning. He gave up a run on two walks in the inning.

 

Akil Baddoo went 1-3 with two walks and his first professional home run. He also stole his second and third stolen bases. Heiker Meneses played another rehab game. He went 1-3 with two walks. Aaron Whitefield went 2-4 with a walk. He stole three more bases.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – James Beresford, Rochester Red Wings

 

 

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Rochester @ Syracuse (12:05 CST) - LHP Pat Dean

Chattanooga @ Jackson (6:05 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves

Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (12:00 CST) - RHP Miles Nordgren

Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – RHP Cody Stashak

Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - RHP Jose Martinez

GCL Twins - No Sunday Games.

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games.

 

Click here to view the article

[Monkeypaws]

Kirilloff looks like a kid that will be on the fast track. Seeing that power is his calling card, love to see the high batting average on top of that.

[righty8383]

Looking at Kirillof's stats, one thing is for sure, when he's up, the ball (almost always) gets put in play. Just 11 strike outs and 2 walks in 90 AB's. Not sure if I should be concerned about the lack of walks, but I do like the everything else so far. Maybe they should give him a taste of the midwest league before the season is over.

[drivlikejehu]

 

Looking at Kirillof's stats, one thing is for sure, when he's up, the ball (almost always) gets put in play. Just 11 strike outs and 2 walks in 90 AB's. Not sure if I should be concerned about the lack of walks, but I do like the everything else so far. Maybe they should give him a taste of the midwest league before the season is over.

 

Low minors walk rate is not very predictive. Since he's not striking out, and appears to be making hard contact, it looks like he is seeing the ball fine but just being very aggressive. Doesn't concern me.

[DocBauer]

These reports are just about the hilight of my day. I keep wondering, with some of the strong hitting performances at E-Town, if a couple of these guys could see some action at Cedar Rapids before the year is done?

[Milkman102]

GCL Twins have some very impressive arms. Miguel De Jesus I heard was 94-97 with movement. Bo Hellquist is a strike throwing machine, and Brady Anderson it appears from the box score that he is pretty impressive for a non-drafted pitcher. Any word on any of thes pitchers pitch ability, cause box score appears impressive, but does not show everything.....

[Hrbek70]

We were at the Kernels game and I came away really impressed with Luis Arraez. He is an aggressive hitter and has a very good command of the strike zone. If not for the heavy air, he would have had a HR to right center. He reminds me of Puckett in his early days

[ThejacKmp]

I want to cheer for McGuff in the majors. That name is gold.