Article: Twins Minor League Report (7/28): Park Power Propels Red Wings

[Seth Stohs]

Rob Antony jumped into the trade market after Thursday night’s game by trading All-Star Eduardo Nunez to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Triple-A left-handed pitcher Adalberto Mejia. Jorge Polanco was recalled from Rochester. Polanco and the Red Wings had a strong offensive output on Thursday including a huge game from Byung Ho Park.

 

Find out what Park and his teammates did as well as the rest of the scores and highlights from the Twins affiliates on Thursday.RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 13, Pawtucket 5

Box Score

 

Byung Ho Park has been on a tear of late. In Thursday morning’s game, he put on a show, and he wasn’t the only one. He went 3-5 and in his last three at bats, he hit home runs and drove in five runs. He now has hit eight home runs in the last ten games. Daniel Palka provided the early offense. He went 3-5 with his sixth double and fifth home run (26th overall) of the season. He drove in three runs. Jorge Polanco went 3-5 with two runs and two RBIs in what will hopefully be his final game with the Red Wings. John Ryan Murphy went 3-4. Logan Schafer was 2-5 with his third Red Wings homer.

 

Jason Wheeler didn’t have his best start, but he did improve to 8-2 with an ERA of 2.70. The lefty went five innings and gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out two. Marcus Walden came on and gave up one run on three hits over two innings. He struck out three. Alex Wimmers pitched the eighth inning. He gave up one run on one hit. He walked three and struck out two. Sean Burnett worked a quiet ninth.

 

The Red Wings are now 61-46 on the season.

 

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 3

Box Score

 

Tied going into the bottom of the ninth inning, Edgar Corcino led off with his second hit of the game. He advanced to second base on a bunt. A Levi Michael single pushed Corcino to third base. Zach Granite came to the plate and played hero when he singled in Corcino with the game-winning run. The Lookouts improved to 54-49.

 

Levi Michael went 3-3 in the game. Corcino was 2-4 and stole his first base with the Lookouts. Ryan Walker went 2-4 with his seventh double. Mitch Garver was also 2-4.

 

David Hurlbut started for Chattanooga. The lefty gave up two runs on four hits over seven innings. He walked one and struck out six batters. Mason Melotakis pitched the eighth inning. He gave up the game-tying run on one hit and one walk . Raul Fernandez got the win thanks to a perfect ninth inning.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Box Score

 

The Miracle enjoyed a rare off day.

 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 0

Box Score

 

The Kernels put together a terrific pitching performance on Thursday night and were able to complete the shutout. They improve to 56-46 overall on the season.

 

Australian Sam Gibbons recently returned to the rotation and appears to be showing some glimpses of what Kernels fans saw last year. He threw six shutout innings to improve to 5-3 on the year. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out four. Kuo Hua Lo gave up one hit in a scoreless inning. Anthony McIver threw two perfect innings, striking out two, to notch his sixth save.

 

Nelson Molina led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk and an RBI double. He now has ten doubles on the year. The other run was driven in by a single from Sean Miller. Chris Ibarra went 2-3 with a walk.

 

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Game 1 - Elizabethton 2, Bristol 4

Box Score

 

Ryan Mason provided the E-Twins with something of value. He pitched the complete game, but he fell to 0-2 on the season. The right-hander gave up four runs on seven hits in his six innings. He walked none and struck out four.

 

Caleb Hamilton, a 2016 draft pick from Oregon State, knocked his first professional homer. He was 2-3 in the game. Brandon Lopez went 1-1, added a walk and a sacrifice fly drove in the second run for the Twins. He also stole his second base.

 

There were supposed to be two games. The second game had barely started when the rains came. They postponed Game 2 and will play two seven inning games on Friday.

 

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 0

Box Score

 

It was a well-rounded game for the GCL Twins. Of course, it all starts with pitching. Florida Gulf Coast grad Brady Anderson made another strong start. The right-hander threw six shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out five to improve to 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA. Jordan Balazovic came on for his second appearance and recorded his first professional save. He worked the final three innings. He had two strikeouts and the other seven batters grounded out.

 

Jose Miranda led the offense. He went 2-3 with his fourth double and two RBIs. Jorge Munoz went 2-4 with his fifth double. Heiker Meneses, still rehabbing, went 2-3. Aaron Whitefield went 1-3 with a walk and stole his 16th base. Roni Tapia has just three hits so far this season, but two of them are home runs. The second came in Thursday’s game.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Sam Gibbons, Cedar Rapids Kernels

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Byung Ho Park, Rochester Red Wings

 

 

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Pat Dean

Tennessee @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge

Clearwater @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - LHP Sam Clay

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario

Elizabethton @ Bristol (DH @ 5:00 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen & TBD

GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00 am CST) - TBD

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

 

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[Jham]

Lookouts are 54-49, not 54-59, 5 games to the good of .500.

[rghrbek]

I know we have kennys up here, but I think it's probably time park bang gets promoted.  They should probably platoon Joe and Park, but we all know that will not happen.

 

If the future is the goal however, they need to get creative and find out if Park can hit a MLB fastball.

[diehardtwinsfan]

tend to agree.  Mauer can get a lot of rest down the stretch.  Like to see what Park can do.  You can play two of the three every night, so while not ideal, you can definitely get them all at bats.

[Jham]

 

I know we have kennys up here, but I think it's probably time park bang gets promoted.  They should probably platoon Joe and Park, but we all know that will not happen.

 

If the future is the goal however, they need to get creative and find out if Park can hit a MLB fastball.

Here's him turning on 92 mph fastball inside and pulling it down the line...  

http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=959460383&topic_id=26478508&c_id=t534&sid=t534

 

This appears to be a fast ball away that went over the batters eye in center.

 

http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=982080883&topic_id=26478508&c_id=t534&sid=t534

[zenser]

 

tend to agree.  Mauer can get a lot of rest down the stretch.  Like to see what Park can do.  You can play two of the three every night, so while not ideal, you can definitely get them all at bats.

Any chance the bilateral leg weakness comes back in Sept?

[Seth Stohs]

 

Lookouts are 54-49, not 54-59, 5 games to the good of .500.

 

Thank you! I remember reading that so I just typed it wrong. I'll blame my cold! Ha! It's been corrected.

[goulik]

Elizabethton! Our only organizational loss of the day. *face palm*

[gunnarthor]

I'd like to see Park back up again soon.  

[TNTwinsFan]

Would love to see Park and Palka....but where the heck do they play? Unless you sit Mauer and Vargas or Rosario...but 2 of those 3 to sit would have to happen. New lineup:

 

Polanco SS

Kepler RF/LF

Sano 3B

Palka LF/RF

Park 1B

Vargas DH

Dozier 2B

Suzuki C

Buxton CF

 

Power in 2-7 Slots...lots of Ks...but wow...

 

[Mr. Brooks]

In any other city I think it would be a no brainer, you sit Mauer. He can start 1 or 2 games per week and pinch hit every close game.

But, I don't see this organization benching Joe, so I don't see Park finding any playing time until Vargas cools off.

[bird]

 

Any chance the bilateral leg weakness comes back in Sept?

 

 

Now now, let's not be too hard on General Soreness. He's been a good soldier. 

[bird]

 

Would love to see Park and Palka....but where the heck do they play? Unless you sit Mauer and Vargas or Rosario...but 2 of those 3 to sit would have to happen. New lineup: Polanco SS Kepler RF/LF Sano 3B Palka LF/RF Park 1B Vargas DH Dozier 2B Suzuki C Buxton CF Power in 2-7 Slots...lots of Ks...but wow...

 

 

What a great idea for a promotion! Bring up Walker too, and go for a single-game strikeout record. You'd have to sit Kepler and Polanco, and Mauer would have to play out of position, but...

[Mr. Brooks]

What a great idea for a promotion! Bring up Walker too, and go for a single-game strikeout record. You'd have to sit Kepler and Polanco, and Mauer would have to play out of position, but...

I don't think sitting Polanco will be an issue.