Article: Twins Minor League Report (8/29): Kernels Clinch, Gordon Ate His Wheaties

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Let’s just forget about the Minnesota Twins for a bit.

 

There’re plenty of happy things to talk about. Though it’s not what we wanted to be reading in late August, Byron Buxton was named the International League Hitter of the Week. Randy LeBlanc made his AA debut. Three hitters had four or more hits. Another affiliate clinched a playoff berth.

 

Read all about it here.RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 6, Scranton W/B 2

Box Score

 

Tyler Duffey pitched six no-hit innings in his return to AAA before running into trouble in the seventh. He gave up two hits and two runs in that frame and it ended his night. He walked three and struck out five, throwing 97 pitches.

 

Buddy Boshers, who began his rehab assignment, pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Jake Reed struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning after allowing a leadoff single.

 

James Beresford led the offense with four hits. He also drew a walk and drove in three runs. John Ryan Murphy and Heiker Meneses both had two-hit games. Byron Buxton was 0-3 with a walk, strikeout and sacrifice fly.

 

Rochester struck out 14 times on Monday night, including a streak of eight straight outs being recorded by strikeout (and 12 of 14). Yet it’s still an improvement from Sunday’s game. (Ouch.)

 

The Red Wings also added catcher Carlos Paulino before the game.

 

At 77-60, Rochester is still fighting for a playoff berth. They trail Lehigh Valley by 3.5 games in the wild card race with seven games to go. The Red Wings close their season with five straight games against Lehigh Valley, so it could be a race to the finish. Stay tuned.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 13, Mississippi 0

Box Score

 

Three big innings - including a five-run first - made this a non-competitive game from the start.

 

Niko Goodrum had four hits - including a three-run home run and a double - and five RBIs. Both D.J. Hicks and Stuart Turner drove in three runs. T.J. White and Hicks both had two-hit games and scored three times. Zach Granite stole his 52nd base.

 

Randy LeBlanc struck out five in seven shutout innings. He walked two and allowed five hits. Randy Rosario closed the game out with two perfect innings which included three strikeouts.

 

With seven games left, the Lookouts trail Montgomery by two games in the fight for a playoff spot.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 3, Palm Beach 5

Box Score

 

Though it was a losing effort, Nick Gordon did something relatively rare, going 5-for-5. He tripled and scored twice. Five other batters got one hit apiece, including a Joe Maloney double.

 

Fort Myers went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and, despite scoring three runs, didn’t produce a single RBI. They scored on an error and two wild pitches.

 

The Miracle went with a bullpen game on Monday using Luke Westphal (three innings), Cam Booser (two innings) and Confesor Lara (three innings). Both Westphal and Lara gave up two runs, Lara gave up one. Booser was the high strikeout guy, with three.

 

With a week remaining in the season, Fort Myers would need to catch both St. Lucie and Jupiter, who are tied atop the FSL South and lead the Miracle by three games.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 6, Clinton 1

Box Score

 

With tonight’s win, the Kernels clinch a berth in the Midwest League playoffs. They’ve accomplished this feat in each of the four season the Twins have been affiliated with the Kernels.

 

The offense got off to a quick start, scoring all six of their runs in the first four innings. Brandon Lopez and Jaylin Davis each had two-hit games. Lopez doubled and drove in two runs. Davis hit a solo home run, his eighth as a Kernel. Both Luis Arraez (.346) and Travis Blankenhorn (.320) collected a hit and have averages over .300.

 

Eduardo Del Rosario gave up one run in 5.2 innings. He struck out seven and allowed seven runners to reach base (three walks, three hits, one HBP).

 

Max Cordy struck out two in 2.1 one-hit innings. Cordy has been a breakout player after being drafted in the 40th round in 2015. Over two levels, he’s struck out 34 in 26 1/3 innings. He does need to work on his control (17 walks) but a 95 mph fastball with an 86 mph slider is a good place to start.

 

Anthony McIver pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out one.

 

This win - the Kernels eighth straight - along with two Burlington losses sends Cedar Rapids to the playoffs. The Kernels will enter the playoffs with the distinction of being the “Second-Half West Winners” and will declare Tuesday which game(s) of the playoffs they host (either Game 1 or Game 2 and 3). Their opponent will likely be Burlington or Wisconsin.

 

E-TOWN E-NOTES

Elizabethton 1, Greeneville 2

Box Score

 

Not a lot of offense to speak of Monday. An Ariel Montesino single preceded Caleb Hamilton and MItchell Kranson walks and Montesino scored on an Amaurys Minier grounded out. The only other hit was a single by Luis Martinez, who also walked twice.

 

Clark Beeker pitched well enough to keep the E-Twins in the game, but the two runs over 6.1 innings was one more than his offense could provide. He struck out six and walked two. Johan Quezada recorded five out, two by strikeout.

 

The E-Twins have made the playoffs and will face Johnson City. They could still overtake the Cardinals to be the division champ, but are two games back.

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 2, GCL Rays 3

Box Score

 

The GCL Twins missed an opportunity to tie the Red Sox in the standings and remain a game out of first place with three games left.

 

Aaron Whitfield continues to hit (.309) notching a single on Monday. He didn’t steal a base though, surprisingly. Kidany Salva added an RBI double and Akil Baddoo also drove in a run .

 

Tyler Fox gave up a run over six innings, striking out four and left while in line to pick up the win, but Garrett Kelly blew his third save of the season and took the loss after giving up two runs on four hits in three innings.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Pitcher of the Day – Randy LeBlanc, Chattanooga

Hitter of the Day – Nick Gordon, Fort Myers

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Rochester vs Syracuse (6:05 CST) - LHP David Hurlbut (0-1, 2.70 ERA)

Chattanooga vs Mississippi (6:15 CST) - RHP Ryan Eades (6-5, 4.44 ERA)

Fort Myers at Palm Beach (6:05 CST) - RHP Miles Nordgren (1-4, 5.08 ERA)

Elizabethton vs Greeneville (6:00 CST) - RHP Alex Schink (5-2, 5.53 ERA)

GCL Twins vs GCL Rays (11:00AM CST) - TBD

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

 

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[Otwins]

Don't think your pitcher of  the day is correct. I like the forget about the big league part. Too depressing. Too late to fix. Thanks for the write-up

[Guest]

The Kernels will undoubtedly choose to play game 2 and game 3 (if necessary) at home. Game 1 would be at Wisconsin or Burlington (whichever earns the MWL West's 2nd seed in the second half of the season).

 

(Go Burlington! It's a relatively short drive from CR.)

 

Game 1 will be Wednesday, September 7, and games 2-3 on September 8-9.

[Vanimal46]

Didn't think Confesor Lara was a real name... but it is! Pretty unique name for a pitcher. 

[bird]

 

Didn't think Confesor Lara was a real name... but it is! Pretty unique name for a pitcher. 

 

 

Quite common however for outfielders.

[gil4]

 

Didn't think Confesor Lara was a real name... but it is! Pretty unique name for a pitcher. 

 

 

Quite common however for outfielders.

 

Don't tell me now we're going to start converting pitchers into outfielders. 

[Kevin]

 

Don't think your pitcher of  the day is correct. I like the forget about the big league part. Too depressing. Too late to fix. Thanks for the write-up

Fixed.   Editor

[Bill Tanner]

"With seven games left, the Lookouts trail Montgomery by two games in the fight for a playoff spot."

 

They also get in if Jackson wins both halves of the season, and the Lookouts have a better overall record than Montgomery.  Currently, Jackson is only .5 game behind Montgomery in the second half.  Lookouts and Montgomery are tied for overall record.

[Bill Tanner]

 

"With seven games left, the Lookouts trail Montgomery by two games in the fight for a playoff spot."

 

They also get in if Jackson wins both halves of the season, and the Lookouts have a better overall record than Montgomery.  Currently, Jackson is only .5 game behind Montgomery in the second half.  Lookouts and Montgomery are tied for overall record.

Jackson holds the tiebreaker over Montgomery in the event of a tie for the second half winner.  Lookouts hold the tiebreaker over Montgomery.

[jokin]

 

"With seven games left, the Lookouts trail Montgomery by two games in the fight for a playoff spot."

 

They also get in if Jackson wins both halves of the season, and the Lookouts have a better overall record than Montgomery.  Currently, Jackson is only .5 game behind Montgomery in the second half.  Lookouts and Montgomery are tied for overall record.

 

So if I'm reading this right, it's still mathematically possible, if not probable, that the Lookouts could have the best overall SL record and not make the playoffs? Arghh, minor league baseball..