Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/21): Blankenhorn Blasts, Gordon Keeps Rolling

[Cody Christie]

Losing games isn't any fun for anyone. Three of the four Twins affiliates held leads on Sunday but none of them were able to pull out the win. Even in the midst of all the losing there were some strong performances. Multiple big name prospects had good days at the plate and some relief arms were thrust into the spotlight.

 

While losing isn't fun for anyone, a lot of the minor leagues is about developing players. Who performed well in the middle of all the losing? You'll have to read on to find out.RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 4, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 5 (11 Innings)

Box Score

After trailing 3-0 after two innings, Rochester plated four runs in the top of the third to take a 4-3 lead. All of the team's damage came with two outs in the frame. Daniel Palka singled and Zack Granite came all the way around for first to score. Back-to-back home runs from ByungHo Park and Tommy Field capped a big Red Wings inning but the team was shut out the rest of the way.

Every hitter in the line-up except JR Murphy collected at least one hit. Field finished the day 3-for-5.

 

Nik Turley saw three early runs scored against him but he settled in nicely to make it through five innings. Overall, he allowed three earned runs on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Alan Busenitz pitched two scoreless frames with a pair of strikeouts. Kevin Chapman started the eighth by allowing a double which was followed by a passed ball. Drew Rucinski came in with a man on third and no outs. He made it through 1.2 innings by allowing only the inherited runner to score.

 

Both of the outs Buddy Boshers collected were by strikeout. Michael Tonkin collected the final out of the 10th and the first out of the 11th before he ran into trouble. Top Yankees prospect Clint Frazier walked before a single moved him all the way to third. The game ended on an interesting play as Frazier scored on a sacrifice bunt.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 4, Biloxi 5 (10 Innings)

Box Score

Much like Rochester, Chattanooga jumped out to an early lead before watching the opposition collect a walk-off win. Nick Gordon led off the game with a double and a wild pitch moved him to third. Ryan Strausborger brought in Gordon with a single giving the Lookouts an early 1-0 lead.

 

In the top of the fifth inning, things got a little wild for Biloxi. Jose Gonzalez and Ryan Walker started the inning with a single and a walk. While Gordon was batting, there were two wild pitches which allowed Gonzalez to score. Gordon eventually walked and then he stole second. LaMonte Wade plated both runners with a two-out double as Chattanooga was staked to a 4-0 lead. Nick Gordon finished the game 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and a walk.

 

Matt Tracy had a no-hitter entering the fifth inning but he allowed a walk and a single to start the frame. He had a shutout into the sixth before back-to-back singles put a runner in scoring position with no outs. Biloxi scored one in the inning to cut the lead to 4-1. Tracy ran out of steam in the seventh as he was charged with three more hits and three runs to see the team's lead evaporate.

 

With two outs in the seventh, Nick Burdi allowed the big hit, a two-run single. Both of these runs were charged to Tracy. Burdi pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Raul Fernandez came on in the ninth and took the loss as he allowed three singles and a hit by pitch in the 10th.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 5, Bradenton 6

Box Score

Fort Myers looked to sweep the series with Bradenton on Sunday but the Marauders stormed back from an early 5-1 deficit. After Bradenton scored in the first, Fort Myers answered back with back-to-back homers in the bottom of the inning. It was the second homer of the year for Bradley Strong and the third for Chris Paul. Fort Myers went on a hit parade in the second as they used four singles and a walk to push across three runs.

 

Cody Stashak ran into some trouble in the third and fourth frames as he saw the Miracle lead evaporate. He pitched four innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits. Anthony McIver pitched two scoreless innings with a strikeout. Williams Ramirez was perfect in his inning of work and struck out a pair. Alex Muren took the loss as a fielding error by Rafael Valera allowed a run to score in the eighth.

 

Strong and Paul each reached base three times. Zander Wiel had a multi-hit game including his 13th double. Max Murphy was the only Miracle batter to be held without a hit. Fort Myers had three lead-off doubles in innings four through seven but the runners never made it past third. The team went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 7, Wisconsin 12

Box Score

Cedar Rapids found themselves in a 12-2 hole before trying to mount a comeback. Tyler Beardsley got knocked around for nine earned runs on 12 hits, a career high, including two home runs. Zach Tillery didn't stop the bleeding much as he was charged with three runs after allowing five walks and one hit. Hector Lujan, Alex Robinson and Logan Lombana combined for 3.2 scoreless innings to end the game. Lujan struck out two and didn't allow a hit (1.2 IP).

 

Travis Blankenhorn crushed a two-run blast in the fifth following a Jaylin Davis double. Lewin Diaz cranked his sixth home run, a solo shot, in the sixth. The Kernels used four straight hits and a sacrifice fly to pull within five runs but that's where the comeback ended.

 

Blankenhorn finished the day 2-for-4 with two extra-base hits, three RBI, and two runs scored. Davis had a multi-hit game and scored twice. Davis reached base three times with his homer and a pair of walks.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day – Nik Turley, Rochester Red Wings (5 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 3 K, 2 BB)

Hitter of the Day – Travis Blankenhorn, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R)

 

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester - Scheduled Off Day

Chattanooga @ Biloxi (6:35 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge

Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 CST) - RHP David Fischer (2-2, 3.58 ERA)

Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:35 CST)- RHP Sean Poppen (2-1, 2.38 ERA)

 

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

 

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[Darius]

Nice to have a guy like Granite back and playing well. I have a feeling he'll come in handy at some point.

 

Nick Gordon is having a heck of year. Especially when you consider he's about 3 years younger than the average for that level. Anyone have an idea of how he's been defensively?

[Gagne Fan]

Must have been a bad night for Minor League pitchers when a guy gives up 3 er in 5 ip

(5.40 era) and he gets pitcher of the day

 

LAUGHABLE

[Gagne Fan]

Hell, Tracy nearly had a no hitter thru 5

[jokin]

 

Nice to have a guy like Granite back and playing well. I have a feeling he'll come in handy at some point.

Nick Gordon is having a heck of year. Especially when you consider he's about 3 years younger than the average for that level. Anyone have an idea of how he's been defensively?

 

FWIW- 9 errors (both @ SS & 2B).

 

Bears watching, but not disqualifying going forward. Very exciting to see the quantum leap at the plate in BOTH power and plate discipline. 

 

How often do prospects DOUBLE both their BB% and their ISO% year over year?

[jokin]

Not sure if Chris Paul is a legit prospect or not. Why has he not been called up to Chattanooga yet (repeating at Ft Myers)? Looks like the opportunity at 3rd is his for the taking with the Lookouts. Does he have a good enough glove to play 3rd in the majors some day?

[drivlikejehu]

 

Not sure if Chris Paul is a legit prospect or not. Why has he not been called up to Chattanooga yet (repeating at Ft Myers)? Looks like the opportunity at 3rd is his for the taking with the Lookouts. Does he have a good enough glove to play 3rd in the majors some day?

 

He's not.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Not sure if Chris Paul is a legit prospect or not. Why has he not been called up to Chattanooga yet (repeating at Ft Myers)? Looks like the opportunity at 3rd is his for the taking with the Lookouts. Does he have a good enough glove to play 3rd in the majors some day?

 

He was pretty bad at Ft. Myers a year ago, and then his season ended early with injury. No problem having him repeat. He's been good offensively. Huge question mark defensively though. Also, TJ White just moved up to Chattanooga after starting on the DL. Let's see how he does over the next month and then something could happen to move Paul up. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Nice to have a guy like Granite back and playing well. I have a feeling he'll come in handy at some point.

Nick Gordon is having a heck of year. Especially when you consider he's about 3 years younger than the average for that level. Anyone have an idea of how he's been defensively?

 

 

Fielding percentage at 2B is .948, and at SS it is .949. Last year at SS, he was at .952. Reports have been good. He has risen up prospect rankings in my opinion. 

[Cody Christie]

 

Must have been a bad night for Minor League pitchers when a guy gives up 3 er in 5 ip
(5.40 era) and he gets pitcher of the day

LAUGHABLE

Most pitchers got knocked around. I was going to pick a relief pitcher but thought that Turley settled in and had a nice game after a rough start. 

[rdehring]

Speaking of relief pitchers, was good to see Burdi fail last night...even though his line looked good. Will be good for him to work at getting out of innings with inherited runners not scoring.

 

I have often wondered why managers don't use their best reliever for those type of situations, rather than only in the 9th inning. Many games could be won in earlier innings if a reliever could come in and keep runners from scoring.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Speaking of relief pitchers, was good to see Burdi fail last night...even though his line looked good. Will be good for him to work at getting out of innings with inherited runners not scoring.

I have often wondered why managers don't use their best reliever for those type of situations, rather than only in the 9th inning. Many games could be won in earlier innings if a reliever could come in and keep runners from scoring.

 

It was his first blown save of the season. Sometimes it's good to get that bad outing out of the way, come back strong and then get promoted. 

[TRex]

If you are curious, Burdi has entered 11 of his 14 games at the start of an inning. In one outing, he came in with the bases loaded and got the third out. In the other two, he allowed the runners to score (1 in his first game and 2 last night).

[drjim]

It would probably be a good sign if we see the next couple of Burdi outings with him coming in with people on base. Could mean they are ramping him up for a call up.

 

Seems if he wants to get the call soon he'll need to shut down inherited runners from scoring.

[gil4]

That uniform in the photo is possibly the ugliest in the history of baseball. We really should photoshop it out, even if we replace it with something drawn in Paint. A cartoon version of a real uniform is better than a real version of that cartoon uniform.

 

It is a good photo, though. Tell the folks in the background they better pay attention to the game or they are going to get drilled with a foul ball.

[Sweetwater]

I am ecstatic about Nick Gordon. One last kiss from Ryan's regime.