Article: Twins Minor League Report (7/15): Saturday In The Minor League Parks

[Seth Stohs]

The Twins found a way to beat the Astros on Saturday night. I know that isn’t related to the minor leagues, but just felt like it should be stated again. The Red Wings got a well-pitched game. The Lookouts pitched a shutout. The Miracle had a walk-off. The Kernels gave up just one run. E-Town grabbed a lead with a comeback in the ninth, and a slugger returned to the field in the GCL. You’ll want to keep reading to find out which players contributed on Saturday.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Saturday.

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 4, Lehigh Valley 1

Box Score

 

With his opt-out looming (and maybe passing by the time you read this), Dillon Gee went out and put together a terrific start. The right-hander gave up just four hits and a walk over seven shutout innings. He struck out four. In his three starts for the Red Wings, he threw 15 innings without giving up a run. He gave up ten hits, walked three and struck out eight.

 

Mason Melotakis came on and got one out. He was charged with a run on a hit. He also struck out one. Drew Rucinski came on and got the final five outs. He gave up just one hit.

 

Byungho Park led the offense. He went 3-5. Niko Goodrum went 2-5 with his 19th double. He also stole his fifth bag. Matt Hague went 1-3 with two walks.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 7, Jacksonville 0

Box Score

 

It was a well-played game for the Lookouts on Saturday night. Obviously a shutout means pretty solid pitching. The offense did its part as well.

 

Dereck Rodriguez made the start and clearly didn’t have his best stuff. He needed 77 pitches to get through three innings. He gave up four hits, walked two batters and hit another. However, he threw three shutout innings. Raul Fernandez came on and went the middle three innings. He gave up just one hit, didn’t walk anyone and struck out five. Todd Van Steensel struck out three over the two innings he worked. Nick Anderson worked a perfect ninth inning to finish the shutout.

 

Nick Gordon was back in the lineup after missing a couple of games after being hit by a pitch earlier in the week. He went 2-4 with a walk. Jonathan Rodriguez continued his terrific season. He went 3-4 with his 20th double and 11th home run. Carlos Paulino was 2-4. TJ White added his seventh home run of the year.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 4, St. Lucie 3

Box Score

 

Tim Tebow and the St. Lucie Mets were back in Ft. Myers for their final series against the Miracle. He went 0-4 in this game and is now hitting .298. Over 4,600 fans showed up to see the former Heisman winner, but they got to see a dramatic win for the home team.

 

Cody Stashak gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out six. Tom Hackimer, Alex Muren and Sam Clay each worked a scoreless inning.

 

The Miracle were down 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. Tanner English was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. He scored on Brandon Lopez’s fourth Miracle double to tie the game. The next batter, Jermaine Palacios, then knocked in Lopez with his fourth double to end the game.

 

Palacios and Lopez were each 3-5 with a double. Sean Miller went 3-4 as well. Nelson Molina went 2-3 with a walk and his fifth double. Zander Wiel added his 20th double.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 0, South Bend 1

Box Score

 

On Saturday night, the Kernels lost for the fifth straight time. For the fourth time in those five games, they were shut out. In this game, the Kernels managed just four hits.

 

Griffin Jax put together another strong start. He gave up one run on three hits in seven innings. He walked three and struck out two.

 

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 9, Greeneville 6

Box Score

 

Nick Brown, the Twins 32nd-round pick this June out of William & Mary, made his first start as a pro. He went four innings and gave up four runs on four hits (three home runs). He walked two and struck out four. Bryan Sammons went the next 4.1 innings. He gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits. He walked three and struck out five. Juan Gamez came on to get the final two outs and record his first save.

 

The E-Twins went into the ninth inning down by a run. Brent Rooker came up with the bases loaded and cleared the bases with his fifth E-Twins double. He then scored on a single by Shane Carrier for the final tally of the game.

 

Rooker went 2-4 and drove in four runs. Carrier was 2-5 with his fourth double and four driven in. Andrew Bechtold went 0-0, but he walked four times. The E-Twins had nine walks in the game.

 

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 6

Box Score

 

The Twins played the Red Sox in a Saturday morning game. Daniel Palka played in a game for the first time since breaking fingers. He went 0-3. Brian Olson played in his second rehab game and went 1-3.

 

Akil Baddoo had another strong game. He went 3-5. Royce Lewis went 2-5 with his first triple. Ben Rodriguez, Alex Robles and Victor Tademo each went 2-4. Robles also stole his third base.

 

Lefty Taylor Clemensia gave up two runs on two hits in 4.2 innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Amilcar Cruz gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits over 2.2 innings. Jose Bermudez came on to get the final two outs, but not before giving up a run on two hits.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dillon Gee, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jonathan Rodriguez, Chattanooga Lookouts

 

 

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (12:35 CST) - RHP Tim Melville

Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (4:15 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero

St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (3:30 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen

Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (1:05 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi

Elizabethton @ Greeneville (6:00 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina

GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled

 

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

 

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[clutterheart]

Any idea why Clemensia is back to the GCL?

[twinsfanstreif]

The GCL Twins somehow only scored one run on 14 hits! I'm not even mad, that's impressive

[Seth Stohs]

 

Any idea why Clemensia is back to the GCL?

 

Not really... it's somewhat surprising.

[pierre75275]

I was at the FT Myers game. The bat boy was drilled in the head by a line drive. Does anybody know if he is okay? It was a really scary moment.

 

Other then the game winning hit, Tebow got the most cheers. I was surprised by that.

[Seth Stohs]

 

I was at the FT Myers game. The bat boy was drilled in the head by a line drive. Does anybody know if he is okay? It was a really scary moment.

Other then the game winning hit, Tebow got the most cheers. I was surprised by that.

 

Scary story. I'll see what we find out about the bat boy.

 

And, it's zero surprise Tebow got the biggest ovation. He's immensely popular in Florida... and it's minor league ball so there is less of a loyalty to a team/affiliate than to the state hero. 

[rdehring]

Took note this morning of what is going on in Chattanooga when I saw they have 60 wins! You look at their lineup and see Gordon and a bunch of other guys not that well known, yet, most are hitting .260-.280. Yes, they have a stable of pretty good starting pitchers and a very good pen, but SIXTY wins? Does a lot of the credit go to Jake Mauer? Seems that his teams are always in the playoffs, no matter where he is. Maybe he will find his way home some day in the not to distant future?

 

I haven't seen Palacios play, Seth, and was wondering about his defense at short? Because the way he can hit, maybe HE is our shortstop of the future.

 

Do you know when Griffin Jax' Air Force commitment ends? Is it next summer? Sure like the results when he is on the mound.

 

Finally, did the Twins bring back the wrong veteran for Tuesday. Certainly hope Gee hangs in there for another start or two.

[Rosterman]

Jake Mauer and Doug Mientkiewicz. Two stars that the Twins need to find a place for with the big league team.

 

Dillon Gee has to be frustrated. Of course, did his million dollar contract kick in because he was added to the 25-man roster briefly? He'll be one of those oddities that was on the Twins roster but didn't play (Alejandro Machado was one, on the DL most of a season. Chuck Schilling was another...was up for a month and didn't play and then quit back in the 60s). 

 

The question will be how long is the leash on Bartolo Colon. Better yet, how long is the leash on Kyle Gibson. His next stop will be his to show if he can stay or not. Gee is on the 40-man, for now, so there is a slight advantage for a return there.

 

There are a lot of pitchers on that Red Wings roster, and besides Colon, the Twins have to find space for Haley and Breslow and the corresponding moves with see the Red Wings either release (or disable more) guys, or a shuffle as people are pushed backwards when they should be pushing forwards.

 

Sigh. Sometimes too much pitching can be a problem. Especially when the too much pitching is not all PLUS candidates.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Took note this morning of what is going on in Chattanooga when I saw they have 60 wins! You look at their lineup and see Gordon and a bunch of other guys not that well known, yet, most are hitting .260-.280. Yes, they have a stable of pretty good starting pitchers and a very good pen, but SIXTY wins? Does a lot of the credit go to Jake Mauer? Seems that his teams are always in the playoffs, no matter where he is. Maybe he will find his way home some day in the not to distant future?

I haven't seen Palacios play, Seth, and was wondering about his defense at short? Because the way he can hit, maybe HE is our shortstop of the future.

Do you know when Griffin Jax' Air Force commitment ends? Is it next summer? Sure like the results when he is on the mound.

Finally, did the Twins bring back the wrong veteran for Tuesday. Certainly hope Gee hangs in there for another start or two.

 

I've said for a couple of years that Jake Mauer is the best manager in the Twins system. This year just verifies that in my head. 

 

Palacios is solid at shortstop. He absolutely could be a shortstop in the future. Which is great. 

 

Jax... Jeff Johnson wrote about it a couple of weeks ago. He had a date, I believe. Early August maybe? But he goes to Cape Canaveral and there was talk that he could head to wherever the Miracle are each weekend, or at least during Instructs in Ft. Myers. 

 

And yep, Gee's been good, but there was never any question about when Colon would be coming up. He knew he would be up, or he would have signed with the Mets instead of the Twins. Fair? Not necessarily. But that's reality. 

[DocBauer]

The Jax situation us frustrating. I fully understand the comitment and obligation to his military service. But there have been situations in the past, David Robinson being the most well known, where a young man was allowed out of his comitment, or fulfilled it in a different capacity such as recruiting or work in the reserves. Someone please correct me, but didn't the military just change their stance on this after Jax was drafted? Would have been nice to maybe grandfather in Jax, and others like him, and make the change going forward.

[D.C Twins]

Palka sighting!!!!

[brvama]

 

The Jax situation us frustrating. I fully understand the comitment and obligation to his military service. But there have been situations in the past, David Robinson being the most well known, where a young man was allowed out of his comitment, or fulfilled it in a different capacity such as recruiting or work in the reserves. Someone please correct me, but didn't the military just change their stance on this after Jax was drafted? Would have been nice to maybe grandfather in Jax, and others like him, and make the change going forward.

 

 

 

Yes that's correct.  Seth started a thread regarding that titled, "Twins, Jax Affected by Defense Department Decision" on the MiLB forum if you want to look it up.