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Minor League Report (8/20): A Whole Lotta Games


Matt Braun

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Twins Daily Contributor

No time for an intro—Twins affiliates played eight games on Saturday and we have to go over all of them.

TRANSACTIONS
LHP Devin Smeltzer recalled from St. Paul

Saints Sentinel (Game One: 7 Innings)
St. Paul 4, Scranton Wilkes-Barre 5 
Box Score
Mario Sanchez: 3 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
HR: Chris Williams (4), Braden Bishop (2)
Multi-hit games: None

The Saints lost the first game of their doubleheader.

Devin Smeltzer was slated to start this match, but the Twins required his services, and Mario Sanchez became the game-one starter. A 1-2 punch 1st and 2nd inning dashed his hopes of dominating; he walked away from those frames with four earned runs to his name.

St. Paul’s bats scratched across four runs—on just two hits—with Chris Williams and Braden Bishop both swatting homers in the effort.

Two other runs scored off a groundout from Caleb Hamilton and a sacrifice fly donated by Williams. There is something aesthetically strange when a game has two homers—both solo shots—and no other hits while still ending up with four runs. That conundrum worked because of seven walks taken by Saints’ batters.

Austin Schulfer tossed a pair of scoreless frames in the final two innings.

(Game Two: 7 Innings)
Saints 0, Scranton Wilkes-Barre 4
Box Score
Juan Minaya: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: None

The Saints lost an even uglier match for game two.

The offense mustered up just two hits; the team took an equal number of walks and strikeouts (6 to 6), but the BABIP gods frowned upon St. Paul, and nothing came of their free passes.

Juan Minaya pitched three scoreless innings as the opening act; Jovani Moran struck out five over two frames. Evan Sisk added a pair of punch outs in his scoreless frame.

Michael Helman took two walks and swiped his 19th base of the season; no other hitter reached base more than once.

Wind Surge Wisdom
Wichita 10, Tulsa 7
Box Score
Kody Funderburk: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
HR: Jair Camargo (6), Yunior Severino (2)
Multi-hit games: Jair Camargo (3-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI), DaShawn Kiersey Jr. (2-for-4, RBI)

Wichita won a high-scoring game on Saturday.

Despite the runs, most of the effort stemmed from just two innings; Wichita bunched homers in the 3rd inning, then bombarded Tulsa with piranha-style small ball in the 7th frame. Three singles and a groundout scored four runs.

Outside of the blasts, Wichita took more walks than strikeouts (6 to 5) and collected eight other hits; Edouard Julien reached base five times.

Kody Funderburk found the most success of all arms, swallowing five innings with just a pair of earned runs to his name. The 25-year-old lefty owns an ERA of 2.82 with the Wind Surge this season.

Kernels Nuggets (Game One)
Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 6
Box Score
Luis Rijo: 3 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Charles Mack (2-for-4, 2B, R)

In the first game, the Kernels lost a battle that had begun the day before.

The rain ended the prior engagement, but that pause did not gift the Kernels enough fortunate to win the game; Jake Rucker knocked in two runs with a 5th inning double but capped the scoring for Cedar Rapids.

The Timber Rattlers had jumped on Luis Rijo on Friday; the righty allowed four credited runs in an eventful early game showing.

Cedar Rapids’ bullpen smothered Wisconsin’s bats after play resumed, as the group allowed a single earned run—a 9th inning addition off an infield hit. Derek Molina carried the effort, tossing a trio of clean innings with two strikeouts.

(Game Two)
Cedar Rapids 8, Wisconsin 3
Box Score
David Festa: 3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
HR: Seth Gray (13)
Multi-hit games: Seth Gray (3-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI), Jake Rucker (2-for-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB), Pat Winkel (2-for-2, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB)

The Kernels found better fortune in the second game.

David Festa led the way with an unusual stat line; the righty allowed three unearned runs, walked four batters, and still walked away with an improved season ERA. This game probably falls into the “we take those” category of starts.

A trio of batters—Seth Gray, Jake Rucker, and Pat Winkel—led the offensive charge; the batters accounted for every hit by Cedar Rapids and knocked in seven runs. No other batter really contributed, but none needed to, thanks to the tremendous effort by the Gray-Rucker-Winkel triumvirate. 

Hunter McMahon and Matt Mullenbach worked 3 1/3 scoreless innings, giving Cedar Rapids pitchers a clean earned-run slate in this effort. 

Mussel Matters
Fort Myers 2, Palm Beach 14
Box Score
Marco Raya: 2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
HR: None
Multi-hit games: Noah Miller (2-for-4, R), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4)

The Mighty Mussels endured an old-fashioned clock-cleaning on Saturday.

The Cardinals piled up 14 runs on 16 hits, haunting Mighty Mussels’ pitchers in six of the eight innings they hit in; no arm walked away with a clean ERA. 

Fort Myers batters racked up an impressive tally of hits as well—10 of them, in fact—but they failed to extend any of those knocks beyond the chance to claim first base. The team served up a doughnut—0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Keoni Cavaco earned his 18th error of the season; Noah Miller collected two hits.

Complex Chronicles
FCL Twins 2, FCL Red Sox 3 
Box Score
Wilker Reyes: 3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4K
HR: Danny De Andrade (4)
Multi-hit games: None

The DSL Twins lost a slow, tightened game on Saturday.

The arms did their part; DSL Twins pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts, 2 walks, and 2 earned runs. Seven players participated. Unfortunately, an extra un-earned run proved deadly, as the batters failed to hold up their end of the bargain.

Hitters collected just three hits; one of the knocks found its way over the fence, but that would be it for extra-base damage. Danny De Andrade was the culprit, and his 1st inning two-run shot both started and ended the night’s scoring output. 

Dominican Dailies
DSL Twins 9, DSL Rockies 10
Box Score
Cesar Lares: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
HR: Yilber Herrera (1)
Multi-hit games: Brayan Acuña (2-for-5, R, RBI), Anderson Nova (3-for-4, R, RBI), Denyerbe Gervis (2-for-5, R)

The DSL Twins lost in an absurd affair.

The game was your typical 5-5 matchup; neither team found an advantage over the other as each squad landed an equal total of jabs. An unbelievable flourish broke out in the 9th inning, as the DSL Rockies plated four runs and the DSL Twins called with four of their own. A two-run homer from Yilber Herrera—his first of the year—lead the offensive charge.

Cesar Lares worked another impressive start; the lefty allowed one run over five innings, picking up five strikeouts along the way. His ERA on the season now stands at 2.93.

No single batter stood out—it was more of a democratic approach on Saturday—but Jose Rodriguez collected his 15th double of the season, and Yasser Mercedes earned his 13th.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Cesar Lares
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jair Camargo

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, BB, K
#7 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, R
#8 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-6, 2 BB, 2 K
#13 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 3 ⅔ IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-1, 2 R, 3 BB, HBP
#15 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Ft. Myers) - 2-4

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Scranton Wilkes-Barre @ St. Paul (2:07 PM) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson
Tulsa @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - LHP Aaron Rozek
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 PM) - TBD
Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (11:00 AM) - RHP Regi Grace

 


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Good seeing Noah Miller with 2 hits yesterday.  Has been a long first season of pro ball for him, hopefully, he can finish strong.

See that Acuna had another two hits yesterday and is hitting well over .300, after hitting .077 his first month.  Could he be anything like his brother?  Also saw that eight of the batters in the DSL Twins lineup yesterday are hitting .294 or better.  Don't know what to make of these kids in that league this year?

Assume the Twins are limiting Enlow's workload his first season back from TJ.  Makes sense to use him an inning here and there as the season winds down.

Really want to see SWR have a very good start for the Saints today, please, please, please!

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