Twins Video
TRANSACTIONS
- Charlie Barnes promoted from Triple-A St. Paul to Minnesota Twins.
- Cedar Rapids Kernels placed RHP Owen Griffith on the 7-day injured list retroactive to July 14, 2021. Right forearm strain.
SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 9, Columbus 5
The St. Paul Saints had scored 28 runs in the past two games going into Thursday night’s contest against Columbus (that’s four touchdowns, Vikings fans). And on Irish Night the Saints continued to dazzle at the plate, crunching the Clippers 9-5 in a regionally televised game.
Mark Contreras knocked a second-inning homer to kickstart another dominant offensive performance from the Saints, who saw seven of nine starters record hits. Contreras’ blast was his sixth in fifteen games, bringing his season total to 11.
Jose Miranda and Mitch Garver each recorded three-hit games with the two men combining for a total of 3 RBI.
And while a triple from Drew Maggi, Contreras’ homer, and Brent Rooker’s continued success were certainly all notable, the main attractions were the rehab assignments of Garver and Jake Cave. Both players tallied in the hit column but perhaps the most electric play of the night came from Cave’s leather in the fifth inning.
St. Paul starter Chandler Shepard was magnificent for most of the night, striking out five and allowing only one run through the first six innings. And when he ran into trouble in the seventh, the Saints’ bullpen showed in full force to save the day. Yennier Cano and Kyle Barraclough combined for three innings of scoreless and hitless relief to hold a St. Paul lead that was later widened courtesy of a Willians Astudillo force out and some luck of the Irish.
There are few words to describe how dominant the Saints offense has been as of recent. The squad has hit 12 home runs in their last 25 innings and has scored over 40% of their total runs on the season thanks to the longball.
Power is great, but the ability to score on the ground is just as important. When a team can do both? Good things happen. The Saints saw that tonight, with nine of their 11 hits being singles. A team that can score nine runs on nine singles, a homer, and a triple has the potential to do some damage. Look for the Saints offense to continue to sprout into midseason form as the month continues.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 9, Tulsa 0
Jordan Balazovic proved why he’s one of the brightest pitching prospects in the league on Thursday night, drilling through the Tulsa lineup in a 9-0 Wind Surge win.
Balazovic was lights out, fanning 11 in seven innings of shutout baseball. The Ontario native was electric in his last start, striking out seven in six shutout innings. Yet if that was gold, tonight’s performance was 24 Karat.
The 2016 draft pick now has 51 strikeouts on the year and an outstanding ERA of 2.89 through eight starts. Even better? He’s only walked three batters in his last five starts.
Balazovic’s performance on the bump was echoed by his teammates at the plate. Spencer Steer, Aaron Whitefield, and Roy Morales both recorded multi-hit games for the Surge, including Steer’s fifth home run of the year. Morales recorded three hits on the night and Whitefield knocked two, including his third triple of the year.
Yet as we’ve seen all year, the method behind the madness of the Wichita offense was not one player, but an entire team effort. Ernie De La Trinidad launched his second homer of the year, Morales and Jermaine Palacios each tallied RBI, and BJ Boyd tallied a hit. Total team effort.
And to cap things off, the Wichita bullpen sealed the deal with a flawless performance. Ryan Mason followed Balazovic’s gem with his own scoreless inning and Adam Lau capped things off with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
There have been few things as exciting to watch as the Wind Surge offense this season. Now that pitching has begun to come through there’s nothing out of reach for the Wichita ball club.
KERNELS NUGGETS
South Bend 2, Cedar Rapids 1 (10)
Minnesota native Louie Varland was absolutely brilliant on the bump in his first start at the High-A level after being called up from Fort Myers. And while the Concordia-St. Paul alum dazzled, the Cubs got the last laugh, sneaking by the Kernels in extra innings.
Just two days after being called up, Varland was electric, pitching six scoreless innings and striking out five. And while he didn’t get the win, Varland now holds an outstanding 1.86 ERA through 53 1/3 innings on the year. Pretty good.
Varland wasn’t the only July 13th callup that impressed on the mound for the Kernels. Reliever Osiris German made his High-A debut after Varland was removed from the game. He didn’t disappoint.
German pitched two innings of perfect relief while striking out three against the Clippers. He now holds a 2.14 ERA and 0.92 WHIP on the year. Also pretty good,
The Kernels scored their lone run in the sixth inning thanks to an Edouard Julien RBI double that scored Yeltsin Encarnacion. The double was Julien’s fourth of the year and ninth RBI. After being called up from Fort Myers at the end of June, Julien has slashed .263/.453/.421 through the month of July with the Kernels.
Alex Isola, Wander Javier, and Gabriel Maciel accounted for the other three hits for Cedar Rapids, each knocking singles. Maciel is now hitting .257 on the year.
MUSSEL MATTERS
Game One: Jupiter 9, Fort Myers 2
The Mussels played a twin-bill on Thursday night against the Marlins Low-A affiliate Juniper Hammerheads. And while there were only 14 innings played on the night, there were more than two touchdowns of action at Hammond Stadium on the night.
Fort Myers stayed neck in neck in the first seven-inning contest of the night, pushing Juniper to extra-innings. Yet a seven-inning eighth was too much for the Mussels, leading to a 9-2 loss.
Starting pitcher Aaron Rozek was electric for the Mussels, striking out seven in five innings of scoreless ball for Fort Myers. The lefty surrendered only three hits and walked none in his strongest outing of the year.
After three innings of scoreless baseball, the Mussels struck in the fourth inning thanks to a pair of walks and a Nick Anderson single. Yunior Severino led off the inning with a six-pitch walk. Will Holland was then hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. The next batter Anderson wasted no time, pulling a 2-1 pitch to right field that scored Severino to give the Mussels the lead.
Just when it looked like the Mussels might sneak away with a pitcher’s duel win, the Hammerheads plated two runs in the top of the sixth.
With their backs against the wall in the bottom of the seventh, Fort Myers found some magic to keep the game going. Kohl McKinnon led off the inning with a single to right field to spark a rally. Following a Justin Washington walk, McKinnon advanced to third on a wild pitch and eventually scored thanks to a Misael Urbina sac-fly.
And while eighth-inning woes kept the Mussels from a win there were moments of brilliance for Fort Myers. Reliever Zarion Sharpe pitched an inning of scoreless baseball, striking out one and walking none. Twins Daily Top 20 Prospect Aaron Sabato stole his first base on the season. And a first-inning single from Severino put his batting average at .250, tied for best on the team.
Game Two: Jupiter 2, Fort Myers 1
Justin Washington’s first home run of the year and a solid pitching outing from Sawyer Gipson-Long weren’t enough to push the Mussels to a victory in the nightcap against Juniper on Thursday.
Gipson-Long struck out five batters in six innings on the mound in the second of two seven-inning games for the Mussels. Unfortunately, the two runs he gave up were too much for the Fort Myers offense to overcome.
Washington and shortstop Will Holland provided the two offensive highlights for Fort Myers. Washington’s fifth-inning solo shot put the Mussels on the board and within a run of the Hammerheads late in the game. Holland punched singles in his first two at-bats to register as the only multi-hit batter for the Mussels on the night.
Reliever Denny Bentley also provided a bright spot for the Mussels, pitching a scoreless seventh inning to keep Fort Myers in the game.
COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Pirates Gold 4, FCL Twins 2
Multi-hit games for Alexander Pena and Wander Valdez weren’t enough to propel the FCL Twins to a win against the FCL Pirates on Thursday evening in the Sunshine State.
The Twins scored their two runs thanks to an RBI groundout from Yonardy Soto in the second and a bases-loaded walk from Breilin Ramirez in the fourth. The fourth inning run was sparked by a leadoff double courtesy of Baez. Baez now has two doubles on the young season.
The FCL Twins’ pitching staff was solid but was plagued by seven walks throughout the course of the evening. The highlight on the bump came from Erasmo Moreno, who pitched 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, striking out two and only giving up two hits.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day- Jordan Balazovic (Wichita)- (W, 2-1), 7 IP, 0 R, H, BB, 11 K
Hitter of the Day- Mitch Garver (St. Paul)- 3-for-4, R, 2 RBI
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Take note that we have finished our midseason update, so there is a new list! Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#1 – Royce Lewis (Rehab) – Out for season (torn ACL)
#2 – Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – Injured List (elbow strain)
#3 – Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 7 IP, 0 R, H, BB, 11 K
#4 – Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List (right elbow strain)
#5 – Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 3-for-4, R, RBI, BB
#6 – Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) – Did not play
#7 – Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) – All-Star Break
#8 – Josh Winder (St. Paul) – Did not pitch
#9 – Aaron Sabato (Fort Myers) – 1-for-6, BB, K
#10 – Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List (wrist sprain)
#11 – Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Out for Season (Tommy John surgery)
#12 – Bailey Ober (Minnesota) – All-Star Break
#13 – Cole Sands (Wichita) –Did not pitch
#14 – Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – 1-for-4, R, RBI, BB, K
#15 – Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) – 1-for-5, RBI, BB, K
#16 – Spencer Steer (Wichita) – 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI
#17 – Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-4, 2 K
#18 – Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A (foot injury)
#19 – Edwar Colina (Rehab) – Injured List (elbow)
#20 – Chris Vallimont (Wichita) – Did not pitch
FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Columbus @ St. Paul (7:05PM CST) – RHP Josh Winder (1-0 3.52 ERA)
Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) – LHP Bryan Sammons (0-3 6.19 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05PM CST) – RHP Jon Olsen ( 0-1, 3.59 ERA)
Juniper @ Fort Myers- (6:00PM CST) – RHP Bobby Milacki (0-1, 4.22 ERA)
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