Saturday in the Minor League Parks

The Twins got a nice 2-1, 10-inning win in Chicago against the White Sox. Eduardo Escobar, who came to the Twins last July from the South Siders, beat out an infield single to shortstop. Ryan Doumit, who was on second after an inning -opening double, advanced to third base and then continued home when Jeff Keppinger was unable to cleanly catch the one-hop throw from Ramirez. Glen Perkins came on to record the save.

There were a couple of one-run games in the Twins farm system. A big home run helped Rochester a win, their first back-to-back wins of the season. The Ft. Myers Miracle also played an entertaining one-run game, but you’ll have to keep reading to see whether they won...or not. Byron Buxton’s batting average dropped to .420, but how did the Kernels play? Were the Rock Cats able to bounce back from a big loss a night earlier? Check down below, and please feel free to discuss.

Rochester Red Wings 5, Pawtucket Red Sox 4

Box Score

It was a back-and-forth game on Saturday afternoon between these two teams. Fortunately, the Red Wings managed to score last on Chris Colabello’s sixth home run of the season.

Colabello went 2-4 with that organizational-leading sixth home run. Clete Thomas went 2-3 with a walk. Joe Benson was 2-4.

Andrew Albers started and really struggled. Typically an aggressive control pitcher, Albers walked three in just two innings. He gave up three runs on four hits and struck out just one. Caleb Thielbar came on and pitched well. The lefty gave up two hits and a walk in three scoreless frames. He struck out three. Shairon Martis gave up a solo home run. He gave up that one run and three hits and a walk in two innings.

Tim Wood’s rehab stint continued with his first appearance in Rochester. He was the International League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2012 and struck out two on this day. Anthony Slama came in for the ninth and set them down 1, 2, 3 for his second save of the year.

New Britain Rock Cats 1, Portland Sea Dogs 7

Box Score

After losing 12-1 on Friday night, it was important for the Rock Cats to get off to a fast start on Saturday afternoon. Danny Santana led off the game with his second triple. James Beresford drove him in with a sacrifice fly. That was about it for the Rock Cats offense. Santana was 2-4. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his sixth double. Danny Ortiz hit his seventh double.

Logan Darnell stated for New Britain. The left-hander gave up five runs (3 earned) on seven hits and two walks. In five innings, he struck out six. AJ Achter gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in his 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Aaron Thompson came on and gave up two hits but no runs in 1.1 innings.

Ft. Myers Miracle 5, St. Lucie Mets 6

Box Score

So close! On Saturday night, Ft. Myers was inches away from a Miracle win in Port St. Lucie. Down 6-2 going into the ninth frame, Eddie Rosario singled. Then three straight Miracle hitters drew walks, which cut the lead to 6-3. Another reliever came on and gave up a single to Kennys Vargas to cut the lead to 6-4. The eight and ninth hitters, Lance Ray and Andy Leer, struck out. That brought up AJ Pettersen. Pettersen hit a hard ground ball off of a diving first baseman. A single run scored. Pinch runner Stephen Wickens attempted to score from second on the play but was thrown out at the plate. The Miracle were that close to keeping the game going, but unfortunately, they fall to 14-2 with the 6-5 loss.

Tom Stuifbergen started and gave up just one run through the first six innings. In the bottom of the 7^th, a one-out single was followed by a controversial hit batter. The Miracle believed that the ball hit the batter’s bat. The umpire disagreed. Runners on first and second. With the lead runner attempting to steal third, the next batter grounded to third base, but Miguel Sano committed his fourth error of the year loading the bases. TJ Rivera then hit a bases-clearing double that broke open the game. That was the end of the line for Stuifbergen. He went 6.1 innings and gave up five runs (3 earned) on seven hits. He walked none and struck out five. Adrian Salcedo came in and gave up a run on three hits in 1.2 innings.

Miguel Sano went 2-3 with a walk and his fifth double.

photo courtesy of Cedar Rapids Kernels Facebook page. Be sure to "Like" it.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 11, Peoria Chiefs 2

Box Score

If you can put up crooked numbers on the scoreboard, it’s always a good thing. The Red Wings scored six runs in the first inning and another five runs in the fourth inning to jump out to a huge lead. They ended the game with two straight numbers.

The Kernels collected 17 hits in the game. Drew Leachman led the offense with a 4-5 day. He was playing for just the fourth time on the season and came into the game hitting .142 (2-14). He now is hitting .316 after missing almost two weeks with a shoulder injury. Niko Goodrum went 2-4 with two walks and had two RBI. Romy Jimenez went 2-4 with his second double and four RBI. He had a bases-clearing double in the first inning. Jhonatan Arias went 2-5, his first two hits of the season. Travis Harrison was 2-4 with a walk. Adam Walker was 2-4. Jorge Polanco was 2-6. Byron Buxton’s batting average dropped to .420 with an 0-4 game. He did, however, walk twice in the long first inning.

Lefty Mason Melotakis started, lasted only 3.1 innings, due in part to giving up four walks and four hits, and so did not qualify for the win. in spite of the run support. Steve Gruver came on for an “easy” “Win” and pitched well. The southpaw gave up one run on four hits in 4.2 innings. He walked none and struck out four. Tyler Jones pitched the ninth inning and gave up a hit, but no runs.

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