Twins Minor League Report (5/1): Williams Crushes Nightcap, Rijo Smooth Early

TRANSACTIONS

Fort Myers Miracle

RHP Bailey Ober placed on the seven-day IL with a right ulnar nerve subluxation

RED WINGS REPORT

Scranton/WB 8, Rochester 6

Box Score

Zack Littell got the start for Rochester tonight and turned in seven innings of strong work. Fanning seven while walking two and allowing seven hits, he ceded four earned runs and needed some offensive help once he departed. The runs came, but unfortunately they weren’t unanswered.

Scranton got on the board first in this one, scoring one run in the bottom of the second. In the third, Randy Cesar drove in John Andreoli with an RBI single to knot things up on the road. The Railriders pulled away in the fourth with a three-run tally.

Attempting to chip away, Rochester added runs in the sixth, eighth, and ninth innings drawing even on another Cesar RBI. Headed to extras, Luke Raley got things started with his fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot. In the bottom half of the 10th, Scranton pushed across four and ended the game in walkoff fashion.

BLUE WAHOOS BITES

Biloxi 7, Pensacola 3

Box Score

Taking the ball in this one was Sean Poppen, and needing 51 pitches to get through just two innings, this turned out to be an abbreviated start for the otherwise impressive prospect.

The Shuckers pushed across seven runs through the first three innings and the Blue Wahoos had an ugly hole to climb out of. A fielder’s choice in the third allowed Pensacola’s first run to score, but it wasn’t followed by bunches. Taylor Grzelakowski grabbed an RBI on a sac fly in the fourth, and generated the same result in the sixth. Down 7—3 at that point, the score stood as the home side fell.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Postponed – Rain

KERNELS NUGGETS

Game 1- Bowling Green 3, Cedar Rapids 2

Box Score

After a rainout yesterday, the Kernels and Hot Rods attempted a shot at two today. In the first half of the doubleheader Luis Rijo was on the bump. Turning in six solid innings of work, he allowed just one earned run (three total) while fanning five and walking none.

Uber prospect Wander Franco generated the game’s first run on an RBI single, but a passed ball allowed the Kernels to even the score at one in the bottom of the third. David Banuelos homered in the fourth giving the home team the lead, but a 2-run shot in the fifth wiped that away and gave us the final tally.

Game 2- Cedar Rapids 6, Bowling Green 4

Box Score

Working game two on the day, Austin Schulfer turned in four innings allowing just one earned (two total) run. He picked up six strikeouts and walked just two batters. Leaving with the game knotted, a decision remained up in the air.

Cedar Rapids found themselves looking at a 2-0 deficit when the entered the bottom half of the third inning. A Ben Rodriguez double wiped that out as both Gabriel Maciel and Chris Williams scampered home.

Once again the Hot Rods would lead by two, but this one would be overcome quickly. In the fifth Rodriguez drove in Williams again, and Jacob Pearson crossed the plate on a double play. Andrew Bechtold cracked his second dinger of the season, and when the inning was over, the Kernels led 5-4 into the 6th.

Having done damage all night long, Williams added to the lead with his fifth homer of the season, and Cedar Rapids was ahead by the eventual winning score of 6-4. Joe Record was able to pick up his fifth save on the season, which is a Midwest League season high.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Luis Rijo (Cedar Rapids) 6.0 IP 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Chris Williams (Cedar Rapids) 2-3, 3 R, RBI, BB, K, HR(5)

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - No game

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Did not pitch

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – No game

#5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game

#6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Did not play

#7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch

#8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch

#9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch

#10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - No game

#11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured list

#12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured list

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - No game

#14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - No game

#15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List

#16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, BB, K

#17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – 7.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

#18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 0-4

#19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not pitch

#20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - No game

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (5:35PM CST) – RHP Chase De Jong (0-2, 21.00 ERA)

Biloxi @ Pensacola (6:35PM CST) – RHP Jorge Alcala (4-1, 5.70 ERA)

Clearwater @ Fort Myers, Game 1 (3:00PM CST) – RHP Jhoan Duran (0-3, 3.63 ERA)

Clearwater @ Fort Myers, Game 2 – LHP Tyler Watson (0-3, 4.98 ERA)

Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) – TBD

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!