Twins Minor League Report (5/22): O-fer Kind of Night

Two men were having very different feelings on Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta.

Chris Colabello continued his remarkable journey, making his MLB debut in Atlanta. His dream came true today. But the nightmarish season for Vance Worley continued as the Braves roughed him up for 10 hits and eight earned runs in less than four innings of work. Following the game, the Twins sent Worley to Rochester to try working out his kinks.

In the minors, Alex Meyer was on the mound for New Britain, the Miracle tried to continue their winning ways, and Cedar Rapids faced a familiar foe in the Beloit Snappers. Let's go down on the pond![PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

Rochester Red Wings (Off Day)

While the Red Wings enjoyed an off-day, two of their best offensive players from the beginning of the year were playing against the Atlanta Braves. Oswaldo Arcia and Chris Colabello had put together numbers in the International League that were worthy of promotion.

Now it will likely become harder for Rochester's struggling offense to put up runs. The team ranks 9th in the International League in OPS and 11th in runs scored. Infielder Deibinson Romero was promoted from New Britain to try to spark the offense. Romero was hitting .355 in eight games with three homers and six RBI. In a corresponding move, Nate Hanson was down sent to New Britain.

Rochester will look to turn things around during an eight game homestand. The club has lost six of their last nine and they sit nine games out of first place in the International League North. Both teams coming to Rochester in the next week are below .500, so this homestand gives the Wings a chance to make up some ground.

New Britain Rock Cats 3, Binghamton Bees 8

Box Score

A costly error by Rock Cats shortstop Danny Santana led to three unearned runs in the four run fourth inning. Those runs put New Britain in a hole they were never able to climb out of. He had another error in the ninth inning. Santana had 18 errors last year at shortstop and his two errors today push his 2013 total to 17. He hasn't been getting on base or hitting for much power so he needs to make some strides on the defensive side of the ball.

Alex Meyer started and pitched into the seventh inning. Over 6.2 innings, he gave up three earned runs on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. It was the first time all season he has recorded an out in the seventh inning. This was his best start in May and one hopes that he is turning a corner for the rest of the year.

On the offensive side of the ball, Daniel Ortiz put together a three hit effort. He hit his 15th and 16th doubles of the year and scored a run. In the last ten games, he has a .333 batting average with six doubles. Reynaldo Rodriguez added his 11th double of the year. In his first game since being demoted, Nate Hanson went 0-for-4.

The Rock Cats have lost 9 of their last 10; it has been a rough stretch of baseball. The team can salvage a split of their series with Binghamton if they win on Thursday. Over the long weekend, New Britain will play a four-game set against New Hampshire.

Fort Myers Miracle 1, Lakeland Flying Tigers 4

Box Score

The Miracle scored a quick run in the top of the first inning and then the Lakeland pitching staff proceeded to put a lot of zeros on the scoreboard. Fort Myers didn't score another run and the Flying Tigers pounded out 13 hits.

Matt Koch was the only Miracle batter to collect more than one hit. He went 2-for-4 with his first triple of the year. Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas, the three and four hitters, combined to go 0-for-7. Fort Myers had plenty of opportunities, leaving 10 runners on base and getting shut out in 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Taylor Rogers pitched admirably, throwing five innings and allowing one earned run. He scattered nine hits but he was able to limit the damage. In the second, third, fourth innings he was able to leave the bases loaded, not allowing a run until the fifth inning.

In a perfect eighth inning, Zach Jones struck out two and lowered his ERA to 0.90. Adrian Salcedo was saddled with his first loss of the year by giving up two runs over two innings. These are the first runs he has allowed in this month.

The Miracle are 32-13 and they wrap up a seven-game road trip with their tilt against Lakeland tomorrow night. Following that game, Fort Myers will head home for a weekend series with the Charlotte Stone Crabs.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 6, Beloit Snappers 7

Box Score

The Kernels tried, with a ninth inning rally, to be the only Twins affiliate to win on Wednesday. Trailing by three runs at the start of the frame, Candido Pimentel walked before a fielding error allowed Byron Buxton to reach. Niko Goodrum stepped to the plate as the tying run but he grounded into a double play. Jorge Polanco was the next batter and he sent one over the fence to cut the lead to one. But, to close the game, Dalton Hicks popped out to the catcher.

Hudson Boyd coughed up seven earned runs in a little over five innings. The Snappers pounded out three home runs against him and he struck out four. Josue Montanez and Manuel Soliman combined to shut down the Snappers for the rest of the game. In fact, Beloit got only one more hit after Boyd left.

None of the Kernels hitters were able to knock more than one hit. Byron Buxton was 1-for-4 with his 5th triple and 20th stolen base. J.D. Williams had an interesting line as he went 0-for-1 but collected three walks. Travis Harrison hit his 15th double.

Cedar Rapids has two more games in Beloit before returning home for a six-game homestand. The Snappers are the team right behind the Kernels in the standings so these next two games are important to both teams.