Twins Minor League Report (6/24): Extras! Extras!

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 2, Pawtucket 3 (11 innings)

Box Score

Taylor Rogers gave up only one run in his first six innings, but left in trouble in the seventh. He gave up five hits, two runs and struck out three in 6.1 innings.

Alex Meyer relieved Rogers with runners on second and third and one out. He induced a weak ground ball to third base, but Rusney Castillo was able to beat the tag to score and give the PawSox a 2-1 lead. Meyer then got a called third strike and help from Wilkin Ramirez on a diving catch. The broadcast didn’t have a gun, but Meyer’s stuff looked crisp. Could he be making his Twins debut this weekend?

A.J. Achter pitched a clean eighth, striking out two.

The offense did nothing for the first eight innings. Through 26 outs, the team only had two hits. In fact, they didn’t get their third hit until they were down to their final strike. But then Reynaldo Rodriguez, Danny Ortiz and Jose Ramirez all singled and the game was tied at two.

The next two innings were pretty anti-climactic. The excitement picked back up in the bottom of the 11th. After a leadoff single, a bunt single and a groundout, there was one out and runners on the corners. The PawSox pulled off the safety squeeze and Lester Oliveros couldn’t get the ball home in time. Pawtucket wins in walk-off fashion. Caleb Thielbar took the loss.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Southern League All-Star Break

Chattanooga gets back to it on Thursday.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 4, Palm Beach 3 (11 innings)

Box Score

The Miracle won in wild walk-off fashion on Wednesday afternoon. That’s wild pitch walk-off fashion as an errant pitch to Ryan Walker allowed Zach Granite, who doubled to lead off the inning as a pinch-hitter, to score.

Seven Miracle batters contributed one hit each to the cause. Chad Christensen’s two-run double in the sixth was their most damaging hit of the day. Bryan Haar also drove in a run.

Stephen Gonsalves started today and only gave up three hits in five innings. Unfortunately, he walked four and allowed two runs to score. He struck out two.

After Todd Van Steensel gave up a run in his inning of work, the bullpen went into shutdown mode. Matt Summers, Alex Muren and Brian Gilbert combined to pitch five innings of three-hit, three-strikeout, shutout baseball.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Midwest League All-Star Break

The Kernels get Brandon Bixler back from the disabled list and Luke Westphal from Fort Myers to fill out their roster.

E-TOWN E-NOTES

Elizabethton 4, Bluefield 5

Box Score

Alexis Tapia, who pitched for Fort Myers earlier this season, made his Appy League debut. He had quite a performance. In five innings, he gave up six hits and a walk. He struck out five and only gave up one unearned run. Sam Clay struck out six in 2.2 innings, but allowed two runs.

After Onesimo Hernandez struck out a batter to end the eighth inning, Tyler Stirewalt was asked to close the game. He recorded two outs, allowing two hits, walking three and giving up the tying and the winning run. It was Stirewalt’s first appearance after Tommy John surgery.

Austin Diemer led the offense (again) with two hits and stole a base. LaMonte Wade tripled for the second time in two games and Tyler Kuresa doubled. Rainis Silva, who’s had the reputation of being a good defensive catcher had three more passed balls tonight and now has seven through two games.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 8, GCL Orioles 5 (11 innings)

Box Score

Robert Molina signed with the Twins for $300,000 last summer from Venezuela and made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League. He didn’t hit any home runs. He decided that Wednesday would be the day he would hit his first professional home run and he did it in grand fashion: A three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Amaurys Minier had two hits as he continues to rehab a wrist injury before heading to Elizabethton. He was replaced at first base by Travis Blankenhorn. In his four innings, Blankenhorn, doubled, was intentionally walked, stole a base and scored a run.

Roberto Gonzalez added two singles. John Hayman tripled. Trey Cabbage was 0-4 with an RBI, walk and two strikeouts in his pro debut.

Eduardo Del Rosario got the start and pitched into the fifth. His final line - 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R (1 ER), 5 K - wasn’t helped by the fact that Brandon Poulson allowed both of his inherited runners to score. Poulson walked three and struck out three. In addition to the two inherited runners he allowed to score, he was charged with two other runs as well.

Andrew Vasquez struck out two before turning the ball over to Matz Schutte. Schutte, from the Netherlands, struck out two and allowed only two hits in four innings of work.

Yorman Landa, who is rehabbing from Cedar Rapids, pitched a scoreless inning and got the victory.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Matz Schutte, GCL

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Blankenhorn, GCL

(There are no available picture of either… hence the Alex Meyer photo.)

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester at Pawtucket (6:05 CST) – RHP Ervin Santana

Chattanooga at Montgomery (7:05 CST) – TBD

Ft. Myers at Charlotte (6:00 CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers

Cedar Rapids vs Quad Cities (6:35 CST) – RHP Felix Jorge

Elizabethton at Bluefield (6:05 CST) - TBD

GCL Twins at GCL Orioles (11:00 CST) - TBD