TRANSACTIONS
- Minnesota Twins sent LHP Caleb Thielbar on a rehab assignment to St. Paul Saints.
SAINTS SENTINAL
St. Paul 8, Iowa 4 (10 innings)
Box Score
Ice in his veins.
Knotted at four with two outs and the bases loaded in the 10th inning, "Big Game" Jermaine Palacios broke on the draw. On the first pitch of his at-bat, Palacios launched a ball over the left-center field wall and onto the outfield concourse to walk off the Saints in the series finale against Iowa.
Palacios wasn't the only offensive star on the day; St. Paul mounted a crucial three-run third inning thanks to an RBI single from Spencer Steer and a two-run homer courtesy of Jake Cave . The 29-year-old may have gray hair on that luscious beard, but his swing looked as ageless as ever over the past week. Cave hit safely in all six games against the I-Cubs and recorded multi-hit performances in three of those six games. His whopping on-base streak may have ended earlier this month but Cave has recorded an impressive July, slashing .263/.388/.563 with six homers, 18 RBI, and 17 runs.
Palacios' statement of a game didn't just feature his walk-off grand slam. Trailing 4-3 in the eighth innings, Palacios lined a double to right field that scored Cave from second base.
Palacios and Cave certainly stole the show at the plate, yet Sunday's matinee featured a flurry of quality pitching performances. Starting pitcher Ariel Jurado allowed just one run on three hits while striking out seven through four innings. The Aguadulce, Panama native was perfect in the walks category and his seven strikeouts were a season-high.
Making his first appearance upon return from the IL Twins' bullpen staple Caleb Thielbar tossed a perfect fifth inning, drawing a groundout and pop out along with a strikeout.
After a pair of scoreless innings from Tyler Thornburg and Ian Hamilton, RHP Michael Feliz put the nail in the coffin for the Saints, pitching a perfect ninth and tenth inning.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 5, Northwest Arkansas 3
Box Score
Speed kills.
Scoring off of two wild pitches, Deshawn Keirsey Jr. touted a multi-hit game with a triple to propel the Surge to a Sunday afternoon victory over Northwest Arkansas in Wichita.
Keirsey Jr. got the party started in the second inning when he took a 2-1 pitch to right field for a leadoff triple (3). Just two batters later, Keirsey Jr. scooted home when a pitch to Ernie Yake squeaked to the right of the Travelers' catcher.
Wichita remained silent until putting together a massive four-run eighth inning. Keirsey Jr. led off that inning with a walk and scored on another wild pitch. The mishap wasn't Northwest Arkansas' only in the inning: on a double steal from Edouard Julien and Yake, a botched throw allowed Yake to score from third. Chris Williams and Yake both tallied RBI singles to contribute to the four-run frenzy.
Keirsey Jr. wasn't too shabby in the field either, robbing an extra-base hit to record the final out of the sixth inning.
Highly-touted pitching prospect Simeon Woods-Richardson returned to the bump for the first time since June 11, pitching 2 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. Woods-Richardson allowed four hits and walked three while striking out four. Not a bad first day back at the office for a guy who will certainly play a critical role for the organization's pitching staff in years to come.
KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 9, Wisconsin 2
Box Score
Runs were the main course for the Kernels on Sunday afternoon in Cedar Rapids. Thanks to a three-hit, two-homer, five RBI showing from slugger Aaron Sabato, the Kernels notched their 59th win of the season.
Sabato got things started right away with a two-run shot in the first inning to put Cedar Rapids on the board. Just four pitches later, Yunior Severino launched a ball over the center-field wall to give the Kernels a 3-0 lead. Sabato struck again in the third inning with an RBI double that scored Jake Rucker (who also scored on Sabato's first-inning bomb).
The party continued in the fifth. With Rucker on base, Sabato took a 3-2 pitch over the left-field wall to give the Kernels a 7-0 lead.
Sunday continued a red-hot July for Sabato. Hitting safely in seven of his last eight games, Sabato is slashing .273/.375/.709 in the month of July. Sabato now has two three-hit games on the season and Sunday marked the first time that Sabato has mashed two homers and a double in his time with Cedar Rapids.
Cedar Rapids used five pitches to defeat the Timber Rattlers. Starting pitcher Orlando Rodriguez pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out one. Red-hot Bobby Milacki (W, 5-0) followed Rodriguez with 2 1/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless ball while striking out two. Milacki now has an impressive 1.97 ERA on the season.
MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 8, Tampa 6
Box Score
Despite falling to an early 3-0 deficit, the Mussels used six extra-base hits to power past the Tarpons to cap off the week in the Sunshine State. Five Mighty Mussels tallied multi-hit games and left-fielder Carlos Aguiar tallied a double, triple, and homer in Sunday's victory.
Aguiar put the Mussels on the board in the fourth inning with a solo homer on a 1-1 pitch. Misael Urbina followed suit with a two-run RBI single to knot the game at three.
The fun came in the sixth. Leading off for Fort Myers, Aguiar punched a 1-1 pitch to right field for a leadoff triple that eventually turned into a 'little league home run' when Tampa's second baseman botched a throw on the relay, allowing Aguiar to score. The play was critical, as Fort Myers' next three batters struck out.
It may not count as a homer, but hey, a run's a run, no matter how it happens!
Knotted in a dog fight, the Mussels provided enough insurance in the eighth inning to secure the win. Following an RBI single from Daniel Ozoria, Urbina launched a two-run homer over the left-field wall to seal the deal for Fort Myers.
The Mussels went all out from the bump in their victory over the Tarpons, using six different pitchers. Starting pitcher Jordan Carr lasted two innings, allowing three runs on four hits. Reliever Niklas Rimmel (W, 4-1) was rock-solid on the back end of the game, pitching 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball while walking two and striking out three.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day: Aaron Sabato (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, 2 HR, 2B, 3 R, 5 RBI
Pitcher of the Day: Ariel Jurado (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 7 K
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed.
# 5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) 2.2 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K
#6 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R
#12 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-4, 2 K
#15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-2, R, 3 BB, K
#16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Wichita) - 1-for-2, BB, K
MONDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS
FCL Twins @ FCL Orioles 11:00am CST
DSL Rockies @ DSL Twins 9:00am CST
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