Twins Minor League Report (4/11): No Hit Efforts

To find out how all of the Twins affiliates fared on Tuesday, keep reading!

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 5, Buffalo 0

Box Score

6-10 right-hander and former Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Aaron Slegers took to the hill for the Red Wings Tuesday afternoon, and he pitched like he did for the Indiana Hoosiers back in 2013 when he won that award. In six innings, he walked three and struck out seven in a no-hit effort to keep the Bisons off the board. He struck out three of the last four hitters he faced and ended his day after eighty-one pitches to pick up his first win of 2017.

When his day was finished the Red Wings were leading just 1-0, but their lineup got to Buffalo’s bullpen for a run in each of the last four innings. Kennys Vargas gave them the lead with his first home run of the year in the sixth and consecutive doubles from Niko Goodrum and J.B. Shuck in the seventh made it 2-0. A Goodrum double with the bases loaded in the eighth scored two more and the shutout win was punctuated with Tommy Field’s first home run of the year in the ninth.

Travor Hildenberger was the first reliever summoned from the bullpen for the seventh inning, and he pitched two scoreless frames allowing two singles and striking out one. Alan Busenitz came on for the ninth and got a double-play ball after a walk to end the game.

Goodrum led the offense as he went 3-4 with two doubles, a run scored, and two RBI. He also switched from shortstop to center field in the eighth inning, displaying his ability to be trusted at multiple up-the-middle positions. Ben Paulsen added two hits, including a double.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga – Scheduled day off.

The Lookout’s had Tuesday off as they travel to Florida for a five-game series with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp starting at 6:05PM (CST) Wednesday night. Kohl Stewart will make his second start of the season in the series opener.

(If the nickname “Jumbo Shrimp” is a new one to you too, they switched to this name for the 2017 season. They were formerly the “Suns” and are the AA-affiliate of the Miami Marlins)

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 1, Tampa 2

Box score

Left-hander Lachlan Wells made his first start of the year for Fort Myers after pitching two scoreless innings of relief on April 6^th against the Jupiter Hammerheads. He went the first five innings and despite allowing seven hits and a walk, gave up just two runs (one earned) and struck out six.

Fort Myers jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Casey Scoggins reached base on an error to start the game, and singles from Chris Paul and Alex Perez got him around the bases. The Miracle bats went pretty quiet after that, as it was Paul and Perez who accounted for all seven of their hits on the game.

Wells surrendered his two runs in the third inning as a leadoff double was followed by a sacrifice bunt, two singles, and a throwing error from Paul at third base before he took it upon himself to strike out the next two batters and end the threat.

Sam Clay pitched the sixth and seventh innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out three. Williams Ramirez pitched a scoreless eighth, giving up a double but striking out the next two hitters to keep the Miracle within one.

Paul went 4-4 with two doubles while Perez was 3-4 with the Miracle’s lone RBI. It is kind of a strange lineup to look at in the box score, as three hitters (Daniel Kihle, Paul, and Perez) have a small-sample-size season average of .400 or above, but no one else above .154. This likely contributes to their 1-5 record on the season.

The Miracle look to avoid the sweep against the Yankees on Wednesday, as Dereck Rodriguez takes the mound in the series finale.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 6, Kane County 1

Box Score

Cedar Rapids scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back as they cruised to the 6-1 victory on Tuesday afternoon. It was the first loss of the season for the Kane County Cougars.

Jermaine Palacios started the game with a single, stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error, and then scored on an error off the bat of Lewin Diaz to start the scoring in the first. A Shane Carrier double and Brandon Lopez single scored two more runs and the Kernels spotted starter Tyler Beardsley a 3-0 lead before he took the mound.

He retired the Cougar lineup in order the first turn through as the Kernels built their lead to 5-0 with single runs in the second and third innings. It was a Travis Blankenhorn double in the second and a Lopez ground out in the third that scored those runs.

Beardsley finally gave up a hit to the leadoff man in the fourth and got into some more trouble from there. After a walk and a single brought in the Cougars first run, a passed ball and hit-batter around a strikeout loaded the bases with two outs. Beardsley buckled down and got a ground out to end the inning. Kane County hardly threatened from there.

Blankenhorn continued his early display of power in the Midwest League (pssst) when he added a solo home run in the seventh inning, his third of the season already to stretch the lead to 6-1.

Reliever Brady Anderson came on for Beardsley in the sixth inning, and faced the minimum over the final four innings. Only an error in the eighth kept him from a perfect pitching line while picking up the save. He struck out three.

On offense, Blankenhorn and Carrier led the way with two hits apiece, and Lopez added two RBI.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Rochester Red Wings (W, 6.0 IP, 0 H’s, 3 BB’s, 7 K’s)

Hitter of the Day – Travis Blankenhorn, Cedar Rapids Kernels (2-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI)

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Buffalo (6:05PM CST) – LHP David Hurlbut (0-0, -.-- ERA)

Chattanooga @ Jacksonville (6:05PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (0-1, 0.00 ERA)

Fort Myers @ Tampa (6:00PM CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez (0-1, 8.31 ERA)

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (11:00AM CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

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