Twins Minor League Report (4/18): Kernels Blank Chiefs

To find out how it all went down on Tuesday in the minor leagues, and if that comeback was completed, read on!

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 5, Gwinnett 2

Box Score

The Red Wings offense jumped all over Braves starter and top pitching prospect Sean Newcomb for five runs in the first two innings. His wildness loaded the bases before a ball was put in play in the first, and Kennys Vargas did so loudly with a bases-clearing triple (he thought it was a grand slam). Daniel Palka stayed hot and followed with an RBI single to make it 4-0 after one, and a Matt Hague RBI single in the second was plenty to allow Rochester to never look back.

Left-hander David Hurlbut picked up his first win of the season and his first in AAA as he went 5.2 innings in the start. He allowed just one run (unearned) on three hits and three walks. He struck out seven.

D.J. Baxendale came on to finish the sixth inning after Hurlbut gave up the run, and started off by walking old-friend-not-known-for-drawing-walks Adam Brett Walker, his second free pass of the game (he’s hitting .147 with a .490 OPS, if you were wondering).

Trevor Hildenberger was able to record only one out in the seventh before rain came down and delayed the game. When play resumed, Drew Rucinski was the pitcher and he finished the final 2.2 innings. He allowed one run on three hits while striking out four.

Palka finished 2-4 with an RBI, Leonardo Reginatto scored two runs out of the leadoff spot, and Hague also drew three walks in the win.

All eyes will be on Jose Berrios on Wednesday as he makes his third start of the season, where he’s been nothing short of spectacular so far, alongside, at Target Field, a scuffling Kyle Gibson.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Biloxi 0, Chattanooga 0 (Suspended after 2 innings)

Box Score

The Lookouts game with the Biloxi Shuckers was suspended after two innings due to rain, and will be completed on Wednesday as a makeshift double-header starting early. The suspended game will finish its nine innings, while game two will go seven.

Matt Tracy was the starter for Chattanooga, and had struck out two and allowed only a walk when play was stopped. Nick Gordon led off the bottom of the first with a double, but was stranded when the next three hitters went down on strikes. Dan Rohlfing and Dan Gamache started the second with consecutive singles and each moved up a base on a wild pitch, but still weren’t able to score.

Fernando Romero is the probable starter for Chattanooga in Wednesday’s regularly scheduled contest.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Florida 5, Fort Myers 4

Box score

Despite out-hitting the Fire Frogs 13-9 for the game, the Miracle were always playing from behind and couldn’t quite finish any comebacks in this one.

Dereck Rodriguez took the mound for the home team and surrendered single runs in each of the first three innings as Fort Myers fell behind 3-0. It wasn’t all his fault however, as errors from Alex Perex at second base and Nelson Molina at shortstop led to the first two. Three singles in the third led to his only earned run on the game, and he settled in from there to finish with a quality start and retired the last eight hitters he faced. In his six innings he allowed six hits and walked two, while striking out six.

Fort Myers closed the gap to 3-2 in the bottom of the third as Molina reached base on a strikeout that got away from the catcher to start the inning, and advanced all the way to third when the throw to first sailed into right field. A double from Perez drove him in, and he scored on a triple from Zander Wiel later in the frame.

That score remained until the seventh when Jonny Drozd came on in relief for the Miracle. Consecutive doubles made it 4-2 in favor of Florida. Fort Myers snuffed out a double-steal attempt at home and also got force-out at home in the inning to keep the Fire Frogs from doing any more damage.

Williams Ramirez pitched a one-two-three eighth inning, striking out two in the process before the Miracle got a rally started in the bottom half. Wiel and Trey Vavra started the inning with singles before Wiel took off on a steal attempt of third. The catcher's throw was off target and he came around to score to again pull within one. They had the bases loaded later in the frame with just one out, but weren’t able to tie it up.

A double in the ninth added an earned run to Ramirez’s line, but he finished two innings with one hit and two walks allowed, with four strikeouts.

The ninth inning again was promising at the start, as a Max Murphy double and Chris Paul made the score 5-4, but three consecutive strikeouts finished the game and the last of their comeback attempts.

The four game series continues on Wednesday at 5:35PM CST with Cody Stashak on the mound for Fort Myers.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 0

Box Score

The Kernels pitching staff dominated the Chiefs on Tuesday night, with starter Tyler Beardsley leading the way. He allowed five hits and one walk in his six scoreless innings, striking out six along the way. He didn’t allow a runner past second base until his final inning, and only stolen bases got a runner there before that.

Andrew Vasquez and Tom Hackimer combined to finish the game with three perfect innings. Vasquez picked up a hold with a one-two-three seventh that included two strikeouts, and Hackimer picked up the save with three strikeouts of his own in the final two innings.

It took until the sixth inning before the Kernels were able to strike, but Mitchell Kranson’s third double of the year was a big one to make it 2-0 in favor of the good guys. Jaylin Davis added an RBI single in the eighth to make it 3-0, and Travis Blankenhorn and Lewin Diaz added RBI singles in the top of the ninth to make the final score.

Blankenhorn (2-4, 2 R’s, RBI), Diaz (2-5, RBI), and Davis (3-4, R, RBI) had multiple hit efforts in the victory. Jermaine Palacios scored two runs and stole his second base of the season.

Early season standout Eduardo Del Rosario toes the rubber for Cedar Rapids in the series finale Wednesday morning.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day – Tyler Beardsley, Cedar Rapids Kernels (W, 6.0 IP, 5 H’s, BB, 6 K’s)

Hitter of the Day – Zander Wiel, Fort Myers Miracle (2-4, R, 3B, RBI, SB)

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Gwinnett (6:05PM CST) – RHP Jose Berrios (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Biloxi @ Chattanooga (5:35PM CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (0-2, 9.00 ERA)

Florida @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) – RHP Cody Stashak (0-2, 3.00 ERA)

Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (11:00AM CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario (1-0, 0.84 ERA)

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