Twins Minor League Report (4/7/16): Opening Night

Any feedback would be welcomed. What are the key things you'd like to see from these reports? What's included that's good, and what more would you like to read?

TRANSACTIONS

There were several pre-Opening Night transactions to get rosters where they needed to be.

• Rochester placed Infielder Stephen Wickens on the DL.
  
• Chattanooga placed pitchers Nick Burdi, DJ Baxendale and Jason Adam on the DL. Also hitters Niko Goodrum, Shannon Wilkerson and Jairo Rodriguez were placed on the DL. (UPDATE - Despite the milb.com site showing DJ Baxendale placed on the DL, he was not.)
  
• For the Miracle, Aderlin Mejia and Alex Muren were placed on the DL.
  
• Cedar Rapids placed Michael Cederoth, Cam Booser, Lewis Thorpe and Fernando Romero on the DL.
  

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 1, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 0 (SUSPENDED)

Box Score

This game was delayed a the start for over an hour, but they were able to get it started. They completed four innings before the rains came down again. Following a delay, the decision was made to suspend the game. It will start on Friday at 4:05 (Central Time) and they will complete this game. It will then be followed by a 7-inning game.

Tyler Duffey started and gave up no runs over four innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out three. 40 of his 56 pitchers were strikes. Jorge Polanco was 2-2 including a first-inning triple. Kepler drove him in with a ground out to second base. In Kepler’s second at-bat, he singled to left field, his first AAA hit.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 0, Biloxi 4

Box Score

The last time the Lookouts played Biloxi, they were celebrating their Southern League championship. Jason Wheeler was named the series MVP. Wheeler was on the mound in this game as well. The tall left-hander gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits. He walked one and struck out five. Three of the runs scored in the first inning. He was replaced by Marcus Walden who struck out two over two scoreless innings. Alex Wimmers pitched a scoreless ninth frame.

The Lookouts offense emulated the Twins offense in their opening series against the Orioles. They managed just three hits in being shut out and struck out 11 times. Stuart Turner gave the Lookouts their first hit, a double, in the second inning. Travis Harrison walked twice.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 1, Bradenton 3

Box Score

It’s not how you start, but how you finish that matters. In this game, Miracle Opening Night starter Stephen Gonsalves finished very strong, but it was the first inning that proved to matter most in the end result of this game. The southpaw from San Diego struggled early. In the first inning, he gave up two singles before allowing a three-run homer to Jordan Luplow. He was terrific after that. He gave up nothing over the final five innings and ended with a quality start. He went six innings and gave up just the three runs on six hits. He walked none and struck out six in the loss.

The Miracle brought on some power arms after Gonsalves to finish out the game. Brian Gilbert gave up a hit and walked one in a scoreless seventh. He was hitting 94-95. Then Luke Bard pitched the 8th. It was his first appearance in a Miracle uniform since one inning in 2013. He was perfect and struck one out. He sat 94-95 and hit 97 once. Raul Fernandez came on for the ninth. He was a member of the 40 man rosters of the Rockies and White Sox the last two seasons. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning, much thanks to Tanner English who made an incredible running catch deep in the left-center field gap. Fernandez consistently hit 96 and threw a mid-80s slider.

The Miracle were unable to get much offense going all game. Four of their five hits were from the bats of players in their first Florida State League game. Nick Gordon, Trey Vavra, Edgar Corcino and Tanner English each had one hit. English added two walks and stole his first base of the year. (English led the Twins minor leagues in 2015 with 37 stolen bases and was named the top defensive outfielder in the system.) Trey Vavra went 1-3 with a walk.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 12, Quad Cities 4

Box Score

The Kernels hosted Quad Cities for Opening Night in Cedar Rapids. The River Bandits second and third hitters were 2015 first-round picks Kyle Tucker and Daz Cameron. On this night however, the Kernels dominated the game.

Randy LeBlanc started. The righty from Tulane went the first five innings. He gave up one run on three hits. He walked two, hit one and struck out two. Michael Theofanopoulos walked two and struck out one in the sixth inning. Zack Tillery gave up one run on one hit and two walks over the next two innings. He struck out two. Kuo Hua Lo threw the ninth inning, and it didn’t go well for him. The 2015 Appy League reliever of the year struggled with his control. On the inning, he gave up two runs on four hits and a walk.

The Kernels scored runs often, but a six-run eighth inning put this game well out of reach. Chris Paul led the offense. He went 3-4 with a walk and a bases-clearing triple in the eighth frame. AJ Murray had two hits including his first home run. Jermaine Palacios had two hits. Zander Wiel and LaMonte Wade each had two hits and a walk. Eight of the nine starters for the Kernels had at least one hit. Rafael Valera was the only one without a hit, and he walked twice.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy LeBlanc, Cedar Rapids Kernels

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chris Paul, Cedar Rapids Kernels

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Norfolk (4:05 CST) – LHP Pat Dean will start the full game. TBD on the resumption of the suspended game.

Chattanooga @ Mobile (7:05 CST) – RHP DJ Baxendale

Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart

Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Andro Cutura

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Thursday games.