Twins Minor League Report (5/10): A-Mays-ing Start

One of the Twins minor league games was postponed due to rain on Friday, but there were still five games to follow. The Kernels got two terrific starting performances and Trevor May was better than that (or, a-mays-ing?) in his start for the Rock Cats. Kennys Vargas had a couple big hits for the Miracle and Adam Walker remains red hot for Cedar Rapids.

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Carlos Correa played in Game 1 in the matchup of last year’s #1 overall pick against last year’s #2 overall pick (Buxton). Were the two able to impress? Well, you’ll just have to keep reading to find out!

Rochester Red Wings, Columbus Clippers

Rains in upper New York caused this game to be postponed. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday.

Game 1 - New Britain Rock Cats 4, Portland Sea Dogs 6

Box Score

Cole De Vries made his second rehab start, his first with the Rock Cats. He gave up five runs (2 earned) on four hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out five. Blake Martin gave up one run on two hits and a walk in the 6^th inning. AJ Achter worked a perfect seventh inning.

Danny Santana went 2-3 with his fourth triple. (He also committed his 12th error of the season!) Danny Ortiz went 1-3 with a walk and his 11^th double. The Rock Cats had five hits and six walks in the game.

Game 2 - New Britain Rock Cats 6, Portland Sea Dogs 0

Box Score

The story of Game 2 was the work of Trevor May. The hard-throwing right-hander went all seven innings. He gave up two hits and a walk and no runs. He struck out ten, the most by a Rock Cats pitcher in almost two years, when Kyle Gibson struck out ten on May 15, 2010.

Antoan Richardson went 3-4. Dan Rohlfing went 2-3 with his second and third doubles. Jhon Goncalves went 1-1 and walked twice.

Ft. Myers Miracle 5, Jupiter Hammerheads 2 (11 innings)

Box Score

Kennys Vargas played the role of hero in this game. In the second inning he hit a solo homer, his sixth of the year. Then with the bases-loaded in the 11^th inning, he drilled a single to drive in two runs to give the Miracle the lead. In all, he was 2-4 with a walk and three RBI.

Eddie Rosario was back in the lineup on Friday. He was 2-5 with his third stolen base. Stephen Wickens and Angel Morales each went 2-5.

Taylor Rogers went five innings in the start. He gave up two runs on six hits and a walk. Chad Rodgers came on and struck out two in two scoreless, one-hit innings. Zack Jones struck out five and walked one in two hitless innings. Adrian Salcedo struck out three in two scoreless innings, improving to 3-0.

The win puts the Miracle at 27-7.

Game 1 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 2, Quad Cities Bandits 0 (11 innings)

Box Score

Game 1 was certainly a pitchers duel. Hudson Boyd was at his best. He threw six shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked one and struck out four. He didn’t allow a hit until one out in the fifth frame. Steven Gruver came on and threw 3.1 scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out two. Tim Atherton got the final five outs, three of them on strikeouts.

In the 11^th inning, Dalton Hicks drilled a double that scored Jorge Polanco with the game’s first run. Travis Harrison then drove in Hicks with an insurance run.

Adam Walker went 3-5 with his eighth double. He also stole his third base. Hicks went 2-4 with his tenth double. Jorge Polanco went 2-4. It is also noteworthy that for the first time this season Byron Buxton did not reach base in a game. Carlos Correa, the #1 overall pick in last year’s draft, returned from the DL to play in Game 1. He went 0-3 with a walk.

Game 2 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 5, Quad Cities Bandits 1

Box Score

The Twins got another very good start in Game 2. Lefty Mason Melotakis threw 5.1 scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out nine. Josh Burris went the final 1.2 innings. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks. He struck out one.

After not scoring for ten innings in the first game, the Kernels tallied four runs in the first inning of the second game. Adam Walker went 2-3 with his third and fourth triples. Travis Harrison went 2-3 with his tenth double. Niko Goodrum was 2-4 with his first triple. Dalton Hicks hit his 11^th double.

It was a rough day for Byron Buxton as he also did not get on base in the second game. He is now 3-20 (.150) in the last five games, a streak that most hitters experience once or twice by this point in the season.

The Kernels are now 23-9 with the double-header sweep.

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