Twins Minor League Report (5/14): Kepler, Granite Remain On Fire

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 5, Lehigh Valley 6 (11 innings)

Box Score

Alex Meyer was back on the mound. Though the results weren’t great, it was certainly a step in the right direction, an improvement. The right-hander gave up five runs (just three earned) on seven hits. He walked two and struck out four. His fourth strikeout was the first out in the seventh inning. He walked the next batter and was removed from the game. Logan Darnell came in and gave up a single. Mark Hamburger replaced him and gave up two hits, one allowing a run, the other resulted in a runner thrown out at the plate. Tim Stauffer continued his rehab. He threw two quick, scoreless innings and struck out one. Caleb Thielbar pitched a scoreless tenth inning, but the takes the loss after giving up one in the 11^th.

Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-5 with his third home run. Jose Martinez was also 2-5 with his first home run. Eric Farris went 2-5. Josmil Pinto hit his fourth double.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 5, Birmingham 1

Box Score

Greg Peavey’s season couldn’t have started much worse. Through his first five starts (22.1 innings) he had 10.48 ERA and opponents had a 1.048 OPS off of him. In his last start, he gave up just one run over five innings. On Thursday night, he continued that positive trend. He gave up just one run on four hits over seven innings. He walked none and struck out three. Zack Jones finished things up with two scoreless innings in relief. He struck out two.

Max Kepler continued to rake. He went 2-4 with his seventh and eighth doubles. Travis Harrison went 2-3 with a walk and his league-leading 11^th double. Mike Gonzales went 2-3 with a walk. Adam Brett Walker hit his first triple of the season.

One To Watch: In his last 12 games, Kepler is hitting .422/.447/.622 (1.069) with seven doubles and a triple. In his current six-game hitting streak – during which he has four multi-hit games – he is hitting .522/.522/.826 (1.348) with seven doubles.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 3, Dunedin 6

Box Score

Ryan Eades has been very good this season, but he had a clunker on Thursday night. He gave up six runs in the game’s first two innings. He did settle down and gave up only those six over five innings. He gave up ten hits, walked three and struck out two. Alex Muren came on and struck out three in two scoreless innings. Todd Van Steensel then struck out two more over the final two innings.

The Miracle bats came to play. They had 11 hits and walked four times. However, they were only able to muster three runs in the game. Jason Kanzler went 2-5 and hit his third home run of the season. Zach Granite went 2-4 with a walk and his first FSL double. Alex Swim’s 16-game hitting streak came to an end on Wednesday, but he started a new one. He went 2-5 in this one. Mitch Garver went 2-3 with a walk. Logan Wade was 2-4 with his sixth double.

One To Watch: Earlier this week, the Minnesota Twins named Zach Granite their minor league hitter of the month for April. In 19 games with Cedar Rapids in April, he hit .358/.463/.463 (.925) with five doubles and a triple. He also walked 12 times while striking out just six times. When the calendar changed to May, he was promoted to Ft. Myers. He had just one hit in his first 14 at bats (three games) with the Miracle, but since then, he has been terrific. In ten games since, he is hitting .425/.500/.525 (1.025) with a double and his first professional home run.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids, Peoria (Game Suspended in fourth inning)

Box Score

There was rain at Perfect Game Field at Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids most of the day. The tarp was removed from the field about thirty minutes before game time. They were able to get through three innings, but in the top of the fourth, the rains came and the game was suspended. It will continue where it left off next Monday in Peoria before their regularly-scheduled game.

Stephen Gonsalves started and gave up two first-inning runs. Through four innings, he gave up just those two runs on four hits. He walked none and struck out four. Trey Vavra gave the Kernels a lead in the second inning when he launched his fourth home run of the season, a three-run shot. Tanner English had a triple and a walk in the game.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Greg Peavey, Chattanooga Lookouts

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Reynaldo Rodriguez, Rochester Red Wings; Jose Martinez, Rochester Red Wings; Jason Kanzler, Ft. Myers Miracle

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler

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

Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (5:35 CST) – LHP Brett Lee

Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Michael Cederoth

LEADERBOARD

Be sure to check back on Saturday morning to see who is leading the Twins organization in many of the statistical categories.

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