Twins Minor League Report (5/14): Lewis Double Doubles, Graterol Strong

TRANSACTIONS

INF Nick Gordon placed on 7-day IL with Rochester (left adductor strain).

RHP Chase De Jong placed on 7-day IL with Rochester (left quad strain).

INF Luis Arraez promoted to Rochester.

C Ben Rortvedt promoted to Pensacola.

C David Banuelos promoted to Fort Myers.

OF Akil Baddoo placed on 7-day IL with Fort Myers (left elbow strain).

OF DaShawn Keirsey on 7-day IL with Cedar Rapids (left shoulder strain).

OF Jared Akins promoted to Cedar Rapids.

OF Jean Carlos Arias promoted to Cedar Rapids.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 7, Charlotte 13

Box Score

Rochester found themselves in an early hole as Zack Littell allowed five runs in the third inning. This included three home runs. He was able to reign it in a little from there as he pitched five innings and struck out six while walking one.

Addison Reed continued to struggle out of the Red Wings bullpen. His fastball topped out in the high 80’s and he just doesn’t look like the pitcher Minnesota signed prior to the 2018 campaign. He allowed two runs, both solo home runs, on three hits.

Nick Gordon’s injury allowed Luis Arraez made his Triple-A debut. He batted lead-off and played second base. Miguel Sano was also in the line-up and playing third. Both players ended the night 2-for-5 and Arraez scored a run.

Tomas Telis and LaMonte Wade both cracked solo home runs to keep the game in reach. Drew Maggi had one of the biggest hits of the night, a two-run bomb in the top of the eighth inning to bring Rochester within one at 7-6. Rochester tied it on a Jake Cave single but that’s as close as it got.

Charlotte answered quickly with six runs in the bottom of the eighth. Zack Weiss took the brunt of the attack as he was charged with four earned runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings. Fernando Romero gave up a pair of home runs in 2/3 of an inning.

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Pensacola 3, Chattanooga 0

Box Score

Top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol was on the mound for Pensacola and he had most of his stuff working on this night. He limited the Lookouts to no runs on three hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked two. It was his second straight appearance allowed no runs and he has allowed two runs or fewer in his last four appearances.

https://twitter.com/C_Blessing/status/1128457642706444293

The Blue Wahoos offense didn’t wake-up until the fifth inning. Mark Contreras doubled to score Joe Cronin and put Pensacola up 1-0. In the eighth inning, the club loaded the bases with nobody out. Mitchell Kranson drove in a run on a ground out to second. Cronin followed with a sacrifice fly.

Tom Hackimer tossed two scoreless innings for his second hold in as many appearances at Double-A. Cody Stashak earned his third save by pitching two perfect frames. He struck out two and lowered his season ERA to 1.42.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 8, Bradenton 1

Box Score

Fort Myers put up a five spot in the top of the third inning and the pitching staff was able to take over from there. Ryan Costello lead off that inning with his fifth home run. With one out, Michael Helman singled and Royce Lewis drove him in with his seventh double of the season. Jose Miranda drove in Lewis with a two-out RBI single to push the lead to 3-0.

The inning continued with Lewin Diaz matching Lewis with his seventh double of the season. He moved to third on the throw as Miranda scored. Trey Cabbage brought Diaz in with his first triple. The Miracle had a 5-0 lead thanks to four extra-base hits in the inning.

Costello got things started again in the sixth frame. He led off with a walk before moving to second on a single from Helman. Lewis pushed the lead to 6-1 with his second double of the game. Trevor Larnach used a ground out to push across the second run of the inning.

On the mound, Edwar Colina bounced back nicely after struggling in his last appearance. He allowed one run on four hits over six innings. Colina struck out 10 and walked three. He also became the third Miracle pitcher to hit triple digits on the radar gun this season. Hector Lujan and Melvi Acosta combined for three shutout innings to end the game. Lujan piled up four strikeouts in two perfect innings. Acosta walked one in his inning of work.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 11

Box Score

Luis Rijo got knocked around in this one as he allowed a season high seven runs (six earned) on nine hits. He didn’t make it out of the fifth inning for the first time since April 24. He struck out three and walked four. Things didn’t go much better for Brian Rapp. He was charged with three runs on four hits. He pitched 2 1/3 innings and struck out one. Zach Neff pitched two innings and allowed one run on two hits. He struck out two and walked one.

Jacob Pearson drove in the first run of the game for the Kernels. His single in the second brought in Andrew Bechtold. On the same play, Gabriel Maciel was thrown out at the plate. Gabe Snyder had one of the team’s two extra-base hits, a double. Chris Williams added a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, but it was a little too late for a Kernels comeback.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

TD Pitcher of the Day- Edwar Colina, Fort Myers (6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 10 K, 3 BB)

TD Hitter of the Day- Drew Maggi, Rochester (4-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R)

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 2-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 0-5, K

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 K, 2 BB

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 1-5, RBI, K

#5 - Wander Javier (EST) – Injured, early May return

#6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Did not play

#7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch

#8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did not pitch

#9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch

#10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – Injured List

#11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List

#12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 0-5, 2 K

#14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 1-3, BB

#15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List

#16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – Did not play

#17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 6 K, BB

#18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 1-5, RBI, R, 3 K

#19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not pitch

#20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 1-5, RBI, R

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Charlotte (6:04 CST) – TBD

Pensacola @ Chattanooga (10:15 AM CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (4-0, 0.84 ERA)

Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) – LHP Bryan Sammons (4-0, 0.66 ERA)

Cedar Rapids vs. Quad Cities (12:05 CST) – RHP Andrew Cabezas (0-3, 4.21 ERA)

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