Twins Minor League Report (5/18): Sands, Kernels Dominate on Mound

Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Saturday, starting with the transactions of the day.

TRANSACTIONS

• Rochester announced the outfielder Brent Rooker has been placed on the injured list with a wrist injury. Taking his spot on the Red Wings roster is infielder Victor Tademo from extended spring training.
  
• As a non-transaction, but an interesting note, LHP Stephen Gonsalves joined the Red Wings in Durham on Sunday.
  

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Durham 4

Box Score

The Red Wings took a 3-0 lead after scoring two runs in the top of the fifth inning. However, the Durham Bulls scored one run in each of their final four innings to take the win and push the Red Wings to 14-24 overall.

Lewis Thorpe started and was good. He gave up one run on five hits and a walk over the first five innings. He struck out eight. Ryan Eades came on and gave up a solo home run in the sixth and seventh innings. Fernando Romero pitched the bottom of the eighth frame and gave up a run on one hit and two walks.

Luke Raley went 2-for-3 and added his fourth stolen base. Tomas Telis went 2-for-4. LaMonte Wade was 1-or-3 with two walks.

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Pensacola 0, Mobile 3

Box Score

The Southern League is unique among minor leagues in that it only has five-game series. Through their first eight series, the Blue Wahoos had yet to lose one. However, with their loss on Saturday, it assured their first losing series of the season. They fall to 26-17.

Minnesotan Adam Bray was used as an opener for the second straight time. He gave up one run on two hits over two innings. He struck out three without issuing a walk. Jorge Alcala came on as the primary pitcher. He was charged with two runs over 4 2/3 innings. He gave up four hits and uncharacteristically walked four batters. He also struck out nine batters. Jeff Ames struck out three over two scoreless innings to end the game.

The Wahoos, with partial owner Bubba Watson watching, managed just two hits in this game. Mitchell Kranson had a single, and Travis Blankenhorn went 1-for-3 with a walk.

https://twitter.com/bubbawatson/status/1129890842196361216

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 0, St. Lucie 9

Box Score

The Miracle celebrates Major League as Roger Dorn (or maybe you prefer Corbin Bernsen was in attendance on Saturday night to sign autographs and take pictures with fans.

https://twitter.com/MiracleBaseball/status/1129804061220454402

However, on the field things did not go well for the Miracle as they were shut out. Jose Miranda went 2-for-4. Ryan Jeffers had a single and a walk. Trevor Larnach walked twice. Aaron Whitefield walked three times.

Melvi Acosta made another spot start. In 4 2/3 innings, he was charged with seven runs (just three earned) on seven hits, a walk and a hit batter. He struck out four. Kody Funderburk made his first Miracle appearance since being promoted from extended spring training on Friday. He threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and a walk while striking out two. Ricky Ramirez was charged with two runs on four hits in the final inning.

The Miracle fell to 25-16 on their season.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 8, Clinton 2

Box Score

In what has been a pretty rare occurrence, the Kernels had a big day offensively. Jared Akins kept hitting. He went 3-for-5, scored three runs and stole two bags. Gabriel Maciel went 3-for-5 with two RBI and his fifth stolen base. Andrew Bechtold hit his seventh double and his first triple. Albee Weiss went 2-for-4 with a walk.

Cole Sands started and struck out ten batters in five innings. He gave up only one run despite eight hits. But he didn’t hurt himself with any walks. Austin Schulfer kept the theme going with eight strikeouts in three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked one. Jose Martinez gave up a run on two hits in the ninth inning. He struck out two more batters, giving Kernels pitchers 20 strikeouts in the game.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Cole Sands, Cedar Rapids Kernels

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jared Akins, Cedar Rapids Kernels

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, BB

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 0-4, K

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch.

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - 0-2, 2 BB

#5 - Wander Javier (EST) - Injured (quad), return...unknown

#6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured (wrist)

#7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch.

#8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (90 pitches, 60 strikes)

#9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch

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

#11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List (adductor)

#12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List, late-May return possible

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, BB

#14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - Did Not Play.

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

#16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, RBI, 2 K

#17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch.

#18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 1-3, 2 BB, R, K

#19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 K (89 pitches, 53 strikes)

#20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - 2-4

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Durham (4:05 CST) - RHP Zack Littell (2-2, 4.50 ERA)

Mobile @ Pensacola (1:05 CST) - RHP Brusdar Graterol (5-0, 1.69 ERA)

St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (12:00 CST) - LHP Tyler Watson (1-4, 5.46 ERA)

Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (2:00 CST) - RHP Josh Winder (2-1, 2.97 ERA)

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