Twins Minor League Report (5/19): Hu Impresses In AAA Debut

Check out what happened throughout the Twins farm system on Tuesday.

RED WINGS REPORT

The Rochester Red Wings and the Durham Bulls played a day-night double header in New York on Tuesday because Durham’s field was to be used for the ACC Tournament. It gives the Red Wings an extra home game.

Rochester 4, Durham 3

Game 1 - Box Score

Needing an extra starter for the extra game, the Twins dipped down to High-A Ft. Myers and asked Chi-Wei Hu to make a spot start for Rochester. Hu has been arguably the best starting pitcher in the Twins minor leagues so far this season. He threw very well. He got through the first four innings without allowing a run. In the fifth, he gave up a one-out double that put runners on second and third, but allowed just one run to score. He came back in the sixth inning with a quick, 1-2-3 inning. In his six innings, he gave up one run on just two hits. He walked four and struck out six. It’s interesting that giving up one earned run in six innings increased his overall season ERA from 1.03 to 1.10.

The Red Wings gave Hu a lead in the second inning when James Beresford singled in the first run of the game. In the fourth inning, Brock Peterson hit his fifth homer, a two-run shot off of former Twins starter Scott Diamond to give the team a 3-0 lead. After Hu gave up the fifth-inning run, the Red Wings got it right back in the bottom of the inning.

Hu’s day was done after six strong innings. He was at 93 pitches, 55 of which were strikes. Caleb Thielbar threw a scoreless seventh inning, with one walk allowed. Mark Hamburger was given the eighth inning. He gave up four hits, but allowed just one run in the inning. AJ Achter came on for the ninth and despite allowing a solo home run, recorded his fifth save since Michael Tonkin was promoted.

Peterson’s home run was the big hit of the day. James Beresford went 2-2 with a walk. Danny Ortiz went 2-4.

Rochester 2, Durham 4

Game 2 - Box Score

Alex Meyer started the nightcap in Rochester. He went just 4.2 innings and needed 109 pitches to get there. He gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks. He struck out seven. Lester Oliveros came and on struck out five in two innings. He walked two and gave up a hit, but no runs. Lefty Ryan O’Rourke came on and got four outs, two of them on strikeouts. Logan Darnell struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning.

The Red Wings managed just six hits in the second game. Eric Farris went 2-4. Josmil Pinto hit his sixth double and drove in a run. Reynaldo Rodriguez fouled a ball off his foot in the first game and left that game. Nate Hanson came in for him in Game 1. He played first base in Game 2 as well and went 1-3 with a walk.

After the doubleheader split, the Red Wings are now 22-17.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 10, Montgomery 3

Box Score

The Lookouts got strong starting pitching and a couple of big home runs on their way to another Southern League win.

Greg Peavey put together his third consecutive strong start. He gave up two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk. In fact, 72 of his 101 pitches were strikes. He has given up just four earned runs over 19 innings in his last three starts. He is now 4-1 despite a 6.53 ERA. Tim Shibuya came on and gave up a run on two hits over the final two innings.

The Lookouts got a single run in the first inning to jump out to a quick lead. In the second inning, they scored three more runs. The big blow in that inning was a two-run homer from Stuart Turner. The Biscuits cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the fourth inning, but in the bottom of the fourth, the Lookouts put the game out of reach. Byron Buxton’s long grand slam gave the Lookouts an 8-1 lead. The Lookouts added two more in the top of the first, the first coming on an RBI single off the bat of Max Kepler.

Kepler went 2-3 with a walk. Buxton was 2-5. The home run was his fifth of the year, and he is now up to 29 RBI on the season, out of the leadoff position. He also stole his 11^th base. Mike Gonzales went 3-4 in the game. Turner’s home run was his second of the year. He drove in three runs in the game.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 1, Bradenton 6

Box Score

With Chih-Wei Hu starting for Rochester on Tuesday, Ethan Mildren was plugged back into the rotation. He gave up six runs on ten hits and a walk in just four innings. Brian Gilbert struck out two over the next two innings. Luke Westphal walked two and struck out one in 1.2 scoreless innings. Brandon Peterson struck out in 1.1 innings.

The Miracle managed just five hits. Logan Wade drove in the lone run.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 7

Box Score

Through five innings, Kernels starter John Curtiss was pitching well. He had given up two runs on three hits and a walk. His team had given him a three-run lead. Then he gave up a single to start the bottom of the sixth inning. It was followed by a walk and another single to load the bases. Peoria catcher Steve Bean came up and hit a grand slam and suddenly the three-run lead became a one-run deficit. Peoria added one more run and the Kernels were defeated.

Curtiss’s final line isn’t nice. In six innings, he gave up six runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out four. Yorman Landa came on to pitch the seventh inning. He struck out one in a perfect inning. More important for the hard-throwing right-hander, it was his first game since May 22, 2014. He is returning from shoulder surgery. Mike Theofanopoulos came on and gave up a run in the eighth inning.

“What did Trey do today” is the likely mantra for Kernels fans this season. Coming into the game, he led the Kernels in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, doubles, home runs and RBI. Again on Tuesday morning, Trey Vavra led the Kernels offense. He went 2-4 and launched a three-run home run in the third inning which gave the team a 4-2 lead. It was his sixth home run of the season. Pat Kelly had a nice 2-4 day.

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 – Byron Buxton, Chattanooga Lookouts

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

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

Montgomery @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – RHP DJ Baxendale

Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – RHP Ryan Eades

Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (7:00 CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves

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