Twins Minor League Report (5/20): Slegers Solid, Kirilloff Crushes

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Pawtucket 0

Box Score

Aaron Slegers was the story of this game. In seven shutout innings, he struck out five and didn’t walk a batter. He scattered five hits and saw his ERA drop to 1.97. Over his last 10 starts, he has pitched a minimum of six innings and he’s only allowed more than one earned run in two of those contests. Among Rochester players with four or more starts, he ranks first in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, and he’s allowed the fewest walks. Tyler Duffey completed the shutout for his first save. He pitched the final two innings and only allowed one baserunner while striking out four.

At the plate, three Red Wings players compiled three hits. Zack Granite went 3-for-5 with a run scored but he also added a pair of stolen bases. Kennys Vargas went 3-for-4 and drove in a run. Nick Buss finished off the trio of hitters and he might have had the most important part in the win. He went 3-for-4 and drove in two of the team’s three runs. His home run in the eighth inning was a much needed insurance run.

Miguel Sano is rehabbing with the Red Wings and there might be a little rust still left to work off. He went 0-for-2 at the plate with a walk and a strikeout. Sano also committed a fielding error at third base. He did not play the entire game.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 2, Biloxi 3 (10 Innings)

Box Score

Chattanooga got on the board quickly thanks to a James Ramsey lead-off home run. After Biloxi had tied it up in the third, the Lookouts bounced back in the next frame. Singles by Brent Rooker and Zander Wiel put runners on the corners with one out. Edgar Corcino drove in Rooker with a ground out to second base to take back the lead. Chattanooga went quiet from there. Wiel was the only hitter to have multiple hits as he went 2-for-4. Rooker struck out in three of his four plate appearances. As a team, Chattanooga went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Randy LeBlanc started and went 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out one and walked two. Of his 64 pitches, 34 were for strikes. Sam Clay finished off the fourth and then got two innings of his own. He didn’t allow a run on two hits with a couple strikeouts. Todd Van Steensel got charged with his fourth blown save as he allowed the tying run to score in the bottom of the eighth.

For the final two innings, Ryne Harper took over on the mound. He made it through the ninth unscathed but the tenth would be another story. Chattanooga couldn’t take advantage of having a runner start on second base in the top of the frame. Biloxi used a sacrifice bunt to move their runner from second to third. Then a walk-off single to the outfield scored the winning run. Because of the new extra-inning rules, it doesn’t count as an earned run for Harper but he still is charged with the loss.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 2, St. Lucie 2 (Suspended in the sixth)

For the second straight day, rain caused the Miracle to be suspended. This game originally started on Saturday and now it won’t be made up until June 1 in St. Lucie. The regularly scheduled game was also postponed. Fort Myers has a runner at first and second in the sixth game. This means the clubs will finish the suspended game on June 1 and then play the postponed game. Then the clubs will play a doubleheader on June 2.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 6, Clinton 1

Box Score

Don’t touch Alex Kirilloff. You might burn your fingers. He smacked his team-leading seventh home run on route to Kernels clobbering Clinton on Sunday afternoon. He leads all Twins minor league players with seven home runs and 34 runs batted in. He finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBI. Every batter in the Kernels lineup reached base. Four batters (Jordan Gore, Jose Miranda, Ben Rertvedt, and Kirilloff) had multiple hits.

Top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol was also on the mound. Control was a bit of an issue in this one as he walked five batters. However, he pitched five frames and allowed one earned run on four hits. With six strikeouts on Sunday, he is averaging 6.75 strikeouts per start. Carlos Suniaga added three scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no hits allowed. Calvin Faucher finished off the win by allowed a pair of walks in the ninth but he kept the runners off the board.

STARS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Alex Kirilloff, Cedar Rapids (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R, K)

Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Aaron Slegers (7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 K, 0 BB)

TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

#3 – Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) – 1-4, K

#5 – Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, K

#7 – Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 1-4, R, 3 K

#9 – Brusdar Graterol (Cedar Rapids) – 5.0 IP, ER, 6 K, 5 BB

#14 – LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 1-6, RBI

#16 – Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) – 2-4

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) – LHP Dietrich Enns (2-4, 5.20 ERA)

Chattanooga @ Biloxi (6:35 CST) – LHP Anthony Marzi (0-1, 3.86 ERA)

Fort Myers vs. Bradenton (6:00 CST) – RHP Clark Beeker (1-2, 2.45 ERA)

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – RHP Edwar Colina (2-1, 2.14 ERA)

Please feel free to ask any questions about Sunday’s games, or ask any questions you may have.