Twins Minor League Report (5/22): Kernels Combine for No-No, Rochester Blanks Wings

TRANSACTIONS

Fort Myers Miracle

Transferred LHP Kody Funderburk to Elizabethton

RHP Alex Phillips transferred from Pensacola

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 4, Buffalo 0

Box Score

In the ever-enduring battle of the Wings, it was Rochester that prevailed in this one. Kohl Stewart was on the bump for the Red Wings and he turned in five innings of one-hit baseball. Striking out four and walking three, no damage was done on his watch. Fernando Romero worked 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief while fanning four, and that’s a development the big league club would like to see more of.

https://twitter.com/RocRedWings/status/1131361717970264065

Most of the damage came early in this one, and the home squad was able to ride that to victory. A three run first was punctuated by a pair of bases-loaded walks, and a later Drew Maggi RBI single wasn’t necessary in the eventual outcome.

Nick Gordon recently was inserted back into the lineup following a brief IL stint, and he was able to tally two hits on the evening. Both LaMonte Wade and Maggi joined that club as well.

BLUE WAHOOS BITES

Tennessee 9, Pensacola 3

Box Score

Back in action after a scheduled day off, an early deficit and a big inning spelled the demise of the Blue Wahoos. Andro Cutura couldn’t make it out of the second inning, and a bullpen game that saw Adam Bray surrender four runs on four hits and three walks without recording an out was more ugly than you’d hope.

Despite ten hits during the contest, two RBI singles and a sac fly was all Pensacola could muster. Alex Kirilloff did have himself a nice outing picking up a two-hit effort and Ben Rortvedt snagged three hits while driving in a run.

Despite the relatively lackluster pitching effort as a whole, reliever Tom Hackimer was a bright spot. He struck out the side in the eighth and now has gone six and one-third scoreless innings during his first venture into Double-A action. Combined with his 0.59 ERA across 15 and one-third innings at High-A Fort Myers, there’s a very solid season building here.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Bradenton 2, Fort Myers 1

Box Score

After an abbreviated twin bill yesterday it was just one for these two clubs on Wednesday. Combining for a total of seven hits and three runs, this was the epitome of a pitcher’s duel. Bryan Sammons was again fantastic, twirling six shutout innings and fanning eight. His ERA now rests at 0.94 with just shy of 40 innings pitched.

The recently promoted Trey Cabbage swatted his first dinger for the Miracle in the second inning. The solo shot was all they could must however, with the other two hits coming from Royce Lewis and Ryan Jeffers.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Burlington 5, Cedar Rapids 4 (Game 1)

Box Score

A double dip was needed today following a postponement on Wednesday. The afternoon game saw Cedar Rapids fall victim to a run in the seventh which ended up being the deciding factor. Andrew Cabezas battled command most of the day and went just four innings in the effort.

After trailing by one in the top half of the second, the Kernels did all of their damage in the bottom half of the third inning. Jared Akins opened the scoring with an RBI single, and Jean Carlos Arias plated three with his second homer of the year. Burlington answered with three of their own in the next half inning before getting the tie-breaking run in the final frame.

Cedar Rapids 9, Burlington 0 (Game 2)

Box Score

Easily the highlight of the day, Cedar Rapids watched Austin Schulfer and Jose Martinez combine for a no-hitter. Schulfer turned in five strong, fanning seven and issuing just one free pass. He’s been great all year for the Kernels and tonight’s effort was just another display of that. Martinez has scuffled during his 11 outings, but everything was working in turning in two flawless with a pair of punchouts on his own.

https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/1131387355775078400

The no-hitter certainly could have put the bats at ease, but eight hits sparked nine runs and this one was taken care of no matter what way you looked at it. For the most part, runs came as a by-product of guys doing their jobs. Fielder’s choices and groundouts were the early helpers, with a timely balk and some well placed base hits adding to the lead. The big blow came on Chris Williams home run, his eighth of the season, a three-run shot.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day – Austin Schulfer and Jose Martinez (Cedar Rapids) 5.0 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 9 K

Hitter of the Day – Jared Akins (Cedar Rapids) 3-7, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3B, HR

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 1-4

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

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

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 0-3, BB, K

#5 - Wander Javier (EST) - Injured (quad)

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

#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) – 2-5, R, K

#12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) – Did Not Pitch

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 1-3

#14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 3-4, RBI, K

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

#16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 1-7, R, BB, K (2 games)

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

#18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 2-4, R

#19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did Not Pitch

#20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 0-4

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Buffalo @ Rochester (10:05AM CST) – LHP Devin Smeltzer (0-1, 1.83 ERA)

Pensacola @ Tennessee (6:00PM CST) - RHP Sean Poppen (2-3, 3.58 ERA)

Fort Myers @ Daytona (6:05PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (2-2. 8.28 ERA)

Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (4-3, 4.95 ERA)

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games