Twins Minor League Report (5/27): Saints Walk It Off

TRANSACTIONS

• OF Cole Sturgeon was placed on the temporary inactive list (parental leave)
• LHP Danny Coulombe was returned to the Minnesota Twins from Major League rehab

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 9, Indianapolis 8 (F/10)
Box Score

It did not appear as if a win was in the cards for the Saints for the majority of the night, but they rallied to score five runs across their final three at-bats to upend Indianapolis in extras. 

Dereck Rodriguez and JC Ramirez struggled to contain Indianpolis’ bats early in the contest as they served up three home runs and eight runs in six innings. But Tyler Viza, Jordan Gore, and Jharel Cotton struck out five and allowed two hits in four innings of relief to keep St. Paul within striking distance. (Cotton struck out super prospect Oniel Cruz with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the 10th.)

Royce Lewis—who made his first minor-league appearance in centerfield—Alex Kirilloff, and Spencer Steer headlined the top of the Saints’ lineup but combined to go only 2-for-13 at the plate. Lewis looked good in center but admittedly did not encounter any defensive opportunities outside of the routine. Kirilloff continued to take healthy hacks at the plate and laced a single during his second at-bat, adding onto his his recent trend of encouraging play. He’s now hitting .329 with an .875 OPS at Triple-A.

Mark Contreras played hero in the bottom of the ninth, crushing his sixth home run of the season to dead center with two outs to tie the game at eight apiece. Caleb Hamilton (1-for-3) put the game within reach with a dinger of his own—a three-run shot—in the eighth. Jermaine Palacios (2-for-4, BB, 2 R) needed to see only one pitch in the bottom of the 10th and laced it into the outfield for a single, which scored Jake Cave (2-for-5, 3B, 2 R) to seal the walk-off win.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 8, Corpus Christi 6
Box Score

Despite the relatively close score, the Wind Surge controlled this game from the start and improved their record to 25-16 overall. Wichita score four runs in the first two innings and added four more in the fifth and sixth.

Matt Canterino started on the hill and threw only 2 1/3 innings. This was due in part to the Twins’ cautious approach to his innings load this season but mostly because of uncharacteristic control issues. He allowed only one unearned run and struck out six, but walked four and gave up one hit. In 30 ⅔ innings at Double-A, Canterino has issued 18 free passes. He accumulated only 12 across his first 58 Minor League innings in 2019 and 2021. 

Austin Martin led off and went 3-for-5 with a double—the team’s only extra-base hit—and three runs scored during the win. Matt Wallner (2-for-5, 2 RBI) and Dennis Ortega (2-for-5, 2 RBI) also contributed multi-hit games. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Wisconsin 7, Cedar Rapids 3
Box Score

The Timber Rattlers’ offense exploded for six runs across the fifth and sixth innings to give them the win over the Kernels. John Stankiewicz continued his struggles from his previous start, allowing five earned runs and only striking out three in 4 ⅔ innings to earn the loss. He also served up his first home run of the season, a two-run shot in the fifth.

Offensively, Christian Encarnacion-Strand (2-for-4, 2 RBI) and Kyler Fedko (2-for-4, 2B) contributed multi-hit games. Aaron Sabato (1-for-3, RBI, BB) crushed a solo home run—his fifth of the season—in the fourth inning to drive in the Kernels only other run. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 6, Bradenton 2
Box Score

Marco Raya and the rest of the Mighty Mussels pitching staff performed splendidly on Friday to help lift Fort Myers over the Marauders. Raya started on the bump and threw five innings, striking out seven, walking one, and allowing only a single earned run (it came on a homer). John Wilson, Hunter McMahon, Malik Barrington, and Matthew Swain combined to toss four hitless innings, striking out six.

At the plate, Noah Miller (2-for-4, 2B, BB) and Keoni Cavaco (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB) registered the team’s multi-hit games. Noah Cardenas (1-for-4), Daniel Ozoria (1-for-4, 2B), and Luis Baez (1-for-4) all picked up RBI. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – RHP Marco Raya (Fort Myers): 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Hitter of the Day – INF Austin Martin (Wichita): 3-for-5, 2B, 3 R

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:

#1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 3-for-5, 2B, 3 R
#2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 1-for-5
#6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 2 ⅓ IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
#7 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
#10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, 2B, BB
#12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2 RBI
#15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-5, 2 K
#18 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 0-for-4
 

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul vs. Indianapolis (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Ronny Henriquez (0-1, 7.20 ERA)
Wichita at Corpus Christi (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Casey Legumina (0-1, 8.59 ERA)
Cedar Rapids vs. Wisconsin (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (4-1, 1.36 ERA)
Fort Myers at Bradenton (5:30 PM CST) - TBD