Twins Minor League Report (5/7): Cedar Rapids Shines

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester @ Indianapolis Indians

Box Score

Red Wings starter Taylor Rogers struggled and picked up his first loss of the season (2-1), and Rochester lost their second series of the year. Rogers gave up five runs, four earned, on seven hits and three walks over four innings. He struck out five and his ERA still sits at just 2.84. Rogers did not have his best stuff on Thursday, throwing three wild pitches (he had thrown just one in his first five starts). Rogers gave way to Logan Darnell who worked two scoreless innings of relief, giving up just a single hit and struck out one. Lester Oliveros continued his strong work with a scoreless two-thirds of an inning. Caleb Thielbar finished the eighth for Oliveros, but surrendered what turned out to be the winning run.

Aaron Hicks continues to hit. He was 2-4 with a walk and a double on Thursday, raising his stat line to .323/.400/.542. The 25-year old seems to have figured things out over the past year and a half, bouncing between Minnesota and Rochester, and should be back in Minnesota soon if he continues to produce. James Beresford, Reynaldo Rodriguez, and Josmil Pinto each picked up two hits of their own. Argenis Diaz, the Red Wings' shortstop, was the only starter without a hit. Old friend Pedro Florimon started at second base for the Indians and was 0-4 with two strike outs.

Final Score: Red Wings 5, Indians 6

LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN

Jackson Generals @ Chattanooga

Box Score

With Terry Ryan in town to take a look at some of the premier talent in the Twins system, Lookouts starter Tyler Duffey was tagged with four unearned runs in the first inning (throwing error from Miguel Sano and a misplayed ball at first base by Max Kepler), but Duffey held on to pitch six innings. He struck out seven, walked one and gave up eight hits. After the first inning issues, the Lookouts shut out the Generals for the remainder of the game, with Jake Reed throwing two innings and picking up a pair of strikeouts, and Nick Burdi pitching a 1-2-3 ninth. Nick Burdi's ERA is now down to just 9.00, after peaking at 54.00 after a disastrous four walk, four earned run, two-thirds of an inning performance to start the year. The outing on Thursday was the first time in his last four appearances that Burdi did not give up a run, but he has now gone back-to-back outings without issuing a walk.

After falling behind by four runs in the first inning the Lookouts went to work with the stick, scoring ten unanswered runs. The Lookouts tied to game in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a two-run single from Heiker Meneses and a two-run RBI triple from speedster Byron Buxton. Buxton finished the night 1-5 with a strikeout. Miguel Sano hit three singles as part of his 3-5 night, but is still hitting just .188/.314/.400 in 2015. Every Lookouts batter had a hit last night. Sano led the way with three, but Travis Harrison, Max Kepler, Stuart Turner and Meneses all had a pair of base hits. Adam Brett Walker hit his league-leading seventh home run of the year to extend the lead late, two-run shot in the seventh inning.

Final Score: Generals 4, Lookouts 10

MIRACLE MATTERS

Jupiter Hammerheads @ Fort Myers

Box Score

The Miracle fell behind 3-0 and did not score their first run until the sixth inning, but they rallied late to take the series opener against the Hammerheads. Miracle starter Ethan Mildren pitched six innings, gave up three runs (one earned), walked three and struck out three. He also picked a guy off first base. Mildren gave way to Alex Muren, who vultured a win when the Miracle bats came to life, despite recording just four outs. Muren gave up four hits, walked two, and struck out one, and Brandon Peterson relieved him in the eighth, picking up a double play to save Fort Myers from more damage. J.T. Chargois gave up two runs in the ninth despite not walking anyone and not giving up any hits thanks to a couple of Miracle errors from Chad Christensen and Bryan Haar.

Leadoff hitter Zach Granite was 3-5 with a solo home run and two runs scored and was one of three Miracle hitters with three hits. His home run was the first of his professional career. Alex Swim and Bryan Haar were also 3-5. DH Mitch Garver reached safely four times on Thursday, going 2-4 with a double, an RBI and two walks. Engelb Vielma was the only Miracle starter without a base hit, going 0-5 with a strike out. Just three of Fort Myers' sixteen hits went for extra bases and the Miracle stranded ten base runners.

Final score: Hammerheads 6, Miracle 9

KERNELS KORNER

Cedar Rapids @ Beloit Snappers

Box Score

The Kernels scored at least one run in the each of the first seven innings to give Kernels starter Stephen Gonsalves plenty of run support, not that he needed it. Gonsalves has been the Kernels' ace in 2015, turning in another strong start. Gonsalves was limited to just five innings; he gave up three hits, walked four and struck out five. The four walks were very uncharacteristic for Gonsalves, who had just three walks in his first four starts of the year. Samuel Clay pitched three scoreless innings in relief, walked three and struck out four giving up just one hit. Michael Theofanopoulos pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

The Kernels scored eleven runs on just ten hits, going 3-20 with runners in scoring position, assisted by nine walks and two Snappers errors. The Kernels stranded 14 runners on the night. Cedar Rapids' nine-hitter, Pat Kelly, led the team with three hits, a pair of doubles and a home run. He picked up three RBIs and scored twice. Pat Kelly, if you're not familiar, was a 12th round selection a year ago out of the University Nebraska-Lincoln, but he was born and raised in Red Wing, MN. Zack Larson picked up three RBIs as well on a 2-4 night with two walks. Nick Gordon, last year's fifth overall draft selection (and still just 19 years old) was 1-4 with a walk and three runs scored. For a full update on Nick Gordon, check out the Down on the Pond segment of the newest Talk to Contact podcast.

Final Score: Kernels 11, Snappers 1

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Hitter of the Day - Pat Kelly - Cedar Rapids Kernels

Pitcher of the Day - Stephen Gonsalves - Cedar Rapids Kernels

FRIDAY'S PROBABLES

Rochester @ Louisville Bats - Tommy Milone (0-0, -.---) vs. Raisel Iglesias

Jackson @ Chattanooga - Stephen Landazuri vs. Jose Berrios (3-1, 3.54)

Jupiter @ Fort Myers - TBD vs. Ryan Eades (1-0, 2.35)

Cedar Rapids @ Beloit - Michael Cederoth (0-2, 4.00) vs. Kevin Johnson