Twins Minor League Report (6/1): High run totals in low levels

As has been the case throughout most of the first two months of the 2013 season, the excitement tonight in the Twins minor league system came from the bottom two levels. The Ft. Myers Miracle and Cedar Rapids Kernels combined to score 28 runs. One prospect drilled two home runs in a game. Vance Worley made his second start with Rochester. Was he able to duplicate he quality of his first game? And which Alex Meyer showed up on Saturday?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Twins minor leagues have had quite a few walk-off wins already this year. It was also fun watching the big league club get a walk-off win Saturday afternoon.

With that, check out what happened in the Twins minor league system on Saturday, including the Dominican Summer League opener:

Rochester Red Wings 3, Charlotte Knights 4

Box Score

Vance Worley took the mound for his second Red Wings start. His first was a complete game shutout. His second- not so much. He gave up a first inning run. Then he gave up three runs in the second. Not a good start, but he did go on to throw five shutout innings. Overall, he gave up four runs on ten hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out seven. Luis Perdomo struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning.

The Red Wings had plenty of scoring opportunities. They had eight hits and they also walked 12 times. Somehow they managed to score just three runs. Antoan Richardson led off and went 1-2 with three walks and his fifth stolen base. Oswaldo Arcia was 1-2 with three walks. His sixth Red Wings home run came in the ninth inning and cut the deficit to one. Jeff Clement was 2-4.

New Britain Rock Cats 4, Bowie Baysox 3

Box Score

Alex Meyer has been, at times solid, but quite inconsistent for the Rock Cats this season. On this evening he was terrific. The lanky right-handed starter went 6.1 innings. He gave up one run on two hits and two walks. He struck out a season-high ten. Blake Martin came on and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. AJ Achter came on and got the final five outs for his third save. He gave up two hits and a walk but no runs.

James Beresford led the way offensively by going 3-4 with his fifth stolen base. He’s now hitting .338 and inexplicably remaining in AA. Danny Ortiz was 2-4. Danny Santana was very good in May and, in the first game in June, went 2-4 with his 10^th and 11^th stolen bases. Nate Hanson and Curt Smith each doubled.

Ft. Myers Miracle 13, Palm Beach Cardinals 4

Box Score

The Miracle offense exploded in this game. Angel Morales is also inexplicably still in Ft. Myers. It’s his third season with the Miracle and he had a terrific month of May. In this game he was 3-4 with two doubles. Kennys Vargas was 3-6. Eddie Rosario went 3-5 with his fifth triple. Andy Leer went 2-4 with two walks and his fourth home run. Aderlin Mejia was 2-5 with a walk. Jhon Goncalves went 2-6.

Tom Stuifbergen was the recipient of the run support. The Dutch right-hander went six innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked none and struck out three. Chad Rodgers threw two shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out one. Nelvin Fuentes gave up a run on a hit in an inning.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 15, Kane County 2

Box Score

Byron Buxton was given a rare night off, and the Kernels’ bats took off. Fifteen runs on fifteen hits and nine walks make for a pretty good day. Dalton Hicks led the way. The burly first baseman went 3-4 with a walk, his sixth and seventh homers and four RBI. Tyler Grimes went 3-3 with two walks and a triple. Jeremias Pineda went 2-3 with two walks and his first home run. JD Williams and Niko Goodrum were each 2-5 with a walk and a double. Jorge Polanco and Adam Walker each added a double.

Lefty Brett Lee was appreciative of the run support, though he needed not much of it. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on seven hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out four. Finishing the game, Manuel Soliman struck out four in two perfect innings.

DSL Twins 5, DSL Orioles 6

Box Score

This was opening day in the Dominican Summer League. The Twins squad used seven pitchers to get through nine innings. Onesimo Hernandez gave up one run on four hits (and a hit batter) in three innings. He struck out thre. Carlos Aponte gave up two runs on two hits and a hit batter in one inning. Sebastian Perez gave up one run on two hits in two innings. Robener Cabrera gave up an unearned run on one hit and a walk in one innings. Johan Quezada walked two and struck out two in one scoreless inning. Rendis Reyes got two outs, though he gave up one run on two walks. Ezequiel Zarzuela got the final out.

The offense was led by 17-year-old catcher Rainis Silva who went 2-4. Rafael Valera and Carlos Martinez each doubled.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions below.