Twins Minor League Report (6/11): Balazovic, Cabbage Key Kernels Win

Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Monday. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions.

TRANSACTIONS

• Things were quiet on the transaction front in the Twins system on Tuesday.
  

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 10

Box Score

For Stephen Gonsalves at Rochester, his starts have either been very good or very, well, non-good. Unfortunately on this night, he had one of the latter. In four innings, Gonsalves gave up nine runs on nine hits (including two home runs). He walked five and struck out three. With a doubleheader on Tuesday, I’m sure manager Joel Skinner had hoped to get more innings from the lefty. Gonsalves threw 91 pitches. Just 47 of them were strikes.

Jake Reed came on and provided three strong innings of relief. He gave up one run on three hits. He struck one batter out. Luke Bard pitched a scoreless inning.

Chris Carter led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with his fifth home run. LaMonte Wade was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Cameron Rupp added a single and a walk.

The Red Wings are now 28-31 on the season.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 2, Montgomery 4

Box Score

Sean Poppen’s first two starts for the Lookouts were rough. In eight innings, he gave up 11 runs. On Monday, he posted a quality start. He gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings. He struck out two and didn’t walk anyone. Sam Clay worked the final two innings. He gave up one run on one hit and one walk. He struck out two.

James Ramsey led the offense. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and his third home run. He also stole his first base. Andy Wilkins picked up his first walk and his first two hits, including a double, of the season after returning from the disabled list (hamate bone surgery). Edgar Corcino was also 2-for-3 in the game.

The Lookouts are now 34-30.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 4, Palm Beach 3 (completion of suspended game)

Box Score

On Monday, the Miracle resumed a game that started last week against Palm Beach. Their game was suspended in the bottom of the seventh inning with the score tied at three. Griffin Jax had started the game last week and gave up three runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out six and didn’t walk any. That is when the game was suspended.

Fast-forward to Monday. Tom Hackimer “started” for the Miracle, and he worked 3 1/3 perfect innings to earn the win.

With Brandon Lopez starting the bottom of the tenth inning at second base, Luis Arraez singled to center to score Lopez and end the game.

Arraez went 2-for-3 in the game. Shane Carrier and Joe Cronin each went 2-for-4 with a home run. It was Carrier’s second and Cronin’s fourth.

Ft. Myers 4, Palm Beach 5 (regularly-scheduled game)

Box Score

Lefty Tyler Watson started the second game with four scoreless innings. He gave up two runs in the fifth frame. Those were the only runs he gave up in 5 2/3 innings. He gave up six hits, walked two and struck out four. Hector Lujan came on. He got the final out of the sixth inning. He gave up an unearned run in the seventh inning. Then in the bottom of the eighth, he gave up a double and a single but got two outs. Kevin Marnon was brought in, but he gave up a two-run double to give Palm Beach the lead before getting the final out.

Luis Arraez went 3-for-5 with his second triple. He also stole his first bag. Travis Blankenhorn went 2-for-4 with his 12th double and an RBI.

With the split, the Miracle are 25-37 on the season.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 1

Box Score

In a get-away afternoon game in Wisconsin, the Kernels got a fantastic start from a guy making his first Midwest League start. Jordan Balazovic came up on Memorial Day and worked 3 2/3 shutout innings in relief. After a brief stint back in extended spring training, he was called back up and made his first start on Monday. The right-hander from Canada gave the Kernels seven strong innings. He gave up one run on three hits. He struck out 11 batters without issuing a walk.

Jared Finkel and Calvin Faucher each threw a scoreless inning which included a strikeout. Faucher recorded his first save.

Trey Cabbage provided most of the Kernels offense. He had three of the team’s six hits including his eighth double and his fifth home run.

Royce Lewis, who left the Kernels game on Sunday with an apparent leg injury, did not play on Monday afternoon.

The Kernels are now 28-35.

STARS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Trey Cabbage, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-3, 2B(8), HR(5))

Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Jordan Balazovic, Cedar Rapids Kernels (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

#1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - Did not play

#2 - Fernando Romero (Minnesota) - Did not pitch

#3 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 0-4, 2 K

#4 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - 4 IP, 9 H, 9 ER, 5 BB, 3 K

#5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, 2 K

#6 - Wander Javier - out of for the season

#7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 0-4, 2 K

#8 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Disabled List

#9 - Brusdar Graterol (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch

#10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, RBI, K

#11 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did not pitch

#12 - Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) - Did not pitch

#13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 1-5, K

#14 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 2-4, 2 RBI

#16 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 0-1

#17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, 2B(12), RBI

#18 - Yunior Severino (Extended Spring Training) -

#19 - Tyler Jay (Chattanooga) - Did Not Pitch

#20 - Felix Jorge (Chattanooga) - Disabled List, still no official timetable for return.

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (DH @ 4:00 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers (5-3, 3.43 ERA), LHP Gabriel Moya (0-0, 2.11 ERA)

Chattanooga @ Montgomery (12:05 CST) - RHP Todd Van Steensel (5-1, 1.60 ERA)

Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 CST) - RHP Clark Beeker (1-4, 3.59 ERA)

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (3-2, 4.65 ERA)

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