Twins Minor League Report (6/18): Koch, Vargas Lead Miracle

On Tuesday morning, we woke up to the news that the Elizabethton team bus driving from Ft. Myers to Elizabethton was involved in a fatal, head-on accident. Fortunately, none of the Elizabethton players or personnel were injured. The driver of the other vehicle, driving on the wrong side of the road, died. We should be seeing rosters for the E-Twins and the GCL Twins shortly.

On Tuesday night, eight Kernels played in the Midwest League All-Star game. We should also hear about any player promotions on Wednesday. There were a couple great performances on Tuesday night, so check out what happened below.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

Rochester Red Wings 4, Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders 3

Box Score

Andrew Albers continued his impressive season. The lefty went the first 6.1 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out four. Cody Eppley came on and got one out, but he walked two. Aaron Thompson gave up one run on one hit in 1.2 innings and he struck out two. Michael Tonkin picked up his third save, getting the final two outs.

Antoan Richardson was on base a bunch again. He went 2-4 with a walk and his sixth double. He also stole his 13^th base. Doug Bernier was 2-4 with his 10^th double and second triple. Chris Herrmann went 2-5.

New Britain Rock Cats 8, Erie Thunder 0

Box Score

The Rock Cat bats showed up, but the story has to be the performance of Trevor May. The right-hander acquired in the offseason from the Phillies put together his best start of his season. He went 7.2 innings without allowing a run. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out nine for the win. Edgar Ibarra came on and struck out the batter he faced. Cole Johnson pitched the 9^th, giving up just one walk.

Danny Santana led off and went 4-5 with his 12^th double. Nate Hanson was 3-4 with a walk, his ninth double and three RBI. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-4 with a walk and his eighth home run. Eddie Rosario was 2-4 with a walk and is now hitting .313 in his short time with the team. Miguel Sano was 0-4 to drop his average to .067.

Ft. Myers Miracle 15, Palm Beach 6

Box Score

Matt Koch has had a good season to this point and on Tuesday he was tremendous. He went 4-4 with a walk, his tenth and eleventh doubles and his fourth home run. Jhon Goncalves went 3-4 with a walk, his second homer and third stolen base. Kennys Vargas went 2-3 with two walks, his 21^st double and 13^th home run.

Matt Tomshaw was the recipient of the run support on his way to his second Miracle win. He gave up three runs on ten hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out one. Ryan O’Rourke picked up his second save with three innings of work. He gave up three runs on four hits.

Cedar Rapids Kernels

The Kernels are on their All-Star break. However, eight members of the Kernels roster played in the Midwest League All-Star Game Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio. Byron Buxton was the leadoff hitter and centerfielder. He went 0-3. Dalton Hicks batted third and played 1B. He was 1-3. Adam Walker batted fourth and played right field. He was 1-3. Jorge Polanco played 2B and batted seventh. He was 1-2 with a walk. Niko Goodrum came on late to play shortstop. He was 1-1 with a walk and a two-run single in the ninth. Travis Harrison played third base late and went 0-1.

JO Berrios got one out in the seventh inning. He gave up one run on one hit and a walk; the out came on a strikeout. Steve Gruver got two outs in the 8^th inning, one on a strikeout. The Kerrnels' Mid-West Division lost to the Mid-East Division 6-5.

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