Twins Minor League Report (6/25): Davis and Diaz Power Victories

To find out how it all went down in the system on Tuesday, and just how big of a night those two hitters had, keep reading!

TRANSACTIONS

• The Red Wings activated infielder Ronald Torreyes from the injured list and transferred him to Fort Myers.
  
• The Miracle activated infielder Jose Miranda from the injured list, and placed RHP Calvin Faucher on the 7-day IL with a left ankle sprain.
  

RED WINGS REPORT

Scranton/WB 9, Rochester 10

Box Score

Right-hander Kohl Stewart took the mound for the Red Wings for his first turn since his last recall for the Twins and delivered two scoreless innings to start the game. He ran into trouble in the third however, as a leadoff home run, a walk, then three straight singles and a ground ball put the RailRiders out front 3-1. Stewart’s day was then done as he threw over thirty pitches in the inning. He allowed the three runs on five hits and a walk along with striking out two.

Jaylin Davis picked him up in a big way in the bottom of the inning however, as he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs and delivered a grand slam to put Rochester back out front 5-3. Davis wasn’t done either, as in the fifth he’d add a two-run shot to his ledger that also already included a double. He also drew a walk and had an outfield assist in an all-around effort.

https://twitter.com/MorrieSilver8/status/1143610817549623296

Chase De Jong relieved Stewart to start the fourth and went the next 3 1/3. He allowed three runs on three hits, including a home run, and struck out three. Ryan Eades came on with one out in the seventh and allowed both inherited runners to score along with two of his own and the RailRiders closed the gap to one run. Back out for the top of the eighth, Eades got two quick outs before a single was followed by a double and the game tied. He gave up another single before Cody Stashak was summoned to snuff out the two-out rally. He got a fly out to keep it tied.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Red Wings loaded the bases with a double from Drew Maggi and consecutive hit batsman, and then with one out Zander Wiel delivered an RBI single to score one to take back the lead 10-9 and bring Davis up again. He got a 2-2 pitch and…missed it, but the one run would be enough as Stashak worked around a two-out double from Logan Morrison in the ninth to pick up his third win with Rochester.

Joining Davis with multiple hits on the day were Maggi (4-for-5, 3 R, 2 2B), LaMonte Wade Jr. (3-for-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Wiel (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, K) and Tomas Telis (3-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB).

BLUE WAHOOS BITES

Biloxi 3, Pensacola 8

Box Score

Pensacola jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after two innings thanks in large part to a big night from the recently promoted Lewin Diaz. His first inning blast was his first home run in Double-A, and he capped off a four-run second inning with a bases- clearing triple.

https://twitter.com/BlueWahoosBBall/status/1143698830266982401

Jimmy Kerrigan led off the second inning with his fifth home run of the year, then later in the game Jordan Gore contributed a two-RBI single that was followed by a run-scoring single from Travis Blankenhorn to account for all the Blue Wahoos runs. Alex Kirilloff added a double to the effort.

Bryan Sammons made the start for the home team and picked up his second win with five scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits, walked one, and struck out six. Anthony Vizcaya contributed two scoreless innings of his own, navigating around three walks and one hit along with punching out two. Zach Weiss finished the game off with two innings, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk and striking out three.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 0, Charlotte 2

Box Score

In a moment of déjà vu, the Miracle and Stone Crabs basically repeated the same game I recapped a week ago, as they again combined for just eight hits and two runs in a game Fort Myers would lose 2-0.

Jhoan Duran got the start in this one and was solid over five innings. He allowed both of Charlotte’s runs on four hits and three walks while striking out eight. Of his 101 pitches, 61 went for strikes. Melvi Acosta and Alex Phillips combined to throw three shutout innings of relief, with Acosta walking two and Phillips striking out two.

The Miracle were only able to mange four singles as a team, with Ronald Torreyes, Trevor Larnach, Jose Miranda, and Malique Ziegler each contributing one. As a team they finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left only four men on base.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Wisconsin 3, Cedar Rapids 4

Box Score

It was tough sledding for the Kernels for the first six innings, as the only thing preventing Timber Rattlers starter Logan Gillaspie from having a perfect game intact to that point was the walk he issued to the first batter he faced on the game. That story line finally changed in the bottom of the seventh when Chris Williams stepped up to the plate with one out and deposited a 1-2 pitch onto the street beyond the left field porch to make it 2-1 Wisconsin.

Starting pitcher Kai-Wei Teng was nearly as good over seven innings as his counterpart but his day would end with him in line for a loss despite his efforts. He also went seven innings, allowing just two runs on six hits and a walk along with striking out five hitters.

After Alex Schick delivered a one-two-three eighth inning, the Kernels were finally able to pop against the Timber Rattlers bullpen. A leadoff single from Jared Akins and consecutive walks loaded the bases with nobody out, and a groundout scored one to tie the game before a two-run double from Estamy Urena put them out front 4-2.

Back out for the ninth, Schick struck out the first two hitters of the inning before surrendering a solo home run to make it 4-3 but recovered just fine to strike out the next hitter and secure the victory. He struck out four in his two innings to finish the game.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Bristol 5, Elizabethton 6

Box Score

Elizabethton took an early 6-1 lead behind a five-run second inning where they batted around, but that came after 3^rd-round pick Spencer Steer’s first professional home run to lead off the bottom of the first. Those five runs in the second were courtesy of an RBI single from Max Smith, a two-RBI double from Albee Weiss, and a two-RBI single from Yeremi De La Cruz.

https://twitter.com/ETwinsBaseball/status/1143732762698027008

On the mound the Twins got four innings from Prelander Berroa, allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out seven Pirates. Denny Bentley had a rough fifth inning where he allowed four runs that made the score 6-5, but got through a scoreless sixth for two total innings. He allowed those four runs on four hits, a walk, and struck out one. Osiris German then went two scoreless frames, allowing a hit, two walks, and striking out four. Nate Hadley picked up his first professional save with a scoreless ninth inning including a strikeout and a hit batter.

On offense Elizabethton got multiple hits from Smith (2-for-5, R, RBI), Matt Wallner (2-for-4, K), and De La Cruz (2-for-4, K). Charles Mack drew three walks and scored a run. Wallner has hit safely in all five of his games thus far.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Pirates 1, GCL Twins 4

Box Score

The Twins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a two-run home run from their 2019 39^th-round draft pick, Jake Hirabayashi out of UCLA, that was his first as a professional in just his second game. Hirabayashi would finish the day 3-for-3 to lead his team, who added single runs in the fourth and seventh innings on an Erick Rivera RBI single, and an RBI groundout from Jim Caceras. Keoni Cavaco batted second in the lineup playing short and finished this one 0-for-3.

Those four runs were more than enough as Twins pitchers combined to hold the Pirates to just six singles and four walks, while striking out ten hitters. Donny Breek made his 2019 debut on the mound and went the first four innings, scattering four hits and a walk along with picking up four K’s. Rogelio Reyes then made his pro debut after being drafted in the 22^nd round earlier in the month and added two scoreless innings, walking one and striking out one. He was followed by 21^st-round pick Bradley Hanner’s debut, also two scoreless frames, where he walked two and struck out three. Tyler Beck then finished the final inning, allowing one run two hits while striking out two.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day – Bryan Sammons, Pensacola Blue Wahoos (W, 5.0IP, 2 H, BB, 6 K)

Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis, Rochester Red Wings (3-for-4, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, BB, K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

#1 - Royce Lewis (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-for-4, R, 2B

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured list

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, K

#5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, BB, K

#6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - 0-for-4, 3 K

#7 - Jhoan Duran (Fort Myers) - L, 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K

#8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch

#9 - Blayne Enlow (Fort Myers) - Did not pitch

#10 - Akil Baddoo (Fort Myers) - Injured list (Tommy John surgery)

#11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 0-for-5, 4 K

#12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured list

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Fort Myers) - 0-for-2

#14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - 0-for-4, 2 K

#15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured list

#16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, BB, K

#17 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) - Did not pitch

#18 - LaMonte Wade Jr. (Rochester) - 3-for-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB

#19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did not pitch

#20 - Jose Miranda (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05PM CST) - RHP Drew Hutchison (0-0, 0.00 ERA w/Red Wings)

Biloxi @ Pensacola (6:35PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (3-0, 2.38 ERA)

Fort Myers @ Charlotte (9:00AM CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (3-2, 3.51 ERA)

Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Austin Schulfer (5-3, 2.79 ERA)

Bluefield @ Elizabethton (5:30PM CST) - TBD

GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) - TBD

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!