Twins Minor League Report (6/26): Thorpe Dominant, Miranda Slams

To find out how all your favorite prospects fared on Tuesday night, read on and be sure to add to the discussion in the comments!

TRANSACTIONS

Before we get to the games, there were a few transactions in the system on Tuesday:

-Jake Cave was recalled by the Minnesota Twins and started in RF in their game.

-Fort Myers activated RHP Adam Bray from the 7-day disabled list (and would debut tonight) and released RHP Logan Lombana.

-After getting his stateside career started with a bang, C Yeremi De La Cruz was placed on the 60-day disabled list for the GCL Twins, effectively ending his 2018 season.

-LHP J.T. Perez was assigned to the GCL Twins and pitched on Tuesday.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Syracuse 4 (10 innings)

Box Score

The Red Wings came out on the wrong side of an extra-inning affair on Tuesday, falling to the Chiefs 4-3 in the tenth inning.

Rochester took the lead early, scratching two runs across after loading the bases with no outs thanks to a double-play ball with the defense back and an RBI single from Chris Carter.

Starter Zack Littell kept it close for nearly seven innings, exiting after striking out the first two hitters of the seventh as he reached a pitch count threshold (100 pitches, 64 for strikes). He allowed two runs on nine hits and one walk, along with picking up four strikeouts and was in line for the win when he came out.

Tyler Duffey got the final out of the seventh and retired the first two hitters in the eighth before he ran into trouble. A walk and consecutive singles tied the game at three and charged Duffey with his second blown save of the year. Jake Reed was summoned and got out of the eighth before also adding a scoreless ninth. Reed gave up one hit, walked two (one intentional), and struck out two.

After the Red Wings went one-two-three in the top of the tenth, Luke Bard came on for the bottom half. He struck out the first batter of the inning, but with a runner starting on second base the double to the next hitter meant the end of the game.

In the loss the offense got two hits from Zack Granite, Nick Gordon, and Carter who added a solo home run in the sixth. As the DH Kennys Vargas went 1-for-2 with three walks. LaMonte Wade finished 1-for-4 with a walk.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Biloxi 4, Chattanooga 5

Box Score

The Lookouts bullpen gave up a three-run lead in the ninth inning, but unlike their triple-A cohorts managed to walk it off in the bottom half to put them back above .500.

Lewis Thorpe took the mound for Chattanooga and was again strong. In 5 2/3 innings he allowed one run on four hits while racking up seven strikeouts. He was removed in the sixth after loading the bases with his only walk and two outs.

In his two starts in the second half of the Southern League season, Thorpe has allowed just one run on five hits and two walks in 12 2/3 innings and has struck out 19. Coming off surgery and other ailments, Thorpe appears to be rounding back into the form I saw when I had the chance to interview him with Cedar Rapids. In the month of April his WHIP was 1.61 and opposing batters hit .349 off him. In may his WHIP didn’t improve (1.62), but opponents hit .277. Now in June he’s improved his WHIP to 1.09 and that batting average against is just .229. That includes a disastrous game on June 9^th where he allowed 9 earned runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Chattanooga struck first in third inning, as a Jimmy Kerrigan double brought in Alex Perez who had singled a batter before him. They took the lead back 3-1 in the sixth on an RBI single from Mitchell Kranson and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch from Ryan Walker. Walker added a needed insurance run with a bases-loaded groundout in the eighth that made it 4-1.

In relief of Thorpe, Andrew Vasquez mowed the Shuckers down for 2 1/3 innings. He retired every batter he faced, including sending five of them on walks of shame back to the dugout.

Todd Van Steensel was summoned for the save opportunity in the ninth and got two quick outs, but then the wheels fell off. Two walks and three consecutive RBI singles tied the game before the Lookouts could get another arm warmed up. That was Paco Rodriguez and with the go-ahead run on third base he was able to coax a groundout to bring up the home team.

A one out single from Perez put the winning run on base, and a deep fly to center got him into scoring position. The Shuckers chose to intentionally walk Brent Rooker to bring up Chris Paul, and he delivered with a single to left field.

https://twitter.com/ChattLookouts/status/1011677842965491714

The Chattanooga offense got multiple hits from Perez (2-for-5, 2 R, K), Kerrigan (2-for-5, R, 2B, RBI, K), Paul (3-for-5, 2 R, GW-RBI), and Kranson (2-for-4, RBI) while no other batter picked up a hit. Jaylin Davis walked three times, and Walker drove in two.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 3, Tampa 10

Box Score

Tyler Watson took the mound for the Miracle on Tuesday and got nickel and dimed by the Tarpons offense. He was finished after just three innings and sixty pitches as they took a 3-1 lead. Watson surrendered three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks in those innings. He struck out four.

An error on Lewin Diaz in the first led to the first run of the game, then a walk, passed ball, bunt single, wild pitch, and another single led to two runs in the third.

Brady Anderson came out of the bullpen in the fourth, but before he got out of the inning three more runs were on the board for Tampa and they took a 6-2 lead. Anderson allowed four hits, walked two, and struck out two. Adam Bray managed to put a goose egg up in one of his two innings, but also gave up five hits and walked one while striking out two. Colton Davis finished the game for the Miracle, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk in his two innings. He struck out three.

Fort Myers got multi-hit and multi-walk efforts from MLB-ers Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, and Diaz and Taylor Grzelakowski each collected two hits themselves, but as a team they finished 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left twelve men on base.

Polanco clubbed a home run in the third inning to put the Miracle on the board, and Grzelakowski added a double for their only extra base hits on the game. Alex Kiriloff went hitless in five at-bats, striking out three times.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Beloit 0, Cedar Rapids 6

Box Score

The Kernels popped for four runs in the bottom of the first inning thanks to the bat of Jose Miranda, and that would be more than enough behind the arms of starter Edwar Colina and MWL All-Star Jared Finkel.

Batting cleanup, Miranda stepped into the box with the bases loaded in the first and delivered a grand slam, his seventh home run of the season, to put Cedar Rapids out front 4-0. They would add two more runs in the fourth on a Royce Lewis two-RBI single to account for all of their scoring.

Colina went the first six innings, holding the Snappers to just three hits and one walk. He struck out two and had three one-two-three innings. Finkel finished the game with three scoreless frames to pick up his second save. He allowed just one hit on the game.

Akil Baddoo would finish 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks. Jacob Pearson scored two runs and drew a walk in addition to going 1-for-3. Lewis went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Game 1: Johnson City 9, Elizabethton 2 (6 innings, rain)

Box Score

Game 2: Postponed by Rain (no makeup date announced)

Elizabethton was scheduled for a double-header due to their postponement yesterday, but rains continued to play a part on Tuesday. They were able to get just one game in, and even it was shortened due to the weather.

It was probably an act of mercy for the Twins however, as they got rocked by their in-state rivals from the words “play ball.”

Twins starter Pedro Garcia failed to record an out, and before he was lifted five runs had already crossed home plate. Another inherited runner would score to affect Garcia’s line along with another for an early 7-0 lead for the Cardinals.

Christian Broussard ended up pitching the games first four official innings worth of outs, and he allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four. Juan Gamez allowed one run on two hits and a walk in his 1 2/3 innings before the rains cut the game short. He also struck out four.

The Elizabethton offense scored their two runs in the third inning thanks to a two-run triple off the bat of Lean Marrero.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Rays 6, GCL Twins 2

Box Score

In this one, both squads managed only six hits and committed five errors on defense, but the Rays were the only ones able to take advantage thanks in part to five walks and other miscues from Twins starter Tyler Benninghoff.

In the top of the first a leadoff single was followed by a throwing error on a pickoff attempt and then three additional walks, two hit batters, and two wild pitches led to three runs for the Rays. Benninghoff settled down a little from there, finishing 3 1/3 innings without allowing another run. He gave up two hits and struck out two.

The Twins scored single runs in each of the sixth and ninth innings. In the sixth it was a single to short that also included a throwing error on once upon a time Minnesota signee Jelfrey Marte, that allowed a run to score. In the ninth, a throwing error on a steal attempt put a runner on third and a groundout brought him in. Aaron Whitefield led the offense with two hits in three at-bats and also drew a walk. Gabe Snyder and Edgar Herrera picked up the RBIs.

Out of the bullpen Dylan Stowell pitched 2 2/3 scoreless frames. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out four. Thanks to four errors in the seventh inning, left-hander Erik Cha allowed three unearned runs on a hit and walk in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out one. J.T. Perez finished the game for the Twins with 1 1/3 scoreless. He gave up one hit, walked one, and struck out two.

STARS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Lewis Thorpe, Chattanooga Lookouts (5.2 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 7 K)

Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Jose Miranda, Cedar Rapids Kernels (1-for-3, R, GS (7), 4 RBI)

TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY

1. Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-3, R, 2 RBI, BB, K

2. Fernando Romero (Rochester) – Did not pitch.

3. Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 2-for-5, R

4. Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) – Did not pitch.

5. Alex Kirilloff (Fort Myers) – 0-for-5, 3 K

6. Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – Out for season with injury.

7. Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 0-for-4, IBB, 2 K

8. Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch.

9. Brusdar Graterol (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch.

10. Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB, K

11. Zack Littell (Rochester) – 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, BB, 4 K

12. Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) – 5.2 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 7 K

13. Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 2-for-5, 2 K

14. LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 1-for-4, BB, K

15. Mitch Garver (Minnesota) – (game in progress)

16. Ben Rortvedt (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4

17. Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4, BB, 2 K

18. Yunior Severino (Elizabethton Twins) – 1-for-2

19. Tyler Jay (Chattanooga) – Did not pitch.

20. Felix Jorge (Rochester) – Did not pitch.

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Syracuse (5:35PM CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (0-1, 2.57 ERA)

Chattanooga – Scheduled day off.

Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) – RHP Clark Beeker (2-5, 3.20 ERA)

Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (12:05PM CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (5-2, 4.18 ERA)

Elizabethton – Scheduled day off.

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

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