Twins Minor League Report (6/27): Miracle Walk-Off, Lewis Drives In Four

TRANSACTIONS

Before we get to the games, there were some transactions leading into them on today.

In Rochester, Yohan Pino was placed on the disabled list with a right-shoulder strain, Nick Tepesch was assigned for a rehab stint in the Gulf Coast League, Dillon Gee was optioned from the Twins, and Alex Wimmers cleared waivers and was outrighted.

In the lower levels of the system, Fort Myers released Bradley Strong and the GCL Twins assigned first baseman Mariano Calcano to the Dominican Summer league.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Buffalo 2

Box Score

Nik Turley made his first start with the Red Wings since being sent down after a deserved cameo with the Minnesota Twins, and went the first five innings. He allowed a solo home run in the second and an unearned run in the third and left the game with the score tied 2-2. In his five innings, he allowed three hits and walked two while striking out six. His ERA at AAA sits at 3.24 on the season.

On the offensive side, if I were to ask you which Red Wings batter was responsible for their first run of the game in this one, who would you guess?

Given these reports that you’ve been following for the last few weeks, if you didn’t think of Zack Granite I might ask what is wrong with you. His single in the second inning scored one and if not for a strong throw home would have scored another. He drove in another runner with single in the fourth and finished this one 3-5, raising his batting average to .371.

D.J. Baxendale relieved Turley and went two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and struck out two.

Rochester took the lead 3-2 in the top of seventh when Granite led off the inning with a single, but it wasn’t he who scored the run because he got himself thrown out at home on a wild-pitch, trying to score from second on the wild pitch. A two-out single from Byungho Park scored Mitch Garver to put the Red Wings out front.

Michael Tonkin finished the final two innings for the Red Wings to pick up his third save on the season. He made it a bit interesting in the ninth, hitting the first two batters of the frame and causing hitting coach Chad Allen to be ejected in the process, but proceeded to strike the next three hitters out. Of his six outs, five came on K’s.

Garver (3-5, R), Park (2-5, R, RBI), and Leonardo Reginatto (2-4, R) joined Granite with multiple hits on the game. Despite collecting 14 hits, all singles, and going 5-12 with runners in scoring position on the game, the three runs scored were enough in this one as Rochester pitchers allowed just four hits and two walks.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Scheduled Day Off.

The Lookouts enjoyed a day off for travel on Tuesday and get back to action Wednesday night on the road against the Mississippi Braves. Stephen Gonsalves takes the hill in game one of the six-game series.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Clearwater 2, Fort Myers 3

Box Score

With Cody Stashak on the mound for the Miracle, this one was a pitcher’s duel throughout. He went 7.1 innings, allowing just two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out eight. With the score 2-1 in the eighth, he was removed after allowing consecutive singles that put a man on third. Sam Clay came on and that runner scored on a squeeze play to tie the game at two.

Fort Myers took the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh after the Threshers starter was removed from the game. Tanner English singled and stole second base, his seventh of the season, before scoring on a double from Sean Miller. The next batter, Max Murphy, brought him in with an RBI single.

Clay stayed in the game and pitched a scoreless ninth inning to give his lineup a chance at some dramatics. They delivered.

Miller doubled with one out to put the winning run in scoring position, and after moving to third on a Murphy single, Shane Kennedy brought him in with a walk-off single.

Miller (2-4, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, RBI), Murphy (2-5, RBI), and Kennedy (2-5, RBI) provided all the RBIs for the Miracle out of the nine-one-two spots in the order. Mitchell Kranson added a double.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Burlington 6, Cedar Rapids 2

Box Score

Cedar Rapids starter Colton Davis got tagged early and often in this one and the home team was unable to mount a comeback.

Davis went the first three innings, and allowed at least one run in each. He finished with four runs allowed on six hits, including two home runs. He struck out two. Ryan Mason went the next three innings and allowed one run on one hit and a walk while striking out two. Alex Robinson pitched two perfect innings, including one strikeout. Evan Sanders finished the game for the Kernels and allowed one insurance run on two hits and a walk, but struck out two.

The Kernels offense got one hit from every hitter in their lineup except Caleb Hamilton, but that wasn’t enough to crawl out of the hole they found themselves in early. Travis Blankenhorn clubbed his seventh triple of the season and drew a walk, and Aaron Whitefield blasted his eighth home run along with a walk to lead the offense.

As a team the Kernels were 2-7 with runners in scoring position, left eight men on base, and had five hitters with multiple K’s.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Pulaski 6, Elizabethton 4

Box Score

2017 fourth-round draft pick Charlie Barnes made his first professional start for the Twins in this one. He went the first 2.1 innings as he ran up his pitch count with three walks. He left with two runners on base in the third, and both came around to score later in the inning. He allowed just one hit and struck out one in his debut.

Elizabethton scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning, when Rainis Silva led off with a double and scored on a single from T.J. Dixon. They added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings thanks to RBI singles from Jordan Gore and J.J. Robinson but were outpaced by the Yankees along the way.

Twenty-second-round pick Christian Broussard came on in relief of Barnes for his debut and went the next 2.2 innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and a walk with one K. Nick Brown was the next pitcher to make his pro debut, and went two innings. He allowed two runs on two hits and three walks, striking out three. Taylor Clemensia finished the game with two scoreless innings, walking two and striking out two.

The Twins closed the Yankees lead to two runs in the eighth inning on a groundout from Andre Jernigan, but were unable to string together enough hits to close the gap. Robinson (2-4, R, RBI) and Gore (3-4, RBI) had multiple hits to lead the offense.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 8, GCL Orioles 13

Box Score

The Twins scored first in this one, but their lead was short-lived and if not for a ninth inning rally, would have been on the receiving end of a much worse blowout.

Akil Baddoo led off the game with a triple to center field and was promptly driven in by a single from Royce Lewis. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, a throwing error on a double play ball led to two more runs and a 3-0 lead.

The rehabbing Nick Tepesch started the game for the Twins, and didn’t do well. He recorded just two outs while allowing five runs on four hits, a walk and a hit-batter. Jordan Balazovic relieved him and stabilized the game for the next three innings, keeping the Orioles off the scoreboard through the fourth inning.

Jean Carlos Arias closed the gap to 5-4 in the third with an RBI single, but that’s as close as the Twins would get the rest of the way.

Balazovic had retired nine in a row after getting the first out of the fifth inning, but that’s when trouble finally struck. The next five batters reached base leading to three runs before he finally got out of the inning with the score 8-4. Overall, he pitched 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out three.

Matz Schutte finished the final three innings, but gave up at least one run in each of those frames. His final line included five earned runs on four hits and two walks, thought he did pick up three strikeouts.

In the top of the ninth inning, four consecutive walks scored one and kept the bases loaded for Lewis, who cleared them with a double for the final score of 13-8. He finished 2-5 with four RBI on the game.

Colton Burns was 3-5 and scored two runs while Alex Robles added a double and two walks to the offensive effort for the Twins. Arias stole second and third base in the first inning for his first two stolen bases of the season.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day – Cody Stashak, Fort Myers Miracle (7.1IP, 2 ER’s, 6 H’s, BB, 8 K’s)

Hitter of the Day – Royce Lewis, GCL Twins (2-5, 2B, 4 RBI)

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Buffalo (6:05PM CST) – RHP Dillon Gee (0-0, -.-- ERA)

Chattanooga @ Mississippi (7:00PM CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves (3-3, 2.85 ERA)

Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells (3-9, 4.28 ERA)

Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (12:05PM CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario (7-3, 4.74 ERA)

Elizabethton @ Kingsport (5:30PM CST) – RHP Edwar Colina (0-0, 8.31 ERA)

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

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