Twins Minor League Report (6/28): Wind Surge Blows Lead

TRANSACTIONS

• The Minnesota Twins optioned OF Mark Contreras back to the St. Paul Saints, and recalled RHP Josh Winder for their doubleheader.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Omaha 11, St. Paul 2
Box Score

It didn’t matter who was pitching for the Saints on Tuesday night, the Storm Chasers made every one of them pay in an 11-2 bombardment at CHS Field that ended a seven-game home winning streak for St. Paul.

Starter Dereck Rodriguez was hit for just his second loss of the season, as he allowed four earned runs on four hits and three walks in his 4 2/3 innings. He did strike out six, but two home runs allowed put his team in an early hole. Yennier Cano was the first arm out of the bullpen and got them through the sixth. He allowed one run of his own on one hit and one walk, while striking out two. Tyler Viza was roughed up for four runs (three earned) and didn’t record an out in the eighth inning after pitching a scoreless seventh. He struck out two. Wladimir Pinto finished the game with two innings, allowing two runs of his own on four hits, though he did strike out four.

The Saints put the ball in play all night, striking out only four times as a team, but didn’t have many opportunities to put anything together to score runs. Jake Cave finished 2-for-3 with a home run and a double, but Michael Helman was the only other hitter to go for extra bases with a double to lead off the third inning. They finished just 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position, and left only two men on base for the game. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 8, Springfield 12
Box Score

The Wind Surge came out swinging in this one, taking a 3-0 lead before their starting pitcher, Daniel Gossett, had taken the mound.

Matt Wallner led off the game by being hit by a pitch and was followed by an Edouard Julien double to move him to third, before Austin Martin’s two-RBI single scored the game's first runs. Martin was moved to third on a Chris Williams single before he was able to score on a groundout from DeShawn Kiersey Jr. 

Gossett kept his team in the lead for 4 2/3 innings, finishing with three earned runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out six. He had allowed just a single run before a two-run shot in the fifth to make it 4-3 Wichita put an end to his night.

In the sixth inning the Wind Surge tacked on a couple more runs when Anthony Prato delivered an RBI double, and was followed by a sac fly from Wallner that made it 6-3. They got two more insurance runs in the eighth thanks to an RBI single from Kevin Merrel, and a throwing error on a Prato infield single that allowed another runner to score.

Left-hander Kody Funderburk came on in relief of Gossett and pitched 2 1/3 innings. He allowed one run on four hits, a walk, and struck out one. Andrew Cabezas came on to start the eighth inning, and promptly gave up a leadoff home run to Malcom Nunez that made the score 8-5. Cabezas wouldn’t record an out, and before the inning was over Jordan Gore and Bryan Sammons had also been summoned from the bullpen, and Nunez added a grand slam that put the Cardinals out front 12-8.

It took just seven pitches for Wichita to go down in the ninth, and they fell to just one game above .500 on the season, and lost in spectacular fashion to start their second half.

The lineup got multiple hits from Williams (2-for-5, RBI, 2 K), Andrew Bechtold (2-for-3, 2 R, BB), and Prato (2-for-4, 2B, RBI). Martin finished 1-for-2 with a run scored, two RBI, and drew three walks.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 0 (suspended in the third inning)
Box Score

The Kernels matchup with the Timber Rattlers was suspended due to rain before the bottom of the third inning, with Cedar Rapids leading 5-0. They will resume play tomorrow afternoon to complete a full nine innings, followed by a seven-inning game two. 

Brent Headrick made the start and completed two scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and struck out one. Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run homer, his 17th of the season, in the first, and back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles by Kyler Fedko, Yunior Severino, and Pat Winkel led to three runs in the top of the third before play was suspended.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Dunedin 2, Fort Myers 0
Box Score

The Mighty Mussels got a decent outing from starting pitcher Travis Adams, but the offense wasn’t able to mount any offensive against the Blue Jays on Tuesday at Hammond Stadium.

Adams went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks, while striking out three. Juan Mendez (2 IP, H, BB, 2 K) and Samuel Perez (2 IP, BB) each added two scoreless innings to give the home team a chance.

Unfortunately, the Fort Myers lineup managed just four hits of their own, the biggest being a double from Keini Cavaco. Noah Miller, Rubel Cespedes, and Luis Baez each had a single. As a team, they went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and left only three men on base for the game.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 3, FCL Rays 4
Box Score

Brayan Medina made the start for the Twins and went the first 3 2/3 innings, likely reaching a pitch limit after a two-out error was committed in the fourth inning. He allowed one run on one hit and two walks, while striking out four. It was tied at two heading into the ninth inning thanks to a sac fly from Danny De Andrade in the third and a Wilfri Castro solo home run in the fourth. The Twins took the lead thanks to a wild pitch in the top of the tenth, but an error on a double in the bottom half led to two runs and a walk-off loss for the good guys. As a team, they struck out 20 times versus no walks, and were unable to cash in any other opportunities as they were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and collected just five hits. Tanner Gaff (1/3 IP, K), Jon Olsen (1 IP, H, K), Jose Oliveras (4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BB, 3 K), and Giovahniey German (H, 2 R, BB) also pitched for the Twins.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
Scheduled day off.

The DSL Twins had Tuesday off. They’re back in action at 10:00 AM CDT tomorrow against the DSL Cleveland Blue squad. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day - Samuel Perez, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2 IP, BB)
Hitter of the Day - Austin Martin, Wichita Wind Surge (1-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB)

PROSPECT SUMMARY

#2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB
#3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 3-for-7, R, 2B, HR, RBI (2 games) 
#7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-4
#9 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, K, CS
#15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-for-3, R, RBI, 3 K
#16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-5, R, 2B, 2 K
#18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-1, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI (game suspended)

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Omaha @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Cole Sands (0-4, 5.20 ERA)
Wichita @ Springfield (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Casey Legumina (1-3, 6.57 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (12:10 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (3-0, 2.05 ERA)
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (3-3, 4.70 ERA)
DSL Twins @ DSL Cleveland Blue (10:00 AM CDT) - TBD

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