Twins Minor League Report (6/30): One-Run Games And Big Blasts

Continue on to read everything that happened in a busy day in the Minnesota Twins farm system.

TRANSACTIONS

It was a busy day. As has been discussed here all day, JO Berrios was promoted from Chattanooga to Rochester where he will start on Friday night. He’ll be taking the place of Ervin Santana who will be activated by the Twins and start early next week. The Berrios promotion may not be made official until Thursday or Friday when he would need to be added to the roster to pitch.

Hard-throwing Nick Burdi was sent down to Ft. Myers. Meanwhile Zack Jones was placed on the disabled list for the Lookouts. To take those two roster spots, relievers D.J. Johnson and Alex Muren were promoted. Dallas Gallant was activated from the Miracle disabled list.

Following Rochester's game on Tuesday night, Ryan Wheeler was released by the Twins organization.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 1, Pawtucket 0

Box Score

The game was delayed, but Ervin Santana was able to make his final tune-up before he comes back to the Twins this weekend. It went quite well. He threw eight shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked none and struck out five. He only needed 99 pitches and 70 of them were strikes.

Michael Tonkin came on for the ninth inning and recorded his seventh save. He struck out one in a 1-2-3 inning.

Santana’s counterpart in the game was up to the challenge. Lefty Henry Owens had a no-hitter into the seventh inning. However, Jose Martinez doubled to break it up. A couple of batters later, Danny Ortiz hit a sacrifice fly to score the game’s lone run. Oswaldo Arcia doubled later in the game.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga

Box Score

The Chattanooga Lookouts had a scheduled night off.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 2, Dunedin 1

Box Score

Stephen Gonsalves was back on the mound for the Miracle. He threw well. He gave up five hits and walked two over five shutout innings. He helped himself out by picking off three runners at first base. He struck out five and improves to 2-0. Matt Summers came on and gave up one run in 2.2 innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out three. Corey Williams came on and walked the batter he faced. He was replaced by Todd Van Steensel who got the final out of the eighth inning. He also got through the ninth inning without allowing a run. It was his ninth save.

Mitch Garver went 2-4 in the game, continuing his hot June performance. Engelb Vielma went 1-3 with a walk. He stole his 18^th and 19^th bases. Zach Granite went 1-2 with a walk.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 2

Box Score

It may have been a long road to the Twins for Luke Westphal, but on Tuesday afternoon, the southpaw pitched (and won) a game just 20 miles from his hometown. The Clintonville, Wisconsin, native threw five innings against Wisconsin (in Appleton). He gave up one run on one hit. He walked two and struck out five. He was credited with the win.

Randy LeBlanc’s impressive 24+ inning scoreless streak came to an end over the weekend when he gave up one run in an inning of work. One Tuesday, he started a new streak. He gave up just one hit and hit a batter over three scoreless innings. He struck out two. Cameron Booser came on for the ninth, trying to protect a one-run lead. He walked on and hit one, but got through the inning with just one run allowed to record his eighth save of the season.

Brian Navaretto boosted his batting average to .195 with a 3-4 game. Zack Larson went 2-5. Nick Gordon and Tanner English each hit their ninth doubles of the season. Gordon stole his 18^th base. Rafael Valera went 0-1 but walked three times.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 3, Bristol 1

Box Score

The E-Twins improved to 5-3 on the season with another strong pitching performance. Alexis Tapia started. The big-boned right-hander gave up one run on two hits over six innings. He struck out six batters without walking any. Sam Clay struck out three batters over the next two innings. He gave up a hit and a walk but no runs. Jose Abreu came on for the final three outs. He walked one and struck out two.

Austin Diemer is now hitting .444 on the short-season after a 2-3 game. He hit his second double and a triple. Amaurys Minier had a two-run single.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 7, GCL Rays 3

Box Score

Kerby Camacho was the Twins 11^th round pick in the June draft out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. This was his second game played since signing. He had gone 0-7 when he came to the plate in a 3-3 game in the bottom of the 8^th inning. He collected his first professional hit, his first home run and his first four RBIs as a pro with one swing. It proved to be the difference in the game.

Jermaine Palacios was the other hitting star in the game. The infielder went 3-3 with a walk and two doubles. Luis Martinez added his second double. Bryant Hayman went 1-3 with a walk.

Jose Martinez got the starting nod in this game. He went the first four innings and was charged with three runs, two earned, on five hits and two walks. He struck out just one. Dutch righty Matz Schutte walked one and struck one out in the fifth inning. Callan Pearce gave up a hit in a scoreless sixth inning. Miguel Gonzalez got the win. He struck out four over three perfect innings.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ervin Santana, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jermaine Palacios, Elizabethton Twins

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Pawtucket (12:35 CST) – LHP Pat Dean

Birmingham @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut

Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:35 CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers

Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (7:05 CST) – RHP Felix Jorge

Bristol @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren

GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 CST) – TBD

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Tuesday games.