Twins Minor League Report (6/9): Palacios Tallies 13 Total Bases

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 9, Syracuse 3

Box Score

Adam Wilk earned his first victory in the Twins organization, aided by a big day at the plate from Tommy Field. Wilk had a clean first inning, was then spotted a three-run lead, but gave it all back in the top of the second.

To his credit, the 29-year-old lefty kept battling, and held Syracuse scoreless over the next four innings. Wilk ended the night having pitched six innings while giving up three runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out five.

The game was tied in the bottom of the sixth when singles from Field, ByungHo Park and John Ryan Murphy produced the go-ahead run. Rochester later tacked on five runs in the eighth. Field was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two runs and two RBI.

Alan Busenitz followed Wilk with two scoreless innings before Drew Rucinski finished it off in the ninth. Zack Granite (2-for-5) had his eighth-straight multi-hit game. Mitch Garver started the game in left field, his first professional appearance in the outfield.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 7, Montgomery 4

Box Score

Fernando Romero didn’t have his best stuff or command, but he was able to hold the Biscuits at bay. Romero walked five batters, but only surrendered three hits, limiting the damage to two runs over 5.2 innings. He tallied six strikeouts.

Ryan Walker hit a go-ahead, bases-clearing triple in the top of the sixth. Nick Gordon was 2-for-5 with his 17th double of the season and drove in a run. Jonathan Rodriguez was 2-for-3 and drew a pair of walks. Both T.J. White and Dan Rohlfing had three hits on the evening.

Montgomery scored four of about the flukiest runs you’ll ever see. The first two came on a chopper that should have been the third out of the first inning, but instead bounced off second base and into the outfield to go down as a two-run double. The last two came in the bottom of the ninth on a bases-loaded wild pitch that should have been a strikeout to end the game.

Luke Bard and Mason Melotakis both recorded four strikeouts out of the bullpen. Bard pitched 2.1 innings. Melotakis technically only recorded three outs. Baseball math is funny sometimes.

The win put the Lookouts in a three-way tie with Montgomery and Tennessee for the Southern League North division lead.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Tampa 2, Fort Myers 1

Box Score

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the ninth, the Miracle made a comeback attempt, but it fell short. The inning started with back-to-back singles from Max Murphy and Alex Perez. A couple of strikeouts were sandwiched between Trey Vavra reaching on a fielding error. The Miracle’s lone run came in on a bases-loaded wild pitch before Rafael Valera flied out to right field to end the game.

Starter David Fischer went 4.2 innings, limiting the Yankees to just one run despite walking five batters. Andrew Vasquez had two strikeouts over 1.1 IP in his second appearance with Fort Myers. It was a tough night for the Miracle bats, as they managed just five hits (all singles) and a walk while striking out 11 times.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 15, Burlington 5

Box Score

What’s better than hitting for the cycle? Whatever you want to call what Jermaine Palacios did Friday night. Palacios was 5-for-6 with two homers and two doubles. I suppose he “fell” a triple short of the cycle, but I’m sure he’s happy having to settled for 13 total bases on the night. Heck, let’s call that hitting a Palacios! The Kernels shortstop scored five runs and drove in three.

Travis Blankenhorn was 3-for-6 with a home run. Lewin Diaz, Mitchell Kranson and Ben Rortvedt also had three hits each. Brandon Lopez had two hits, including a triple, as did Aaron Whitefield, who stole his 14th base.

Clark Beeker gave up four runs but managed to pitch six innings, extending his streak of pitching six or more to seven-straight starts.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Adam Wilk (6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jermaine Palacios (5-for-6, 2 HR, 2 2B, 5 R, 3 RBI)

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester vs. Syracuse, 6:05 pm CT, Yohan Pino (4.50 ERA, 0.93 WHIP)

Chattanooga at Montgomery, 6:35 pm CT, Stephen Gonsalves (2.45 ERA, 0.82 WHIP)

Fort Myers vs. Tampa, 5:05 pm CT, Lachlan Wells (4.42 ERA, 1.25 WHIP)

Cedar Rapids vs. Burlington, 6:35 pm CT, Eduardo Del Rosario (5.30 ERA, 1.52 WHIP)

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games.