Twins Minor League Report (7/10): Kernels Maintain Best Record in Midwest League

TRANSACTIONS 
Fort Myers Might Mussels reinstated LHP Steve Hajjar from the 7-day injured list. 
Cedar Rapids activated LHP Brent Headrick from the Injured List. 

SAINTS SENTINEL 
St. Paul 4, Louisville 5
Box score 
SP: Dereck Rodriguez - 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
HR: Caleb Hamilton (9), Curtis Terry (8)
Multi-Hit games: Hamilton (2-4, R, HR, 2 RBI (31), K), Jermaine Palacios (2-4, R, 2B)

The Saints wrapped up their second road trip to Louisville Sunday afternoon looking to split the series with the Reds Triple-A affiliate. 

Dereck Rodriguez was on the mound for the Saints and had a tough start as he allowed nine base runners on eight hits and a walk that turned into all five runs the Bats needed to win. Rodriguez did have six strikeouts for the afternoon and roughly two-thirds of his 94 pitches landed in the strike zone, even with two wild pitches in the afternoon. 

Through the first four innings of the game, the Saints were able to hold the lead thanks to two home runs, one from DH Caleb Hamilton and the other from first baseman Curtis Terry, both coming in the top of the fourth. The Bats were able to get a run back in the bottom of the fourth and the Saints responded in the top of the fifth with an RBI single from Hamilton that scored Elliot Soto. 

The bottom of the sixth was when the Bats retook their lead for the win and knocked Rodriguez out of the game scoring three runs on five hits. The Saints were able to escape more damage in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a diving double play started by Soto.

St. Paul was unable to get any more runs and lost by a final score of 5-4. The loss brings the Saints overall record to 40-42 on the season.

The Saints will return home Tuesday for a six-game series against the Toledo Mudhens which will feature former Twins prospect Akil Baddoo and former Twins reliever from the 2021 bullpen Derek Law. First pitch for Tuesday night’s opener is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. CT. 

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 3, Amarillo 4
Box Score 
SP: Daniel Gossett -  6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
HR: Matt Wallner (21), Andrew Bechtold (10)
Multi-Hit games: Wallner (3-5, R, HR, RBI (59)), Cole Sturgeon (2-3, R, BB, CS)

Wichita completed the first half of a 12-game homestand with a loss in their series finale against the Amarillo Sod Poodles. 

Daniel Gossett made his fourth start since being sent down to Wichita from the Saints and held his own. Gossett allowed six hits, including one homer, through six innings but kept the Sod Poodles at two runs with five strikeouts. 

Twins future All-Star selection Matt Wallner carried the Wind Surge offense Sunday afternoon. Wallner led off the bottom of the first with a home run for the Wind Surge to start the day and put them up 1-0. Wallner reached base twice more on singles and had an outfield assist in the top of the third throwing out a runner at home to end the inning. 

Going into the top of the ninth, the Wind Surge held a 3-2 lead and looked to finish the game in their favor. The lead-off hitter was hit by a pitch. Amarillo rallied with two outs in the top of the ninth with a walk and a double to give themselves a 4-3 lead.

Wichita was unable to score in the bottom of the ninth. The loss brings the Wind Surge record to an even 40-40 through 80 games on the season. 

The Wind Surge begin their next series at home on Tuesday against Arkansas with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 4
Box Score
SP: Brent Headrick 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
HR: Christian Encarnacion-Strand (18), Wander Javier (8)
Multi-Hit Games: Jake Rucker (2-4, R, K, CS), Kyler Fedko (2-5, R, 2 RBI (25), K)

Cedar Rapids completed their latest homestand with a series victory with four wins in six games over the Quad Cities River Bandits. The Kernels won 6-4 over the River Bandits on Sunday thanks to the power of Christian Encarnacion-Strand and multi-hit games from Jake Rucker and Kyler Fedko.

Brent Headrick was on the mound for his 14th start of the season. The lefty had a shortened start of four innings on Sunday, but only made one mistake in his outing with a home run given up to River Bandits catcher Luca Tresh. Aside from the homer, Headrick dominated, striking out five on 42 pitches with 31 strikes. 

Entering the bottom of the third, the Kernels were down 1-0. In the bottom of the fourth, they scored four runs. The big hit was Encarnacion-Strand’s two-run home run. There was also a bases-loaded walk from Charles Mack. This gave the Kernels a 4-1 lead that they maintained until the top of the fifth when the River Bandits scored one more to make it a 4-2 game.

In the top of the eighth, the River Bandits tied the game up 4-4 on an RBI single from shortstop Tyler Tolbert. The Kernels answered in the bottom half of the inning on Wander Javier’s eighth homer of the season and an RBI single from Kyler Fedko. 

The Kernels improve their season record to 49-32, tied for the best record in the Midwest League with the Great Lakes Loons, the Dodgers High-A affiliate. 

Next series for the Kernels begins on the road against the Beloit Sky Carp Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers, Tampa Postponed

The Mighty Mussels had their series finale against the Tampa Tarpons postponed due to rain on Sunday. The rainout was the second of the series for the Mighty Mussels in Tampa. 

Steve Hajjar, who was activated from the 7-Day IL Sunday, was set to start for the Mighty Mussels but will have his first start back from the IL on Tuesday against Clearwater. 

The Mighty Mussels return home Tuesday for a six game series against the Clearwater Threshers with first pitch set for 6:00 p.m. CT. 

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins off day. Resume Monday against FCL Orioles at 11 a.m. CT.

DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins off day. Resume Monday against DSL Dodgers Mega team at 10 a.m. CT

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day –  Brent Headrick (Cedar Rapids) 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Hitter of the Day – Matt Wallner (Wichita) (3-5, R, HR, RBI)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:

#12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 3-5, R, HR, RBI (59)
#15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-3, 2 BB, K
#16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, HR (18), 2 RBI (62), BB, K

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, July 12. The only remaining minor league games on Mondays this season are for the Saints in September and DSL and FCL games. 

Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - TBD
Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - TBD
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 PM CST) - TBD
Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - Steve Hajjar
FCL Twins @ FCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) - TBD
DSL Dodgers @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games