Twins Minor League Report (7/14): Gordon Walk-Off, E-Twins Comeback

TRANSACTIONS

RHP Ryan Eades placed on the IL for Rochester (right groin strain).

INF Spencer Steer promoted to Cedar Rapids from Elizabethton.

C/INF Chris Williams placed on IL with Cedar Rapids (right ankle sprain).

AWARDS

The Twins announced their weekly Hitter and Pitcher of the Week:

• Hitter of the Week: Royce Lewis, Fort Myers
  

Lewis, who played in the SiriusXM Futures Game at Progressive Field last Sunday, played in four games for the Miracle late this week, hitting .353 (6-for-17) with two home runs, three RBI and two walks. Lewis is in his third professional season after being taken with the number one overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft.

• Pitcher of the Week: Edwar Colina, Fort Myers
  

Colina made the start on Wednesday vs. Daytona, pitching 7.0 shutout innings with three hits allowed, no walks and eight strikeouts. Colina was promoted to Pensacola the day after his start. He was signed back in 2015 out of Venezuela.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 5, Lehigh Valley 4

Box Score

Rochester needed two runs over the final two innings to walk off with the win in this one. Trailing 4-3 entering the eighth, Jaylin Davis knocked his 10th home run to tie the game. With two outs in the ninth, Drew Maggi singled to put the winning run on base. One batter later, Nick Gordon lined a single to left field and Maggi came all the way around to score. It was a terrible play by the outfielder and Maggi was aggressive.

https://twitter.com/Wheyen3/status/1150519103628763138

The Red Wings got their scoring started in the sixth inning. With one out, Wilin Rosario coaxed a four-pitch walk before Davis moved him into scoring position with a single. Tomas Telis cracked a three-run shot, his sixth of the year, to tie the game 3-3.

Drew Hutchison ran into some early trouble as he allowed three first inning runs. From there he settled in and finished five frames. He allowed three earned runs on five hits and struck out nine. It was the second fewest runs he has allowed since joining the Twins organization (five starts).

Cody Allen had a scoreless sixth inning as he allowed one walk and struck out one. Fernando Romero struck out three across two innings, but he allowed one run on three hits. Cody Stashak improved to 5-0 at Triple-A after throwing a perfect ninth inning with a pair of strikeouts.

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Pensacola 0, Montgomery 4

Box Score

Pensacola was limited to four hits in this one with Caleb Hamilton recording half of them. He reached base three times and added his 14th double. Joe Cronin went 1-for-4 and stole his eighth base. Jordan Gore had the team’s other hit. The Blue Wahoos had some chances as the team finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.

With the offense struggling, Jorge Alcala didn’t have much of an opportunity to pitch his team to victory. He has taken the loss in his last five decisions and his last win came all the way back on May 13. In this one, he allowed three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked two.

Andrew Vasquez made his first appearance since being reassigned from Rochester. In 1 2/3 innings, he allowed one run on one hit with two walks and two strikeouts. Hector Lujan took the final two innings and didn’t allow a hit. He struck out one and walked one.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 5, Bradenton 4

Box Score

Ryan Costello connected for a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning and Fort Myers didn’t look back. It was his eighth longball of the season and three of those homers have come in the eighth inning or later. In the game, he reached base three times, drove in two, and scored twice.

Fort Myers started their scoring in the fourth inning. Four straight batters reached to start the inning including singles from Trevor Larnach, Ryan Jeffers, and Jose Miranda. Miranda’s RBI tied the game at 1-1 and an Andrew Bechtold groundout gave Fort Myers their first lead. Larnach extended his hitting streak to seven games. With one out in the sixth, Costello doubled and came around on a double by Bechtold.

Bailey Ober returned to the mound for the first time since April 26 as he was dealing with right ulnar nerve subluxation. He allowed earned runs for the first time all season. Making his seven appearance (fifth with Fort Myers), he allowed three earned runs on six hits. He struck out three and walked two.

Johan Quezada took over for Ober, but he allowed one run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings. He has allowed runs in five of his last 10 relief appearances. Joe Record and Zach Neff combined for three perfect innings to end the game.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 0, Lansing 2

Box Score

Kai-Wei Teng was the most positive storyline for the Kernels in this one. He struck out a career-high 10 batters over six shutout innings. He didn’t walk a batter and he limited Lansing to just five hits. He had at least one strikeout in every inning. However, his biggest out might have been an inning-ending double play to get out of a bases-loaded jam. Teng has a quality start in all his last five starting assignments.

J.T Perez faltered in trying to preserve the Kernels shutout. He surrendered a two-run home run in the seventh inning that would account for the only runs in the game. Carlos Suniaga finished the game with two shutout innings as he allowed only two hits.

Cedar Rapids had one extra-base hit, a triple by Jared Akins. Wander Javier continues to struggle at the plate. He failed to record a hit in three at-bats. When he did reach base with a walk, he was removed for a pinch runner. Jacob Pearson reached base twice. Overall, the club went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 13, Johnson City 12 (10 Innings)

Box Score

Elizabethton scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and wound up a walk-off winner in extra frames. In that big ninth frame, Charles Mack smacked a grand slam. Everyone of the top five batters in the order had multiple hits. Matt Wallner finished 3-for-4 with two doubles. Seth Gray had a three-run bomb in the fifth inning. Rueben Santana ended the game with a walk-off double.

Pitching was a little dicey as one would expect when a club surrenders 12 runs. Prelander Berroa allowed a season-high five earned runs and was only able to pitch through three innings. The bullpen didn’t fare much better as Denny Bentley saw three runs score (two earned) during the fourth. Cody Laweryson was asked to toss four innings and he allowed earned runs for the first time this season. Steven Cruz was credited with the win after tossing two scoreless innings to end the game.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

TD Pitcher of the Day- Kai-Wei Teng, Cedar Rapids (6.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 10 K, 0 BB)

TD Hitter of the Day- Ryan Costello, Fort Myers (2-for-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB)

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 1-5, 2B, K

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 0-4, 2 K

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured list

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, R, BB

#5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, BB, K

#6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch

#7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) – No scheduled game

#8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Did not play

#9 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch

#10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch

#11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did not pitch

#12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 1-8, 2 K

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – Did not play

#14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) – 1-3, 2B, BB, R

#15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) – 3-4, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB

#16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 0-4

#17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery

#18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 K, 2 BB

#19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) – No scheduled game

#20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) – Did not play

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Norfolk (6:05 CST) - TBD

Pensacola vs. Montgomery (6:35 CST) – TBD

Fort Myers – Scheduled Off-Day

Cedar Rapids vs. Lansing (12:05 CST) – RHP Austin Schulfer (6-4, 2.62 ERA)

Elizabethton vs. Johnson City (5:30 CST) – TBD

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

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