Twins Minor League Report (7/22): Berrios Baffles and Diaz Delivers

For much more information on the scores and highlights from all six of the Twins minor league affiliates in the States, please continue reading.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Syracuse 1

Box Score

Jose Berrios made another AAA start on Friday night. He gave up a run in the first inning, and that was about it. The red-hot right-hander gave up just the one run on three hits and a walk over eight innings. He struck out nine. Berrios improved to 10-4 and reduced his AAA ERA to just 2.31.

Sean Burnett got the save with a perfect ninth inning. It was his second save for the Red Wings.

Tommy Field continues to play well. He went 2-3 with his eighth home run. Byung Ho Park was 1-3 and homered for the second straight game. It was his fourth with the Red Wings.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 2, Jackson 3

Box Score

Omar Bencomo was on the mound for the Lookouts on Friday night. The right-hander gave up three runs on six hits in the first five innings. He walked one and struck out one. Tyler Jay came out of the bullpen for the first time this year. The lefty gave up one hit in a scoreless inning. Zack Jones gave up two hits - but no runs - in his inning. Trevor Hildenberger struck out two in his perfect inning.

Niko Goodrum went 2-4 with his second stolen base. Ryan Walker was 2-4. Mitch Garver was also 2-4. Shannon Wilkerson had the lone extra-base hit, his 10th double of the season.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 0, Clearwater 5 (6-rain)

Box Score

The rains came and cut this game short, and maybe that was a good thing. The Miracle bats managed just three hits in the game. LaMonte Wade had two of the hits including his fourth double. He’s hitting .369 since joining the Miracle. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 1-1 with two walks.

On the positive, the Miracle got a complete game from their starter. Lefty Sam Clay went all six innings. He gave up five runs (just two earned) on eight hits. He struck out one and didn’t walk a batter.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 8, Bowling Green 2

Box Score

The Kernels played a very nice game all around on Friday night. Maybe it was because they knew Jeremy Nygaard was in the stands watching.

Sam Gibbons had his best start of the year. The Australian right-hander gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings. Both runs came on solo home runs. He walked one and struck out two. Michael Cederoth and Tom Hackimer each threw a scoreless inning.

The offense showed up. Jaylin Davis led the way. The outfielder went 2-4 with his fifth double and fourth home run. Manuel Guzman had his best game with the Kernels this year. He went 3-4 with his first double and also had his first stolen base. Christian Cavaness went 2-3. Sean Miller went 2-5 and drove in two runs. Luis Arraez added his 23rd double.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 12, Johnson City 8

Box Score

For the second straight game, the E-Twins posted double-digit runs, and they again needed it. The Twins scored seven runs over the first three innings but when they came to bat in the bottom of the 4th inning, they were down 8-7. They got a big blast in the sixth inning and piled on some more.

Lewin Diaz had a tremendous game. The powerful, David Ortiz look-a-like went 3-4 with his tenth double, his fifth home run and six RBIs. His home run came in the sixth inning and with the bases loaded. He is now hitting .315 on the short-season. Brandon Lopez led off and went 3-4 with a walk and his first triple. He’s hitting .382. Travis Blankenhorn is hitting .304 after a 3-5 game. Alex Kirilloff went 3-5 and is hitting .360. He hit his third home run. Mitchell Kranson went 2-5 with his fifth double. Roberto Gonzalez added his first home run of the season.

Alex Schik was back on the mound. He gave up eight runs on ten hits in just 3.2 innings. He walked one and struck out six. Hector Lujan gave up just two hits over 3.1 shutout innings. He struck out two. Colton Davis struck out four (and walked one) over two scoreless, hitless innings.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 5 (suspended after 9 innings)

Box Score

Earlier in the week, the GCL Twins played a 15 inning game. On Friday, they played nine innings before the rains came. The game was suspended after nine innings and the rest of the game will be played on Saturday as part of a doubleheader. More will be written on this game tomorrow but there were a couple of highlights from the nine innings that were played. For instance, Brady Anderson started and threw six shutout innings. Jordan Balazovic made his professional debut and threw two shutout innings in relief. Aaron Whitefield and Jorge Andrade each had two hits. Roni Tapia was 1-3 with his first home run which increased his batting average to .067.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Lewin Diaz, Elizabethton Twins

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05 CST) - LHP Jason Wheeler

Chattanooga @ Jackson (6:05 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge

Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (5:15 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero

Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario

Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen

GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00 CST) - TBD (completion of suspended game and regularly scheduled game.)

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