Twins Minor League Report (7/28): Park Power Propels Red Wings

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 13, Pawtucket 5

Box Score

Byung Ho Park has been on a tear of late. In Thursday morning’s game, he put on a show, and he wasn’t the only one. He went 3-5 and in his last three at bats, he hit home runs and drove in five runs. He now has hit eight home runs in the last ten games. Daniel Palka provided the early offense. He went 3-5 with his sixth double and fifth home run (26th overall) of the season. He drove in three runs. Jorge Polanco went 3-5 with two runs and two RBIs in what will hopefully be his final game with the Red Wings. John Ryan Murphy went 3-4. Logan Schafer was 2-5 with his third Red Wings homer.

Jason Wheeler didn’t have his best start, but he did improve to 8-2 with an ERA of 2.70. The lefty went five innings and gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out two. Marcus Walden came on and gave up one run on three hits over two innings. He struck out three. Alex Wimmers pitched the eighth inning. He gave up one run on one hit. He walked three and struck out two. Sean Burnett worked a quiet ninth.

The Red Wings are now 61-46 on the season.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 3

Box Score

Tied going into the bottom of the ninth inning, Edgar Corcino led off with his second hit of the game. He advanced to second base on a bunt. A Levi Michael single pushed Corcino to third base. Zach Granite came to the plate and played hero when he singled in Corcino with the game-winning run. The Lookouts improved to 54-49.

Levi Michael went 3-3 in the game. Corcino was 2-4 and stole his first base with the Lookouts. Ryan Walker went 2-4 with his seventh double. Mitch Garver was also 2-4.

David Hurlbut started for Chattanooga. The lefty gave up two runs on four hits over seven innings. He walked one and struck out six batters. Mason Melotakis pitched the eighth inning. He gave up the game-tying run on one hit and one walk . Raul Fernandez got the win thanks to a perfect ninth inning.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Box Score

The Miracle enjoyed a rare off day.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 0

Box Score

The Kernels put together a terrific pitching performance on Thursday night and were able to complete the shutout. They improve to 56-46 overall on the season.

Australian Sam Gibbons recently returned to the rotation and appears to be showing some glimpses of what Kernels fans saw last year. He threw six shutout innings to improve to 5-3 on the year. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out four. Kuo Hua Lo gave up one hit in a scoreless inning. Anthony McIver threw two perfect innings, striking out two, to notch his sixth save.

Nelson Molina led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk and an RBI double. He now has ten doubles on the year. The other run was driven in by a single from Sean Miller. Chris Ibarra went 2-3 with a walk.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Game 1 - Elizabethton 2, Bristol 4

Box Score

Ryan Mason provided the E-Twins with something of value. He pitched the complete game, but he fell to 0-2 on the season. The right-hander gave up four runs on seven hits in his six innings. He walked none and struck out four.

Caleb Hamilton, a 2016 draft pick from Oregon State, knocked his first professional homer. He was 2-3 in the game. Brandon Lopez went 1-1, added a walk and a sacrifice fly drove in the second run for the Twins. He also stole his second base.

There were supposed to be two games. The second game had barely started when the rains came. They postponed Game 2 and will play two seven inning games on Friday.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 0

Box Score

It was a well-rounded game for the GCL Twins. Of course, it all starts with pitching. Florida Gulf Coast grad Brady Anderson made another strong start. The right-hander threw six shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out five to improve to 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA. Jordan Balazovic came on for his second appearance and recorded his first professional save. He worked the final three innings. He had two strikeouts and the other seven batters grounded out.

Jose Miranda led the offense. He went 2-3 with his fourth double and two RBIs. Jorge Munoz went 2-4 with his fifth double. Heiker Meneses, still rehabbing, went 2-3. Aaron Whitefield went 1-3 with a walk and stole his 16th base. Roni Tapia has just three hits so far this season, but two of them are home runs. The second came in Thursday’s game.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Sam Gibbons, Cedar Rapids Kernels

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Byung Ho Park, Rochester Red Wings

FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Pat Dean

Tennessee @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge

Clearwater @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - LHP Sam Clay

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario

Elizabethton @ Bristol (DH @ 5:00 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen & TBD

GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00 am CST) - TBD

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