Twins Minor League Report (7/7): Moran Strikes Out 6 Straight, Granite Gets the Call

Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Friday.

TRANSACTIONS

Joe Mauer was placed on the DL with an ailing back, leading to Kennys Vargas being called back up from Rochester. Surprisingly, that was the least interesting of the team’s three big transactions on the night.

During the Twins game it was announced the team has signed 44-year-old Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal. He’s on his way to Rochester.

Last, but certainly not least, was the huge news that Zack Granite was being called up to make his major league debut. With the All-Star break upcoming, the Twins have no need to carry a fifth starter. So Felix Jorge, who started for the Twins Friday night, is being sent back down to Chattanooga to make room for Granite.

UPDATE: Edgar Corcino is also getting a promotion up to Rochester.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 9, Syracuse 3

Box Score

Mitch Garver led off the third inning with a single that sparked an offensive outburst. That frame was highlighted by a Niko Goodrum three-run homer … which was immediately followed by a Garver home run. It was an eight-run inning for the Red Wings.

Garver, who was playing left field tonight, is now hitting .284/.390/.505 (.895 OPS). He’s been even more impressive against southpaws, posting a .327/.450/.551 line (1.001 OPS). Joining Garver and Goodrum with two hits on the night were Tommy Field, Bengie Gonzalez and Engelb Vielma.

David Hurlbut pitched very well with the lead. He gave up two runs over six innings on seven hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts. The lefty lowered his ERA to 3.44 on the season. Alan Busenitz pitched a scoreless inning and was followed by John Curtiss, who gave up a run over two innings of work.

Here are the homers from Goodrum and Garver:

https://twitter.com/MorrieSilver8/status/883716274496450561

https://twitter.com/MorrieSilver8/status/883713921928093696

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 6, Tennessee 1

Box Score

At this time last season, Andy Wilkins was playing with the Milwaukee Brewers. Tonight, he had a huge game for the Lookouts, hitting a three-run homer to go with a pair of doubles.

Edgar Corcino has had an excellent season, earning a mid-season All-Star nod, but he hasn’t been a big source of power. Well, the Puerto Rican right fielder popped his second homer of the year, a two-run shot, and was 2-for-4, pushing his average to .299. Jonathan Rodriguez also had two hits for the Lookouts. Nick Gordon was not in the lineup for Chattanooga.

Randy LeBlanc held the Smokies to one run on three hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out four batters. Randy Rosario threw two scoreless innings.

At this time last season, Paul Clemens was playing with the San Diego Padres. Tonight he pitched a scoreless ninth inning of a 6-1 game for the Lookouts.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 6, Palm Beach 5

Box Score

Fort Myers was leading 3-1 before Williams Ramirez gave up four runs in the top of the fifth. It appeared he may have blown the game for the Miracle … for about 10 minutes. Fort Myers stormed back with three runs in the bottom of the inning, putting them up 6-5 for good.

Sean Miller and Jermaine Palacios opened the bottom of the fifth with consecutive walks, but the next two batters were retired. With two outs, Palacios stole second and Miller scored on a throwing error. Brandon Lopez plated Palacios with a double, then Kevin Garcia drove in Lopez with a single.

Mitchell Kranson hit his first home run with Fort Myers, a two-run shot in the first inning. Miracle starter Brady Anderson gave up one run over four innings. Michael Theofanopoulos picked up his fourth win after tossing two scoreless innings. Alex Muren threw a scoreless eighth and Tom Hackimer registered his second save by pitching a perfect ninth with two strikeouts.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 2

Box Score

Shortstop Gorge Munoz hit a two-out, two-run double in a big fourth inning for the Kernels. That gave Clark Beeker a 5-1 lead, not that he needed that kind of cushion. The Davidson product put together his seventh start in which he went at least five innings and gave up one or no runs.

Beeker improved his record to 8-2 after surrendering one run over six innings. He gave up just three hits and a walk. Alex Robinson earned his second save by pitching 1.1 perfect innings with three strikeouts. Aaron Whitefield and Lewin Diaz each had two hits. Munoz also drew a walk and stole a base in this game.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 5, Johnson City 0

Box Score

Charlie Barnes, the Twins fourth-round pick this year out of Clemson, was excellent. He threw five one-hit innings, striking out seven batters while issuing one walk. He was pulled after 65 pitches, 45 of which were strikes. The crazy thing is that he wasn’t even the most dominant E-Town pitcher Friday night.

After Juan Gamez threw two scoreless innings, Jovani Moran came on for the Twins. Here’s how the 20-year-old Puerto Rican lefty’s two innings went: BB, K, K, K, K, K, K. Moran now has 16 strikeouts in 8.2 innings this season. Filthy.

Jose Miranda drove in three runs, Mark Contreras had a pair of hits and Brent Rooker had the team’s only extra-base hit, a double.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Red Sox 10, GCL Twins 5

Box Score

Hunter Green finally signed with the Reds today. Meanwhile, Royce Lewis went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk in what was his ninth professional game. The Twins No. 1 pick has gotten off to a great start, hitting .324/.419/.58 (.986 OPS).

Akil Baddoo drew four walks (!) and scored twice. Catcher Jhon Alvarez was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. Twins starter Petru Balan struggled, giving up four runs over 1.2 innings, and the bullpen didn't do much better, though Zach Featherstone finished things off with a scoreless inning.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Jovani Moran, Elizabethton (2 IP, 0 hits, 6 Ks)

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Andy Wilkins, Chattanooga (3-for-4, HR, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 2 runs)

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester vs. Syracuse, 6:05 pm CT, Aaron Slegers (4.08 ERA, 1.40 WHIP)

Chattanooga va. Tennessee, 6:15 pm CT, TBA

Fort Myers vs. Palm Beach, 5:05 pm CT, Cody Stashak (3.84 ERA, 1.12 WHIP)

Cedar Rapids vs. Peoria, 6:35 pm CT, Griffin Jax (0.00 ERA, 0.57 WHIP)

Elizabethton vs. Johnson City, 5:00 pm CT, Bryan Sammons (1.59 ERA, 0.88 WHIP)

GCL Twins vs. GCL Red Sox, 9:00 am CT, TBA

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