Twins Minor league Report (8/13): Buxton Suffers Concussion

Terry Ryan happened to be in New Britain. He went with the players to the hospital. He later told the Rock Cats radio announcers what he had learned. Mike Kvasnicka was back in the dugout with the team and had just a sore hip. Buxton was given several tests and found no broken bones. He did suffer a concussion and will likely be placed on the disabled list and miss more time. Though a concussion is not a good thing, things could have been much worse. By the end of the game, Buxton had returned to the clubhouse as well.

(If you would like to, here is the video of the play.)

To find out more about how that Rock Cats game ended up, and much more from around the Twins farm system, you’ll want to continue reading. A top Twins pitching prospect made his first start in nearly a month. Here is the Minor League Report for Wednesday:

RED WINGS REPORT

Game 1 – Rochester 7, Durham 8 (11 innings)

Box Score

Knowing they were playing two games on Wednesday, extra frames in Game 1, a continuation of a suspended game, is probably the last thing that either team wanted. Sean Gilmartin had started this game with two innings. He had given up one run on two hits and a walk. He struck out four. When the game resumed on Wednesday, Mark Hamburger took the mound. He was charged with six runs (five earned) on ten hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out five. Stephen Pryor struck out three over two scoreless innings. Aaron Thompson faced two batters in the 10^th inning and both got hits. Michael Tonkin came in and gave up the game winning run.

Game 2 – Rochester 4, Durham 2

Box Score

It most likely was a one-start promotion, but right-hander Tyler Duffey made the most of this appearance with a terrific start. In six innings, he gave up just two runs five hits and two walks. In that sixth inning, he allowed a two-run homer to Nick Franklin. Duffey struck out seven to earn the win. Lester Oliveros struck out two in the 7th for his fourth save. In his last seven games, he has given up 0 runs in 13 innings and has struck out 21 batters.

Josmil Pinto went 2-3 in the game. Doug Bernier and Chris Herrmann each doubled.

ROCK CATS REVIEW

New Britain 8, Bowie 5

Box Score

Obviously the big news in this game was the collision between Mike Kvasnicka and Byron Buxton, but the game did continue and the Rock Cats picked up a win. Buxton was 0-3 with three strikeouts before his injury. He also threw out a base runner at third base. Levi Michael also made his AA debut at second base. He went 2-3 and stole two bases. Eddie Rosario went 1-3 with two walks. The Rock Cats had seven hits, walked four times and four players were hit by a pitch.

It was a bullpen game for the Rock Cats. Cole Johnson started and threw 2.2 scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out three. Edgar Ibarra came on and was charged with one run on one hit and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Alex Wimmers gave up four runs on five hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out two. Jim Fuller struck out two over the final 2.2 innings. He gave up no runs on three hits and recorded his first save of the year.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Game 1 – Ft. Myers 1, St. Lucie 6

Box Score

Brett Lee made the start in the first game of this doubleheader. The lefty gave up five runs on eight hits, three walks and a hit batter in 3.1 innings. Todd Van Steensel came on and gave up one run on a hit and two walks over 2.2 innings. Madison Boer pitched a scoreless inning.

Niko Goodrum hit his third home run of the year. Aderlin Mejia was 2-3 with two walks in the game.

Game 2 – Ft. Myers 7, St. Lucie 3

Box Score

The Miracle were able to split their doubleheader with a Game 2 win. This was also a bullpen game. Brandon Peterson started and went the first 2.1 innings. He was charged with two runs on four hits and two walks in 2.1 innings. He struck out two. Alex Muren came on and gave up just two hits over 2.2 scoreless innings. Nick Burdi made his Florida State League debut. He gave up a hit, but he struck out two in his inning. DJ Johnson got the final inning and gave up an unearned run on one hit.

Dalton Hicks went 2-4. Tyler Grimes was 1-1 with two walks. Jason Kanzler also walked twice.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 6, Beloit 1

Box Score

It had been nearly a month since he had last pitched, but Kohl Stewart returned to the mound for the Kernels in Beloit on Wednesday night. Limited to just 50 pitches, Stewart completed four innings. He gave up a run on three hits. He walked none and struck out four. Chih-Wei Hu came on and earned the win with five shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked a batter and struck out three.

JD Williams led the offense. He went 2-2 with two walks, his 16^th double and his third home run. Max Murphy had a big game as well. He was 2-4 with his fourth double and third home run. Jonatan Hinojosa led off and went 2-4 with a walk. Mitch Garver was 2-4. Chad Christensen went 1-3 with his seventh triple. He was also hit by a pitch twice.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 4, Greeneville 0

Box Score

John Curtiss was a tremendous reliever in college, but he’s being given an opportunity to start in Elizabethton. He had a terrific game on Wednesday. The right-hander gave up just two hits over six shutout innings. He walked none and struck out ten. Sam Clay came on and walked two and struck out two over two scoreless innings. CK Irby struck out two in a perfect ninth inning.

Jorge Fernandez went 2-2 with a walk. Trey Vavra went 1-1 with a walk, a sacrifice fly and his 13^th double. Jeremias Pineda went 2-3.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 9, GCL Rays 1

Box Score

The Twins had a much-needed and rare big win. Zach Larson had a terrific game in his rehab from his hamstring injury. He was 3-4 with a walk, and he stole his first base. Amaurys Minier went 2-3 with two walks and his first triple of the year. He also threw out of base runner at home. Joel Polanco went 2-5 with two RBI.

Lefty Brandon Easton improved to 2-1. He gave up just one run on six hits and a walk over the first five innings. He struck out six. Eduardo Del Rosario pitched a perfect inning. Zack Jones had his best outing. He struck out two in a perfect inning. Leonel Zazueta struck out two over the final two innings.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Chih-Wei Hu, Cedar Rapids Kernels

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – JD Williams, Cedar Rapids Kernels

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Durham @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Alex Meyer

Bowie @ New Britain (6:05 CST) – Pat Dean

St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – Steven Gruver

Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (7:00 CST) – TBD

Greeneville @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) – Michael Cederoth

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

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

A quick reminder:

Thanks to the Twins win against the Houston Astros on Wednesday, it means that on Thursday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com.