Twins Minor League Report (8/23): Pitching, Hitting And Wins

Let’s start with the transactions of the day. It’s incredible how many transactions there have been this season, particularly this late in the season. And, there’s more to come...

• The Twins announced following the Tuesday night game that RHP Tim Melville had been DFAd.
  
• On Wednesday morning, the subsequent move became official. RHP John Curtiss has been promoted and will join the Twins bullpen.
  
• As noted last night, Felix Jorge was promoted to Rochester (and started on Wednesday). Nik Turley also arrived and is back on the Red Wings roster.
  
• Chattanooga added a couple of pitchers to their mix. RHP Keaton Steele and LHP Anthony McIver were promoted to the Lookouts.
  

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 5, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 4 (Completion of suspended game)

Box Score

Before the rains fell in Rochester, these teams played to a 4-4 game through just three innings. Aaron Slegers went 3.1 innings and was charged with four runs on eight hits (including two homers) and a walk. He struck out two. Offensively, Byungho Park had driven in all four runs. One came on an RBI single in the first inning. In the third frame, he hit his 12th homer, a three-run shot.

When play began on Wednesday, Drew Rucinski took over on the mound. He threw 3.1 scoreless innings, striking out five and giving up a hit and a walk. Buddy Boshers came on, gave up a hit and a walk and got just one out. Alex Wimmers struck out two over the final two innings to improve to 7-3 on the season.

Leonardo Reginnato led the offense. He went 3-4 with his 11th double. Park was 2-4 with his 13th homer and four RBI. JB Shuck was 2-4 with his 25th double. Matt Hague was 1-3 with a walk and his 27th double. Daniel Palka was 1-3 with a walk and his 11th double.

Rochester 1, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 0 (Regularly-Scheduled game)

Box Score

Game 2 of the night was just what the teams wanted, a fast-paced, quick, seven inning game. It was Felix Jorge’s AAA debut, and he gave the Red Wings exactly what they needed. The right-hander threw six shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out seven. Unfortunately, when he left, the score was still tied at zero, so he got a no-decision.

Michael Tonkin pitched the seventh, and he struck out all three batters he faced.

As you would expect from a game that had no runs scored through six and a half innings, there was little offense. Zack Granite went 2-3 with his 16th double, and Leonard Reginnato played hero. He stepped to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and delivered his third home run to end the game.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 7, Mississippi 2

Box Score

Felix Jorge was supposed to start for the Lookouts on Wednesday, but instead he was up in Rochester. So this was a bullpen game for the Lookouts. DJ Baxendale started and worked through four innings. He gave up one run on two hits. He walked two and struck out three. Anthony McIver picked up his first AA win with two shutout innings. He walked one and struck out one. Next, Keaton Steele made his AA debut and gave up one run on three hits in two innings. He struck out two. Gabriel Moya came on and gave up a hit and struck one out in a scoreless inning.

TJ White led the offense again. He went 3-3. Max Murphy’s ninth double drove in two runs. LaMonte Wade was 1-3 with a walk and two RBI. Ryan Walker and Levi Michael were both 1-3 with a walk.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 6, Clearwater 4

Box Score

It was a long night for the Miracle. Sean Poppen made the start. He got two outs, gave up a hit, and then threw a wild pitch. And then the rains came and there was a delay. That was the end of Poppen’s night. Andrew Vasquez came on and went 2.1 innings. He gave up one run on one hit. He walked three and struck out four. Alex Robinson then gave up three runs on five hits and two walks in his two innings. He struck out three. Sam Clay struck out two over his two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and hit a batter. Michael Kohn worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning. Tom Hackimer picked up his fifth save with the Miracle. He struck out one, and hit one, in a scoreless ninth inning.

Jaylin Davis led the offense. He went 3-4 in the game. Tanner English and Brent Rooker each had an RBI double. Zander Wiel had a big homer, his 12th of the year. The Miracle’s top two hitters, Brandon Lopez and Jermaine Palacios, went 0-5 but they combined for five walks as well.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 5, Kane County 3

Box Score

The game was tied going into the 10th inning. With one out, Shane Carrier was hit by a pitch and then Shane Kennedy was hit by a pitch. Aaron Whitefield pinch ran for Carrier at that point, and the move worked. He scored right away when Trey Cabbage singled him in. Joe Cronin was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Royce Lewis and Travis Blankenhorn each walked in another run to add a couple of insurance runs.

Tyler Watson put together easily the best start of his short Twins career. The southpaw gave up just one run in six innings. He gave up four hits, walked none, and struck out four. Ryan Mason gave up the tying run on four hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. He struck out one. Max Cordy came on and kept the game tied through the ninth. He did give up a run in the 10th inning, but that one didn’t hurt.

Cabbage led the offense. He went 3-5 with that game-winning RBI. Along with his RBI walk in the 10th, Blankenhorn hit his 10th home run. Shane Carrier went 2-5. Lewis went 0-4, but he had a sacrifice earlier in the game to go with the 10th inning walk. Joe Cronin and Jimmy Kerrigan each doubled.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 10, Bristol 2

Box Score

The E-Twins bats certainly showed up again in this game. They were led by Wander Javier who went 4-5 with his 13th double and third home run. Akil Baddoo was also a triple shy of the cycle. He went 3-4 with his 13th double and second home run. JJ Robinson went 2-4 with his third double and eighth home run. Ariel Montesino went 2-4 with a triple. Andrew Bechtold went 2-4 with a walk. Colton Waltner went 1-3 with two walks. Matt Albanese went 2-5.

Randy Dobnak improved to 2-0. He was the recipient of all the run support, but he still pitched well too. He gave up one run on seven hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out four. Blair Lakso worked the final three innings to record his first save. He gave up one run on two hits. He walked three and struck out three.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 9, GCL Orioles 6

Box Score

This was a back-and -forth game until the bottom of the eighth when the Twins scored five runs to take the lead. Things started well in the first inning. Ben Rodriguez knocked in three runs with his fourth home run of the season. In the eighth inning, Jean Carlos Arias added a three-run homer to give the Twins the lead. It’s his fifth homer of the year. Soon after, Twins manager Ramon Borrego was ejected for arguing a third strike. Immediately after that, Victor Tademo provided some insurance with a two-run single.

Landon Leach made the start. The right-hander was charged with three unearned runs over 2.2 innings. He gave up just one hit, walked three and struck out two. In the second, a run scored due to a passed ball. Leach got the first two outs of the third inning, but then issued a walk followed by a single. Pedro Garcia came on and got a grounder, but an error kept the inning alive. Those inherited runners (and one more) scored. Garcia went four innings. He was charged with three runs (2 earned) on four hits. He walked three and struck out two. Austin Bizzle came on got the final seven outs to record his first pro win. He struck out one.

Jean Carlos Arias went 2-3 with a walk, his sixth double and his fifth homer.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Felix Jorge, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Leonardo Reginnato, Rochester Red Wings

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (12:35 CST) - TBD

Mississippi @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero

Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (6:00 CST) - RHP Clark Beeker

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi

Bristol @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Bailey Ober

GCL Twins @ GCL O’s (11:00 CST) - TBD

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