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To see which other starting pitchers came through besides the dominating effort from lefty Jason Wheeler at AAA, keep reading!
But first, congratulations to Twins first-round draft pick, Alex Kirilloff, who was named the Appalachian League's Player of the Year on Tuesday. He was joined by Lewin Diaz and Patrick McGuff on the league's postseason All-Star team.
In the Midwest League, Luis Arraez was named to their postseason All-Star team.
RED WINGS REPORT
Rochester 6, Norfolk 0
Rochester’s offense scored three runs before they played any defense thanks to a three-run homer from Kennys Vargas, and thanks to their starting pitcher, that would be all they needed and more.
Byron Buxton led off the game with a double and Reynaldo Rodriguez drew a walk before the Vargas blast to account for the other two runs scored. It was the Jason Wheeler show after that.
Wheeler went the game’s first eight innings, shutting out the Tides in the process. He allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out eight. He retired the last ten batters he faced and from the third inning on the only two base runners allowed were on a walk that was erased by a double-play ball, and a throwing error from shortstop Tommy Field. Wheeler’s twelfth victory of the season ties him with Stephen Gonsalves for the organizational lead in wins.
D.J. Baxendale came on for the ninth and kept the shutout intact with a scoreless inning. He allowed one hit and struck out one.
To begin the third inning, five consecutive hits from Vargas (single), Adam Walker (RBI triple), Daniel Palka (RBI single), Mitch Garver (single), and James Beresford (single) scored two runs and had the bases loaded, but a shallow fly out and double play ended the threat of further damage.
Leonardo Reginatto drove in Garver, who had doubled, with an RBI single in the eighth for the Red Wings final run.
Vargas (2-4, 2 R’s, HR, 3 RBIs, BB), Garver (4-4, R, 2B), and Reginatto (3-4, RBI) had multiple hits for the majority of Rochester’s thirteen as a team on the game.
CHATTANOOGA CHATTER
Chattanooga 2, Jacksonville 3
Aaron Slegers made the start for the Lookouts in this one and pitched into the seventh inning. The damage came on a two-run home run in the third inning to give the Suns the lead, but Slegers left the game with it tied at two and two runners on in the seventh..
Zack Jones was summoned and gave up a single to load the bases, but struck out the next two batters to close the door and keep the game tied going into the eighth. Slegers allowed just two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three in his 6.1 innings pitched.
Chattanooga tied the game at two in the sixth inning thanks to an error that allowed Levi Michael to score (he had led off with a double), and an RBI groundout from Ryan Walker to score Zach Granite who also stole his forty-eighth base of the season.
Jones added a scoreless eighth inning, and came on for the ninth as well. Unfortunately, it was probably a decision manager Doug Mientkiewitz would like to take back. Four base-on-balls later (including one intentional) and the Suns would send their fans home happy with a literal walk-off win.
Jones finished with the loss, and one run allowed on two hits and four walks in his 2.1 innings. He struck out four as well.
Engelb Vielma and Travis Harrison each had two hits in the game, but Michael’s double was the Lookouts only extra-base hit.
MIRACLE MATTERS
Palm Beach 1, Fort Myers 2
Fort Myers got an excellent performance from their starting pitcher at Hammond Stadium in this one, as Randy LeBlanc picked up his fifth win with the Miracle.
LeBlanc has been going through some struggles, having allowed fifteen earned runs, twenty-seven hits, and five walks in his last three starts in just ten innings pitched, but that didn’t matter in this one.
He allowed just three hits, one walk and struck out six in his seven innings. He held the Cardinals hitless the first time through the order before a walk and a single started the fourth inning, and then then retired nine in a row again before a single in the seventh inning.
The Miracle took a 1-0 lead in the sixth thanks to a two-out RBI single from Alex Perez that scored Joe Maloney who had doubled leading off the frame. They added a needed insurance run in the eighth on a costly throwing error from the Palm Beach first baseman on a bunt attempt trying to catch the lead runner at third.
Michael Theofanopoulos pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one, before John Curtiss was brought in for the save opportunity in the ninth. He made it interesting by allowing three singles to score one for the Cardinals, but two strikeouts helped him escape with his third save with Fort Myers.
KERNELS NUGGETS
Quad Cities 1, Cedar Rapids 2
Cedar Rapids took the early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-out rally from Zander Wiel and Luis Arreaz. (This seems like the opposite of how the typical 3/4 spots in the lineup should be occupied by these two, but I’m not complaining.) Weil knocked his twenty-sixth double of the season (the 48th XBH of his 112 hits), and Arreaz drove him in with his 118th single of the year (he has 33 XBH’s).
Starter Eduardo Del Rosario gave that run back in the top of the second thanks to a solo home run, but he was impressive the rest of the way. He scattered six hits over six innings and earned a no-decision for his effort. He struck out six and lowered his ERA on the season to under four after peaking at 6.58 after a six-run outing on June 30th.
Williams Ramirez pitched two perfect innings in relief, striking out three in the process.
In the bottom of the seventh, Manuel Guzman led off with a single and a wild pitch moved him into scoring position before Nelson Molina’s clutch two-out RBI single to put the Kernels out front.
Anthony McIver came on for the ninth, and matched Ramirez with a one-two-three inning of his own for his tenth save. He struck out one.
Arreaz was the only hitter with multiple hits as he went 2-3 with a walk and leads the Midwest League with a .349 average.
E-TWINS E-NOTES
Game 1: Elizabethton 0, Bristol 1
Thanks to a rain out back on July 29th, the E-Twins got to play a seven-inning double-header on Tuesday.
In the regularly scheduled game, they may have been happy it lasted only one hour and twenty-seven minutes given that they had to play a second game, but they won’t be proud of why that happened.
As a team they managed just two hits and were 0-2 with runners in scoring position. When they were given extra base runners by two errors on the Pirates, they were quickly erased by double-plays.
Bristol took the lead for good in the fourth inning against Elizabethton starter Domenick Carlini thanks to three singles. They didn’t manage much more than that as Carlini finished all six innings and allowed just the one run by scattering the other four hits and walking only one. He struck out five and falls to 1-6 on the year.
Game 2 (makeup of 7/29 postponement): Elizabethton 4, Bristol 2 (9 innings)
The reason the E-Twins might have been happy was because game two went two extra innings instead of the scheduled seven (even given this, this game lasted just 2 hours and 19 minutes).
The pace in this one was largely due to nearly forty percent of the game's outs coming via strikeout. Bristol had ten as a team, with Elizabethton outpacing them with eleven.
The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the second inning thanks to Lewin Diaz’s ninth home run of the year. The Pirates tied it at one in the third thanks to a home run of their own off starter Clark Beeker.
He allowed only that run on three hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out six. Colton Davis pitched a scoreless sixth inning despite allowing three hits. His defense came through by cutting down a stolen base attempt and a runner at home for two of his three outs.
Elizabethton took the lead again in the sixth on an RBI ground ball from Alex Kirilloff, then gave it right back again in the seventh.
It was Patrick McGuff’s fault this time and he was charged with the blown save. But as happens sometimes, he came back out for a second inning and recorded three K’s to pick up the win thanks to a two-run ninth inning from his offense. A sac fly from Bryant Hayman and wild pitch led to those two runs.
Hector Lujan came on for his save opportunity, and went one-two-three to end the game.
Diaz was 2-3 with the home run, and Caleb Hamilton was the only other Twins batter with a hit. They scored four runs on three hits and four Bristol errors that contributed to the win.
GCL TWINS TAKES
GCL Orioles 2, GCL Twins 3
In another close game in the system on the day, the GCL Twins scored early and late to pick up the victory.
Lean Marrero (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B), Justin Hazard (3-4, R, 2B, RBI), Jose Miranda (2-4, 2 RBI), and Akil Baddoo (2-4, 3B) each collected multiple hits to lead the offense. They scored two in the first and one in the seventh for just enough offense.
Starter Tyler Fox went the first five innings and did not factor into the decision. He allowed two runs (zero earned) on four hits and three walks while striking out three. Garrett Kelly pitched the next three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk with two strikeouts. Zach Strecker picked up his fifth save with a perfect ninth, striking out two.
TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler, Rochester Red Wings (W, 8.0 IP, 2 H’s, BB, 8 K’s)
Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, Rochester Red Wings (2-4, 2 R’s, HR, BB, 3 RBI)
WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Rochester @ Buffalo (6:05PM CST) – LHP David Hurlut (0-1, 3.46 ERA)
Chattanooga @ Jacksonville (6:05PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (7-6, 3.04 ERA)
Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (4-2, 2.11 ERA)
Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM PM CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (0-0, 1.80 ERA)
Burlington @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – TBD
GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00AM CST) – TBD
Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Tuesday’s games.
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