Twins Minor League Report (8/31): Berrios Returns, Red Wings Come Back

There were seven games played by the six Twins affiliates on Wednesday. Enjoy today’s Twins Minor League Report.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 4, Syracuse 3

Box Score

Jose Berrios made his first start since returning to the Red Wings last week. It didn’t start out well. He gave up two runs in the first inning. Both came on a home run. Then in the sixth frame, he gave up a solo homer. All told, in eight innings, Berrios gave up three runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out 14 batters, including three in that eighth inning. 71 of his 100 pitches were strikes. Alan Busenitz worked a perfect ninth inning.

The Red Wings offense didn’t do a lot. They didn’t have a run until the 7th inning when they got a single run.

Down 3-1 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Red Wings were not ready to give in. Following singles from James Beresford and Kennys Vargas, Adam Brett Walker hit a two-run double to tie the game at three. Daniel Palka walked and Mitch Garver lined a single to center to load the bases. John Ryan Murphy played hero with a game-winning single to end it.

In the 6th inning, Reynaldo Rodriguez pinch hit for Byron Buxton. There was no injury so the assumption is that he’s heading back to Minnesota to join the Twins. I’m certain we’ll find out more soon.

UPDATE - per multiple sources, Buxton has indeed been called back up to the Twins.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 2, Mississippi 6

Box Score

Big innings are great when they happen for your team, less so when they happen to your team. Unfortunately, the Lookouts gave up a four-run second inning and were unable to complete the comeback.

Felix Jorge gave up the four, second-inning runs, but then he threw five shutout innings after that. He came back out for the eighth inning but two batters in, he gave up a two-run homer to stretch the deficit. In all, Jorge was charged with six runs on 14 hits over the first seven innings. He walked none and struck out three. Brandon Peterson came on to get the final six outs. He gave up one hit and hit one, but gave up no runs over the final two innings.

Engelb Vielma led the offense with his three-hit game. Edgar Corcino went 2-3 with a walk and his sixth double, which drove in a run. Niko Goodrum went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI triple.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Game 1 - Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 5

Box Score

Miles Nordgren started for the Miracle in the first of two games on Wednesday. In four innings, he gave up four runs on seven hits, a walk and a hit batter. He struck out two. He had given up just one run in the first four innings. However, the first three batters of the fifth reached. One of the runs had already scored when John Curtiss entered. He allowed both inherited runners to score and one more of his own before getting the inning’s three outs. He pitched a scoreless sixth inning.

The Miracle had just four hits in the game. Brian Olson was 1-2 with a walk and an RBI double, his second of the Miracle season. Brian Navarreto went 1-2 with a walk and his eighth double. Joe Maloney was 1-2 with a walk. Trey Vavra went 1-3 with a walk.

Game 2 - Ft. Myers 1, Palm Beach 0

Box Score

The two teams completed the game they had started a day before. On Tuesday, Cody Stashak started and threw 3.2 scoreless innings before the rains came. Those innings dropped his Miracle ERA to just 0.54. When they resumed play on Wednesday night, Michael Theofanopoulos entered. He got five outs and gave up only a walk. He struck out two.Nick Anderson picked up the final five outs to record his ninth save. He struck out two.

As you can tell from the score, there wasn’t much offense. The lone run came when Christian Ibarra hit his fourth Miracle double to score Sean MIller who also had hit his fourth Miracle double. Alex Perez went 1-1 with two walks.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 3

Box Score

Sean Poppen made the start in Appleton for the Kernels. The right-hander went five innings and gave up three runs on four hits. He struck out seven without issuing a walk. Andrew Vasquez went the next 2.1 innings and didn’t allow a run. He gave up one hit, walked three and struck out three. Tom Hackimer came on and struck out the two batters he faced.

Luis Arraez and Kevin Garcia each went 2-4. JJ Fernandez hit his eighth home run. Jaylin Davis drove in Arraez for the team’s first run.

The loss ended the Kernels eight-game winning streak.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 2, Greeneville 6

Box Score

The E-Twins fell behind early. Domenick Carlini gave up five runs on nine hits over five innings. He struck out four. Johan Quezada threw the next three innings. The only base runner he allowed was a hit batter. He struck out two. Hector Lujan gave up a run on two hits in the ninth inning.

Ariel Montesino led the offense. He went 2-4. Lewin Diaz added his 15th double. Andre Jernigan went 1-2 with a walk.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 5 (10 innings)

Box Score

There certainly wasn’t a lot of offense in this game, at least not until the Rays batted in the 10th inning. In fact, the Twins had just four hits in the game. Jean Carlos Arias went 3-3 with a walk. He stole his sixth and seventh bases. He also drove in the team’s lone run. The other hit came off the bat of Aaron Whitefield. It was his seventh double.

Jordan Balazovic started for the Twins. The Canadian gave up just one run over the first 3.1 innings. He gave up five hits, walked none, hit two batters and struck out five. Callan Pearce worked the next five innings without allowing a run. He gave up three hits and struck out four. Onas Farfan got the final two outs of the ninth inning. He came back out for the 10th inning and gave up four runs on four hits, a walk and a hit batter. The big blow was a grand slam off the bat of Jonathon Arrowood. He struck out three.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jean Carlos Arias, GCL Twins

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Nick Greenwood

Mississippi @ Chattanooga (1:15 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves

Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 CST) - RHP Cody Stashak

Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (7:05 CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells

Greeneville @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Jose Martinez

GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 am) - TBD

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