Twins Minor League Report (8/4): A Mejia League Debut!

Seth Stohs had a flurry of transactions to report yesterday, and there are a few more to round up today:

• LHP Luke Westphal placed on the 7-day DL (Fort Myers)
  
• RHP Miles Nordgren demoted to Cedar Rapids (Fort Myers)
  
• RHP Tyler Beardsley promoted to Cedar Rapids (Elizabethton Twins)
  

Continue reading to find out more detail about Thursday in the Twins farm system:

RED WINGS REPORT

Pawtucket Red Sox at Rochester

Box Score

Adalberto Mejia made his Minnesota Twins affiliate debut on Thursday afternoon and despite a pretty nice start, was tagged for the loss because the Red Wings could manage only four hits and one run (solo shot from Reynaldo Rodriguez (1-2, HR, 2 walks, K) in the bottom of the fifth. Mejia did his part, pitching 7.0 innings of two-run ball. He gave up six hits, struck out eight, and didn't give up any free passes. Mejia was lifted for Neil Ramirez who gave up a run in one inning on a hit and a walk. Sean Burnett pitched to six batters in the ninth but managed to keep runs off the board, to finish out the game.

Aside from Reynaldo's big day, not much doing for the Rochester Red Wings with the sticks. Wilfredo Tovar had a couple of empty singles (2-4). Trevor Plouffe, in the midst of what should be about a week-long rehab stint, was 1-4 with a pair of strike- outs as the designated hitter. Byung Ho Park was 0-4 with two strikeouts of his own.

Final: Red Sox 3, Red Wings 1

LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN

Chattanooga @ Mobile BayBears

Box Score

I want you to know that Billy Buckner started for the Mobile BayBears on Thursday night, which is a fun thing to read in a box score. I also want you to know that his Twitter handle is @NotThatBB, which is even more fun than reading his name in a box score.

Behind 1-0 headed to the eighth inning, the Lookouts put a couple of men on base, and then tied the game, on what turned out to be a sacrifice double play, as Travis Harrison was thrown out at second base, attempting to take second as Edgar Corcino raced home. The game stayed knotted at 1-1 after the ninth inning thanks to an outfield assist from Zach Granite to catch Todd Glaesmann at the plate, ending the inning. Alas, the Lookouts could not plate a run in the top of the tenth and a bizzarro-world ending to the game in the bottom half of the inning resulted in a Lookouts loss. With two outs, and a man on first, reliever Mason Melotakis induced a grounder to shortstop Niko Goodrum, who made an error, allowing the runner to advance to third, putting runners at the corners. Melotakis then struck out the next batter, the above-mentioned Glaesmann, but the wild pitch got away, and a run scored from third, ending the night for the Lookouts.

Chattanooga starter Stephen Gonsalves gave up a run on three hits, he struck out eight and walked two, lowering his ERA to 2.62 and increasing his K:BB ratio to 55:24. Ryan Eades gave up a hit in the seventh, but struck out the other three batters he faced, so we'll give him a pass on that hit. Alan Busenitz provided two innings of shutout relief, giving up three hits. Mason Melotakis gets credit for the loss over 0.2 innings, 0 hits, 1 run (unearned), a walk and a strike out.

Final: Lookouts 1, BayBears 2

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers @ Bradenton Marauders

Box Score

The top of the Miracle order stuck it to the Bradenton pitching staff. With T.J White, Nick Gordon and Chris Paul, hitting 1-2-3, they all collected multiple hits, all had an RBI, and all scored at least one run (White scored two). Gordon added a stolen base (his 13th), just for fun! Not to be left out of two-hit club, Brian Navarreto (hitting eighth) had a 2-4 night with a double, but not run scored and no RBI for him.

The Miracle starter, Sam Clay, was staked to a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third inning, but gave up a pair of runs to cut the lead in half. He pitched into the sixth inning, but gave up a run and left with another man on base before recording an out (that man would eventually score to close the book on Clay's night 5.0+ IP, 6H, 4R, 3BB, 4K). Luke Bard was charged with a blown save and the win with two innings of scoreless middle relief. John Curtiss pitched a scoreless eighth, and Nick Anderson earned his third save to close out the game, preserving the win..

Final: Miracle 5, Marauders 4

KERNELS KORNER

Clinton LumberKings @ Cedar Rapids

Box Score

Both starters gave up a pair of runs in the first inning, and rain put a stop to things in the fourth inning with Clinton up by a run, 3-2, with one out in the bottom half of the inning. The Kernels' two runs came courtesy of a Zander Wiel two-run homer run. The game will be resumed at 5:35pm on Friday.

Suspended: LumberKings 3, Kernels 2

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton @ Johnson City Cardinals

Box Score

First rounder Alex Kirilloff put the E-Twins on the board in the top of the first inning with a solo home run. He finished the game 2-4, adding a double before he was finished for the evening. Ben Rortvedt had a pair of RBIs as part off a 1-3 night, the other big contributor to the E-Twins on Thursday evening.

Twins starter Ryan Mason gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth inning, but otherwise kept the Cardinals off of the scoreboard with five innings of solid pitching. Mason walked one, struck out six, and gave up six hits. Hector Lujan and Patrick McGuff combined four innings of scoreless relief to hold on to the victory.

Final: E-Twins 5, Cardinals 1

GCL TWINS TALK

Postponed - Rain

DSL TWINS TAKES

DSL Cubs @ DSL Twins

Box Score

The Twins scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally to a 7-4 win. The Twins used four doubles, from four different hitters, to take down the Cubs. Agustin Marte (2-4), Yelstin Encarnacion (2-5), Jorge Parra (2-4) and Yeremi De La Cruz (2-3) all hit doubles.

On the bump, Melvi Acosta struck out five in 5.0 innings, but also gave up three runs on six hits. Fredderi Soto pitched two innings in middle relief, giving up a run on a pair of hits and two walks. Andriu Marin vultured a win with those late runs, finishing the game by striking out the side in the eighth and ninth innings.

Final: DSL Cubs 4, DSL Twins 7

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Hitter of the Day - Nick Gordon - Fort Myers Miracle

Pitcher of the Day - Stephen Gonsalves - Chattanooga Lookouts

FRIDAY'S PROBABLES

Rochester - Nick Greenwood (2-2, 3.96)

Chattanooga - Aaron Slegers (8-5, 3.76)

Fort Myers - Cody Stashak (Miracle Debut)

Cedar Rapids - Miled Nordgren (3-5, 3.01)

E-Twins - Alex Schick (2-1, 7.97)

GCL Twins - TBD

DSL Twins - TBD

Please ask questions and discuss the Thursday games.

-ERolf