Twins Minor League Report (9/1): Decisive Appy League Semifinal Game Coming Sunday

TRANSACTIONS

-Tyler Duffey, Johnny Field and Andrew Vasquez were all called up to the Twins. Zack Littell is also expected to get called up for Sunday’s game.

-Omar Bencomo and Dietrich Enns were both promoted up from Chattanooga to Rochester.

-Bryan Sammons was activated from the DL and assigned to Chattanooga. He made his Double-A debut tonight.

RED WINGS REPORT

Lehigh Valley 2, Rochester 1

Box Score

SP: Fernando Romero (3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 K)

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Kennys Vargas (2-for-4)

Fernando Romero struggled to find the strike zone and the Red Wings’ lineup couldn’t get much going. Romero walked five batters in his three innings of work, throwing 38 of his 73 pitches for strikes in the process (52.1 percent).

Rochester’s only run was scored in the first inning. Nick Gordon hit a two-out triple and scored on a Kennys Vargas single. D.J. Baxendale pitched a scoreless inning before Dietrich Enns held the IronPigs scoreless over the final five frames. Byron Buxton did not play.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Jackson 7, Chattanooga 5

Box Score

SP: Bryan Sammons (4.0 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K)

HR: Andy Wilkins (12)

Multi-hit games: Luke Raley (3-for-5, 2B, 3B), Brian Navarreto (3-for-3, 2B, HBP)

This was Bryan Sammons’ Double-A debut, and he got beat around a little bit (see above), though the six strikeouts are encouraging. Luke Raley, who will be representing the Twins in the Arizona Fall League this year, was a home run shy of the cycle and Brian Navarreto had a three-hit night as well.

Andy Wilkins continued to provide power for the Lookouts. He hit his 12th home run in what’s been just 130 plate appearances for Chattanooga. Brent Rooker, who will also be participating in the AFL, was 1-for-3 with a pair of walks.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Clearwater 5, Fort Myers 2 (10 innings)

Box Score

SP: Edwar Colina (6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K)

HR: Jose Miranda (3)

Multi-hit games: None

The Miracle took a 2-0 lead, but the Threshers tied it up on a two-run homer in the sixth, then scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning. It was a rough night for the Fort Myers lineup, as Nos. 1 and 2 hitters Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff combined to go 1-for-10 with a pair of strikeouts and the team combined to go 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Edwar Colina had a great night, striking out nine batters over 6 2/3 innings. Ryan Mason followed with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless ball before Hector Lujan gave up the runs in the 10th.

This loss dropped Fort Myers to a game behind the Charlotte Stone Crabs in the Florida State League South standings. The Miracle play their final regular season game tomorrow.

Lewis joined the Twins pregame broadcast on FSN for an interview, check it out:

https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1036038764844314624

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 5, Beloit 2

Box Score

W: Carlos Suniaga (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)

SV: Jared Finkel (2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K)

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Gabriel Maciel (2-for-5, 2B), Trevor Larnach (2-for-3, 2B, BB), Ben Rodriguez (2-for-4, 2B), Ariel Montesino (2-for-3, BB, 2 SB)

The Kernels did most of their damage tonight in the third inning. Ariel Montesino led things off with a walk, stole second base and advanced to third on a ground out. Michael Helman was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners.

That Montesino-Helman combo was able to pull off a double steal, giving the Kernels their first run. Trevor Larnach hit a double that plated another run, and then scored on a Ben Rodriguez double to give Cedar Rapids a three-run inning.

This was the first time Carlos Suniaga, who spent much of the early season as a reliever, pitched more than five innings. He went seven innings, remarkably needing just 83 pitches to do so, 61 of which were strikes (73.5 percent).

E-TWINS E-NOTES

*Appalachian League Semifinals*

Kingsport 7, Elizabethton 6 (10 innings)

Box Score

SP: Luis Rijo (5.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Chris Williams (2-for-3, 2 2B, 2 BB), Alex Robles (2-for-3, 2 2B, BB)

Elizabethton could have punched its ticket to the Appalachian League Finals, but they fell just short in a wild game. Kingsport jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the E-Twins even had the chance to bat. E-Town chipped away with runs in the second and fourth inning.

The game-tying run came across thanks to a wild pitch. The catcher’s return throw attempting to get Ricky De La Torre got past the pitcher. Lean Marrero tried to score all the way from second base, but the pitcher retrieved the ball, tossed back to the catcher and caught Marrero to end the inning, leaving the game tied 3-3.

And that’s how things would remain through nine innings. I was disappointed to see the new extra innings rule in which a runner starts on second base was carried forward to postseason play, and it certainly made an impact in this one.

After combining to score six runs through nine innings, a total of seven runs were scored in the 10th. Kingsport tallied four runs in the top of the 10th, but the E-Twins nearly came back to tie it up again, scoring three runs before recording the first out of the inning.

Elizabethton got the tying run all the way to third base, but couldn’t seal the deal. This was such an odd game. The E-Twins managed their six runs on just seven hits (Kingsport had 15), were only credited with four RBIs (the K-Mets committed four errors) and they also racked up 13 strikeouts.

Chris Williams was, of course, a beast. In his five plate appearances, he had two doubles and two walks. After taking over for starter Luis Rijo, Kody Funderburk delivered four scoreless innings before running into all that trouble in the 10th.

STARS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Carlos Suniaga, Cedar Rapids

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Chris Williams, Elizabethton

TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed

1. Royce Lewis (FM): 1-for-5, K

2. Alex Kirilloff (FM): 0-for-5, K

3. Brusdar Graterol (FM): Did not pitch.

4. Nick Gordon (ROC): 1-for-4, 3B, R, 2 K

5. Stephen Gonsalves (MIN): Promoted to the Twins.

6. Trevor Larnach (CR): 2-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI, R

7. Brent Rooker (CHAT): 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB, SB

8. Akil Baddoo (CR): Did not play.

9. Wander Javier: Out of for the season

10. Zack Littell (MIN): Promoted to Twins.

11. Blayne Enlow (CR): Did not pitch.

12. LaMonte Wade (ROC): 0-for-4, 2 K

13. Travis Blankenhorn (FM): 1-for-3, BB, K

14. Lewis Thorpe (CHAT): Did not pitch.

15. Ben Rortvedt (FM): Did not play.

16. Yunior Severino (ET): 0-for-4, BB, R, 3 K

17. Lewin Diaz (FM): Out for the season.

18. Ryan Jeffers (CR): 1-for-4, 2B, BB, RBI, 3 K

19. Jacob Pearson (CR): 0-for-4

20. Luis Arraez (CHAT): 1-for-4, R, K

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester vs. Lehigh Valley, 5:05 pm CT: Omar Bencomo

Chattanooga at Jackson, 2:05 pm CT: TBD

Fort Myers vs. Clearwater, 11:00 am CT: Brusdar Graterol

Cedar Rapids at Beloit, 2:00 pm CT: Randy Dobnak

Elizabethton vs. Kingsport, 5:00 pm CT: Andrew Cabezas

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