Twins Minor League Reports (4/25): Six Games, One Win

RED WINGS REPORT

Game 1 – Rochester 4, Syracuse 5

Box Score

The Red Wings got off to an early lead in the first game of their doubleheader. With one out in the second inning, the team got back-to-back-to-back singles from Reynaldo Rodriguez, Danny Ortiz and Jose Martinez to give them a 1-0 lead. Syracuse answered in the top of the third.

In the bottom of the fourth, Brock Peterson singled to lead off the inning and two batters later Danny Ortiz hit a long home run to right field to give them a 3-1 lead. Later that inning, Aaron Hicks hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1.

Mark Hamburger made the start for the Red Wings. Through five innings, he allowed just one run despite walking four batters.

However, the sixth inning proved to be the downfall for the team in Game 1.

In the sixth, Hamburger gave up two singles and got an out on a sacrifice bunt. He was replaced by A.J. Achter who walked the one batter he faced to load the bases. He was replaced by lefty Ryan O’Rourke who struck out the one batter that he faced. Michael Tonkin was brought in with two outs and the bases still loaded. He proceeded to give up three straight singles before getting the final out.

The Red Wings loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, but they were unable to score. Both teams went scoreless in the seventh inning and the Red Wings fell 5-4.

Danny Ortiz went 2-3 with a walk and his second home run. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-3 with a walk and a double. Jose Martinez also had two hits.

Going back to the pitching, Hamburger went 5.1 innings and was charged with three runs on five hits. He walked five and struck out four. Achter issued the one walk and that batter came around to score. O’Rourke struck out the one batter he faced. Tonkin went 1.1 innings. He gave up one run (in addition to all three inherited runners) on three hits. He struck out two.

Game 2 – Rochester 5, Syracuse 2

Box Score

The story in this game was certainly Lester Oliveros. With the rainouts, Game 2 was to be a “bullpen game” and Oliveros was tabbed to start. It was just his third start as a professional baseball player. The other two? They came in his first professional season, in 2006, in the Venezuelan Summer League! How did he do? I would say he responded quite well. He was able to complete four innings and did not allow a run. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out nine.

Logan Darnell came on to replace Oliveros in the fifth inning and threw two more scoreless frames, though he gave up two hits and walked a batter. Ryan Pressly got the seventh inning and gave up two runs on one hit and two walks.

Doug Bernier led the way with a 3-4 game at the plate. Danny Ortiz had the only extra-base hit, his first double of the year. The Red Wings scored took a 5-0 lead thanks to a three-run fifth inning.

The split means that the Red Wings are now 8-7 on the season.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 10, Tennessee 16

Box Score

It is not often that a team scores in double figures and loses. Of course, it’s also not often that a team’s starter gives up nine runs and the team wins. The Lookouts grabbed a 6-3 lead in the fourth. However, they gave up six runs in the fifth inning to fall behind 9-6. Then in the top of the sixth inning, the Lookouts regained a 10-9 lead, but in the bottom half of the inning, they gave up three more. And then they gave up four more in the bottom of the eighth.

In his previous appearance, Alex Wimmers was terrific in his return to starting this season, throwing five shutout innings. On this night, things didn’t go so well. In his 4.1 innings, he gave up nine earned runs on 10 hits (two home runs) and three walks. He struck out two. Jake Reed came on and worked 1.2 innings. He was charged with three unearned runs on two hits. He struck out two. DJ Johnson gave up four runs on three hits and three walks in 1.2 innings. Dallas Gallant was able to get the final out.

There were positives on the offensive side of the ball. Byron Buxton returned after a two-game break and went 2-5 including a three-run homer, his second of the season. Levi Michael led the offense. He went 3-4 with his second double and second home run. He also stole his second base. Jorge Polanco was 2-5 with his third double and third home run. Dalton Hicks added his first home run of the season. Miguel Sano added a late double, his second.

The Lookouts are now 7-8 on the season.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 3, St. Lucie 4 (11 innings)

Box Score

A night after playing 17 innings, the last thing Jeff Smith and his team wanted to do was play extra innings on Saturday night. And, they played extra innings on Saturday night.

Ryan Eades was back on the mound and was very good again. He threw five shutout innings before giving up two runs in the sixth inning. In total, he gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three.

The Twins were not planning on adding anyone to the roster to replace the DL'd Kohl Stewart, but after using so many pitchers on Friday night, they decided to have left-hander Jose Velez make an appearance. Velez was signed by the Twins after pitching in the independent Frontier League in 2014. He struck out 82 batters in 57 innings for Evansville a year ago. On this night, he gave up one run on one hit in two innings.

Todd Van Steensel pitched scoreless ninth and tenth innings. He returned to the mound for the eleventh inning and gave up one run to take the loss.

The Miracle had just six hits and Alex Swim had three of them. Chad Christensen hit his first home run of the season.

The Miracle fell to 6-11 on the season.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Game 1 – Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 6

Box Score

Through three innings this was a 1-1 game, but Kane County scored three in the fourth and tacked on another two in the sixth to take a commanding lead and get the win in the first of two games. The Kernels committed four errors which certainly didn’t help the cause. Each of the four infielders had one.

Michael Cederoth made the start and went the first four innings. He gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits. He didn’t walk any and struck out three. Sam Clay got the next two innings. The lefty walked two and struck out two while not allowing a run. C.K. Irby got the seventh inning and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks.

The Kernels had just six hits in this game. Tyler Kuresa went 2-3. Nick Gordon hit his first double of the season.

Game 2 – Cedar Rapids, Kane County

Box Score

Felix Jorge started and he was really good again. He gave up two runs on four hits. In six innings, he walked one and struck out five. Unfortunately, the two runs were enough for him to take the loss. Miles Nordgren came on and threw a scoreless seventh.

The Kernels again did little on offense. They had just four hits. Nick Gordon and Trey Vavra each hit a double.

Even with the loss, the Kernels are 11-6 this year.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Lester Oliveros, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Levi Michael, Chattanooga Lookouts

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Syracuse @ Rochester (12:35 CST) – LHP Pat Dean

Chattanooga @ Tennessee (1:05 CST) – RHP Tyler Duffey

Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (3:05 CST) – LHP Brett Lee

Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – RHP Ricky Nolasco

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