Twins Minor League Reports (5/22): Friday Night Bright Lights and Leaders

Continue to read for everything that happened in the Twins minor leagues on Friday night. Remember to check back on Saturday morning when I will update the Twins minor league leader board.

TRANSACTIONS

• The lone transaction of the day came when the Rochester Red Wings announced that they had released 1B/DH Brock Peterson to make room for Tyler Duffey on the roster.
  
• Duffey will enter the Red Wings starting rotation. On Friday the team announced that Alex Meyer was being moved to the bullpen.
  

RED WINGS REPORT

Game 1 – Rochester 11, Norfolk 4

Box Score

When the Twins sent Kennys Vargas down to Rochester after Sunday’s game, they said that he needed to drive the ball more and be more of a run producer to meet his potential. In his first game with the Red Wings, he had three hits. In this game, he homered in his first two at-bats, driving in four runs. Pretty solid run production!

Everyone in the lineup contributed to this win. Norfolk started big league veteran Bud Norris. They were able to get to him, scoring nine runs on 12 hits and a walk in just 2.2 innings. All nine starters had at least one hit. Eric Farris went 3-5 with his first double, two RBIs and his third stolen base. James Beresford went 2-4 with his seventh double and two RBIs. Josmil Pinto was 2-4 with his seventh double and two RBIs. Ryan Wheeler went 2-4 with his second double. Danny Ortiz and Doug Bernier both went 2-4.

Pat Dean made the start. He was charged with four runs (two earned) on seven hits in 6.2 innings. Ryan O’Rourke came in and after an RBI single, got a strikeout to end the game.

Game 2 – Rochester 0, Norfolk 3

Box Score

The Red Wings likely wish they could have used some of their Game 1 runs in Game 2, but that’s not how it works. In the second game, the Red Wings were shut out. They had just five hits in the seven-inning game. James Beresford went 2-3 to raise his average to .344.

Taylor Rogers threw a complete, six-inning game for the Red Wings in the second game. He gave up three runs on nine hits. He did not walk or strikeout any batters.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Game 1 – Chattanooga 13, Mobile 2 (completion of suspended game)

Box Score

On Thursday night, the Lookouts game was delayed at the start. Then they played just over two innings before it was suspended by rain. The teams completed the game on Friday.

The Lookouts lineup was pretty impressive as the game continued. Byron Buxton went 3-6 with his fifth double, league-leading 10^th triple and four RBI. Max Kepler went 3-5 with his 10^th and 11^th doubles and three RBI. Adam Brett Walker was 3-5 with his league-leading 11^th home run and four RBI. Mike Gonzales went 3-4. Stephen Wickens went 2-4 with a walk and his third double. Miguel Sano went 2-4 with a walk. Travis Harrison was 2-5 with his league-leading 15^th double.

On Thursday, Alex Wimmers had given up two hits over two shutout innings. When they started play again on Friday, Madison Boer took the mound. He threw three shutout innings and gave up two hits and walked two. Cole Johnson struck out four over two shutout innings. Dallas Gallant gave up two runs on one hit and two walks in his two innings.

Game 2 - Chattanooga 2, Mobile 7

Box Score

Like the Red Wings, the Lookouts bats were quieted in their second game of the night. They managed just four hits in the regularly-scheduled game. Stuart Turner hit his fifth double. Buxton, Kepler and Jorge Polanco each had a single. Buxton stole his 12^th base, while Kepler stole his sixth.

David Hurlbut likely envisioned his Double-A debut going a bit differently. In the first inning, he gave up six runs on seven hits. In the second inning, he gave up a solo homer. In his three innings, he gave up those seven runs on eight hits. He walked one and struck out three. Nick Burdi came on and gave up four hits over two scoreless innings. He did not issue a walk and struck out two. In fact, 24 of his 33 pitches were strikes. DJ Johnson worked a perfect sixth inning.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 1, Brevard County 2

Box Score

With Hurlbut promoted, Luke Westphal returned to the rotation for a spot start. The lefty from Wisconsin gave up one run on three hits over three innings. He walked one and struck out three. Brian Gilbert came on and worked the next three innings. He gave up one run on one hit, he walked two and struck out four. Todd Van Steensel gave up four hits, but no runs, in two innings. He walked one and struck out four. Alex Muren struck out three in the ninth inning.

The Miracle offense had six hits in the game. Alex Swim went 2-4 with his fourth double. He drove in the team’s lone run. His double scored Jason Kanzler who had singled and stolen second before it. Chad Christensen is now at .299 after a 2-4 night. Bryan Haar hit his eighth double. Kanzler stole his ninth and tenth bases.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 7, Beloit 3

Box Score

The Kernels used some late-game offense to improve to 26-16. The game was tied 2-2 going into the eighth inning. The Kernels scored two runs in the top of the eighth and three runs in the top of the ninth.

TJ White went 3-4 with his sixth double. Nick Gordon went 2-4 with a walk and his third double. Trey Vavra went 2-5. Vavra, Max Murphy and Zack Larson were the 3,4 and 5 hitters of the Kernels. Each of them had two RBI.

Jared Wilson made the start for Cedar Rapids. He gave up two runs on four hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three. Randy LeBlanc improved to 4-0 while reducing his ERA to 2.74 with three shutout innings. He walked two and struck out two. Luke Bard made his Kernels debut. He pitched just one inning and gave up one run on one hit.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy LeBlanc, Cedar Rapids Kernels

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, Rochester Red Wings

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Norfolk (6:05 CST) – RHP Tyler Duffey

Chattanooga @ Mobile (7:05 CST) – RHP JO Berrios

Brevard County @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – LHP Mat Batts

Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (2:00 CST) – RHP Keaton Steele

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