David Youngs

It's satire my guy? Don't blow away your..shot!

The Wind Surge rallied to win in the ninth and the beauty of baseball was on display in St. Paul. Check out all the action across the Twins' farm system. TRANSACTIONS C David Banuelos assigned to St. Paul Saints from Wichita Wind Surge. Minnesota Twins sent RHP Michael Pineda on a rehab assignment to St. Paul Saints. Minnesota Twins selected the contract of RHP Derek Law from St. Paul Saints. Wichita Wind Surge activated LF Leobaldo Cabrera from the 7-day injured list. C Kyle Schmidt assigned to Cedar Rapids Kernels from St. Paul Saints. C Allante Hall assigned to FCL Twins from Cedar Rapids Kernels. RHP Erik Manoah Jr. assigned to Cedar Rapids Kernels from Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. SAINTS SENTINEL Omaha 6, St. Paul 1 Box Score Beer, Baseball, and The Bachelorette. Despite a silent night at the plate for the Saints, CHS field couldn’t have been filled with more energy on Thursday night. The Saints lost 6-1, Michael Pineda struggled in his rehab assignment, and the team was 0-11 with RISP. Yet Thursday night embodied a true Saint Paul Saints baseball experience. The ballpark was graced with fans wearing togas, some more fashionable than others. St. Louis Park native and The Bachelorette finalist Michelle Young was in attendance and had a laugh-out-loud interview in the press box with play-by-play figure Sean Aronson (fruit absolutely belongs on ice cream). Oh, and the beer. The beer. Various craft breweries throughout the Twin Cities teamed up for a promotion with the effort of breaking a world record for the World’s longest Beer Snake. The world record was not broken but the North American one was. 102 feet of happily consumed beverages linked together. It’s been a tough year. People have been sick, relationships have been strained, and the overall morale has been low. Nights like tonight remind us that baseball can indeed be a common denominator in these difficult times, and there’s no better organization to facilitate that than the St. Paul Saints. The Saints’ lone run came from a Drew Maggi solo shot in the sixth inning. It was his third of the year. And while runs were aplenty early on for Omaha, that was shut down quickly by the St. Paul bullpen. Juan Minaya and Ian Gibaut combined for five innings of one-run ball, striking out eight batters. The result wasn’t great, but good golly, it was a great night for the baseball community at CHS Field. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 8, Amarillo 6 Box Score Amarillo by Morning, Wind Surge at night. On an evening that lacked offense across the Twins’ farm, Wichita 3B Spencer Steer changed the narrative. In just his second game at the Double-A level Steer knocked three hits, a run, and two RBI to propel the Saints to a 4-3 win in the Lone Star State. Steer’s night included a homer and a game-tying RBI single. Yet it wouldn’t be right to call him the only hero of the night. Trailing 3-1 going into the 9th the Surge showed up at the plate when it mattered most. Wilbis Santiago kicked off the inning with a single to left field that was followed by a Chris Williams walk. The Surge followed suit with a move that paid off big. Pinch-hitter Jermaine Palacios punched a 1-2 pitch to left field scoring Santiago to bring Wichita within one run. Steer continued the momentum in the next at-bat with a game-tying single that scored Williams from third. With one out, Aaron Whitefield turned the tables with an RBI single that would end up being the game-winner. Whitefield’s hit was certainly one of his biggest of the year, but it wasn’t unexpected. The Aussie is slashing .304/.371/.785 on the year and was an honorable mention candidate for the Twins Daily Hitter of the Month. Even though Amarillo jumped to an early lead the Wichita bullpen was lights out all night. Twins Daily May Reliever of the Month Jovani Moran pitched a perfect 2.1 innings, striking out five. Winning pitcher Ryan Mason (3-2) followed suit with 1.2 innings of scoreless ball. And despite giving up a hit in the ninth, Zach Neff recorded his second save of the year to seal the deal for the Wind Surge. As high-powered of an offensive team that the Wind Surge is, it’s great to see the bullpen come up big when needed. KERNELS NUGGETS Quad Cities 12, Cedar Rapids 3 Box Score Michael Helman’s multi-hit night wasn’t enough to propel the Kernels to a win against in-state foe Quad Cities. The River Bandits put up three runs in the second inning and two more in the third, creating a lead that would hold for the rest of the game. The Kernels were able to chip away at the lead thanks to a pair of doubles from Helman but ultimately the early lead was too much. Helman’s first double came in the fourth inning with Seth Gray on first. Helman laced a 2-2 pitch to right field that would score Gray all the way from first. Helman’s second double came on a carbon copy scenario as his first. Wander Javier reached in the eighth inning with a six-pitch walk. Two batters later Helman laced another double to right field, scoring Javier from first. Deja vu! High-A newcomer Edouard Julien also recorded a hit on the night. On just the third pitch of the game, the leadoff hitter knocked an 0-2 single to left field. Julien made the Top Five list for the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month voting. Check it out here It was a tough night for the Kernels on the bump. Reliever Ryan Shreeve provided a bright spot for the pitching staff, pitching two scoreless innings and striking out one. MUSSEL MATTERS Bradenton 1, Fort Myers 0 Box Score The Fort Myers pitching staff was as steady as ever on Thursday evening, holding the Marauders to one run. Unfortunately for the Mussels, the Bradenton staff was near perfect, shutting out the Fort Myers’ bats in a 1-0 win at Hammond Stadium. The Mussels were only able to muster together two hits all night against Bradenton starter Santiago Florez and company. Those hits came courtesy of an Aaron Sabato single in the fourth and a Justin Washington single in the eighth. Mussels starting pitcher Brent Headrick was efficient on the evening, surrounding four hits in four innings while striking out four. His only stumble came in the second inning when he allowed a pair of walks and a single that plated the eventual game-winning run for the Marauders. Despite the loss, the Mussels bullpen was absolutely spectacular. Steven Cruz, Osiris German, and Denny Bentley pitched five innings of scoreless relief to keep Fort Myers in the game until the final out. Cruz pitched a nearly-perfect fifth and sixth innings, striking out three and only allowing one baserunner on a walk. German followed suit with a dominant two innings, striking out two with one hit and a walk. Bentley capped off the bullpen masterpiece with a perfect ninth inning, recording two strikeouts. Games like this are tough to lose but it’s promising to see such a solid outing on all ends of the pitching staff. The hitting will come. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Pirates Black 4, FCL Twins 0 (Middle of 5, suspended) The Florida Coast League Twins were in the middle of their Thursday game against the FCL Pirates when the game was suspended due to weather. The game will be completed on July 5. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day- Jovani Moran (Wichita)- 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day- Spencer Steer (Wichita)- 3-for-5, R, 2 RBI, HR PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) – 2-for-4, 2B, R, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – 1-for-5, 2B, R, 4 K #4 - Ryan Jeffers (Minnesota) – 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB, K #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 7-day IL (elbow strain) #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – Did not play #8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 1-for-3, BB, K #9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – IL (Tommy John surgery) #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) – 1-for-2, R, BB #12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – 1-for-4, K #13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – IL (wrist sprain) #14 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4, K #15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – Did not pitch #16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow) #17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) – Did not play #18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A #19 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 1-for-5, K #20 - Bailey Ober (Minnesota) – Did not pitch FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (7:05PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (3-2 3.94 ERA) Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05PM CST) – RHP Chris Vallimont (2-3, 3.73 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30PM CST) – RHP Tyler Beck (1-0, 2.25 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers- Game 1 (3:30PM CST) – RHP Zarion Sharpe (2-1, 6.75 ERA) Game 2 (following Game 1) RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (4-2, 5.55 ERA) View full article

Think we’re playing favorites by giving this award to Jose Miranda back-to-back months? Take a look at the guy’s numbers. Jose Miranda may just be the best thing to ever happen to the Minnesota Twins since the invention of sliced bread. After a downright stellar month of May, Miranda shifted into Mach 5 come June, producing arguably one of the best single months that the Twins organization has seen from a minor league prospect. For that reason, he’s our June Hitter of the Month. 3B/2B/1B Jose Miranda (Wichita/St. Paul) 25 G, 43-111, .387/.438/.694 (1.132) with 4 doubles, 10 homers, 9 BB, 15 K, 23 R, 20 RBI. Miranda, who’s been at Double-A Wichita for most of the month, caught the public eye last night in his Triple-A debut with the Saints. The Puerto Rico native gave himself the best birthday present a guy could ask for, launching three HR (including a grand slam) and tallying 6 RBI in a 15-4 win over Omaha. The thing is, one night doesn’t do Miranda justice. He’s been damn good all month (and season) long. In 23 games with Wichita this month the slugger slashed an incredible .370/.427/.610 (1.037) with three doubles, seven homers, nine BB, 19 runs, 14 RBI, and only 14 strikeouts. That stat line will only go up thanks to his stellar night in St. Paul. Successful hitting is grounded in consistency. Miranda has passed that test with flying colors, hitting safely in 19 of 24 games this month with 12 of those games being multi-hit endeavors. In addition to his ability to bring his bat to the ballpark every day, there are a few pinpoint performances that have inked the word stardom to his name. On June 24 he went 5-for-6 with a run and RBI in a win against Omaha. And while that game consisted of four singles and a double, Tuesday night wasn’t the first time that Miranda has flexed the longball with a multi-homer game. On June 20 he went 3-for-4 with two homers and nine total bases in a win against Springfield. He followed that up the next day with a 4-for-5 showing at the plate with a homer, three runs, and eight total bases. Given his success so far this year it wouldn’t be shocking to see Miranda at the MLB level later this season. And while that’s a whole new ballgame it’s tough not to root for the guy after his hot start. Check Out: Miranda Searches for New Heights in 2020 Rounding out the Top Five Outfielder Ernie De La Trinidad (Wichita) 19 G, 24-70, .343/.439/.614 (1.053) with 5 doubles, 1 triple, 4 homers, 5 BB, 11 K, 9 ER, 17 RBI. Jose Miranda may have stolen the show in regard to the Wichita offense but De La Trinidad was nothing short of brilliant this past month. In fact, De La Trinidad and Miranda may be one of the best 1-2 punches in all of minor league baseball. Similar to Miranda, De La Trinidad’s month of May was nothing to be ashamed of. The Phoenix native slashed .302/.370/.429 in 17 games throughout the month. In a relatively similar number of June games, De La Trinidad’s numbers skyrocketed. And while he may not be a power hitter he doubled his number of extra-base hits from five in May to 10 in June, including four homers. De La Trinidad hasn’t played a game in over a week due to a hamstring injury but hopes to be back in the lineup soon. Jose may be up in St. Paul but don’t be surprised if De La Trinidad continues to put up high-quality numbers. 3B/2B/1B/LF Edouard Julien (Fort Myers) 25 G, 22-77, .286/.481/.468 (.949) with 5 doubles, 3 homers, 25 BB, 23 K, 23 R, 11 RBI. Julien, an Auburn product and Twins Daily Top 20 Prospect has been heating up as the summer has progressed. After 47 games in Fort Myers he was called up to Cedar Rapids on June 28 thanks to a .299 average with the Mussels. What perhaps sticks out the most is Julien's ability to hit in all way, shapes and forms. Of his 44 hits with Fort Myers 16 were extra base hits (12 2B, 3 HR, 3B). Yet his greatest weapon might be his speed. The Quebec native has stolen 21 bases so far this year and has only been caught stealing twice. Buxton-esque one might say. Julien still has a way to go before cracking the bigs but his progress has been spectacular. For a kid who was drafted in the 18th round of the 2019 draft, Julien is making his presence known throughout the organization in his first full season. 2B/3B/SS Spencer Steer (Cedar Rapids) 26 G, 28-98, .286/.421/.612 (1.034) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 9 homers, 21 BB, 22 K, 25 R, 21 RBI. An electric defender, Steer has proven his offensive prowess in the last month with the Kernels. In his final three games before being assigned to Wichita the Oregon Duck alum knocked four hits and scored two runs. That offensive talent transitioned well to Wichita to say the least. In just his second Double-A game Steer went 2-for-4 with three runs and three RBI thanks to moonshot over the left field wall. Despite a wealth of power, Steer's money maker is his ability to get on base. He drew 20 walks in June and hit safety in 18 of 26 games. Expect him to continue to put up big numbers as he gets acclimated to Double-A ball. OF/1B Trey Cabbage (Cedar Rapids) 23 G, 27-89, .303/.364/.618 (.982), with 10 doubles, 6 homers, 9 BB, 29 K, 13 R, 23 RBI. Similar to De La Trinidad, Cabbage isn’t exactly what you’d call a home run hitter. That wasn’t the case on June 24, when the Tennessee native tallied his first multi-homer game since rookie ball in a win over Lansing. That and his ability to drive runs in earned him a promotion to Double-A Wichita earlier this week. The Cabbage Patch Kid has shown that he’s a jack of all trades at the plate and in the field. He's been rock-solid in the outfield for the Kernels and his versatility on offense was one of the main reasons while he was brought up to Wichita. With certain Wichita players being brought up to St. Paul, look for Cabbage to fill some of the offensive holes for the Wind Surge. Honorable Mention C/1B Tomás Telis (St. Paul) 19 G, 23-77, .299/.341/.468 (.809), with 1 double, 4 homers, 5 walks, 11 K, 10 R, 13 RBI, 2 SB OF Aaron Whitefield (Wichita) 25 G, 27-91, .297/.381/.374 (.785), with 4 doubles, 1 homer, 13 BB, 18 K, 15 R, 15 RBI, 8 SB OF Gabriel Maciel (Cedar Rapids) 20 G, 19-63, .302/.375/.381 (.655), with 1 triple, 1 homer, 7 BB, 7 K, 12 R, 8 RBI, 5 SB SS Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) 9 G, 11-32, .344/.400/.438 (.838), with 1 double, 1 triple, 3 BB, 8 K, 3 BB, 6 R, 3 RBI View full article

Trey Cabbage had his first multi-homer game for Cedar Rapids and Jose Miranda continued his stellar 2021 campaign in Wichita. Read up on all the action across the Twins' farm. TRANSACTIONS Minnesota Twins recalled RHP Griffin Jax from St. Paul Saints. C Kyle Schmidt assigned to St. Paul Saints from Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. C Chris Williams assigned to Wichita Wind Surge from Cedar Rapids Kernels. C Kole McKinnon assigned to Fort Myers Mighty Mussels SAINTS SENTINEL Columbus 3, St. Paul 0 Box Score Andrew Albers’ six-inning outing wasn’t enough to propel the Saints to victory on Thursday evening in Columbus. Jimmy Kerrigan recorded the Saints’ only hit on a night that was dominated by a stellar Clipper pitching staff. Kerrigan’s hit came with one out in the fifth inning when he punched 1-1 pitch to left field for a single. Albers’ outing wasn’t his best of the year, but it certainly wasn’t a bad one. The Canadian gave up six hits but did strike out five on the night. After giving up a run in the first, Albers was excellent for the next two innings, only allowing one baserunner. It looked like that streak would continue in the fourth after Albers struck out the first two batters in the Columbus lineup. That plan changed when Clippers’ right fielder Daniel Johnson rocked a home run over the right field wall. Columbus would follow suit with another run in the inning thanks to a walk and a double. And while the bats weren’t cooking, St. Paul relievers Nick Vincent and Robinson Leyer were excellent in the eighth and ninth innings. Vincent, who was signed on Tuesday was perfect in the seventh thanks to a strikeout and two ground outs. Leyer followed suit with a perfect eighth inning thanks to a pop-out, line-out, and a ground ball. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 8, Midland 6 Box Score Things didn’t look good for the Wind Surge midway through Thursday night’s game against Midland. After four innings Wichita was trailing 4-0 with all hope of scoring opportunities plagued by double plays and outs. Insert a wealth of fifth-inning singles, walks, and runs. The Surge scored eight runs between the fifth and sixth innings to power the club to an 8-4 win over the RockHounds. David Banuelos, Peter Mooney, Jose Miranda, Jermaine Palacios, and BJ Boyd all knocked singles in the fifth to ignite a four-run inning for the Surge. The four-run feat was repeated in the sixth thanks to doubles by Jose Miranda and Andrew Bechtold. Miranda was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month for May. His numbers in June have been even better than they were in May. Miranda has slashed .346/.418/.593 so far this month and has shown no signs of slowing down. Despite the rough start, Wichita saw positive bullpen performances from Ryan Mason and Alex Phillips. Both men pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Lansing 2 Box Score Trey Cabbage was nothing less than magical in the Field of Dreams state on Thursday night, crushing two home runs in the Kernels’ eighth victory in a row. Cabbage launched a two-run shot in the fourth and a solo shot in the ninth to propel Cedar Rapids to a 5-2 win over Lansing. Cabbage’s dingers give him four hits in his last three games and a slash line of .273/.251/.568 on the year. Cabbage’s fourth-inning shot wasn’t the only one in the inning. Following a leadoff walk, Seth Gray launched a two-run home run to kickstart a four-run inning for Cedar Rapids. The shot was a momentum changer for Cedar Rapids, who hadn't put a baserunner on in the first three innings. "After Steer took that walk, Gray jumped on that first pitch and it gave the guys a bit of relief." manager Brian Dinkkleman said. "Once you get that first guy on and that first run it helps build some momentum." Gray’s homer was followed by a Jair Carmago single that set up Cabbage’s two-run shot. Cabbage and Gray weren’t the only Kernels who pounced on the Lugnuts’ pitching staff. Spencer Steer and Michael Helman also recorded hits on the night for Cedar Rapids. Steer also scored a run thanks to Gray’s homer. And while the offense got the headlines, Kernels’ starter Ben Gross was excellent on the bump, striking out six and only giving up two runs in five innings. Prior to this season Gross last pitched in Elizabethton in 2019. Despite the gap in 2019 Gross has done well to adjust to a higher level of pitching. "With the year off it's been a challenge to get into that competitive mindset and focus on getting guys out," Gross said. "There's more consistency here (than in rookie ball) and it's tougher to get guys out multiple times through the lineup." Gross has handled the transition well and is now 2-0 on the year with a 2.78 ERA. For a California-native and product of east-coast Princeton and Duke, Gross has appreciated the deeply-rooted tradition of baseball in the Midwest. "That's been one of the very pleasant surprises of being here, is that people love their baseball," Gross said. "To go from games where we'd have 100 people at games (in rookie ball) to 1,400 tonight on a Thursday, it's a really great atmosphere to play in." After leaving the game Gross was relived by two rock-solid performances from Derek Molina and Zach Featherstone. Molina pitched 2 1/3 innings of one-hit scoreless baseball and Featherstone followed suit with a scoreless 1 2/3 innings, recording his second save of the year. MUSSEL MATTERS Palm Beach 5, Fort Myers 4 Box Score A series of unfortunate events in the ninth resulted in a tough loss for the Mussels on Thursday evening in the Sunshine State. An error, stolen base, and single pushed the Cardinals to a walk-off win in a game that featured a plethora of standout performances from the Mussels. Despite giving up ten hits Mussels starter Brent Headrick was productive on the mound, surrendering only two runs in five innings. Headrick, who now has a 2.87 ERA on the year ran into obstacles in all five innings but was able to limit the damage, giving up one run in the third and another in the fifth. He struck out five men in his outing. Despite the loss, the Mussels also put up ten hits and a quad of runs thanks to some mid-game momentum. Trailing 1-0 in the fifth, the Mussels punched a ticket on the scoreboard thanks to a pair of doubles from Misael Urbina and Aaron Sabato. With one out, Urbina laced the opening pitch of his at-bat to left field for his first of three hits on the night. Two batters later, Sabato followed suit with a double to left field that scored Urbina. Fort Myers continued their offensive surge in the sixth. Charlie Mack kicked off the inning by taking an 0-2 pitch to center field for a single. He would then advance to second thanks to a balk from Palm Beach pitcher Luis Ortiz. Mussels’ DH Nick Anderson followed with his second double on the year, moving Mack to third. Mack would score on the next at-bat thanks to a sacrifice fly from Justin Washington. Anderson’s quality at-bat paid off when Ruben Santana poked an RBI blooper to the left side of the infield, allowing Anderson to score from third. The run was Anderson’s second since being activated by the Twins on June 7. The Mussels bowled a turkey in the seventh inning when Eduoard Julien laced an RBI single to left field, scoring Urbina. Julien is now slashing .316/.503/.991 on the year. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day- Ben Gross (Cedar Rapids)- 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, BB, 6K Hitter of the Day- Trey Cabbage (Cedar Rapids)- 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 H, 3 RBI, 2 HR, K PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) – 0-for-4 #2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – 0-for-3, BB, K #4 - Ryan Jeffers (Minnesota) – Did not play #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 7-day IL (elbow strain) #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – Did not play #8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 1-for-3, R, RBI, 2 BB #9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – IL (elbow) #10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – IL (Tommy John surgery) #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) – Did not play #12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – Did not play #13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – IL (hamate bone) #14 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 3-for-5, 2 R, K #15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 7-day IL (undisclosed) #16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow) #17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) – 1-for-3, K #18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A #19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – 5-for-6, R, RBI #20 - Bailey Ober (Minnesota) – Did not pitch FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05PM CST) – RHP Charlie Barnes (3-1, 3.10 ERA) Wichita @ Midland (7:00PM CST) – RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-1, 6.43 ERA) Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – RHP Cody Lawyerson (2-1, 2.57 ERA) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30PM CST) – RHP Casey Legumina (2-1, 4.67 ERA) View full article

The Twins announced Tuesday afternoon that they claimed RHP Beau Burrows off waivers from the Detroit Tigers. Here’s what you need to know. No, the name above isn’t former Heisman winner Joe Borrow. It’s Fort Worth, TX native and former Detroit first-round pick Beau Burrows. After a grueling stretch of games, the Twins added a promising arm to the bullpen, claiming Burrows off waivers from the Tigers on Tuesday afternoon. Burrows will report to Triple-A Saint Paul. The Saints will begin a six-game series against the Clippers in Columbus tonight. The 6’2 right-hander was drafted out of high school in the first round (pick 22) of the 2015 Amateur Draft by the Tigers. He spent 2015-2019 dancing between Rookie Ball and AAA for the Tigers organization. His best season came in 2017 when he posted a 10-7 record with a 3.20 ERA in 26 games between High-A Lakeland and Double-A Erie. Burrows got his shot at the big leagues in 2020, pitching 6 2/3 innings of relief in five games for Detroit. In that span, he recorded a 5.40 ERA with eight hits and four earned runs. The Weatherford High School graduate has only pitched once for the Tigers this season, surrendering four earned runs in 1 2/3 innings on June 22 against the White Sox. Burrows was perfect for the first inning of his appearance but left the game in the middle of his second inning on the mound due to illness. And while he appears to be healthy now, Burrows has struggled to find consistency in the past thanks to injuries, particularly in 2019. Burrows missed a month and a half early that season due to shoulder inflammation. After returning to the bump he was later shut down in August due to a left oblique strain. Burrows' pitch arsenal consists primarily of a four-seam fastball (66%), slider (20%), and changeup (14%). His fastball has averaged at 94.5 MPH so far this season with hitters recording a .200 batting average against it. Burrows also has a curveball and sinker, yet hasn’t thrown either pitch so far this season. While the sample size is small it’s clear that Burrows has some untapped talent and just hasn’t gotten into a rhythm yet. Hopefully, that will change in the Twins organization. Welcome to Minnesota, Beau! The addition of Burrows puts the Twins back at 40 players on their 40-man roster. View full article

Chandler Shepard was electric, the Wind Surge offense struck early, and the Kernels struck some magic in the Field of Dreams state. Check out all the action from the Twins Minor League Organization. TRANSACTIONS Minnesota Twins activatedRHP Shaun Anderson from the IL and optioned him to the St. Paul Saints. Minnesota Twins optioned RHP Griffin Jax to St. Paul Saints. Wichita Wind Surge placed 2B Peter Mooney on the 7-day injured list. Twins signed infielder Wilbis Santiago and assigned him to Wichita. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Iowa 0 Box Score A night after losing a 3-1 contest, the Saints responded with a brilliant outing from Chandler Shepard and some timely hitting, tallying a 2-0 win over the I-Cubs. The Saints struck first in their second at-bat, thanks to a solo shot by Tomas Telis in the first inning. The blast was his fourth of the year. After Telis’ shot, both offenses stayed dormant for the majority of the game. Much of that was due to Chandler Shepard’s gem on the mound. Coming off perhaps his rockiest start of the year, Shepard was lights out all night, pitching five scoreless innings and striking out three. The outing was the second time that Shepard has gone five or more innings this year. The other performance took place on June 4 when the University of Kentucky alum went 5.2 innings in a win against Louisville. The Saints’ offense was resurrected in the seventh inning. Leading 1-0, the Saints put a runner on with no outs thanks to a Drew Maggi single. That was quickly reversed after Sherwin Johnson rocketed a lineout to SS that resulted in Maggi being doubled off. With two outs Jimmy Kerrigan punched a single into RF with hopes of providing some insurance for St. Paul. Insert Daniel Descalso. The former World Series champion laced a 2-2 pitch to CF, recording a standup double and scoring Kerrigan all the way from first. And while the insurance helped, The St. Paul bullpen was dominant following Shepard’s exit. When Shepard came out, the Saints bullpen continued the dominance. Washington State alum and Birthday Boy Ian Hamilton pitched a scoreless sixth inning. Juan Minaya followed suit with a perfect 1.1. Innings. Fan-favorite Derek Law sealed the deal with a perfect 1.2 innings, securing his fourth save of the year. In addition, RHP Shaun Anderson was reinstated from the 10-day IL following blisters on his pitching hand and was optioned to St. Paul. Anderson has seen time with the Twins this season, posting a 9.35 ERA (8.2 IP, 9 ER) with five walks and eight strikeouts. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 8, Springfield 2 Box Score The Wind Surge offense touted their offense early on Wednesday night, resulting in an 8-2 win over Springfield. The Surge started the party in the first inning. With two runners on Caleb Hamilton knocked a double to CF that scored Ernie De La Trinidad and Jermaine Palacios. Hamilton would make his way home thanks to a Roy Morales single. And while the offense proved lethal in the first, they would add two more runs thanks to a Palacios RBI single in the second and HR in the fifth. Palacios is now batting .304/.405/.905 on the year. Palacios may have stolen the show at the plate, but the Wichita pitching staff was rock-solid all night. Chris Vallimont was excellent, pitching five innings of one-run ball while striking out seven.. Relievers Jason Garcia, Zach Neff, and Jovani Moran followed suit, allowing only one run in four innings. Moran was the Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Month. Check out his accomplishments here. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, South Bend 3 Box Score Iowa has always had a magical aura surrounding the sport of baseball. That couldn’t have been more true on Wednesday night, as the Kernels earned a 4-3 win thanks to some ninth-inning heroics. Down by the score of 2-3 in the ninth, Michael Helman knocked a double to RF that would score Gabriel Maciel and Gabe Snyder. And while Helman provided the heroics at the plate, Jon Olsen was very effective on the bump following a three-run first inning. Following the first inning, Olsen gave up only three hits and allowed no runs. That dominance on the bump was continued by the Cedar Rapids bullpen. Jordan Gore pitched a perfect three innings in relief, striking out four. Jonathan Cheshire followed suit with a scoreless ninth inning that put the Kernels in a position to walk off the game in the bottom of the inning. “The boys did a good job hanging around. Hats to the pitching staff for keeping us in the game all night after giving up three runs in the first inning,” manager Brian Dinkleman said. The Kernels’ lone run early on came thanks to a Wander Javier HR in the sixth inning. The shot was Javier’s sixth of the year. The game-changing night inning was started by a single courtesy of Seth Gray. Two batters later Trey Cabbage drew a four-pitch walk, moving Gray to second. Snyder followed suit with a single that advanced the runners, creating a bases-loaded scenario for the Kernels. “Being a two-run game, you just need one guy to get things going,” Dinkleman said. “Seth (Gray) did that with the leadoff hit and next thing you know we’ve got the winning run on base.” With the winning run on base, Alex Isola drew a six-pitch walk, scoring Gray and drawing the deficit to 2-3. The next hitter was Michael Helman, who punched his game-winning hit, scoring two runs. And while the situation was perhaps filled with more pressure than his previous at-bats, Helman kept the same locked-in approach at the plate that he always has. “Sometimes things don’t go your way early and that can be tough on you mentality,” Helman said. “But I’ve just been sticking to my approach, I got a good count and I did something with it.” MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers vs Lakeland: POSTPONED Wednesday evening’s matchup between the Mussels and Flying Tigers was postponed due to inclement weather in the Ft. Meyers area. The game will be made up following tomorrow’s game against Lakeland at 3:30 pm CST. Both games in the doubleheader will be seven innings. Florida is known for its occasional inclement weather. It’s also known for Jimmy Buffett music. Here’s a live performance of Margaritaville from 1978 to brighten your day. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day- Chandler Shepard (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 5 H, 0R, 3K Hitter of the Day- Jermaine Palacios (Wichita)- 4-for-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, 4 H PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Alex Kirilloff (St. Paul) – 1-for-4, RBI #2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – 0-for-2 #4 - Ryan Jeffers (Minnesota) – Game in Play #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – Did not pitch #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Injured List (back) #7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – Game Postponed #8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – Game Postponed #9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) – 0-for-3, BB, K #12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – 1-for-4, K #13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List (Wrist) #14 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) – Game Postponed #15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – Did not Pitch #16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow) #17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) – Did not play #18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A #19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – 1-for-4, 2 R, BB, K #20 - Bailey Ober (Minnesota) – Did not pitch FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (7:05PM CST) – RHP Rob Whalen (0-2, 3.46 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) – RHP Austin Shulfer (1-3, 5.28 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – RHP Andrew Cabezas (2-1, 3.00 ERA) Lakeland at Ft. Myers (Game 1: 3:30PM CST) – RHP Sean Mooney (0-1, 0.57 ERA) (Game 2: Following Completion of Game 1) Miguel Rodriguez (1-1, 1.50 ERA) View full article

You're not wrong, Mike haha. Definitely not a start to write home about but I'd consider it 'decent' in comparison to what we've seen so far this year.

The Twins ran into a case of dry bats on Sunday afternoon, dropping a tight game to Kansas City. Check out game highlights and analysis and be sure to comment your thoughts! Box Score Matt Shoemaker: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K Home Runs: Ben Rortvedt (1) Bottom Three WPA: Sanó -.313, Shoemaker -.258, Refsnyder -.186 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Despite a solid outing from Matt Shoemaker, the Twins were unable to record a hit after the fifth inning, leading to a 6-3 loss to Kansas City. The Twins managed to put runners on base but were unable to convert them into runs. Shoemaker put his team in a position to win, limiting walks and keeping the ball low and around the zone. Yet when the Twins had chances, they ran into strikeouts, fly-outs, and ground balls. Shoemaker Not too Shabby The scoreboard would indicate that Matt Shoemaker had a rough day on the hill. That wasn’t the case. Shoemaker was outstanding through four innings, retiring 11 consecutive batters at one point. The tables turned in the fifth inning when Shoemaker surrendered four singles and a walk, leading to a four-run inning for the Royals. Shoemaker has been up and down all year, but you can’t knock the guy for his outing today. Despite the result of the inning, Shoemaker pounded the zone all day. No, six runs aren’t great, but Shoemaker has been moving in the right direction as of recent, and today was far from a shameful performance. Big Ben Less than 24 hours after being called up from Saint Paul, Ben Rortvedt launched his first MLB home run over the left-center field wall in the second inning. The line-drive dinger gave the Twins a 2-1 lead early in the game. It’s been an exciting 24 hours for Rortvedt. The Verona, WI native hit his first Triple-A home run last night with the Saints in a 6-5 win over the Iowa Cubs. Have yourself a weekend, Ben! Ducks on (and off) the Pond The Twins put themselves in positions to score runs all day. And despite the plethora of baserunners, the club found themselves headed back to the dugout with runners left on base more than a few times. Minnesota left runners in scoring position (RISP) in the first, second, fifth, seventh, and eighth inning. And while the Twins did score runs in both the second and fifth inning, they left a total of ten runners on base and were 2-11 with runners in scoring position. Twins baserunners weren’t the only ducks left on the pond. A pair of Mallards allegedly flew all the way from Vergas, Minnesota to take in today’s game from the outfield grass at Target Field. Rocco Baldelli has not commented on if the pair of waterfowl will be assigned to the 40-man roster. An inside source confirmed that the female mallard is stellar at the plate with runners in scoring position. Welcome Home, Wild! After a hard-fought series in Vegas, the Minnesota Wild kicked off their offseason at Target Field. Needless to say, beverages were consumed. Congrats on a great season, gents! Postgame Interview Coming soon. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Robles 20 0 0 21 0 41 Duffey 15 0 0 13 0 28 Rogers 0 0 0 21 0 21 Farrell 0 0 17 0 16 33 Thielbar 16 0 0 0 22 38 Minaya 0 15 0 0 13 28 Alcala 0 0 0 10 0 10 Colomé 0 0 0 0 10 10 Up Next: The Twins fly out to Baltimore for a Memorial Day matchup against the Orioles. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05pm CST. View full article

From an afternoon pitching clinic courtesy of Charlie Barnes to an evening offensive demolition in Wichita, Wednesday had it all. Read in on today’s scoop across the Twins minor league system! TRANSACTIONS St. Paul Saints activated 3B Drew Maggi from the 7-day injured list. Cedar Rapids Kernels placed RF Matt Wallner on the 7-day injured list. Right wrist sprain. Cedar Rapids Kernels placed RHP Blayne Enlow on the 7-day injured list. SAINTS SENTINEL St Paul 4, Iowa 3 Box Score Just a day after exorcising the I-Cubs by a score of 17-6, the Saints proved they could win close games too, squeaking out a 4-3 win over Iowa on Wednesday afternoon. RHP Charlie Barnes was as electric as any Saints pitcher has been all year, surrendering only one earned run and striking out seven through seven innings. Wednesday was Barnes’ fourth appearance of the year. Coming off a four-inning eight-hit performance on May 21, the Sumter, South Carolina native cleaned things up on Wednesday, retiring eight of the first nine batters and shaving his ERA from 3.95 to 3.05 following his final pitch. Barnes is now 2-0 on the year, has only walked five batters on the season, and has yet to give up a HR on the year. The Saints channeled their ‘inner-pirahna’ to push runs across the plate. Brent Rooker doubled in the fourth inning and later scored on a sac-fly from Jimmy Kerrigan. Ryan Jeffers scored the go-ahead run in the same inning thanks to a Drew Maggi single. The Saints would score their final run in the seventh inning courtesy of Tomás Telis sac-fly that would score Damek Tomscha. Telis was perhaps the most valuable Saint at the plate, driving in two of the team’s RBI. He is now slashing .297/.329/.775 on the season. And despite a few hiccups in the eighth inning, Derek Law recorded his first two-inning save of the season, pitching a scoreless ninth inning. The save was Law’s second of the year. Off the field, the Saints had some fun with the New Era ‘Local Market Caps’ that were pulled from retail today due to heavy (and justified) mockery. I don’t know about you, but I’d rock one of these bad boys at CHS Field! WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 14, Springfield 1 Box Score The Wichita bats’ resembled a west-coast offense on Wednesday night, plating a touchdown of runs in the first inning to propel the Wind Surge to a 14-1 victory over Springfield. CF Gilberto Celestino got the party started in the first with a one-out double. Celestino scored on the next at-bat thanks to a single from RF Ernie De La Trinidad. Trinidad has been stellar so far this season, hitting .298 in 57 plate appearances. And while the Wind Surge had flexed their muscles with the long ball in previous games, their first-inning success came courtesy of five singles, two doubles, and a walk. Wichita opened the flood gates again in the sixth inning thanks to a handful of singles and walks on top of an Andrew Bechtold double. Wednesday was an offensive milestone for the Surge. The first seven batters in the Wichita batting lineup recorded multi-hit games and every single hitter in the order recorded a hit. That's a first in team history and their 18 total hits is the most the Surge have put up all season. 14 runs scored without a single home run? Putting up 18 hits sure seems to work. Trey Cabbage scored his first run at the Double-A level in the third inning thanks to a double from 2B Sherman Johnson. He followed that up with his first Double-A hit in the sixth, lining a single to RF and scoring SS Jermaine Palacios. Cabbage finished the night with two hits and reached base four time. Cabbage was promoted to Wichita from Cedar Rapids on Monday and played his first game at Riverfront Stadium last night. Welcome to Wichita, Trey! Wind Surge pitcher Cole Sands was nothing short of spectacular on his fifth start of the year. The Twins’ 2018 fifth round pick tossed four scoreless innings, surrendering only one hit and striking out six. Sands now has a 2.45 ERA on the year and has yet to give up more than four hits in a game this season. Enter Sandsman! And after Sands exited, the Wind Surge bullpen picked up right where he left off. Brandon Koch (1-0) and Calvin Faucher each pitched two scoreless innings, only surrendering one hit and one walk in four total innings. Yennier Cano came in to finish the game, pitching a one-run ninth. The run was only his second total earned run on the year in seven appearances. The Havana, Cuba native still touts a 1.80 ERA on the season. And it's oh so great to see the Wind Surge social media team echo the spirits of their big brother up in St. Paul. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 5, Cedar Rapids 0 Box Score LHP Kody Funderburk pitched a stellar 4.2 innings of baseball on Wednesday night in Cedar Rapids. Despite the strong effort, the Wisconsin bats came alive in the final two innings, pushing the Timber Rattlers to a 5-0 win in a game that surpassed three and a half hours. The loss marks the first time the squad has been shut out this season. The Kernels put good wood on the ball throughout the night but weren't able to catch a break. "Early in the game I thought we hit some balls hard and their CF did a nice job tracking some of them down," Cedar Rapids manager Brian Dinkelman said. "We had some good early at-bats with solid contact but just weren't able to find any holes." 3B Seth Gray reached base the most of the Kernels, drawing two walks and lining a single to right field in the fifth inning. SS Wander Javier recorded the only extra base hit for Cedar Rapids, launching his fifth double of the season in the fourth inning. Funderburk’s performance continues an impressive 2021 campaign for the lefty, who now posts a 0.98 ERA through five starts. "Fundy was really good there the first time through the lineup and got himself out of trouble in the third inning," Dinkelman said. Reliever Derek Molina was equally as effective, tossing 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball with three strikeouts after Funderburk left the game. RHP Owen Griffith also struck out three batters in his two innings of work. "Defense and pitching did their thing tonight, we just couldn't come up with the big hit to take the lead early in the game tonight," Dinkelman said. "A good effort from the guys tonight, we'll come back tomorrow." MUSSEL MATTERS Lakeland 10, Fort Myers 9 (10) Box Score Despite a plethora of offense and a quality start from Regi Grace, the Mussels dropped an extra-inning heartbreaker in Lakeland on Wednesday evening. Fort Myers saw multi-hit games from multiple players, including an impressive day at the plate from 2B Edouard Julien, who was a triple shy of the cycle. Julien roped a two-run double to contribute to a six run fourth-inning for the Mussels. He also made his 2021 long ball debut with a blast over the right field wall in the third inning, putting the Mussels on the board. Julien has been electric so far this year and now sits at a .359 AVG with a 1.076 OPS. Regi Grace got off to a tough start but was able to compose himself for four quality innings on the bump. After a three-run first, Grace was scoreless through three innings, striking out six batters. The Mussels were inches away for pulling off some ninth-inning magic in the Sunshine State. Trailing by a run, Jefferson Morales launched a game-tying home run over the left center field wall. Julien followed up with a single and a stolen base, but was stranded at second to end the inning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day- Charlie Barnes (St. Paul)- 7 IP, 5 H, R, BB, 7 K Hitter of the Day- Gilberto Celestino (Wichita)- 3-for-6, 2 R, RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Alex Kirilloff (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, BB, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – 1-for-2, BB, K #4 - Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul) – 0-for-4, R, 2 K #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – Did not pitch #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Injured List (back) #7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – Did not play #8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 1-for-4, R, BB, 3 K #9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Wichita) – 3-for-6, 2 R, RBI, K #12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – 1-for-4, R, K #13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 7-Day IL (wrist) #14 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) – 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K #15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 4.0 IP, 0 R, H, 3 BB, 6 K #16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow) #17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) – Did not play #18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A #19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – 3-for-5, 2 R RBI, BB, K #20 - Bailey Ober (Minnesota) – Did not pitch FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (7:05PM CST) – RHP Jhoan Duran (0-0, 3.00 ERA) Springfield @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) – RHP Chris Vallimont (0-0, 1.93 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – RHP Matt Canterino (1-0, 1.29 ERA) Fort Meyers @ Lakeland (5:30PM CST) – RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-2, 16.20 ERA) View full article

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the Minnesota Twins have won an extra-inning baseball game. Get the scoop on today's monumental victory and more. Box Score J.A. Happ: 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, BB, 10 K Home Runs: Max Kepler (5), Kyle Garlick (2) Top 3 WPA: Kyle Garlick (.266), Max Kepler (.206), Taylor Rogers (.147) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins signed Kyle Garlick as a cheap offseason pick-up in hopes to add some outfield depth and occasional power at the plate. His value was priceless on Sunday afternoon. After replacing RF Max Kepler in the seventh, Garlick launched a three run homer in the tenth inning to give the Twins their first series win since April 7 and first extra inning win of the 2021 season. Things initially looked like they were headed in a different direction. Cleveland struck first in the first inning thanks to an RBI double by José Ramírez. Old friend Eddie Rosario followed suit with an RBI single that plated Ramirez. Cleveland tacked on a third run in the second inning when Amed Rosario punched an RBI single to right field. But just like they did in the series opener, the comeback kids mounted a massive inning that put the Twins in a position to win a baseball game. With Luis Arraez and Josh Donaldson on base, Max Kepler started the rally with a homer over the right-field wall. Kepler now has five HR on the year and has been heating up as of late. Newcomer Rob Refsnyder followed that up with an RBI single that scored Alex Kirilloff from third. The inning’s final run came courtesy of an Andrelton Simmons fielder’s choice that scored Mitch Garver. With a one-run lead in the ninth, the Twins ran into something that has plagued them all season. Walks. Hansel Robles surrounded a full-count leadoff walk to César Hernández. The Cleveland 2B would work his way around the bases and score the game-tying run on a safety squeeze by Jordan Luplow. It’s no secret that extra-inning baseball has been an Achilles for the Twins this year. After last night’s 10th inning loss the club moved to 0-8 in extra-inning contests and Cleveland bumped their total to 4-1. Déjà vu would not repeat itself. Following a leadoff walk from Donaldson, (and Arraez at second), pinch hitter Kyle Garlick destroyed a 3-2 pitch, launching a three-run shot over the right-center field wall to regain the lead for the Twins. Needless to say, people were excited. And while he may not have gotten off to the best start, J.A. Happ was rock-solid on the bump. After giving up three runs in the first two innings, Happ settled down, retiring ten straight at one point and giving the team six innings. Happ also hit 92 MPH on his fastball, the fastest we've seen from him all year. Things are headed in the right direction! Bullpen Usage: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Robles 0 14 0 27 24 65 Duffey 0 25 0 13 15 53 Rogers 0 22 0 9 14 45 Farrell 0 0 38 0 0 38 Alcala 7 0 10 17 0 34 Thielbar 10 0 0 0 18 28 Stashak 0 19 0 0 0 19 Colomé 15 0 0 2 0 17 Up Next: The Twins head home for a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles that starts tomorrow night. Matt Shoemaker (2-5, 6.08 ERA) will take the bump for the Twins. First pitch is scheduled at 6:40pm CST. View full article

The Saints worked some magic in their ‘longest game of the year’ and Matt Wallner continued to put up big numbers in Cedar Rapids. Check out an exciting night of baseball in the Twins organization! TRANSACTIONS Minnesota Twins will RHP Randy Dobnak from St. Paul Saints and will start for the Twins on Friday Minnesota Twins recalled LHP Lewis Thorpe from St. Paul Saints (27th man). Minnesota Twins sent RHP Derek Law outright to St. Paul Saints. RHP Jonathan Cheshire assigned to St. Paul Saints from Cedar Rapids Kernels. Cedar Rapids Kernels placed CF DaShawn Keirsey on the 7-day injured list. SAINTS SENTINEL Game 1: St. Paul 3, Indianapolis 2 Box Score Rain put a pause on the Saints’ Wednesday night matchup against Indy after seven and a half innings. That didn’t stop St. Paul from storming out of the gates when the game resumed on Thursday. After a perfect 1-2-3 ninth inning from P Andrew Vasquez, CF Jimmy Kerrigan singled in 1B Tomás Telis to march the Saints off with a 3-2 win. Telis led off the inning with a bloop single to CF and was later moved to second on a one-out sac-fly by JT Riddle. With two outs Damek Tomscha and Keon Broxton drew back-to-back walks, pushing Telis to third. Kerrigan then punched a 2-1 belt-shot to take the Saints to the promise land. While Kerrigan’s hit won the game, Telis and Alex Kirilloff each recorded two hits, most notably Kirilloff’s two-run dinger in the sixth. The win moved the Saints to 6-8 on the year. Game 2: Indianapolis 7, St. Paul 3 Box Score Saints OF Alex Kirilloff knocked his second homer in 24 hours on his campaign back to the Major Leagues in a 7-3 loss to Indy at CHS Field. Kirilloff, who homered in last night’s delayed contest took a 1-1 pitch over the right-center field wall in the fourth inning. Despite the loss, it’s promising to see Kirilloff perform at a high level again following his time on the IL. Hopefully, he’ll be back at Target Field in no time! The loss puts the Saints at 6-9 on the young 2021 season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 4, Wichita 3 Box Score Despite a ninth-inning homer from Mark Contreras, the Surge were clipped in a one-run contest on Thursday night. A three-run third inning propelled the Drillers to a 4-3 victory in game three of a six-game series against the Wind Surge. Outside of the third inning, Wichita starting pitcher Bryan Sammons was solid, pitching five innings of two-hit baseball and striking out six. After trailing 3-0, Wichita mounted a comeback in the fifth inning thanks to an RBI double by 3B Andrew Bechtold. Jose Miranda followed suit with a fielder’s choice that scored C Roy Morales to shave the deficit to 3-2. Morales is now slashing .345/.381/.655 on the year. Tulsa gained an insurance run in the eighth inning thanks to a solo shot from DH Devin Mann. The run would prove to be the difference-maker. And while the Wind Surge didn't get the W, RF Gilberto Celestino made one of the best catches across baseball on Thursday night. How about that range?! KERNELS NUGGETS Beloit 4, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score Matt Wallner continued his stellar ‘21 campaign with his first-ever four-hit game in professional baseball on Thursday. Yet two ninth-inning runs pushed the former Twins-affiliate Beloit Snappers to a 4-2 win over the Kernels. Wallner kicked off his impressive showing with a two-out first-inning triple to CF. The Forest Lake native followed suit with a third-inning single that would move 3B Seth Gray to third base. Gray would score on the next at-bat. Wallner’s next at-bat came in the fifth when he punched a 1-2 pitch over the RF wall to give the Kernels a 2-1 lead. Wallner leads the team with four homers on the year. It’s no secret that Wallner has been electric so far this year. The ‘pitcher turned OF/slugger’ is now hitting .322 on the year with 4 HR and 13 RBI. And while his power is obvious, his greatest strength may be versatility at the plate. “I think I’ve done a lot better job of hitting the ball to all fields,” Wallner said following Thursday’s game. “I’ve tried to stay up the middle versus being a pull-only hitter.” Wallner has also focused on handling velocity at the plate, something that he’s thrived upon this year. “I’m more comfortable with velocity (at the plate) this year. I’ve always had to gas that up a bit but for the most part, I’m comfortable with that this year,” he said. And while Wallner was excellent, the Kernels’ pitching staff was rock-solid on Thursday night. Starting pitching Kody Funderburk pitched 5.2 innings of one-run baseball, walking none and striking out three. Even more impressive? He did it in 55 pitches. “He was really efficient tonight,” skipper Brian Dinkleman said. “He got a lot of ground balls and had that cutter going for him that got a lot of weak contact on the left side of the infield.” RHP Derek Molina was excellent through his first two innings of relief and Zach Featherstone was 2-2 on getting hitters out upon his entrance in the ninth innings. The loss moves Cedar Rapids to 7-8 on the year. MUSSEL MATTERS Tampa 16, Fort Myers 5 Box Score Despite knotting the game at five after getting down early, the Mussels dropped a 16-5 contest to Tampa on Thursday evening in the Sunshine State. After getting down 5-2, catcher Charlie Mack launched a seventh-inning three-run shot over the left-field wall to tie the game up at five-a-piece. The Williamsville, NY, native now has a .823 OPS on the year. Unfortunately, Mack’s power was matched by a wealth of extra-base hits in the bottom of the inning putting the Tarpons up 9-5. Tampa tacked on seven more runs in the bottom Eduoard Julien continued his massive season with a first-inning double, a walk, and a run scored. Julien is now batting .333 on the year with a .921 OPS. Twins Daily #8 Prospect Aaron Sabato recorded a run in Thursday's game and was also featured in a player profile by the Mussels. Pretty cool guy, minus being a Cowboys fan! Mussels reliever Bradley Hanner had a solid outing, touting five strikeouts, two walks, and only one earned run in 4.1 innings of relief. The loss moves Fort Myers to 7-8 on the year. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day- Kody Funderburk (Cedar Rapids)- 5.2 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 3K Hitter of the Day- Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids)- 4-for-5, R, 3B, HR, RBI, K PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Alex Kirilloff (St. Paul) – 1-for-3, R, HR, RBI, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – 0-for-3, 3K (game one), 1-for-3, R, RBI, HR, BB #4 - Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul) – 1-for-3, R, BB, K #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – Did not pitch #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Injured List (back) #7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 0-for-4, R, BB, 2K #8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 0-for-4, R, BB, 3K #9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Wichita) – 1-for-3, BB #12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, BB, K #13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 4-for-5, R, 3B, HR, RBI, K #14 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) – 0-for-4, BB, K, #15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – Did not pitch #16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow) #17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) – Did not play #18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A #19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – 0-3, RBI, K #20 - Bailey Ober (Minnesota) – Did not pitch FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (7:05PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (1-0, 4.00 ERA) Wichita @ Tulsa (7:05PM CST) – RHP Cole Sands (0-0, 3.65 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:35PM CST) – RHP Matt Canterino (0-0, 1.13 ERA) Fort Meyers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) – RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-2, 29.70 ERA) View full article

After an electric win on Saturday, the Twins were plagued by a rough fifth inning and late-game error in a rubber match deficit to the Athletics. Boxscore Kenta Maeda: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, BB, 2 K Home Runs: Kepler (4), Simmons (2) Bottom 3 WPA: Rogers -.298, Maeda -.224, Polanco -.149 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Despite some early offensive action, the Twins were plagued by a tough fifth inning and a costly eighth-inning error that eventually cost them the game to Oakland. With a runner on first and one out, Taylor Rogers fielded a grounder and threw to second in an attempt to get the Twins out of the eight with a double-play. Rogers' throw was solid, but was muffed by 3B Josh Donaldson at second base. The ball trickled into CF, allowing baserunner Ramon Laureano to advance to third. Laureano scored the game-winning run two at-bats later on a wild pitch from Rogers. Kenta Struggles Coming off two quality starts, Kenta Maeda had one of his shakier starts of the year, plagued by a rocky fifth inning. After only giving up one run through the first four, Maeda gave up four consecutive hits that would lead to a four-run inning for the Athletics. Maeda now has a 5.26 ERA through his first eight starts of the year. He’ll have a chance to redeem himself when he takes the hill against Cleveland on Friday night. Maeda suffered an April 27th loss in his only other appearance against Cleveland, giving up five runs (four ER) on seven hits in addition to three HR in a 7-4 defeat. It’s clear that Maeda isn’t off to the same start that landed him second in Cy Young voting in 2020. Still, it’s likely that Maeda will get out of this rut at some point given his reputation for consistency. The righty leveraged a 4.03 ERA through eight starts in 2019, 4.75 in 2018, and 5.08 in 2017. None of these numbers are spectacular, but the point is, Maeda has turned out fine by the end of the year. He’ll be okay, it’s just taking a bit longer. Fifth Inning Blues Maeda’s crumble in the fifth wasn’t the sole proprietor to the A’s massive inning. With the bases loaded and one out, A’s CF Ramon Laureano chopped a weak grounder to Andrelton Simmons. Simmons then came home with ball prompting a run down involving baserunner Elvis Andrus and Twins C Ben Rortvedt. As Rortvedt tracked Andrus back to third base, he prematurely threw the ball to 3B Josh Donaldson, allowing Andrus time to retreat towards home. With Rortvedt in close proximity, Andrus channeled his inner-Lebron James and made contact with the Twins catcher. The play resulted in an interference call, scoring Andrus and prolonging the inning. Bats Activated Max Kepler has had a lackluster year at the plate thus far. That wasn’t the case on Sunday for the acting Twins CF, who played in a part in five of six Twins’ runs. Kepler put the Twins on the board in the second with a three-run shot to right-center field, giving the Twins a 3-1 lead. An inning later Kepler skied a bases-loaded pitch to right field to score Jorge Polanco on a bang-bang play. Kepler added to his big day at the plate with an eighth inning double. He would later score on Andrelton Simmons game-tying home run. Kepler exited the game after the eighth inning for unconfirmed reasons. Up Next The Twins will look to clean up their act when the White Sox come to town tomorrow night. J.A. Happ (2-1, 4.26 ERA) will face off against Dallas Keuchel (2-1, 4.53 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 6:40p.m. CST. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Anderson 54 0 0 0 11 65 Thielbar 0 0 29 0 28 57 Law 13 0 35 0 0 48 Duffey 16 0 0 0 26 42 Rogers 0 20 0 0 12 32 Robles 0 12 0 17 0 29 Colomé 15 0 0 7 0 22 Alcala 0 16 0 0 0 16 View full article

Coming off their first win at Riverfront Stadium, the Wind Surge showed up at the plate on Thursday. It was an eventful night of baseball in the Twins organization, let's dig in. TRANSACTIONS Minnesota Twins sign IF Daniel Delscalso to a minor league contract (will report to St. Paul) Minnesota Twins signed 2B Sherman Johnson and RHP Rob Whalen to a minor league contract (will report to Wichita) SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 7, Saint Paul 3 Box Score A night after their first ever win as the Twins AAA affiliate, the Saints were exorcised by the I-Cubs thanks to solid pitching and explosive offense from the Chicago affiliate. Fresh off his time with the parent club, Nick Gordon did not disappoint for the Saints. ‘Flash G’ kicked off the game with a triple off the wall on a 1-0 pitch. Gordon also singled in CF Jimmy Kerrigan in the fifth with a single. First basemen Damek Tomscha proved to be the other offensive threat for the Saints at the plate. Tomscha smacked a double to kick off the fifth and was later driven in thanks to a Kerrigan double. Tomscha’s leadoff success continued in the seventh, when he nailed an 0-1 pitch over the left field fence for his first homer of the year. Starting pitcher Bailey Ober was excellent, touting a scoreless four-inning outing. Ober struck out five, walked one, and gave up two hits on his second start of the year. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 9, Amarillo 8 Box Score Coming off their first ever win at Riverfront Stadium in beautiful Wichita, the Wind Surge brought their bats to the park on Thursday night. So did the Sod Poodles (yes, you read that correctly). Yet even an early inning deficit couldn’t dethrone the moment of the Wind Surge as they posted a nail-biting 9-8 win over Amarillo in the Jayhawk State. After giving up a three-run first inning, Wichita surged ahead thanks to four-run third inning and three-run eighth. The Wind Surge saw seven players record hits on the night. Yet it was Jermaine Palacios’ third inning three-run shot that made the most noise. Palacios’ bomb was the first homer in Wind Surge history. The SS has now hit safely in every single game so far this year. Get that man an ice cold Surge soda pop! Even after the milestone moonshot, the Wind Surge were still trailing. That changed in the eighth, when Caleb Hamilton drew a five pitch bases-loaded walk to bring in the go-ahead run to make it 8-7. Jose Miranda followed suit with another five pitch bases-juiced walk to grab some insurance for Wichita, scoring Palacios. Palacios’ run would prove to be enough, as Wichita reliever Josh Mitchell (1-0) punched his way through the final two innings to give the Wind Surge their second straight win. Outside the chalk lines at Riverfront Stadium, exciting news was in full force. Just before first pitch, Wind Surge OF and former Twin Aaron Whitefield was named AA Central Hitter of the Week. While many Twins mans know the Aussie for his important work in patching a Buxton-less outfield last season, Whitefield has made a name for himself at the plate this year. In the past week Whitefield went 12 for 27 with two HR and 7 RBI at the dish. Whitefield is slashing .343/.410/.629 on the year. Well done, mate Yet perhaps the finest accolade of recent Wind Surge history came from the life of catcher David Bañuelos. David and wife wife Jessica welcomed their son Ezekiel to the world on Tuesday. We’ll see if he follows in his father’s footsteps. Welcome to the Twins family, Ezekiel! KERNELS NUGGETS Quad Cities 5, Cedar Rapids 4 Box Score Cedar Rapids looked to gain revenge against one of the hottest teams in baseball with an in-state showdown on Thursday night in Davenport, Iowa. And while the Kernels put together a wealth of threats at the plate, the River Bandits were able to squeak out their sixth consecutive win. In a matchup that featured ample strikeouts from pitchers in both dugouts, the River Bandits were able to prevail in a game that so no runs after the third inning. Despite the loss, the Kernels saw niblets of brilliance in the first three innings. The Kernels kicked off the party with a pair of second inning doubles from Trey Cabbage and Alex Isola to give the Kernels an early lead. After Quad Cities responded with two runs in the bottom of the second, the Kernels racked up three runs in the third thanks to singles by Spencer Steer, Matt Wallner, Jair Camargo and a walk from Seth Gray. Unfortunately for Cedar Rapids, the River Bandits matched ever offensive punch from the Kernels with just as many runs and a stellar seven strikeout outing from reliever Zach Haake. RF Trey Cabbage posted the most impressive night at plate for the Kernels, knocking two hits, one run, and one RBI. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Meyers 5, Clearwater 3 Box Score Coming off a gritty one-run win on Wednesday, the Mighty Mussels entered Thursday evening looking to surpass the .500 mark against Philly Low-A affiliate Clearwater. Highly-touted prospect Aaron Sabato kicked off the night with a laser to right field, scoring Jefferson Morales to put the Mussels up 1-0. Despite a tough start, Sabato has began to hit his stride, knocking in a run and two hits on Wednesday night in addition to two hits on Thursday. Following Sabato’s kickstart to the game, Clearwater punched in two runs to take a 3-1 lead after seven innings. Those runs didn’t discredit a stellar performance on the bump from Mussel starting pitcher Miguel Rodriguez. The Venezuelan pitched four shutout innings, striking out four and only giving up one hit, while walking two. When it mattered most, the Mighty Mussels showed up. Down by two in the eighth, Misael Urbina knocked a single up the middle to score Kyle Schmidt and Edouard Julien. Later in the inning, Keoni Cavaco punched an infield hit to score the go-ahead run along with an insurance run thanks to a throwing error. Cavaco’s go-ahead hit adds to his already impressive 2021 campaign. The Twins Daily #7 prospect is slashing .333/.415 (.887) on the year and has no signs of stopping. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day- Bailey Ober (Saint Paul)- 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day- Jermaine Palacios (Wichita)- 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 H, 3 RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) – Injured List (wrist) #2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – 1-for-4, 2B, R, BB, 2 K #4 - Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul) – 0-for-4, 4 K #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – Did not pitch #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Injured List (back) #7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 1-for-5, RBI, K #8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 2-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, K #9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Wichita) – 0-for-1, HBP (left game, arm) #12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, BB, K #13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-5, R, RBI, 3 K #14 - Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) – 1-for-3, R, 2 RBI, BB #15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – Did not pitch #16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow) #17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) – Did not play #18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A #19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – 0-0, RBI, BB #20 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) – 4.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, 5 K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (7:05PM CST) – RHP Andrew Albers (0-1, 10.13 ERA) Amarillo @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) – RHP Josh Winder (0-0, 1.86 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30PM CST) – LHP Kody Funderburk (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) – RHP Bradley Hanner (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Chime in with your thoughts! View full article

The smell of hot dogs, taste of beer, and roar of fans were back at CHS Field on Tuesday night for the Saints home opener. Despite the result, this one hit different. The newly AAA-crowned Saints suffered their most lopsided defeat of the season courtesy of an Iowa Cubs team that did just about everything right both on the bump and at the plate. And while there were moments of brilliance from the Saints, the night on the field belonged to the I-Cubs. Results matter, don’t get me wrong. Yet the true winners of the night were the Twins organization, CHS Field, and the all-encompassing atmosphere of having fans back at one of the greatest experiences in the sport of baseball. I had the pleasure of taking it all in from the press box area, the concourse, and everywhere in between. Here’s what stood out to me. Fun is Gooder than Ever One of the primary concerns for baseball fans following the merger of the Saints and Twins partnership was that St. Paul would be saying hello to ‘traditional corporate baseball’ and goodbye to their ‘Fun is Good’ mantra. Tuesday night did a hell of a job proving that worry wrong. From the crazy promotions in-between innings to constant interaction between the PA announcer and fans to the genuine kindness of the Saints staff, it was impossible to be in a bad mood after entering the gates of CHS Field on Tuesday evening. By now you’ve probably seen the ‘crazy yet normal’ promotion schedule that the Saints have posted for the month of May. That’s great and all, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to fun at CHS Field. Whether you’re a senior citizen catching up with old pals or a parent taking your child to their first baseball game, there’s something for everyone. The Saints have remained committed to keeping ticket prices affordable and many are available for upcoming games given the recent expansion of capacity. The team may look different, but the organization has stayed true to it’s roots, creating one of the best summertime experiences in all of the Upper Midwest Fan Knowledge is Increasing Rochester proved to be a great organization for the Twins to partner with, yet many fans in Twins Territory were unfamiliar with core names at the AAA level until they arrived up with the parent club. That wasn’t the case with fans on Tuesday night. After a few innings, I ventured down to the concourse to observe the game from a different perspective and chat with fans of all ages. Conversations ranged from the resurgence of household names like Brent Rooker and Randy Dobnak to the organization brining up IF Yeltsin Encarnacion earlier that day. Bottom line? There were very few “Who the hell is that guy out there?” conversations. Part of this comes from having guys like Dobnak, Rooker, and Jeffers on the Saints squad. These three have each had their own fair share of success at the big league level and have been commonplace names for Twins fans. Yet there’s no denying that perhaps the biggest reason is that the Saints are indeed just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Target Field. As cliche as it sounds, fans want to get to see the next Byron Buxton’s, Max Kepler’s, and Nelson Cruz’s. When those guys are playing just down the road, there’s going to be a naturally tendency to invest in those players more than if they were still out in New York. It’s a beautiful thing. DSP and Falvey in the House As a disgruntled and lost young journalist I happened to cross paths with Twins President Dave St. Peter and Director of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey on the suite level of CHS Field (shockingly, the suite wasn’t for me). It may seem obvious that the big dogs would attend the home opener for a new club in their organization. Yet the gesture demonstrates the support that the Twins have shown towards the Saints in this time of transition. It would be easy for the Twins to command the Saints to abandon their old ways and take form as a typical AAA ballclub. Yet besides location, one of the best dynamics of this transition has been the hands-off, servant leadership that the Twins have shown to the Saints. Thoughts and Prayers to St. Peter, who has been drilled at least a hundred times with the question “Will the Saints still be able to have fun?” Each time he’s answered with grace, assuring fans that the Saints will continue to ‘be themselves’ and hey, the Twins might even learn a thing or two from them. Bravo, Dave, Derek, and company. Six Game Series Given the unique year that it is, the Saints season will consist of six game series. Tuesday marked the first of six games that the Saints will host against the I-Cubs. While unorthodox, the format gives fans more consistency when it comes to purchasing tickets. It also gives fans the opportunity to familiarize themselves with members of the Saints and their opposition. Tuesday brought in ‘old friend’ Andrew Romine and well-known players Cameron Maybin and Ian Miller. Similar to the Twins in the Central, it will be fun to see the Saints build rivalries with other Triple-A East squads. Shots, Shots, Shots! As Minnesota inches closer to having enough vaccinated to ‘move forward,’ the Saints are doing their part. The team offered COVID-19 vaccinations for fans two hours prior to Tuesday night’s home opener. As a reward for getting vaccinated, each individual who took part in the event was gifted four regular season tickets to any game of their choice during the Saints 2021 season. No-one wants the stands packed again more than the Saints, Twins, and every other team in professional baseball. Kudos to the Saints for taking the initiative to help reach that goal as soon as possible! View full article