Eric R Pleiss

Aaron Slegers lasted just one day with the big league club, getting sent back to Rochester when the Twins claimed Yankees RHP David Hale off waivers during Thursday afternoon’s game. The Miracle were the affiliate that won today behind strong performances from Jared Foster, Joe Cronin and Andrew Vasquez. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday.TRANSACTIONS Minnesota Twins option Aaron Slegers to Rochester Red Wings. Rochester Red Wings placed LHP Adalberto Mejia on the 7-day disabled list. RHP Bailey Ober assigned to Cedar Rapids Kernels from Elizabethton Twins. RED WINGS REPORT OFF CHATTANOOGA CHATTER POSTPONED, RAIN MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Daytona 4 Box Score The Miracle gave up a run in the top of the first but came back with two in the bottom of the first. The Tortugas tied the game in the top of the third but the Miracle hung a three-spot on the board in the bottom of the inning and held on for a 5-4 win. Starter Charlie Barnes pitched 4 2/3 innings, giving up a pair of runs on four hits. He walked four and struck out five. Logan Lombana replaced Barnes and earned the win despite giving up a pair of runs in 2 1/3 innings. Lombana gave up two hits, but struck out five of the nine batters he faced, walking no one. Andrew Vasquez earned his first save of the year with two full innings of scoreless ball. He faced just six batters, sending them all back to the dugout in order. As a team the Miracle hitters struck out 13 times and did not earn a single walk. Leadoff hitter Jared Foster led the way for Fort Myers going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Jimmy Kerrigan also had a multi-hit night going 2-for-4 with a run scored. KERNELS NUGGETS Burlington 10, Cedar Rapids 5 Box Score Starter Bailey Ober, just called up and making his A-ball debut could not get out of the first inning, recording only two outs and giving up six runs, all earned, on just five hits and a walk. He struck out two and gave up a home run. Nick Brown came into the game and gave the Kernels 5 1/3 innings, but gave up four more runs to put the Kernels in an even bigger hole. Brown finished the night having given up seven hits, four earned runs, a walk, five strikeouts, and he served up three home runs. Moises Gomez pitched three innings of two-hit baseball to finish the game. He gave up just two hits and struck out three. The Kernels could not dig out of the early hole, despite hitting 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They left nine men on base. Royce Lewis was the only Kernels batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and a pair of strikeouts. Alex Kirilloff and Jose Miranda each had a double, their only hits of the night, The Kernels struck out 15 times as a team and walked just four times. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Vasquez, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jared Foster, For Myers Miracle TOP 20 PROSPECT PERFORMANCE Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: 1. Royce Lewis – 2-5, RBI, R, 2 SO 5. Alex Kiriloff – 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, R 10. Akil Baddoo – 0-3, RBI, 2 BB, SO 13. Lewin Diaz – 1-4, 3B, RBI, SO 17. Travis Blankenhorn – 1-4, RBI, 2 SO FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester (5:35pm) – Fernando Romero (0-1, 1.69) Chattanooga (6:15pm) – Lewis Thorpe (0-2, 5.79) Fort Myers (6:00pm) – Andro Cutura (1-0, 2.25) Cedar Rapids (6:35pm) - Brusdar Graterol (0-0, 0.00) Click here to view the article

The Twins were off on Thursday and so were half the Minor League affiliates. The Cedar Rapids Kernels were rained out for the sixth straight day and haven’t played since last Friday. With the Red Wings on a scheduled off day, there were just a couple of teams in action on Thursday night. The Lookouts and the Miracle both rode strong pitching performances to victories, find out more below.TRANSACTIONS Fort Myers Miracle placed RHP Colton Davis on the 7-day disabled list and activated 2B Luis Arraez from the 7-day disabled list. RED WINGS REPORT OFF CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jacksonville 1 Box Score The Lookouts put a three-spot on the board in the bottom of the first inning and then didn’t bother to score again as the pitching staff carried them the rest of the way, giving up just one run late in the game. Randy LeBlanc started and earned the win to move to 2-1 on the year with six innings of scoreless baseball. LeBlanc scattered five hits, walked one, and struck out three. Zack Jones pitched a scoreless seventh inning, but not without challenge as he walked three and escaped unharmed thanks to a pair of strike outs. Williams Ramirez picked up his third save of the year, this one of the six-out variety. He gave up one run on one hit, he walked two and struck out one. Bunching all of their runs in the first inning, the Lookouts sent seven men to the plate and could have scored more if not for making two outs on the base paths. Chris Paul had the Lookouts’ only extra-base hit of the night, during the first inning rally, his only hit of the night. He finished 1-for-3 with that double, a walk, and a run scored. Brent Rooker, T.J. White, and Brian Navarreto each added a pair of singles. A hero the last couple of days, Zander Wiel added another RBI as part of a 1-for-3 night that also included a walk. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 2 Box Score Fort Myers committed three errors and still came out on top on Thursday night thanks to some excellent pitching that gave up just three hits and one earned run. Starter Tyler Wells moved to 2-0 on the year with five full innings of one-hit baseball. He struck out only two but did not issue a single walk. He was replaced by Max Cody who gave up an unearned run on one hit and a walk. Carlos Suniaga earned his first save of the year, also a two-inning save just like Williams Ramirez up in AA. He gave up a run on one hit, and a walk. He struck out two. The Miracle scored three of their four runs on a pair of home runs. Jimmy Kerrigan, who finished a single short of the cycle as part of his 3-for-4 night hit a solo home run. The other dinger was a two-run shot off the bat of Joe Cronin in the seventh inning. Cronin was 2-for-3 with a double and that home run, and three RBIs. As a team, the Miracle had 10 hits, two walks, and they struck out eight times. Luis Arraez played in his first game since April 8, 2017. He was 0-for-4 and made a pair of errors at second base. KERNELS NUGGETS Doubleheader Postponed - Rain STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy LeBlanc, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jimmy Kerrigan, Fort Myers Miracle TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily top 20 prospects performed: #3. Nick Gordon – 0-4, 1R, 1SO #7. Brent Rooker – 2-4, 1SO #13. Lewin Diaz – 1-3, 3B, 1R, 1SO #14. LaMonte Wade – 1-4, 1R #17. Travis Blankenhorn – 2-4, 1R FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Columbus, 5:35 pm CT - Adalberto Mejia Chattanooga vs. Jacksonville, 6:15 pm CT - Lewis Thorpe Fort Myers at Bradenton, 5:30 pm CT - Charlie Barnes Cedar Rapids vs. Kane County, 6:36 pm CT - Blayne Enlow Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games. Click here to view the article

The Cedar Rapids Kernels had their game postponed for the fifth consecutive day as the wild springtime weather continues to batter the Midwest. The rest of the Minor League affiliates were in action, and there is plenty to be excited about from Wednesday’s games. To find out how all your other favorite Minnesota Twins prospects fared on Tuesday night, read on!TRANSACTIONS LHP Andrew Vasquez assigned to Chattanooga Lookouts from Fort Myers Miracle. RHP Carlos Suniaga assigned to Fort Myers Miracle from GCL Twins. RF Alex Robles assigned to Fort Myers Miracle from Elizabethton Twins. Fort Myers Miracle placed 3B Brandon Lopez on the 7-day disabled list retroactive to April 17, 2018. RED WINGS REPORT Charlotte 9, Rochester 2 Box Score The game was pretty much over when Red Wings starter Myles Jaye was lifted after three innings. He gave up eight hits and six runs, all earned. He walked three and struck out just two of the 19 batters he faced. Ryne Harper pitched the next two innings, giving up just a single run on three hits. Matt Magill came in next and was the only Rochester pitcher to not give up any runs on Wednesday night, pitching two scoreless innings. He walked no one and struck out four Charlotte Knights. Mason Melotakis pitched the final inning, he gave up two runs (one earned) on a pair of hits. He walked none and struck out one. The hitting was not great on Wednesday night and the Red Wings managed just five hits, with four coming from the 6-7-8 hitters. Leonardo Reginatto was the only batter with multiple hits, and he did all he could, slapping a couple of doubles and scoring a run. Kennys Vargas hit a home run in the clean up spot as part of a 1-for-4 night. The Red Wings 1-2-3 hitters were 0-for-11 with four strike outs and just one walk. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 12, Jacksonville 4 (Game 1) Box Score In the first game of the double header the Lookouts scored three runs in the first, second, fourth and fifth innings to keep the game out of reach. The Looks were led by Zander Wiel, Tuesday night’s hero, who was 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored, a home run, three RBIs and a walk. What a night! LaMonte Wade has a nice game as well, he was 2-for-3 with three runs scored, including a triple, a home run, and a walk, collecting two RBIs. Nick Gordon, Edgar Corcino and Sean Miller all had multiple hits as well. The Lookouts did enough with their bats to give starter Stephen Gonsalves plenty of room to work with. Gonsalves pitched six full innings, giving up three earned runs. He walked two and struck out eight, and also gave up a couple of home runs. Gonsalves moved to 2-0 on the year and his ERA is 1.76. Cody Stashak came on for the seventh inning and gave up a run on two hits with the game already out of hand. Chattanooga 3, Jacksonville 2 (Game 2) Box Score The Lookouts saved just enough runs to win the second game of the doubleheader, coming from behind to win a 3-2 ballgame. Nick Gordon was 2-for-3 with a solo home run. Brian Navarreto had a nice game as well, going 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. Tanner English added the other RBI on a sac fly as part of a 1-for-1 night, hitting ninth. Zander Wiel struggled in the second game, he was 0-for-3 with three strike outs. Ryan Eades pitched 3 2/3 innings. He gave up one run on four hits. He walked one and struck out six before being lifted for Omar Bencomo. Bencomo picked up the win with the Lookouts scoring late, he pitched 3 1/3 innings, gave up four hits and a run. He walked none and struck out four. MIRACLE MATTERS Dunedin 8, Fort Myers 4 Box Score Fort Myers led the game 4-1 after four and a half innings, but gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth, and then five runs in the seventh to fall to the Dunedin Blue Jays. Starter Anthony Marzi went 4 1/3 innings, and scattered seven hits, and three runs. He walked two, struck out five, and left the game with a lead. Colton Davis gave up three runs in just 1 2/3 innings on three hits, and two walks. He struck out one and was tagged with the loss. Ryan Mason pitched the final two innings, giving up a couple runs of his own on two hits. He walked one and struck out four. Jimmy Kerrigan was 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI to lead the way for the Miracle. Alex Perez was the only other batter with multiple hits, 2-for-5 with three strike outs. Jaylin Davis reached base four times with a 1-for-2 night that included three walks. The Miracle were just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, stranding 11 base runners. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids @ Beloit – Postponed, Inclement Weather The Kernels and the Snappers game will be made up as part of the Kernel’s HOME series against Cedar Rapids in June as this is the last trip that the Cedar Rapids makes to Beloit in the first half of the season. Because of terrible weather in the Midwest, the Kernels haven’t played since Friday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Matt Magill, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Zander Wiel, Chattanooga Lookouts THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester - OFF Chattanooga (6:15pm Central) – Lewis Thorpe (0-1, 5.40) Fort Myers (5:30pm Central) – Tyler Wells (1-0, 2.00) Cedar Rapids (Double header, 4:00pm Central) – Game 1: Blayne Enlow (0-0, 2.08), Game 2: Tyler Watson (1-0, 1.69) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday's games. Click here to view the article

I started writing this post, and it got so long I probably should have published it as a blog. Please put energy into this. This sounds like a winning combination of many of the thoughts and comments I've read so far. Also, as someone who has been writing at TD for a couple of years now, almost exclusively doing Minor League Reports once a week, I really enjoy lurking in the comments section and chatting with readers (or finding edits I need to make in the post thanks to the careful eye of the reader). I did like a comment from a reader earlier that mentioned having MiLB-team specific writers, which would be an interesting take as opposed to having the daily MiLB round-ups, or maybe in addition to that. There is a lot to be gained from following one of those teams daily like Steve has done with the Kernels, that I feel like I miss, even when I'm tuned in deeply once a week for MiLB report writing, and sort of tuned in the rest of the week. I find myself at the other end from many of the comments above, where I actually go to the blogs and articles and seek to pop some comments in there, rather than wading through the great many forums (I get exhausted just thinking about jumping into a forum topic that is 300 posts long and trying to catch up on a conversation that's been going on for weeks, and can never seem to jump into the ones I want right as they're starting). Someone mentioned the Peanuts from Heaven blog above, as a place where you might not necessarily find lots of research-heavy writing, but where you could find someone writing with a point of view, and something interesting to say about the Twins. And there have been so many other sites like that along the way. Twins Fan from Afar, I mentioned Steve before, but Knuckleballs was a fun little site with a handfull of writiers that Steve rounded up thanks to some fun little game chats he hosted on the site, the work that Panda Pete is doing and many others, some of the podcasts that have come and gone over the years (especially Seth's MiLB report show where he interviewed all the players, even with the spotty audio quality thanks to cell phone calls and the suckiness of Blog Talk radio, and even guys like Fanatic Jack who just ranted and railed against everything Twins, but it was a dude with some passion, the ever-present misanthrope). Also, Brandon Swanson out there, wherever you are, making bad photoshops (or Microsoft Paint) of Twins players as birds. All of it out there, people with passion, a bunch of cool stuff. All of this to say, I love the blogs, and I wish there was a way to make that content more relevant to the forum readers and conversation havers, and some sort of hybrid way to get them all connected feels like a great way to re-engage some dormant writers, and encourage new ones to start putting their thoughts out in more than just a couple sentences.

The Twins came from behind to win with three runs in the top of the ninth, holding on to the second wild card spot for another day. In the minor leagues, the E-Twins start the championship series, the Kernels look to move on to the championship, and the Lookouts try and build on their Wednesday night victory. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday. Transactions: Carlos Suniaga was promoted to Elizabethton from the GCL Twins.CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Montgomery 3 @ Chattanooga 2 Box Score Chattanooga gave up a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, starting the game with three consecutive singles and a sacrifice fly to plate two runs. After a bumpy first inning, Lookouts starter Dereck Rodriguez settled down and went deep into the game. He gave up no more runs after the two in the first, went 7.0 innings, struck out seven, and walked no one. He was lifted for Cody Stashak, who gave up a run in the top of the eighth, which ended up being the difference maker. After they fell behind early, the Lookouts battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, before Stashak coughed up the lead an inning later. The Lookouts were led by Max Murpy, 2-4 with an RBI double and T.J. White, who launched a solo home run to tie the game in the seventh. The bottom of the Lookouts order really struggled on Thursday night, a combined 0-9 for the 7-8-9 hitters. The Lookouts had opportunities, but were 0-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding all eight of those runners. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7 @ Kane County 3 Box Score A big fourth inning led the Kernels back to the Western Division Championship Series for the fourth straight year. The Kernels scored six runs in the fourth, erasing an early two-run deficit, topped by a Trey Cabbage three-run homer, his only hit on a 1-2 night that included a walk. Jimmy Kerrigan had a big night at the plate as well, 3-5 with a pair of runs scored. Manager Tommy Watkins acknowledged to Kernels beat reporter Jeff Johnson that they found a tip in the Cougars pitcher. "“You know what, we got a hit and got him in the stretch. We had something on him, and it was more out of the stretch than in the windup." Read Jeff's story in its entirety here. Clark Beeker went 7.0 innings, scattered nine hits and gave up three runs (two earned) while walking three and striking out six. He was lifted for Colton Davis who gave the team 1.2 innings of two-hit baseball before Hector Lujan came in to get the final out of the game against the only batter he faced to preserve the win. The Kernels will await the winner of the Peoria and Quad Cities deciding Game 3 on Thursday night, and will begin the Championship Series on the road on Saturday. E-Twins E-Notes Pulaski 1 @ Elizabethton 12 Box Score In the first game of the Championship Series, the Twins let Pulaski know they were ready to get down to business, blasting the Yankees 12-1. The Twins were led by J.J. Robinson, 3-4 with two RBIs and T.J. Dixon, 3-3 with a double, a home run, a walk and three runs scored! Nick Brown earned the win with 6.0 innings of one-run baseball. He gave up five hits, walked three, and struck out three. Ryley Widell gave the Twins 2.0 innings of scoreless baseball, and recorded five of his six outs via the strikeout, but he also walked a pair of guys and gave up three hits. Jose Martinez finished the game with 1.0 inning, he gave up just one hit, no runs, no walks, no strike outs. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Clark Beeker, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – T.J. Dixon, Elizabethton Twins FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Chattanooga @ Montgomery (6:35pm) – TBD Cedar Rapids - Off Elizabethton @ Pulaski( 6:00pm) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games. Click here to view the article

The Twins were well rested on Tuesday night after the off-day, and picked up a win against a White Sox squad that bested the Twins in a five-game series last week.Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Tuesday. Transactions: Twins sent Hector Santiago on rehab in Rochester, and the Lookouts sent Matt Tracy on a rehab assignment in the GCL. Anthony Marzi was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1 @ Scranton/WB 8 Box Score It is hard to win a game when you only score one run, and harder yet when you give up eight of them, and so it was as Rochester dropped Tuesday’s game against Scranton. Matt Hague was the only Wings player with multiple hits, 2-4 with a walk. The Wings had no extra-base hits, and walked just twice as a team, against 8 strike- outs. Tough night for Carlos Paulino who was 0-4 with 3 strike outs and he had a throwing error and a passed ball behind the dish. Hector Santiago went just 2.2 innings, gave up a hit, a run, walked two and struck out one in the first outing of his rehab assignment. Santiago was lifted for Chris Heston, who gave up six runs (five earned) in just 0.2 innings. He gave up five hits, walked two, struck out two, and gave up as many home runs as outs recorded. Luke Bard gave the Red Wings 1.2 innings of one run ball, striking out three. Nik Turley pitched 2.0 strong innings, giving up a hit, and struck out two. Mason Melotakis finished the game, giving up a hit in an inning of work. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3 @ Jackson 1 Box Score Chattanooga took a 2-1 lead in the fourth and then hung on the rest of the way, adding an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Even though he was 3-4 with three doubles, T.J. White played second fiddle to his teammate. Jonathan Rodriguez was the hero of the day, 1-4 with a two-run home run, driving in the winning run. LaMonte Wade had a nice day at the dish as well, 2-3 with two runs scored, a double and a walk. Great night on the bump for Randy LeBlanc. He earned the win moving to 4-4, with 7.1 innings of one-run (unearned) ball. He struck out two, walked one and scattered six hits. Gabriel Moya earned the five-out save, giving up a hit and striking out one. Moya lowered his ERA on the season to 0.80. Moya, if you have forgotten, was the return from the Diamondbacks in the John Ryan Murphy trade. Moya has a 0.71 ERA with the Lookouts over 12 games (12.2 IP), with 16 strikeouts and just three walks. On the year, he has 84 strike outs and only 15 walks. Looking like a pretty nice pickup. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5 @ St. Lucie 3 Box Score Fort Myers scored all five of their runs in the fifth inning, but did enough damage against the St. Lucie Mets to earn a road win. Three of the Lookouts nine hits were for extra bases, all doubles, one each from Sean Miller, Mitchell Kranson and Zandier Wiel. Wiel also added a stolen base. The Lookouts should have scored a few more runs on Tuesday night, but were just 1-10 with runners in scoring position. Brent Rooker did not hit a dinger, going 0-3, with a run scored, the first time he has been hitless since August 16th, almost 2 weeks ago. Starter Sean Poppen earned a win with 5.0 innings of three-run baseball. He gave up six hits, struck out five and walked just one. The Bullpen then did great work the rest of the way, holding the Mets to just one hit for the next four innings. One inning from Michael Theofanopoulos (he gave up the hit), 2.0 innings from Sam Clay, and 1.0 from Tom Hackimer, earning his sixth save of the year. The Miracle pitchers struck out 10 batters on Tuesday night, and walked four. E-Twins E-Notes Elizabethton 6 @ Kingsport 3 Box Score The Elizabethon Twins were electric in the late innings, tying the game with a run in the top of the eighth, and putting the game out of reach with a three-spot in the ninth. The Twins got home runs from Wander Javier (three-run jack in the ninth), Jose Miranda (solo show tin the eighth), and J.J. Robinson (two-run dinger in the fourth). Rainis Silva didn’t have any home runs, but was 3-5 on the night, a pretty good day at the plate, and he’s now hitting .330. Randy Dobnak put the Twins in a position to win, pitching 5.0 innings, giving up just one run and striking out four. Then Jose Martinez came in, giving up a pair of runs over 2.0 innings and finally, Jovani Moran vultured a W when the Twins took a late lead, as he gave the club 2.0 scoreless innings, walking one and striking out FIVE. Moran has now stuck out five batters in his last four appearances (2.0, 2.0, 2.1, and 2.0 IP respectively), good for 20 Ks against just 2 walks. Moran was a seventh round draftee in the 2015 draft out of Puerto Rico, and has excelled as a closer for E-Town after missing 2016 due to the removal of bone chips in his elbow. GCL Twins Takes GCL Rays 2 @ GCL Twins 3 (Game 1) Box Score The Twins and Rays played a doubleheader to make up for Monday’s rain out, with each team taking a turn as the home team at the Twins complex on Tuesday afternoon. The home team ended up winning both games! In Game 1, the Twins used a couple of Rays errors to score some extra runs, taking advantage of what the Rays gave them to get a win, despite going just 2-11 with runners in scoring position. Ricky De La Torre was 2-3 with a run scored, and Jared Akins was 2-3 as a well. Benjamin Rodriguez had the only RBI of the night, an RBI single, part of a 1-2 night with a walk, and a run scored. Matt Tracy pitched 4.0 innings, on a rehab start from Chattanooga, gave up just 2 hits and one run. He walked no one and struck out six. He was replaced by Blayne Enlow, who earned the win with 3.0 innings of three-hit, one-run baseball. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 0 @ GCL Rays 1 (Game 2) Box Score In Game 2, with the Rays masquerading as the home team, the Twins fell 1-0. Twins bats couldn’t do much, and Alex Robles (2-3, 2B) had half of the team’s hits. Twins pitchers only gave up two hits in the second half of the doubleheader, but a handful of walks helped the Rays win. Starter Tyler Benninghoff started the game with 2.0 scoreless innings. He faced the minimum, and struck out two. Pedro Garcia was tagged with the loss, as he gave up a run over 3.0 innings, he walked three and struck out four. Zach Featherstone finished the game for the Twins, 1.0 inning, one hit, and one strikeout. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy LeBlanc, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – T.J. White, Chattanooga Lookouts WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/WB (6:05pm) – Adalberto Mejia (0-1, 3.48) Chattanooga @ Jackson (5:30pm) - TBD Fort Myers @ St. Lucie (5:30pm) – Clark Beeker (1-1, 9.00) Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35pm) – Tyler Watson (0-3, 4.84) Elizabethton @ Kingsport (5:30pm) - TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00am) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Tuesday's games. Click here to view the article

The Twins gave one away in Chicago because they couldn’t manage to score many runs. It must have been a theme for the Twins affiliates on Thursday night, as most of the teams struggled to put guys on base, and paid the price. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday.Transactions: The Twins recalled Zack Granite from Rochester, and to take his place, the Red Wings grabbed Levi Michael from Chattanooga. RED WINGS REPORT Scranton/WB 8 @ Rochester 3 Box Score The Scranton RailRiders chased Red Wings starter Chris Heston after he faced eight batters in the fourth without recording an out. Heston’s line on the afternoon was 3.0+ IP, eight hits, seven runs (six earned), two walks, a strike out, and two home runs. Not a great day. Luke Bard came in to stop the damage, but the Wings were already in a deep hole. Bard went 2.2, and he gave up a run on four hits, walked one and struck out five. Mason Melotakis gave the Wings 2.0 innings of hitless baseball, but he walked three against just one strikeout. Jake Reed finished the game with 1.1 innings of one-hit ball. The Wings only recorded six hits, one each from Niko Goodrum, Daniel Palka, Leonardo Reginatto, J.B. Shuck, Anthony Recker, and Engelb Vielma. ByungHo Park was 0-4 with 3 K's. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Mississippi 6 @ Chattanooga 2 Box Score Just four hits for the Lookouts in a game in which they trailed 6-0 before they did anything with the bats. Jonathan Rodriguez led the Lookouts with a 2-3 night on a two-run homer, a double and a walk. What a day for the kid! Nick Gordon was 1-4 and Max Murphy was 1-3 with a walk, the only other players with hits for the Lookouts on Thursday. Fernando Romero was chased after just five innings. He gave up nine hits, six runs (five earned), walked no one and struck out three. Todd Van Steensel gave the Lookouts 2.0 innings of scoreless relief, and then Randy Rosario and Nick Anderson each pitched in 1.0 innings of scoreless, hitless ball. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5 @ Clearwater 8 Box Score The Miracle gave up a five-spot in the bottom of the third inning that ultimately kept them from winning on Thursday night. Starter Clark Beeker survived the third and finished the fourth inning, but the damage was done, and the Miracle could not overcome the hole. Beeker went 4.0 innings, gave up 13 (THIRTEEN) hits, seven runs (all earned) and he walked and struck out one. Williams Ramirez gave up a run over 2.0 innings, and Michael Theofanopoulos gave the Miracle 2.0 no-hit innings, walking one and striking out four. With the bats, the Miracle did enough to keep the game close, but they were just 1-9 with runners in scoring position, stranding six runners. Brent Rooker was 2-4 with three RBI, a two-run homer and a run scored. Dude is raking! Nelson Molina had the other RBI for the Miracle on Thursday, going 1-4 with a double and a strikeout. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6 @ Kane County 3 Box Score The Kernels used a balanced attack, and three runs in the top of the ninth inning to put away the Cougars, 6-3. The Kernels collected 11 hits, with no one having more than two, and six walks. Aaron Whitefield was the best hitter on the night, with a run scored, an RBI and a walk. But he gave a little back with a throwing error from Center Field and he was caught stealing! Anthony Marzi went 5.0 innings, gave up just three hits, one run, and walked and struck out two. Colton Davis picked up both a blown save and a win with 3.0 innings of four-hit, two-run baseball. He walked one and struck out two. Eduardo Del Rosario earned his first save for the Kernels, pitching a scoreless ninth. E-Twins E-Notes Bristol 10 @ Elizabethton 2 Box Score Classic butt-kicking in Elizabethton. The Twins gave up five in the fifth, four in the eighth and another in the top of the ninth just to make sure the game was out of reach. They surrendered 16 hits en route to giving up 10 runs, all earned. Bailey Ober fell to 2-2 after 5.0 innings of seven-hit, five-run baseball. He walked none and struck out seven, but just could not keep the ball from being hit all over the place. Juan Gamez did well enough with 2.1 innings of relief, giving up just one run on two hits. But Jose Martinez gave up four runs before he was lifted after 1.0 innings, giving up seven hits. Ricky Ramirez finished the game with 0.2 innings of scoreless ball. Not much doing with the sticks, as the Twins spread out their five hits between just three players. Two each for Jose Miranda and T.J. Dixon, and both with triples! The other hit was off the bat of DH Wander Javier, a single. The Twins struck out 11 times as a team against just two walks. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 7 @ GCL Orioles 1 Box Score With the game tied 1-1 after five innings, the Twins put two on the board in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings to take the game 7-1. The Twins were outhit 7-13, but used three Orioles errors to earn three unearned runs to knock the game open. Colton Burns led the Twins with a 2-3 night that included a pair of walks. And Ricky De La Torres was 1-5 but he had a two-run homers and a pair of runs scored to go along with three strikeouts. Starter Carlos Suniaga moved to 4-0 with 5.2 innings of one-run baseball. He gave up nine hits, but didn’t walk anyone, and struck out four. He was replaced by Kevin Marnon who recorded a 10-out save. Marnon gave up four hits, but likewise did not walk anyone, and had five strikeouts of his own. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Carlos Suniaga, GCL Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Brent Rooker, Fort Myers Miracle FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05pm) – Stephen Gonsalves (1-1, 5.06) Mississippi @ Chattanooga (6:15pm) - TBD Charlotte @Fort Myers (6:05pm) – Brady Anderson (6-8, 4.16) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:35pm) – Charlie Barnes (2-0, 3.18) Bristol @ Elizabethton (6:00pm) – Ryley Widell (0-2, 2.08) GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00am) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games. Click here to view the article

The Twins dropped a truly frustrating game in the first half of a doubleheader, and then rode a great debut from Aaron Slegers over 6.1 innings, to win the nightcap. And Glen Perkins pitched for the first time in 10,000 days, or close to that. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday, including three different relievers starting games!Transactions: The Twins recalled Aaron Slegers from Rochester, and Rochester grabbed Yohan Pino from Chattanooga to take Slegers’ spot. As we reported yesterday, Kohl Stewart will be called up to the Red Wings on Friday and make his first AAA start. The Twins recalled Nik Turley from Rochester, optioning Buddy Boshers to Rochester to make room. Cedar Rapids added Amaurys Minier to the seven-day DL, and activated Travis Blankenhorn from the DL. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1 @ Columbus 4 Box Score The Red Wings could not figure out Columbus Clippers starter Adam Plutko, who gave up just six hits and struck out six over 7.0 innings. The Clippers bullpen kept the Wings off the board for the rest of the game. With just six hits, and a single run scored, not a great day at the plate for the Red Wings, but Kennys Vargas had a nice day, going 2-4 with a double, and Engelb Vielma was 2-3. Reliever Drew Rucinski started his first game of the year for Rochester and only lasted 2.1 innings, giving up a pair of runs, on a pair of hits. He also walked one and struck out one. Yohan Pino came in and gave the Red Wings 3.1 innings of relief, but he also gave up a pair of runs while giving up three hits, walking no one and striking out three. Mason Melotakis kept the Clippers off the board for five outs, and Luke Bard finished the game, striking out the only two hitters he faced. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga @ Tennessee Box Score With a 6-4 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Lookouts gave up seven runs in the bottom half of the inning when the wheels fell off for Randy Rosario. Rosario pitched a scoreless seventh, and then recorded only one out in the eighth. He was charged with six runs on six hits and two walks. Sam Clay came in and gave up a run of his own, and walked three in just 0.2 innings. Just like that, the game was seemingly out of reach. Chattanooga turned things around in the top of the ninth inning, and thanks in part to SIX walks, took 12-11 lead, pushing their sixth and winning run across on a LaMonte Wade single with just one out in the ninth. Nick Anderson came on for the save, gave up a couple of singles, and struck three guys out to preserve the come- from-behind win for Sam Clay and the Lookouts. LaMonte Wade led the way for the Lookouts on Thursday night, going 3-6 with that game-winning RBI. Edgar Corcino hit his third homer of the season, a grand slam, on a 1-4 night with a walk, a run scored and 5 RBI. Nick Gordon was 1-4 with three RBI and a walk. MIRACLE MATTERS Lakeland @ Fort Myers Cancelled – Wet Grounds KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 11 @ Burlington 1 Box Score The Kernels dropped a beat-down on the Burlington Bees on Thursday night, defeating the Bees at home, 8-0. Seemingly unable to do any wrong, Royce Lewis had another multi-hit game, going 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Aaron Whitefield was 3-4 with two doubles and three RBI. Lewin Diaz added three hits as well, going 3-5 with a double and a run scored. Patrick McGuff, another reliever starting for the Twins MiLB teams on Thursday, went 4.0 innings, gave up no hits, walked two, struck out one, and kept the Bees off the board. Evan Sanders came up with 3.0 scoreless innings of his own, with two hits, one walk and two strikeouts. Colton Davis finished things off, holding the Bees hitless for 2.0 innings, walking no one and striking out two. E-Twins E-Notes Elizabethton 11 @ Bristol 1 Box Score Boom! What a butt kicking by the Elizabethton Twins! The Twins dropped five in the second, two more in the third, and three more in the fourth to go up 10-0 before Bristol knew what hit them. The Twins used 18 hits to batter the Bristol Pirates, including 9-23 with runners in scoring position. J.J. Robinson was 3-5 with a home run. Wander Javier was 2-5 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs scored and Mark Contreras was 4-5 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored. What a game! The Twins pitching staff had a great night as well, with starter Randy Dobnak picking up his first win of the year, going 6.0 innings, yielding six hits, one run scored, three walks and striking out eight. Blair Lakso gave up a hit over 2.0 innings, and Jose Martinez shut down the Pirates in the ninth, retiring all three batters he faced. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 5 @ GCL Rays 4 Box Score The GCL Twins put up four runs in the top of the first inning, including a pair of runs before getting a hit after leadoff batter Emmanuel advanced to first base after striking out on a throwing error, and then two walks, a passed ball and a pair of ground outs. The other two runs came courtesy of a Jared Akins home run to right field. Akins, a 2017 13th-round draftee hit his second home run in the past week and has multiple hits in three of his last five games. Akins finished the game 2-3, adding a single and a walk. Reliever Austin Bizzle, a 40th-round 2017 draftee, started for the Twins and gave up a run, a hit, a walk, and struck out one in 1.0 inning of work. He was replaced quickly by Landon Leach who went 4.0 innings, who gave up a pair of runs and hits. Carlos Suniaga finished things up for the Twins, pitching 4.0 innings, giving up just one hit, an unearned run (two fielding errors in the 9th from Roni Tapia), and he struck out three. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy Dobnak, Elizabethton Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Mark Contreras, Elizabethton Twins FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Louisville (6:05pm) – Kohl Stewart (AAA debut) Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:00pm) – Felix Jorge (9-3, 3.52) Fort Myers @ Tampa (6:00pm) - Clark Beeker (0-0, -.--) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35pm) – Anthony Marzi (4-2, 2.11) Elizabethton @ Bristol (5:00pm) – Bailey Ober (1-1, 2.12) GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (11:00am) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games. Click here to view the article

The big league team continues to disappoint, and while the first half of the season was pretty fun, the Twins are now just a pair of games ahead of the Tigers and have won just twice in their last 10 games. The stretch run could be pretty brutal, but that means we should see plenty of September call-ups. In the minors, we had some strong performances from Felix Jorge, a rehabbing Glen Perkins, and a big day at the plate from J.B. Shuck.Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday. RED WINGS REPORT Lehigh Valley 2 @ Rochester 5 Box Score Hector Santiago struck out 9 over 5.2 innings. He gave up a run on five hits, the damage coming via a solo home run. He walked just one. Big league cast-off Michael Tonkin gave the Red Wings 1.2 innings of relief. He gave up a couple of hits and a run, but pitched well enough to earn a hold. John Curtiss came in for a five-out save, gave up a hit, and walked two to earn his sixth save of the season. J.B. Shuck led the way for the Red Wings with the bat, he was 3-4 with a double and a run scored. Daniel Palka was 2-4 with a home run, his 10th of the year. ByungHo Park was 2-5 with a run scored and has 13 hits in his last nine games, including a pair of home runs. He’s also struck out 15 times over that same span, so maybe he isn’t hitting his way back to the Twin Cities any time soon. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4 @ Montgomery 0 Box Score What a nice day from Felix Jorge. The little stud-muffin gave up just four hits over 7.2 innings, and kept the Montgomery Biscuits off the board. He walked two, and struck out five. After back to back starts in the middle of July when he gave up six earned runs, he’s turned in two great performances, including a complete game one-run game less than a week ago. Nick Anderson came in to help Jorge finish the eighth, and grabbed himself his fifth save of the year by making quick work of Montgomery over 1.1 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.19. Ryan Walker did most of the work for the Lookouts, with a run scoring single in the second, and a two-run double in the top of the ninth to extend the lead. Centerfielder Levi Michael added the other RBI for the Lookouts, going 1-4 with a K. He’s hitting well lately and has tallied 17 hits in his last 9 games, raising his average 25 points. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 3 @ Fort Myers 4 Box Score The Miracle won on Thursday in a back and forth game that saw the Miracle take the lead in the fifth, again in the seventh after the game was tied, lose the lead in the top of the eighth, and then walked-off with a Nelson Molina home run to start the ninth! Molina was 2-4 with that home run and a pair of runs scored. Following the walk-off, Nelson Molina told Twins Daily, "It's a unique feeling. It's so great really. I just thank God for that great feeling." Recent draftee Brent Rooker was 1-4 with two strikeouts. On the bump, Glen Perkins pitched a clean first inning in his rehab start. He was replaced by Brady Anderson who gave the Miracle 5.0 innings of one-run baseball, giving up four hits, and he struck out two. Then it was an inning each from Tom Hackimer (one hit, no runs scored), Andrew Vasquez (one hit, two runs scored, a walk, and a blown save), and Alex Muren (a hit, two strikeouts, and the all-important W, thanks to Molina). In giving up a pair of runs, Vasquez broke a 24-inning scoreless streak to start his Miracle career. KERNELS NUGGETS Kane County 6 @ Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score The Kernels gave up 15 (FIFTEEN!) hits to Kane County and fell just 6-1 only because the Cougars were just 2-13 with men in scoring position. Tyler Watson was tagged with the loss after 5.1 innings of seven-hit, four-run baseball. He walked one and struck out four. He was replaced by Patrick McGuff who gave up a pair of runs over 1.2 innings. And Ryan Mason finished the game off with, 2.0 innings, four hits, and three strikeouts. Like the Cougars, the Kernels squandered some scoring chances. They were just 2-12 with RISP and stranded 11 runners. The Cedar Rapids 3-4-5 hitters were a combined 1-11 with no walks and three strikeouts. Jimmy Kerrigan was 2-5 at the top of the order, and Travis Blankenhorn was 2-4 with a walk, really the only bright spots on the night. E-Twins E-Notes Burlington 4 @ Elizabethton 1 Box Score The E-Town Twins were down 4-0 before they pushed a run across in the bottom of the seventh, but ultimately squandered too many chances on Thursday night, going 0-8 with runners in scoring position and stranding six runners. All eight of the Twins’ hits were singles, and they lost another out on the basepaths when Akil Baddoo was caught stealing in the bottom of the sixth. Baddoo, however, led the team offensively, going 2-4 with a walk, reaching three times. Starter Edwar Colina turned in a quality start, giving up three runs over 6.0 innings. HE gave up four hits, walked 3three and struck out six. He was replaced by Jared Finkel (or was it ?*), who gave up a run and two hits in 2.0 innings, also giving up a walk and striking out a pair. Jovani Moran pitched the ninth, giving up no hits, but he walked a pair and struck out a pair. GCL Twins Takes GCL Rays 2 @ GCL Twins 3 Box Score Tyler Wells started for the Twins and faced just nine batters over 3.0 perfect innings. He struck out three batters as a bonus. He was replaced by Matt Jones, who gave up an unearned run over 3.1 innings of two-hit baseball and collected the win. He walked three and struck out two. Amilcar Cruiz earned a hold and gave up an earned run without giving up a hit when one of his runners scored after he (Cruiz) was lifted from the game after walking the first two batters in the ninth. Zach Featherstone earned his second save of the year coming in for Cruiz in the ninth. He struck out the first batter he faced, then gave up a double that scored two runs to make it a 3-2 game with a man on second and one out. Featherstone promptly struck out the next two batters to preserve the save, and the victory, for the Twins. The Twins had just six hits on the night, and no one had more than a pair of hits. Luckily for the Twins, Jean Carlos Arias scored a pair of runs with a two-run home run in the sixth, and Colton Burns accounted for the third run on a solo shot in the seventh. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Felix Jorge, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – J.B. Shuck, Rochester Red Wings FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (4:05pm, Double header) – Game 1: TBD, Game 2: Dietrich Enns (1-1, 2.29 Jackson @ Chattanooga (6:15pm) - Stephen Gonsalves (7-3, 2.90) Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:05pm) – Lewis Thorpe (2-4, 3.06) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35pm) – Clark Beeker (10-3, 2.31) Elizabethton (6:00pm) – Brusdar Graterol (0-0, 4.50) GCL Twins (11:00am) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games. Click here to view the article

I've failed as a blogger for not diving into this.

With the big league team spending the day trying to shake off being swept by the Dodgers, the front office has been busy on the phones. The Twins traded John Ryan Murphy to Arizona, full details here, and there are rumors that Ervin Santana, newly acquired Jaime Garcia, Brandon Kintzler and even Brian Dozier are drawing interest from other teams.Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday. Transactions: Anthony Recker promoted to Rochester from Chattanooga, taking Murphy’s spot, Brian Navarreto was promoted from Fort Myers to Chattanooga to take Recker’s spot, and the Lookouts also added LHP Gabriel Moya (the return for John Ryan Murphy). Twins signed Indy baller Jimmy Kerrigan and have assigned him to Cedar Rapids, and he’ll join the team Saturday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3 @ Indianapolis 1 Box Score I just don’t even know what to do about Kyle Gibson. He started on Thursday night for the Red Wings and tossed 5.0 innings of 1-hit baseball. He struck out five and didn’t walk a soul. Alex Wimmers replaced Gibson, throwing 2.1 innings and giving up no runs, two hits, a walk and grabbed a strikeout. Michael Tonkin threw in 0.2 innings of scoreless ball but then ran into trouble in the ninth, giving up a walk and a pair of hits to start the ninth before striking out the next batter and being replaced by John Curtiss with one out in the ninth and the bases loaded. Curtiss induced a sacrifice fly to give Indianapolis their first run of the night (charged to Tonkin), and then struck out the final batter of the game to earn the save. The Wings used efficient team play, as they had just seven hits, only one for extra bases, a double, to push three runs across, thanks to a lousy 1-10 performance with runners in scoring position. No Wings player had more than one hit, although Kennys Vargas was 1-2 with a double and two walks, and Tommy Field had a pair of walks as well. Niko Goodrum was 1-3 with a walk and a run scored, plus a pair of stolen bases. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Birmingham 9 @ Chattanooga 6 Box Score The Lookouts played from behind most of the night, despite taking an early 1-0 in the first inning. They gave up multiple runs in the third, fourth, sixth and seventh innings, allowing nine runs to cross the plate. Not a great game for the pitching staff. The hitters tallied 11 hits, six for extra bases and threw in another three walks, led by Carlos Paulino, the nine-hitter, who was 2-3 with an RBI, a walk and two runs scored. Nick Gordon was 1-5 with a pair of RBI at the top of the order, and former first-rounder Levi Michael was 2-5 with a solo home run, and 2 RBI. Starter Dereck Rodriguez went 5.2, giving up seven runs, all earned, on six hits and four walks. He struck out four. He was lifted for Randy LeBlanc, who lasted 2.1 innings giving up five hits of his own, and two more runs before Luke Bard came in for the ninth, holding the Barons hitless and grabbing a strike out. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 9 @ Lakeland 2 Box Score The two best performances from the Twins system both came in Lakeland on Thursday night as Eduardo Del Rosario was nearly flawless in his Florida State League debut, and Jermaine Palacios nearly hit the cover off the baseball. Del Rosario pitched 8.0 innings and gave up only gave up one hit, one unearned run, one walk, and he struck out four. This is the second time Del Rosario has thrown 8.0 innings on the year, and might be his best start (though a 7.0 inning shutout game with 10K's back on April 25th is a strong contender as well). Del Rosario turned the ball over to Anthony McIver in the ninth, who ran into a wee bit of trouble and came out after 0.2 innings, after giving up a pair of hits and an unearned run. He was replaced by Andrew Vasquez who struck out the only batter he faced to end the game. Big day with the sticks for the Miracle as Tanner English, Jermaine Palacios and Brent Rooker all went deep as part of a nine-run outburst. Palacios led the way with a 4-5 night that included a solo home run, and three RBI. Zander Wiel also had a nice day, 3-5 with a run scored. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1 @ Peoria 3 (Game 1) Box Score In the first game of two 7-inning games on Thursday night (making up for a rain out on Wednesday) the Kernels took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first but gave up a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning and never scored again. The Kernels were just 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. No player had multiple hits, but three of the five hits were doubles, one each from Travis Blankenhorn, Ben Rortvedt and Amaurys Minier. The Kernels got a full game out of their starter Tyler Beardsley on just six innings, saving the bullpen for game two. Beardsley pitched 6.0 innings, gave up six hits, three earned runs, struck out one, and gave up a home run. Beardsley gave up a fair number of hits, but was fairly efficient over six innings, throwing just 80 pitches. Quick game at Dozer Park in Peoria, even for a 7-inning game, clocking in just under an hour and a half at 87 minutes. Cedar Rapids 0 @ Peoria 4 (Game 2) Box Score Kernels starter Evan Sanders struggled through 4.0 innings, giving up just three hits, but he walked six and gave up four earned runs. He also struck out four. With a fully rested bullpen after the first game, it was time to bring in a reliever and Patrick McGuff got the call in the fifth. McGuff gave Cedar Rapids 2.0 innings of scoreless ball, giving up a pair of hits and recording three strikeouts. After not scoring for the final six innings in the early game, the Kernels extended their scoreless streak to 13 innings, failing to bring anyone home. The Kernels had just three hits, and a pair of walks for five base runners, and were 0-3 with runners in scoring position. Travis Blankenhorn, Lewin Diaz and Trey Cabbage all had singles. Lewin Diaz and Caleb Hamilton walked. E-Twins E-Notes Elizabethton @ Princeton Postponed, Rain GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 8 @ GCL Orioles 14 Box Score It takes a lot to blow a 5-0 lead, but after seeing the Twins do in earlier this week, the GCL Twins figured they’d give it a try as well. Up 5-0 heading into the bottom of the third, the GCL Twins gave up 11 runs. A lot of things have to go wrong to give up 11 runs in an inning. But three errors, a passed ball, a home run, a walk, a pair of intentional walks, a walk, six singles and a double will pretty much do it every time. All that before an inning-ending double play. Not a great day for starter Taylor Clemensia who gave up seven runs, but just two earned, through 2.1 innings. Amilcar Cruz suffered as well, giving up four runs, all earned, over 2.2 innings before turning the ball over to Joe Rosenstein who got into the run-giving up game as well, giving up a three spot over 2.2 innings. Dane Hutcheon, mercifully, ended the eighth, and the night for GCL Twins pitchers, striking out the only batter he faced. Hutcheon, you may not be aware, is an infielder. The GCL Twins did manage put eight runs across the plate, so a couple of guys had pretty solid days, led by Benjamin Rodriguez 3-5 with a double, a run scored and 3 RBI. Royce Lewis was 2-4 with three runs scored. Every other GCL Twins player had a hit, except Roni Tapia, who was 0-4 with a K. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Eduardo Del Rosario, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jermaine Palacios, Fort Myers Miracle FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Toledo (6:05pm) – Tim Melville (3-3, 2.63) Birmingham @ Chattanooga (6:15pm) – Fernando Romero (9-6, 2.68) Fort Myers @Lakeland (5:30pm) – Brady Anderson (4-6, 4.65) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (7:00pm) – Domenick Carlini (3-8, 5.40) Elizabethton @ Princeton (4:00pm) – Bryan Sammons (1-0, 1.83) GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00am) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games. Click here to view the article

Felix Jorge is back in Minnesota and will pitch on Friday against the Orioles, and the Twins won the series opener on Thursday night, quickly righting the ship after faltering in the series finale against Anaheim on Wednesday evening. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday.Transactions: Twins option Alan Busenitz to Rochester to make room for Felix Jorge, Chattanooga Lookouts placed LHP Matt Tracy on the seven-day DL and activate RHP Raul Fernandez from the 7-day DL; Cedar Rapids Kernels placed RF Lean Marrero on the seven-day DL, and Trey Cabbage will be promoted from Elizabethton to replace him. RED WINGS REPORT Pawtucket 1 @ Rochester 0 Box Score Red Wings starter Tim Melville pitched 8.0 innings of one-run (unearned) four-hit baseball, striking out six against just one walk but the rest of the team could not make heads or tails of Red Sox starter Hector Velazquez. Rochester managed just four hits, two from Matt Hague and one each from Kennys Vargas and Niko Goodrum. The Red Wings did not have a single at-bat all night with a runner in scoring position. The low man on the evening was Mitch Garver, 0-4 with 4 strikeouts. After the eight strong innings from Melville, Drew Rucinski struck out two in an inning of relief work. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee 2 @ Chattanooga 1 Box Score Levi Michael was named the Henpecked Chicken’s Hot Player of the Game on Wednesday night after his outstanding performance. He followed that up with a ho-hum 1-3 night, but remains one of the Lookouts hottest hitters. LaMonte Wade led the ball club with a pair of hits as part of his 2-3 night with a double and a run scored. As a team, the Lookouts struck out 12 times on Thursday night and walked just once. The team was 1-4 with men in scoring position and stranded five runners. Not a lot of chances to score runs, but plenty of opportunities to push an extra run across the board. Lookouts starter Fernando Romero went just 5.0 innings, throwing 86 pitches, 58 for strikes. He gave up two runs on six hits, walked one and struck out seven before being replaced by Ryan Eades. Eades gave the Lookouts 3.0 innings in relief, giving up a pair of hits and a walk. He struck out four and kept the Smokies off the board to keep the Lookouts within one. Raul Fernandez kept the Smokies off the board in the top of the ninth, but the Lookouts bats did not have a comeback in them on Thursday night. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 8 @ Tampa 3 Box Score Lewis Thorpe went 5.2 innings and scattered 3three runs on seven hits. He walked four, struck out six and gave up a home run. Thorpe was lifted with a 5-3 lead after throwing 99 pitches and was credited with the victory. Reliever Andrew Vasquez finished the inning without sustaining any further damage. He hit the leadoff man in the seventh, but sent the next three hitters down in order. Tom Hackimer sent the Tampa Yankees down in order in the ninth to seal the victory. Eight runs means plenty of action from the Miracle bats, and the team was led by Zander Wiel who was 4-5 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored. Sean Miller had a big day as well, 3-5 with three RBI. Tanner English had a pair of hits and a walk, drove in a run, scored two, and stole THREE BASES. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 6 @ Cedar Rapids 7 Box Score Cedar Rapids treated the home crowed to quite a game, falling behind three separate times before taking the lead in the bottom of the eighth. The Kernels hit four home runs on the evening, all solo shots from Lewin Diaz, Hank Morrison, Andre Jernigan and Christian Cavaness. Kernels starter Domenick Carlini got beat up a bit, giving up eight hits over 5.0 innings. Surrendering five runs, three walks, a home run, and only stuck out two. He was replaced by Ryan Mason who gave up an unearned run in 2.0 innings, and Colton Davis picked up the win with the final 2.0 scoreless frames, striking out 4, walking none, and facing the minimum. E-Twins E-Notes Princeton 5 @ Elizabethton 8 (Game 1) Box Score Up just one run going into the bottom half of the fifth inning the Twins added an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning, and then three more in the bottom of the sixth, enough to keep them out in front of Princeton after their two-run rally in the ninth came up short. 2017 sandwich round (competitive balance) pick Brent Rooker was 2-3 with a solo home run in the fifth inning, his fourth in just 11 games. Carson Crites led the team with three hits, including a two-run home run, as part of a 3-4 night. Moises Gomez went just 4.2 and gave up three runs on three hits and struck out three. He also walked four. Jose Martinez picked up the win with 2.1 innings of relief, giving up two runs on two hits, striking out four, giving up a walk and a home run. E-Twins E-Notes Princeton 8@ Elizabethton 9 (Game 2) Box Score The E-Twins earned the doubleheader sweep in dramatic walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh inning when Shane Carrier doubled to right field, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then scampered home on a Andrew Bechtold sacrifice fly (video below). In addition to scoring the winning run, Carrier was 2-4 with a pair of runs scored, hit a home run, and drove in three runs. Quite a night for the 2016 eighth-rounder out of Cal State Fullerton. Wander Javier had three hits and a run scored on his 3-4 night. The pitching staff gave up eight runs in seven innings, so not a ton of great performances as starter Melvi Acosta gave up five runs on seven hits over 5.0 innings, and Rickey Ramirez gave up a pair of runs in 1.0 innings, and even the winning pitcher Calvin Faucher gave up a run in his inning, but was bailed out by Carrier. GCL Twins Takes GCL Rays 2 @ GCL Twins 3 Box Score The Twins scored three runs on six hits and held on to beat the Rays 3-2 after falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning. Twins starter Nick Tepesch (on a rehab start from Rochester) went 5.0 innings and gave up a pair of runs on three hits, walked two and struck out three. Pedro Garcia earned the win with 4.0 innings of shutout, no-hit baseball, facing just two over the minimum. He struck out three and walked no one. No real standout performances with the bat, but Alex Robles was 2-3 with a run scored, and Kerby Camacho was 2-4 with an RBI, accounting for two-thirds of the Twins hits between them. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Tim Melvile, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Zander Wiel, Fort Myers Miracle FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05pm) – David Hurlbut (5-5, 3.48) Tennessee @ Chattanooga (6:15pm) - TBD Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05pm) – Anthony McIver (3-2, 2.56) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35pm) – Clark Beeker (7-2, 2.79) Johnson City @ Elizabethton (6:00pm) – TBD GCL Twins @GCL Red Sox (11:00am) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games. Click here to view the article

The Twins let one get away in Fenway, dropping 3 of 4 and falling to 40-37, 1.5 games behind the Cleveland baseball club. There was a full slate of games in the Twins minor leagues. There were lots of transactions. Find out if Zack Granite and Mitch Garver kept their hitting streaks alive. How did Kohl Stewart do in his return? Why did he pitch in Felix Jorge's spot in the Lookouts rotation? So much going on. Plenty of transactions and exciting action below.Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday. Transactions: The Twins sent Ehire Adrianza on rehab assignment in Rochester, LHP Matt Tracy was demoted from Rochester to Chattanooga, RHP Randy LeBlanc demoted from Chattanooga to Fort Myers, Kohl Stewart was activated from the DL in Chattanooga, Andre Jernigan was promoted from Elizabethton to Cedar Rapids, Tyler Wells was placed on the DL with a right elbow strain, and LHP Taylor Clemensia was moved from Elizabethton to the GCL. And you might be interested in this tidbit from Mariana from Twins Latinos: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5 @ Buffalo 4 Box Score Rochester took the lead for the third time in the top of the ninth frame, when Zack Granite (who else?!) singled to lead off the inning and scored on a ByungHo Park single four batters later. Then John Curtiss shut down the Bisons in order in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the win. Granite was 1-4 with a walk and a run scored, and five other players reached base at least two times, led by Matt Hague, who was 2-4 with a double, a walk and a run scored. ByungHo Park was 2-4 with a TRIPLE(!), an RBI, and a run scored to go along with a pair of strikeouts. Park is hitting .342 over his last 10 games and has struck out just 10 times over that same span. The Red Wings used five pitchers to get through nine innings after starter Chris Heston did not make it out of the fifth inning, going just 4.2 innings, giving up three runs, five walks, a home run, while striking out just three. Drew Rucinski came in and did damage control with 1.2 scoreless innings. Mason Melotakis pitched 0.2 innings of hitless baseball, and then Ryan Pressly came on for what looked to be a 2-inning save, but gave up a run and was replaced by John Curtiss to start the ninth. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4 @ Mississippi 1 Box Score The Lookouts used a three-run third inning to get out in front of the Mississippi Braves. The Lookouts scored three runs with one swing of the bat from T.J. White, as he crushed a homer to left center field and chased the Braves starter, Max Fried. The Lookouts added another run on a solo home run from Travis Harrison in the sixth. In addition to the home run, Harrison also had a double as part of his 2-4 night. Nick Gordon struggled at the plate on Thursday night, 0-4 with three strike outs, and he was charged with his 16th error of the season in the field. Kohl Stewart, fresh off of the disabled list, gave the Lookouts 6.0 innings of one run baseball, and that run was unearned. Stewart struck out only two, walked just one, and gave up only four hits. Ryan Eades gave the Lookouts a great bullpen performance, 2.0 innings, facing the minimum and striking out four of the six batters he faced. Luke Bard earned his third save of the year with a 1-2-3 ninth that included a pair of K's. MIRACLE MATTERS Clearwater 2 @ Fort Myers 7(Game 1) Box Score The Miracle tallied 13 hits in their 7-2 win against Clearwater. The Miracle jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and stretched the lead out from there. Lachlan Wells gave up just one run over 5.0 innings, gave up four hits, a walk and struck out four. Williams Ramirez gave up one run in the sixth. Then Tom Hackimer, Andrew Vasquez and Sam Clay combined for three scoreless innings in relief. Max Murphy went 3-5 in the game. Mitchell Kranson, Zander Wiel, Tanner English and Brandon Lopez each had two hits. English hit a double. Lopez and Wiel each drove in two runs. English also stole his eighth and ninth bases. There isn’t a lot more to tell, but HOO BOY, Tim Tebow (!!!!!!) and the Port Lucie Mets are coming to town on Friday and the Miracle are kicking things off with an informal Tim Tebow (!!!!!!) press conference at 3:25 in the visitors dugout. MIRACLE MATTERS Clearwater @ Fort Myers (Game 2) Postponed due to rain KERNELS NUGGETS Burlington 3 @ Cedar Rapids 11 Box Score The Kernels put up 11 runs on 15 hits, led by shortstop Gorge Munoz who was 4-5 with a home run, a double and five RBI. Hank Morrison had a big game as well, 3-4 with a double, a pair of RBI, and a run scored. Cedar Rapids also got a big day from starting pitching Sean Poppen who struck out nine Burlington Bees over 7.0 innings. Poppen gave up three runs (all unearned), on five hits. He did not walk a single hitter. Alex Robinson and Hector Lujan each pitched 1-2-3 innings to close out the Kernels blowout. E-Twins E-Notes Elizabethton 8 @ Kingsport 7 Box Score Elizabethton moved to 5-3 on the young season after an 11-inning thriller in Kingsport. The Twins took a 6-5 lead in the top of the 10th inning, but could not contain the Kingsport Mets in the bottom of the inning. Then in the eleventh things got weird as the Twins scored a pair of runs after a two-out double followed by three straight walks and then a HBP. The Twins gave up another run in the bottom of the eleventh but held on for the win. Trey Cabbage had a big night, 2-6 at the plate with a double and a triple. He scored two runs and had two RBI. Twins starter Huascar Ynoa gave up two runs (both earned) over 4.0 innings. He struck out two, walked three, and gave up six hits. Ynoa was replaced by Jared Finkel who struggled through 2.0 innings, giving up three hits, three earned runs, and two walks. Blair Lakso saved the day with 3.0 scoreless innings to get the Twins to extra innings and Juan Gamez recorded a blown save and got the win, pitching both of the extra frames. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 1 @ GCL Orioles 0 Box Score The GCL Twins scored a run in the top of the first inning, and that was the end of the scoring for the Twins and Orioles on Thursday afternoon. The Twins pitching staff held the Orioles to just three hits, all singles. Starter Pedro Garcia went 6.2 innings and gave up three hits, a walk, and struck out four. He was replaced by Vadim Balan for the remaining seven outs. Balan gave up no hits, no runs, walked two and struck out two. The Twins had just six hits in the game. Akil Baddoo had two hits including a double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Sean Poppen, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Gorge Munoz, Cedar Rapids Kernels FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05pm) – Tim Melville (2-0, 3.68) Chattanooga @ Mississippi (7:00pm) – Dereck Rodriguez (1-0, 4.50) St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (6:05pm) – Lewis Thorpe (1-2, 2.05) Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:30pm) – Domenick Carlini (3-6, 5.46) Elizabethton @ Kingsport (5:30pm) – Moises Gomez (0-0, 27.00) GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00am) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games. Click here to view the article

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