Jeremy Nygaard

The Twins open a series in Tampa on Monday evening. They are very much in the thick of the playoff race on Labor Day, which is a pleasant surprise. All of the affiliates also entered the latter part of their season - where most team's regular season ends on Labor Day - in the playoff race as well. See how all the affiliates fared in the last regular season edition of the minor league report. (There's a twist... IT LOOKS DIFFERENT.)9:30 pm update: The E-Twins evened the series with Greeneville with a convincing 14-7 win. Despite giving up a run and an early lead, Elizabethton bounced back to up six first-inning runs and never look back. Their offense was led by Kolton Kendrick who had three hits including a double and two-run home run and J.J. Robinson who had two hits including a three-run home run. Akil Baddoo also homered. Carson Crites had two hits and a stolen base. Brusdar Graterol got the start and wasn't great. In three innings, he allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk. He struck out five. Melvi Acosta was credited with the win. He struck out eight over four innings. Acosta allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk. Rickey Ramirez got knocked around for two runs on five hits in his two innings. Tomorrow night at 7pm EST, these two teams will square off for the Appy League Western Division crown. Elizabethton will host. Winner-take-a-trip-to-the-Finals and loser goes home! FOR THE E-TWINS: ONE GAME FOR THE WHOLE SEASON MIRACLE UPDATE: Their postseason kicks off Tuesday night at 6:35 pm EST as they will host Palm Beach. 4:30 pm update: The Kernels dropped their regular season finale to Beloit 3-0. Cedar Rapids managed only six hits, all singles. Lewin Diaz had two of them and finished the season batting .292. He was caught attempting to steal second base today. Tyler Beardsley, activated earlier today in place of Evan Sanders, started the game and pitched six innings. He struck out three and allowed only one run on four hits and two walks. He was credited with the loss, his ninth of the season. Logan Lombana pitched one inning of perfect relief. Colton Davis, on the other hand, gave up three hits and two runs in his inning of work. The Kernels will head back to Iowa for one game on Wednesday night. They will host Kane County in the first game of the the MWL Quarterfinals. Games 2 and 3 will shift back to Kane County. Tyler Wells will be on the mound. Wells is 5-3 on the season with 3.11 ERA. First pitch Wednesday will be at 6:35. FOR THE KERNELS: A NEW SEASON 4:00 pm update: Chattanooga beat Montgomery 2-1 to cap an impressive 91-49 season in which they were both the first- and second-half champions. Next up is the Southern League Semifinals which will be against Montgomery (again). Because they won both halves, the Lookouts will host games 1, 2 and, if necessary, 4 and 5. Montgomery will only host game 3. The series opens on Wednesday at 7:15 EST with Zack Littell on the mound. Dereck Rodriguez will get the start on Thursday. Not a lot noteworthy from Monday's victory. Max Murphy drove in Nick Gordon in the first inning. Andy Wilkins hit his 12th home run, a solo shot, in the fourth inning. Edgar Corcino finished his AA season batting .302. (But only .292 when combined with his AAA line.) LaMonte Wade ended with a .295/.400/.412 slash line which is comparable to his career line (.296/.405/.439), just with less power. Ryan Eades picked up his fourth win of the season, pitching five innings of shutout, three-hit ball. He struck out one and walked one. Randy Rosario gave up a home run among three hits. He struck out two in two innings. Keaton Steele picked up his first professional save, hurling two shutout, no-hit innings. He walked a batter and struck one out too. FOR THE LOOKOUTS: A NEW SEASON 3:30 pm update: The Red Wings entered today all square with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, who held the tiebreaker. Rochester took care of business, with a 10-1 victory over Pawtucket. Their regular season record is at an impressive 80-62. The game with just as much importance, though, was being held in Lehigh Valley. Lehigh Valley jumped out to a 4-0 lead through two innings and things weren't looking good. Scranton got on the board in the 7th, then made noise in the 8th as well. After cutting the lead to 4-2, Scranton had two men on with only one out. Unfortunately, two strikeouts later and it was still 4-2. Coming into the final frame - and three outs from a playoff berth - Lehigh Valley allowed a leadoff home run and Scranton backed it up with a single, line out and another single. The Red Wings playoff chances were off life support. A walk loaded the bases with one out. Any ball to the outfield should tie the game. Another strikeout. And in the final at-bat, which would decide the Red Wings playoff hopes, Scranton grounded out weakly to second base. The Red Wings season is over. But the season ended on a win and some very good performances. Matt Hague with 2-4 with two home runs and three runs scored and, who knows, may be called on to supplement the Twins bench. Levi Michael had three hits and a stolen base. Jon Rodriguez, who crushed it at AA, hit his first AAA home run and drove in two runs. J.B. Shuck drove in four with a home run and a double. Leo Reginatto also had two hits and an RBI. Adalberto Mejia pitched five innings, allowing one run on six hits and two walks. He struck out two. Dietrich Enns pitched four innings of shutout ball. He allowed four hits and a walk while striking out two. Mejia and Enns will both likely be re-joining the Twins, though their roles - presumably in the bullpen - have yet to be defined. FOR THE RED WINGS: CURTAINS Click here to view the article

The Twins were off Monday, but there was still good news: Byron Buxton was named American League Player of the Week. Buxton batted .333 with five home runs, 10 RBI, nine runs, two stolen bases and an OPS of 1.161. He is the third Twin (Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario) to receive the honor this season. The affiliates had a full slate, see how they did below. Read about Monday’s action below.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Scranton W/B 5 Box Score Felix Jorge gave up five runs in four innings on seven hits. He struck out two. Yohan Pino (two scoreless innings) and Buddy Boshers (two outs) both struck out two in relief. Drew Rucinski recorded the last four outs. Leo Reginatto had two hits and scored two runs. Anthony Recker hit his 16th double of the season. Engelb Vielma doubled and drove in two runs. With both the Red Wings and Lehigh Valley losing, Rochester’s magic number has been reduced to five. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Jackson 5 Box Score A walk-off win tonight for Jackson. Andy Wilkins hit a three-run fourth inning home run and T.J. White doubled in Wilkins later to account for the fourth and final run. Nick Gordon, Edgar Corcino and LaMonte Wade each added a single. D.J. Baxendale struck out four in five innings. He allowed six hits and one run. Alex Muren was tagged for three runs in a single frame, resulting in a blown save. Cody Stashak struck out two in two innings. Todd Van Steensel allowed the game-winning run. Fernando Romero was placed on the DL with shoulder impingement. Chattanooga has already clinched the first-half title and still has a magic number of three after their loss and Montgomery’s win. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, St. Lucie 3 Box Score Brent Rooker continued to swing a big stick, homering in his third straight game. He now has 11 in the FSL and 18 since being drafted in June. Unfortunately, the Miracle only managed a Brandon Lopez double and four other singles in the game. Lewis Thorpe started and only pitched one inning, throwing 14 pitches. Unconfirmed reports suggest the team had him throw only one inning as he prepares for the playoffs. Lachlan Wells pitched the next four innings allowing three runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out three and took the loss, dropping to 4-10. Andrew Vasquez and Michael Kohn both had scoreless outings. The Miracle didn’t play this weekend due to rainouts, but still have a nice cushion in the FSL. If they can’t wrap up the league by Sunday, they’ll potentially have to make up their rained out games on Monday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 2 (10 innings) Box Score Bryan Sammons struck out six in four innings. He allowed four hits and walked two. Two runs scored but only one was earned. Patrick McGuff struck out two in a hitless frame. Ryan Mason allowed a hit in one inning. Colton Davis struck out two in two innings. Royce Lewis and Caleb Hamilton both had doubles and scored runs. Jordon Gore and Ben Rortvedt added hits. Rortvedt also had three more passed balls, running his total to 15. Aaron Whitefield struck out to begin the 10th inning, but reached base anyway after the third strike was dropped. A passed ball advanced him to second, a sac bunt advanced him to third. He then scored on a wild pitch to compete the true middle school girls softball scoring play. Shane Kennedy later homered. Hector Lujan entered in the 10th to save the game. He allowed a hit. Rortvedt had a throwing error on a stolen base attempt and his last passed ball, but Lujan got a couple of groundballs and a foul pop out to end it. The Kernels activated P Evan Sanders and placed P Tyler Beardsley on the DL. Getting Royce Lewis was a shot in the arm and the Kernels are (32-31) in the second half. Regardless how this week plays out, they will be in the MWL playoffs. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Greeneville 3 Box Score The E-Twins managed only six hits and two runs on Monday night. Andrew Cosgrove had a two-run double that scored J.J. Robinson and Andrew Bechtold. Akil Baddoo reached base three times, all by walk. Robinson and T.J. Dixon both had a stolen base. Edwar Colina took the loss allowing three runs on four hits, two walks and two hit batters. He struck out one. Ricky Ramirez and Blair Lasko each pitched two innings in relief. Ramirez allowed one hit and struck out one. Lasko allowed one hit and struck out three. E-town wrapped up the Appy League West on Sunday. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins vs GCL Rays - rained out The two teams will play a doubleheader (hopefully) on Tuesday. The magic number for the GCL Twins remains three. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Bryan Sammons, Cedar Rapids Hitter of the Day – Andy Wilkins, Chattanooga TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Scranton/WB (6:05 CST) - LHP Hector Santiago (REHAB) Chattanooga at Jackson (6:05 CST) - TBA Fort Myers at St. Lucie (5:30 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen (2-2, 3.45 ERA) Elizabethton at Kingsport (5:30 CST) - TBA GCL Twins at GCL Rays (11:00 AM CST - doubleheader) - TBA Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

Monday was an off day for the Twins as they return home to begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday. Sports writers sometimes use the “most important week of the season” hyperbole when talking about a week such as the one upcoming, but in this instance - despite these games not counting for anything extra - it might actually be true. At least until next week’s road trip. And the following week’s three-game set before the August waiver trade deadline. You see, it will be sometime during this timespan that the front office will have to decide the “pretender vs contender” debate. But until we know exactly, we will enjoy the ride. And when that ride takes a day off - like it did on Monday - we’ll enjoy the next best thing: The Twins minor league system. On Monday, Eddie Rosario was named American League Player of the Week. Rosario batted .444 with 12 hits, nine RBI, three double and four home runs. Brent Rooker (.364/.417/.818) was also named Florida State Hitter of the Week. He hit three three-run home runs. Not a bad week for those two outfielders. Read about Monday’s action below.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester - OFF DAY At 69-52, the Red Wings are all square with Lehigh Valley in the International League Wild Card race, though the two teams will not face each other over the final 21 games on the season. The Red Wings will face the best team in the league, Scranton/WB, eight times though, so their path to the playoffs is not going to be a cakewalk. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 9, Birmingham 0 Box Score All nine batters in the lineup contributed at least one hit. Seven of the nine scored runs and six of the nine drove in runs. But Nick Gordon was clearly the star of the game and had, arguably, the best offensive showing of any Twins farmhand this season. In six at-bats, Gordon collected three singles, a double and a triple for five hits. He scored three runs and drove in two. His batting average climbed eight points to .288. Brian Navarreto was 3-5. LaMonte Wade, Andy Wilkins, Ryan Walker and Edgar Corcino all had two hits. One of Corcino’s was a triple. Jonathan Rodriguez hit his 16th home run. He had three RBI. The bullpen - in a bullpen game - pitched a shutout. D.J. Baxendale pitched the first three frames, followed by Glen Perkins. Perkins threw 21 pitches (11 strikes) on his way to a hitless, one-walk, two-strikeout performance. Yohan Pino earned the win with three innings of two-hit ball. He struck out four. Nick Anderson and Gabriel Moya each pitched a scoreless frame. The Lookouts are 35-15 in the second half and 77-43 overall. They will have a charging Montgomery team to fend off. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Lakeland 5 Box Score Mitchell Kranson was the Miracle Hero on Monday night. Summoned to hit for Tanner English with the bases load and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Kranson promptly drove in the tying and winning runs, giving the Miracle a walk-off victory. Until that point, the Miracle had scattered hits, but failed to do a lot of damage. Sean Miller, Zander Wiel and Brian Olson all had two hits. Brandon Lopez had a triple and drove in two runs. Brent Rooker went hitless, but walked three times and struck out in his only official at-bat. Lewis Thorpe pitched six innings and did OK. He gave up two runs on five hits and four walks. He struck out three and was in line for the win. Andrew Vasquez blew his save chance, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk in two innings. Alex Robinson worked a scoreless frame and was the pitcher of record when Kranson provided his heroics, earning the win. At 23-18, the Miracle are on a six-game winning streak and have pushed their lead to five games in the FSL South. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Burlington 2 Box Score Royce Lewis continued to hit the ball really well in full-season ball, collecting two more hits (but seeing his average fall to .538) and driving in a run, but it wasn’t enough. He also committed his first error as a Kernel. Caleb Hamilton and Shane Carrier provided the only other hits. Aaron Whitefield stole his 28th base of the season. Tyler Beardsley pitched five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks. He struck out five. Logan Lombana also struck out five, in three scoreless innings. The Kernels are 23-27 in the second half, but have already clinched a playoff spot by way of finishing as division runners-up in the first half. They are slated to face Kane County in a three-game set. Kane County will have home-field advantage. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 8, Johnson City 5 Box Score In a game delayed by over two and a half hours, the E-Twins were able to take an early lead and hang on. Wander Javier paced the offense with three hits. T.J. Dixon, Carson Crites and Matt Albanese all had two-hit games. Albanese’s seventh inning home run was their lone extra-base hit of the game. Nick Brown and Jared Finkel piggybacked Monday’s game. Brown took the first 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk. He struck out five. Finkel picked up the win, tossing 4.2 one-run (unearned) innings allowing only two hits while striking out four. The E-Twins are 31-21 with a 2.5 game lead over Johnson City. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Ray 10 Box Score Chris Heston, who has made 41 big-league appearances and threw a no-hitter against the Mets two years ago, got roughed up by a bunch of 18-year-olds. In five innings, he gave up three runs on seven hits. He struck out five. Michael Kohn, who’s also rehabbing his way back, pitched a scoreless frame. Petru Balan put on four batters and three came around to score. He recorded only one out. David Geric also gave up three runs. He got through a whole inning, but walked four. Taylor Clemensia walked three, threw three wild pitches and recorded five outs. Jean Carlos Arias drove in Emmanuel Morel, who doubled to start the game, and then scored himself, but that was it for runs. Jared Akins had the only other two hits of the game. The GCL Twins, in the midst of a cold spell, are 24-19. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jared Finkel, Elizabethton Hitter of the Day – Nick Gordon, Chattanooga TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Columbus (6:05 CST) - TBA Fort Myers vs Lakeland (6:05 CST) - TBA Cedar Rapids at Burlington (6:30 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons (1-0, 3.38 ERA) Elizabethton at Johnson City (10:30 AM CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (3-3, 2.54 ERA) GCL Twins at GCL Rays (11:00 AM CST) - TBA Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

The Twins shift to the road part of their home-and-home series against the Brewers on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Kennys Vargas was recalled from Rochester to take the roster spot opened up by placing Adalberto Mejia on the disabled list. Including the DSL, the Twins affiliates went 5-0. Read up below the jump.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 12, Columbus 3 Box Score After allowing the game’s first run, the Red Wings scored the next five and even after Columbus scored two more to narrow the lead to two, Rochester put up four runs in the next half inning to push the game out of reach. The offensive assault was led by Daniel Palka (3-4, HR, 2 RBI), Niko Goordum (3-5, 2 RBI) and Matt Hague (1-2, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 4 R). ByungHo Park and Tommy Field also contributed two-hit, two-RBI games. Eight different batters got hits and all 10 players who made a plate appearance reached base safely at least once. Hitting 8-18 with runners in scoring position typically helps you in the win column. Hector Santiago didn’t exactly “WOW!” in his rehab start. Throwing 98 pitches, but only 52 strikes and only lasting 4.1 innings, Santiago walked six, hit a batter and allowed three runs on two hits, including a home run. He struck out four. At this point, you have to figure that if he’s going to help the Twins in the short term, it’s out of the bullpen (and that’s even with Mejia going down). Dietrich Enns was tomorrow's scheduled starter, as this broke during the game. At 67-50, the Red Wings are a half game behind Lehigh Valley in the wild card race. Lehigh Valley was still playing at press time. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga - OFF DAY The Lookouts are 32-13 in the second half and 74-41 overall. They have clinched a playoff spot and will host the season-long runner-up (which is a tight 3-team race). Judging from their website (which is selling playoff tickets), it looks like the Lookouts have opted to host Games 1 and 2, which will be played on September 6 and 7. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Palm Beach 2 Box Score The middle of the order provided the thump and enough offense to push the Miracle to victory on Wednesday evening. The 3-6 batters (Jermaine Palacios, Mitchell Kranson, Brent Rooker and Zander Wiel) went a combined 10-17, driving in two and scoring four runs. Rooker and Wiel both had three hits. The rest of the lineup was 2-19. Starter Lewis Thorpe avoided big damage despite allowing eight hits in five innings. He walked two, struck out five and allowed two runs. The win went to Tom Hackimer who struck out four in two one-hit innings. (Move him up!) Alex Muren collected the save. At 28-18, the Miracle have a two-game lead in the FSL South. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids - OFF DAY The Kernels are 20-25 in the second half, but have already clinched a playoff spot by way of finishing as division runners-up in the first half. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Greeneville 1 Box Score Edwar Colina pitched six shutout innings, allowing three hits and walking three. He struck out five and picked up his second win of the season. Blair Lasko gave up a run in his lone inning. Jose Martinez struck out two in two innings. Carson Crites had three hits, including a double. He scored a run and drove in a run as well. J.J. Robinson was 2-4 with a home run and 4 RBI. Kolton Kendrick and Rainis Silva each added doubles. The E-Twins have a four-game lead in their division with a record of 29-18. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Orioles 1 Box Score A balanced offensive attack led the GCL Twins to victory. No batter went hitless and five different guys scored the six runs. Royce Lewis had the lone multi-hit game, going 2-4 with a triple. Jean Carlos Arias had a three-run triple in the seventh inning. Colton Burns, Ricky De La Torre and Taylor Grzelakowski added doubles. Pedro Garcia struck out five in 5.2 scoreless, three-hit innings. His record improved to 6-1. Derek Molina picked up the save striking out six in 3.1 innings. He allowed a run on four hits. The GCL Twins are 23-16. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Edward Colina, Elizabethton Hitter of the Day – Daniel Palka, Rochester THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Norfolk (6:05 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves (0-0, -.-- ERA) Chattanooga at Birmingham (7:05 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart (5-5, 3.65 ERA) Fort Myers vs Dunedin (6:05 CST) - RHP Randy LeBlanc (2-1, 1.80 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs Quad Cities (6:35 CST) - LHP Tyler Watson (0-1, 6.75 ERA) Elizabethton vs Greeneville (6:00 CST) - RHP Brusdar Graterol (1-0, 4.00 ERA) GCL Twins vs GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) - TBA Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday’s games. Click here to view the article

An off day on the calendar, but not a day off by any means. The Twins waited until the deadline to pull their trigger on a move, sending All-Star closer Brandon Kintzler to Washington for A-level LHP Tyler Watson and $500,000 in international bonus money. Watson will join Cedar Rapids, who placed Domenick Carlini on the disabled list. The Twins now have three open 40-man spots and two holes to fill on the 25-man roster to fill before the San Diego series that begins Tuesday. Earlier in the afternoon, pitcher Clark Beeker was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week. Congrats to Clark! Let’s check in on all of Monday’s games.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester - OFF DAY The 62-45 Red Wings will host Lehigh Valley in a series that begins tomorrow. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Montgomery 6 Box Score It was going to happen again. Despite having a two-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Lookouts were going to play another extra-inning game. A triple followed by a single followed by a sacrifice bunt and it was one out with the tying run at second. And then it happened, a rocket shot towards the hole that was definitely going to score the game-tying run. Only it didn't. A diving Nick Gordon fielded the ball to his right and quickly rifled the ball to first base where the runner was called out. (It was very close.) The next batter popped out and the game was over. In nine innings. Shortly after 10 pm central time. T.J. White, Max Murphy and Carlos Paulino all had two hits. White hit his ninth home run. LaMonte Wade had only one hit, but it was a triple, and he drove in three runs. Nick Gordon, officially, was 0-1, but he drew three walks. Kohl Stewart picked up the win, though it wasn't necessarily pretty. He worked six innings, striking out six, but allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks. He was effective in getting groundball outs (8:1) and improved his record to 5-5. Randy LeBlanc struck out three in two scoreless frames before Nick Anderson picked up the one-inning save... which was an adventure. At 70-37 overall and 27-9 in the second half, the Lookouts have a five-game lead in their division, and have consistently been the best team in the Southern League all season. Let's see how much of this team remains together as the higher levels will surely come looking for help. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Clearwater 6 Box Score All of the Miracle runs came by way of the home run. Brent Rooker hit his second high-A homer (and 9th overall) with a solo shot in the second inning. It gave Fort Myers a 1-0 lead. After allowing the game to be tied in the fourth inning, Mitch Kranson hit a two-run blast in the fifth inning to put the Miracle up 3-1. The Fort Myers bullpen - Glen Perkins and David Fischer - allowed a combined five runs in two innings, negating a good rebound start by Sean Poppen. Poppen went six innings, striking out five, allowing only one run on six hits. Brandon Lopez paced the offense with two hits. At 22-16, the Miracle are two games back in their division. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Clinton 0 Box Score Charlie Barnes struck out four over four innings in his full-season debut. Only five runners - four hits and a walk - reached base, but none scored. Unfortunately, Barnes exited the scoreless tie and took a no decision. Patrick McGuff was credited with the win. He allowed two hits and struck out two in two innings. Ryan Mason struck out three in two innings. Hector Lujan picked up his 11th save of the season. The bats were relatively quiet - only seven hits all game - but new Kernel Jimmy Kerrigan drove in all (two) of the game's runs with a home run in the sixth inning. Gorge Munez, who scored the other run, had two hits including a double. Now 56-51, but only 17-20 in the second half the Kernels are 5.5 games back in their division. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Kingsport 3 Box Score The E-Twins continue to swing very hot bats and that was apparent again on Monday. Every member of the lineup recorded at least one hit. Andrew Bechtold led the offense going 2-4 with two doubles and three RBI. Shane Carrier, Kolton Kendrick, Carson Crites and Akil Baddoo all had two hits. Carrier and Baddoo added doubles as did Jordan Gore and Jose Miranda. Crites and Baddoo each stole a base. Melvi Acosta picked up the win, tossing 5.2 innings. He gave up two runs on five hits. Acosta struck out three. Rickey Ramirez recored the final 10 outs. He gave up a run on two hits and also struck out three. The E-Twins have a five-game winning streak and have pushed their division lead to three games at 25-14. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins vs GCL Rays Postponed - Rain The GCL Twins are 17-13. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Sean Poppen, Fort Myers Hitter of the Day – Andrew Bechtold, Elizabethton TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) - RHP Dillon Gee (3-1, 2.00 ERA) Chattanooga at Montgomery (7:05 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez (4-2, 4.04 ERA) Fort Myers at Clearwater (6:00 CST) - RHP Eduardo Del Rosario (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs Clinton (6:35 CST) - RHP Tyler Beardsley (3-4, 5.81 ERA) Elizabethton vs Kingsport (6:00 CST) - RHP Nick Brown (0-1, 5.24 ERA) GCL Twins at GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) - TBA Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

The Twins are finishing up their series with the Dodgers on Wednesday night, hoping to avoid a sweep. A few moves were made on Wednesday as well: The Lookouts released catcher Dan Rohlfing. Taking his place is the newly-acquired Anthony Recker. Fort Myers added pitcher Eduardo Del Rosario from Cedar Rapids. The Kernels also placed pitcher Griffin Jax on the military leave list. They will likely be looking to E-town for rotation replacements. Elizabethton also is down one in their rotation after the recent trade of Huascar Ynoa. Let’s check in on all of Wednesday’s games.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Indianapolis 1 Box Score Home runs were the name of the game for the Red Wings on Wednesday. Mitch Garver hit his 15th AAA home run this year in the first inning. Niko Goodrum extended the lead to 3-0 with a solo home run in the second inning. Kennys Vargas hit two home runs, a solo and three-run shot, in the later innings to extend the lead even further. Vargas led the team with four RBI. Matt Hague had two doubles and scored both times. J.B. Shuck had three hits including a double. Dillon Gee pitched well, striking out seven over six innings, allowing only one run on six hits. Jake Reed hit a batter, but then got five straight groundball outs in his two innings of work. John Curtiss closed the game, striking out two in a perfect ninth inning At 59-44, the Red Wings are four games behind Lehigh Valley in the wild card race. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Birmingham 3 Box Score The story of the night was Michael Kopech, stud prospect for the White Sox, who will be a thorn in the Twins' side for a long time. He struck out twelve and spit flames. Jonathan Rodriguez provided most of the offensive punch for the Lookouts with two hits (one double), a walk and the team's only RBI. Levi Michael had two singles. Carlos Paulino had one. Nick Gordon drew two walks and scored the team's only run. Kohl Stewart allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and four walks. He struck out two. Raul Fernandez pitched two scoreless innings. Ryan Eades gave up a run in his two innings of work. At 24-8, the Lookouts have a nice cushion as division leaders. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Lakeland 5 Box Score The Miracle took a one-run lead in the top half of the fourth inning, but allowed five runs in the bottom half to create a deficit from which they couldn’t recover. Sean Poppen made his fifth start since his promotion and had the roughest outing of his young career. In five frames, he gave up five runs on 11 hits and a walk. He struck out four. Keaton Steele struck out one in three scoreless innings. Offensively, the bats were quiet. Tanner English and Zander Wiel each doubled. Wiel drove in Mitch Kranson, who had walked, in the fourth. Jermaine Palacios drove English in with a groundout in the ninth. Brian Navarreto provided the only other base hit. The 19-13 Miracle have gone through a cold stretch and now find themselves 1.5 games out of first place. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids at Peoria - POSTPONED (RAIN) A doubleheader will start at 5:30 on Thursday. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 0, Pulaski 1 Box Score Not a lot to say about this two-hour, action-starved game. Nick Brown gave up a solo home run in the fourth inning, allowing the game’s only run. He yielded only three hits and a walk over six innings, striking out four, but took the loss. Charlie Barnes pitched two innings in relief, striking out one. Offensively, the E-Twins only had four hits: A double by Shane Carrier, his seventh, and singles by Mark Contreras, Rainis Silva and T.J. Dixon. Though they drew four walks, the team hit a collective 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, sealing their fate. The E-Twins have a 1.5 game lead at 20-14. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 12 Box Score Another game that was lacking in offense for the good team. Four hits produced one (unearned) run. Three of those hits came off the bat of leadoff hitter Emmanuel Morel, two of which were doubles. He scored the only run. But the rest of the lineup went 1-24 (a single by Jared Akins) and that was all she wrote. Glen Perkins did throw another inning. He allowed a hit, a walk and struck out one. Blayne Enlow piggybacked him and threw 3.2 innings, allowing a run on one hit. He struck out three. The trio of Matt Jones, Jose Bermudez and Juan Mojica was bad. Eleven runs on 10 hits and seven walks over four and a third innings. I’m going to leave the specifics out - someone’s family might be reading - but if you’re into blood and gore, you can click the box score above. The GCL Twins drop to 16-11. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Nick Brown, Elizabethton Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, Rochester THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Indianapolis (6:05 CST) - RHP Kyle Gibson (0-2, 2.92 ERA) Chattanooga vs Birmingham (6:15 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez (4-1, 2.95 ERA) Fort Myers at Lakeland (5:30 CST) - RHP Eduardo Del Rosario (0-0, -.-- ERA) Cedar Rapids at Peoria (5:30 CST) - RHP Tyler Beardsley (3-4, 5.98 ERA) Cedar Rapids at Peoria (Game 2) - LHP Evan Sanders (1-2, 8.40 ERA) Elizabethton at Pulaski (6:00 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons (1-0, 1.83 ERA) GCL Twins at GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) - TBA Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday’s games. Click here to view the article

The Twins took a series from the New York Yankees for the first time in forever. There were some rumors - that seem to have been shot down since - that Bartolo Colon was considering retirement after his next start. LEN3 reported after the game that the Twins have signed RP Michael Kohn to a minor-league deal. He is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery, so he’ll begin his time in the organization on the disabled list. Let’s check in on all of Wednesday’s games.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Charlotte 6 Box Score The Red Wings were walk-off winners on Wednesday night. ByungHo Park was the offensive star. He went 3-4 with a home run and the game-winning walk-off RBI. He’s worked his batting average back up to .256. Mitch Garver went 2-4 with a two-run home run, his 13th on the season. (Call him up!) Kennys Vargas hit a home run in his first at-bat since being optioned. Justin Haley got knocked around a bit in his rehab start. He allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits (two home runs) and two walks. He struck out four. Mason Melotakis pitched two scoreless innings, striking out one. Drew Rucinski gave up a run in 1 1/3 innings. Alan Busenitz picked up the win after pitching a scoreless ninth inning. The Red Wings are 54-41 but remain six and a half games out of their division and five games out of the wild card race. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 12, Mobile 1 Box Score Stephen Gonsalves made the start and picked up the win. Exiting with two outs in the sixth inning, Gonsalves struck out eight, allowing one run on five hits and two walks. Todd Van Steensel struck out two in 2 1/3 innings. Nick Anderson finished the game. The powerful bats were the story of the game though. A pair of home runs by Jonathan Rodriguez led the six-home run charge. Nick Gordon, LaMonte Wade, Andy Wilkens and T.J. White also contributed. Wade was 4-5 with four RBI and a stolen base. Rodriguez and Carlos Paulino both had three hits. Rodriguez scored three times. At 20-6, the Lookouts have a five-game lead in their division. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Bradenton 3 Box Score Lewis Thorpe struck out seven in seven innings. He gave up two runs on six hits and a walk, but got a no decision. Tom Hackimer recorded five outs - and gave up a run - but improved his record to 3-0. Sam Clay got the one-out save. The Miracle scored all four of their runs in the last two innings. Sean Miller hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning. Miller told Seth Stohs, “I wasn't looking to homer. They were shifting me pull side pretty good so I was honestly just looking to keep my swing short and hit a ball in the 4 hole. But he ran a fastball in and I just reacted to it. And I had a pretty good feeling it was gone off the bat!" Mitch Kranson and Jaylin Davis drove in runs in the ninth inning. Kevin Garcia was the only player with a multi-hit game, going 2-4. Brent Rooker went 0-3 with two strikeouts and a walk. Through two games he’s batting .000. The 18-7 Miracle have a three-game lead in their division. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Great Lakes 8 Box Score Domenick Carlini got knocked around for nine hits in four innings, resulting in seven runs. But only three were earned as the Kernels committed four errors. Carlini struck out six, but also gave up two home runs. Patrick McGuff got six outs, all by strikeout. Logan Lombana and Colton Davis put in scoreless outings. Aaron Whitefield was 3-4 with two stolen bases and two runs scored. Gorge Munez got two hits, but also committed an error. Lewin Diaz got a hit and drove in a run… but committed two errors. The playoff-bound Kernels dropped to 11-14 in the second half. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 17, Bristol 8 Box Score The E-Twins spotted Bristol an early lead, but used a nine-run eighth inning - and 20 hits total! - to take the victory. Offensively, every player hit. And every player scored. And all but one player drove in a run. Lots. Of. Offense. Jordan Gore, Shane Carrier, Andrew Bechtold and T.J. Dixon all went 3-5. Carrier, Bechtold, and Dixon all doubled, as did Carson Crites. Dixon drove in four runs and stole a base. J.J. Robinson hit his fourth home run of the young season. Melvi Acosta struggled, allowing seven runs (five earned) on six hits and three walks. He struck out four in four innings. Jovani Moran struck out four in three scoreless innings. He earned the win. Jared Finkel picked up the save. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 2 (Game one - completion of yesterday’s suspended game) Box Score Pedro Garcia picked up the game where it left off - in the second inning - and pitched the next six innings to complete the game. He allowed two runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out six. Offensively, Emmanuel Morel’s two-run double gave the club a four-run second inning. The squad managed only four hits, which included a Kerby Camacho double. GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 1 (Game two) Box Score Blayne Enlow made his professional debut. He issued a walk and an unearned run over two innings. He struck out three. Enlow told Stohs, "Stepping on the field today is hopefully the first of many. Toeing the rubber today was the best feeling, and now it’s just a grind from here. I will continue to compete and work my hardest to be the best I can.” Amilcar Cruz struck out four in the next four innings to pick up the win. Converted outfielder Zach Featherstone picked up the save with a scoreless inning. Daniel Palka went 2-3 with a home run in his rehab start. Expect him to head north soon. Royce Lewis went 2-3 with a two-run home run, his third. Alex Robles hit his first professional home run and also went 2-3. Robles told Stohs, "I hit a fastball down and in and just tried put a good swing on it, the feeling of rounding the bases for the first time was awesome, just kind of put into perspective how cool it is to be able to play professional baseball and be able to compete at this level.” The GCL Twins improve to 14-7. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Lewis Thorpe, Fort Myers Hitter of the Day – LaMonte Wade, Chattanooga THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Toledo (6:05 CST) - RHP Dillon Gee (2-0, 0.00 ERA) Chattanooga at Mobile (6:35 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart (3-4, 3.83 ERA) Fort Myers vs Bradenton (5:30 CST) - RHP Cody Stashak (3-3, 3.82 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs Great Lakes (6:35 CST) - RHP Tyler Beardsley (3-3, 5.79 ERA) Elizabethton vs Bristol (6:00 CST) - LHP Charlie Barnes (1-1, 1.72 ERA) GCL Twins vs GCL Rays (11:00 AM CST) - TBA Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday’s games. Click here to view the article

The baseball world is fixated on Miami this week. Twins fans were fixated on Monday’s Home Run Derby in which Miguel Sano participated and had a pretty good showing. (I won’t ruin it for you.) Around the organization there was some other news Monday: Miracle reliever Tom Hackimer was named FSL Pitcher of the Week. Lookouts catcher Jonathan Rodriguez was named Southern League Hitter of the Week. Rochester catcher Mitch Garver was named International League Batter of the Week. Congrats to those three! Let’s check in on all of Monday’s games.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester - OFF DAY The Red Wings are off for their all-star break. The AAA All-Star Game takes place on Wednesday. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Pensacola 3 Box Score Not a lot of offense as Chattanooga was limited to two hits on Monday: an Andy Wilkins double that was followed by a T.J. White home run. Ryan Walker stole a base. Dereck Rodriguez pitched well, but not well enough. He gave up three runs in seven innings. He allowed seven hits and two walks. He struck out one. Paul Clemens pitched an inning of relief, striking out one. The first-half champion Lookouts still have a four-game lead, but fall to 14-4. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 1, Palm Beach 0 Box Score Similar to the Lookouts, Fort Myers only had two hits. A Tanner English triple drove in Nelson Molina. Brandon Lopez provided the only other hit for a lineup that struck out 11 times. Sean Poppen was the difference though. He threw eight shutout innings, allowing five hits and a walk. He struck out four. Alex Muren picked up his third save of the season. At 13-4 in the second half, Fort Myers now has a two-game lead. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Peoria 3 Box Score Following suit, the Kernels were one-hit by Mike O’Reilly, who struck out 12 batters. Christian Cavaness hit a double, but the only other thing the bats hit were the showers. Eduardo Del Rosario suffered the loss, but wasn’t bad, allowing one run on six hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out two. Logan Lombana struck out two in two frames. Max Cordy allowed two runs on two walks and a hit in his inning of work. The playoff-bound Kernels dropped to 10-9 in the second half. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 13, Johnson City 12 Box Score Finally, offense! Of course, the story is Brent Rooker, who went 3-3 with three walks, three runs scored and an RBI. Shane Carrier also had three hits, which included a double. J.J. Robinson hit his third home run as part of his five RBI. Matt Albanese and Wander Javier, who tripled, both had two hits. Andrew Bechtold hit his first professional home run. Huascar Ynoa was brutal. In two innings, he allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits and five walks. He struck out two. Blair Lasko managed three scoreless innings before Juan Gamez allowed five more runs in two innings. Jose Martinez picked up the win, going three innings and allowing only one run. The E-Twins improved to 13-6. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 13, GCL Orioles 1 Box Score Royce Lewis had three more hits, including his second home run. Ricky De La Torre also had a three hit game. Both stole bases. And while Benjamin Rodriguez didn’t steal a base, he did get three hits: Two doubles and a grand slam. He drove in seven (!). Brusdar Graterol pitched five shutout, one-hit innings, striking out four and walking two. Matt Jones picked up the four-inning save. He allowed a single run on three hits. He struck out three. The GCL Twins improve to 10-3. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Sean Poppen, Fort Myers Hitter of the Day – Benjamin Rodriguez, GCL Twins TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Chattanooga at Pensacola (6:35 CST) - TBA GCL Twins vst GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) - TBA Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

What had been a very interesting last couple of days in Twins territory turned into a clunker at Target Field on Saturday, but there were a handful of minor moves that took place which are definitely noteworthy.Outfielder Edgar Corcino was promoted to take the place of Zack Granite. The Red Wings still have an open roster spot - and only three active outfielders - so Granite’s presumptive return after Sunday’s game won’t necessitate Corcino being sent back to Chattanooga. In turn, the Lookouts added outfielder Max Murphy to take Corcino’s place and also received starting pitcher Felix Jorge back from the Twins. The Lookouts had room for both after moving shortstop Nick Gordon to the temporarily inactive list due to his participation in the Futures Game on Sunday afternoon. His return will need to have a corresponding move. Fort Myers added second baseman Dane Hutcheon from the GCL Twins to fill out their roster, though that move sounds only temporary as it was reported that lefty reliever Alex Robinson is being promoted from Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers. There are other dominos likely to fall as well over the next couple of days as the #TwitterRumorverse was ablaze with talk of first overall pick's impending move from the GCL to Elizabethton. And who is going to join the Kernels? Brent Rooker, anyone? <exhale> Let’s check in on all of Saturday’s games. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Syracuse 0 Box Score Aside from a fourth inning ByungHo Park triple that scored Tommy Field, which followed a wild pitch that scored Niko Goodrum - both of who had walked - there wasn’t a whole lot of offensive action in a game that saw the Red Wings score two runs on only three hits. Field also reached base on his 22nd double of the season. Corcino went 0-3 with a strikeout in his AAA debut with the Twins organization. (He actually got four at-bats in a three-game cameo for Toledo in Detroit’s organization in 2012 -- when he 20.) Aaron Slegers pitched very well. He left with two outs in the eighth inning. After allowing a leadoff single in his final frame, he erased the runner with a ground ball double play, but was lifted when he allowed another hit. Jake Reed recorded the final four outs for his third save of the season. Slegers improved to 9-4. He struck out three and scattered seven hits over 7.2 scoreless innings. The Red Wings improved to 48-39 but still sit five games out of the wild card standings. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 5 Box Score The Lookouts surrendered a first-inning lead and fell after allowing the game-winning run to break a tie in the top of the ninth. Stephen Gonsalves only last four innings (and one batter into the fifth), but threw 97 pitches. He allowed three runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out three and took a no-decision. Raul Fernandez did a nice job pitching three scoreless frames before turning it over to Luke Bard. Bard allowed a game-tying home run in the eight, blowing the save, and allowed another run in the ninth to take the loss. It is his first blown save and second loss of the season. The offense was led by multi-hit games from Ryan Walker, Jonathan Rodriguez and Alex Perez. Walker, Levi Michael and Carlos Paulino all doubled. The first-half champion Lookouts have a five-game second-half lead, but fall to 13-3. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Palm Beach 2 Box Score The Miracle laid in the weeds for most of the game, trailing 2-0 as they headed into the home half of the seventh. A three-run seventh inning, followed by a six-run eighth-inning, meant the home team never got to bat again. Each member of the starting lineup got a hit or two. Jermaine Palacios hit his first High-A home run (and his 12th of the season) among two hits. Jaylin Davis was 2-4 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored. Sean Miller (double), Mitch Kranson and Tanner English (home run, two RBI, two runs) joined Palacios and Davis in the two-hit club. Anthony McIver pitched four innings, allowing five hits, one run, one walk and striking out one, but didn’t last long enough to factor into the decision. David Fischer struck out four in three innings, surrendering one run on three hits, and picked up the win, improving to 4-6. Sam Clay earned his fifth save for the Miracle, walking two batters over two scoreless, no-hit innings. At 11-4 in the second half, Fort Myers is pacing the FSL North division by a game and a half. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 5 Box Score An early four-run inning evaporated in the middle innings and the Kernels needed a walk-off hit by Travis Blankenhorn to break the ninth-inning tie. Griffin Jax lasted 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. He struck out four. Patrick McGuff retired all four batters he faced. Hector Lujan, who was brought in to protect the save, blew it by giving up a home run, and picked up the win instead, improving to 3-0. The Kenels offense popped for 12 hits. Aaron Whitefield was 2-4 with his 19th stolen base, a double and a triple. Gorge Munez also tripled. Blankenhorn, Amaurys Minier, Caleb Hamilton and Andre Jernigan all had doubles as well. Jernigan and Munoz each drove in two. Minier committed two errors at first base. The playoff-bound Kernels dropped to 9-8 in the second half. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Johnson City 3 Box Score Brent Rooker continues to tear up rookie-league pitching. On Saturday, he went 3-4 with a double and a home run, his fifth of the season. Shane Carrier also went 3-4 and hit home run number two. 2016 comp round pick Jose Miranda also homered, his third. Bryan Sammons struck out six in 3.2 innings. He also walked three, allowing only one hit. Nick Brown worked four innings in relief, striking out five, but also allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits. Blair Lasko picked up his first win, working four scoreless outs. The E-Twins are 12-5, a half-game behind Greeneville. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 2 Box Score The pitching on Saturday consisted of four guys who combined to throw a shutout. Tyler Beardsley allowed only one hit over three innings, with two strikeouts. Taylor Clemensia picked up the win… but did walk five in three innings. He allowed a hit and struck out three. Austin Bizzle, pitching in only his second game since turning professional, threw his first multi-inning game. Bizzle picked up the hold by coaxing five ground ball outs and striking out one in two innings. Vadim Balan picked up the save. Colton Burns led the offense going 2-3 with a walk, two stolen bases, RBI and run. Royce Lewis went 1-4 with a strikeout. The GCL Twins improve to 9-3, atop the FSL South by two games.. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Rochester Hitter of the Day – Tanner English, Fort Myers SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Syracuse (12:35 CST) - RHP Justin Haley (REHAB) (0-0, 4.50 ERA) Chattanooga vs Pensacola (4:05 CST) - TBD Fort Myers vs Palm Beach (3:05 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs Peoria (2:05 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Elizabethton vs Pulaski (5:00 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (2-0, 2.93 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article

The Twins opened a series in Boston on Monday night and the affiliates played eight games, six of which will be profiled here. (The two DSL games from Monday are linked here and here.) The Twins optioned Dillon Gee after Monday night’s game to make room on the roster for Hector Santiago. Let’s check in on the large slate of Monday’s games.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Buffalo 3 (Game 1) Box Score After surrendering three runs in the first four innings, the Red Wings ended the first half of the doubleheader with four unanswered runs to win the seven-inning affair. A three-run fifth inning, led by doubles off the bats of ByungHo Park and Mitch Garver helped tie the game and two sixth inning doubles by Tommy Field and Niko Goodrum gave the Red Wings the lead for good. Zack Granite added two more hits, including a double, and improved his average to .363. David Hurlbut secured the win with 5.2 innings, allowing eight hits and four walks, while striking out five and allowing five runs. Jake Reed picked up the four-out save. He struck out one and gave up two hits. Rochester 4, Buffalo 2 (Game 2) Box Score You may have heard this before, but Zack Granite led off the game with a single and came around to score the game’s first run. In the second inning, Granite added his second single driving in Bengie Gonzalez, who had doubled earlier. Granite finished the game batting .365. Buffalo scored a run in the bottom of the second off Aaron Slegers, who allowed two runs on two walks and seven hits over five innings. He struck out four and improved to 7-4 on the season. Leo Reginatto hit a two-run home run in the third inning to make the difference in the game. John Curtiss, who picked up the hold, and Ryan Pressly, who struck out two in picking up the save, each pitched a scoreless inning. The Red Wings improved to 40-34 with their two wins on Monday. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Pensacola 6 Box Score The game started off perfectly for the Lookouts. Randy LeBlanc sent down Pensacola 1-2-3 in the first inning. The bottom half started with singles from Nick Gordon and Levi Michael before a walk to LaMonte Wade loaded the bases. A sacrifice fly by Jonathan Rodriguez scored Gordon and the game’s first run. But that was where the scoring for the Lookouts stopped. Five more hits (including a Wade triple) and no more runs were all the club could muster. LeBlanc’s night got worse too. In 5.2 innings, he allowed three runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out seven. Todd Van Steensel got the next four outs. Raul Fernandez gave up three runs in his frame before turning it over to Luke Bard, who completed a scoreless inning, striking out the side. It was the first-half champ Lookouts first loss in the season’s second half (4-1). MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers - OFF DAY KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Burlington 6 Box Score Burlington scored five early-inning runs and the Kernels couldn’t string together enough hits to get back into the game. Christian Cavaness led the offense with two hits, scoring one of the team’s runs. Travis Blankenhorn scored the team’s other run. He had a hit and two walks. Caleb Hamilton had a double. Lewin Diaz was credited with the team’s sole RBI, his 42nd on the season. Tyler Wells took the loss, dropping to 4-2. Wells gave up five runs (three earned) on two walks and seven hits. He struck out two. Patrick McGuff gave up a run in three innings. Logan Lombana finished the game with two shutout innings. The defense was definitely missing recently-promoted shortstop Jermaine Palacios, as his replacement Ariel Montesino committed two errors. Burlington also stole four bases, three while Wells was pitching. The playoff-bound Kernels dropped to 2-3 in the second half. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Pulaski 6 Box Score Errors were the story in this game too as Elizabethton committed four of them. Griffin Jax pitched 4.2 innings, allowing five runs (two earned) on six hits. He struck out seven but was hurt by his defense behind him. Bryan Sammons, working in relief, struck out five in three innings, allowing one run. Jose Martinez struck out two in 1.1 innings. Wander Javier walked and doubled. He also struck out, was caught stealing and committed an error. Trey Cabbage doubled and stole third base. Matt Albanese went 1-3 and stole a base… but saw his average drop to .625. Robert Molina hit a home run. Brent Rooker went 0-4 with two strikeouts. The E-Twins are 3-2. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 2 Box Score Royce Lewis started his professional career off with a bang: A home run in his first at-bat. He singled later. He batted second and played shortstop. Here is video of the home run, courtesy of Darren Wolfson. (I got a video sent to me from a scout on hand... which I would have used if there wasn't better quality video, which there is. Next time.) Jean Carlos Arias was 2-3. He doubled, hit a home run and drove in three runs. This is a welcomed sight after he struggled to an OPS of .531 in his first go-around in the GCL in 2016. Justin Haley allowed a hit and struck out one batter in his one-inning rehab look. Brusdar Graterol, who will be a Top 10 Twins prospect sooner rather than later, struck out four in four one-hit innings. Jose Bermudez got knocked around for five hits and two runs in 1.1 inning. He walked two. Bermudez pitched in the closer’s role for the DSL affiliate last year (and struggled). Vadim Balan pitched 2.2 innings. He gave up one hit, but picked up the win while striking out one. The GCL Twins are 1-0. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brusdar Graterol, GCL Twins Hitter of the Day – Zack Granite, Rochester TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Buffalo (6:05 CST) - LHP Nik Turley (1-2, 3.49 ERA) Fort Myers vs Clearwater (6:05 CST) - RHP Cody Stashak (3-3, 3.57 RHP) Cedar Rapids vs Burlington (6:35 CST) - RHP Colton Davis (3-1, 1.36 ERA) Elizabethton vs Pulaski (6:00 CST) - TBA GCL Twins at GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) - TBA Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

Posted an update. Leach is only bonus that is not exact. Things are going to be really tight.

Yes.

If the pitching staff was ever good enough that the Twins could actually employ a 4th outfielder, Granite would be great in that role.

Good question. The Twins seem to be using their 39th and 40th spots on their 40-man roster with guys - like Wilk, Heston and Rucinski - that just aren't very good. I like how they're using their roster and shuffling through guys. You lose some of that flexibility if you add Slegers, cause you're not taking him off. Is he better than those guys? I don't know. I don't know if that's what they're thinking... but it might be.