Search the Community

D.J. Baxendale and James Beresford helped lead their teams to victories, but there was plenty of other news in the system on Wednesday. The Twins had a trio of players - Phil Hughes, Casey Fien and Jordan Schafer - leave their game with injuries. The original word is that the players would be re-evaluated before anyone was placed on the disabled list. That seemed to change when Rochester closer Michael Tonkin wasn't used at the end of their game and then after the game it appeared he was recalled to the big club. There was also a self-inflicted wound announced this evening: Chattanooga reliever/spot-starter/former Top 10 prospect Adrian Salcedo will be suspended 80 games for testing positive for both a PED and a stimulant. Let's take a look at the three games that were played today.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Columbus 3 Box Score Aaron Hicks extended his hit streak to 10 games when he hit an RBI triple in the third inning. It led to a three-run inning and a lead that remained until the top of the eighth inning. Jason Wheeler struck out three in 7.1 innings. He allowed three eighth-inning runs, though they came in to score after Logan Darnell came in to relieve. Darnell allowed a single and a walk and was promptly replaced by new closer A.J. Achter, who blew a save by giving up a sacrifice fly to score the tying run. The throw from Hicks to Josmil Pinto actually beat the runner, but Pinto dropped the ball, allowing the runner to score. However, in the bottom of the eighth, James Beresford singled in both Eric Farris and Danny Ortiz to give the Red Wings the lead again. Beresford was the only hitter to manage a multi-hit game. This time A.J. Achter retired three of four batters to end the game and get the win. Rochester improved to 11-8. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Tennessee 1 Box Score Lookout starter D.J. Baxendale had his fourth solid start of the year and the offense provided just enough to avoid dropping their fourth game in a five-game set at Tennessee. The Lookouts got on the board in the fourth after Buxton got a leadoff single and then stole second base. He scored on an Adam Brett Walker groundout. Baxendale gave that run back in the seventh before being lifted for Jake Reed, who struck out two. In this no-decision, Baxendale went 6.1 innings, striking out eight and only allowing five hits and a walk. Two of those hits occurred in the seventh inning. Baxendale now sports a very healthy 1.07 ERA through 25.1 innings pitched. In his 25 AA-innings last year, the former Razorback gave up a 3.11 OBA and had an ERA of 5.76. In the ninth inning, DJ Hicks singled to lead off the inning. Walker followed that up with a double to drive Hicks in for the go-ahead run. Miguel Sano, 0-3 with a strikeout, walked later in the inning and eventually scored to add an insurance run. Zack Jones recorded his fifth save with a perfect ninth inning that included two strikeouts. The Lookouts improved to 9-10. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers - day off The Miracle enjoyed a day off on Wednesday. They start a four-game series with Charlotte on Thursday. According to the team website the first and last games are in Fort Myers, while the middle two games are in Charlotte. (What?) The 7-13 Miracle are in last place in the FSL South. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Quad Cities 4 Box Score The Kernels got a three-hit game from T.J. White and two hits from Zach Granite, but the offense did little else and failed to score a run. Nick Gordon went 0-4 and saw his average drop to .278. Mat Batts struck out six in 6.1 innings, but allowing seven hits and a walk led to four runs, three of which were earned. C.K. Irby faced five batters and retired them all, including two by strikeout. One of the highlights of today’s game was Brian Navarreto’s ability to control the run-game. He caught both potential base-stealers today and has now retired 10-of-15 runners trying to swipe a base. Navarreto, however, is only batting .145, so there is that to work on. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – D.J. Baxendale, Chattanooga Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – James Beresford, Cedar Rapids THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Columbus (10:05 CST) – RHP Mark Hamburger Chattanooga vs Jacksonville (6:05 CST) – RHP Alex Wimmers Ft. Myers vs Charlotte (6:05 CST) – RHP Chih-Wei Hu Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (7:00 CST) – RHP John Curtiss Click here to view the article