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The Twins evened their series with the Blue Jays with a nice 3-2 win. All four affiliates played on Saturday as well. There were some good games. Two of the four games finished in walk-off fashion. A big inning late in the game helped one of the affiliates to a win. Chih-Wei Hu returned to the mound for Ft. Myers.With that, here’s what happened on Saturday in the Minnesota Twins minor league system: TRANSACTIONS Cedar Rapids received outfielder Edgar Corcino from extended spring training. He was one of the more athletic players I saw in minor league camp.Following their game on Saturday night, the Kernels added catcher Alex Real to their roster. He was a 2014 draft pick who was given a 50-game suspension in the offseason.To make room for Real, 1B Tyler Kuresa was sent back to Extended Spring Training.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 2, Buffalo 3 Box Score Tommy Milone made another start for the Red Wings. He gave up twice as many runs in seven innings on this night as he had in his previous four starts. The left-hander gave up two runs on five hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out six. Mark Hamburger got two outs in the eighth. Michael Tonkin, freshly back from Minnesota, got two outs. Ryan O’Rourke struck out the only batter he faced. Lester Oliveros came in for the bottom of the ninth inning. The first batter, Brad Glenn, hit a solo walk-off home run to end the game. Red Wings announcer Josh Whetzel tweeted following the game that it was the first home run allowed in 92 batters faced by Oliveros. The Red Wings had just six hits in the game. Jose Martinez went 2-3 with an RBI. Josmil Pinto was 1-3 with a walk. Oswaldo Arcia went 0-3 with a walk and is now 0-11 in his four games with the Red Wings. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 8, Biloxi 11 Box Score When you score eight runs in a game, you expect to win. However, on this night, pitching was the concern right from the beginning. Biloxi won this game, their third win in the first four games of the series. D.J. Baxendale started. He gave up four runs in the first inning. He went unscathed in the second inning. After three batters reached to start the third inning, Baxendale came out of the game. The Lookouts announcers said that catcher Stuart Turner stepped in front of home plate and called over to the dugout. Manager Doug Mientkiewicz and the team’s trainer came out to check on Baxendale. He was removed from the game. The announcers said he just didn’t look like he had all season. His line (which is probably not the most important piece of this paragraph right now): He gave up six runs on seven hits in two innings. He walked one and struck out two. Madison Boer came on with runners on. He was charged with three more runs on four hits and a walk over 2.2 innings. Cole Johnson came on to replace him. He gave up one run on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Nick Burdi gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs, in his two innings. He struck out three. D.J. Johnson pitched the ninth inning. He gave up one run on two hits. Down 7-0 in the bottom of the third, the Lookouts attempted to come back. Travis Harrison cut the deficit to 7-4 with a grand slam, his third home run of the season. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before the Shuckers tacked on more runs to their lead. Down 11-5 going into the bottom of the ninth, the Lookouts scored three and had Miguel Sano up to bat representing the tying run. However, he flew out to end the game. Jorge Polanco led the offense. He went 3-5 with his seventh double. Max Kepler went 2-4 with his third triple. Miguel Sano returned to the lineup after missing two games with a jammed finger. He went 2-5. Byron Buxton walked twice in the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Clearwater 4 (11 innings) Box Score Chih-Wei Hu made his first start for the Miracle in about two weeks. In between, he had a very impressive spot start for the Rochester Red Wings and then skipped a start. He performed well. In six innings, he gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits. He struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. Bryan Haar put the Miracle on the scoreboard with his first home run of the season. Down 2-1 in the eighth inning, Niko Goodrum came through with an RBI single to tie the game at two. That’s where the score remained for a while. Todd Van Steensel threw two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out one. Brandon Peterson kept the score right where it was for two innings. He walked one and struck out four. In the bottom of the 11th, Dallas Gallant came on. He gave up a single which was followed by a two-run homer to end the game. The Miracle had just six hits in the game; Bryan Haar had three of those. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Clinton 1 Box Score The Kernels played their 50th game of the season, and they got a nice win to improve to 32-18 thanks to a big, four-run seventh inning. Zach Tillery started. He gave up only an unearned run on five hits over four innings. He walked two and struck out two. Lefty Jose Velez tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up a hit, walked two and struck out three. Luke Bard came in next. He struck out three over two shutout frames to get the win. Cameron Booser got the final three outs. In the big seventh inning, J.J. Fernandez led off with a walk which was followed by a Pat Kelly single. After a bad pickoff throw moved both runners up a base, Brett Doe doubled to score both of them and give the Kernels a 3-1 lead. The next batter was Edgar Corcino. He was making his Kernels debut. In the seventh, he singled in another run. Two batters later, Nick Gordon singled in the fifth run of the game for the team. Doe led the way going 2-4 with the two-run double, his sixth of the year. Corcino went 2-3. Gordon went 2-4. Fernandez walked twice and Zach Larson hit his tenth double. On Sunday afternoon, Australian right-hander Sam Gibbons will make his Kernels debut. Please take a moment to read the Cedar Rapids Gazette article on lefty Jose Velez, authored by Jeff Johnson. It is remarkable! TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Tommy Milone, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Bryan Haar, Ft. Myers Miracle SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (12:05 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Biloxi @ Chattanooga (1:15 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (12:00 CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

In one game, there was a home run that provided all of the offense. In another, the team won on a long, walk off home run. In yet another, the team had three players with three hits a piece. All that offense, and there was also a shutout. It was a good night in the Twins minor league affiliates. Continue to read below for all of the scores and highlights from the Twins minor leagues on Friday, starting with some transactions. Then, on Saturday morning, check back to see the organizational Leaderboard update.TRANSACTIONS Rochester released RH RP Daniel Turpen.RH RP Dereck Rodriguez was called up to the Miracle again from Extended Spring.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 3, Louisville 0 Box Score In the top of the first inning, outfielder Danny Ortiz hit his fourth home run of the year. The three-run blast gave the team a lead that they never game up. Tommy Milone made his first start after being sent down by the Twins. He threw 114 pitches, but he went 6.1 shutout innings. He gave up just five hits, walked two and struck out eight. Mark Hamburger got the final two outs of the seventh inning and pitched a scoreless eighth frame. AJ Achter pitched a scoreless ninth for the save, his second. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-4 with his ninth double. Aaron Hicks doubled for the fourth time in his last five games. It was his eighth two-bagger of the year. James Beresford went 1-3 with a walk and is now hitting .355. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Jackson 2 Box Score The score was tied going into the bottom of the ninth. With one out and one on, catcher Stuart Turner stepped to the plate and launched a long home run to end the game and give the Lookouts a 4-2 win. The game featured a terrific start by JO Berrios. He worked eight innings and gave up two runs on three hits and three walks. He struck out eight. He was actually quite dominant through the game, only struggling with his control in the two-run sixth inning. Aside from that inning, he was very efficient. He needed just 99 pitches and 66 of them were strikes .Zack Jones pitched a scoreless ninth inning to get credit for the win. Turner had the big hit in the game, the hit that ended the ballgame, but he also walked once early in the game. Jorge Polanco went 2-3 with a walk. Mike Gonzales got the Lookouts on the board with an RBI double in the first inning. Heiker Meneses added a double as well. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Jupiter 4 Box Score The Miracle bats showed up again on Friday night. Zach Granite was the instigator at the top of the order. He went 3-5 and is now hitting .333 in his time in Ft. Myers. Bryan Haar went 3-4 including two doubles (his fourth and fifth). Logan Wade was batting ninth, and he added three hits as well, including his fifth double. Alex Swim had another multi-hit game. He was 2-4 and is now hitting .345. Ryan Eades recorded his second win. He went 7.1 innings. He was charged with four runs (three earned) on nine hits. He walked one and struck out four. Todd Van Steensel came in to get the final five outs for his third save of the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids @ Beloit Box Score Rain caused the postponement of this game. The teams will play in Beloit starting at 11:00 on Saturday morning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – JO Berrios, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Bryan Haar, Ft. Myers Miracle SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Louisville (5:05 CST) – RHP Alex Meyer Jackson @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – RHP Greg Peavey Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – LHP Brett Lee Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (DH at 11:00 a.m. CST) – Michael Cederoth, Felix Jorge LEADERBOARD Here are the leaders in the Minnesota Twins minor league system through Friday, May 8. Hitters BA: James Beresford (.355), Zach Granite (.349), Alex Swim (.345), Trey Vavra (.326), Aaron Hicks (.320), Josmil Pinto (.317) OBP: Zach Granite (.421), Josmil Pinto (.411), Trey Vavra (.396), Aaron Hicks (.395), Dalton Hicks (.394), James Beresford (.390) SLG: Aaron Hicks (.540), Adam Brett Walker (.527), Trey Vavra (.517), Byron Buxton (.500), Dalton Hicks (.494), Danny Ortiz (.476) OPS: Aaron Hicks (.935), Trey Vavra (.913), Dalton Hicks (.888), Josmil Pinto (.874), Zach Granite (.865), Reynaldo Rodriguez (.840) Plate Appearances: Niko Goodrum (138), Zach Granite (124), Engelb Vielma (121), Alex Swim (120), Byron Buxton/Nick Gordon (115) Hits: Alex Swim (39), Zach Granite (37), Aaron Hicks (32), Reynaldo Rodriguez (30), Trey Vavra (29), Buxton/Polanco/Beresford (27) 2B: Reynaldo Rodriguez (9), Aaron Hicks/Travis Harrison (8), Niko Goodrum (7), Five with 6. 3B: Byron Buxton (6), Aaron Hicks (4), Levi Michael/Max Murphy (3), Six with 2. HR: Adam Brett Walker (7), Miguel Sano (5), Danny Ortiz/Niko Goodrum/Brock Peterson (4), Six with 3. Runs: Zach Granite (22), Aaron Hicks (19), Byron Buxton/Trey Vavra (18), Reynaldo Rodriguez (17), Four with 16. RBI: Nick Gordon (20), Byron Buxton (18), Danny Ortiz/Adam Brett Walker (16), Zack Larson (15), Three with 14. SB: Tanner English (9), Zach Granite/Engelb Vielma (8), Byron Buxton (7), Jason Kanzler (6), Three with 5. Walks: Niko Goodrum (20), Mitch Garver (19), Tanner English (18), Miguel Sano (16), Zack Larson/Dalton Hicks (15). Pitchers Innings Pitched: Tyler Duffey (38.2), Taylor Rogers (38.0), JO Berrios (36.0), Pat Dean (33.0), Stephen Gonsalves (32.0), DJ Baxendale (31.1). Starters ERA (>24.0 IP): DJ Baxendale (0.86), Chih-Wei Hu (1.24), Stephen Gonsalves (1.41), Mat Batts (2.05), Felix Jorge (2.25), Pat Dean (2.45), Ryan Eades (2.67) Relievers ERA (>10.0 IP): Trevor Hildenberger (0.60), Cameron Booser (0.69), Zack Jones (0.90), Mike Theofanopoulos (1.26), Adrian Salcedo (1.38), Tim Shibuya (1.53) Starters WHIP (>24.0 IP): Chih-Wei Hu (0.79), Stephen Gonsalves (0.81), Mat Batts (0.88), Aaron Slegers (0.98), Felix Jorge (1.08), Tyler Duffey (1.09) Relievers WHIP (>10.0 IP): Trevor Hildenberger (0.53), Zach Tillery (0.58), AJ Achter (0.67), Zack Jones (0.70), Madison Boer (0.84), Tim Shibuya (0.85) Starters K/9 (>24.0 IP): Stephen Gonsalves (12.1), JO Berrios (11.2), Felix Jorge (10.9), Alex Meyer (9.8), Chih-Wei Hu (9.3), Tyler Duffey (8.6) Relievers K/9 (>10.0 IP): Cameron Booser (15.9), Zack Jones (15.3), Lester Oliveros (14.8), Todd Van Steensel (13.7), CK Irby (13.1), Brandon Peterson (12.4) Starters BB/9 (>24.0 IP): Aaron Slegers/Chih-Wei Hu (1.2), Mat Batts (1.8), Tyler Duffey (1.9), Stephen Gonsalves (2.0), Felix Jorge (2.2) Relievers BB/9 (>10.0 IP): Trevor Hildenberger (0.6), Zack Jones (0.9), Tim Shibuya (1.5), Zach Tillery (1.6), Randy LeBlanc (1.8), Cole Johnson (2.2) Strikeouts: JO Berrios (45), Stephen Gonsalves (43), Tyler Duffey (37), Taylor Rogers (33), Chih-Wei Hu (30), Three with 29. Saves: Zack Jones (6), Michael Tonkin (5), Todd Van Steensel (3), Four with 2. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games or the organization's leader board. Click here to view the article

In the majors, Minnesota Twins starter Yohan Pino ran into trouble in the seventh inning, and it led to four runs and a 6-4 Chicago White Sox lead. The Twins were able to make an immediate comeback with a three-run eighth inning, punctuated by a two-RBI double off the bat of Oswaldo Arcia. They added an insurance run in the ninth, courtesy of Danny Santana’s fifth home run, and Glen Perkins shut the door on the White Sox to pick up his 27th save on the year. In the minors, one affiliate mounted a similar comeback, two games were finalized early due to rain, and another went 2-0 in a double-header with assistance from a monstrous bullpen. Check it out!RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Louisville 3 Box score Starting pitcher Mark Hamburger was making his third turn in the Rochester rotation on Saturday and left the game in line for the loss after five innings, with Louisville out front 3-2. He’d take a no-decision for the game however, as the Red Wings added a run in the top of the sixth, two in the seventh and a final insurance run in the eighth to take the victory from the Louisville Bats. For the game, Hamburger surrendered five hits, three walks and three runs (two earned), with three K’s. Aaron Thompson struck out the side in the sixth, Lester Oliveros went two scoreless innings with two hits allowed and three strikeouts, and Michael Tonkin picked up his seventh save with two strikeouts in the ninth. The Rochester offense got multiple hit nights from the top four hitters in their lineup which were Eric Farris (2-5, R, RBI), James Beresford (4-5, 2 R’s, 2B, SB), Josmil Pinto (2-5, 2B, RBI), and Wilkin Ramirez (2-5, R, RBI), as well as Danny Ortiz (2-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB). It was the two runs in the seventh inning that gave the Red Wings the lead for good after run-scoring singles from Pinto and Ramirez. ROCK CATS REVIEW Erie 3, New Britain 5 Box Score Like the Twins, the Rock Cats came back in this one to take the victory by pulling within one in the seventh, and taking the lead 5-3 with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. It was a Brad Boyer double in the seventh that scored Stephen Wickens, followed by an RBI double from Eddie Rosario to bring in Boyer.In the eighth inning, Aaron Hicks led off with a single, which was followed by a Tony Thomas single and a Mike Gonzalez walk to load the bases with one out. Wickens then doubled to clear the pond, and the Rock Cats wouldn’t look back. Rosario was 1-5 with two strikeouts in his first game in four days and Hicks was 1-2 with two walks. Wickens and Boyer each had two hits. Starter Pat Dean went seven quality innings, scattering seven hits and two walks (one solo-HR), allowing three runs (two earned) with six K’s. Alex Wimmers picked up the win by pitching a perfect eighth inning, while Mason Melotakis and Ryan O’Rourke combined to finish the ninth. O’Rourke notched his fourth save. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Lakeland 4 (Final after five innings) Box Score This game was shortened by rain, and ruled complete after just four and a half innings innings with Lakeland as the home team. There wasn’t much offense for the good guys, as Fort Myers had just one hit, a single from Travis Harrison and one walk from Stuart Turner in the game. Lakeland starter Tanner Bailey struck out four in his five innings. Miracle “Ace” Brett Lee was on the mound and had arguably his worst start of the season, yet his ERA rose to just 2.10. In four innings he allowed eight hits (three doubles), one walk and four earned runs with just one K. KERNELS NUGGETS After their rain postponement at Pohlman Field in Beloit Friday night, the Kernels had a double-header on Saturday. Stephen Gonsalves pitched the only inning for the Kernels on Friday and will take the hill again on Sunday. Game 1: Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2 Box score After play resumed with a 0-0 in the second inning, it was Josue Montanez on the mound for the Kernels, and he pitched three innings, allowing three hits and three walks, but just one run with two K’s. Chris Mazza then pitched two innings, allowing a run of his own on three more hits and one walk, with three K’s. Collegiate closers Jake Reed and Nick Burdi finished the final three innings, with Reed tossing two scoreless with two strikeouts, and Burdi picking up his third save with a 1-2-3 ninth, including two strikeouts. Max Murphy led the offense with a 2-4 game including an RBI, while Bryan Haar and J.D. Williams added doubles to the effort. Logan Wade and Chad Christensen each reached base via a walk, and each stole second base. Wade’s was just his second stolen base of the year in 49 games with Cedar Rapids, but also his second straight game with one. Christensen’s steal was his team leading twenty-fourth of the year. Game 2: Cedar Rapids 5, Beloit 2 Box Score A three-run home run from Bryan Haar in top of the eighth inning broke the tie and made the score 5-2 Kernels before Beloit failed to tie the game in the bottom half to make it the second game on the day that was finalized early. Haar was 3-5 in this one with two runs scored and a walk to go along with the go-ahead home run, while Jon Murphy added a multi-hit effort by going 2-3. Max Murphy and Michael Quesada tallied the two other RBI’s for Cedar Rapids. Mat Batts took the mound for the Kernels and struck out seven in five innings. He gave up just three hits, one walk and one run. Jared Wilson pitched two innings of relief, allowing a solo home run, and striking out four. Dallas Gallant picked up his fourth Midwest League save of the year by striking out the side in the ninth. BONUS CRAZY STAT: If you combine the last 10 appearances from the three-headed-bullpen monster of Nick Burdi, Jake Reed, and Dallas Gallant for the Kernels, you get the following numbers: 37 innings pitched, just 19 hits and 8 walks allowed, 5 runs (3 earned) scored, and SIXTY-THREE STRIKEOUTS. That’s a 0.73 ERA, 15.32 K/9IP, and a sub .170 batting average against. Wowzers… E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Kingsport 0 Box Score Elizabethton received seven shutout innings courtesy of starter Sam Gibbons, who allowed just two hits and one walk, while racking up seven K’s. Randy Leblanc pitched the final two innings and kept the shutout intact despite allowing three hits. He struck out one. Gibbons' seven scoreless innings matched his season high from June 26th, when he allowed just one hit and one walk against Burlington. The Elizabethton offense scored two runs in the first and two runs in the fourth on their way to the victory. Tyler Kuresa led the way with three RBI’s on a groundout and a single. He was 1-4 on the game. Leadoff man Jeremias Pineda (2-4, 2 R’s) and two-hole hitter Nick Gordon (2-4, R) added multiple-hit nights. Tanner English was 1-2 with two walks and stole his first base of the season. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score The GCL Twins scored all four of their runs in the sixth inning to take the lead, when they sent eight men to the plate. An Amaurys Minier double scored one and a Rafael Valera fielder’s choice scored another before Joel Ramirez brought home the final two with a single. They held on for the win despite a threat with runners on second and third from the Red Sox in the eighth and two hits in the ninth. Six pitchers took the mound for the Twins, including starter David Hurlburt who left in the second inning after allowing a single and recording one out. Callan Pearce finished the second with a hit, walk, and strikeout. Zack Jones allowed two runs in one-third of an inning, before Josh Guyer was able to provide a break for the bullpen, throwing five innings with just one run allowed (unearned) on four hits and two walks, with two strikeouts. Seth Wagner and Trevor Hildenberger combined to finish the final 1.2 innings, each allowing one hit and totaling three K’s. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher – Three-Headed-Bullpen Monster (4IP, 0 R’s, 1 H, 1 BB, 7 K’s), Cedar Rapids Kernels Hitter – Bryan Haar (2 games, 4-6, 3 R’s, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB’s), Cedar Rapids Kernels SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Louisville – Alex Meyer (6-4, 3.05 ERA), 5:05PM CST Erie @ New Britain – TBD, 12:35 CST Fort Myers @ Lakeland – TBD, 12:00PM CST Cedar Rapids @ Beloit – Stephen Gonsalves (1-0, 0.00 ERA), 2:00PM CST Johnson City @ Elizabethton – Felix Jorge, 5:00PM CST Click here to view the article