Search the Community

Tuesday night was the penultimate game of the 2022 season. The Twins and White Sox are two teams looking to finish out their seasons. The Twins pitching (and defense) gave up runs early on that made it hard for the offense to bounce back. Image courtesy of Jeff Biggerstaff, USA Today Box Score Starting Pitcher: Josh Winder 2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (69 pitches, 38 strikes (55%)) Home Runs: Jermaine Palacios (1) Bottom 3 WPA: Josh Winder (-.319), Carlos Correa (-.100), Aaron Sanchez (-.088) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The White Sox offense overpowered the Twins pitching on Tuesday. By the time the fourth inning came around, the White Sox had an 8-1 lead. Josh Winder had his final outing of the season. He struggled with his command early on in the first and second inning and by the third inning and his second time through the lineup, he allowed four earned runs and posted 69 pitches. Not the ideal way to end his season, but with all the injuries, coaching changes and movement in the pitching rotation, the Twins pitching overall struggled throughout the season. Winder pitched 14 games for the Twins this season, missing all but one game in the month of June. He ends the season with a 4.70 ERA, 47 strikeouts, and 17 walks over 67 innings. Aaron Sanchez came out to relieve Winder and struggled heavily in the fourth giving up four runs and 32 pitches. White Sox starter Lucas Giolito also had a rough start to his night on the mound. Early on he hit Nick Gordon, and he followed it by hitting Jose Miranda. The ball hit off his wrist and into his cheek and mouth. Miranda laid on the ground covering home plate until lead trainer Michael Salazar came out and looked him over. Salazar had Miranda do a series of tests verbally and physically to ensure Miranda was okay; however, either not convinced of his ‘feeling okay’ or out of caution, Salazar pulled Miranda from the game. It was later reported that he had a lip and cheek contusion and would be “day-to-day”. Manager Rocco Baldelli replaced him with Jermaine Palacios. The slip from Lucas Giolito, whose command also wasn't the greatest starting out, had him a bit flustered, but he held his composure and moved forward getting the second out of the inning and powered through seven innings to hold the Twins to just two runs before leaving the game. Jake Cave came up to bat, and drove in his 20th run of the season, scoring Gordon and getting the Twins on the board first. The offense remained stagnant through the next few innings, prompting Baldelli to make some changes by pulling out Correa and Urshela, with the exception of Luis Arraez, who is still leading the race for the American League Batting Title. Palacios moved over to short for Carlos Correa from first base where he was covering for Miranda. Caleb Hamilton took over at first base, Billy Hamilton took over at second base, and Nick Gordon moved to third base for Gio Urshela, leaving only two men on the bench: Mark Contreras and Gary Sanchez. The pace of the game certainly slowed down after the first run. In the sixth inning, Caleb Hamilton and Billy Hamilton both walked, Nick Gordon followed with a grounder to center, scoring Caleb Hamilton. The Twins bullpen, Jovani Moran, Emilio Pagan, and Jorge Lopez, brought the game to a close not allowing any more damage to be done. Palacios came to bat in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. He knocked a ball to dead center, 105mph for a home run. It was Palacios' first major-league homer. They may not have won but the home run was fun to see and they have one more chance tomorrow afternoon to go out with a win and for Arraez to add to his batting average before the close of the season. Tune in to see how the batting title finishes! Pitching for Season Finale: Wednesday 3:10 pm CST: RHP Louie Varland (0-2 4.71 ERA) v. RHP Davis Martin (3-5, 3.65 ERA) Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

The Minnesota Twins had 13 players make their MLB debuts in 2022, one shy of the club record. Here’s a look back at the position players who debuted. Image courtesy of David Richard-USA TODAY Sports Minnesota’s injury woes forced the team to utilize more rookies than the club had planned. Some rookies were impressive in their debuts, while others will need more time to showcase their future value. Frankly, some of these guys debuted because there were so many injuries, not necessarily because they were ready or part of future planning. Overall, there are some bright futures for the names described below. Jose Miranda 2022 Stats (125 G): .268/.325/.426 (.751), 116 OPS+, 25 2B, 15 HR Miranda was one of Minnesota’s highest-rated prospects entering the season because of a massive 2021 campaign. His big-league career started slowly when he posted a .512 OPS through his first 22 games. Things finally clicked for him at the beginning of June. He has an .807 OPS over his last 99 games, which is well above the league average this season. Miranda’s debut makes it easy to project him being a middle-of-the-order bat for multiple seasons. MLB Debut (May 2): 0-for-4 Royce Lewis 2022 Stats (12 G): .300/.317/.550 (.867), 144 OPS+, 4 2B, 2 HR Everything was going great. Lewis returned from his torn ACL that cost him the 2021 season. He posted a .940 OPS at Triple-A after not appearing in a competitive game since the 2019 Arizona Fall League. After a pitch hit Carlos Correa, it looked like Lewis might get an extended look at the big-league level. Instead, Correa returned, and the Twins started using Lewis around the diamond including in the outfield. In his first game back to the big leagues, he smashed into the wall and tore his ACL for a second time. It was a tragic end to a tremendous debut. MLB Debut (May 6): 1-for-4 Mark Contreras 2022 Stats (28 G): .121/.148/.293 (.441), 23 OPS+, 1 2B, 3 HR Contreras was never considered one of the team’s top-rated prospects, but the Twins needed outfield depth this season. He has struggled offensively in limited big-league action, including a 20-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. Next season, he will be 28 years old, and the outfielder may have limited upside left to provide to the club beyond depth. There is a chance the team designated him for assignment as part of the season’s annual 40-man roster clean-up. MLB Debut (May 11): 0-for-2, RBI, R Jermaine Palacios 2022 Stats (30 G): .143/.184/.229 (.413), 19 OPS+, 0 2B, 2 HR Palacios’ calling card is his strong defense, which is why the Twins brought him back to the organization on a minor-league contract in 2021 and again in 2022. He was needed at the big-league level when Correa went on the COVID restricted list and Lewis headed to the IL. Palacios had an .803 OPS at Triple-A in 102 games, so his bat isn’t as bad as his big-league performance might indicate. If Correa opts out, the Twins may need Palacios as infield depth for the 2023 season. MLB Debut (May 31): 0-for-3, BB, R, K Caleb Hamilton 2022 Stats (22 G): .056/.227/.222 (.449), 31 OPS+, 1 HR Hamilton has hung around on the Twins roster much of the second half, but he has been given limited playing time. He seemed to put things together at Triple-A to start the 2022 campaign. In 62 games, he hit .233/.367/.442 (.808) with ten doubles and 11 home runs. Hamilton also seemed to be controlling the strike zone better with a 67-to-43 strikeout to walk ratio. It’s hard to know if that performance was legitimate with how little playing time he has received for the Twins. Will the Twins trust Hamilton in a backup role next season, or will the club look for a veteran? MLB Debut (July 17): 0-for-1 Matt Wallner 2022 Stats (18 G): .228/.323/.386 (.709), 105 OPS+, 3 2B, 2 HR Wallner was the easy choice for the TD Minor League Hitter of the Year, and he has shown some of his power potential since being called up. Unfortunately, the club waited a confusing amount of time to call him up as the team’s division lead slipped away. Wallner may have surpassed Minnesota’s other young outfielders with his performance this season, especially if he can stay healthy in the future. He can join Miranda in the middle of the Twins line-up over the majority of the next decade. MLB Debut (September 17): 1-for-3, HR, R, RBI, K Which rookie performance stands out to you? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

The Wichita Wind Surge, Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, got blown out in the first game of the Texas League championship series. Yunior Severino blasted his 20th home run of the season. Jair Camargo and Brooks Lee each had a pair of hits in the 11-3 loss. Ronny Henriquez delivered 4 2/3 shutout innings of work for the Twins and Caleb Hamilton recorded his first-career hit, a home run. An ugly ninth inning with Trevor Megill on the mound resulted in the Twins losing to the Angels 10-3. View full video

The Twins played their final game Sunday home game of the season to wrap up their series with the Los Angeles Angels. With Dylan Bundy on the mound and the lineup still depleted of everyday players, could the Twins get their first series victory since sweeping the Royals two weeks prior? Or do Twins Fans need to sleep off the remainder of September with another loss on hand? Image courtesy of Matt Krohn, USA Today Sports Box Score SP: Dylan Bundy 3.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (84 pitches, 57 strikes (67.8 strike %)) Home Runs: Caleb Hamilton (1) Top 3 or Bottom 3 WPA: Dylan Bundy -.388, Jake Cave -.124, Trevor Megill -.067 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The end for Bundy? Dylan Bundy had the start for the Twins Sunday afternoon and continued not to look his sharpest on the mound. Bundy’s control of his breaking ball pitches, specifically the curve ball. Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani both hit well off of Bundy combing to go 3-4 in their plate appearances against him with Trout having a solo home run in the top of the third to make it 3-1 Angels. Bundy’s afternoon ended in the top of the fourth after giving up three singles and two runs to give the Angels a 5-2 lead. After a strong month of August where Bundy had a 2.63 ERA in five starts across 24 innings. Bundy’s September month has been the opposite, having a 7.48 ERA in five starts across 21.1 innings of work. The short struggles of Bundy’s Sunday performance skyrocketed his ERA from 6.38 to 7.48. With only nine games left in the season for the Twins, it is quite possible Twins fans have seen the end of Bundy’s time in a Twins uniform. Henriquez Pick Me Up After Bundy’s crumble of an outing, Ronny Henriquez came into the game making his second career appearance in the Majors. Henriquez had a couple of hiccups in his 4.2 innings of work with three hits and a walk but he kept all those Angel base runners from scoring and the Twins within three runs when he exited. Henriquez also had four strikeouts in his appearance while his fastest pitch topped out at 94.6 MPH against Michael Stefanic in the eighth. Henriquez’s longevity in the remainder of the game gave most of the Twins bullpen arms the chance to rest and fight for second place against the White Sox come Tuesday. Trevor Megill was in for the ninth facing Trout to start the inning. Trout had a lead-off double and Ohtani followed up with an RBI single to make it a 6-3 Angels game. That wouldn’t be the end for Megill as he surrendered a two-run double to Max Stassi putting the Angels up 8-3. The Stassi double was followed by another one from Livan Soto putting them up 10-3. Jovani Moran came into the game to get the Twins out of the jam. Moran successfully retired the last two batters adverting any further damage. Correa Leads the Offense Still not Enough for Win The Twins bats kept themselves from being completely shut out Sunday afternoon and many thanks to Carlos Correa. Correa went 2-4 with a double and scored the Twins' first run in the first inning. Alongside Correa with multi-hit games were Jose Miranda (2-4) and Gilberto Celestino (2-4, 2B). Even with nine hits on the day the Twins failed to get runners in scoring position home after the third inning going 0-2 in those opportunities. The bottom of the seventh was starting to look like one of those opportunities for the cold bats to break. A leadoff single from Miranda and from Gio Urshela was followed by Gary Sanchez being hit by a pitch. Nick Gordon came to the plate with an opportunity to tie the game with the bases-loaded. Unfortunately, that was not the case as Gordon struck out as well as Celestino to end the inning. Fortunately, the Twins did not stop scoring after the fiasco seventh as Caleb Hamilton finally scratched off his first big league hit with a solo home run to bring the Twins within a run of the Angels. Wake Twins Fans Up When September Ends? The Twins fall further down an abysmal hole that is September baseball as they dropped to a 7-17 record with Sunday’s loss. The Twins have also allowed 119 runs to opponents while only scoring 80 for themselves, their worse runs scored/runs allowed ratio on the season for a month. Only four games remain for the Twins this month with three at home against the White Sox and one in Detroit. At best, they’ll be 11-17, at worse 7-21. Either way, Twins fans may need to follow the words of Green Day and wait to wake up until September ends. What’s Next? Twins are off Monday with the final home series of the season to start Tuesday night against the White Sox at 6:40 p.m. Former Twin Lance Lynn is set to go against current Twin Bailey Ober for Tuesday night’s game. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Sheet View full article

The Minnesota Twins bullpen got destroyed by the Blue Jays Thursday in a 9-3 loss. Down on the farm, Caleb Hamilton hit his 11th home run for the Saints but it was another rough night for Jordan Balazovic and (to a lesser degree) Ronny Henriquez. Louie Varland pitched great for Wichita, though. Edouard Julien hit another home run for the Wind Surge while Anthony Prato delivered the game-winning hit. Also, Brooks Lee and Tanner Schobel made their professional debuts with the FCL Twins. View full video

What started out as a pitcher's duel turned into an ugly loss and series loss to the White Sox. The Twins enter the All-Star Break 50-44, still leading the AL Central by two games over Cleveland but certainly showed they need a break to rest and recuperate after Sunday’s brutal loss. Box Score SP: Chris Archer (4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (68 pitches, 42 strikes (61.8 strike %)) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Tyler Duffey -.120, Jose Miranda, -.065, Luis Arraez -.060 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Archer looked as good as ever during his first inning of work for the Twins on Sunday. Archer struck out the first two batters of the game, only giving up a hit to Andrew Vaughn and getting Jose Abreu to ground out in the next at-bat. The Twins bats did not get anything going in the bottom of the first even as Byron Buxton was announced as an All-Star starter in replacement of Mike Trout and his injury. Buxton himself struck out to end the inning while he remained unaware of the news. Archer continued to dominate through the next two innings for the Twins retiring seven straight. He totaled 38 pitches through the first three innings of the game keeping a pace to give the Twins bullpen much-needed rest. The Twins bats couldn’t keep up with Archer’s dominance on the mound as White Sox starter Dylan Cease no-hit the Twins through the first three innings, only allowing one base runner on a Jorge Polanco walk. The top of the fourth saw Archer allow just his second base runner of the game on an Abreu two-out base hit that ended up going nowhere as Archer struck out Gavin Sheets to end the inning. Archer ran into trouble against the White Sox in the top of the fifth with two outs on three pitches. Archer walked catcher Seby Zavala and gave up a single to Adam Engel in the next at-bat. Both runners were able to score on an error by Nick Gordon in left field recovering the ball. Zavala and Engel would go on to score in the next at-bat as Tim Anderson had a two-RBI single. What was looking to be the first time all season Archer could go into the sixth inning was shut down by Yoan Moncada as he hit a ground-rule double, tallying Archer’s to 68 and 16 since he recorded the second out in the fifth. Tyler Duffey was called upon from the bullpen to get the Twins out of the fifth. Duffey gave up another RBI double in the first at-bat to Vaughn but was able to get out of the troubling inning by retiring Abreu on a 6-4 ground out. What began as a pitchers duel in the fifth ended in a clear lead for the Sox as they were now up 4-0 going to the bottom of the fifth. Cease continued his no-hit bid in the bottom of the fifth getting Kepler on a ground out back to him to start the inning. He then walked Polanco again and gave up the first Twins hit of the afternoon to Alex Kirilloff in the next at-bat. Neither Polanco or Kirilloff would make their way home to score as Cease struck out the final two batters of the inning to get out of the jam. Caleb Thielbar was on the mound for the Twins in the sixth and allowed only one base runner on a Josh Harrison single but kept him from advancing any further. The Twins could not get anything going again in the sixth as Cease was on a crusade to prove he should be in Los Angeles Tuesday for the All-Star Game. Even if he wouldn’t be able to pitch in the game. Joe Smith was next from the Twins bullpen for the 7th inning. He gave up a leadoff single to Engel and retired Anderson on a ground out. But what followed were back-to-back home runs to Moncada and Vaughn to put the Sox up 7-0. Then it was an Abreu single and a team conference on the mound with the infield for Smith. The mound visit with the infield seemed to have little help as Smith walked Sheets next and well, Smith wanted to quickly forget what happened next. Another home run, this time a three-run shot to Josh Harrison that traveled to left field put the White Sox up 10-0. The home run removed Smith from the game and was the third he gave up in the inning, only managing to retire one batter in the seventh. A bit of good did come for the Twins to start the top of the 8th. Caleb Hamilton, who was called up from St. Paul on Friday as Ryan Jeffers was put on the IL, made his MLB debut as a defensive sub for Gary Sanchez at catcher. Hamilton caught Jharel Cotton for the eighth. Cotton’s inning was a continuing example of how worn out this Twins pitching staff has been since the start of June. Cotton surrendered a leadoff double to Reese McGuire, who pinch hit for Tim Anderson, and walked Vaughn who reached base for the fourth time in the game. It took Cotton 32 pitches to retire three outs in the eighth. The upside for Cotton and the entire Twins pen today? They are all off until next Saturday. The eighth ended on a nice snagging catch from Gilberto Celestino in center, who came into the game as Buxton departed for Los Angeles to start in the All Star Game Tuesday. The Twins caught their first break of the day in the bottom of the eighth. Miranda drew a one-out walk from Joe Kelly and what looked to be a fielder's choice that got Miranda out at second and Gordon safe at first. Was eventually overturned to be a FC, E6 as Garcia, now at short, never touched second base. This brought up Caleb Hamilton for his first MLB at-bat with two runners on and no one out, and Hamilton hit into another fielder's choice, but at least moved the runners into scoring position with two out for Arraez. Unfortunately, no one scored as Arraez grounded out to second to end the inning. The ninth was another relief appearance from Emilio Pagan who gave up one more run to the Sox. Kyle Garlick got a hit in his only at-bat of the game but did not score as White Sox reliever Jose Ruiz retired the final three batters to end the game. What’s Next? The Twins go into the All Star Break and are off until Saturday, July 23 for a quick two-game series against the Detroit Tigers. Joe Ryan is likely to get the start as the Twins turn to a four man rotation of Ryan, Gray, Bundy and Archer to finish out the month of July and start the second half. First pitch for Saturday’s game is at 5:10 p.m. CT. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Sheet View full article

Ryan Jeffers is out six to eight weeks, so Caleb Hamilton will get his first shot at the big-league level. Now, he's going to be starting some critical second-half games for the Twins. Let's look back at his professional career. Minnesota selected Caleb Hamilton in the 23rd round of the 2016 MLB Draft from Oregon State University. In three collegiate seasons, he hit .223/.326/.314 (.640) with 23 extra-base hits in 149 games. Defensively, he played six different positions in college but didn't log a single inning at catcher. The Twins slowly transitioned him into his catching duties during his professional career. After signing, the Twins sent Hamilton to Elizabethton, where he hit .207/.351/.329 (.680) in 45 games. The E-Twins used him in all three outfield positions as well as time at third base, second base, and shortstop. He showcased his defensive versatility, which continued to increase as he moved up the organizational ladder. In the 2017 season, Hamilton moved up to Cedar Rapids, where most of his defensive innings came at catcher (348 innings). He played over 100 innings at third base and left field while also being used sparingly at first and second base. Offensively, he posted some of the best numbers of his career as he hit .222/.342/.394 (.736) with 31 extra-base hits in 92 games. He was adding new dimensions to his game and putting himself on the prospect map. **** Click here for past Twins Daily articles that Caleb Hamilton has been tagged in. *** Hamilton continued his steady climb in 2018 as the Twins assigned him to High-A. At Fort Myers, his offensive numbers dipped compared to 2017. In 91 games, he hit .205/.288/.323 (.611) with 25 extra-base hits and a 72-to-36 strikeout to walk ratio. Hamilton started 66 games at catcher and logged over 550 innings for the first time in his career. He continued to get time at third base as he played 175 innings at the hot corner. During his age-24 season, Hamilton split time between Double- and Triple-A. He spent less time catching (400 1/3 innings) and more time getting regular reps at third base (356 2/3 innings). For the season, he got on base over 31% of the time and combined for a .660 OPS. Missing the entire 2020 season impacted players differently, and Hamilton was reaching a critical point in his prospect development. **** Click here for a Get to Know 'Em Podcast interview that includes Caleb Hamilton from November 2019... **** As the 2021 season began, Hamilton struggled to find his swing, especially when he got called up to Triple-A. In 67 Double-A games, he hit .192/.327/.360 (.686) with eight doubles and eight home runs. In St. Paul, he went 3-for-29 (.103 BA) with 11 strikeouts in 11 games. He continued to play catcher while also getting regular time at first base. Even though he was at Triple-A, Hamilton had to feel like he was a long way from making the big leagues. So far in 2022, Hamilton has looked like a completely different player at the plate. In 49 games at Triple-A, he hit .252/.387/.491 (.877) with eight doubles and ten home runs. He's also improved at controlling the strike zone with a 54-to-35 strikeout to walk ratio. He's getting walked in 18% of his at-bats, and he has a career-high ten home runs. Minnesota will get a more extended look at Hamilton over the next two months due to the Jeffers injury. Hopefully, he will be able to transition his newly found power stroke to baseball's highest level. What do you remember about Hamilton's professional career? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

The Twins avoided a sweep in Texas but only the Kernels joined their MLB counterparts in the victory column on Sunday afternoon. The Saints and Wind Surge found themselves in the loss column while the Mighty Mussels were rained out. TRANSACTIONS Fort Myers Might Mussels reinstated LHP Steve Hajjar from the 7-day injured list. Cedar Rapids activated LHP Brent Headrick from the Injured List. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Louisville 5 Box score SP: Dereck Rodriguez - 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: Caleb Hamilton (9), Curtis Terry (8) Multi-Hit games: Hamilton (2-4, R, HR, 2 RBI (31), K), Jermaine Palacios (2-4, R, 2B) The Saints wrapped up their second road trip to Louisville Sunday afternoon looking to split the series with the Reds Triple-A affiliate. Dereck Rodriguez was on the mound for the Saints and had a tough start as he allowed nine base runners on eight hits and a walk that turned into all five runs the Bats needed to win. Rodriguez did have six strikeouts for the afternoon and roughly two-thirds of his 94 pitches landed in the strike zone, even with two wild pitches in the afternoon. Through the first four innings of the game, the Saints were able to hold the lead thanks to two home runs, one from DH Caleb Hamilton and the other from first baseman Curtis Terry, both coming in the top of the fourth. The Bats were able to get a run back in the bottom of the fourth and the Saints responded in the top of the fifth with an RBI single from Hamilton that scored Elliot Soto. The bottom of the sixth was when the Bats retook their lead for the win and knocked Rodriguez out of the game scoring three runs on five hits. The Saints were able to escape more damage in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a diving double play started by Soto. St. Paul was unable to get any more runs and lost by a final score of 5-4. The loss brings the Saints overall record to 40-42 on the season. The Saints will return home Tuesday for a six-game series against the Toledo Mudhens which will feature former Twins prospect Akil Baddoo and former Twins reliever from the 2021 bullpen Derek Law. First pitch for Tuesday night’s opener is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. CT. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Amarillo 4 Box Score SP: Daniel Gossett - 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: Matt Wallner (21), Andrew Bechtold (10) Multi-Hit games: Wallner (3-5, R, HR, RBI (59)), Cole Sturgeon (2-3, R, BB, CS) Wichita completed the first half of a 12-game homestand with a loss in their series finale against the Amarillo Sod Poodles. Daniel Gossett made his fourth start since being sent down to Wichita from the Saints and held his own. Gossett allowed six hits, including one homer, through six innings but kept the Sod Poodles at two runs with five strikeouts. Twins future All-Star selection Matt Wallner carried the Wind Surge offense Sunday afternoon. Wallner led off the bottom of the first with a home run for the Wind Surge to start the day and put them up 1-0. Wallner reached base twice more on singles and had an outfield assist in the top of the third throwing out a runner at home to end the inning. Going into the top of the ninth, the Wind Surge held a 3-2 lead and looked to finish the game in their favor. The lead-off hitter was hit by a pitch. Amarillo rallied with two outs in the top of the ninth with a walk and a double to give themselves a 4-3 lead. Wichita was unable to score in the bottom of the ninth. The loss brings the Wind Surge record to an even 40-40 through 80 games on the season. The Wind Surge begin their next series at home on Tuesday against Arkansas with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 4 Box Score SP: Brent Headrick 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: Christian Encarnacion-Strand (18), Wander Javier (8) Multi-Hit Games: Jake Rucker (2-4, R, K, CS), Kyler Fedko (2-5, R, 2 RBI (25), K) Cedar Rapids completed their latest homestand with a series victory with four wins in six games over the Quad Cities River Bandits. The Kernels won 6-4 over the River Bandits on Sunday thanks to the power of Christian Encarnacion-Strand and multi-hit games from Jake Rucker and Kyler Fedko. Brent Headrick was on the mound for his 14th start of the season. The lefty had a shortened start of four innings on Sunday, but only made one mistake in his outing with a home run given up to River Bandits catcher Luca Tresh. Aside from the homer, Headrick dominated, striking out five on 42 pitches with 31 strikes. Entering the bottom of the third, the Kernels were down 1-0. In the bottom of the fourth, they scored four runs. The big hit was Encarnacion-Strand’s two-run home run. There was also a bases-loaded walk from Charles Mack. This gave the Kernels a 4-1 lead that they maintained until the top of the fifth when the River Bandits scored one more to make it a 4-2 game. In the top of the eighth, the River Bandits tied the game up 4-4 on an RBI single from shortstop Tyler Tolbert. The Kernels answered in the bottom half of the inning on Wander Javier’s eighth homer of the season and an RBI single from Kyler Fedko. The Kernels improve their season record to 49-32, tied for the best record in the Midwest League with the Great Lakes Loons, the Dodgers High-A affiliate. Next series for the Kernels begins on the road against the Beloit Sky Carp Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers, Tampa Postponed The Mighty Mussels had their series finale against the Tampa Tarpons postponed due to rain on Sunday. The rainout was the second of the series for the Mighty Mussels in Tampa. Steve Hajjar, who was activated from the 7-Day IL Sunday, was set to start for the Mighty Mussels but will have his first start back from the IL on Tuesday against Clearwater. The Mighty Mussels return home Tuesday for a six game series against the Clearwater Threshers with first pitch set for 6:00 p.m. CT. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins off day. Resume Monday against FCL Orioles at 11 a.m. CT. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins off day. Resume Monday against DSL Dodgers Mega team at 10 a.m. CT TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brent Headrick (Cedar Rapids) 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day – Matt Wallner (Wichita) (3-5, R, HR, RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 3-5, R, HR, RBI (59) #15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-3, 2 BB, K #16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, HR (18), 2 RBI (62), BB, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, July 12. The only remaining minor league games on Mondays this season are for the Saints in September and DSL and FCL games. Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - TBD Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - Steve Hajjar FCL Twins @ FCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Dodgers @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games View full article

The Twins won their final game of an eight-game road trip that posted a series victory against the Toronto Blue Jays. Down on the farm, all minor league affiliates won their games (Ft. Myers dropped game one of a double header), and the Saints had a franchise-record eight home runs hit in a monster-sized victory over the Iowa Cubs. TRANSACTIONS St. Paul Saints RHP Ariel Jurado was assigned to Low-A Fort Myers on Minor League Rehab assignment SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 16, Iowa 7 Box score SP: JC Ramirez - 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K HR: Spencer Steer 3 HR (6), Alex Kirilloff 2 HR (6), Caleb Hamilton 2 HR (5), Tim Beckham (2) Multi-Hit Games: Steer (3-4, 5 R, 3 HR (6), 5 RBI (15), BB, HBP), Kirilloff (2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI (20), BB, 2 K), Beckham (2-5, 2 R, HR, RBI (7), BB, K), Michael Helman (3-4, 2 R, SB (1), BB, HBP), Hamilton (3-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI (19), BB, K) Putting the month of May behind them, the Saints chose a good day to opt for a bullpen game with pitching as the bats, more importantly, Spencer Steer, Alex Kirilloff, and catcher Caleb Hamilton, combined for seven home runs to give the Saints a 3-2 record for June. Steer’s first home run of the afternoon came right away as he worked a 2-2 count and then hammered a lead off home run to left field to make it a 1-0 game. Before the inning was over, Tim Beckham hit his second home run, a solo shot, to extend the lead to 2-0. In the top of the second, Hamilton hit his first home run of the afternoon, a two-run shot that scored Michael Helman and gave the Saints a 4-0 lead. Before the inning was over, Steer recorded his only RBI of the afternoon not from a home run. Steer hit a sacrifice groundout that scored John Andreoli to give the Saints a 5-0 lead. On the mound for the first two innings for the Saints was JC Ramirez. Ramirez was in for his 11th appearance, the second start, for the Saints and gave up three runs on three hits and two walks. Ramirez totaled 34 pitches in his 2 innings of work and left with the Saints still in the lead 5-3. The Saints would not score again until the top of the fourth, when Steer hit his second home run of the afternoon, this time to center field, to extend the lead to 6-3. In the bottom of the fifth, the Cubs would bring themselves within a run of tying the game as they scored two off of Tyler Thornburg, who made his first appearance with the Saints for the 2022 season. The two runs Thornburg allowed went unearned and the game was at a 6-5 score going into the top of the sixth. In the top of the sixth, Hamilton hit his second home run of the day, another solo shot, and later in the inning, Kirilloff hit his first of the afternoon, a two-run homer that scored Steer extending the lead to 9-5 over the Cubs. The final home run of the afternoon for Steer came in the top of the eighth with Elliot Soto on base and put the Saints up 12-6 at the time. The third and final home run of the afternoon for Steer was his first ever three home run game of his professional career. Kirilloff’s final homer was in the top of the ninth as he hit another two-run home run that brought home Steer for his fifth run of the game and put the Saints up 16-6. The Saints will return home for a six game series for their first ever match up against the Twins former Triple AAA affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings. First game of the series is Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:07 p.m. CT. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Frisco 3 Box Score SP: Simeon Woods Richardson - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K HR: Chris Williams (4) Multi-Hit Games: None Wichita completed a six-game homestand with the Frisco RoughRiders Sunday afternoon and pulled away with a series victory in their 5-3 win. Simeon Woods Richardson was on the mound for the Wind Surge Sunday afternoon making his ninth start of the season. The Twins second highest pitching prospect according to Twins Daily recovered from a shortened start against the RoughRiders on Tuesday, a game that ended up being suspended due to inclement weather. Woods Richardson completed five innings for the Wind Surge on Sunday and although he allowed eight base runners on six hits and two walks. Woods Richardson only allowed two runs, both earned, and struck out seven RoughRider batters. Woods Richardson improved his season ERA to an even 3.00 on the season and his strikeout total now stands at 50 in 48 innings. The RoughRiders did get the first two runs of the game in the top of the second and later the top of the third. Being down 2-0 in the bottom of the third, Wichita was able to score their first run thanks to an Anthony Prato sacrifice fly that scored Edouard Julien making it a 2-1 RoughRider lead. The Wind Surge were able to tie the game up in the bottom of the fourth thanks to first baseman Chris Williams fourth home run of the year. With the game still remained tied in the bottom of the sixth at 2-2. Ernie Yake found himself in a 2-2 count with the bases loaded. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Yake laced a ball down the right field line for a bases-clearing double that gave the Wind Surge the three runs they needed to complete their 5-3 victory. The Wind Surge begin their next series on the road Tuesday for their second road series against the Arkansas Travelers, the Seattle Mariners Double AA affiliate. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Lansing 3 Box Score SP: Aaron Rozek 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: Christian Encarnacion-Strand (10), Will Holland (4), Kennie Taylor (1), Aaron Sabato (7) Multi-Hit Games: Encarnacion-Strand (3-5, 3 R, 2 2B, HR, RBI (43), 2 K), Sabato (3-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI (32), K), Yunior Severino (2-4, R, BB), Jeferson Morales (2-5, 2B, RBI (18), 2 K), Taylor (2-3, R, HR, 2 RBI (3), BB, K) Cedar Rapids completed their road series in Lansing, Michigan with a banger on Sunday, crushing the Lugnuts in a 9-3 victory. Aaron Rozek was on the mound for the Kernels Sunday afternoon making his seventh start of the season. Rozek completed 4 innings for the Kernels but surrendered three runs on two home runs, a two-run home run from Lugnuts right fielder Lawrence Butler and a solo shot by center fielder Austin Beck. Aside from the home runs, Rozek only allowed two additional base runners on a single and a walk and struck out five batters in his 4 innings of work. The bats came swinging for the Kernels all afternoon. Leading the offense for the Kernels was prospect sensation Christian Encarnacion-Strand as he went 3-5 with three extra base hits including his tenth home run of the season at High-A. Kernels first baseman Aaron Sabato had one of his best games of the season at the plate, he was also 3-5 with a home run and three runs batted in. Having his best game of the season so far was Kernels right fiedler Kennie Taylor, who went 2-3 with his first home run of 2022 and drove in two runs. The Kernels victory over the Lugnuts on Sunday gave them a 4-2 series victory over Lansing and improved them to 33-18 overall on the season. The 33-18 record for the Kernels is the best in the Midwest Western division and only second to the Dayton Dragons, the Reds High-A affiliate, who have a 35-15 record on the season. Next series for the Kernels begins on the road against the South Bend Cubs on Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT. MUSSEL MATTERS Game 1 Fort Myers 5, Tampa 6 Box Score SP: Ariel Jurado 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: Emmanuel Rodriguez (9) Multi-Hit games: Rubel Cespedes (2-4, K) The Mighty Mussels played two on Sunday afternoon as the Mussels had a rescheduled rain out game with the Tampa Tarpons from June 3. The first game featured Ariel Jurado on the mound for his first rehab start with the Mussels. Jurado went 4 innings for the Mussels in game one showing signs of strength in his first game of 2022. Jurado allowed only three base runners off of two walks and one hit and struck out four Tarpon hitters without surrendering any runs. Fort Myers was the first to score in this game as it remained scoreless going into the bottom of the fourth inning. That first run came from an Emmanuel Rodriguez solo home run putting the Mighty Mussels up 1-0. The Mussels came up with three more runs their next time at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning. The first run came from a Nelson Roberto RBI single that scored Mikey Perez, that was followed up with an RBI triple to center field form Jake Rucker scoring Roberto and making the score 3-0 Mussels. Finally, Noah Miller laced a ground-rule double over the left field fence to score Rucker and give the Mussels a 4-0 lead. In the top of the sixth, the Tarpons began to mount their comeback against the Mussels as the Yankees number three overall prospect, Jasson Dominguez, hit a two-run home run for his sixth of the season making it a 4-2 ballgame. The Tarpons then added two more runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game up 4-4 and with the Mussels unable to pick up runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh, the game went to extras. The Tarpons completed their comeback as they scored two more runs in the top of the eighth making it a 6-4 game in their favor. Fort Myers responded with a singular run from a Mikey Perez sacrifice fly, but came up short in game one of the doubleheader losing 6-5. Game 2 Fort Myers 7, Tampa 1 Box Score SP: Pierson Ohl 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K HR: None Multi hit Games: Mikey Perez (2-3, R, 2 2B, 3 RBI (26), SB (20)), Luis Baez (2-3, 2 R, SB (6)) Fort Myers recovered in the second game of the doubleheader against the Tampa Tarpons as the bats came out the gate swinging in the bottom of the first. The Mighty Mussels put up five runs in the bottom of the first off of a walk, an error and four hits, the biggest hit coming from Mikey Perez’s RBI double that scored two. Perez wasn’t done performing when he had his second at-bat in the bottom of the second as he had another RBI double that only scored one but gave the Mighty Mussels a 6-0 lead. On the mound for the start for Fort Myers was Pierson Ohl. Ohl was making his eighth start for the Mighty Mussels and even though it was shortened, it was one of his most impressive yet as Ohl recorded all nine of his outs via strikeout while allowing five baserunners. Following an explosive first two innings of runs, the Mighty Mussels only scored one more insurance run in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a Jake Rucker single. Juan Mendez closed out the game in the top of the seventh for the Mussels to give them their 7-1 victory and a split doubleheader. The Mighty Mussels travel to Daytona Beach Tuesday for a six game series against the Reds Low-A affiliate the Daytona Tortugas with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Day – Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 3-4, 5 R, 3 HR (6), 5 RBI (15), BB, HBP PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-3, BB #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 2-5, RBI #5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 3-4, 5 R, 3 HR (6), 5 RBI (15), BB, HBP #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 1-2, R, HR, RBI, 2 BB Game 2: Did not play #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB Game 2: 0-4, R #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-2, R, SB (6), 2 BB #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-4, R, SB (6) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 3-5, 3 R, 2 2B, HR, RBI (43), 2 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, June 7. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). Rochester @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Daytona (6:05 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games View full article

The story on the Minnesota Twins farm system Tuesday night was the pitching performance from the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. In a combined effort, including a standout start, they blanked their opponent for the fourth no-hitter in franchise history. TRANSACTIONS The Minnesota Twins selected the contracts of RHP Jharel Cotton and OF Mark Contreras in advance of their series opener with the Houston Astros. In Fort Myers, the Mighty Mussels placed RHP Logan Campbell on the 7-day injured list, and in a corresponding move activated RHP Niklas Rimmel. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Columbus 7 (12 innings) Box Score The way these teams traded runs and leads throughout the game, it was no surprise they needed extra-innings to reach a conclusion. The Saints tied or took the lead four different times, and the Clippers did the same. St. Paul got the first run on the scoreboard in the third, when Ernie Yake drove in Caleb Hamilton with a single. They tied the game at three in the top of the seventh, thanks to a 2-run home run from Hamilton, his second of the year. Down 5-3 in the ninth, RBI singles from Derek Fisher and Hamilton sent the game to extra innings. In the tenth, the Saints were able to get their free runner across the plate to take a 6-5 lead courtesy of a Jake Cave single, but Columbus was able to match it in the bottom half to extend it further. That’s where the luck ran out for the good guys. In the twelfth, the Clippers were finally able to walk it off with a two-out double that was just out of the reach of left-fielder Cole Sturgeon. On the pitching front, the Saints got a decent effort from diminutive starting pitcher Ronny Henriquez, who completed 4 2/3 innings. He allowed two earned runs on three hits (one home run) and a walk, while striking out four. JC Ramirez got the next four outs, allowing a home run of his own. Jovani Moran allowed two runs on three hits while striking out one in the seventh. Juan Minaya pitched two scoreless innings to get the game into extra innings, where Trevor Megill took over. He pitched two innings, allowing one of the inherited runners to score, walked one, and struck out two. Wladimir Pinto was charged with the loss after allowing the walk-off double. Jermaine Palacios (2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, K), Hamilton (4-for-5, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI), Roy Morales (2-for-5), and Yake (2-for-5, R, RBI) each collected multiple hits in the loss. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, NW Arkansas 7 Box Score The Wind Surge opened their series with the Travelers by sending right-hander Ben Gross to the bump. He went the first two innings, working around a double in the first and a walk in the second for a scoreless outing. He struck out three. Steven Klimek was brought on to start the third inning and ran into a bunch of trouble. Before it was over NW Arkansas had a 4-0 lead, but Klimek was able to come back and deliver a scoreless fourth inning. The Wichita lineup was able to get three of those runs back right away in the top of the fourth, when Matt Wallner led off the inning with a walk. He was followed by back-to-back blasts from Alex Isola and Andrew Bechtold to make it 4-3. From there, the Wind Surge got two scoreless innings of relief from Tyler Viza, who continued his early season dominance with three strikeouts against one walk and one hit allowed. In 18 1/3 innings pitched so far on the season, Viza owns a 0.49 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, while racking up 29 K’s (14.2/9IP). Osiris German came on for the start of the seventh inning, and was greeted by four consecutive hits that led to two more runs and a 6-3 lead for the home team. In the eighth, Alex Scherff gave up a solo home run to account for the final Travelers run on the scoreboard. Wichita was able to add a single run in the eighth, but they had a bigger opportunity for a comeback as Austin Martin, Edouard Julien, and Spencer Steer all got at-bats with the bases loaded. Martin struck out, the lone run scored on a passed ball during Julien’s at-bat (BB), and then Steer flew out to left, so it was not to be. Bechtold (2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, RBI, K) was the only Wind Surge player to pick up multiple hits, but Julien (1-for-2, 3 BB), Martin (1-for-4, BB, 2 K), Isola (1-for-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB), and Leobaldo Cabrera (0-for-2, 2 BB, K) all reached base multiple times. Despite all those opportunities, they were unable to cash them in by going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and leaving 11 men on base for the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Peoria 1 Box Score The Kernels lineup popped often in this one, and along with poor defense from the Chiefs (4 errors), led to a blowout victory on the road in their series opener. Jair Camargo, Will Holland, and Alerick Soularie all hit home runs for Cedar Rapids, while Christian Encarnacion-Strand added a double, and Willie Joe Garry Jr. a triple. Those five extra-base hits were the majority of the Kernels eight hits in the game, and drove in six of their ten runs. Jeferson Morales led the way with three RBI, and Anthony Prato, Soularie, and Holland each scored two runs. Cedar Rapids got another strong start from left-hander Brent Headrick, who went the first five innings to pick up his fourth win. He allowed just two hits, walked one, and struck out six. Headrick has now gone 16 innings without allowing a run over his last three starts. In that time, he’s allowed just six hits, walked two, and struck out 23. Matt Mullenbach allowed the Chiefs lone run in his two innings of relief. He gave up one hit and struck out two. Derek Molina walked one and struck out two in a scoreless inning, and Tyler Palm finished off the win with a scoreless ninth. The Kernels improve to as stellar 20-8 on the season, and lead the Midwest League West division by two games. MUSSEL MATTERS Palm Beach 0, Fort Myers 3 Box Score This game was all about pitching for the Mighty Mussels, as you can’t do much better than a no-hitter! It is the 4th no-hitter in franchise history, with the last coming on September 18th, 2021 when the Mighty Mussels defeated the Tampa Tarpons 3-0. This one was a lot like that one, as it was a combined effort from multiple pitchers. Last year’s 13th-round draft pick, Right-hander David Festa, got the start and was spectacular for the first six innings. He walked the second batter of the game but retired the next 10 in a row before issuing his second walk in the fourth. He picked up two strikeouts in five of his six innings, and finished with 11 on the game, also notably topping out at over 99 MPH with his fastball. With Festa at 84 pitches (52 for strikes, 22 (!) swinging) after the sixth inning, the Mighty Mussels went to reliever Jaylen Nowlin, their 19th round draft pick in 2021, to start the seventh. He delivered two more hitless frames, retiring all six men he faced, including three strikeouts of his own. Hunter McMahon was brought on for the ninth to finish it off, and he did just that thanks in part to a nice play of his own. After a leadoff walk, he was able to work around it by getting a groundball out and then snagging a liner right back at him, where he was able to double-off the runner at second base to end the game. In all, Mighty Mussels pitchers combined to allow just three baserunners on walks, and struck out 14 Cardinals. Fort Myers got all the runs they would end up needing in the bottom of the first inning when Noah Miller was able to come around to score on an outfield error after reaching base with a walk. The lineup went on to add single runs in the fifth and eighth innings thanks to a wild pitch and solo home run from Mikey Perez, his second of the season. While as a team they also managed just two hits in the game, the Mighty Mussels were able to take advantage of eight walks, including three from Miller, and two from catcher Dillon Tatum. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - David Festa, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (W, 6 IP, 3 BB, 11 K) Hitter of the Day - Caleb Hamilton, St. Paul Saints (4-for-5, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, K #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4, BB, 2 K #3 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - L, 4 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K #4 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 0-for-4 #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 0-for-2, BB, K #11 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 0-for-1, R, 3 BB #14 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 4 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 0-for-5, K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-2, 3 BB WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-1, 4.87 ERA) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Matt Canterino (0-1, 1.62 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (11:05 AM CDT) - RHP Sean Mooney (0-0, 1.69 ERA) Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - RHP Travis Adams (1-0, 1.80 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

David Festa struck out 11 batters over six innings to help lead the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels to a combined no-hitter Tuesday. Jaylen Nowlin covered the seventh and eight innings before Hunter McMahon finished it off in the ninth. Highlighted in tonight's video are Ronny Henriquez, Caleb Hamilton and Andrew Bechtold. Also discussed are the early goings of the Twins vs. Astros game and another strong start from Brent Headrick for Cedar Rapids. View full video

Two teams in the system won via the walk-off on Saturday. Read all about that and more in this edition of the minor league report. TRANSACTIONS C Jeferson Morales promoted to A+ Cedar Rapids RHP Luis Rijo placed on 7-day IL at A+ Cedar Rapids (right elbow sprain) C Allante Hall transferred to A Fort Myers LHP Sean Gilmartin placed on 7-day IL at AA Wichita C Jair Camargo placed on 7-day IL at A+ Cedar Rapids retroactive to August 6th (right hamstring strain) RHP Josh Winder placed on 7-day IL at AAA St. Paul retroactive to July 22nd (right shoulder impingement) Saints Sentinel St. Paul 4, Louisville 2 Box Score Ian Hamilton: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None St. Paul was nearly no-hit on Saturday. Bo Takahashi held the squad hitless while he was on the mound but the team was able to pounce on rehabbing reliever Tejay Antone for their first hit, and their first run of the game. The run tied the game; a fact aided in no small part by the Saints pitching staff on Saturday. It was a bullpen game and Ian Hamilton drew the first straw. Hamilton was able to shed his previous issues with command, and staunchly allowed no Reds hitter to reach base via the walk. All in all, Hamilton tossed three quality innings. The game was even at one headed into the 9th inning. Ryan Mason ran into some trouble, and before anyone could even realize it, the bases were loaded. The Bats plated a run but nearly scored another if Jimmy Kerrigan did not hose the runner at home with a great play: It looked as if Louisville was going to walk away with a win, but Mark Contreras had other plans. He sent a ball to what was previously an undocumented dimension with his game-tying blast: Édgar García ran into some trouble in the top half of the 10th inning, but was able to escape any real damage. In the bottom half of the inning, Ben Rortvedt was called upon to pinch hit for J.T. Riddle and send the home crowd into a frenzy with a walk-off two-run bomb: Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 5, Midland 4 Box Score SP: Austin Schulfer: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K HR: Caleb Hamilton (7), Jermaine Palacios (16) Multi-hit games: Caleb Hamilton (2-for-3, HR, 2B, R, 4 RBI) The Wind Surge won a thriller on Saturday. Austin Schulfer carried the squad early with yet another wonderful start. The right-hander has been workhorse-like in 2021 with nearly 80 innings on the year; an impressive total considering the non-existent 2020 minor league season. Caleb Hamilton backed his starter quickly with a 2nd inning, two-run homer. The 26-year-old is now creeping up on his career-high in homers for a season (9) which he set in 2017. In the least surprising news since the election of George Washington, Jermaine Palacios crushed his 16th homer of the year on Saturday. The blast moved Palacios into the top 10 for homeruns among all minor league shortstops. Yes, all of them. His new-found power is real and, if you happen to be the unfortunate soul pitching to him, terrifying. The game was knotted at three headed into the 9th inning. The Rockhounds inched ahead thanks to a Jonah Bride homer, but the Wind Surge refused to end quietly. With the bases loaded, Caleb Hamilton sent everyone home with a sacrifice fly that scored not one, but two runs. Take a look for yourself: Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 1, Quad Cities 4 Box Score SP: Tyler Beck: 6 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Kernels lost a clean game on Saturday. Tyler Beck’s line looks uglier than reality. Four runs is poor no matter how it’s sliced, but Beck’s runs came in the form of a duo of two-run shots. The sudden nature of home runs reflects a pitcher who was more unlucky than poor. Two pitches made the difference between four earned runs and a potentially better outing. In any case, the Kernels offense did little to help Beck. Wander Javier’s 7th inning triple was the lone extra-base hit by Cedar Rapids in the game. In total, only four base hits came off the bats of Kernels hitters on Saturday. For an inkling of good news from this game, Breckin Williams and Andrew Cabezas combined for three perfect innings of relief. The two righties punched out four batters in total. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 5, Dunedin 3 Box Score SP: Miguel Rodriguez: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jesus Feliz (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI), Willie Joe Garry Jr. (2-for-4, R) Fort Myers won a (somewhat) close one on Saturday. Despite falling down into a quick 1-0 pit, the Mighty Mussels easily rebounded. In the 2nd inning, Ruben Santana grounded home a run and Misael Urbina walked home another to steal the lead from Dunedin. Jesus Feliz singled home a third run in the 3rd inning, and a wild pitch in the 5th plated the final two runs scored by Fort Myers on the night. One has to unleash a truly reckless pitch to score two baserunners. If only the play was televised. Both Charles Mack and Nick Anderson reached base four times on Saturday. They combined for enough walks to challenge an old-persons home. But that’s enough for the offense. Let’s honor the pitchers who paved the path for the Mighty Mussels on Saturday. Beyond Miguel Rodriguez, whose great performance was self-evident, Zarion Sharpe held the Blue Jays scoreless for four crucial innings. Combining both of their pitching lines gives you one singular starter who gave up just one run over seven innings of work. That will play. Originally, I had written that the Mighty Mussels “won a comfortable one on Saturday”, but that became false in the 9th inning. Steven Cruz was called upon to guard a four-run lead. He would end the game with a two-run lead. But hey, the size of the lead does not matter at all as long as it holds. Complex Chronicles Game one: FCL Twins 5, FCL Red Sox 11 Box Score SP: Erasmo Moreno: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K R: Emmanuel Rodriguez (5) Multi-hit games: Emmanuel Rodriguez (3-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, RBI) This game was a continuation of the battle that began yesterday, but was suspended. Perhaps the FCL Twins would have preferred it if the matchup was just canceled instead. FCL Twins pitchers were struck well and often by the FCL Red Sox offense. No Twin escaped the endeavor without a wounded ERA with the lone exception of John Wilson. There was good news on the offensive front, however. Emmanuel Rodriguez knocked around a pair of extra-base hits, and Alerick Soularie finally graced a baseball diamond as a member of the Twins. Other than that, it is best to leave this game to the history books. Game two: FCL Twins 5, FCL Red Sox 1 Box Score SP: Develson Aria: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: Alerick Soularie (1), Ricardo Oliver (1) Multi-hit games: Alerick Soularie (2-for-2, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI), Alexander Pena (2-for-4, RBI) While the first game was considerably unremarkable, game two was anything but. This type of glow-up has not been seen since George Gordon Meade took over command of the Army of the Potomac. In a level of irony well-suited for Alanis Morissette, the FCL Twins scored as many runs in this game as they had in the previous encounter. Alerick Soularie demanded that his presence be acknowledged as he blasted his first career homer in the first inning of the game. In all, three runs would be scored before three outs were netted. All three pitchers for the FCL Twins left the game with a clean slate. Develson Aria proved that he is more than just a phenomenal name, and he held the Red Sox scoreless in his start. Danny Moreno and Samuel Perez were called upon to relieve Aria, and both players evaded allowing any earned runs. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Austin Schulfer Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Caleb Hamilton PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Royce Lewis (Rehab) – Out for season (torn ACL) #2 – Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – Injured List (elbow strain) #3 – Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Did not pitch #4 – Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List (right elbow strain) #5 – Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 0-3 #6 – Keoni Cavaco (Fort Myers) – 0-4, 2 K #7 – Gilberto Celestino (St. Paul) – 1-4, R, K #8 – Josh Winder (St. Paul) – Injured List (Right Shoulder Impingement) #9 – Aaron Sabato (Fort Myers) – Did not play #10 – Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 0-4, K #11 – Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Out for Season (Tommy John surgery) #12 – Bailey Ober (Minnesota) – 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K #13 – Cole Sands (Wichita) – Did not pitch #14 – Brent Rooker (Minnesota) – 1-5, 2 R, K #15 – Misael Urbina (Fort Myers) – 0-4, BB, K #16 – Spencer Steer (Wichita) – 0-4, K #17 – Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, 3B, 2 K #18 – Alerick Soularie (FCL Twins) – 2-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, K #19 – Edwar Colina (Rehab) – Injured List (elbow) #20 – Chris Vallimont (Wichita) – Did not pitch SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Dunedin @ Fort Myers (10:00 AM) RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long Midland @ Wichita (12:05 PM) RHP Cole Sands Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) RHP Cody Laweryson Louisville @ St. Paul (1:05 PM) LHP Lewis Thorpe View full article