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Although the St. Paul Saints didn't get a win tonight Devin Smeltzer looked like a star on the mound for the Twins Triple-A club. The Kernels walked it off twice and the Wichita Wind Surge put up runs in droves. It was an exciting night on the farm. TRANSACTIONS RHP Jharel Cotton cleared waivers and was assigned to the St. Paul Saints LHP Lewis Thorpe was released from the organization. SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 2, St. Paul 1 Box Score Playing the fastest game in St. Paul Saints franchise history, lasting just two hours and seven minutes, the good guys lost by a 2-1 tally. Devin Smeltzer drew the start and was again good in this one. He went five innings allowing just two runs on five hits while punching out eight and walking one. His ERA on the season sits at 1.29. After getting behind 2-0 in the third inning, St. Paul answered with a run in the 4th inning. Derek Fisher hit into a force out but allowed Jake Cave to score, cutting the lead in half. Unfortunately, that’s where the production ended and a four-hit night for the Saints produced nothing else on the scoreboard. Fisher was the lone Saints batter to record two hits on the evening. Both Royce Lewis and Curtis Terry drew two walks to reach base a handful of times. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 15, Midland 1 Box Score Chris Vallimont drew the start tonight for Wichita and worked four innings of one-run ball. He gave up three hits while walking three and striking out six. With Wichita plating six runs in the first two innings, that one run of opposing production didn’t much factor into the equation. Dennis Ortega began the scoring with a line-drive single plating Austin Martin and Cole Sturgeon. A Michael Helman at-bat complete with a throwing error then allowed Spencer Steer to score in the first inning as well. Doubling up the score in the second inning was accomplished on a Martin double that scored Andrew Bechtold, a wild pitch to score Martin, and an Ortega double that drove in Steer. The fifth inning saw another outburst for the Wind Surge in which they were able to double their early-inning tally. Kevin Merrell launched his second homer of the season before Martin drove in Bechtold on a single. Steer then ripped his 7th double, this one clearing loaded bases, and pushing the score to 11-1. Ortega then drove in Steer with a single and the blowout was fully on. Bechtold had contributed plenty on his own this evening and a sixth-inning solo blast for his second dinger of the season made it 13-1. Still supplying pressure, Sturgeon singled in the eighth inning driving in Bechtold and DaShawn Keirsey to extend the lead further making it 15-1. A whole handful of Wind Surge batters had multi-hit nights including Martin (3), Sturgeon (3), Steer (2), Ortega (3), and Bechtold (2, plus three walks). KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1: Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 2 (F/8) Box Score Tonight’s twin bill saw Sean Mooney start game one. He went five strong innings and allowed just one run on four hits while walking and striking out two. Cedar Rapids opened up the scoring in the first inning when Seth Gray singled to drive in Jeferson Morales. After giving back the lead, Cedar Rapids jumped ahead in the eighth inning. Hot-hitting Christian Encarnacion-Strand beat out a fielder’s choice to drive in Willie Joe Garry Jr. Morales then lofted a sacrifice fly to center deep enough to score Anthony Prato and the Kernels walked it off in game one. Morales and Gray were the lone hitters to record double-digit efforts in the front half of the evening. Game 2: Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 3 (F/8) Box Score Casey Legumina started game two tonight for the Kernels and he worked 4 2/3 innings allowing just two runs on five hits. Legumina also punched out three batters while walking one. As a whole, it was a strong bounce-back start. After getting down 2-0 in the fifth inning Cedar Rapids rallied. Morales grounded out but drove in Prato to halve the deficit in the 6th inning. The next at-bats saw Garry Jr. drive in Will Holland allowing the home team to knot things at two. Headed to extras, Cedar Rapids watched Peoria push across a run in the top half of the 8th inning but this one was far from over. Encarnacion-Strand was standing on first base after a single, and a Morales ball back up the middle resulted in a force out at second base. Prato started the inning at second base and went to third on the play, but then scored on an errant throw by the second basemen. Camargo then launched one off the base of the right field wall and Morales scored the winning run coming around from first base. For the second time on the night, Cedar Rapids walked off Peoria. MUSSEL MATTERS Dunedin 5, Fort Myers 2 Box Score The Mighty Mussels turned to Pierson Ohl this evening and he gave them four innings of work while allowing just two runs, one earned. Despite five hits, Ohl walked just one and punched out four batters on the night. After getting down 1-0, Fort Myers responded with a two-spot in the fourth inning. Mikey Perez drove in Kyler Fedko with a single before a Ernie Yake sacrifice fly scored Jesus Feliz. The lead wouldn’t last however as Dunedin knotted things in the bottom half of the inning. Unfortunately, that’s where the production ended for Fort Myers and two runs were all they could muster in this contest. Seven of nine starters recorded a base hit while everyone reached base, but no one put up a multi-hit effort. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Devin Smeltzer (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 2-3, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB 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: #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 3-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, K #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 0-2, 2 BB, 2K #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-4, 2B, BB #5 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-5, 2K #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-5, 4 K #15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, BB, K #16 - Ronny Hendriquez (Development List) - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (47 pitches, 28 strikes) #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 2-3, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05PM CST) - RHP JC Ramirez Midland @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Brent Headrick Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30PM CST) - RHP John Stankiewicz Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates back and playing. View full article

Cedar Rapids did not play on Wednesday due to poor weather. The three other Twins affiliates played tight, one-run games. A couple of Top 20 pitchers had big games. A couple of Top 10 hitters have multi-hit games. Read all about them and more in Wednesday's Minor League Report. Weather was a factor in just one of the Twins’ affiliates today. The Cedar Rapids Kernels game was postponed. They hope to play a doubleheader tomorrow. The Wind Surge hosted a whole bunch of students in an afternoon game. They got to see a couple of big innings, an extra inning and plenty of excitement. Ft. Myers saw one of its players knock their first professional home run, and it proved large in a one-run game. In addition, along with being named the Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Week, Mighty Mussels righty John Stankiewicz was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week. Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins announced that RHP Jharel Cotton has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to St. Paul. The Saints placed RHP Ian Hamilton on the 7-Day IL with a right groin strain. Ft. Myers placed RHPs Marco Raya and Niklas Rimmel on the 7-Day IL. Rimmel is out with a right shoulder impingement. Raya is getting his wisdom teeth removed. RHP Logan Campbell joins the Mighty Mussels. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Toledo 3 Box Score The Saints used one big inning and it was just enough for the pitching staff to hold on for the win. Mario Sanchez started and gave up one run on one hit (a solo homer). He walked two and struck out six batters. Dereck Rodriguez came on and completed three innings. He was charged with two unearned runs on two hits. He struck out five batters without any walks. Yennier Cano pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Juan Minaya came on and struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning to record his third save. In the top of the third inning, Elliot Soto walked and advanced to third base on a Jose Miranda double. With Royce Lewis batting, Chase Anderson threw a wild pitch to score Soto. Lewis followed with a single to center to score Miranda. Later in the half-inning, Daniel Robertson singled in Jake Cave and Curtis Terry to give the Saints a 4-1 lead. Royce Lewis went 2-for-3 with a walk and his seventh double. Jose Miranda hit his fifth and sixth doubles. They combined for four of the Saints’ six hits, but they added six walks as well. The Saints are now 9-4. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 9, Midland 8 (10 innings) Box Score Things got a little wild in Wichita on Wednesday. First and foremost, we have to talk about Simeon Woods Richardson. The young right-hander tossed six scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and struck out six batters. Overall, he is up to 16 2/3 innings without giving up an earned run. Ben Gross came on and tossed scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. The Wind Surge offense came in the third inning. Michael Helman singled in Alex Isola to get the Surge on the board. DaShawn Keirsey then scored on a wild pitch. First baseman Dennis Ortega drilled a triple to right-center which scored Spencer Steer and Helman. Matt Wallner followed by hitting a sacrifice fly to center field. New pitcher came in, and he was greeted by Kevin Merrell who hit his first Wichita homer and gave the team a 7-0 lead. That lead carried to the top of the ninth inning. Steven Cruz came on and was consistently sitting 98-100 mph with his fastball. However, the one issue he has had over his career has been control. He walked the leadoff batter, then hit the next guy. Austin Martin made another diving play at second base to get the first out at first base. But then Cruz walked another guy to load the bases. Then the 21-year-old made a mental error. Logan Davidson (former Twins outfielder Mark Davidson’s son) hit a bounding ball to first base. Dennis Ortego made the play, turned toward the bag, and no one was there. Cruz had forgotten to cover the base. Shutout over. And then a bases-loaded walk made it 7-2. Cruz then got a fly out to left field, which scored the third run, but also gave them two outs. However, another single to left scored a run and now it was 7-4. That was the end for Cruz. He was replaced by Argenis Angulo. He gave up a three-run homer to the first batter he faced. Tie game. He walked another, but then he got a strikeout to end the top of the ninth. The Wind Surge went scoreless in the bottom of the ninth and we had extra innings. Angulo started the 10th. With a runner on second base, a single moved him to third. A walk loaded the bases, and Davidson singled in the go-ahead run. Bases still loaded, just one out, but someone Angulo got out of the inning with a strikeout, a force out and another strikeout to end the threat. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Michael Helman started on second base. Ortega singled him to third. Wallner hit another sacrifice fly, scoring Helman and tying the game. However, the throw to the plate was cut off and a throw was made to first base. It got by and went down the line Ortega hustled to third base. Two batters were intentionally walked to load the bases. Alex Isola came up and on a 1-2 pitch, he drilled a line drive to the left-center field gap. Normally it would have been a double, but as soon as Ortega touched home plate, and Isola touched first base, the Wind Surge won in a walk-off. This was definitely a unique way to pick up the team’s sixth straight win. After starting 0-5, they are now 6-5. Isola and Keirsey each had two hits in the game. Spencer Steer had a double and two walks. Dennis Ortega had four hits. The minor-league veteran catcher (who has also played some at first base) went 4-for-5 and drove in two runs. He had a triple, a double, and a couple of singles in a game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Peoria (Postponed) Box Score Wednesday’s game was postponed due to inclement weather. The plan is for these teams to play two, seven-inning games on Thursday, starting at 5:30. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 3 Box Score Down 2-0 heading into the sixth inning, the Mighty Mussels got on the board with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Emmanuel Rodriguez. Then in the top of the seventh inning, Mikey Perez doubled in Kyle Schmidt. Later, Dylan Neuse hit his first professional home run, a two-run shot that gave the Mussels a 4-2 lead. They gave up one run in the bottom of the eighth inning but held on to the lead for the win. Kyler Fedko continued to rake. He went 2-for-4 and is hitting .432. Our choice for Minor League Hitter of the Week last week was Emmanuel Rodriguez. Along with three homers, he also had 12 walks to go with just six strikeouts. A night after Marco Raya struck out ten batters in his second pro start, Steven Hajjar made his second pro start. He also struck out ten batters. In 4 1/3 innings, he gave up an unearned run. He gave up no hits and walked two batters. Regi Grace came on and got the next five outs, but not before giving up an unearned run on three hits and two walks. Sam Perez was also charged with an unearned run. Matthew Swain recorded his second save with one strikeout in a perfect ninth inning. The Mighty Mussels are now an impressive 9-2 on the season. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Dennis Ortega (Wichita) - 4-5, 2B, 3B, 2 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: #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-5, 2B (4), K #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 2-3, BB, 2B (7), RBI #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 2-5, R, 2-2B (6), K #8 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K (65 pitched, 45 strikes) #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, K #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - 0-1, HBP #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-3, 2 RBI (2-SF), 1 K #15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, SF RBI, 3 K #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-3, 2 BB, 2B (5), R. #20 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 4.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K (73 pitches, 47 strikes) THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Toledo (5:35PM CST) - LHP Devin Smeltzer (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Midland @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Chris Vallimont (0-1, 21.00 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (DH @ 5:30 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (1-0, 2.00 ERA), RHP Sean Mooney (0-0, 6.00 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (0-0, 15.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! View full article