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The Minnesota Twins ended up just having two minor league affiliates in action tonight, but both found themselves on the right side of elimination games. The Miracle advanced to the Florida State League Championship Series thanks to a big performance by Alex Kirilloff, and Tyler Palm played a key role in an Elizabethton title.TRANSACTIONS Cedar Rapids Kernels Received LHP Bryan Sammons from Chattanooga Received INF Victor Tademo from Rochester Assigned LHP Carlos Suniaga to Elizabethton Assigned RHP Jared Finkel to GCL Twins MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Palm Beach 1 Box Score If this one looked like déjà vu in the box score, it’s because there was a good deal of that on the field. Fort Myers again used a two-run, and one-run inning to push themselves out to a 3-1 lead. This was game two of the series, but the result remained the same. With the victory, Fort Myers wins the 2018 Florida State League South Division Series and advances to the Championship Series. Both teams combined to hold serve through two innings in this one. Jose Miranda broke the action open with a two-run blast, scoring Alex Kirilloff, in the top of the third. Fort Myers did end up giving one of those back in the bottom half however. Fast forward to the sixth, and Mark Contreras drove in Travis Blankenhorn on a sacrifice fly to allow the Miracle some breathing room. Clark Beeker worked one out shy of five innings in this one, and despite allowing five hits, he gave up just one run with two walks and four strikeouts. Alex Phillips did some heavy lifting in relief, while Hector Lujan and Adam Bray locked up the victory. Although not overpowering with the bats, Fort Myers has pitched their way to dominance through two postseason games thus far. Kirilloff enjoyed a 5-for-5 night from the two hole this evening, and Shane Carrier joined him in perfection, going 3-for-3 on his own. The Miracle now awaits the winner of the Clearwater and Dayton series. KERNELS NUGGETS Game one of the series between Beloit and Cedar Rapids was rained out tonight. It will be played tomorrow night. E-TWINS E-TALK Elizabethton 2, Princeton 1 Box Score This one was a barnburner, and while pitching was where the game was won, it was the E-Twins that had enough to get the job done. Prelander Berroa turned in five strong innings allowing just one run on four hits and a walk, while striking out four. Tyler Palm who tallied the final four innings, picked up the win. Coming out on top 2-1, the Elizabethton Twins take home a second straight Appalachian League title, number eight for manager Ray Smith. After getting behind by a run in the third inning, DaShawn Keirsey doubled home Gilberto Celestino to knot things at one in the fourth. With the innings and at-bats dwindling, Celestino doubled to drive in Yunior Severino for the go-ahead run in the eighth. Elizabethton saw a handful of new and exciting prospects come and go this season, and the end result being a ring on their finger has to bookend a feeling of accomplishment. Many of these players are recent draftees or new to the organization, and coming together for the ultimate goal at this level is nothing short of impressive. Congratulations to the entire E-Twins club on a great 2018 season! STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Tyler Palm (Elizabethton) – 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K Twins Daily Hitter(s) of the Day – Alex Kirilloff (Fort Myers) – 5-5, R TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Royce Lewis (Fort Myers) – 0-5 #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Fort Myers) – 5-5, R #13 - Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 0-3, R, K #16 - Yunior Severino (Elizabethton) – 0-3, R, 2 K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (7:00PM CST) – RHP Jhoan Duran (7-5, 3.75 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Click here to view the article

Happy Labor Day! Still a lot of meaningful activity going on as the minor league regular season comes to a close. The Twins were led to a victory Monday afternoon largely due to the right arm of Phil Hughes. The organization also made a number of September call-ups who will join the Twins on Tuesday.E-TOWN E-NOTES / APPY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Elizabethton 9, Johnson City 10 Box Score You could call this a heartbreaker. After giving up two runs in the first and four in the third to fall into a 6-0 deficit, the E-Twins turned around with nine runs in the bottom of the sixth. They then turned right around and gave up four more runs in the top of the seventh to trail - and eventually lose - 10-9. The bottom of the sixth was crazy. After a Pat Kelly double and Tanner English triple, Nick Gordon drew a walk that led to a pitching change. The reliever walked Trey Vavra and also threw two wild pitches, so English scored and Gordon advanced to third. With Tyler Kuresa batting, a third wild pitch scored Gordon and a passed ball allowed Vavra to reach third. An RBI groundout by Kuresa plated Vavra, the fourth run of the inning. Austin Diemer added an RBI fielder’s choice. Pat Kelly drove in two more on a single. Tanner English added a sac fly before Gordon closed the scoring with an infield hit that drove in a run. Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot more that the offense was able to put together. Sam Gibbons started and gave up six runs (four earned) in three innings. He struck out one. Randy LeBlanc came in and pitched three solid, shutout innings. LeBlanc allowed the first two runners of the seventh to reach before being relieved. Sam Clay got only one out, allowing those two runners to score and giving up two more runs of his own. Trevor Hildenberger finished the seventh and completed the game, striking out four. Decisive Game 3 will take place tomorrow night at 6:00 pm with Appy League Pitcher of the Year Felix Jorge on the bump. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Pawtucket 1 Box Score The Red Wings closed out their 2014 season with a victory to end the season on a high note and at 77-67. Unfortunately, they were eliminated from the playoff race with yesterday’s loss but were able to play meaningful games up until the (almost) very end. Additional good news came to some members of the Red Wings, as eight players will be promoted to the Twins tomorrow. Those players are: Ps Logan Darnell, A.J. Achter, Lester Oliveros, Michael Tonkin, SS Doug Bernier, CF Aaron Hicks and Cs Josmil Pinto and Chris Herrmann. Only Achter will be making his big-league debut. Hicks reached safely three times in his tune-up for his return to the big leagues. He drove in a run and finished his AAA season batting .278. Eric Farris also had two hits and an RBI. Chris Colabello, who was passed over for a September call-up, drove in the other run. This likely seals his fate as a member of the Twins organization. Pedro Florimon was also passed over. Kris Johnson made the start and only gave up one run. He allowed four hits and walked three while striking out three. Johnson picked up his 10th AAA win. In their final appearances before their promotions, A.J. Achter struck out four in two innings and picked up a hold and Lester Oliveros picked up his sixth save. He struck out one in an inning. It was a good run that the Red Wings made and hitting coach Tim Doherty and manager Gene Glynn will both be joining the Twins staff for two weeks. The Red Wings have been very successful under their tutelage and it would be an upset if the entire staff didn’t return next year in some capacity. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, New Hampshire 3 (13 innings) Box Score The Rock Cats have had a long season, but apparently wanted it to be a few innings longer. Despite some rough patches, New Britain still had a record (73-69) that would have kept them in playoff contention if they were in the Western Division. Jorge Polanco was the offensive star for the Rock Cats. He had an RBI single in the first inning, an RBI single in the eighth inning to tie the game and finally an RBI walk-off double in the bottom of the 13th. Terry Ryan said Polanco “isn’t ready” for a September call-up. I’d beg to differ. Stephen Wickens and Matt Koch both had two-hit games to end their seasons. Alex Wimmers made the start and went three innings, throwing 35 pitches and only allowing a single hit while striking out three. It will be interesting to see how he figures into the organization’s plans. Edgar Ibarra, outrighted off the 40-man roster yesterday, gave up a two-run home run in his three innings pitched. Jim Fuller gave up a run in two innings. Daniel Turpen pitched three scoreless innings before Cole Johnson pitched the final two innings, picking up the win. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers - DAY OFF The Miracle kick off the Florida State League playoffs tomorrow at Bradenton at 5:30. Game Two and Three follow as “home games” in Jet Blue Park on Wednesday and Thursday. Both games, if needed, will be at 6:05. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Clinton 1 Box Score The Kernels ended their regular season with a victory. Ryan Eades was remarkable. He went seven innings, allowing only three hits, a walk and one run. He struck out two and ended his season with a 5.14 ERA and 10 wins. Eades was an entirely different pitcher in the second half of the season than he was in the first half. In the first half, Eades threw 56.2 innings in 12 starts, he struck out nearly a batter per inning, but also walked about four batters per nine. His ERA was 6.51. In the second half, Eades saw his strikeout rate drop to six per nine, but also saw his walk rate drop to three batters per nine. He gave up more home runs and hit more batters, but his ERA fell to 4.13) and WHIP from 1.76 to 1.26. Hudson Boyd struck out two in a scoreless eighth and Jake Reed recorded three groundball outs to close the game. In Reed’s 31 innings this year, he allowed only one earned run, and that game was on June 30th. Alex Swim and J.D. Williams both had two-hit games. Swim and Max Murphy each had an RBI. The Kernels failed to have an extra-base hit. The Kernels open the Midwest League playoffs on Wednesday against Burlington. Twins Daily Minor League Players of the Day Pitcher of the Day: Ryan Eades, Cedar Rapids Hitter of the Day: Jorge Polanco, New Britain Tuesday's Probables Ft. Myers at Bradenton (5:30 CST) – TBD (Listen) (Game 1) Elizabethton vs Princeton (6:00 CST) - Felix Jorge (Game 3) ---- The Twins won on Monday, so grab some discounted Papa John's pizza on your way home from school tomorrow! Click here to view the article