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Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano ran out of magic on Thursday night as the pair lost for the first time while playing in the lineup together, snapping the Twins' longest winning streak since 2011. With September call-ups less than a week away, let's take a look at some of the action down in the minor leagues.RED WINGS REPORT Syracuse Chiefs @ Rochester Red Wings Box Score The Red Wings pitching staff limited the Chiefs to just six hits while racking up thirteen strikeouts and not a single walk. Red Wings starting pitcher Michael Bowden picked up his tenth win of the year with seven scoreless innings. Bowden gave up five hits and struck out nine, bringing his season ERA down to 2.68. Bowden, a former first-round pick by the Red Sox, has pitched in parts of six MLB seasons, but hasn't been in the show since 2013. Mark Hamburger pitched the final two innings in relief. Hamburger gave up a hit and struck out four. The Red Wings did pretty well with the the sticks as well, notching nine hits, including multi-hit games from their one, two, and four hitters. Danny Santana led off and was 2-4 with a double and a run scored. Two-hitter James Beresford was 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Cleanup man Kennys Vargas was 2-4 with a run scored and a strikeout. Josmil Pinto picked up four RBIs with a grand slam in the first inning. Just Pinto's seventh homer of the year. Pinto was once a player the Twins had high hopes for but his defense hasn't been up to par at catcher, and as a DH his .229/308/.373 line is not impressive. Final: Chiefs 0, Red Wings 6 LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN Tennessee Smokies @ Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score The Smokies pounded the Lookouts on Thursday night, taking a six-run lead before the Lookouts were on the board. D.J. Baxendale pitched the first five innings, giving up eight hits, four runs (all earned), a walk and three strikeouts. Brandon Peterson gave up a pair of unearned runs in the sixth on the back of two Lookouts errors, one each from Niko Goodrum and Levi Michael. Corey Williams pitched two strong innings of relief after the Lookouts were well out of the game, giving up one hit, struck out three and walked one. J.T. Chargois pitched the ninth, yielding a pair of hits and a run. The Lookouts struggled at the plate, especially at the top of the order as the first five hitters combined to go 1-16. Levi Michael and Jair Rodriguez had the best nights for Chattanooga. Both players had a pair of singles. Final: Smokies 7, Lookouts 1 MIRACLE MATTERS Bradenton Marauders @ Fort Myers Miracle Box Score Miracle pitchers held the Marauders hitters from scoring until the top of the ninth and then hung on for dear life. Ethan Mildren got things started for the Miracle, pitching six shutout innings. Mildren gave up five hits, one walk, and he struck out three. Jake Reed picked up a hold, his second, with a scoreless inning (facing the minimum). Zach Jones gave up a pair of hits in the eighth, but escaped unharmed for his first hold of the year. Trevor Hildenberger gave up a pair of runs in the ninth but still earned his third save of the year thanks to a three-run cushion. The Miracle couldn't grab an extra base hit on Thursday night, but nine singles and a pair of sacrifice flies put them in the driver's seat. Zach Granite was 2-4 with a run scored, as was Engelb Vielma who added in a stolen base for good measure. Anderlin Meija was 0-2 but he had both of the Fort Myers sacrifice flies, driving in a pair of runs. Final: Marauders 2, Miracle 3 KERNELS KORNER Kane County Cougars @ Cedar Rapids Kernes Box Score The Kernels out-hit the Cougars 8-6 but were 0-11 with runners in scoring position, stranding twelve runners in the process. Alex Real had a nice night at the plate, 3-3 with a double and a HBP to reach four times. Real is a 2014 twenty-fourth round draftee out of New Mexico. The six-foot right-hander is hitting .270/315/.382 but has played just 54 games because he started the year serving a 50-game suspension for a positive PED test. Starter Randy Rosario took the loss to drop to 1-5 on the year. He pitched six innings of four-hit ball and gave up just one earned run. Rosario didn't help his own cause in the second inning earning an error on a missed catch which led to an unearned run. In the third a passed ball led to another unearned run. Yorman Landa gave up a pair of unearned runs in the eighth inning despite giving up just one hit, one walk and striking out three. Zach Tillery pitched the ninth, giving up a hit and recording a strikeout. Final: Cougars 5, Kernels 0 E-TWINS E-NOTES Kingsport Mets @ Elizabethton Twins Box Score The Elizabethton Twins battled back from an early 3-0 defecit to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. Zander Wiel powered the offense with a 2-4 night with a double and two RBIs. Jermain Palacios also had a pair of hits with a double from the leadoff spot. Starter Eduardo Del Rosario gave up six hits, three runs, walked no one, struck out three and gave up a long ball over his four innings of work. Logan Lombana pitched three scoreless innings of relief and struck out five while walking one and giving up a pair of hits. Tyler Stirewalt pitched a clean eighth inning, but with the game tied 3-3 in the top of the ninth, he came back out for a second inning of relief and was tagged with the loss as three runs scored as Stirewalt unraveled. He gave up a double, an intentional walk, hit a batter, a fielder's choice that resulted in no outs, and a single before the damage was done. Then the Twins went down in order in the bottom of the ninth. Final: Mets 6, Twins 3 GCL Twins GCL Rays @ GCL Twins Box Score Matz Schutte struggled through 4.2 innings, giving up five hits, five runs, a walk and struck out six. He was replaced by Luis Hernandez who pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball. Andrew Vasquez gave up a pair of unearned runs in the eighth, walked three and struck out two. Hector Lujan finished the game, giving up a hit but otherwise putting up zeros. The Twins managed just five hits, with two coming from Roberto Gonzalez on a 2-4 night that included a run scored. Kolton Kendrick was 1-4 with a triple, two RBIs, a run scored and a pair of strike outs. Final: Rays 7, Twins 3 TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Alex Real, Cedar Rapids Kernels Pitcher of the Day - Michael Bowden, Rochester Red Wings FRIDAY'S PROBABLES Syracuse @ Rochester - Paolo Espino vs. Taylor Rogers (9-11, 3.91) Chattanooga @ Birmingham - TBD vs. TBD Bradenton @ Fort Myers - TBD vs. Mat Batts (7-4, 2.54) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids - Josh Taylor vs. Sam Bibbons (7-3, 2.72) Kingsport @ Elizabethton - Nabil Crismatt vs. Onesimo Hernandez (5-1, 3,79) GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins - TBD vs. TBD Click here to view the article

After being laughed out of the Bronx the Twins traveled to Baltimore and took out their frustrations on the Orioles with a 15-2 butt-kicking that included another Miguel Sano home run (his tenth) and a 1-6 night from Byron Buxton in his return to MLB action. RED WINGS REPORT Scheduled off day LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN Chattanooga Lookouts @ Pensacola Blue Wahoos Box Score Lookouts starter Aaron Slegers cruised through six innings giving up just a single run, but ran into trouble and was lifted with two outs in the seventh for J.T. Chargois. Slegers finished the night giving up six hits, three runs, two walks, and he struck out seven. Chargois came in after the damage was done and struck out the only batter he faced in the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth. The Lookouts managed just six hits against the Blue Wahoos and the only man with a multi-hit night was the number nine hitter and DH, Levi Michael. Michael was 2-3 with a run scored. Max Kepler played center field and was 1-3 with an RBI and a walk. Final: Lookouts 1, Blue Wahoos 3 MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers Miracle @ Bradenton Marauders Box Score Starting for the Fort Myers Miracle on Thursday night was none other than Omar Bencomo. You win all of the bonus points if you know who Omar Bencomo is and how he ended up on the Fort Myers Miracle. If you don't know who he is, you're not alone. Bencomo hasn't played affiliated baseball since 2011, when he was a 22 year-old in the Midwest League for the Tampa Bay Rays. Since then he spent a couple of years playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, and in 2015 he played for two different Independent League teams (Wichita Wingnuts, Laredo Lemurs) before finding his way onto the Fort Myers squad. But I digress. Bencomo pitched seven innings of three hit baseball. He gave up no runs, walked no one, and struck out four, picking up his first win of the season. Tyler Jay, the Twins top draft pick in this year's draft, came in to pitch the eighth and faced the minimum and recorded a strike out. Todd Van Steensel picked up his thirteenth save of the year and a pair of strike outs in the ninth. The pitching was working for the Miracle on Thursday and the bats did just enough, pushing across a single run in the seventh inning thanks to a two-out RBI from Logan Wade. Wade finished the night 2-4. Mitch Garver also had a pair of hits for the Miracle, 2-4 with a run scored. The rest of the squad was pretty quiet. Final: Miracle 1, Marauders 0 KERNELS KORNER Kane County Cougars @ Cedar Rapids Kernels Box Score Kernels starter Ethan Mildren continues to work his way back from a recent demotion to the bullpen, and as a result is on a pretty limiting pitch count, which pulled him from the game after just four innings. Mildren gave up just three hits, one a costly solo home run. He walked one, and struck out two. He was replaced by Yorman Landa who pitched two hitless innings to earn his second win of the year. Zach Tillery picked up a two-inning hold (his first of the year), and John Curtiss picked up the save, preserving the one-run lead. Only one of the Kernels runs was earned, and it came off an RBI from Brian Navarreto. He was 1-3 with an RBI, and he scored the other run. Navarreto actually picked up his RBI and run scored on the same play, as he singled home Zack Larson and then scored on a throwing error by the catcher. That was all the offense the Kernels would get the whole night, winning the game 2-1 despite only four hits. Final: Cougars 1, Kernels 2 E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton Twins @ Pulaski Yankees Box Score The Twins had a 2-0 lead for most of the game before giving up a four-spot in the seventh inning. Starter Samuel Clay pitched four scoreless innings that included four strike outs and no walks, but reliever Nate Gercken, working into his third inning of relief, gave up three hits and a walk before being lifted in the seventh. Tyler Stirewalt replaced Gercken and proceeded to walk the first three batters he faced, pushing in two more runs, before inducing a double play to escape the inning. Because of the way baseball works, Stirewalk wasn't charged with any of those runs, and his statline looks fairly clean. No hits, no runs, no strike outs, but three walks and a wild pitch. Jose Abreu pitched the eighth with the Twins then down 4-2, to finish the game. The E-Twins bats were fairly inactive, as they recorded just six hits in the contest. Only LaMonte Wade had multiple hits, both for extra bases. Wade hit his fourth triple of the year and his eighth home run of the year, a solo shot in the third. No other hitter recorded multiple hits, and leadoff hitter Jermain Palacios kept the Twins out of any rallies with an 0-4 night that included three strike outs. Final: Twins 2, Yankees 4 GCL Twins Gulf Coast League Twins @ GCL Orioles Box Score Lachlan Wells earned his fifth win of the year pitching five innings and giving up just one run on a solor home run in the fourth. Wells struck out five, walked one, and gave up just four hits. He was replaced by Luis Hernandez who gave up three runs on a walk and a hit in the sixth, recording just two outs. He was replaced by Hector Lujan who pitched two and a third innings of three hit baseball to earn his first Hold of the year. Closer Johan Quezada picked up a pair of strikeouts in the ninth, as well as his seventh save. Final: Twins 5, Orioles 4 TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Omar Bencomo, Fort Myers Miracle Pitcher of the Day - LaMonte Wade, Elizabethton Twins FRIDAY'S PROBABLES Rochester @ Scranton/WB - Jose Berrios (3-2, 3.38) vs. Kyle Davies Chattanooga @ Pensacola - TBD vs. Cody Reed Fort Myers @ Bradenton - TBD vs. Frank Duncan Cedar Rapids @ Clinton - Randy Rosario (1-4, 4.50) vs. Lukas Schiraldi Elizabethton @ Pulaski - Dereck Rodriguez (5-1, 1.75) vs. TBD Gulf Coast Twins @ GCL Red Sox - TBD vs. TBD

One final day off for the Minnesota Twins before they are back in action to begin the second half of the season. With no Major League Baseball, the Minor Leagues take center stage. RED WINGS REPORT Lehigh Valley IronPigs vs. Rochester Red Wings Box Score Thanks to nine shutout innings from the Red Wings pitching staff, Rochester dealt Lehigh Valley's Aaron Nola his first AAA loss of the season. The Red Wings rode another strong Tyler Duffey (4-4) start to victory. Duffey went six innings giving up just two hits. He walked five but struck out six. His ERA now sits at a sparkly 2.24. Duffey was replaced by Alex Meyer who pitched a perfect seventh, including a pair a strike outs. Michael Tonkin and Aaron Thompson pitched an inning a piece to finish things out. The Red Wings scored six runs despite striking out ten times and only picking up eight hits. Oswaldo Arcia hit his ninth AAA homer, a two run shot in the first inning, and Danny Ortiz hit his ninth as well, a solo shot in the fourth. Ortiz's homer was part of a 3-4 night that also include a double and a pair of RBIs. Arcia's home run was part of his 1-4 night that also included three strike outs. Final: IronPigs 0, Red Wings 6 LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN Chattanooga Lookouts vs. Biloki Shuckers Box Score The Lookouts managed just four hits and three walks to go along with ten strikeouts of their own in a 3-0 shutout in Biloxi, Mississippi. Shannon Wilkerson, Niko Goodrum, and Max Kepler, batting first, second, and third, respectively, each had a hit. Jairo Rodriguez had the other hit on the evening for the Lookouts. Brett Lee was tagged with the loss for Chattanooga, dropping to 0-4 on the year. Lee gave up just two hits, but issued five free passes and was victimized by a pair of unearned runs. Lee was lifted after the fourth inning. Time Shibuya thre three scoreless innings or relief, and Matt Summers pitched the eighth. Final: Lookouts 0, Shuckers 3 MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers Miracle vs. Brevard County Manatees Box Score When the leadoff hitter is 2-3 with a walk, you hope the top of your order can produce a couple of runs, but the Miracle could only push Zach Granite across one time for their lone run of the evening. No other Miracle hitter had multiple hits, though Brett Doe was 1-2 with a pair of walks. Ryan Eades, who had put up a number of nice starts in the last two months, was tagged for four runs in six and a third innings. He did, however, strike out seven, and he didn't walk anyone. He was lifted for Brian Gilbert who pitched the final inning and a third, giving up one hit, one walk, and he struck out a pair. Final: Miracle 1, Manatees 4 KERNELS KORNER Burlington Bees vs. Cedar Rapids Kernels Box Score Down 5-2 headed to the bottom of the seventh, the Kernels scored a run in bottom of the inning and then another in the ninth but came up just short, losing 5-4 in front of the home crowd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Kernels offense put together just seven hits, and like the Red Wings and the Lookouts, they also stuck out ten times. Brian Navarreto led the charge for the Kernels, their only hitter was multiple hits, 2-4 with an RBI single. Ethan Mildren was lifted after just four innings, giving up seven hits, three earned runs, two walks and a single strike out. Jared Wilson pitched three innings but gave up two more runs. Chris Mazza and Cameron Booser each pitched a scoreless inning of relief, but the game was too far out of hand for the Kernels to come back. Final: Bees 5, Kernels 4 E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton Twins vs. Danville Braves Box Score The E-Twins only struck out eight times, so I suppose that's pretty good news, but they still couldn't muster any offense, scoring just a single run. LaMonte Wade was 2-5 with an RBI and A.J. Murray was 2-4 with a double. The Twins used four pitchers to get through eight innings even after they got six innings from their starter Miles Nordgren. Nordgren was tagged for one unearned run on five hits, no walks, and five strike outs. He was replaced in the seventh my Alex Robinson who gave up an earned run of his own, which saddled him with the loss. Josh Guyer pitched two-thirds of an inning and gave up the Twins' only earned run of the evening, and Onesimo Hernandez finished the eighth, putting down the only batter he faced. Final: Twins 1, Braves 3 TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Danny Ortiz, Rochester Red Wings Pitcher of the Day - Tyler Duffey, Rochester Red Wings FRIDAY'S PROBABLES Lehigh Valley @ Rochester - Jesse Biddle vs. Pat Dean (6-7, 3.39) Chattanooga @ Biloxi - D.J. Baxendale (3-2, 3.99) vs. Johnny Hellweg Fort Myers @ Brevard County - Mat Batts (3-2, 1.71) vs. Tristan Archer Burlington @ Cedar Rapids - Michael Bolaski vs. Randy Rosario (1-0, 0.00) Elizabethton @ Danville - Andro Cutura (1-1, 1.20) vs. Ryan Lawlor

Miguel Sano made his MLB debut on Thursday evening and (of course) picked up his first career hit via an infield single in the top of the ninth inning at Kauffman stadium in Kansas City. He's a huge young man, just starting his (hopefully) huge MLB career. Oh, and the Twins won thanks to a spectacular eight-inning shutout from Kyle Gibson capped by a Glen Perkins save.RED WINGS REPORT Red Wings vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs Box Score Rochester and Lehigh Valley were scoreless through four and a half innings before the IronPigs broke through and scored a pair of runs on the Red Wings starter, Greg Peavey. Peavey dropped to 0-2 and was charged with the loss. He pitched five innings, struck out five, walked two and gave up a pair of earned runs. He was replaced by Caleb Thielbar who couldn't hold things together and gave up four earned runs in the sixth on three hits and three walks. Cole Johnson pitched a pair of innings to finish the game, giving up an earned run, striking out one and walking one. The Red Wings were down 6-0 before they scored a run of their own in the top of the seventh, and then gave that run right back in the bottom of the inning. Leading off for Rochester, Aaron Hicks was 3-4 with a walk and an RBI. He should be ready to be back in Minnesota at any time. Oswaldo Arcia was 2-5 with a double. and he's hitting .261, but he had three more strikeouts on Thursday. No other Red Wings hitter had more than one hit, and no one else had an extra base hit. Final: Red Wings 1, IronPigs 7 LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN POSTPONED MIRACLE MATTERS Miracle vs. Palm Beach Cardinals Box Score Chih-Wei Hu gave up just a single run (earned) in five innings but was tagged with the loss as the Miracle hitters were shut out. Hu struck out three, walked three and gave up four hits. He was replaced by the recently demoted Nick Burdi who pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. And Dallas Gallant pitched the eighth to finish the game, recording a strikeout and giving up zero hits or walks. The Miracle gave up only four hits, and they tallied only four hits of their own. Engelb Vielma and Aderlin Mejia both had doubles, but no Fort Myers hitter had multiple hits and the Miracle never had back-to-back hits on Thursday night. Alex Swim and Marcus Knecht each had a single. The Miracle hitters did not have any walks and combined for four strikeouts. Final: Miracle 0, Palm Beach 1 KERNELS KORNER Kernels vs. Burlington Bees Box Score The Kernels had thirteen hits and scored six of their eight runs before the fourth inning on Thursday night. Edgar Corcino (2-5), Max Murphy (3-5), Jorge Fernandez (2-4, and Rafael Valera (3-5) all had multiple hits. Only Tanner English (0-4) and Pat Kelly (0-4) were held hitless. Valera had three RBIs, and Murphy had three runs scored. Ethan Mildren picked up his second win for the Kernels, moving to 2-0 on the season with a 0.48 ERA in a Kernels' uniform. He pitched seven innings of three-hit baseball, walked two, struck out three and gave up a home run. He was replaced by Brandon Bixler who pitched the final two innings, giving up three hits and a run. He struck out three as well. Final: Kernels 8, Burlington 2 E-TWINS E-NOTES Twins vs. Greenville Astros Box Score In what was almost a mirror image of the Kernels' gave, the E-Twins lost 8-2 and picked up only four hits (to go along with four errors). The Twins spread their hits out among Manuel Guzman, Alex Perez, LaMonte Wade and Rainis Silva. Andro Cutura was charged with the loss after four innings of two hit, three runs (one earned) baseball. He struck out three and walked two. Alex Robinson pitched two innings and struck out SIX. C.K. Irby (who might be related to Andrew W. K.) pitched 1.1 innings, but yielded five runs (two earned), giving up four hits, walking three and striking out one. He was replaced by Josh Guyer who pitched 0.2 innings to finish the game. He gave up a hit, struck out two, and walked one. Final: Twins 2, Astros 8 TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Aaron Hicks - Rochester Red Wings Pitcher of the Day - Ethan Mildren - Cedar Rapids Kernels FRIDAY'S PROBABLES Rochester @ Lehigh Valley - Jose Berrios (0-0, -.--) vs. Severino Gonzalez Birmingham @ Chattanooga (Game 1) - Myles Jaye vs. David Hurlbut (3-3, 6.53) Birmingham @ Chattanooga (Game 2) - Time Crabbe vs. Alex Wimmers (5-1, 4.41) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach - Ryan Eades (5-1, 2.92) vs. Nick Petree Cedar Rapids @ Burlington - Jared Wilson (5-2, 3.41) vs. Justin Anderson Greenville @ Elizabethton - Jun Garcia vs. TBD Click here to view the article

Miguel Sano made his MLB debut on Thursday evening and (of course) picked up his first career hit via an infield single in the top of the ninth inning at Kauffman stadium in Kansas City. He's a huge young man, just starting his (hopefully) huge MLB career. Oh, and the Twins won thanks to a spectacular eight-inning shutout from Kyle Gibson capped by a Glen Perkins save. RED WINGS REPORT Red Wings vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs Box Score Rochester and Lehigh Valley were scoreless through four and a half innings before the IronPigs broke through and scored a pair of runs on the Red Wings started, Greg Peavey. Peavey dropped to 0-2 and was charged with the loss. He pitched five innings, struck out five, walked two, and gave up a pair of earned runs. He was replaced by Caleb Thielbar who couldn't hold things together and gave up four earned runs in the sixth on three hits and three walks. Cole Johnson pitched a pair of innings to finish the game, giving up an earned run, striking out one and walking one. The Red Wings were down 6-0 before they scored a run of their own in the top of the seventh, and then gave that run right back in the bottom of the inning. Leading off for Rochester, Aaron Hicks was 3-4 with a walk and an RBI. He should be ready to be back in Minnesota at any time. Oswaldo Arcia was 2-5 with a double. and he's hitting .261, but he had three more strike outs on Thursday. No other Red Wings hitter had more than one hit, and no one else had an extra base hit. Final: Red Wings 1, IronPigs 7 LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN POSTPONED MIRACLE MATTERS Miracle vs. Palm Beach Cardinals Box Score Chih-Wei Hu gave up just a single run (earned) in five innings but was tagged with the loss as the Miracle hitters were shut out. Hu struck out three, walked three, and gave up four hits. He was replaced by the recently demoted Nick Burdi who pitched two scoreless innings with four strike outs. And Dallas Gallant pitched the eighth to finish the game, recording a strike out and giving up zero hits or walks. The Miracle gave up only four hits, and they only tallied four hits of their own. Engelb Vielma and Aderlin Mejia both had doubles, but no Fort Myers hitter had multiple hits and the Miracle never had back-to-back hits on Thursday night. Alex Swim and Marcus Knecht each had a single. The Miracle hitters did not have any walks, and combined for four strike outs. Final: Miracle 0, Palm Beach 1 KERNELS KORNER Kernels vs. Burlington Bees Box Score The Kernels had thirteen hits and scored six of their eight runs before the fourth inning on Thursday night. Edgar Corcino (2-5), Max Murphy (3-5), Jorge Fernandez (2-4, and Rafael Valera (3-5) all had multiple hits. Only Tanner English (0-4) and Pat Kelly (0-4) were held hitless. Valera had three RBIS, and Murphy had three runs scored. Ethan Mildren picked up his second win for the Kernels, moving to 2-0 on the season with a 0.48 ERA in a Kernels' uniform. He pitched seven innings of three-hit baseball, walked two, struck out three, and gave up a home run. He was replaced by Brandon Bixler who pitched the final two innings of the game giving up three hits and a run. He struck out three as well. Final: Kernels 8, Burlington 2 E-TWINS E-NOTES Twins vs. Greenville Astros Box Score In what was almost a mirror image of the Kernels' gavem, the E-Twins lose 2-8 and only picked up four hits (to go along with four errors). The Twins spread their hits out between Manuel Guzman, Alex Perez, LaMonte Wade and Rainis Silva. Andro Cutura was charged with the loss after four innings of two hit, three run (one earned) baseball. He struck out three and walked two. Alex Robinson pitched two innings and struck out SIX. C.K. Irby (who might be related to Andrew W. K.) pitched one and a third, but gave up five runs (two earned) giving up four hits, walking three and striking out one. He was replaced by Josh Guyer who pitched two thirds of an inning to finish the game. He gave up a hit, struck out two, and walked one. Final: Twins 2, Astros 8 TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Aaron Hicks - Rochester Red Wings Pitcher of the Day - Ethan Mildren - Cedar Rapids Kernels FRIDAY'S PROBABLES Rochester @ Lehigh Valley - Jose Berrios (0-0, -.--) vs. Severino Gonzalez Birmingham @ Chattanooga (Game 1) - Myles Jaye vs. David Hurlbut (3-3, 6.53) Birmingham @ Chattanooga (Game 2) - Time Crabbe vs. Alex Wimmers (5-1, 4.41) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach - Ryan Eades (5-1, 2.92) vs. Nick Petree Cedar Rapids @ Burlington - Jared Wilson (5-2, 3.41) vs. Justin Anderson Greenville @ Elizabethton - Jun Garcia vs. TBD

It was a very good night in the Minnesota Twins minor league system. The Cedar Rapids Kernels advanced to the second round of the Midwest League playoffs. The Ft. Myers Miracle jumped to a 2-0 lead over Daytona in the Florida State League championship series.After winning at home in Games 1 and 2, the Miracle will have a chance to claim the championship in Daytona on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Kernels will host Kane County in Game 1 on Saturday night. There were plenty of heroes in the two games. And, there were a couple of Kernels transactions after their game which will be mentioned later in today’s report. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 2 - Ft. Myers 5, Daytona 0 Box Score Ethan Mildren picked a good day to find ways to work out of trouble. The right-hander gave up five hits and four walks over his five innings, but he was able to keep Dattona scoreless. He struck out three. Todd Van Steensel has been kept busy in these playoffs. He worked one inning and gave up only a walk. Steven Gruver came on for the seventh inning. He gave up a walk and a hit and recorded two outs before leaving the game with an apparent injury. However, Nick Burdi came on and got the final seven outs, three of them strikeouts, to record the save. He gave up just two hits. The Miracle tallied three runs in the third inning. Travis Harrison singled in Aderlin Mejia with the first run. Dalton Hicks followed with a triple to score Harrison and make it 2-0. The next batter, Stuart Turner, hit a sacrifice fly scoring Hicks. The Miracle got a little insurance in the 8th inning. With the bases loaded, Niko Goodrum and Travis Harrison each took a bases-loaded walk to drive in a run and give the Miracle a 5-0 lead. The teams will now travel way north to Daytona where they will play Game 3, and potentially two more games. One more win and the Miracle will earn their league championship. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 3 - Cedar Rapids 4, Burlington 2 Box Score After losing Game 1 in Cedar Rapids, the Kernels were tasked with winning for a second straight night on the road in Burlington. They were up to the challenge. Cedar Rapids took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third. Ryan Walker tripled and scored on a groundout by Logan Wade. One batter later, Chad Christensen hit a solo home run. Young Stephen Gonsalves was given the starting nod. The lefty gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in the game’s first five innings. Both runs came in the bottom of the third inning. Jared Wilson worked the sixth and seventh innings, giving up nothing. He struck out two. Then in the top of the 8th, the Kernels reclaimed the lead. Jonatan Hinojosa singled. He advanced to third base on a double by Logan Wade. Chad Christensen singled in Hinojosa to give the Kernels a 3-2 lead. It was followed by a Max Murphy double that scored Wade. With a late-inning lead, Jake Mauer turned to the dominant bullpen guys. Dallas Gallant got the eighth inning and struck out two. Jake Reed came on for the ninth inning for the second straight night. He didn’t have to work quite as hard as he had on Thursday. He had a 1-2-3 inning to record his second straight save and send the Kernels to the next round. If you’re counting, that is now 24.2 innings since he has last given up a run. The Kernels will start the 2nd round of the Midwest League playoffs on Saturday night. They will be playing host to the Kane County Cougars. Games 2 and 3 will be at Kane County (Chicago area). The Kernels will add outfielder Tanner English and right-handed pitcher John Curtiss to their roster from the Elizabethton squad. To made room, two players were put on the disabled list. Mitch Garver, who hadn’t played since being pinch-hit for in the sixth inning of Game 1, was put on the disabled list for a concussion. Lewis Thorpe was put on the disabled list with “elbow” listed as the injury. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ethan Mildren, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chad Christensen, Cedar Rapids Kernels SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Game 3 - Ft. Myers @ Daytona (6:05 CST) – Brett Lee Game 1 - Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Ryan Eades Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. Click here to view the article

It all comes down to this, the final two games of the regular season for the Rochester Red Wings. They need to win their next two games against Pawtucket, the league leader. They also need Buffalo to lose one of their final two games against Syracuse. To help that cause, the Twins have promoted top pitching prospect JO Berrios to make the Sunday start for the Red Wings. Elizabethton starts their playoffs on Sunday. But before we get to Sunday, let’s check out what happened in the farm system on Saturday.TRANSACTIONS Sam Deduno was claimed on waivers by the Houston Astros.On Sunday morning, lefty Aaron Thompson was promoted from Rochester to fill Deduno's roster spot.Alex Meyer was placed on the disabled list for Rochester, which is hopefully just procedural so that they can call up JO Berrios from New Britain.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 0, Buffalo 3 Box Score The Season of Scares continued on Saturday when Alex Meyer left the game after the first two batters of the 2nd innings reached base. It was a precaution, and later it was said that he just couldn’t get loose. Hopefully it was only a precaution and not something more serious. Meyer gave up three runs, two earned, on two hits and a walk in one inning. Mark Hamburger came on and threw seven shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked one and struck out six. Deolis Guerra pitched a scoreless ninth. The Red Wings were unable to muster much offense. They had just five hits. Eric Farris had two singles, and Chris Colabello added his 13th double. On Sunday night, the Red Wings will play a must-win game against Pawtucket. JO Berrios will make his AAA debut opposite lefty Henry Owens of the PawSox. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 3, New Hampshire 1 Box Score It’s almost hard to remember how much Taylor Rogers struggled through his first four starts of the season with the Rock Cats. However, he has ended the season strong and earned the opportunity to pitch in the Arizona Fall League. On this night, the lefty gave up just one run on three hits over eight innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out nine. Dan Turpen got the final three outs, two on strikeouts, for his third save. Rogers improved to 11-6 with a 3.29 ERA. The Rock Cats didn’t get much offense. They had just seven hits. However, five of them came from the two and three hitters. Eddie Rosario went 2-4 with his 20th double and his seventh home run. Nate Hanson hit three doubles and has 26 on the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 - Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 0 Box Score Ethan Mildren evened his Miracle record at 3-3 with his strongest start in the Florida State League. The right-hander threw all seven innings and gave up just three hits. He walked none and struck out two. The Miracle managed five runs despite just four hits. They also accumulated five walks. Max Kepler had the key hit with a two-run double, his 18th of the year. Niko Goodrum added his 19th double. Game 2 - Ft. Myers 7, Jupiter 3 Box Score This game went to the seventh inning tied at three, but the Miracle scored four runs in the top of the 7th to take the lead. Bryan Haar went 3-4 with his third double. Dalton Hicks went 2-3. Jairo Rodriguez and Jason Kanzler were both 2-4. Kanzler stole his 11th base in his short time with the Miracle. Travis Harrison doubled for the 33rd time. Many pitchers had the opportunity to throw in this game. Brett Lee started and threw a perfect inning. Then Brandon Peterson came on and struck out four over two scoreless innings. BJ Hermsen gave up two runs on four hits in the fourth . DJ Johnson gave up a run in his inning. Nick Burdi struck out two in his scoreless inning. Zach Jones finished with a scoreless ninth. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Clinton 7 Box Score Stephen Gonsalves had his first rough start in his time with the Kernels. He gave up six runs on six hits, five walks and a hit batter in just 3.2 innings. Josue Montanez gave up one run on one hit over the next 2.1 innings. He struck out four. Brian Gilbert then struck out two in a perfect inning. For the first time since he returned to the Kernels, Jonatan Hinojosa did not get a hit on Friday night. So, on Saturday, he went out and went 3-4. Mitch Garver is ending his spectacular season strong. He also went 3-4 in this game. E-TWINS E-NOTES The E-Twins regular season came to an end on Friday. On Sunday afternoon, the Elizabethton Twins will play Johnson City in the first round of the Appalachian League playoffs. GCL TWINS TAKES The GCL Twins season is complete. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Taylor Rogers, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nate Hanson, New Britain Rock Cats SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (5:05 CST) – JO Berrios New Hampshire @ New Britain (12:35 CST) – TBD Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (9:35 a.m. CST) – Steven Gruver Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (2:00 CST) – Lewis Thorpe Elizabethton @ Johnson City (3:00 CST) – John Curtiss Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

The Twins managed just three hits against the Oakland Athletics and Jon Lester and lost the game by a score of 3-0. It will not be much easier for the Twins on Friday night as they face Scott Kazmir and his 2.53 ERA. Down in the Minor Leagues, things went a little better for the organization. Red Wings Report Rochester 7, Indianapolis 0 Box Sean Gilmartin picked up his second win at AAA to move his record to 2-3 with six scoreless innings against the Indianapolis Indians. Gilmartin gave up only three hits while he walked two and struck out five. His ERA is now 3.57. Lester Oliveros pitched the seventh and eighth without giving up a hit or a walk and stuck out three. Deolis Guerra finished the game and stuck out two in the ninth. The Red Wings held the Indians to just 3-30 hitting with two walks and 10 strike outs.The Red Wings pulled out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning and cruised to victory. James Beresford was a big catalyst for the Red Wings, finishing the night 3-5 with a double and two runs scored. Daniel Ortiz was 2-3 with two runs scored, a home run, three RBI and a walk. Josmil Pinto was 1-2 with a walk, a double and an RBI. Rock Cats Review New Britain 1, Akron 3 Box Tyler Duffey pitched 7.1 innings and gave up three runs on four hits. He struck out five and walked one. Unfortunately, the Rock Cats could manage only one run and Duffey took the loss. He's now 8-3 with a 3.80 ERA. Edgar Ibarra pitched two-thirds of an inning and walked two. The Rock Cats actually out-hit the Akron RubberDucks 6-4, but the Rock Cats didn't receive any support from the bottom of the lineup as the 7-8-9 hitters went 0-9. Jorge Polanco was 2-4 with a strikeout, the only Rock Cats player with multiple hits. Brandon Waring was 1-3 with the Cats' only extra base hit of the night, a double. Miracle Matters Fort Myers 6, St. Lucie 2 Box The Ethan Mildren Fan Club has reason to be excited as Mildren picked up his second win at High-A with six innings of two run baseball. Mildren gave up just four hits, but two of them were solo home runs. Alex Muren earned a hold with a scoreless seventh inning. He walked two and stuck out one, so it was a little bit of a bumpy ride. Tyler Jones pitched a scoreless eighth and D.J. Johnson did the same in the ninth. Levi Michael continues to play well. He was 2-4 with a run scored, a walk and two RBI leading off for the Miracle. Byron Buxton was 1-5 (infield single) with a run scored and two strikeouts. He's hitting just .236 for the Miracle. Adam Brett Walker II hit his Florida State League leading 23rd home run of the year, a solo shot in the eighth. Aderlin Mejia and Niko Goodrum each added two hits with 2-4 performances. Kernels Nuggets Kane County 3, Cedar Rapids 4 (11 innings) Box The Kernels took an early lead in the bottom of the second, but Mat Batts ran into some trouble and left after six down 3-2. Batts gave up five hits, three runs (two earned), walked no one and struck out eight. His ERA is 2.45. Jared Wilson pitched the seventh and eighth without giving up a hit or a walk and he recorded a strikeout. Jake Reed pitched two scoreless innings as well, to take the Kernels through the tenth. Reed gave up just one hit and struck out four. Dallas Gallant pitched a scoreless eleventh and picked up the win when the Kernels scored in the bottom of the inning. Mitch Garver and Engelb Vielma both had 3-4 nights and they each hit a double. Engelb Vielma led off the 10th with a double, but could not come around to score. Garver's double also came in extra innings, leading off the 11th inning. He was lifted for pitch runner Jon Murphy who raced around to score when Bryan Haar doubled to left field, winning the game for the Kernels. E-Town E-Notes Danville 0, Elizabethton 12 Box The Elizabethton Twins had their bats working early and had a 9-0 lead by the end of the fifth inning, adding three more in the bottom of the seventh. Every E-Twin hitter except leadoff man Jeremias Pineda had two hits, and Nick Gordon (3-6), Tanner English (3-5) and Jorge Fernandez (4-5) did even better than that. Gordon added a triple and three RBIs to his three hits. English had a double and two RBIs and Fernandez had a triple and three RBIs of his own. The pitching staff held their own as well, giving up just five hits and two walks while they stuck out 13 Danville Braves hitters. John Curtiss started, struck out eight in his five innings, and then turned the game over to the bullpen. Kuo Hua Lo pitched two hitless innings, striking out three and walked none. Samuel Clay mopped up the final two innings of the night, giving up a lone hit and stuck out a pair. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 6 Box Despite two runs in the top of the ninth, and four errors from the GCL Orioles, the GCL Twins fell to the GCL Orioles 5-6. The Twins received a nice performance from their starter Brandon Easter who went five innings, gave up two runs (one earned), struck out six and walked two. Callan Pearce gave up four earned runs in the bottom of the sixth and picked up the loss. He also pitched a scoreless seventh. Zack Jones pitched the eight inning, striking out the side and scattered a hit and a walk. Rainis Silva was 2-4, the only Twins player with two or more hits. Amaurys Minier was just 1-5 but he made it count with a two-run home run. No other player had an extra base hit for the Twins on a pretty quiet night in the batters box. DSL Twins Takes DSL Padres 3, DSL Twins 4 Jose Ramirez gave up two earned runs over five innings, scattering three hits to go along with a walk and six strike outs. He turned the game over to Jose Martinez with a 3-2 lead. Martinez lost the lead in the top of the seventh, but the DSL Twins retook the lead in the bottom of the seventh, so Martinez earns the win and a blown save. Martinez pitched the final four innings, he gave up two hits, a run and struck out one batter. The DSL Twins and the DSL Orioles combined for seven runs on just six hits, three hits for each team. The only Twins players with hits last night were Jorge Andrade (1-2 with a walk and two runs scored), Luis Martinez (1-3 with a walk and an RBI) and Lewin Diaz (1-3 with a double and two RBI). Twins Daily Minor League Hitter and Pitcher of the Day Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day - Nick Gordon, Elizabethton Twins Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Ethan Mildren, Fort Myers Miracle Friday's Probables Rochester @ Indianapolis (6:15 C) - Mark Hamburger (Listen) New Britain @ Erie (6:05 C) – Pat Dean (Listen) Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (5:30 C)– Brett Lee (Listen) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 C) - Stephen Gonsalves (Listen) Danville @ Elizabethton (6:00 C) - TBD GCL Orioles @ GCL Twis (11:00am C) – TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Padres (9:30am C) – TBD Click here to view the article

The Twins managed just three hits against the Oakland Athletics and Jon Lester and lost the game by a score of 3-0. It will not be much easier for the Twins on Friday night as they face Scott Kazmir and his 2.53 ERA. Down in the Minor Leagues, things went a little better for the organization. Red Wings Report Rochester 7, Indianapolis 0 Box Sean Gilmartin picked up his second win at AAA to move his record to 2-3 with six scoreless innings against the Indianapolis Indians. Gilmartin gave up only three hits while he walked two and struck out five. His ERA is now 3.57. Lester Oliveros pitched the seventh and eighth without giving up a hit or a walk, and stuck out three. Deolis Guerra finished the game and stuck out two in the ninth. The Red Wings held the Indians to just 3-30 hitting with two walks and ten strike outs. The Red Wings pulled out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning and cruised to victory. James Beresford was a big catalyst for the Red Wings, he finished the night 3-5 with a double and two runs scored. Daniel Ortiz was 2-3 with two runs scored, a home run, three RBI and a walk. Josmil Pinto was 1-2 with a walk, a double, and an RBI. Rock Cats Review New Britain 1, Akron 3 Box Tyler Duffey pitched 7.1 innings and gave up three runs on four hits. He struck out five and walked one. Unfortunately the Rock Cats could only manage one run and Duffey took the loss; he's now 8-3 with a 3.80 ERA. Edgar Ibarra pitched two thirds of an inning and walked two. The Rock Cats actually out hit the Akron RubberDucks 6-4, but the Rock Cats did not receive any support from the bottom of the lineup as the 7-8-9 hitters went 0-9. Jorge Polanco was 2-4 with a strike out, the only Rock Cats player with multiple hits. Brandon Waring was 1-3 with the Cats' only extra base hit of the night, a double. Miracle Matters Fort Myers 6, St. Lucie 2 Box The Ethan Mildren FanClub has reason to be excited as Mildren picked up his second win at High-A with six innings of two run baseball. Mildren gave up just four hits, but two of them were solo home runs. Alex Muren earned a hold with a scoreless seventh inning. He walked two and stuck out one, so it was a little bit of a bumpy ride. Tyler Jones pitched a scoreless eighth, and D.J. Johnson did the same in the ninth. Levi Michael continues to play well, he was 2-4 with a run scored, a walk, and two RBI leading off for the Miracle. Byron Buxton was 1-5 (infield single) with a run scored and two strike outs. He's hitting just .236 for the Miracle. Adam Brett Walker II hit his Florida State League leading 23rd home run of the year, a solo shot in the eighth. Aderlin Mejia and Niko Goodrum each added two hits with 2-4 performances. Kernels Nuggets Kane County 3, Cedar Rapids 4 (11 innings) Box The Kernels took an early lead in the bottom of the second, but Mat Batts ran into some trouble and left after six down 3-2. Batts gave up five hits, three runs (two earned), walked no one, and struck out eight. His ERA is 2.45. Jared Wilson pitched the seventh and eighth without giving up a hit or a walk and he recorded a strike out. Jake Reed pitched two scoreless innings as well, to take the Kernels through the tenth. Reed gave up just one hit and struck out four. Dallas Gallant pitched a scoreless eleventh and picked up the win when the Kernels scored in the bottom of the inning. Mitch Garver and Engelb Vielma both had 3-4 nights and they each hit a double. Engelb Vielma led off the 10th with a double, but could not come around to score. Garver's double also came in extra innings, to lead off the 11th inning. He was lifted for pitch runner Jon Murphy who raced around to score when Bryan Haar doubled to left field, winning the game for the Kernels. E-Town E-Notes Danville 0, Elizabethton 12 Box The Elizabethton Twins had their bats working early, and had a 9-0 lead by the end of the fifth inning, adding three more in the bottom of the seventh. Every E-Twon hitter except leadoff man Jeremias Pineda had two hits, and Nick Gordon (3-6), Tanner English (3-5) and Jorge Fernandez (4-5) did even better than that. Gordon added a triple and three RBIs to his three hits. English had a double and two RBIs, and Fernandez had a triple, and three RBIs of his own. The pitching staff held their own as well, giving up just five hits and two walks while they stuck out 13 Daville Braves hitters. John Curtiss started, went five innings, struck out eight and left turned the game over to the bullpen. Kuo Hua Lo pitched two hitless innings, he struck out three and walked none. Samuel Clay mopped up the final two innings of the night, he gave up a lone hit and stuck out a pair. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 6 Box Despite two runs in the top of the ninth, and four errors from the GCL Orioles, the GCL Twins fell to the GCL Orioles 5-6. The Twins received a nice performance from their starter Brandon Easter who went five innings, gave up two runs (one earned), struck out six and walked two. Callan Pearce gave up four earned runs in the bottom of the sixth and picked up the loss. He also pitched a scoreless seventh. Zack Jones pitched the eight inning, he struck out the side and scattered a hit and a walk. Rainis Silva was 2-4, the only Twins player with two or more hits. Amaurys Minier was just 1-5 but he made it count with a two-run home run. No other player had an extra base hit for the Twins on a pretty quiet night in the batters box. DSL Twins Takes DSL Padres 3, DSL Twins 4 Box Jose Ramirez gave up two earned runs over five innings, scattering three hits to go along with a walk and six strike outs. He turned the game over to Jose Martinez with a 3-2 lead. Martinez would lose the lead in the top of the seventh, but the DSL Twins retook the lead in the bottom of the seventh, so Martinez earns the win and a blown save. Martinez pitched the final four innings, he gave up two hits, a run, and struck out one batter. The DSL Twins and the DSL Orioles combined for seven runs on just six hits, three hitsfor each team. The only Twins players with hits last night were Jorge Andrade (1-2 with a walk and two runs scored), Luis Martinez (1-3 with a walk and an RBI), and Lewin Diaz (1-3 with a double and two RBI). Twins Daily Minor League Hitter and Pitcher of the Day Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day - Nick Gordon, Elizabethton Twins Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Ethan Mildren, Fort Myers Miracle Friday's Probables Rochester @ Indianapolis (6:15 C) - Mark Hamburger (Listen) New Britain @ Erie (6:05 C) – Pat Dean (Listen) Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (5:30 C)– Brett Lee (Listen) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 C) - Stephen Gonsalves (Listen) Danville @ Elizabethton (6:00 C) - TBD GCL Orioles @ GCL Twis (11:00am C) – TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Padres (9:30am C) – TBD