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Rain impacted more than one contest across the Twins system on Saturday night. The Red Wings and the E-Twins weren't able to take the field as the conditions were unplayable. There was plenty of other action on Saturday evening as the rest of the farm system tried to get the second half of their seasons off to the right start. Let's take a look down on the pond to find out who did well and who's starting the second half on a good note.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester --, Charlotte -- (Postponed) Rain snuffed out this contest between the Red Wings and the Knights. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday with two seven-inning contests beginning at 1:35 pm. Rochester has lost four of their last six game and the club will look to get back on the winning track with parts of four games (three seven-inning games and the completion of a suspended game) in the next two days. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Montgomery 7 Box Score The Lookouts found themselves in an early hole as the Biscuits were up three runs by the end of the third frame. Chattanooga clawed their way back to tie the game in the sixth but it would not be enough as Montgomery scored four in their last two plate appearances to win. Adam Brett Walker accounted for most of Chattanooga's offense as he smacked his 21st home run, a two-run shot. He also struck out two times in the game so it was a fairly typical night for Mr. Walker. Miguel Sano reached in all four of his plate appearances with two walks, two singles and two runs scored. Levi Michael had a rough night as he struck out four times out of the lead-off spot. Brett Lee started and took a no-decision after allowing three runs over five innings. He struck out one and walked three. Jake Reed was charged with the loss even though only one of the three runs he allowed was earned. Even JT Chargois, who has been very good this season, allowed a run in his inning of work. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Dunedin 1 Box Score Ryan Eades took no prisoners and left this game with his fifth victory. In seven innings pitched, he allowed one earned run and scattered five hits including six strikeouts and two walks. Corey Williams and D.J Johnson shut out the Blue Jays the rest of the way. It was the second hold of the season for Williams and the third save for Johnson. On the offensive side of the ball, Marcus Knecht and Mitch Garver each went 2-for-4 with a double and Knecht drove in a pair of runs. Knecht used a two-out double, his 14th, to drive in the winning runs. In nine chances, it was the club's only hit with runners in scoring position. With the win, the Miracle stretched their winning streak to 10 games and they are a perfect 3-0 to start the second half of the season. Palm Beach is also 3-0 so the Miracle are tied for first place in the Florida State League South Division. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 6 (10th Inning) Box Score The Kernels offense took a while to wake up in this game as the club was shut out until the sixth inning. Cedar Rapids pushed across four runs in the sixth to find themselves with the lead. However, Quad Cities ended up tying the game in the ninth and winning it in extra innings. Rafael Valera started things for the Kernels by reaching on an error in the sixth. Tanner English and Nick Gordon followed with singles to score the first run. The team executed a double steal in front of a double from Edgar Corcino to score two runs. Alex Real capped the scoring with a single. Keaton Steele got the start and didn't make it through five innings. He allowed three runs on five hits with two strikeouts and four walks. Jared Wilson was very good in relief as he tossed 3.1 scoreless frames with four strikeouts. Cameron Booser was charged with a blown save, his third, and the loss after allowing three runs on four hits with four walks. E-Twins E-Notes E-Twins --, Pulaski -- (Postponed) Like their counterparts at Triple-A, the E-Twins contest against the Pulaski Yankees was postponed due to rain. Elizabethton has started the season going 2-2 after winning the first game of their series with Pulaski on Friday evening. The teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday to make-up for tonight's postponed game. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score The GCL Twins met up with the juggernaut of the GCL so far this season. The GCL Red Sox are undefeated to start the season and that streak continued on Saturday. Williams Ramirez started the contest for the Twins and he allowed one hit in four innings while striking out seven. Rich Condeelis took the loss as he gave up two earned runs in less than an inning of work. Roberto Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a double to lead the offensive charge for the GCL Twins. Luis Arraez hit his third double of the season. Lewin Diaz knocked in a run and hit his first double. Overall, the team left six men on base and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ryan Eades, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Marcus Knecht, Fort Myers Miracle SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Charlotte (12:35 CST) – RHP Tyler Duffey Rochester vs. Charlotte (Game 2)- RHP Greg Peavey Chattanooga @ Montgomery (5:35 CST)- RHP Jose Berrios Ft. Myers @ Dunedin (4:00 CST) – LHP Mat Batts Cedar Rapids vs. Quad Cities (3:05 CST)- RHP Zach Tillery Elizabethton vs. Pulaski (5:00 CST) - RHP Cody Stashak Elizabethton vs. Pulaski (Game 2)- TBA Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article

Even without a scheduled game for Chattanooga, Max Kepler made headlines as he was named the Southern League player of the week. In the last week, he had consecutive four-hit games as well as a three-hit game and a two-hit outing. He went 14-for-22 with four triples, six runs, four RBI and three steals Kepler is now batting .342 with a .972 OPS including legging out 17 doubles and eight triples. He also has 12 stolen bases this season. He leads the league in batting and ranks second in triples behind former teammate Byron Buxton. The Lookouts were off on Monday but there was other action down on the farm.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Pawtucket 2 Box Score Tyler Duffey took the mound for the Red Wings and gave quite the performance. Both runs scored against him were unearned and he scattered five hits with six strikeouts and one walk. After collecting one out in the eighth, Duffey surrendered back-to-back hits to leave runners on the corners. He'd have to rely on the bullpen to get out of this jam. Ryan O'Rourke and Mark Hamburger both were brought in for one batter and each picked up huge strikeouts to keep the Red Wings lead at 3-2. AJ Achter made quick work in the ninth inning by striking out one for his 11th save. Eric Farris led the way offensively with two doubles and a run scored. Danny Santana continued his hot-hitting ways with a double and an RBI. He's now hit safely in six straight games and nine of his last ten. Danny Ortiz and Reynaldo Rodriguez each drove in a run and Rodriguez stole his second base. With the win, Rochester improved to three games over .500. The club has won four of their last six and they sit two games back in the International League wild card standings. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga- Scheduled Off Day The Lookouts are in the midst of their mid-season All-Star break. Seven members of the Lookouts were named to the 2015 Southern League North Division All-Star Team. Pitchers DJ Baxendale, Jose Berrios and Zack Jones all made the squad. Outfielders Byron Buxton and Adam Brett Walker, along with infielders Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano were scheduled to join them. Buxton obviously won't be playing in the contest as he has been called up to the big leagues. One surprise name not on the list is Max Kepler who has been destroying the Southern League over the last few weeks. The game will be played in Montgomery, AL with a home run derby starting at 5 pm CST and the All-Star Game starting at 6:35 CST on Tuesday. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 10, Palm Beach 1 Box Score Fort Myers had an offensive explosion on Monday night as they pounded out 10 runs in the first four frames. It was the first time in June that the club scored in double-digits and the club went an eye-popping 10-for-19 with runners in scoring position. The Miracle had won their last four games before the All-Star break so this makes it five straight victories. Marcus Knecht cracked three doubles with three RBI and three runs scored. Engelb Vielma collected three hits and Bryan Haar went 4-for-5. Mitch Garver, Zach Granite, and Logan Wade all had multi-hit efforts, including two runs scored by Garver. Boosted by the solid offensive output, Mat Batts was able to cruise to his second victory. He lasted seven innings and allowed one run on four hits. His eight strikeouts were the second most he's had all season. Matt Summers allowed a couple of runs in the final frame but the Miracle had more than enough insurance runs. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids - Scheduled Off Day Roster Move: Kernels pitcher Miles Nordgren was optioned to Elizabethton of the Appalachian League. Cedar Rapids currently has 23 players on the roster. Like the Lookouts, most of the Kernels are enjoying a few off days as part of the Midwest League All-Star break. Cedar Rapids is sending five All-Stars to the game, including four pitchers. The lone position player is first baseman Trey Vavra who is second in the MWL in hitting (.346 BA). Jared Wilson, Cam Booser, Felix Jorge, and Trevor Hildenberger were all selected to the pitching staff. The game is being hosted by the Peoria Chiefs in Peoria, Illinois. The events will start with a home run derby at 5:30 pm and the game will follow. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 0, GCL Orioles 2 Box Score The GCL Twins got off to a slow start to the season as the team was limited to three hits in their first game of the season. Travis Blankenhorn went 1-for-2 with a triple and a walk. Roberto Gonzalez and Tyree Davis each went 1-for-3 and Davis was able to swipe two bases. Overall, the team went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Jose Martinez took the loss after tossing five frames and allowing two earned runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked one. Miguel Gonzalez allowed two base runners in two frames without allowing a run. Dallas Gallant and Yorman Landa each pitched a perfect frame with three combined strikeouts. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Tyler Duffey, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Marcus Knecht, Fort Myers Miracle TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (6:05 CST) – RHP Greg Peavey Chattanooga- Southern League All-Star Game (6:35 CST) Ft. Myers vs. Palm Beach (6:05 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart Cedar Rapids- Midwest League All-Star Game (7:00 CST) Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - TBA GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00 am CST)- TBA Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Monday games. Click here to view the article

The Twins used an off-day on Thursday to make a couple of roster moves. Time Stauffer was designated for assignment and Michael Tonkin was recalled to take his place. Eddie Rosario returned from the paternity list and Jorge Polanco was optioned back to Chattanooga to make room. The Twins start a series against the Texas Rangers on Friday evening. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders Box Score Danny Santana was 1-3 with a walk on Thursday. In three games Danny Santana has as many walks (1) as strike outs (1). Improvement! Unfortunately, even a productive Danny Santana at the top of the order did not do much to help the Red Wings. Danny Ortiz was 2-4 with a double, and old friend James Beresford led the way for Rochester on Thursday night, he was 3-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Beresford is having what could be the best season of his career, hitting .330 with an OBP over .370. He's riding an unsustainably high BABIP to get there, and he isn't showing any power (and never has), but he is playing well this year. If Brian Dozier hadn't turned into the current version of Brian Dozier over the past couple of seasons, you would probably have seen Beresford in Minneapolis by now. Starting pitcher Tyler Duffey's record dropped to 0-4 with the loss on Thursday. He was tagged for seven runs, all earned, over five and a third. He gave up nine hits, walked one, and struck out one. His 5.64 ERA looks ugly, but he's made just four starts in AAA this year and this clunker moved his ERA up almost two full runs. After Duffey, Logan Darnell pitched one and two third scoreless before yeilding to Ryan O'Rourke for the eighth inning O'Rourke gave up a pair of runs, one earned, on three hits, but the game was already well out of hand. Final: Red Wings 2, Railriders 9 LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN Chattanooga @ Birmingham Barons Box Score Byron Buxon remained hot, he was 2-3 with a pair of walks and another triple, his twelfth of the year. The recently returned Jorge Polanco was back in the lineup and was 1-4 with a walk. Miguel Sano bopped a home run, his eleventh, and Max Kepler was 2-4 with a double. With all of those studs doing their job, it is surprising that the Lookouts only managed to score one run. But the bottom of the lineup really hurt them on Thursday. The six through nine hitters were a combined 0-14 with four strikeouts on Thursday night. Brett Lee was cruising through six scoreless innings until he ran into a seventh inning buzzsaw. In the seventh, Lee walked the leadoff hitter, who was then sacrificed over. After that, with one out, Lee gave up back-to-back-to-back singles and was replaced by Cole Johnson with runners on second and third, but only two runs in. Johnson gave up a single and a double to the next two hitters, allowing both inherited runners, plus one of his own, to score. Johnson then pitched a scoreless eighth, but the damage was done. Final: Lookouts 1, Barons 5 MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers @ Lakeland Flying Tigers - Game 1 (13 innings) Box Score Anytime you're playing a double header, even with shortened 7-inning double headers in Minor League Baseball, you hope to get a strong performance from your starting pitcher so you can save your bullpen for the second game. And the Miracle received a great start from Ryan Eades. Seven innings, six hits, one run, one walk and seven strike outs. Eades' best start since the Twins drafted him out of LSU was not enough, as the Miracle scored only one run of their own. So into the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth innings the bullpen carried the Miracle. Brian Gilbert pitched one and two thirds scoreless. Matt Summers did excellent work with two and a third scoreless. Corey Williams pitched the twelfth and picked up the win when the Miracle scored in the top of the thirteenth, and Brandon Peterson picked up his third save of the year, striking out a pair of Flying Tigers to close out the game. The Fort Myers hitters were stymied by the Lakeland pitchers, picking up just eight hits in 47 at bats to go along with 15 strike outs. Ryan Walker was the only Miracle hitter with multiple hits, 2-6 with a run scored. Marcus Knecht, was 0-4 with a walk and a strike out heading into the thirteenth when he roped a double to score Ryan Walker from first, giving the Miracle the decisive run. Final: Miracle 2, Flying Tigers 1 Fort Myers @ Lakeland Flying Tigers - Game 2 Box Score The Miracle had five more hits in six fewer innings of baseball in the bottom-half of the double header. Marcus Knecht rode his game winning hit in the first game to a 2-4 game. Ryan Walker, who scored the winning run in the first game, also had a nice evening going 3-3 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored. Logan Wade, not to be outdone, was also 3-3 with a pair of runs scored, but he also had a double and three RBIs. Kohl Stewart had a nice outing, despite a couple of defensive miscues that led to some unearned runs. Stewart pitched six innings, gave up only one earned run, walked three and struck out one. He picked up his second victory of the year for the Miracle to move to 2-4. Luke Westphal pitched the seventh, giving up a couple of hits, but preserving a four run lead to give the Miracle a double-header sweep! Miracle play-by-play man Brice Zummerman had this note on Twitter, "Tonight's total broadcast length was 7:17. Many people were still at work when the pregame started (4:40) and asleep when it ended (11:57). The Miracle have now won five straight games and are 30-30. Final: Miracle 7, Flying Tigers 3 KERNELS KORNER Great Lakes Loons @ Cedar Rapids Kernels - Postponed Sorry beer drinkers, rain will keep you from $2 beers on Thirsty Thursday at Veterans Memorial Stadium. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Byron Buxton - Chattanooga Lookouts Pitcher of the Day - Ryan Eades - Fort Myers Miracle FRIDAY'S PROBABLES Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre - Lester Oliveros (2-1, 2.67) vs. Jose De Paula Chattanooga @ Birmingham - Alex Wimmers (3-1, 5.58) vs. Tyler Danish Fort Myers @ Bradenton - TBD vs. TBD Great Lakes @ Cedar Rapids (Game 1) - Grant Holmes vs. Dereck Rodriguez (0-1, 12.00) Great Lakes @ Cedar Rapids (Game 2) - Joe Broussard vs. Keaton Steele (2-1, 4.79)

On Saturday, the Twins farm system was complete with no-hit bids, big home runs and clutch hits, shutouts and a walkoff win. A couple of the Twins big prospects connected for their first home runs of the spring. On Sunday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels will be playing their home opener. I’ll be reporting from Cedar Rapids throughout the three-game series.Jeremy Nygaard, Cody Christie and I are excited about the start of the 2015 Minor League season and are offering the 2015 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook in paperback right now at a 15% discount. Get your copy today, if you haven’t already. It’s also available as an electronic book which is available for immediate download. We have had two days’ worth of Twins Daily readers participating in this year’s Adopt-A-Prospect. At this point, feel free to adopt more players – whether you have or haven’t – and start by posting their initial bio/profile in the Adopt-A-Prospect 2015 forum. Let’s get to today’s report. The Rochester Red Wings announced following their game that Pat Dean would be taking Trevor May’s spot in their rotation RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Buffalo 0 Box Score After being weathered out on Friday, the Rochester Red Wings played their home opener on Saturday afternoon against Buffalo. Fans in attendance watched quite the pitcher’s duel, and then were sent home in dramatic fashion. Lefty Taylor Rogers was given the nod to start and was fantastic. He didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning. He finished the day with seven shutout innings. He gave up six hits, walked two and struck out six. In that fifth inning, he gave up three straight singles to start the inning. On the third, he got help from Aaron Hicks who threw a runner out at the plate. The next batter hit into a double play. Ryan Pressly threw a perfect seventh and got the first two outs of the ninth inning. Caleb Thielbar recorded the final out of the top of the ninth inning, maintaining the shutout. Meanwhile, Bisons starter Scott Copeland was really dealing as well. He had a perfect game into the fifth inning when Brock Peterson walked. He gave up a single with one out in the seventh inning to lose the no-hitter. Ironically, it was an infield single by Josmil Pinto. The Red Wings did nothing in the eighth and the first two hitters of the ninth struck out. However, with two outs, Eddie Rosario walked. That brought Pinto to the plate, and he ended the game with a walk-off home run. The Red Wings are now 2-0 on the young season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Montgomery 3 Box Score Nick Burdi got another save opportunity in this one. Things got interesting, but the team was able to hang on for their second win of the season. The power bats showed up in this one too. Greg Peavey, who was the Twins minor league Rule 5 selection from the New York Mets organization, made his first start for the Lookouts. He gave up single runs in the first two innings, but provided his team with a quality start. He gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in 6.1 innings. He struck out six. Adrian Salcedo came on and got the final two outs of the seventh inning. Jake Reed was given the eighth inning. He gave up two hits and hit a batter, but he was able to get out of the inning without allowing a run. Then Nick Burdi came on for the ninth, given a two-run lead. He got the first two batters out, but then he walked the next two and gave up a run-scoring single to cut the lead to one. Fortunately, he ended the inning and the game with a strikeout, his second of the outing. In the fourth inning, Mike Gonzales hit a two-run double that tied the game. The 2-2 score remained until the seventh inning when Adam Brett Walker led off the inning with his first home run of the year, a line drive to right centerfield. Two outs later, Byron Buxton connected for his first home run of the year. Travis Harrison led the offense by collecting three hits, including a double. Miguel Sano was 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Charlotte 3 (11 innings) Box Score The Miracle needed a miracle, or at least some clutch hitting, as well as some extra innings to steal this win from Charlotte. The Miracle were down 3-0 heading into the seventh inning. Chih-Wei Hu started and was charged with two runs on three hits in five innings. He struck out six and did not issue a walk. Tim Shibuya pitched the sixth and seventh innings. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Chad Christensen led off with a double. He later scored on a single off the bat of Engelb Vielma. The Miracle remained behind 3-1 until the bottom of the ninth. Down two, Michael Quesada led off with a walk, and Marcus Knecht “knechted” with a two-run, game-tying home run! Todd Van Steensel pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Brandon Peterson gave up two hits but no runs in his two innings. He struck out five. Madison Boer pitched a scoreless 11th inning for the Miracle. With one out in the bottom of the 11th inning, Marcus Knecht singled, which was followed by an Engelb Vielma single. With one out, a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, so Goodrum was intentionally walked. Alex Swim then singled in a run to give the Miracle the win. Knecht, a Candian outfielder signed by the Twins after he was released by the Blue Jays, went 3-4 with a walk and the home run. Vielma and Swim each had two hits. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Kane County 3 Box Score The Kernels jumped to an early lead and got strong pitching to gain the three-game sweep in Kane County. They will head home and play their home opener on Sunday against Beloit. Left-hander Stephen Gonsalves made the start for the Kernels. He gave up a home run to River Falls native Marty Herum in the bottom of the first inning and then settled down. He went six innings and gave up just that one run. He gave up five hits, walked none and struck out nine for the win. Randy LeBlanc came on and threw two shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out two. Trevor Hildenberger got the ninth. He was charged with two unearned runs but struck out two to end the game. After going 3-5 in his first game action on Friday, Jorge Fernandez had two doubles in four at-bats on Saturday. Zach Granite set the tone at the top of the order. The speedy outfielder went 2-3 with two walks. His speed came in to play. He had a hustle double. At one point, on second base. Nick Gordon tried to bunt for a base hit. He was barely thrown out at first base, but on the play Granite scored from second base easily. Gordon went 0-4 but drove in two runs. Trey Vavra hit his first double of the season in this game. He had 20 doubles in fifty games at Elizabethton last year after being drafted. T.J. White added a triple. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Taylor Rogers, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Marcus Knecht, Ft. Myers Miracle SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (12:35 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler Chattanooga @ Montgomery (2:05 CST) – RHP DJ Baxendale Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (12:00 CST) – RHP Ethan Mildren Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (4:05 CST) – RHP Michael Cederoth Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Click here to view the article