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The Twins open a series in Tampa on Monday evening. They are very much in the thick of the playoff race on Labor Day, which is a pleasant surprise. All of the affiliates also entered the latter part of their season - where most team's regular season ends on Labor Day - in the playoff race as well. See how all the affiliates fared in the last regular season edition of the minor league report. (There's a twist... IT LOOKS DIFFERENT.)9:30 pm update: The E-Twins evened the series with Greeneville with a convincing 14-7 win. Despite giving up a run and an early lead, Elizabethton bounced back to up six first-inning runs and never look back. Their offense was led by Kolton Kendrick who had three hits including a double and two-run home run and J.J. Robinson who had two hits including a three-run home run. Akil Baddoo also homered. Carson Crites had two hits and a stolen base. Brusdar Graterol got the start and wasn't great. In three innings, he allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk. He struck out five. Melvi Acosta was credited with the win. He struck out eight over four innings. Acosta allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk. Rickey Ramirez got knocked around for two runs on five hits in his two innings. Tomorrow night at 7pm EST, these two teams will square off for the Appy League Western Division crown. Elizabethton will host. Winner-take-a-trip-to-the-Finals and loser goes home! FOR THE E-TWINS: ONE GAME FOR THE WHOLE SEASON MIRACLE UPDATE: Their postseason kicks off Tuesday night at 6:35 pm EST as they will host Palm Beach. 4:30 pm update: The Kernels dropped their regular season finale to Beloit 3-0. Cedar Rapids managed only six hits, all singles. Lewin Diaz had two of them and finished the season batting .292. He was caught attempting to steal second base today. Tyler Beardsley, activated earlier today in place of Evan Sanders, started the game and pitched six innings. He struck out three and allowed only one run on four hits and two walks. He was credited with the loss, his ninth of the season. Logan Lombana pitched one inning of perfect relief. Colton Davis, on the other hand, gave up three hits and two runs in his inning of work. The Kernels will head back to Iowa for one game on Wednesday night. They will host Kane County in the first game of the the MWL Quarterfinals. Games 2 and 3 will shift back to Kane County. Tyler Wells will be on the mound. Wells is 5-3 on the season with 3.11 ERA. First pitch Wednesday will be at 6:35. FOR THE KERNELS: A NEW SEASON 4:00 pm update: Chattanooga beat Montgomery 2-1 to cap an impressive 91-49 season in which they were both the first- and second-half champions. Next up is the Southern League Semifinals which will be against Montgomery (again). Because they won both halves, the Lookouts will host games 1, 2 and, if necessary, 4 and 5. Montgomery will only host game 3. The series opens on Wednesday at 7:15 EST with Zack Littell on the mound. Dereck Rodriguez will get the start on Thursday. Not a lot noteworthy from Monday's victory. Max Murphy drove in Nick Gordon in the first inning. Andy Wilkins hit his 12th home run, a solo shot, in the fourth inning. Edgar Corcino finished his AA season batting .302. (But only .292 when combined with his AAA line.) LaMonte Wade ended with a .295/.400/.412 slash line which is comparable to his career line (.296/.405/.439), just with less power. Ryan Eades picked up his fourth win of the season, pitching five innings of shutout, three-hit ball. He struck out one and walked one. Randy Rosario gave up a home run among three hits. He struck out two in two innings. Keaton Steele picked up his first professional save, hurling two shutout, no-hit innings. He walked a batter and struck one out too. FOR THE LOOKOUTS: A NEW SEASON 3:30 pm update: The Red Wings entered today all square with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, who held the tiebreaker. Rochester took care of business, with a 10-1 victory over Pawtucket. Their regular season record is at an impressive 80-62. The game with just as much importance, though, was being held in Lehigh Valley. Lehigh Valley jumped out to a 4-0 lead through two innings and things weren't looking good. Scranton got on the board in the 7th, then made noise in the 8th as well. After cutting the lead to 4-2, Scranton had two men on with only one out. Unfortunately, two strikeouts later and it was still 4-2. Coming into the final frame - and three outs from a playoff berth - Lehigh Valley allowed a leadoff home run and Scranton backed it up with a single, line out and another single. The Red Wings playoff chances were off life support. A walk loaded the bases with one out. Any ball to the outfield should tie the game. Another strikeout. And in the final at-bat, which would decide the Red Wings playoff hopes, Scranton grounded out weakly to second base. The Red Wings season is over. But the season ended on a win and some very good performances. Matt Hague with 2-4 with two home runs and three runs scored and, who knows, may be called on to supplement the Twins bench. Levi Michael had three hits and a stolen base. Jon Rodriguez, who crushed it at AA, hit his first AAA home run and drove in two runs. J.B. Shuck drove in four with a home run and a double. Leo Reginatto also had two hits and an RBI. Adalberto Mejia pitched five innings, allowing one run on six hits and two walks. He struck out two. Dietrich Enns pitched four innings of shutout ball. He allowed four hits and a walk while striking out two. Mejia and Enns will both likely be re-joining the Twins, though their roles - presumably in the bullpen - have yet to be defined. FOR THE RED WINGS: CURTAINS Click here to view the article

The Twins are playing the Yankees. Not just Aaron Judge, but the whole Yankees team. However, this is the minor league report, and there were seven games that started in the Twins system on Monday. They had a couple of big-time starting pitcher performances. Matt Hague and Matt Albanese were very productive, each driving in five runs for their squads. Could the Kernels use their offensive output from Sunday as a catalyst for Monday? Did Michael Tonkin keep his scoreless streak going? There were three morning/early afternoon games, and a doubleheader. It was busy, so let’s get to the report.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Monday. Let's start with Sean Poppen being named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week. RED WINGS REPORT Game 1 - Rochester 5, Charlotte 4 Box Score The Red Wings used a big inning and held on for a one-run win in the first of two games on Monday. The Red Wings got RBI singles from JB Shuck and Tommy Field in the third inning. Then with the bases loaded, Matt Hague emptied them with his 16th double of the season. David Hurlbut improved to 7-5 on the season. He went five innings and gave up three runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out three. In the sixth inning, he gave up a double and a single before being replaced by Jake Reed. Reed walked the next two batters, the second pushing in a run. However, Reed got a ground ball double play that cut the Red Wings lead to one, but he got two big outs. He got the third out before the tying run scored. Michael Tonkin came in for the seventh inning. He picked up his fourth save thanks to two strikeouts in a perfect inning. The score remained 1-0 Red Wings until Matt Hague singled in two runs in the sixth inning. But that was more than enough for Aaron Slegers. The right-hander went all seven innings to complete the shutout. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out five. He improved to 10-4 while dropping his ERA to 3.50. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Jacksonville 9 Box Score The Lookouts jumped out to a 6-0 lead after just two innings in this morning game. Felix Jorge was on the mound. Through the first four innings, he’d given up just one run. However, the fifth inning was his and the Lookouts’ downfall in this loss. Jorge got one out in the fifth, but he was charged with six runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings. He walked two and struck out four. Randy LeBlanc came on and allowed one inherited runner to score. He went 1.2 innings and gave up three runs on four hits. He walked one and struck one out. Randy Rosario tossed a scoreless inning, and Luke Bard threw two scoreless innings. Andy Wilkens provided much of the punch for the Lookouts offense. The veteran went 2-3 with a walk and his fourth home run. It was a grand slam and gave the team their 6-0 lead. LaMonte Wade went 2-4 with a walk and his 16th double. Jonathan Rodriguez went 1-3 with a walk. Travis Harrison walked twice. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, St. Lucie 7 Box Score It was a get-away morning game for the Miracle. It was also a bullpen game for the pitching staff. Keaton Steele started and threw three shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out three. Williams Ramirez got the next two innings. He gave up just one hit. Michael Theofanopoulos came in for the sixth. He got two outs and was charged with four runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out one. He gave up back-to-back homers in the inning. Andrew Vasquez came on and got the next four outs, striking out one. David Fischer came in and gave up three runs on four hits and three walks over the final two innings. The Miracle pushed across three runs in the game. They had seven hits, but they came from just three players. Jermaine Palacios stayed hot. He went 4-5 and is now hitting .341 through 21 games with the Miracle. Nelson Molina went 2-5 and stole his third base. Zander Wiel went 1-2 with two walks and his 21st double. He also stole his seventh base. In case you were wondering, Tim Tebow started in centerfield. He went 3-5 with a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, South Bend 2 Box Score After scoring just two total runs over their previous five games, the Kernels busted out for eight runs in South Bend on Monday. On Tuesday afternoon, the Kernels offense was unable to put together sustained rallies and fell by a score of 2-1. Eduardo Del Rosario was on the mound. The right-hander went the first six innings. He gave up two runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out five. Ryan Mason and Hector Lujan each threw a scoreless inning. Aaron Whitefield led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk and his 13th double. He also stole his 21st base. He scored the lone Kernels’ run on a sacrifice fly from Lewin Diaz. Hank Morrison went 2-4. The Kernels had runners on second and third with one out in the ninth inning, but they were unable to cash in a run to tie it. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 13, Greeneville 0 Box Score If you just looked at the final score, you would assume that this was a blowout. You’d be right. However, through seven innings, there was no score. However, they started pounding the ball late. They scored five runs in the eighth inning, powered by the first professional home run for Matt Albanese, a three-run shot. Jose Miranda added his fifth homer during that inning. That was just the start. In the ninth inning, the E-Twins scored eight times. Andrew Bechtold added his second homer. Albanese went 2-5 and drove in five runs. Bechtold was 3-5. So was outfielder Shane Carrier. Wander Javier went 2-4 with a walk. Jose Miranda also had two hits. Colton Waltner added two doubles in the game. Huascar Ynoa started for Elizabethton. He went the first innings and gave up just one hit. He walked two and struck out six. He left a 0-0 game. Jose Martinez came on and worked three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and struck out two to gain the win. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 0, GCL Rays 0 (Suspended in 1st inning) Box Score Game was suspended after just two batters. Brusdar Graterol got one out and gave up one hit before the game was delayed and subsequently suspended by lightning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Matt Hague, Rochester Red Wings TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Charlotte @ Rochester (10:05 CST) - RHP Tim Melville Chattanooga - No Game Scheduled Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe Cedar Rapids - No Game Scheduled Bristole @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Moises Gomez GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (DH @ 11:00am CST) - Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

After reviewing the pitchers leader board on Friday, today we turn our attention to the hitters. Since the minor league season is about 2/3 complete, there are a lot of names that are consistent at or near the tops of these lists. There have been a lot of strong offensive performances throughout the system. Before we get to the hitters leader board, let’s take a quick look at how the Twins’ affiliates currently stack up in their leagues. Winning, and learning how to win, is and should be part of the development process. Obviously hitting, fielding, base runner and the like are the key, but there's nothing wrong with players getting accustomed to winning and playing in a winning environment.Did you know that the Twins and Yankees are battling for the best overall record in the minor leagues? Three of the Twins affiliates have half-season playoff berths. Chattanooga and Cedar Rapids already clinched playoff spots in their league’s first half. Three affiliates are working toward making second-half berths. The short-season leagues are going full bore too. Rochester is 51-40. The Red Wings are 6.5 games back of the International League North Division-leading Scranton/Wilkes Barre, and two games behind Lehigh Valley for the wild card. They’re in third place in the International League North Division. In their last 34 games, the Red Wings are 24-10.In the second half, Chattanooga is 18-5. That puts them in first place, four games ahead of Tennessee in the Southern League’s North division. Jake Mauer’s got this team playing some very good baseball.Doug Mientkiewicz’s Ft. Myers Miracle team has been playing very well too in the second half. They are 16-5 in the second half. They are in first place in the Florida State League’s South division, three games ahead of Bradenton.Cedar Rapids is 10-13 in the second half after their current five-game losing streak. That puts them a seven games back of Quad Cities and Peoria in the Midwest League’s Western Division.Elizabethton is 15-8 to start their season. That is half a game better than Greeneville, whom they are playing this weekend. The E-Twins are used to being near the top of the Appalachian League’s Western Division.The GCL Twins are 11-7, which puts them one game ahead of the GCL Red Sox at the top of the GCL’s South Division.With that, let’s look at the minor league statistical leader board (through games on Saturday, July 15). THE HITTERS (Rate numbers- minimum 255 plate appearances) Plate Appearances - Max Murphy (380), Nick Gordon (374), Matt Hague (371), Travis Blankenhorn (369), Jermaine Palacios (361), LaMonte Wade (358), Lewin Diaz (357). Batting Average - Zack Granite (.361), Jermaine Palacios (.321), Jonathan Rodriguez (.310), Max Murphy (.303), Nick Gordon (.299), Matt Hague (.296). On-Base Percentage - Zack Granite (.414), LaMonte Wade (.406), Jonathan Rodriguez (.404), Mitch Garver (.386), Max Murphy (.379), Matt Hague (.377), Nick Gordon (.369).. Slugging Percentage - Mitch G arver (.529), Jermaine Palacios (.515), Jonathan Rodriguez (.495), Zack Granite (.494), Jaylin Davis/Aaron Whitefield (.460), Nick Gordon (.455), Lewin Diaz (.451). OPS - Mitch Garver (.915), Zack Granite (.908), Jonathan Rodriguez (.899), Jermaine Palacios (.875), Nick Gordon (.824), Max Murphy (.814). Hits - Jermaine Palacios (108), Max Murphy (101), Nick Gordon (100), Matt Hague (94), Zack Granite (92), Lewin Diaz (90). Doubles - Lewin Diaz (26), Tommy Field (23), Nick Gordon (22), Jonathan Rodriguez/Zander Wiel (20), Four with 19. Triples - Travis Blankenhorn (8), Nick Gordon/Jermaine Palacios/Christian Cavaness (6), Seven with 5. Home Runs - Jaylin Davis (13), Jermaine Palacios/Mitch Garver (12), Jonathan Rodriguez (11), Aaron Whitefield/Lewin Diaz (10) Runs Scored - Jermaine Palacios (65), Max Murphy (58), Jonathan Rodriguez (54), Nick Gordon (53), LaMonte Wade (48), Aaron Whitefield/Travis Blankenhorn (46). RBI - Jaylin Davis (53), Lewin Diaz (50), Jermaine Palacios (49), Travis Blankenhorn/Nick Gordon (47), Jonathan Rodriguez (46), Zander Wiel (44). SB - Tanner English (22), Aaron Whitefield (19), Zack Granite (18), Jermaine Palacios (14), Ryan Walker (10). Click here to view the article

Last May, I was in Cedar Rapids. Dereck Rodriguez made a start and got lit up. After the game, then Kernels manager Jake Mauer said that Dereck would have to figure it out himself and work through it because he had the stuff to be successful. A month later, he was pitching great and earned a promotion to Ft. Myers where he continued to pitch well. He carried that into the Puerto Rican Winter League where he did a terrific job. He began in Ft. Myers this year and was a Florida State League All Star. He is now pitching well for Jake Mauer in Chattanooga and did so again on Wednesday night. As each of the games becomes a final, its game recap and highlights will be updated.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Wednesday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS There were a handful of transactions in the Twins system on Wednesday. The Twins placed Hector Santiago on the disabled list with upper thoracic back pain and discomfort.They recalled Alan Busenitz from Rochester. He was optioned last Friday after working 2.2 innings of relief. He has not pitched for Rochester since then.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Pawtucket 1 Box Score Dillon Gee wants to make the Twins’ decision on whether or not to call him up before his July 15th opt-out more difficult. On Wednesday afternoon, he worked five shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three. Alex Wimmers came on and gave up one run on two hits over two innings to record his fifth Red Wings save. He struck out two. Gee used his defense in this game, including this gem from Engelb Vielma. The Red Wings put together a three-run first inning. That was all for the offense, but it was enough in this game. Zack Granite led off the first with a single. He scored two batters later on Mitch Garver’s 18th double. (Josh Whetzel informed those listening that it had an exit velocity of 110 mph) A Kennys Vargas single was followed by an RBI single from Byungho Park. Later, Tommy Field’s fielder’s choice gave the Wings their third run. Vargas was the lone Red Wings hitter with more than one hit. He went 2-3 and added his third double. Game 2 - Rochester 0, Pawtucket 2 Box Score The Red Wings went with a bullpen effort in the second game. DJ Baxendale got the starting nod. He went three innings and gave up two runs (one earned) on seven hits. He walked none and struck out two. Mason Melotakis came on and struck out three over two scoreless innings. Michael Tonkin struck out one over two scoreless innings. The offense managed just four hits. Matt Hague was 2-2 with two walks and his 13th double. Tommy Field added his 21st double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Tennessee 3 Box Score The Lookouts won for the 26th time in their last 31 games on Wednesday night. Dereck Rodriguez put together another strong start. The righty improved to 3-0 with the Lookouts with seven innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out six. Todd Van Steensel came on for the eighth and struck out the side. He got one more out in the ninth inning (on a strikeout, of course), but he gave up one run on three hits. Nick Anderson, on his birthday, came on and recorded the final two outs, both on strikeouts to secure the win. Levi Michael led the offense. He went 3-4 with his tenth double. Travis Harrison went 1-2 with two walks and his 15th double. He also stole a base. Nick Gordon added an RBI double, his 22nd two-bagger of the year. LaMonte Wade and Jonathan Rodriguez were both 1-3 with a walk. The Lookouts are now 12-1, five games ahead of Tennessee in the Southern League’s North Division’s second-half standings. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Tampa 1 Box Score Sean Poppen made his Florida State League debut on Wednesday night in Tampa. He worked two shutout innings. He gave up two hits, no walks and struck out two. Then the rains came. There was a delay of nearly two hours. When the game resumed, Keaton Steele took over. He gave up a solo homer in the third inning, but that was it. He worked five innings and gave up just four hits. He walked none and struck out four. Alex Muren worked two strong innings. He walked two and struck out five. The Miracle got most of its offense from the nine-spot. Nelson Molina went 4-4 with two triples. He drove in one of the runs on a single, and he scored the go-ahead run. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 5 Box Score Left-hander Evan Sanders was not drafted last summer. The Twins saw him this offseason in a workout and signed him. Recently, he came up to Cedar Rapids and has been working out of their bullpen. On Wednesday night, he made his first start. The first inning went well. He struck out two. In the second inning, however, he gave up five runs and recorded just one out. Logan Lombana came in and faced 11 batters. He got all 11 out, keeping the Kernels relatively close. In the fifth inning, Travis Blankenhorn had a bases-loaded walk to put the Kernels on the scoreboard. Patrick McGuff provided three shutout innings, striking out five. Alex Robinson worked a scoreless ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, Gorge Munoz was hit by a pitch. It was followed by a triple from Aaron Whitefield to cut the lead to 5-2. After a pitching change, Travis Blankenhorn grounded out, which scored the Kernels' third run, but also accounted for the inning's second out. Lewin Diaz flew out to end the game. Christian Cavaness went 3-4 with his eighth double. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton , Princeton Box Score The E-Twins game on Wednesday night was rained out. They’ll play two on Thursday. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 10, GCL Rays 8 Box Score Dane Hutcheon, batting ninth, provided some major run production for the GCL Twins on Wednesday morning. In his first at bat, he drove in two with his first triple of the season. In the fourth inning, he added an RBI single. In the fifth inning, he hit a two-run double. In the game, he went 3-5 with five RBI. Akil Baddoo stayed hot. He went 2-4 with a walk and his third double. He’s now hitting .324. Ricky De La Torre went 2-5. Colton Burns was 1-3 and walked twice. Royce Lewis went 1-4, and he was hit by a pitch again. Carlos Suniaga made the start. He gave up two runs on three hits over three innings. He walked one and struck out three. Juan Mojica came on and gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks in 2.2 innings. He struck out two. Matz Schutte was next. He went 1.2 innings and was charged with four runs (two earned) on one hit and three walks. Vadim Balan gave up one hit over the final 1.2 innings to record his second save. He struck out one. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dereck Rodriguez, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nelson Molina, Ft. Myers THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (12:35 CST) - RHP Tim Melville Tennessee @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero Ft. Myers @ Tampa (6:00 CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - LHP Domenick Carlini Princeton @ Elizabethton (DH @ 4:00 CST) - RHPs Moises Gomez, Melvi Acosta GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday’s games. Click here to view the article

The Twins split a double-header on Thursday, in large part because Jose Berrios (the version of Jose Berrios that Twins fans have been DREAMING of) pitched a wonderful game in the nightcap to keep the Twins from being swept by the Rockies. On the minor league side of things the Twins’ affiliates scored almost 40 runs. Lots of action to cover below, so let’s find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday.RED WINGS REPORT Lehigh Valley 8 @ Rochester 10 Box Score This was NOT a classic pitchers duel as neither pitcher made it into the sixth inning of this minor league matinee. Former first-overall draft pick Mark Appel held the Red Wings in check through three innings, but then the wheels fell off and the Wings got to Appel for sixruns in the fourth. Meanwhile, Red Wings starter Jason Wheeler gave up a seven-spot in the second inning, and yet somehow still managed to earn the win thanks to that big Wings fourth inning. Wheeler made it through five innings, gave up eight hits, seven runs (all earned) and walked two. He struck out six and also gave up a pair of home runs (both in the seven-run second, including a Rhys Hoskins grand slam). Wheeler gave way to Buddy Boshers who came in for 3.0 innings and gave up one run one on one hit, a solo home run. Trevor Hildenberger came in and earned his second save of the year, in an exciting ninth in which he gave up a walk and a hit, but used a pair of strike- outs to avoid letting the Iron Pigs score. Matt Hague and Tommy Field both had three-hit games for the Wings. Hague was 3-5 with a double and a solo home run. Field was 3-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a pair of runs scored. Zack Granite led the way with 3 RBI as part of a 1-4 afternoon that also included a stolen base. ByungHo Park was the only player without a hit or a walk, going 0-5 on the afternoon. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3 @ Biloxi 9 Box Score The Lookouts were behind for the entire game after giving up a run in the bottom of the first inning. Starter Fernando Romero made it into the fifth inning, but left and was charged with six earned runs, and one more unearned run. He gave up five hits, walked four and struck out four. He was replaced by Luke Bard who gave up six hits in just 1.2 innings and was charged with two runs (one earned) before giving way to Raul Fernandez who had a great relief appearance with the pressure off. Fernandez struck out five, walked one, and gave up just one hit in two innings of scoreless relief. The Miracle scattered seven hits, but didn’t get any hits from their leadoff man Nike Gordon, 0-4 with a strikeout, a walk and a stolen base. Travis Harrison (remember him?) was the only hitter with multiple hits, 2-4. Former first-round draft pick Levi Michael remained hot with a 1-3 night that included a double, a walk, an RBI and a run scored. MIRACLE MATTERS Clearwater 2 @ Fort Myers 5 Box Score Before the game started the Miracle got good news as lefthander Lewis Thorpe was activated from the DL in Cedar Rapids and immediately promoted to Fort Myers. Thorpe has not pitched in a MiLB game since 2014 thanks to a Tommy John surgery and a lengthy bout with mononucleosis. He will start for the Miracle on Friday. Sort of a hodgepodge solid effort from the Miracle pitching staff as they used four pitchers to defeat the Clearwater Threshers and complete the four-game series sweep. Brady Anderson gave up a pair of runs in the fourth inning, but otherwise kept runs off the board over 4.1 innings. He gave up six hits, struck out three and gave up a two-out, two-run homer. Michael Theofanopoulos came in and gave the Miracle 2.2 scoreless innings and gave up just one hit, struck out one, and earned the win when the Miracle took the lead with a three-run fifth. Williams Ramirez earned a save for a scoreless eighth inning in which he walked two and Sam Clay picked up his second save of the year with a scoreless ninth. The Miracle did not collect any extra-base hits and struck out 10 times but were 4-9 with runners in scoring position and managed to do just enough to come out on top. Bradley Strong was 2-4 with an RBI and Kevin Garcia also had a pair of hits, going 2-4 with a strikeout and a run scored. Alex Perez was one non-strikeout away from the Golden Sombrero award as he was 0-3 with three strikeouts and a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6 @ Wisconsin 3 Box Score The Kernels gave up a run in the bottom of the first, but got it back in the second and took the lead for good in the top of the fourth en route to a 6-3 victory. Kernels starter Domenick Carlini pitched great for the Kernels, giving up just one run over six innings. He gave up five hits but struck out four and did not issue a single free pass. He did, however, give up a leadoff home run to start the game. Carlini gave way to Colton Davis who pitched a pair of scoreless innings and then Logan Lombana came on to pitch the ninth and gave up three hits, two runs and a walk, but used three strikeouts to limit the damage and secure the Kernels victory. Jaylin Davis had himself a night for the Kernels, 3-5 with three extra-base hits, a double and two home runs. This close on the heels of his three-home run night on Tuesday. Brandon Lopez pitched in with a couple of hits of his own, going 2-4 out of the nine hole for the Kernels second baseman. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Domenick Carlini, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Matt Hague, Rochester Red Wings FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/WB (5:35pm) - Aaron Slegers Chattanooga @ Biloxi (6:35pm) – Ryan Eades (1-0, 5.31) Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (5:35pm) - Lewis Thorpe (1st start since 2014) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:35pm) – Clark Beeker (5-1, 2.56) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games. Click here to view the article

Jose Berríos and the Red Wings kicked off a day of close ballgames for Twins affiliates on Thursday, with Rochester, Fort Myers, and Cedar Rapids all playing one-run games, while Chattanooga ended up in a two-run game. Exciting Minor League Baseball follows, below.Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Buffalo 1 Box Score Jose Berríos was the story of the day, pitching eight innings on just 84 pitches, throwing 64 for strikes. He struck out six and never went to a three ball-count all night. Berrios had a 1-0 lead headed into the fifth inning after a Matt Hague home run, but the Bisons tied the ballgame on a sac fly after a pair of singles and a defensive miscue put a runner at third. Berríos pitched three more shutout innings afterwards, but the Wings could not put more runs on the board and he left the game without a decision. Alex Wimmers entered the game and pitched a scoreless ninth to push the game to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, the Red Wings took the lead on a bases-loaded walk to Bengie Gonzalez. Wimmers went to work and set Buffalo down 1-2-3 to pick up the win. The Wings scored two runs on just four hits, Hague’s home run was the only extra base hit, and Leonardo Reginatto collected two of the other three hits, on a 2-4 night. Bash brothers Kennys Vargas and Daniel Palka were a combined 0-7 with four strikeouts and a walk. Catcher John Ryan Murphy has yet to collect his first base hit, 0-3 with a walk. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jacksonville 5 Box Score On the road for the first time this year, Lookouts starter Matt Tracy gave up five runs (two earned) in the bottom of the first to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (formerly the Jacksonville Suns, and a significant branding upgrade, if you ask me). Leadoff batter Yefri Perez reached on an Engelb Vielma throwing error, and then Tracy gave up back-to-back home runs. The next two runs scored on a pair of two-out singles. After the first, Tracy settled down and pitched three scoreless innings, but the damage was done. Ryan Eades came out of the pen and pitched two perfect innings, and John Curtiss pitched two more scoreless innings to finish the game. The Lookouts scored a run in the fifth when Tanner English scampered home on a passed ball, and back-to-back homers by Jonathan Rodriguez and Dan Rohlfing to start the ninth inning put Chattanooga within striking distance, but it was not enough. Other than the ninth inning home runs, the Lookouts had just three hits on the day, singles from Ryan Walker (1-4, BB), Edgar Corcino (1-4, K), and a two-bagger from Tanner English (1-3, BB, K). Of note – old friend Matt Tomshaw started and earned the win for the Jumbo Shrimp. Tomshaw pitched in the Twins org four seasons before getting poached by Miami following the 2014 season in the Triple-A portion of the Rule Five draft. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 1, Dayton 2 Box Score Starter Cody Stashak put the Miracle behind, giving up a run in the bottom of the first inning, and another in the third and the Miracle trailed the rest of the game. Stashak turned in a quality start, six innings, two runs (one earned), struck out three, walked no one, and gave up just four hits, but the Miracle gave him just one run of support and he was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-2 despite a 3.00 ERA. Jonny Drozd came on in relief, pitched two scoreless innings and struck out three. Sean Miller was 2-4 with a triple and a run scored, and Brian Navarreto drove in the only run as part of a 2-4 night. The other seven Miracle hitters combined for just three other hits, all singles. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 1, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score Before Thursday’s game, the first in a three game series against the Timber Rattlers, the Kernels announced that 2016 21st rounder LHP Domenick Carlini joined the Kernels from extended spring training and that RHP Brady Anderson was bumped up to Fort Myers. Starting pitcher Tyler Wells gave up a couple of first inning hits, but then went to work and held Wisconsin scoreless over six innings. He struck out eight while walking just two and gave up five hits. The Kernels put a pair of runs on the board in the fifth to give Wells a lead. Caleb Hamilton hit a leadoff home run to start the fifth and Travis Blankenhorn gave the Kernels another run with an RBI triple to score Jermaine Palacios. That was all the runs the Kernels would need. Tom Hackimer came in for Wells in the seventh and pitched two innings, giving up a run in the top of the eighth. Hackimer gave up two hits, and struck out two. Max Cordy was called upon to pitch the ninth and picked up his first save of the year, sending the Timber Rattlers down in order and recording the final out on a swinging strike. The Kernels did not do a ton with the sticks outside of Hamilton’s dinger and Blankenhorn’s RBI triple. Aaron Whitefield picked up a double, the only other extra base hit of the night. As a team, the Kernels struck out seven times and walked just once. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berríos, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Matt Hague, Rochester Red Wings FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (12:35pm) – Nick Tepesch (1-0, 3.60) Chattanooga @ Jacksonville (6:05pm) – Fernando Romero (0-1, 8.10) Ft. Myers @ Daytona (6:05pm) – David Fischer (0-0. 0.00) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:05pm) – Sean Poppen (0-0, 2.57) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday's games. Click here to view the article