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Miracle Matters Daytona 1, Fort Myers 5 Box The Miracle took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five Florida State League Championship Series on Thursday night with a victory over the Daytona Cubs. The Miracle jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second inning and never looked back. Dalton Hicks and Stuart Turner scored those two runs on an RBI single from Tyler Grimes with two outs in the second. Miracle Starter Matt Tomshaw was cruising into the sixth inning before running into a little bit of trouble. The Cubs' leadoff hitter in the sixth reached on a ground ball that deflected off Tomshaw, and then advanced to second when Tyler Grimes committed a throwing error trying to make a play on the deflected ball. The next hitter dropped a bunt single to put runners on the corners with no outs. Tomshaw then struck out a hitter before a ground-rule double plated a run. The Miracle were saved a run as the base runners were only allowed to advance two bases. Tomshaw then walked the next batter and induced an inning-ending double play a batter later. With the score now 2-1, Adam Brett Walker, who finished first in the FSL in homers in the regular season, led off the bottom of the sixth and deposited the third pitch of the inning over the Green Monster in left field. The Miracle added another run in the sixth when Travis Harrison doubled home Jason Kanzler. The Miracle closed out the scoring in the bottom of the seventh via an RBI double from Adam Brett Walker, scoring Stuart Turner. With runners on second and third with no out and a chance to really break the game open, the Miracle failed to put another ball in play as Tyler Grimes and Jason Kanzler struck out swinging before Aderlin Megia was hit by a pitch. Then with bases loaded and two outs, Niko Goodrum went down on strikes as well. With the score then 5-1, D.J. Johnson and Brandon Peterson finished things up for the Miracle, holding the Cubs scoreless for the final two frames. On the night, Adam Brett Walker was 3-4 with a run scored, that double and home run, and two RBIs. The 22-year-old is hitting .444 this post season, and as I mentioned above, led the FSL in homers this year, with 25 long balls. A year ago in Cedar Rapids Walker lit up the Midwest League with 27 round-trippers. Walker should start 2015 in Double-A and really test his mettle against some of the better pitchers in the minor leagues. Travis Harrison was 2-4 on the day with two doubles, an RBI and a walk. The Miracle hitters totaled eleven hits, four walks and nine strike outs against the Cubs. Matt Tomshaw's final line was six innings pitched, six hits, one earned run, two walks and he struck out four. D.J. Johnson pitched two scoreless innings to earn his second hold of the post season, and Brandon Peterson finished things off in the eighth. The Miracle are back at "home" at Jet Blue Park for game-two on Friday evening at 6:05pm. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 2, Burlington 1 Box After dropping the first game of the series in Cedar Rapids, the Kernels snuck past the Burlington Bees 2-1 to force a third game in this three-game series. The Kernels and the Bees played three quiet innings until Cedar Rapids broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth. With runners on the corner and no outs, Alex Swim singled home a run to give the Kernels a 1-0 lead with two runners on and no outs and a chance to extend their lead. The next batter, J.D. Williams, popped one up to the first baseman, and then Engelb Vielma and Michael Quesada both struck out swinging to end the Kernel's threat. The Bees tied the game with two outs in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single, ending the evening for Kernel's starter Mat Batts. Brian Gilbert replaced Batts and struck out the next batter swinging to end the sixth. In the top of the eighth Logan Wade pushed the Kernels ahead by a run with a solo home run, which turned out to be the winning run for the Kernels. In the bottom of the eighth, things heated up after Jake Mauer was ejected arguing a safe call at first base on a bunt attempt that gave Burlington runners on first and second with no outs. Mauer's ejection perked up his team as Gilbert proceeded to pick off the runner at second base, and then quickly induced an inning ending double play to move play to the ninth. Down by one, the Bees put runners on the corners with no outs against Jake Reed, who replaced Gilbert to start the inning. Reed struck out the next batter and then induced an inning ending double play of his own on a grounder to Engelb Vielma at shortstop to preserve the Kernels' victory. The Kernels recorded just seven hits on the night, to go along with a single walk while striking out ten times. Chad Christensen was 2-4. The hero of the night, Logan Wade, was 1-4 with that solo blast. On the mound, Mat Batts pitched very well, scattering three hits over 5.2 innings, giving up only one run. Brian Gilbert pitched 2.1 scoreless innings before turning things over to Jake Reed for an adventurous save. The Kernels and the Bees will finish things off on Friday at 6:30pm at Community Field in Burlington, winner take all. TwinsDaily Minor League Players of the Day TwinsDaily Minor League Hitter of the Day - Adam Brett Walker, Fort Myers TwinsDaily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Matt Tomshaw, Fort Myers Friday's Probables Daytona @ Fort Myers, 6:05pm, Ethan Mildren Cedar Rapids @ Burlington, 6:30pm, Stephen Gonsalves

Teammates talk a lot about the type of person that Vasquez is. He is selfless and happy to serve as a mentor for players. The organization knows that he could be pitching at AAA, or even the big leagues if needed. For him to have this moment is a great thing! Vasquez told a reporter following the game that he, "wanted to do this for (my teammates) as much as myself." He said that it was the first time he had pitched to Matt Koch this season, so he credited him a lot. He also gave a lot of credit to his defense which he used quite a bit, recording just two strikeouts. http://sendtonews.com/sCYY26GASS-60116-4935 Reynaldo Rodriguez of the Rock Cats had a huge day in the doubleheader, but he now is overshadowed by his fellow AA veteran. Check out the Rock Cats highlights and everything that happened throughout the Twins farm system on Saturday night. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester, Syracuse Box Score The Red Wings game was postponed by rain. ROCK CATS REVIEW Game 1 – New Britain 5, Harrisburg 1 Box Score JO Berrios is back and pitched very well in Game One. He threw five scoreless innings before giving up a run in the sixth. In all, he went 5.1 innings and gave up one run on five hits. He walked two and struck out five. Edgar Ibarra came on for the final five outs and had five strikeouts for his first save. Reynaldo Rodriguez supplied the offense in this game. He went 3-3 with his 34th double, and his 17th and 18th home runs. He drove in four runs. Levi Michael and Michael Gonzales both went 2-3. Game 2 – New Britain 9, Harrisburg 0 Box Score Rodriguez was big in Game 2 of the day too, but the story in this game was the performance of Virgil Vasquez. The veteran right-hander threw a seven-inning complete game NO-HITTER, the first ever by a New Britain pitcher at New Britain Stadium. He needed just 69 pitches to throw the no-hitter. He retired the last 18 batters he faced. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-2 with two walks and his 19th home run. Jorge Polanco went 3-4 with his fourth and fifth AA doubles and his sixth stolen base. Mike Gonzales went 1-2 with two walks and his third double. http://sendtonews.com/Rsuae1z588-60123-4935 MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 – Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 4 Box Score The Miracle bats just were unable to provide much run support. They had just four hits. Adam Walker went 1-1 with two walks. He hit his 17th double and drove in his 90th run of the year. Max Kepler hit his 15th double. Travis Harrison went 1-3 with a walk. Aaron Slegers made the start in this one and lost for the first time since joining the Miracle. He gave up four runs on five hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out two. Nick Burdi had an interesting outing. He gave up a hit, walked a batter and hit a batter, but did not allow a run in his inning. He struck out two. Game 2 – Ft. Myers 4, Palm Beach 0 Box Score Matt Tomshaw pitched really well and won for the tenth time this season. The lefty went all seven innings and did not allow a run. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five. Dalton Hicks drove in three runs. He hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning, and his 22nd double drove in two more in the third inning. Aderlin Mejia went 1-2 with a walk. He stole his 17th and 18th bases as well. Niko Goodrum walked twice and stole his 31st base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 2 Box Score Jonatan Hinojosa has only been back with the Kernels a short while, but he has had some big moments already. In this game, he went 2-4 and drove in three of the Kernels’ runs. Engelb Vielma went 1-3 with a walk and drove in the other run. He also stole his ninth base. Ryan Walker went 2-3. Mitch Garver was 1-2 with two walks. Lewis Thorpe made the start and went the first 5.1 innings. He gave up two runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out five. Chris Mazza got the next five outs, three on strikeouts. Jake Reed then came on and threw two shutout innings. In the ninth, he struck out the side and ended with four strikeouts. He has now thrown 17.2 scoreless innings for the Kernels. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Johnson City 9 (11 innings) Box Score These teams needed extra frames to decide this one. Felix Jorge started and gave up three runs on seven hits over five innings. He walked none and struck out four. Kuo Hua Lo gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in his inning. Sam Clay then gave up three hits, but no runs, in 1.2 innings, with two strikeouts. CK Irby came in with runners on but got a strikeout to end the eighth inning in a tie game. Irby pitched scoreless innings in the ninth and tenth as well. Unfortunately, he gave up four runs (2 earned) in the 11th inning. Keaton Steele got the final two outs of the 11th. The Elizabethton team had just six hits in the game. The big one came off the bat of Jorge Fernandez who hit his first home run of the season and drove in three runs. Trey Vavra added his 16th double of the short season. Tanner English went 1-3 with a walk. GCL TWINS TAKES Game 1 – GCL Twins 11, GCL Red Sox 10 Box Score Last week, this game began and went just two innings before it was suspended by rain. The Twins were already down 10-3 after Alexis Tapia gave up four runs in the first inning and Mike Theofanopoulos was charged with six unearned runs in the second innings. When they returned to action on Saturday morning, Miles Nordgren took over on the mound. He threw five no-hit, no-run innings. He walked one and struck out two. Reyson Zoquiel and Seth Wagner each pitched a scoreless inning as well. The Twins offense also responded with four runs in the fourth and four runs in the eighth inning. Nelson Molina led the way. He went 3-5. Jarrard Poteete was 1-3 with a walk, and his one hit was a big one. He hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning. Ariel Montesino went 1-2 with a walk and a triple. TJ White went 1-3 with two walks. Game 2 – GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 1 Box Score In the regularly-scheduled game, DJ Baxendale was on the mound to make another rehab start. He went four innings and yielded only an unearned run. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out five. Mike Theofanopoulos came on and threw the final three innings without giving up a run. He gave up two hits, a walk and struck out two. The Twins didn’t have much offense in this game. In fact, they had just two hits. Rafael Valera went 1-2 with a walk. He also stole his eighth and ninth bases of the season. Nelson Molina and Zach Larson drove in the two runs. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Virgil Vasquez, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Reynaldo Rodriguez, New Britain Rock Cats SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (DH @ 4:05 CST) – Logan Darnell, Sean Gilmartin Harrisburg @ New Britain (12:35 CST) – Jason Wheeler Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) – TBD Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – Ryan Eades Princeton @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – Derrick Penilla GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (DH @ 9:00am CST) – No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win against the first-place Kansas City Royals on Saturday, it means that on Sunday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com.