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On Friday night, the Minnesota Twins fell 4-3 to the Texas Rangers. A three-run home run off the bat of Oswaldo Arcia with two out in the bottom of the ninth accounted for all the Twins' scoring. Scott Diamond was immensely hittable and the defense failed to make a couple of plays. However, for the second straight night, all four Twins full-season minor league affiliates were winners. One power-hitting prospect homered for the third time in four games. An equally powerful young man drilled two home runs on Friday night and drove in seven runs. One prospect had two extra base hits and is attempting to reclaim his status in the organization. There are hitting streaks worth following and big offensive displays. RHP Josh Burris will be joining the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Saturday as a busy week of transactions continues. Here is Friday night’s update.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 4, Syracuse Chiefs 2 Box Score PJ Walters was a winner for the second straight start. The right-hander gave up one run on three hits and two walks in 6.2 innings. He struck out four. Michael O’Connor came in and gave up one run on three hits in 1.2 innings. Bobby Lanigan made his 2013 Red Wings debut and got the final two outs for his first save. Joe Benson fought his way back to a .200 average. In this game, he was 2-4 with his second triple and his first home run. Eric Farris went 2-5 with his second double. Chris Herrmann was 2-5. Doug Bernier followed his 5-hit game on Thursday night by going 0-1 and walking three times on Friday night. New Britain Rock Cats 7, Richmond Flying Squirrels 4 Box Score Logan Darnell was on the mound for the Rock Cats. He earned the win and gave up three runs on eight hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out five. Bruce Pugh gave up one run despite giving up no hits in 1.2 innings. He walked three. Blake Martin came on and gave up two walks and a hit (which scored an inherited runner), but no runs were charged to him before he got one out to end the inning. AJ Achter came on for the ninth and struck out the side to record his first AA save. Josmil Pinto went 3-4. Dan Rohlfing went 2-3 with a walk. James Beresford and Mark Sobolewski each had two hits. Antoan Richardson went 1-3 with two walks; he also scored three run and stole his 8th, 9th and 10th bases of the season. Jhon Goncalves homered for the second time this season. Ft. Myers Miracle 10, Charlotte Stone Crabs 4 Box Score On Friday night, the Miracle won for the third straight time. Josh Wheeler was the recipient of all the run support. The lefty went 6.2 innings and gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out two. Nelvin Fuentes came on and got the next four batters out. Miguel Munoz gave up one run on two hits in the ninth. AJ Pettersen went 2-5 to extend his hitting streak to ten games. He is hitting .370 during that stretch. Eddie Rosario was 2-5 with a triple. Kennys Vargas was 2-4 with his first triple. He later scored on an RBI single from Drew Leachman, who was 2-4. Andy Leer went 2-4 with his second home run. Miguel Sano launched his ninth home run of the month, his third in four games. Photo courtesy Rinaldi Photos Cedar Rapids Kernels 13, Great Lakes Loons 8 Box Score We’ll try to ignore the fact that Kernels pitchers have given up 15 runs over the past two games. The reason we might be able to successfully do that is because the Kernels offense has put up 29 runs in those two games. On this night, Adam Walker was the star of the show. The powerful right-handed batter hit a three-run homer in the first inning. In the fourth inning, he came up with the bases loaded and hit a grand slam. Two home runs and seven RBI equates to a fairly productive game. His five home runs and 22 RBI lead the Midwest League. JD Williams added a home run in the fourth inning, his third. Jorge Polanco went 3-4 with a walk and his fifth double. Travis Harrison and Jhonathan Arias were each 2-5. Candido Pimentel was 2-4 with a walk. Byron Buxton was hitless, walked three times and stole his eighth base. He also had no unsuccessful stolen base attempts. Hudson Boyd got the start for the Kernels. The right hander gave up four runs on five hits in four innings. He walked four and struck out just one. Steven Gruver earned the win after coming on to give up one run on three hits in 2.2 innings. He walked one and struck out six. Chris Mazza gave up three runs on three hits in 1.1 inning. He struck out two. David Hurlbut came in and struck out two in a scoreless ninth. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

While the Twins (and particularly Josh Willingham) were creating fireworks while completing a sweep of the White Sox, there were entirely different fireworks that resulted in the ejection of a top Twins prospect (while he was in his home run trot) and his manager, an ex-Twin. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There were also several terrific performances by PJ Walters, Nate Hanson, Miguel Munoz and Lance Ray. Drew Leachman celebrated his birthday quite well on the field. Tyler Duffey was back on the mound on Sunday. But the story of the day was in Palm Beach at a High A game. Game 1 - Rochester Red Wings 1, Pawtucket Red Sox 8 Box Score Kyle Gibson made the start for the Red Wings. His line shows that he gave up three runs on three hits and four walks in five innings. However, through five innings, he had not allowed a run. Unfortunately, when he came out for the sixth frame, he gave up a lead-off walk followed by back-to-back singles to load the bases before being replaced by Luis Perdomo. Perdomo gave up a walk, a single and a double before he was replaced by Tyler Robertson. Robertson walked two that half-inning, one intentionally, but allowed only one inherited runner to score on a ground out before inducing an inning-ending double play. Suddenly, the Wings were down by a score of 5-1. Unfortunately, things weren’t much better for the Red Wings in the seventh inning. Robertson walked the first three batters to load the bases before Dan Turpen replaced him. Three more runs scored making it 8-1. The Red Wings managed just four hits. Clete Thomas was 1-2 with two walks. Game 2 - Rochester Red Wings 2, Pawtucket Red Sox 0 Box Score The story of the second game of the double-header was the right arm of PJ Walters. He threw a complete game shutout, allowing two hits and one walk. He struck out five to improve to 1-2 on the season. The Red Wings had six hits in the game. Chris Colabello doubled for the third time. Ray Olmedo hit a 2-run double which produced all the scoring for the Wings in this game. The Red Wings improved to 5-12 with the split on Sunday. New Britain Rock Cats 7, Portland Sea Dogs 8 Box Score BJ Hermsen was back on the mound in a regular season game for the first time this year. Hermsen, the Minor League starting pitcher of the year in 2012, went to big league spring training for the first time this spring. After being optioned out, he strained an intercostal muscle in his rib cage and has been rehabbing since. Hermsen went 4.2 innings and gave up five runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out three. Bobby Lanigan came on in relief and gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and a walk in 0.2 innings. Edgar Ibarra struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings. Michael Tonkin had a quiet eighth frame. Nate Hanson had a big day with the bat. The Eden Prairie High School grad and former Golden Gopher went 4-5 with a double and two RBI. Josmil Pinto went 2-3 with two walks. Dan Rohlfing went 1-3 with two walks. The Rock Cats fell to 8-9 on the season. Ft. Myers Miracle 5, Palm Beach Cardinals 6 (10 innings) Box Score This game was delayed for about two hours because of rain, and it then went to extra innings. There was drama throughout most of this game. Unfortunately, the Miracle lost 6-5 in ten innings on a walk-off home run. The drama started in the fifth inning. Reliever Brandon Creath was in the game, and Miguel Sano came to the plate. The first pitch barely missed Sano’s head. Doug Mientkiewicz came out and told the home plate umpire that Creath should be ejected. The history? Five days earlier, in his most recent appearance, Creath gave up a long grand slam to Sano. Creath stayed in this game, and on a 3-1 pitch, Sano launched a very, very long home run, his sixth of the year. He walked a few steps down the line and then, incited by the Cardinals dugout, started yelling at them as he ran down the line. At that point, the home plate umpire ejected Sano. Mientkiewicz came out and argued. He was ejected. So was left fielder Stephen Wickens. There was plenty of offense for the Miracle. Unfortunately, they left 15 runners on the base paths. Lance Ray went 3-5 with his fourth double. Kyle Knudson went 2-3 with two walks and his second home run. Michael Gonzales went 2-5 with a walk. AJ Pettersen extended his hitting streak to six games with a 2-5 day. Jason Wheeler started and gave up five runs on six hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out two. The bullpen kept the game close. Miguel Munoz gave up three hits in three scoreless innings. Corey Williams gave up two hits in his two scoreless innings. However, in the tenth inning, Nelvin Fuentes came on. He threw one pitch and it was deposited over the fence in left field to end the game. The Miracle fell to 14-3 on the season. photo by Jim Crikket Cedar Rapids Kernels 3, Burlington Bees 2 Box Score The Kernels got terrific pitching and a big hit off the bat of Niko Goodrum to get this tough win. Tyler Duffey made his third straight Sunday start. In this game, he pitched seven innings and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk, with six strikeouts. He improved to 2-1. David Hurlbut came out of the bullpen and recorded his first save. He gave up just one hit and struck out two in the final two innings. After having four hits on Saturday, Drew Leachman celebrated his birthday on Sunday with three more hits. He was 3-3 with a triple and a sacrifice fly. Travis Harrison was 2-4 with his seventh double. Jorge Polanco had a double, his fourth. Byron Buxton was 1-3 with two walks. He stole his sixth base, but he was also caught stealing for the fourth time. Niko Goodrum had just one hit on the day, but it was a two-run single in the seventh that gave the Kernels the 3-2 lead. The Snappers are now 11-5 on the season. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

The Minnesota Twins may not have received a very good start from Scott Diamond, but all four Twins minor league starters pitched very well on Saturday night. Each of them pitched into the 7th inning and gave up two or fewer runs. Unfortunately, the hitters from only one of the four affiliates scored enough runs to win their game. By the time the Twins' game got to the 6th inning all four minor league games were done. See what else happened on Saturday in the Twins minor league parks:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 2, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 3 Box Score Caleb Thielbar came in for the 8th inning of a 2-2 game. He was charged with an unearned run in the inning and took the loss. The Red Wings had two errors in the game. PJ Walters started and was terrific yet again for the Red Wings. He gave up two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out seven. Like Andrew Albers, Walters’ name is not being mentioned as a potential Twins call up as much as it probably should be. In other news, Michael O’Connor was released. Aaron Thompson was promoted from New Britain. Cole De Vries was activated by the Twins from the disabled list and optioned to Rochester. New Britain Rock Cats 0, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 5 Box Score Logan Darnell was terrific on the mound again, but the Rock Cats were not able to do anything against the Fisher Cats pitching. Darnell gave up one run on three hits in seven innings. He walked none and struck out six. He exited the game and Bruce Pugh came on for the eighth inning. Pugh gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in the inning, though he did strike out two. Blake Martin gave up a run on three hits in the ninth. The Rock Cats managed just five hits, all singles. Danny Ortiz was 2-4. AJ Pettersen went 1-2 and was hit by a pitch for the fifth time in his stint with the Rock Cats. Pettersen can also now add centerfield to his list of positions played. He started in left field and then moved to center for the final inning. Ft. Myers Miracle 9, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2 Box Score Jason Wheeler again gave his team a chance to win; the Miracle bats provided sufficient offense. Wheeler worked the first seven innings. He gave up two runs on six hits. He walked none and struck out three. Wheeler is now 5-0 despite an ERA of 4.25. Adrian Salcedo pitched the final two innings without allowing a run. He gave up two hits and struck out two. Angel Morales gave the Miracle an early lead with a two run double. Miguel Sano went 2-5 with his tenth double and his second triple. Kennys Vargas and Matt Koch were each 2-4. Cedar Rapids Kernels 0, Kane County Cougars 4 Box Score This game was a pitcher’s duel through the first six innings. JO Berrios and Cougars’ starter Pierce Johnson both threw six shutout innings. Berrios started the seventh, gave up two runs (1 earned) and got the first two outs. His final line was still solid. He went 6.2 innings and gave up just those two runs on seven hits. He walked none and struck out five. Berrios was replaced by lefty Josue Montanez who got the next four outs. He also gave up a solo home run before yielding to Josh Burris who gave up a solo homer in the ninth inning to produce the final 4-0 score. The Kernels had some base runners but they were shut out for the first time this year. They were 1-13 with runners in scoring position. Travis Harrison went 2-4, the only player with more than one hit. Niko Goodrum and Jhonatan Arias each had a double. Byron Buxton is now hitting .257 in May after a 1-5 game on this night. He stole his 17th base. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

On July 2nd, the Rochester Red Wings were 11 games behind Pawtucket in the International League Northern Division. With a win tonight, and a Pawtucket loss, the Red Wings are now 60-51 and in sole possession of first place in the division. The Red Wings have now won 19 games in July, their most since 1999. Defense has been a big part of the Red Wings success. They have not committed an error in their last nine games, a span covering 82 innings. In fact, looking at errors, the Red Wings' 66 miscues on the season are the fewest in all minor league baseball. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Monday: Rochester 5, Norfolk 3 Box Score It’s been a pretty busy week for PJ Walters. On Friday, he became a father again to a little girl. He had very little sleep and caught a 6 a.m. flight to Rochester to make the start on Monday night. They immediately put him to work, and Walters came through. He needed 116 pitches to complete seven innings, but he gave up just one run on seven hits. He walked three and struck out five. He got the win and is now 5-2 with a 3.57 ERA with the Red Wings. Cody Eppley came on to start the eighth inning, but he got just one out and left with runners on first and third after giving up two hits and a walk. Aaron Thompson came in and preserved the 5-3 lead for the Red Wings. Michael Tonkin came on for the ninth inning and gave up one hit and no runs to record his seventh Red Wings save. Antoan Richardson led the offense. He went 3-4 with his 13th double. Oswaldo Arcia gave the team a lead in the third inning when he hit his 10th homer. He was 2-3 and was hit by a pitch. Eduardo Escobar was 2-4 with his fifth double. New Britain No game Scheduled. Ft. Myers 5, Daytona 0 Box Score Lefty Matt Tomshaw began the 2013 season in the Cedar Rapids bullpen; since his promotion to the Miracle he has been primarily a starter. The crafty southpaw had his best start of the year, throwing eight shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked three and hit one while striking out four. Nelvin Fuentes gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth inning to maintain the shutout. Plenty of hitters helped the Miracle to this win. Byron Buxton went 2-5 with his sixth stolen base. Stephen Wickens was 2-4 with his seventh stolen base. Dalton Hicks was 2-4 with a walk. JD Williams went 1-2 with two walks and his sixth stolen base. Matt Koch went 1-2 with a walk, was hit by a pitch and hit his sixth home run of the season. Former Twins starter Scott Baker, rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, started the game for the Cubs. He went 3.1 innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on three this. He walked two and struck out two. Cedar Rapids 4, Clinton 3 Box Score JO Berrios started this closely contested game. The young right-hander went the first six innings. He gave up three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out two. Alex Muren came on and gave up one hit and two walks in two scoreless innings; he improved to 6-1 since his promotion to the Kernels. Brian Gilbert came on for the 9th inning and recorded the save. Max Kepler gave the Kernels an early lead with a two-run double, his eighth of the season. He later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Travis Harrison went 2-4 and scored the go-ahead run. Jeremias Pineda went 2-4 with his fifth double. Adam Walker hit his 24th double and stole his eighth base. The Kernels are now 65-39 after their three-game sweep of the LumberKings. Elizabethton 0, Kingsport 4 Box Score Felix Jorge started and gave up one run in each of the first three innings. One of them was unearned. He went four innings and gave up six hits, walked two and struck out seven. Andrew Ferreira gave up a run on one hit and three walks in 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Austin Malinowski came on and struck out four in 3.1 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked one. There was not much offense for the E-Twins on this night. Carlos Avila went 1-1 with two walks. Mitch Garver hit his seventh double. GCL Twins 9, GCL Orioles 4 Box Score The Twins were down 3-2 going into the bottom of the 7th inning. Brian Navarreto stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and connected for his third home run. The team added three more runs in the 8th. Jorge Fernandez went 3-4 with his second stolen base. Will Hurt and Adonis Pacheco each tripled. Wilkin Ramirez returned to the field and went 1-2 with a double. Darin Mastroianni was in a game for the first time in a long time. He went 1-3 with two RBI. Alex Wimmers started and worked the first four innings. He gave up one run on two hits. He walked two and struck out six. Dan Sattler gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and one walk in just 0.2 innings. Tyler Stirewalt gave up two hits in the next 1.1 innings. Zach Hayden gave up one hit, walked one and struck out one in his inning. Jose Abreu recorded his third save, giving up one run on four hits in the final two innings. Amaurys Minier has not played since leaving a game on July 24. He has a strained quad. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. View full article