Search the Community

It’s not often that a team down seven runs comes back to win a game, but that’s just what happened in Cedar Rapids on Thursday night. Who played the hero? In addition to that epic comeback, one left-handed starting pitching prospect fanned a career high number of batters in his start, a hitter was a single shy of a cycle, and several others had big offensive games. One affiliate even clinched their second division title of the year.To find out how all of your favorite prospects fared on Thursday night, keep reading! TRANSACTIONS With rosters ready to expand in the majors for September, there was a flurry of transactions on Thursday throughout the system. In AAA, the Red Wings received 1B Jonathan Rodriguez and IF Ryan Walker from the Lookouts, in addition to pitcher Michael Kohn from Fort Myers. In Chattanooga, the Lookouts received 2B Nelson Molina from Fort Myers. To replace their players on the move, Fort Myers received 3B Joe Cronin and RHP Eduardo Del Rosario from Cedar Rapids. In the Midwest League, Amaurys Minier was activated from the disabled list and the same for RHP Calvin Faucher with Elizabethton. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 1 Box Score The Red Wings offense outhit the RailRiders 11-4 on Thursday, providing plenty of run support for starter David Hurlbut to pick up his tenth win of the year. Hurlbut tossed 6.1 innings, allowing just one run on four hits and two walks, while striking out five. His run allowed came in the first inning to put Scranton/WB up 1-0 early, as a walk to a rehabbing Matt Holliday was followed by an RBI double (runner was thrown out at third base for the third out). After allowing a leadoff single in the second, Hurlbut retired the next thirteen in a row into the sixth inning. Rochester took the lead in the fourth inning as Matt Hague led off with a single and scored on a Daniel Palka triple to tie it at one. Then it was an RBI single from Byungho Park and RBI double from Anthony Recker that put them up by two. The offense added two more insurance runs in the sixth inning thanks to an RBI double from Leonardo Reginatto and sac fly from Recker for the final score of 5-1. Hague (2-5, R), Palka (2-3, R, 3B, RBI, 2 BBs), Park (2-5, R, RBI), and Recker (2-3, 2B, RBI, BB) all had multiple hits. In relief of Hurlbut, Drew Rucinski and Michael Tonkin combined to retire all eight hitters they faced to end the game. Rucinski went 1.2 innings and struck out two, while Tonkin went one-two-three in the ninth to wrap up the victory. With the win, the Red Wings hold a two game lead on the wild card over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, with four games left to play. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Montgomery 2, Chattanooga 11 Box Score It took a little while for the Lookout’s lineup to turn it on, but when they did they turned it up to eleven (literally). Leading 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, they piled on five runs to break the game open. The biggest hit was a three-run bomb from Nick Gordon, his ninth of the season to make it 6-2, before T.J. White added a two-run home run of his own for an 8-2 lead. In the eighth, a bases-loaded walk to Brian Navaretto and two-RBI single from Edgar Corcino made the final tally of eleven runs for the home team. White had three hits, falling just a single short of the cycle in a big day when he also scored three runs. Gordon (2-5, R, HR, 3 RBI), Corcino (2-4, 3 RBI), and Alex Perez (2-3, 3 R’s, BB) each had two hits, while Navaretto was 1-1 with a run scored and two walks on the day. As a team they were 4-11 with runners in scoring position, and left just five men on base after collecting eleven hits and five walks. Making the start for Chattanooga was Zack Littell, and he improved to 5-0 with the Lookouts and an incredible 19-1 overall on the season by going the first six innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks while striking out four. He lowered his ERA to below 3.00 with the Twins organization in the process. In relief, Anthony McIver went two scoreless frames, allowing two hits and striking out two. Nick Anderson finished the game with a one-two-three inning, striking out two. With the win, the Lookouts are the Southern League North Division Champions in the second half of the season after also winning the first half. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Jupiter 3 (11 innings) Box Score Starter Lewis Thorpe put together an excellent start for the Miracle, but they were unable to pull out a victory on Thursday night as the offense managed just two runs. Thorpe pitched seven innings just three days after pitching an inning in Monday’s game in preparation for the playoffs. He struck out a career high eleven batters, including the side in the fourth inning and all three outs in the fifth. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk in his best outing of the season. He left the game down 2-1, but got the no-decision when the Miracle tied the game at two in the top of the ninth to send it to extra innings. Down 1-0 in the top of the sixth, the Miracle finally got on the scoreboard when Tanner English led off the inning with a double and later scored on a single from Brandon Lopez. Thorpe gave the Hammerheads the lead right back in the bottom half, as his errant pickoff throw put a runner in scoring position and scored on a single for the 2-1 lead. In the top of the ninth, the Miracle were handed a big chance to take the lead for good, but managed to score just one run to tie it. Lopez led off the frame with a walk, and consecutive errors by the pitcher on sacrifice bunt attempts loaded the bases with nobody out. Zander Wiel’s sac fly tied it at two and was followed by an infield single to again load the bases, but a force out at home and fly out from the next two batters snuffed out the go-ahead threat. Williams Ramirez came on for Thorpe in the eighth, and got them through the ninth with two perfect innings, striking out two. Andrew Vasquez came on in the tenth and had a one-two-three inning, but the eleventh started off with a bunt single that included a throwing error from Wiel to put the winning run on second base. Vasquez walked the next batter to put the force out into play then got the next two hitters out, but wasn’t able to get the third as a single brought in the walk-off run for Jupiter. Collecting multiple hits for the Miracle were Lopez (2-5, R, RBI, BB) and Jaylin Davis (2-5), but they had just six hits as a team, were 2-9 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Burlington 8, Cedar Rapids 9 (10 innings) Box Score Cedar Rapids fell behind 8-1 in the early going as starter Tyler Wells was knocked around in just two-plus innings, but stormed back into the game with a big offensive outburst of their own that would end up pushing the game to extra innings. Wells allowed runs in each of the three innings he came out for, but wasn’t able to record an out in the third and was charged with all eight Burlington runs. In 2+ innings pitched, Wells allowed those runs on ten hits and one walk, and racked up 76 pitches in the process. Logan Lombana came on in relief in the third and shut down the Bees for three innings. He allowed three hits and struck out two before the Kernels offense popped in the bottom of the fifth. Travis Blankenhorn led off the inning with a double to set the stage, and Caleb Hamilton drove him in with an RBI single for the first run of the inning. Shane Carrier then clubbed his seventh home run with Cedar Rapids to make it 8-4 before three consecutive singles scored another and left even more ducks on the pond. Aaron Whitefield drove in one with a double to make it 8-6, before Blankenhorn bookended the inning with a two-RBI single to tie the game at eight. After Lombana was done, relievers Ryan Mason and Colton Davis combined for four shutout innings to bring the game into extra frames. They each pitched two innings, allowed one hit, and struck out three. The only difference in their lines was Mason also walked one. Patrick McGuff came on in the tenth and made it interesting, but got out of the inning without allowing a run to set up his offense for the win. Jordan Gore started the bottom half with a single and moved into scoring position on a passed ball with Whitefield in the batter’s box. He took advantage, walking it off for Cedar Rapids with his second double of the game. Each hitter in the Kernels lineup had at least one hit, with five collecting two or more. Whitefield and Blankenhorn each had two doubles and drove in two. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 0, Kingsport 8 Box Score Elizabethton’s offense managed just four hits on the game against the Mets, going 0-3 with runners in scoring position and leaving just three men on base in the shutout loss. Wander Javier led the offense by going 1-4 with a double. Akil Baddoo, Jose Miranda, and Andrew Bechtold collected the other three hits, all singles. Starter Moises Gomez matched the zeroes of Kingsport’s pitcher for the first three innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three, but the bullpen combo of Blair Lakso and Rickey Ramirez had a rough day. They both allowed four earned runs, with Lakso’s coming in 2.2 innings and Ramirez’s in 1.1. They each allowed four hits total. Lakso struck out two and Ramirez one in those innings. Jared Finkel pitched a Snapper-mow-em-down eighth inning, striking out the side to finish the game for E-town. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Rays 2, GCL Twins 8 Box Score The Twins struck first in the third inning, taking the lead 3-0 after a two-RBI double from Jared Akins and an RBI single from Jean Carlos Arias to start the game’s scoring. They tacked on three more runs in the fifth after loading bases with nobody out for Benjamin Rodriguez. He brought in one with a single, then Taylor Grzelakowski and Victor Tademo each added sac flies for the 6-1 lead. In the seventh inning the Twins capped their scoring as Grzelakowski slugged his first professional home run, a two-run shot to make the final score of 8-2. The top five hitters in the lineup (Akins, Ricky De La Torre, Arias, Rodriguez, Grzelakowski) all collected two hits and scored at least one run on the game. Ricky De La Torre had a double as part of his two hits. On the mound for the Twins in this one was Jordan Balazovic, and he went the first 4.2 innings. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks while striking out four. Joe Rosenstein got the next two outs, but allowed one run on a hit and a walk. Derek Molina pitched two scoreless innings from there, allowing two hits and striking out three. Austin Bizzle finished out the game with 1.2 scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out two. The Twins improved to 34-22 on the season with the victory, and are just one game back of the best record in the Gulf Coast League. They have clinched the South Division title. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Lewis Thorpe, Fort Myers Miracle (7.0 IP, ER, 5 H’s, BB, 11 K’s) Hitter(s) of the Day – T.J. White, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-5, 3 R’s, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI) FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (14-4, 3.37 ERA) Montgomery @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30PM CST) – LHP Anthony Marzi (0-0, -.-- ERA) Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (2-0, 3.00 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox, Game 1 (10:00AM CST) – TBD GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins, Game 2 – TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! Click here to view the article

Clark Beeker threw 8.2 shutout innings for Cedar Rapids tonight, extending his scoreless streak to 25.2 innings. It was in an epic pitcher’s duel, which the Kernels unfortunately lost 2-0 in 10 innings. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Friday.RED WINGS REPORT Game 1: Syracuse 2, Rochester 1 (7 innings) Box Score Dietrich Enns’ Minnesota org debut will go down as a complete game. Sure, it was only a six-inning outing, but it still counts. Enns, whom the Twins acquired from the Yankees in the (second) Jaime Garcia trade, gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out four. Niko Goodrum hit his 22nd double of the year and drew a walk. Engelb Vielma hit his eighth two-bagger since being called up from Chattanooga. Daniel Palka was 1-for-2 with a walk. Both managers got ejected from this one, in separate incidents/innings and even by different umpires. Had to make it a little awkward to go back out there for Game 2. Game 2: Rochester 3, Syracuse 2 (7 innings) Box Score Mitch Garver was 2-for-3 with a double and sparked the game-winning rally. With the score tied in the top of the seventh (and final) inning, Garver hit a leadoff single. That was followed by a Leonardo Reginatto double. Consecutive walks by Niko Goodrum and J.B. Shuck forced in the go-ahead run. Nik Turley got off to a great start, striking out three batters in three scoreless innings, but a rain delay knocked him out of the game. Drew Rucinski gave up two runs over 2.1 innings. Jake Reed pitched 1.2 scoreless innings for his first win of the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jackson 1 Box Score Nick Gordon hit his eighth home run and Stephen Gonsalves pitched 6.2 shutout innings to help lift the Lookouts to victory. Gordon also stole his 13th base and drew a walk. He has five more homers than he’s ever hit in a season, and both his current OBP (.357) and slugging percentage (.431) would represent career highs by a large margin. Gonsalves has been incredibly consistent this season. Tonight was his 13th start. You know how many times he’s given up four runs? Zero. Tonight was just his second scoreless outing, however, and the second consecutive game he’s pitched into the seventh inning. Third baseman T.J. White has also been essential to the special season Chattanooga is putting together. He was 2-for-2 tonight with a double, a homer and two walks. Max Murphy also had a pair of hits. Todd Van Steensel continued his excellent season by striking out a pair of batters over 1.1 scoreless innings. Gabriel Moya, recently acquired in the John Ryan Murphy trade, gave up a solo homer, but managed to earn the save. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Jupiter 0 Box Score Lewis Thorpe struck out nine batters over five shutout innings. He gave up just two hits and walked three. Thorpe threw 97 pitches on the night, 59 for strikes, as he lowered his ERA to 2.79 on the season. The nine K's was a season high, and Thorpe has now racked up 64 strikeouts in 58.0 innings this season. Here’s what Thorpe told Seth Stohs of Twins Daily after his outing: “Slider was working tonight. And the fastball. It wasn't really the plan but in the first two innings we figured out they were gonna be aggressive.” The K's kept coming, as Michael Theofanopoulos had four over his two innings and Williams Ramirez had three over his two frames. So it was a 16-strikeout game for the Miracle pitching staff. Plus, catcher Kevin Garcia was 2-for-4 with a couple of RBI. Nelson Molina was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. This was a huge win for Fort Myers, as it put them a half game in front of Jupiter for the Flordia State League South division lead. After finishing the first half two games under .500, the Miracle are 25-16 so far in the second half. KERNELS NUGGETS Kane County 2, Cedar Rapids 0 (10 innings) Box Score Clark Beeker was phenomenal, as he’s been all season for the Kernels. The Davidson product pitched 8.2 shutout innings, striking out seven without issuing a walk. He gave up four hits, all singles. He gave up a two-out single in the top of the ninth after he had surpassed the 100-pitch mark, so it seemed logical that was as far as he was going to pitch in this one. This was the 24-year-old’s third-straight scoreless start. He pitched a complete game shutout on July 29 after throwing six shutout innings in July 23. Unfortunately, Cedar Rapids just couldn’t get anything going offensively. Seth also found time to catch up with Beeker tonight, here’s what he had to say about his marvelous performance: “The game plan was very similar, mix in all counts and use the changeup early to set up the fastball later in at-bats. It was the third time facing these guys so I had a decent idea of how I wanted to pitch some of their hitters. I'd be lying if I said I completely ignored the scoreless streak, but I try not to think too much about it. I just know if I put up scoreless innings, it gives our team the best chance to win and keeps the bullpen fresh.” Colton Davis gave up a couple of runs in the top of the 10th inning, but it appeared for a moment the Kernels might mount a comeback. Ben Rortvedt drew a leadoff walk. After Trey Cabbage struck out, Hank Morrison hit a deep fly out to center field. Jordan Gore singled, but Rortvedt was thrown out at the plate for the game’s final out. That run wouldn’t have mattered much, so it was a bit of a head-scratcher. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 10, Burlington 5 Box Score Catcher Robert Molina had a big game, going 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Akil Baddoo was on base four times, hitting two singles to go with a pair of walks. Multi-hit games also came from Shane Carrier, J.J. Robinson, Ariel Montesino and T.J. Dixon. Brusdar Graterol, who turns just 19 later this month, picked up his first Appy League victory, giving up a pair of runs over five innings. He struck out three batters. Randy Dobnak, who was recently signed out of the United Shore League, earned the save by throwing the final four innings. He gave up three runs and struck out five. E-Town improved to 27-15 on the season, extending their lead in the Appy League West to 4.5 games. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 9, GCL Red Sox 8 Box Score Jean Carlos Arias, a 19-year-old Dominican center fielder, was 3-for-4 with a triple, a walk, two runs scored and an RBI. Emmanuel Morel, Benjamin Rodriguez, Alex Robles and Jared Atkins all had two hits a piece. Rodriguez drove in three runs. Altogether, the Twins had 14 hits, eight walks and stole five bases. They were also 8-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Royce Lewis had his second-straight three walk game, stole his 11th base (in 13 attempts) and scored a pair of runs. He’s now played 30 games. He has 32 hits, 16 walks and 34 runs scored. Lewis’ slash line is .291/.405/.445 (.850 OPS). Carlos Suniaga started and gave up two runs (one earned) over five innings. The Twins built an 8-4 lead before their bullpen sputtered a bit, letting the Red Sox back in this game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Clark Beeker, Cedar Rapids (8.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K) Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: T.J. White, Chattanooga (2-for-2, HR, 2B, 2 BBs SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Syracuse, 6:05 pm CT, David Hurlbut (3.34 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) Chattanooga vs. Jackson, 6:15 pm CT, Zack Littell (3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) Fort Myers vs. Jupiter, 5:05 pm CT, Anthony McIver (2.32 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) Cedar Rapids at Wisconsin, 6:35 pm CT, Anthony Marzi (2.27 ERA, 0.95 WHIP) Elizabethton vs. Burlington, 5:00 pm CT, Bailey Ober (0.00 ERA, 0.55 WHIP) GCL Twins vs, GCL Red Sox, 9:00 am CT, TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. Click here to view the article

The Chattanooga Lookouts put together a comeback victory that clinched a first half division title, thus solidifying their spot in the Southern League playoffs. Find out what else happened around the Twins' minor leagues on Friday. TRANSACTIONS Several moves were made in the system and we'll update them as we hear them. Twins Daily has learned that along with Adam Wilk, the Twins will promote RHPs Alex Wimmers and Alan Busenitz. As Wimmers was only optioned four days ago, he can be the 26th man, or the Twins would have to place a pitcher on the DL.Hearing at least one pitcher is moving up from Chattanooga to Rochester as well. Again, more as we can confirm.RED WINGS REPORTRochester at Pawtucket POSTPONED This was the 10th postponement of Rochester’s season. They’ll be playing a doubleheader tomorrow. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Tennessee 3 Box Score The Lookouts are the first half champions of the Southern League North Divison, clinching a playoff berth, after a crazy comeback in the top of the ninth. Trailing 3-2 entering the final inning, T.J. White led off with a broken-bat single. Levi Michael followed with a walk. Dan Rohlfing dropped down a sacrifice bunt, but the Smokies first baseman decided to try to get the out at third, airmailing the ball into left field instead. White and Michael came around to score, giving the Lookouts the lead. Rohlfing would later come around to score on a passed ball. A broken bat, a walk, an error and a passed ball. The Baseball Gods were certainly on Chattanooga’s side tonight. Luke Bard pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal the victory for the Lookouts. Starter Randy LeBlanc gave up two runs on five hits over 5.1 innings. He had four strikeouts and walked one batter. White was 3-for-4 with a double and scored twice. Edgar Corcino tallied a pair of hits. Nick Anderson pitched a scoreless eighth inning to keep the game within a run for the Looks, who are now 40-28 on the season. MIRACLE MATTERS OFF It’s the all-star break for the Florida State League. All-Stars from Fort Myers are Sam Clay, Dereck Rodriguez, Brian Navarreto and Chris Paul. The game is tomorrow. KERNELS NUGGETS Clinton 5, Cedar Rapids 4 Box Score The Kernels jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first inning thanks to a Christian Cavaness bases-clearing triple, but Clinton just kept chipping away, scoring single runs in the second, fourth, sixth and eighth innings to complete the comeback. Over six innings, Eduardo Del Rosario gave up four runs, walked three batters and surrendered seven hits. Ryan Mason was credited with the loss after giving up the game-winning run in the eighth inning. Colton Davis pitched a perfect ninth, lowering his ERA to 1.45. Cedar Rapids recorded just seven hits on the night, three of which came from Cavaness. Ben Rortvedt, who has been heating up of late, was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. Tomorrow night there figures to be an excellent crowd in Cedar Rapids, as the Kernels are giving away Mike Trout bobbleheads. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Randy LeBlanc, Chattanooga (5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K) Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – T.J. White, Chattanooga (3-for-4, double, 2 runs) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERSS Rochester at Pawtucket, 3:35 pm CT, Yohan Pino (7.82 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) Rochester at Pawtucket, Game 2, Chris Heston (4.62 ERA, 1.35 WHIP) Chattanooga at Tennessee, 6 pm CT, TBA Cedar Rapids vs. Clinton, 6:35 CT, Tyler Wells (2.02 ERA, 0.98 WHIP) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. Click here to view the article

The Twins lost both ends of a split double header and find themselves two and a half games behind the Astros for the second wild card spot. Now losers of five straight, the Twins are also a game behind the Angels and just a game and a half ahead of the Indians, all fighting for that final postseason spot. In the Minor Leagues, both the Cedar Rapids Kernels and the Chattanooga Lookouts returned home for the third game of their Championship Series. Let's see how things went. Biloxi Shuckers @ Chattanooga Lookouts Tyler Wagner vs. Greg Peavey Final: Shuckers 2, Lookouts 0 Box In the top of the first inning, Greg Peavey gave up a single and a double to the first two batters of the game to put runners at second and third with no outs. Peavey managed to limit the damage, with only one run scoring on a sacrifice fly, sandwiched between a pair of infield popups. Greg Peavey made it through the next three innings without giving up an additional run, but not without drama as he put the leadoff batter on base in every inning. In the fifth, Peavey again put the leadoff man on base, via a double. After a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk to Orlando Arcia, Manager Doug Mientkiewicz decided he had seen enough and lifted Peavey in favor of D. J. Johnson. Johnson walked the first batter he faced to load the bases. The next batter hit into a fielder's choice, but the Lookouts couldn't turn two, only grabbing the out at second base, allowing a run to score. D.J. Johnson managed to keep more runs off the board, despite throwing a wild pitch and walking the next batter before striking out Biloxi's centerfielder, Brett Phillips. Johnson recorded one out in the seventh before being lifted for Brett Lee. Brett Lee and Jake Reed finished things up, allowing just two hits the rest of the way. Two runs were plenty for the Shuckers as the Lookouts were 0-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding ten runners in the process. Shuckers pitchers Tyler Wagner and Yhonathan Barrios combined to strike out ten and walked just two, giving up eight total hits. The first three hitters in the Lookouts lineup, Stephen Wickens, Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler, went a combined 0-12. Cleanup hitter Travis Harrison had a great night, 3-3 with a walk and a double, but without anyone on base ahead of him, he didn't have any chances to drive in runs. Centerfielder and number nine hitter Shannon Wilkerson also had a pair of hits, 2-4 and a strike out. The Shuckers and the Lookouts are back on the field Sunday at 1:15pm. The Lookouts need a win to stay alive. West Michigan Whitecaps @ Cedar Rapids Kernels Artie Lewicki vs. Keaton Steele Final: Whitecaps 1, Kernels 2 Box The Kernels took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on a Rafael P. Valera sacrifice fly, but then gave a run back to the Whitecaps in the top of the fourth to knot things at one-one. The game continued on, deadlocked, until the top of the ninth. Pitching his second inning of relief, Luke Bard walked the leadoff hitter and then found himself with a runner on second and one out after a sacrifice bunt. A single to centerfield scored the go-ahead run, and Wade capped the inning on back-to-back strike outs, with the Kernels now down 2-1, down to their last three outs. Edgar Corcino doubled to start things off for the Kernels in the bottom of the ninth, and then T.J. White came up with a double of his own, off of the left fielder's glove. Because the ball was nearly caught, Corcino was holding up and only advanced to third. With runners on second and third with no outs, the Whitecaps brought in their closer Joe Jimenez was was 5-1 with a 1.47 ERA in the regular season, converting on 17-20 save opportunities and racking up 61 strike outs against just 11 walks in 43 innings. Jimenez proceeded to walk the first batter he faced, LaMonte Wade, loading up the bases for Chris Paul. Paul struck out swinging. Max Murphy came up to bat with the bases still loaded and delivered a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Edgar Corcino and tying the game at 2-2, putting runners at the corner for Brian Navarreto. Navarreto worked deep into the count, with LaMonte Wade advancing to second on defensive indifference midway through the at bat. Navarreto fouled off a couple of pitches before hitting something close to a Baltimore Chop, a high bouncer that came down midway between the pitchers mound and third base. With T.J. White running home on contact, the only play for Whitecaps third basemen Francisco Contreras was at first. Navarreto beat the throw and the Kernels walk-off winners and are just one win away from winning the Midwest League Championship! Kernels pitching held the Whitecaps to just five hits all night, led by Keaton Steele who pitched seven innings, struck out five, walked one and gave up four hits. Luke Bard picked up the win thanks to those ninth inning heroics, giving up a hit, a run, striking out two and walking two. Kernels hitters struggled a bit, recording just seven hits, but three of them came in the ninth when they needed them most. Navarreto's infield single was his only hit of the night 1-4, and T.J. White, who scored the winning run, was the only Kernel with multiple hits, 2-4 with a double. The Kernels will play for the Midwest League Championship at 2:05pm on Sunday.

The Minnesota Twins got to Orioles closer Zach Britton on Sunday, and stole a 4-3 win in extra innings thanks to some early help from the bat of Miguel Sano (11th HR in first inning), and late help from the defense of Baltimore (2 errors in the 12th inning) to move back to two games above .500. In the minors on Sunday two affiliates had trouble producing offense, starting pitching was a struggle throughout, including one game from a top lefty, and one game was rained out.Overall the Twins affiliates were 1-3 on the day. To find out how it all went down, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 4 Box Score The Rochester lineup made little of their opportunities on Sunday, and they didn’t have many of them. As a team they totaled only five hits, were 1-7 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. Kenny Vargas was responsible for their two runs on the day, as he blasted a two-run home run in the ninth inning. He was 2-4 on the day and the only Red Wings hitter with multiple hits. Carlos Paulino added a double. On the mound for the Red Wings, lefty Taylor Rogers was solid but got handed his eleventh loss of the season. He went 6.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out nine. A.J. Achter came on in the seventh and finished the game with 1.1 innings. He allowed one hit. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee @ Chattanooga (postponed) The Lookouts match-up with the Smokies was rained out on Sunday afternoon. The game will be made up on Monday in a double-header in Chattanooga. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 4, Fort Myers 1 Box Score Just like their AAA brothers, the Miracle weren’t able to muster much offense. Their lone run came in the eighth inning when Engelb Vielma led off the frame with a walk. That was followed by a Ryan Walker single and a Mitch Garver walk to load the bases with nobody out. After a pitching change, three consecutive strikeouts killed the rally, and the lone run came on a strike-three wild pitch with Jason Kanzler at bat. Logan Wade collected two singles, but no other hitter had more than one hit and there were no extra-base hits on the day. As a team Fort Myers was 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. Stephen Gonsalves made the start for the Miracle, but only made it through four innings with a high pitch count as he didn’t appear to be his normal self. He allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks, while striking out only one. The loss dropped him to 6-2 on the season with Fort Myers. Jake Reed pitched two innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit and striking out one. Zach Jones added 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings, striking out two; and Trevor Hildenberger finished the final 1.1 hitless innings without allowing a baserunner. He struck out two as well. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 11 Box Score The Kernels jumped out to the first lead of the game, but didn’t hold it for long. A double from Austin Diemer and a single from T.J. White put them up 2-0 after the top of the third inning, but things unraveled quickly for starter Randy LeBlanc after that. Clinton scored one in the bottom of the third, two in the fourth to take the lead, eight in the fifth and never looked back. LeBlanc came out for the fifth inning, but did not record an out and left with the bases loaded. In four innings, he allowed seven earned runs on six hits and two walks. Two of those hits were home runs. Jared Wilson didn’t fare much better, but finally finished the eight run fifth inning. He allowed four earned runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out two. Yorman Landa kept the LumberKings off the scoreboard in the sixth and seventh innings, allowing two hits and walking one, with two strikeouts. John Curtiss finished the final inning, allowing one hit. The Kernels managed to add a run in the fifth, three in the eighth, and another in the ninth to make the score respectable, but it was never that close. White (3-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI) and Alex Real (2-4, R, 3B, RBI) had multiple hits on the game. Nick Gordon was 1-4 with a double, walked once, stole his twenty-fourth base and scored three runs in the loss. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 8, Greeneville 6 Box Score Elizabethton took the early lead, and held on to improve their record to 31-27 on Sunday, one game back of the Appalachian League West division-leading Kingsport Mets with eight games left to play in the regular season. They face the Mets in a three-game series later in the week with obvious playoff implications. On this day, the Twins got the scoring started in the second inning. A.J. Murray led off with a double and scored on a single from Lewin Diaz. Later in the inning, a hit-by-pitch and walk loaded the bases, and Jermaine Palacios delivered a two-out, two-run single to make it 3-0 Twins. They added another run in the third on a sac fly from Rainis Silva to score Murray, and then went off for four more runs in the fourth. Kamran Young led off the fourth with a walk and scored on a Manuel Guzman double. Guzman came into score on a LaMonte Wade single. Then Wade and Murray scampered home on a single from Travis Blankenhorn to reach their final tally. Miles Nordgren made the start for Elizabethton, and pitched five innings to pick up the win. He allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out four. Logan Lombana pitched into the eighth inning. He allowed one run on three hits in 2.2 innings, striking out one. Kuo Hua Lo picked up his seventh save on the year by pitching the final 1.1 innings. He struck out three. Five hitters in the Elizabethton lineup had multiple hits, those being Palacios (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI), Wade (2-5, R, RBI), Murray (2-4, 3 R’s, 2B, BB), Diaz (2-4, R, RBI) and Blankenhorn (2-5, 2 RBIs). GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They play a home and home double-header vs. the GCL Rays Monday morning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Fort Myers Bullpen: Jake Reed (2 IP, 1 H, 1 K), Zack Jones (1.2 IP, 0 H’s, 2 K’s), Trevor Hildenberger (1.1 IP, 0 H’s, 2 K’s) Hitter of the Day – T.J. White, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05PM CST) – LHP Logan Darnell (3-1, 3.54 ERA) Tennessee @ Chattanooga (4:15PM CST) – Game 1: LHP David Hurlbut (8-6, 4.03 ERA), Game 2: TBD Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (6-7, 3.21 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids(6:35 PM CST) – RHP Keaton Steele (4-4, 3.36 ERA) Elizabethton @ Greeneville (6:00 PM CST) – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (9:00 AM CST) – Game 1: TBD, Game 2: TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article