Article: Twins Minor League Report (6/26): Nick Gordon Continues To Hit!

[Eric R Pleiss]

The Twins extended their road losing streak to seven games and were swept out of Anaheim after another ineffective Ricky Nolasco start. Nolasco has been a disaster in just about every start he has made after his Twins debut.

 

With Danny Santana dealing with a sore hamstring and the the Twins already short of middle infielders, the Twins demoted Yohan Pino and called up Jorge Polanco all the way from High-A Fort Myers prior to yesterday's game. Polanco becomes the first Twins player to make the jump from A-Ball to the big leagues since Kent Hrbek. Polanco walked and scored in his only at-bat in the ninth inning.

 

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Red Wings Report

Rochester 0, Lehigh Valley 1

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The Red Wings out-hit the IronPigs five to four, but could not put hits together when it mattered and were blanked 1-0. Kris Johnson was a hard-luck loser, pitching seven innings of four-hit baseball. Johnson struck out nine and walked five in addition to giving up a single run. His ERA now sits at 2.61.

 

The IronPigs' Greg Smith pitched six innings of two-hit, five-strikeout baseball before yielding to the bullpen. The Red Wings didn't manage another hit until the ninth inning, rallying for three hits but failing to score a run thanks to an early caught stealing from Chris Rahl. Chris Colabello flew out to left field to end the game with two men on. James Beresford had the best day at the plate, going 2-4. The Red Wings' only extra base was an Eric Farris double. They had zero walks.

 

Rock Cats Review

New Britain 1, New Hampshire 2

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Much like the Red Wings, the Rock Cats failed to pick up a timely hit and lost a tightly contested 2-1 game. Jason Wheeler pitched six innings and struck out two, walked three and gave up two earned runs on six hits. Adrian Salcedo followed up with two scoreless innings of relief but the Rock Cats could only manage one run and Wheeler was stuck with a loss.

 

Aaron Hicks, leading off, was 1-4, but he made that one hit count with a solo home run in the eighth inning, the Rock Cats' only run. Kennys Vargas was 2-4 and was lifted for a pinch runner in the ninth. Eddie Rosario picked up an outfield assist, throwing out a runner at home to help keep the game close.

 

Miracle Matters

Fort Myers 3, St. Lucie 2 (Suspended after top of fifth)

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Tim Shibuya was not pitching great, having given up six hits, two runs (one earned), including a home run, before the game was suspended due to rain with one out in the top of the fifth. Anderlin Mejia started the day 2-2 with a double and a run scored to pace the Miracle. Niko Goodrum was 1-2 with an RBI and a stolen base. The game will be completed Friday.

 

Kernels Nuggets

Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 6

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Aaron Slegers struggled early, giving up a pair of runs in the first inning, and struggled through six innings. He gave up four runs (all earned) walked three, struck out three and scattered seven hits. Hudson Boyd gave up two runs in an inning of relief and Todd Van Steensel wrapped things up for the Kernels pitchers with a scoreless eighth.

 

Cedar Rapids hung in this game despite Slegers struggles, trailing just 3-2 going into the sixth inning. Unfortunately the top of the order could not get things done and the Kernels' one, two and three hitters (Zack Granite, Engelb Vielma, and Chad Christensen) finished the night 0-10 with two strike outs. Bryan Haar was 2-4 with an RBI and Jon Murphy was 1-3 with a double, Cedar Rapids' only extra base hit.

 

E-Town E-Notes

Elizabethton 7, Burlington 0

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Sam Gibbons, another of the Twins' young Australians, pitched seven scoreless innings, stuck out seven, walked just one, and surrendered only one hit. All of the E-Town hits came from the first five hitters, who combined to go 10-21, led by Nick Gordon who went 3-5 with a double and a triple. Tanner English also had a nice night at the plate, 4-5 with a solo home run. Pat Kelly, Thursday's Down on the Pond subject on the most recent Talk to Contact podcast, was 0-4.

 

GCL Twins Takes

GCL Twins 4, GCL Orioles 1

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Matthew Batts struck out five in four innings, and Nelson Molina collected three hits as the GCL Twins picked up their third win of the year.

 

Twins Daily Players of the Day

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Kris Johnson, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League hitter of the Day - Nick Gordon, Elizabethton Twins

 

Friday's Probable Starters

Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05pm CT) – Sean Gilmartin (Listen)

New Britain @ New Hampshire Game 1 (5:05pm CT) – Mark Hamburger (Listen)

New Britain @ New Hampshire Game 2 - Tyler Duffey (Listen)

St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (6:05pm CT) - TBD (Listen)

St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (completion from Thursday) (Listen)

Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35pm CT) – Lewis Thorpe (Listen)

Elizabethton @ Burlington (6:00pm CT) – Chih-Wei Hu (Listen)

GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD

 

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