Article: Twins Minor League Report (8/26): Buxton Nearly Cycles, Kernels on the Brink

[Cody Christie]

Entering play on Monday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels will have a shot at clinching the second-half championship. The Kernels are 40-23 in the second half and sit 3.5 games up on the Peoria Chiefs. In the second half, the Kernels are the only team in the entire league to win at least 20 games at home and on the road.

 

Needless to say, Monday’s game could be a very important one for the Kernels.ROSTER MOVES

• INF Victor Tademo promoted from GCL Twins to Cedar Rapids
• INF Andrew Bechtold placed on DL with Cedar Rapids

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 2, Syracuse 3 (10 Innings)

Box Score

Byron Buxton fell a home run short of the cycle but the bats and the bullpen faltered in extra-innings. With the Red Wings trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning, Buxton cracked a two-run triple to take the lead. Unfortunately, that’s where the scoring would stop. Kennys Vargas reached base three times in five trips to the plate.

 

Rochester loaded the bases in the top of the tenth but failed to push across a run. In fact, the team was 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Syracuse was able to score the winning run off of Jake Reed in the bottom half of the frame.

 

Lewis Thorpe started and pitched 5 2/3 innings. He allowed one run on five hits. He struck out six and walked two. Tyler Duffey was charged with a blown save after he allowed the game-tying run in the bottom of the eighth. Andrew Vasquez was pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts and three walks.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 2, Jacksonville 1

Box Score

Chattanooga was able to jump out to an early 2-0 lead and hold on for the one-run victory. Andy Wilkins put the team on top with a lead-off home run in the second inning. In the third inning, Tanner English tripled and was brought home on a Luke Raley sacrifice fly.

 

Austin Adams was asked to serve in an “opener” role. He pitched two scoreless innings as he only allowed one hit. He whiffed three batters and walked one. Dietrich Enns finished off the final seven innings as he limited the Jumbo Shrimp to one run on three hits. He struck out eight and walked two.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 1, St. Lucie 5

Box Score

Edwar Colina made his High-A debut on Sunday but the Miracle offense didn’t give him a ton of offensive support. Colina pitched into the fifth inning (4 2/3 innings), allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out two and walked three. Jovani Moran finished off the fifth and pitched the next two frames. He allowed two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts. Hector Jujan pitched one shutout inning and struck out two.

 

Fort Myers managed only three hits and two of those came off the bat of Aaron Whitefield. Alex Kirilloff went 1-for-4 and scored the team’s only run. Caleb Hamilton reached base on a walk. Overall, the club went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

 

After winning nine consecutive series, the Miracle have dropped three straight series.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 10, Kane County 4

Box Score

For the third straight games, the Kernels scored at least one run in the first inning. Gabriel Maciel doubled with one out and moved to second on a walk to Michael Helman. Ryan Jeffers drove in the first run on a single. Ben Rodriguez made the score 2-0 with a sacrifice fly. However, the biggest hit of the inning was a two-run bomb from Jacob Pearson.

 

Michael Davis doubled to started off the second inning with his ninth double. Davis moved to third on an Ariel Montesino single and that’s when things got crazy. With Akil Badoo batting, Davis stole home and Montesino stole second on the same play.

 

Cedar Rapids plated another three runs in the fourth inning. Montesino attempted a sacrifice bunt after two singles from David Banuelos and Michael Davis, but a throwing error allowed two runs to score, he moved to third on the error and then scored on a Gabriel Maciel sac fly.

 

Tyler Watson retired 10 straight batters at one point and tied a season high with seven innings pitched. He struck out eight and walked three on the way to his fifth victory. Moises Gomez pitched the final two frames and allowed a two-run home run in the final inning.

 

Cedar Rapids improved to a season-best 12 games over .500 overall at 72-60. The Kernels secured their fourth consecutive series win.

 

E-TWINS E-TALK

Elizabethton 9, Bristol 4

Box Score

Elizabethton pounded out 19 hits and was able to cruise to a Sunday evening victory. Trevor Casanova lead the offensive charge by going 4-for-6 with two doubles. Albee Weiss matched Casanova with four hits. Yeltsin Encarnacion reached base four times and drove in two runs. Alex Robles, Chris Williams, and Yunior Severino all had multiple hits.

 

Kody Funderburk pitched into the sixth inning (5 1/3 innings) and allowed four runs on eight hits. He struck out four and a walk. Pedro Garcia pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings to finish off the game. He struck out two and walked two.

 

STARS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Trevor Casanova, Elizabethton (4-for-6, 2 2B, R, RBI)

Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Dietrich Enns, Chattanooga (7.0 IP, 1 ER, 8 K, 2 BB, 3 H)

 

TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed. Please note that this Prospect Summary has been updated.

 

1. Royce Lewis (FM): 0-for-4

2. Alex Kirilloff (FM): 1-for-4, R, K

3. Brusdar Graterol (FM): Did not play.

4. Nick Gordon (ROC): 0-for-4, 2 K

5. Stephen Gonsalves (MIN): Did not play.

6. Trevor Larnach (CR): Did not play.

7. Brent Rooker (CHAT): 0-for-3, BB, K

8. Akil Baddoo (CR): 0-for-5, K

9. Wander Javier: Out of for the season

10. Zack Littell (ROC): Did not play.

11. Blayne Enlow (CR): Did not play.

12. LaMonte Wade (ROC): 0-for-4, BB, 2 K

13. Travis Blankenhorn (FM): 0-for-3

14. Lewis Thorpe (ROC): 5.2 IP, ER, 6 K, 2 BB, 5 H

15. Ben Rortvedt (FM): Did not play.

16. Yunior Severino (ET): 2-for-5, R, BB, 2 K

17. Lewin Diaz (FM): Did not play.

18. Ryan Jeffers (CR): 3-for-4, 2 R, RBI, K

19. Jacob Pearson (CR): 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R, K

20. Luis Arraez (CHAT): 0-for-1

 

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Syracuse (5:35 CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (5-5, 3.40 ERA)

Chattanooga vs. Jacksonville (6:15 CST) – TBD

Fort Myers vs. Bradenton (6:00 CST) – RHP Brusdar Graterol (4-2, 3.75 ERA)

Cedar Rapids vs. Kane County (6:35 CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (9-5, 3.23 ERA)

Elizabethton vs. Pulaski (6:00 CST) – TBD

 

Please feel free to ask any questions about Sunday’s games, or ask any questions you may have.

 

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[Han Joelo]

Radeon gets the emergency call again. Perhaps speaks to his character as much as his physical ability? I don't know.

[D.C Twins]

Lewis out of gas, minor injury, or mechanical problems?

 

Gordon needs some kind of intervention. Whatever the cause of his issues, maybe he should have already been shut down.....like a week or two ago. Playing through whatever the issues are.... has not helped anything over the past nearly 2 months. 

[rdehring]

Fantastic seeing Buxton have a great game at the plate.  Now if he can have a few more over the next week.  And a very nice start by Thorpe, his best at AAA?

 

You said Vasquez had 2 K's and 3 walks.  The box score showed 4 K's and 0 BB's in 1.2 innings?  If that's correct, this kid just gets more interesting as the year winds down.

 

Any word on Arraez, was he injured?

 

And just when Fort Myers needs a winning streak, they cool off.  Still 7 games left and they are only 1.5 games out of first....Come on Miracle!

 

 

 

[MN_ExPat]

I'm thinking we have to call Vasquez "Big Guardado" .

[Shaitan]

I wonder if we'll see Vargas in Sept for a goodbye cup of coffee.

[PDX Twin]

"Entering play on Monday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels will have a shot at clinching the second-half championship. The Kernels are 40-23 in the second half and sit 3.5 games up on the Peoria Chiefs. In the second half, the Kernels are the only team in the entire league to win at least 20 games at home and on the road."

 

They've really taken off since they unloaded those clowns Kiriloff, Lewis, and Graterol!

[rdehring]

 

"Entering play on Monday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels will have a shot at clinching the second-half championship. The Kernels are 40-23 in the second half and sit 3.5 games up on the Peoria Chiefs. In the second half, the Kernels are the only team in the entire league to win at least 20 games at home and on the road."

 

They've really taken off since they unloaded those clowns Kiriloff, Lewis, and Graterol!

But they also added a huge amount of talent.  Larnach, Jeffers, Duran, Maciel, Davis and some kid named Helman.  If their starting pitching holds up, could this be their year?

[Ben Noble]

Over 21 games since August 5th, Severino has safely reached base in all but two games, and he only had a single plate appearance in one of those games. Really looking forward to seeing how he performs in full-season ball next year.

[jkcarew]

Boy, it seems like all the full-season guys are hitting the wall at the same time.  You know it's bad when Kirilloff is down to one hit per game!

 

Can't find any news on Luis Arraez.  Just have to wait to see if he's in the Lookouts lineup tonight?

[ChrisKnutson]

Playoff push or not, if we’re not gonna promote Kirilloff and Lewis (maybe Graterol) then we might as well have them begin 2019 in AAA.

[jtkoupal]

Buxton won't be back until the last week-and-a-half. 

 

At this point, you gotta keep him down there and get an extra year out of him in 2022.

[Mr. Ed]

 

"Entering play on Monday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels will have a shot at clinching the second-half championship. The Kernels are 40-23 in the second half and sit 3.5 games up on the Peoria Chiefs. In the second half, the Kernels are the only team in the entire league to win at least 20 games at home and on the road."

 

They've really taken off since they unloaded those clowns Kiriloff, Lewis, and Graterol!

 

They are an overall better offensive team minus the 2 flashy guys. More depth in the offensive attack.

 

Makes life easier for the pitchers to go with a nice lead early. 

[caninatl04]

Buxton won't be back until the last week-and-a-half. 

 

At this point, you gotta keep him down there and get an extra year out of him in 2022.

Cold, but true. I know he and his agent will be upset, but if one looks at his stats for the year, including games played, I don't think he has too much of an argument.

[Mr. Brooks]

Cold, but true. I know he and his agent will be upset, but if one looks at his stats for the year, including games played, I don't think he has too much of an argument.

If you send him home and tell him to get ready for 2019, no they won't.

If you send him home after the milb season ends, then bring him back as soon as you gain another year of service time, as the post you quoted suggests, they absolutely will have a case. A winnable one, IMO. There really is no way to spin that besides service time.

[bighat]

I enjoy these reports. Thanks for posting.

[Han Joelo]

 

Radeon gets the emergency call again. Perhaps speaks to his character as much as his physical ability? I don't know.

I guess I should edit my posts.  Somehow "Tademo" became Radeon?  Wild.