Minor League Report (7/7): An Intimate Afternoon with the St. Paul Saints

[Matt Braun]

Thank goodness it ended up being a good game. 

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints

TRANSACTIONS
OF Matt Wallner recalled by Twins

RHP John Stankiewicz promoted from AA Wichita to AAA St. Paul

Saints Sentinel
St. Paul 4, Gwinnett 3 
Box Score
Randy Dobnak: 4 ⅓ IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
HR: Jair Camargo (6), Chris Williams (9)
Multi-hit games: None

The Saints were just one of four teams to play a game on Sunday; everyone else played a rare Monday game earlier in the week, making St. Paul the sole focus of today’s minor league report. 

Randy Dobnak earned the start on Sunday. He entered action on fire: the righty allowed just seven earned runs since June began, with four of those coming in a meager outing against Syracuse on June 8th. That stretch included a terrific 10 K performance against the Bats just one start later, helping deflate his ERA from over 5 following the Syracuse game to under 4 heading into Sunday's outing.

And on the 7th, he was okay—perfectly cromulent. Gwinnett tagged him for an early run, but laborious 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings knocked him out of the game before he could line himself up to earn the “W.” A walk of Yuli Gurriel—a man who swings as much as Count Basie—moved Toby Gardenhire to remove his starter. Dobnak whiffed five and walked three.

Fortunately, the Saints’ offense was ready to hit, even without the reigning International League Hitter of the Month. A double play coaxed in their first run, while a Yunior Severino stinging double gave St. Paul a small, soon-to-be-vanishing lead. 

No matter. The Saints waited a few innings, gathered their thoughts, and cracked the Stripers with a ferocious one-two punch in the 6th. Jair Camargo obliterated a 448-foot solo shot over the batter’s eye in center, and Chris Williams smoked a more humble 397-foot homer to push St. Paul in front. 

"I knew it was far, and I knew it was hard, and it was loud," said Camargo after the game. "And shoutout Tramp man (Saints clubhouse manager Matt Tramp). He changed my bat, and I was like, 'Man, whatever you put in there, I am going to swing it,' so big shoutout to him. It felt good."

(Quote via our resident journalist, Theo Tollefson.)

John Stankiewicz hadn’t pitched above AA; Gardenhire did not care. The Fordham product donned a Saints uniform for the first time in his career, entered the game in the 7th, and stared down a trio of big leaguers for his first AAA outing. He pitched beautifully. Brian Anderson weakly flailed at a cutter, Gurriel harmlessly grounded out to 2nd, and Eddie Rosario hit a home run in a silo, sending Stankiewicz’s offering nearly straight up and safely into Payton Eeles’ glove. Just another day of work.

Matt Bowman's scoreless 8th begat a Diego Castillo save opportunity in the 9th. He walked the lead-off man before eliciting a flyball out to left field. Perhaps desiring to become the game's hero, Gwinnett's baserunner Nacho Alvarez Jr. bolted for 2nd. In the mad scramble, Williams cooly rifled a throw to the infield, gunning down Alvarez for the second out of the inning. The final batter was an afterthought. The Saints walked away with an impressive come-from-behind victory. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – John Stankiewicz
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jair Camargo

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:
#2 - Brooks Lee (Twins) - 2-4, R
#11 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Twins) - 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
#18 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 1-4, RBI, K

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
DSL Phillies White @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM) - TBD
FCL Orioles @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM) - TBD

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[nclahammer]

An Eddie Rosario sighting in the Twin Citites?   I know he was struggling with the Nationals and it's good to see him get another chance with the Brave's organization.   As erratic as he could be at times, Eddie Rosario will remain one of my favorite all-time Minnesota Twins.

[wabene]

15 hours ago, Matt Braun said:

A walk of Yuli Gurriel—a man who swings as much as Count Basie—moved Toby Gardenhire to remove his starter

Are you playing to your audience, lol?

[roger]

The box score link goes to an earlier game.  Question.  Why were all the other minor league teams not playing Sunday?  Are they all having their all-star breaks?