Twins Minor League Report (6/2): Kaelen Culpepper Hits a Leadoff Homer, Royce Lewis Homers Twice; Rinse and Repeat

[Steve Lein]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Royce Lewis)

TRANSACTIONS

• The Minnesota Twins sent RHP Cole Sands on a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints and also optioned LHP Kody Funderburk. C Luis Hernandez was brought up from Cedar Rapids to fill Ricardo Olivar’s catching void. LHP Jake Higginbotham was also promoted from the Wichita Wind Surge.
• In Double-A, Wichita received a bunch of pitching reinforcements. They were assigned MiLB free agent RHP Nick Mikolajchak, activated RHP Kyle Bischoff from the temporary inactive list, then RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto and RHP Yehizon Sanchez from the Cedar Rapids Kernels.
• In the Midwest League the Kernels received C Ian Daugherty and LHP Cesar Lares from the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. In addition, RHP Adrian Bohorquez was sent on a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins.
• With the Mighty Mussels, RHP Eric Hammond was activated from the 7-day injured list and sent SS Yilber Herrera to the FCL Twins roster.
• In the Rookie Leagues RHP Aldwin Morillo was assigned to the DSL Twins.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Indianapolis 6, St. Paul 7
Box Score
As has been his modus operandi on many occasions this season, Kaelen Culpepper led off the bottom of the first for the Saints with his 13th home run of the season. It is the sixth time he has led off a game with a home run so far on the season, which is ludicrous.

Saints starter Aaron Rozek was solid over his four innings. He held Indianapolis to just one hit and a pair of walks, while striking out four. He threw 59 pitches, with 32 going for strikes (54%).

The home team added three runs in the bottom of the third when Royce Lewis clubbed his eighth home run of the season. His three-run shot drove in Ben Ross who drew a walk, and Hendry Mendez who singled in front of him.

Matt Wallner led off the bottom of the fourth with a double and later scored on a sac fly from Aaron Sabato. Another Sac fly in the fifth from Kyler Fedko made it 6-0 Saints. Lewis then hit his second home run of the game to make it 7-1 after seventh. Lewis has now played 12 games on the season with the Saints, and his home run total sits at nine. Just his slugging percentage sits at .958 in Triple-A after this one.

Cole Sands made his first rehab appearance as the first reliever summoned for the fifth inning, and worked a one-two-three frame, including a strikeout. Alejandro Hidalgo went the next two innings, allowing a solo home run, two additional hits, and two walks, while striking out three. Andrew Bash came on to start the eighth inning and before it was done Indianapolis had pulled within one. Bash finished just 2/3 of an inning and was charged with five runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk, including a grand slam that made it 7-5. Raul Brito came on and induced what should have been an inning ending groundball to short, but Gabriel Gonzalez at first base wasn’t able to squeeze the glove on the throw and was charged with a missed catch error that closed the lead to one. Brito was back out for the ninth and though he put the tying run on base with a walk, was able to close it out. He walked one and struck out one in his 1 1/3 innings.

Culpepper (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI), Lewis (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI), and Wallner (2-for-4, R, 2B) each had two hits. Aaron Sabato added his 14th double of the season.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
San Antonio 4, Wichita 1
Box Score
The second hitter of the game for the Wind Surge was second baseman Kyle DeBarge, and he lined a single into left field for their first hit of the game. Unfortunately, they would not get another.

After the Missions took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, the Wind Surge did score a run after getting a leadoff walk from Billy Amick and a hit-by-pitch on Kala’i Rosario in the bottom half. A throwing error on a double-play ball led to their lone run. Amick drew both the walks they were able to coax out of Ian Koenig, the Missions starting pitcher who completed seven one-hit innings.

Wichita starting pitcher Sam Armstrong was able to complete the first four innings. He allowed two earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks, while striking out three. William Fleming went the next two innings, giving up a pair of earned runs on a walk and two hits. He struck out one. Darren Bowen (1 IP, H, 2 K) and Yehizon Sanchez (2 IP, H, BB, 2 K) finished off the final three innings. It was Sanchez’s Double-A debut.

Despite only one hit and two walks for the offense, they also had four hit batters which allowed them to go 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, leaving five men on base. This was the sixth loss in a row for the Wind Surge.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Wisconsin 14, Cedar Rapids 11
Box Score
The Kernels fell behind big early, stormed back with a big inning to take a lead in the middle frames, but then collapsed in the final ones to fall to the Timber Rattlers in this week's series opener.

None of the Cedar Rapids pitchers came out of this one unscathed, as Wisconsin put up crooked numbers in six of their nine at-bats. Ivran Romero got the starting nod and finished three innings. He was charged with six earned runs (two in each inning) on five hits and four walks, striking out three. Nick Trabacchi got them through the fifth inning but gave up three runs (two earned) of his own on four hits in his two innings. He struck out three.

The Kernels offense scored their first run in the bottom of the second thanks to the speed of Yasser Mercedes. He drew a walk to lead off the inning, stole second and third base, and then executed a double steal with Quinn McDaniel to steal home. In the bottom of the third Brandon Winokur led off with a double, and Khadim Diaw drove him in with a single. An error and RBI single from Winokur in the fourth made it 6-4 after four. 

Xavier Kolhosser took the mound in the sixth and despite loading the bases, got through his first inning unscathed. 

Then the Kernels offense came alive, batting around in the bottom of the sixth and plating seven runs to take an 11-9 lead. The first seven batters of the inning reached base, including three on errors, but the exclamation point was a grand slam from Jay Thomason that got them to 11.

Kolhosser was back out for the top of the seventh and although he finished the inning, he was charged with three earned runs to immediately put the Timber Rattlers back in the lead. He allowed those runs on four hits and three walks in his two innings, while striking out four. Wisconsin added two insurance runs in the eighth against Sam Rochard, but he gave them a chance with a scoreless ninth. He allowed those two runs on one hit and two walks, while striking out three.

In the bottom of the ninth walks to Diaw and McDaniel brought the tying runner to the plate, but Rayne Doncon popped out to end the game.

The Kernels got multi-hit efforts from Winokur (2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, K), Diaw (2-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB), and Thomason (2-for-3, 2 R, GS HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, K). McDaniel finished 1-for-3 with three walks, a run scored, and a stolen base. As a team the Kernels speedsters stole eight total bases without being thrown out.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 10, Lakeland 2
Box Score
Merit Jones took the bump for the Mighty Mussels as was effective over the first five innings, working around eight total hits and two walks with eight strikeouts to limit the damage he gave up to just a pair of solo home runs. Those eight strikeouts set a career high.

The offense backed him up with crooked numbers in the third and fifth innings to jump out to a lead they would not relinquish. Bryan Acuna got it started with a triple in the top of the third, scoring on a Dameury Pena single. A pair of walks then loaded the bases for Henry Kusiak, who drove in two with a double. In the fifth Enriquie Jimenez led off with a single, Ramiro Dominguez followed with a double, and after a run-scoring wild-pitch, JP Smith launched his sixth home run of the year to make it 6-2 Fort Myers.

Jones picked up his second win of the year as that offense added three more in the top of the seventh. Luis Fragoza drove in the first run with a double, and a pair of wild pitches scored two more. They finished their scoring off in the top of the ninth with an RBI double from Acuna to make the final score.

Relievers Jonathan Stevens (1 IP, 2 K), Eric Hammond (2 IP, 2 K), and Matt DesMarets (1 IP, K) kept the Flying Tigers hitless over the final four innings to close this one out.

The offense got multi-hit efforts from Jimenez (3-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB), Fragoza (2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 K), and Acuna (2-for-4, R, 2B, 3B, RBI, BB, K). Six of their 10 total hits went for extra bases.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 4, FCL Rays 5
Box Score
Right-hander Adrian Bohorquez made the rehab start and pitched the first inning, throwing 21 total pitches (15 for strikes). He gave up a double, a single, and hit a batter with a pitch, but allowed no runs and struck out one. Per the MLB gameday tracking, he also hit 98+ MPH with his fastball multiple times, topping out at 99.4.

After his rehab appearance the Rays attacked righty Cristian Hernandez to the tune of five runs (three earned) over the next three innings. He gave up five hits, including two home runs, walked three, and struck out four. Jack Walker (2 1/3 IP, H, BB, 4 K) and Brad Rudis (1 2/3 IP, 2 BB, 3 K) held the Rays scoreless over the final four innings to give the Twins lineup a chance.

The good guys scored their first run in the top of the third frame thanks to a two-out double from Teilon Serrano to drive in Yovanny Duran. They closed the Rays lead to one in the top of the fifth thanks to a run scoring error, an RBI double from Carlos Taveras, and an RBI single from Ricardo Pena. While they had at least one baserunner in each of the final four innings, they were unable to push one across the plate to tie the game. Taveras led the way for the Twins with two doubles in five at bats, scored a run, and drove in one.

DOMINICAN DAILY
DSL Twins 2, DSL Tigers 4 (7 innings)
Box Score
The Tigers 2 squad jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the third inning, and that would be enough to hold up through the seven-inning contest.

Emmanuel Mena pitched the first inning for the Twins and allowed a two-run homer for the early 2-0 Tigers lead. He gave up two total hits and struck out two in his lone inning. Yosangel Braffit did the bulk work, going the next three innings. He was charged with two earned runs on three hits and six walks, striking out one. After three consecutive of those six walks in the bottom of the fifth, the Twins called on Jermy Jimenez. He escaped that bases loaded and no outs jam by getting a pop-up and inducing a double play ball. He also set the Tigers down in order in the sixth to finish out the game for the Twins. Jimenez went two innings and allowed no baserunners.

The Twins as a team outhit the Tigers 7-5, but while the Tigers got two home runs all the Twins hits were singles. They scored their first run in the top of the third thanks to a sac fly from Jhon Gonzalez to score Jendy Martinez, who had singled earlier, stole second base, and reached third on a wild pitch. In the top of the fourth Luis Suarez delivered an RBI single to make it 4-2, but that’s as close as they would get. Enmanuel Merlo (2-for-3, BB) and Suarez (2-for-3, RBI, K) each collected two hits.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Rozek, St. Paul Saints (4 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K)
Hitter of the Day – Royce Lewis, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today.

#2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (13), RBI, SB (13)
#4 - LHP Connor Prielipp (Minnesota): W, 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
#5 - C Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, R, RBI, BB, K
#7 - SS Marek Houston (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-4, 2 BB, 2 K
#10 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul): 1-for-4, 2 K
#12 - RHP Andrew Morris (Minnesota): 2/3 IP, H, 2 K
#13 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul): 1-for-3, R, BB, K
#14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (Fort Myers): 0-for-5, 2 K
#15 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, K
#19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB
#20 - 2B/OF Kyle DeBarge (Wichita): 1-for-3

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Indianapolis @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Ryan Gallager (1-1, 7.04 ERA)
San Antonio @ Wichita (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Cory Lewis (0-1, 6.52 ERA)
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - LHP Dasan Hill (1-4, 6.26 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Charlee Soto (0-0, -.-- ERA, rehab assignment)

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

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[jaimedude]

Royce Lewis is hitting well at AAA. Why don't the Twins see if he will play some LF or CF. The only thing James Outman does is run faster. Lewis has a better bat, with more HR potential. Seems like he has fun playing again, is being a good teammate, and making the plays in the field. Of the two that were sent down, Lewis is playing well, much better than Wallner. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

1 hour ago, jaimedude said:

Royce Lewis is hitting well at AAA. Why don't the Twins see if he will play some LF or CF. The only thing James Outman does is run faster. Lewis has a better bat, with more HR potential. Seems like he has fun playing again, is being a good teammate, and making the plays in the field. Of the two that were sent down, Lewis is playing well, much better than Wallner. 

I'll throw 1B in as an option too. But if he can hit, they find a position for him after that point.

[DataNerd]

1 hour ago, jaimedude said:

Royce Lewis is hitting well at AAA. Why don't the Twins see if he will play some LF or CF. The only thing James Outman does is run faster. Lewis has a better bat, with more HR potential. Seems like he has fun playing again, is being a good teammate, and making the plays in the field. Of the two that were sent down, Lewis is playing well, much better than Wallner. 

Lewis isn't fast and hasn't played much outfield.  He would currently be horrific in CF, and if we are going to move an IF to the OF it would be Keaschall.

[nclahammer]

Love love LOVE those Wind Surge alternate uniforms.   Reminds me of those Houston Astro uniforms of the 80s.

[PatG]

Looks like Royce has brought back a "mini" leg kick; seems to get his rhythm together.

I wouldn't be pissed if they brought him back early.....

Or, trade him to Pitts for that starter/reliever, Mlodzinski (sp?)

[mikelink45]

Lewis has his bat working - time to bring him up and let him debut for a trade. 

How long before Prielipp and Morris leave the Prospect list?  When they do who replaces them.

[thelanges5]

Declan Goff tweeted that Royce took some reps at 1B prior to Tuesdays game. Could be a path back for him?

[Seth Stohs]

7 hours ago, jaimedude said:

Royce Lewis is hitting well at AAA. Why don't the Twins see if he will play some LF or CF. The only thing James Outman does is run faster. Lewis has a better bat, with more HR potential. Seems like he has fun playing again, is being a good teammate, and making the plays in the field. Of the two that were sent down, Lewis is playing well, much better than Wallner. 

We just learned yesterday that he'll be getting time at 1B and 2B. 

Also, do you/we want Royce Lewis to fill the James Outman, 5th outfielder role?

[jaimedude]

13 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

We just learned yesterday that he'll be getting time at 1B and 2B. 

Also, do you/we want Royce Lewis to fill the James Outman, 5th outfielder role?

I think he Lewis is faster and better athlete than he get's credit for. Keaschall doesn't  have the arm for outfield role due to past shoulder or arm injury. If Clemens can play back up CF, certainly Lewis can with his previous more recent experience in that place than Clemens, I would say they are at least equal in foot speed, but Lewis has more experience reading  ball off the bat. (I kniw the injury history). We are better on defense with Clemens at 1st or 2nd base overall.  Versatility is the name of the game, when you have injury's continue to happen and pile up. I think Royce is willing to help the Twins in any role  they just about give him, just make him have fun, and when you see the smile you know he is having fun playing baseball. I still think there is un-tapped potential in Royce Lewis. He has always been a good ambassador and good with young Twins fans, gracious with his tine. I believe Royce can still have a good outcome with Twins and help. Outman is so late on his swings, and strikes out a lot, beyond late inning pinch running(only useful spot), doesn't have a good arm due to past injury. 

[DJL44]

15 minutes ago, Seth Stohs said:

We just learned yesterday that he'll be getting time at 1B and 2B. 

Also, do you/we want Royce Lewis to fill the James Outman, 5th outfielder role?

Lewis needs to come up and play 1B. Even without any reps I think he would do better than Josh Bell. I also want to get rid of the bad 5th outfielder “role”.

[Seth Stohs]

1 minute ago, mikelink45 said:

Lewis has his bat working - time to bring him up and let him debut for a trade. 

How long before Prielipp and Morris leave the Prospect list?  When they do who replaces them.

I think Morris has to be very close to 45 days, maybe even past it. 

Prielipp's maybe close. He's been up 31-32 days. He's at 33 1/3 innings. 

We'll have to vote again. (hard to guess. I know my rankings of the Top 20 looks quite a bit different from the Twins Daily one, especially the 12-20 range.)

[Old Twins Hat]

Lewis' defense at 3B has been adequate, and so has Lee.  The infielder who is inadequate is Bell.  Thus, one of Lee or Lewis needs to get a mitt and learn how to play 1B for the good of the team.  And yes, it is time to bring up Culpepper at short.  Exactly what are they waiting for?

[tony&rodney]

I have not seen all of Royce Lewis' plate appearances but have watched a bunch. For those who have actually watched the times Lewis hits or fields ... What do you see? I see him getting better at getting his feet firm, although there are plenty of dance moves with either or both feet moving still. Lewis does still buckle at the waist on breaking pitches at times and flail harmlessly at outside stuff. He has seen quite a few fastballs middle, middle. Barco is a pretty good pitching prospect but he was feeding quite a few pitches right down the chute. Lewis fouled one off down the right field line and was ready for the same pitch right after that .... boom, HR.

I have missed more than half of Wallner's trips to the plate. In what can only be call luck of when I see him, I have not seen Wallner's hits in live action, only as highlight videos. My Wallner viewing has shown a player descending badly, so it is good to read he is doing better. One thing that has remained troublesome is that virtually every game I see a catchable fly ball elude the lumbering right fielder and sometimes two outs turn into base hits. Wallner should be shifted to DH. It has to be very difficult for pitchers to live through the experience of Big Matt in the outfield.

A number of people bring up using this player and that player at first base and note that it is at the bottom of the defensive spectrum. The Twins have been working Gabriel Gonzalez in at first base. Gabby is working hard at learning the position. Last night there were two plays that in some ways symbolize the difficulty of learning first base. One was a hot shot that Gonzalez miraculously stabbed and threw to the pitcher for a 3-1 out. Gabby has quick hands, which were useful on that play. The other, later in the game, displayed the difficulty of catching throws from an infielder. Culpepper charged in to field a ball and thew quickly. The ball was totally catchable by an experienced first baseman, about six feet off the ground and about a foot to the left of Gonzalez. Gabby was fooled by the speed of the throw from a close distance and the ball glanced off of his glove. I'm pretty sure an error was given to Culpepper but it is a play made 100% of the time by an experienced first baseman. I include the plays to give examples of the difficulty of learning to play a position at the professional level. If you have never played catch with someone throwing 90 mph you might be surprised.

[Dman]

I'm a huge Royce backer, but I'm still not sure he is ready. I agree with @tony&rodneythat he has seen far too many middle, middle fastballs.  Must be paying the pitcher for those lol.  Still some of the home runs have some off of tougher pitches.  No question Royce is hitting the ball hard, but I still a fair bit of chase there still as well.  Let's see how he finishes the week.

Culpepper still on a heater with the bat.  gonna be hard to keep him down at AAA.

[DJL44]

42 minutes ago, Dman said:

I'm a huge Royce backer, but I'm still not sure he is ready. I agree with @tony&rodneythat he has seen far too many middle, middle fastballs.  Must be paying the pitcher for those lol.  Still some of the home runs have some off of tougher pitches.  No question Royce is hitting the ball hard, but I still a fair bit of chase there still as well.  Let's see how he finishes the week.

This article said the problem was he wasn’t doing damage on fastballs.

If he’s fixed that, he’s playable in a major league lineup.

[thelanges5]

Good to see Royce looking more comfortable and athletic and not dancing around in the box.  He’s a self proclaimed vibes guy so let him keep soaking in that confidence!

[Jeff K]

I am hopeful that the Twins call up Culpepper to play SS.  Another player that is seemingly read for the next step is Winokur.  I'd love to see him move up to Double A to see if he is ready for the next progression in his career.

[rdehring]

Although it has only been a handful of games great seeing Jiminez off to a fantastic return, even if it is at Low-A ball.

Two of the Twins top prospects are doing very well at Cedar Rapids.  Winokur has all the tools and is hitting very well after a slow start, very slow.  Houston is often referred to as one of, if not the best shortstop in minor league ball.  He continues to hit very well.  Houston can be a huge part of future Twins teams if he even hits a little.  Should he continue hitting like he has, he will be a star.  Today's question is when either or both will be heading down I-35 to Wichita?

[jmlease1]

It's complicated on Royce. You want to see him doing well, which he is. But the difference between AAA and MLB is pretty huge, and it's unclear how much of his current success in Saint Paul is a result of him fixing problems that were ruining him in MLB or the fact that the pitchers just make a lot more mistakes over the plate/struggle more to induce hitters to chase off the place. Now, Royce is also definitely a confidence player, so him clocking a bunch of AAA pitchers is also probably good for that aspect for him? Hopefully he's getting a good re-set that lets him get into a repeatable and sustainable approach at the plate. I'd love for him to get back on track (it's sad to me that there are people on this site who seem to want him to fail and be gone)

Winokur is continuing on his nice run. I'd say he's lining himself up well for a midseason promotion to AA, which is great. Diaw is interesting: not showing much pop in the bat yet, but he's doing well at everything else...maybe he gets a promotion soon too? I'm impressed that he's still splitting time between catcher and CF.

I'd probably move McDaniel up fairly soon as well; I just don't think we learn much about him watching him beat up on A-Ball pitching, and while I'd love for him to turn out to be a hidden gem that good scouting and vigilance towards the indy leagues uncovered, I'm not going to get too excited about him until he gets up to AA and faces both better and more age-appropriate competition.

[D.C Twins]

Recommendation to TD for an article.

Is Sabato a possibility for 1B with the Twins?! 

The sample size for good performance at AAA is growing.

I was one of his biggest detractors, but the question now has to be asked.

It would be fascinating to have a deep dive from TD @Seth Stohs!

[Steve Lein]

4 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

The other, later in the game, displayed the difficulty of catching throws from an infielder. Culpepper charged in to field a ball and thew quickly. The ball was totally catchable by an experienced first baseman, about six feet off the ground and about a foot to the left of Gonzalez. Gabby was fooled by the speed of the throw from a close distance and the ball glanced off of his glove. I'm pretty sure an error was given to Culpepper but it is a play made 100% of the time by an experienced first baseman. 

They gave a "missed catch" error to Gabby on this one. The broadcast talked about how it was a prime example of a guy learning a new position and it's nuances.

The idea of you "stretch to catch" as a first baseman. Gabby's stretch was well ahead of this throw's catch.

[DJL44]

They haven’t called up Culpepper because the platoon of Gray and Kreidler has been productive. I don’t expect it to last, but they combined for average SS production in May.

[tony&rodney]

24 minutes ago, Steve Lein said:

They gave a "missed catch" error to Gabby on this one. The broadcast talked about how it was a prime example of a guy learning a new position and it's nuances.

The idea of you "stretch to catch" as a first baseman. Gabby's stretch was well ahead of this throw's catch.

Thank you. I did not have the sound on. Often watch a minor league game at the same time as a major league game, but also do flip to other minor league contests.

[Possumlad]

At this point I'm convinced Lewis' issues are psychological. No other way to account for the massive chasm between his highs & lows. Unfortunately psychological issues are the hardest to fix. Hey may just not have the mental make-up to consistently produce at the MLB level. 

[Dman]

Lewis with another Homer today.  I give up.  If he is going to hit a home run every game now what point is there in keeping him down there?  I'd see what they can do to find some room.  The pitching at this level just isn't challenging enough.

[Mike Sixel]

11 minutes ago, Dman said:

Lewis with another Homer today.  I give up.  If he is going to hit a home run every game now what point is there in keeping him down there?  I'd see what they can do to find some room.  The pitching at this level just isn't challenging enough.

That appears true. 

[tony&rodney]

Lewis had a very good swing on a decent pitch his last time up. His lower half was firm (no dancing feet) and he drove the ball back through the middle for a single. Royce was at 2B today.

Also, Culpepper took good at bats.