Twins Minor League Report (9/9): St. Paul Walks this Way (Off)

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Graham Brown)

TRANSACTIONS

No moves were made on Wednesday.

Saints Sentinel

St. Paul 5, Syracuse 4
Box Score
Germán Márquez: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
HR: Cody Morissette (16)
Multi-hit games: Austin Martin (2-for-4, 3B, R, 2 RBI), Alan Roden (2-for-4, BB), Matt Wallner (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB)

The Saints won on a walk-off on Wednesday.

Matters that begin poorly may not always end so; just ask the Saints. Germán Márquez didn’t have it. His 2018 version a distant memory. The Mets struck for two in the second, and returned for a duplicate pair in the third, dropping a flurry of hits on the starter, as he exited the fourth ragged, tattered, and out of the game.

But the Saints had some rally in them—and it all started with one swing.

Cody Morissette, unrelated to Alanis, presumably. Though the owner of a swing far twitchier than his more famous surnamed Canadian. He’s slashing .357/.419/.857 in September thanks to hacks like this, in which he swatted a high fastball the other way for a solo homer.

A Matt Wallner fielder’s choice in the sixth added a second run. Then, a critical hit from a familiar face. Austin Martin stepped to the plate with two on in the seventh, and delivered the goods with a well-placed gapper, splitting the center and left fielder with precision, scoring two as he dashed into third. An assist goes to Syracuse’s Jose Ramos and his alligator arms. 

Well, the “walk-off” hint was more literal than you may have thought it was. St. Paul started the ninth with two hits and an intentional walk, putting them in a perfect place for a potential poaching of a win. Aaron Sabato struck out. So it goes. Matt Wallner worked the count full. The 3-2 fastball thudded dully in the dirt. Hey, anti-climaticism counts all the same.

Trent Baker, Garrett Acton, and Eric Orze combined to pitch five shutout innings out of the bullpen. They struck out three and allowed a trio of hits. 

Rehabbing big leaguer Austin Martin went 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored, and two RBIs. It was his second game played in his rehab assignment.

The Mets are the Mets. Their second-ranked prospect, pitcher Jonathan Santucci, tossed five innings with one earned run, striking out six. 

Wind Surge Wisdom

Wichita 5, Frisco 7
Box Score
Preston Johnson: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
HR: Graham Brown (5)
Multi-hit games: Kyle DeBarge (2-for-3, R, BB), Graham Brown (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI)

The Wind Surge came up short on Wednesday.

Matters that start well may not always end so; just ask the Wind Surge. Wichita loaded the bases in the first and pushed a run across with a Jaime Ferrer walk. The lead held for the three innings—the best frames pitched by Preston Johnson on the day. He struck out two and navigated minor trouble in the third. Then, trouble brewed. Two quick outs in the fourth portended runs. Two scored to swallow what would turn out to be Wichita’s only lead of the day.

A Graham Brown blast in the bottom of the frame knotted things, yet the respite turned sour quickly. Darren Bowen replaced Johnson and couldn’t escape the fifth: he surrendered a menagerie of action, totaling four hits, a hit by pitch, a steal of home, and a wild pitch. Four runs scored.

Frisco added one more in the seventh, an unnecessary luxury, as Wichita’s three-run volley in the eighth left the team two runs short of a tie. Brown brought in a pair with a double, his second extra-base hit of the day, and Quinn McDaniel singled in one more. Garrett Spain, Caden Kendle, and Brandon Winokur went down 1-2-3 in the ninth to end the game.

MLB’s ninth-ranked prospect, infielder Sebastian Walcott, DH’d for the RoughRiders on Wednesday. He went 1-5, with two strikeouts. 

Kernels Nuggets

The Kernels season has ended. Come back in 2027 to read more about them.

Mussel Matters

The Mighty Mussels season has ended. Come back in 2027 to read more about them. 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Trent Baker
Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Graham Brown

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1 – Walker Jenkins (Twins) - 0-2, BB, 2 K
#3 – Kaelen Culpepper (Twins) - 0-4
#4 – Marek Houston (Wichita) - 1-3, R, 2 BB, K
#6 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-4, 2 R, BB, 2 K
#7 – Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-1
#12 – Brandon Winokur (Wichita) - 0-5, 2 K

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Syracuse @ St. Paul (6:37 PM) - RHP Jack Anderson
Frisco @ Wichita (6:35 PM) - RHP Ty Langenberg

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[jaimedude]

Is Austin Martin ready to back yet, could use his glove and bat in left field.