Twins Video
TRANSACTIONS
- OF Alex Kirilloff, IF Jorge Polanco, and RHP Josh Winder were all sent on rehab assignments to the St. Paul Saints, getting one step closer to rejoining the MLB club.
- OF Emmanuel Rodriguez was placed on the 7-day injured list for Cedar Rapids with a left abdomen strain.
- IF Michael Helman was sent on a rehab assignment to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
SAINTS SENTINEL
Scranton/WB 0, St. Paul 6
Box Score
The St. Paul Saints nearly fielded a full MLB team on Tuesday, as Jorge Polanco, Alex Kirilloff, and Josh Winder joined the roster on rehab assignments along with Bailey Ober making the start.
Ober delivered another excellent start after his six shutout innings last Wednesday. He went five scoreless in this one, perhaps being lifted early as the Saints held a big lead. He allowed just three hits and one walk while punching out six. Of his 72 pitches, 47 went for strikes (65%) including nine swinging.
Mark Contreras got the party started for the Saints in the bottom of the first with a grand slam after Matt Wallner (walk), Kirilloff (single), and Chris Williams (single) loaded the bases.
Kirilloff and Contreras both added RBI singles in the fifth frame, and Ober and the rest of the Saints cruised from there.
Relievers Patrick Murphy (1 IP, 2 H, K), Cody Laweryson (1 IP), Dereck Rodriguez (1 IP, 3 K), and Brock Stewart (1 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K) each contributed a scoreless inning to finish the first shutout of the 2023 season for the Saints.
Wallner (1-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB, K), Kirilloff (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, K), Williams (1-for-2, R, 2 BB), Andrew Bechtold (0-for-2, 2 BB, K), Contreras (2-for-5, R, 5 RBI, K), and Tony Wolters (1-for-3, BB) all reached base multiple times. Polanco finished 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 4, Tulsa 2
Box Score
Right-handed pitcher Blayne Enlow got the nod in the series opener against Tulsa and delivered a solid performance. He went six innings, needing just 69 pitches (46 strikes) to do so. He allowed two earned runs on four hits and a pair of walks while picking up five punch outs. Both his runs allowed came in the first inning, and from the second through the sixth he held the Drillers scoreless.
Wichita finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh inning, when DeShawn Keirsey Jr. delivered his first home run of the season to tie the game at two. Brooks Lee and Yunior Severino followed with solo shots of their own in the eighth to give them a 4-2 lead. Severino’s went to the opposite field, while Lee’s left the stadium:
Jose Bravo relieved Enlow in the seventh inning and recorded the next five outs, including two strikeouts. Left-hander Kody Funderburk came on for the final out in the eighth and gave up the Driller's first hit since the third inning, but retired the next hitter to keep the two-run lead intact. He remained in the game to close it in the ninth and it got interesting. He recorded two outs on just three pitches, then got up two strikes to the next hitter, but a chopper and then a seeing-eye single put the tying runs on base. A walk then loaded the bases before Funderburk finally buckled down and struck out the final hitter of the game to pick up his first save of the season.
Wichita recorded just five hits in the game, but three of them left the yard which led to their 4-2 win. Yoyner Fajardo (1-for-3, BB, K), Severino (1-for-3, HR, BB), and Pat Winkel (0-for-2, R, 2 BB) each reached base two times.
KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 2, Beloit 6
Box Score
Lefty Jaylen Nowlin took the mound for the Kernels looking to rebound from a rough outing his last time out. He did so for the first four innings, facing the minimum and racking up six strikeouts, but the wheels fell off in the fifth. The first five hitters of the inning reached base, resulting in three runs and he recorded just one out before being lifted. In all, Nowlin went 4 1/3 innings, giving up three hits and two walks, while striking out seven.
John Stankiewicz got them out of the fifth with no further damage but ran into similar trouble in the seventh. In his two innings, he allowed three runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out two. Charlie Neuweiler finished the game with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and struck out three.
The Kernels lineup, down Emmanuel Rodriguez who was placed on the injured list on Tuesday, managed just five hits in the game. They actually scored first in the top of the fifth, when Willie Joe Garry Jr. drove in Jose Salas with a single, but Noah Miller’s inside-the-park home run in the eighth was their only other run-scoring play in the game.
Miller finished the game 2-for-4, while Ben Ross, Salas, and Garry Jr. accounted for their other three hits. Salas also stole two bases.
MUSSEL MATTERS
Jupiter 5, Fort Myers 1
Box Score
C.J. Culpepper made his second start of the young season for the Mighty Mussels in Tuesday’s series opener and retired the first six hitters of the game. He ran into trouble in the third, however, and before it was over the Hammerheads had taken a 4-0 lead. Culpepper finished four innings, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out five.
Fort Myers scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to Andrew Cossetti’s second home run of the season (108.4 mph, 27 degree angle, 432 feet). He finished the game 2-for-4. Michael Helman had two hits in three at-bats, including a double, in the first game of his rehab assignment. As a team, the Mighty Mussels were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left only five men on base for the game.
A.J. Labas allowed one run on two hits in 2 1/3 innings of relief. Gabriel Yanez finished the game with 2 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out four.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Bailey Ober, St. Paul Saints (W, 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K)
Hitter of the Day - Mark Contreras, St. Paul Saints (2-for-5, R, GS, 5 RBI, K)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI
#5 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-for-1, K (pinch-hit for Willi Castro)
#8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, R, K, 2 SB
#11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB, K
#14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, R, HR, RBI, K
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K
#20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K
WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (0-0, 3.65 ERA)
Wichita @ Tulsa (11:05 AM CDT) - RHP David Festa (1-0, 2.61 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Kyle Jones (0-1, 3.18 ERA)
Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - LHP Develson Aria (0-0, 6.00 ERA)
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!
Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!
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