Twins Minor League Report (5/13): Banner Day Highlighted by Miracle Comeback

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Michael Tonkin cleared waivers and was assigned to Rochester. Things didn’t go the way he had hoped with the Twins, but he’ll surely be an asset for the Red Wings. Over 118.2 innings in Triple A, he has a 2.65 ERA, 1.045 WHIP, 9.7 K/9 and 5.12 K/BB ratio.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Pawtucket 1

Box Score

Aaron Slegers completed six no-hit innings for the second time this season, as he and battery mate Mitch Garver led the Wings to victory. Slegers went 7.1 innings, surrendering one run on three hits and a walk while striking out five.

Along with helping guide Slegers through a masterful performance, Garver went 3-for-4 and slugged his second homer of the year. The ninth-rounder from 2013 boosted his batting line to .269/.415/.500.

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Ben Paulsen was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. ByungHo Park notched his first hit since returning from the DL, and it was a #ParkBang.

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D.J. Baxendale was the first man out of the pen, recording the final two outs of the eighth. Buddy Boshers retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth before walking cleanup man Sam Travis. Alan Busenitz came in and walked another batter, putting the tying run on base, before striking out the next hitter on a nasty curveball to end it.

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Busenitz, acquired in the same deal that brought Hector Santiago to the Twins, now has a 2.84 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 16 strikeouts over 12.2 innings this season.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 9, Birmingham 6

Box Score

With the Lookouts trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh, LaMonte Wade drew a leadoff walk that sparked a three-run rally. Unfortunately, the Chattanooga bullpen blew that lead, meaning Wade’s services were needed once again in the eighth.

Wade lined a leadoff single, stole second base and scored. The Looks batted around, and just for good measure Wade drew yet another walk later in the inning. His OBP is up to .465. Of course, the only reason Wade batted three times in two innings was his Chattanooga teammates were beating up the Barons as well.

Edgar Corcino started the game on the bench and still managed to drive in four runs on a pair of hits. Nick Gordon had another excellent night out of the leadoff spot, going 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBI. First baseman Jonathan Rodriguez was 3-for-5 and scored twice.

Fernando Romero had a rough first couple of appearances for Chattanooga, but Saturday he pitched into the sixth inning for the fifth-straight start. The 22-year-old gave up two runs in the first inning, but he surrendered just one more unearned run from there. He struck out four over 5.2 innings.

The Twins have more relief prospects than you can shake a stick at, which is pretty much all opposing hitters could do in the box against Luke Bard. The No. 42 overall pick of the 2012 draft, Bard struck out the first five batters he faced, gave up a double, then got the next batter on strikes for his sixth K of the evening.

Bard has now struck out 31 batters in 18.2 innings. That’s preposterous. Just silly what he’s doing to Southern League hitters right now. Unfortunately, Mason Melotakis allowed that inherited runner of Bard’s to score. Todd Van Steensel tallied two strikeouts of his own in the ninth inning, giving him 20 Ks in 15.1 innings on the season.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 7, Charlotte 6

Box Score

Down 6-1 heading into the top of the eighth, it seemed Fort Myers needed, well ... a miracle to pull out a victory Saturday night. Turned out all they needed was some rain. With the rain falling the Miracle managed to score four runs in the eighth before adding the game-tying and go-ahead runs in the top of the ninth.

Chris Paul was right in the thick of things each of those epic final two innings. A sixth-round pick in 2015, Paul delivered a single to load the bases in the eighth and later came around to score. He followed that up by driving in the game-winning run on a double in the ninth. After a three-hit night, Paul’s average is up to .317.

The rain didn’t seem to faze Sam Clay, who held Charlotte scoreless over the final two innings to earn his fourth win out of the bullpen. It was Clay’s 10th consecutive scoreless appearance, a streak that stretches 19.2 innings.

Shane Kennedy went 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk and both scored and drove in a pair of runs. Catcher Kevin Garcia also had two RBI, Max Murphy scored twice and stole a base and Zander Wiel went 2-for-5 with his fourth triple of the season.

Dereck Rodriguez extended his streak of completing six or more innings to six straight starts. He gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out four.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 7, Bowling Green 5

Box Score

There was no comeback needed for the Kernels, as they racked up five first-inning runs and piled on another pair of runs in the second. Lewin Diaz was 3-for-5 with his fourth home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Christian Cavaness went 2-for-4 and slugged his second homer, a two-run shot.

Clark Beeker, who was cruising through six innings, picked up his fifth win but his performance was somewhat tainted by giving up three runs in the seventh. Colton Davis, Andrew Vasquez and Hector Lujan combined to pitch three scoreless innings in relief. Vasquez, a lefty, struck out four batters, giving him 23 K's in 14.2 innings on the year.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers (had a no-hitter through 6.1 innings)

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chris Paul (delivered game-winning hit in crazy Miracle comeback win)

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester at Pawtucket, 12:35 CT, Kyle Gibson (4.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP)

Chattanooga vs. Birmingham, 1:15 CT, Paul Clemens (4.06 ERA, 1.48 WHIP)

Fort Myers OFF

Cedar Rapids OFF

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday'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!