Twins Minor League Report (5/21): Morris Makes Double-A Debut

TRANSACTIONS

• The St. Paul Saints were assigned RHP Adam Plutko from the FCL Twins roster.
• RHP Andrew Morris was officially promoted to the Wichita Wind Surge and made his double-A debut. RHP Scott  Engler was also transferred to the development list.
• In the Midwest League, OF Willie Joe Garry Jr. was officially released, and RHP Jose Olivares was sent back to Fort Myers.
• Down in Florida, C Cole Elvis was assigned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins.

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 3, Buffalo 1
Box Score
The Saints got on the board quickly in Buffalo, after Austin Martin led off the game by reaching base on an error. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. followed with a single to move him to third before a Matt Wallner sac fly put them up 1-0.

Louie Varland made the start for St. Paul and delivered a quality effort. He picked up his second win with the Saints by finishing six innings. He allowed just one run (on a homer) on four hits, walked three, and struck out three. Of his 86 pitches, 51 went for strikes (59%), including nine swings and misses.

The lineup added two runs in the fifth inning to give Varland a small cushion. Will Holland led off the inning with a solo home run, and two batters later Martin did the same.

That was all they’d need as Varland and the bullpen held the Bisons to just five hits (though the Saints only had four). Josh Winder delivered two scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out two. Jorge Alcala finished it off for his second save of the season in triple-A, giving up one hit and walking one, but inducing a game-ending double play, which was the fourth one turned by the Saints on the night.

Martin led the way with a 1-for-4 effort, including a walk and two runs scored in addition to the homer. Holland’s homer was his only hit as well, but also drew a walk. Alex Isola and Keirsey Jr. picked up the other two hits.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
San Antonio 3, Wichita 2
Box Score
There were plenty of hits in this one, but the teams combined to go just 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position on the game and left 20 total men on base between them.

Andrew Morris made his first start for the Wind Surge after being promoted and almost didn’t make it out of his first inning. He got the first two hitters, but then three consecutive singles scored the first run of the game, and a hit-batter made it look like the floodgates might open. But he closed them with a grounder and then went on to finish 5 1/3 innings. He allowed just two earned runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out three in his Double-A debut.

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth, the Wind Surge were finally able to push a run across after Emmanuel Rodriguez delivered a two-out double. Tanner Schobel followed with a single into right, and Rodriguez was able to beat the throw home.

Mike Paredes relieved Morris in the middle of the sixth inning and would finish the seventh. His only hit allowed was a solo homer in the seventh to make it 3-1. He struck out one in his 1 2/3 innings pitched. Miguel Rodriguez finished the final two innings, plunking one batter but allowing no hits and inducing a double-play ball to close the ninth and give his team a chance.

Chiefs pitcher Jayvien Sandridge certainly gave them one. He struck out the first hitter of the inning but then walked the next three to load the bases, including 11 straight balls before Kala’i Rosario stepped into the batter’s box. Almost inexplicably, Sandridge then delivered three straight strikes on curveballs, for which Rosario watched every one go by, and I can’t say I blame him. After a passed ball made the score 3-2, Jake Rucker then drew another walk before the Missions’ manager had someone else warmed up. With a new pitcher in the game, Carson McCusker sent a grounder to third to end the game.

The Wind Surge got multiple hits from Andrew Cossetti (2-for-3, 2 BB) and Aaron Sabato (3-for-4, SB), but as a team couldn’t get the big hit when they needed one, as they finished 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base. Rodriguez finished 1-for-4 with a walk and scored both of their runs.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 8, Peoria 6 (10 innings)
Box Score
The Kernels struck early on the road against the Peoria Chiefs on Tuesday, taking a 4-0 lead after the top of the second inning. In the second a walk and hit-by-pitch put multiple runners on base, and Misael Urbina drove in the first run of the game with a single. Dalton Shuffield followed with a two-run double before Keoni Cavaco drove him in with a single of his own.

Miguelangel Boadas took the bump for the Kernels and kept the Chiefs off the scoreboard through the first four innings, including five strikeouts. Back out for the fifth, he picked up his sixth strikeout before a single and two-run home run put an end to his outing. In all, he pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits, a pair of walks, and striking out six. Juan Mercedes came on in relief and got out of the fifth without any further damage, striking out both hitters he faced.

In the top of the sixth with a runner on, Shuffield got those runs back with his first home run of the season to make it 6-2.

Mercedes was back out for the bottom half, but before it was over the game would be tied at six. An error to the leadoff man snowballed into an RBI double, single, and three-run homer before he could escape.

A.J. Labas pitched the next two innings, holding the Chiefs hitless and scoreless, while striking out four. Ricardo Velez came on for the ninth and took the Kernels into the extra innings.

In the top of the tenth with a ghost runner, Ricardo Olivar delivered a one-out single to score their first run, before moving to third on a single from Rubel Cespedes. A groundout from Kevin Maitan allowed Olivar to score for the 8-6 lead.

After working a one-two-three ninth frame, Velez was back out for the tenth and did the same, setting down the Chiefs in order, including a strikeout, to seal the victory. 

Shuffield paced the offense with three hits in four at-bats, including a double and a homer, scoring two runs, and driving in four. Agustin Ruiz reached base twice and scored two runs, while Luke Keaschall contributed a double in five at-bats. As a team, the Kernels were 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left only four men on base for the game.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 7, Daytona 4
Box Score
The Mighty Mussels jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning after Poncho Ruiz led off the frame with his seventh double of the season. Maddux Houghton brought him in with a single, and he came around to score himself on a double from Kyle Hess. A few batters later Payton Eeles drove in two with a double of his own and Fort Myers had a big lead for starter Spencer Bengard.

He showed his appreciation by delivering a stellar outing. He finished six innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits, no walks, and punching out eight. He also needed just 65 pitches to do so, with 48 of them going for strikes (74%), including an excellent 14 swings and misses.

In the fifth inning, the Mighty Mussels used a pair of singles, a hit batter, and a wild pitch to increase their lead to 5-1 and they added single insurance runs in the seventh and eighth frames as well. In the seventh, a leadoff double from Byron Chourio was cashed in by Ruiz with an RBI single. In the eighth, it was a pair of doubles from Hess and Matt Clayton.

Jack Noble came on in relief of Bengard in the seventh and finished the final three innings to pick up a save. He was charged with three earned runs on three hits and a walk while striking out four.

Chourio (2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, K), Ruiz (2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB), and Hess (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI) had multiple hits in the win. Brandon Winokur finished 1-for-5.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 4, FCL Braves 13
Box Score
Brooks Lee made his second rehab appearance with the FCL Twins Tuesday morning, though not in the lineup was Walker Jenkins after he too returned to action yesterday.

Lee led off the game with a double and came around to score the first run of the game on a Dameury Pena single.

Adrian Bohorquez made the start and completed four innings. For the first three, he was very good, keeping the Braves off the scoreboard with some timely defensive plays and four strikeouts. In the fourth, a single and a walk put ducks on the pond, and a three-run homer put the Braves in front 3-1. Bohorquez finished with those three earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six.

The Twins scored single runs in each of the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, but by that point, the game had gotten away from them. In the seventh, a Pena single scored Yasser Mercedes after he led off the frame with a triple. Omari Daniel self-manufactured a run in the seventh by singling, stealing second, advancing to third on a flyout, and scampering home on a wild pitch. In the eighth Mercedes again led off with a triple, and a sac fly from Pena brought him home.

Those runs didn’t mean anything as the bullpen trio of Mitch Stone (1 IP, H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K), Ezequiel Ventura (2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, BB, K), and Alejandro Crisostomo (1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) all had trouble keeping the Braves off the scoreboard.

Lee finished 1-for-4 with the double and a run scored. Mercedes, fresh off being named the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Week, was 3-for-4 with a pair of triples and scored two runs. Pena drove in three and finished 2-for-3.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Spencer Bengard, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (W, 6 IP, 5 H, ER, 8 K)
Hitter of the Day - Dalton Shuffield, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#2 – Brooks Lee (Rehab w/FCL Twins) – 1-for-4, R, 2B, K
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) – 1-for-4, 2 R, 2B
#7 – Austin Martin (St. Paul) – 1-for-4, 2 R, HR (1), RBI, BB
#10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 1-for-5, K
#11 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-for-4, RBI, BB, K
#12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-5, 2B
#13 – Kala’I Rosario (Wichita) – 1-for-5, 2 K
#16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, BB, K
#19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-5, R, RBI

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Buffalo (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Randy Dobnak (3-3, 4.54 ERA)
San Antonio @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Zebby Matthews (1-0, 0.77 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP John Klein (3-0, 3.03 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35 PM CDT) - TBD

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

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