Twins Minor League Report (5/22): Gordon Promoted, Diaz Walks It Off

To find out how all of your favorite Twins prospects fared on Tuesday, keep reading and be sure to add to the discussion in the comments!

TRANSACTIONS

As alluded to, there was one pretty major transaction in the system on Tuesday. With Ryan LaMarre being recalled to the Twins, shortstop Nick Gordon was assigned to the Rochester Red Wings from Chattanooga. Left-handed starter Adalberto Mejia was also reinstated from the disabled list for Rochester and would piggy-back on Trevor May in their game.

Also, the Twins acquired first baseman Chris Carter for cash considerations. He was slugging .600 for the Angels' Triple A club and had 13 home runs in 38 games. Carter will report to Rochester.

RED WINGS REPORT

Lehigh Valley 4, Rochester 3

Box Score

Trevor May was on the mound for the Red Wings, making his third rehab appearance in the minors as part of his comeback from Tommy John surgery. He went the first four innings and allowed three earned runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out two. He threw 68 pitches, with 39 of them going strikes. All the Iron Pigs damage came in the second inning as they took a 3-0 lead. A two-run home run and an RBI triple accounted for those runs. May settled in from there to deliver a one-two-three third, and only a walk to #OldFriend Trevor Plouffe in the fourth, who also collected an RBI double in the sixth.

May was relieved by Adalberto Mejia, and the lefty finished the next 3 1/3 innings. He allowed one run on five hits, but also struck out five including all three outs of the seventh with the score 4-1 in favor of Lehigh Valley.

Rochester got on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh thanks to a sac fly off the bat of Taylor Featherstone to score Brock Stassi, who had led off the inning with a walk. The good guys closed that lead to 4-3 in the top of the eighth after Zack Granite led off with a double and Miguel Sano followed with a two-run homer, the first of his rehab assignment. Sano’s day was then done, but he finished the game 3-for-4.

The reason Sano’s night was over after that big blast, was because newly promoted top prospect Nick Gordon was brought into the game as a defensive replacement for him in the bottom of the eighth. Gordon slotted at shortstop while Leonardo Reginatto moved over to third base. He got no defensive chances and with the Red Wings going down one-two-three in the ninth, also didn’t get to make a plate appearance.

Alan Busenitz got the final two outs of the game for Rochester, walking one and striking out one.

Astudillo joined Sano with multiple hits on the game, finishing 2-for-4. Rochester falls to 21-18 on the season, and now two and a half games behind the Iron Pigs in the International League North division.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Scheduled day off.

The Lookouts had Tuesday off as they travel back home to Chattanooga from Mississippi. They will take on the Montgomery Biscuits at 6:15PM CST on Wednesday night looking to extend their lead in the Southern League North division.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 3, Bradenton 2

Box Score

Despite knocking out eleven hits compared to just six for the Marauders, the Miracle needed the bottom of the ninth inning to pull this one out.

Luis Arreaz (2-for-3, RBI) and Jaylin Davis 3-for-3, R, 2 2B, BB) each had multi-hit nights to lead the offense. As a team they left twelve men on base but cashed them in when it counted by going 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Sean Poppen got the start for Fort Myers and was electric for the first seven innings. He allowed just one earned run on five hits and zero walks, while striking out seven. His only blemish was a solo home run in the second inning and he was the first pitcher for the Miracle to complete seven innings so far this year.

With the score 2-1 in favor of Fort Myers going into the ninth inning, reliever Ryan Mason came on for his second inning of work. He had a one-two-three eighth frame but a one-out walk put the tying run on base. After picking up a K to bring Bradenton down to their last out, they got the big hit in the form of a triple to tie the game. Mason got out of the inning but was charged with the blown save.

In the bottom of the ninth, a leadoff single from Jared Foster was followed by a sacrifice bunt from Arreaz to put the winning run in scoring position for the Miracle, and after an intentional walk to Jimmy Kerrigan, Lewin Diaz stepped into the box and walked it off for the home team with an RBI single to center field.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Kane County 8, Cedar Rapids 7

Box Score

The Kernels scored first in this one thanks to the bat of Trey Cabbage, who slugged his third home run of the season in the second inning. They pushed that lead to 6-0 after the top of the third inning as they sent nine men to the plate in the frame. Triples from Jean Carlos Arias and Jose Miranda were the big knocks in that sequence to drive in three, and Ben Rortvedt (RBI single) and Cabbage (sac fly) knocked in the others.

But starter Tyler Watson gave those five runs right back in the bottom of the frame thanks to a pair of doubles, a walk, a hit batter, and a three-run home run. Watson was able to finish 4 2/3 innings but was pulled in the fifth after allowing a triple and walking a couple of hitters. Jovani Moran came on and escaped that jam with a strikeout to keep the game tied at six.

The Kernels went back ahead in the top of the sixth after a double from David Banuelos was followed by an RBI single from Arias.

Moran set the Cougars down one-two-three in the bottom of the sixth, including two strikeouts but was greeted by consecutive extra-base hits in the seventh that tied the game back up at seven, and then a wild pitch that scored another to give the Cougars the lead. Moran picked up two more K’s and finished with five strikeouts in his two innings, but the two earned runs saddled him with the loss.

The Cedar Rapids lineup went down without a fight in the final two frames, failing to get a baserunner against the Kane County bullpen. Calvin Faucher finished the final 1 1/3 innings, allowing no hits and striking out two.

As a team the Kernels finished this one with thirteen hits and three walks, went 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and left only four men on base, but couldn’t get the needed hits in the end. Arias (3-5, R, 3B, RBI) and Royce Lewis (2-5, R) each collected multiple hits. Alex Kirilloff finished 1-2 with a run scored, drew two walks, and also stole the first base of his career.

STARS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Sean Poppen, Fort Myers Miracle (7 IP, ER, 5 H, 7 K)

Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis, Fort Myers Miracle (3-for-3, R, 2 2B, BB)

TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY

1. Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-5, R, 2 K’s

3. Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) – Did not bat.

5. Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, K

13. Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 1-for-5, RBI (Walk-off single)

15. Mitch Garver (Minnesota) – (Twins game in progress as of this writing)

16. Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-4, R, RBI, K

17. Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 1-for-3, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05PM CST) – RHP Zack Littell (1-0, 1.69 ERA)

Montgomery @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – TBD

Bradenton @ Fort Myers (11:00AM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (1-4, 4.41 ERA)

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (11:00AM CST) – RHP Bailey Ober (0-1, 8.04 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!