Twins Minor League Report (6/24): First Full Slate Of Games

This is my favorite time of the year. Six (or more) box scores most every day. Prospects galore all getting another opportunity to show something. The short-season affiliates are full of guys that have been sitting in extended spring training waiting for this, and the 2016 draft picks would like nothing more than to start off their professional careers on a high note.

Six box scores is a lot of work, but it's so much fun! Enjoy! Ask lots of questions.

Here is Friday night’s minor league update.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 4, Louisville 5 (12 innings)

Box Score

Logan Darnell started for the Red Wings on Friday night. The southpaw gave up four runs on five hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out seven. Ryan O’Rourke threw a scoreless top of the seventh inning, but the Red Wings were down 4-0.

In the bottom of the 7th, John Ryan Murphy came to the plate with the bases loaded. He delivered a bases-clearing double. It was followed by a Jorge Polanco single to tie the game at four.

JT Chargois came in and struck out two in the eighth inning. The Red Wings went scoreless in the bottom of the inning. Chargois stayed in to start the ninth and did not give up a run, reducing his Red Wings ERA to just 0.48.

The score remained tied at four until the 12th inning thanks to two shutout innings from Alex Wimmers. In the top of the 12th, Sean Burnett gave up one run on one walk and one hit. In the bottom of the 12th, the Red Wings sent three men, Rosario, Field and Wickens, to the plate and each went down on strikes.

Miguel Sano made his first appearance. He played five innings at third base and only had one play. He caught a pop up. He walked in his first plate appearance and then grounded out in his second.

James Beresford and Jorge Polanco were both 2-6.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 2, Jackson 8

Box Score

It was a rough outing for Ryan Eades in his first second half start. The right-hander gave up eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out four. Luke Westphal threw two innings. He gave up a hit and a walk and struck out two without giving up a run. Raul Fernandez threw the final two innings. He gave up a hit, walked one and struck out one, but did not allow a run.

Daniel Palka hit his 17th homer of the season, which leads the Southern League. Mitch Garver went 2-4 and drove in the other Lookouts run.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 1

Box Score

Felix Jorge did Felix Jorge things on the mound, and Niko Goodrum returned to game action with a big game.

Let’s start on the mound though. Jorge improved to 7-3 with a 1.58 ERA. He gave up one run on five hits over six innings. He struck out three without a walk. Brandon Peterson worked a perfect seventh frame. Yorman Landa recorded his fifth save by giving up just one hit over two scoreless innings.

Niko Goodrum has been out and on the disabled list since late in spring training. He had a stress reaction in his foot. He was activated yesterday and sent to Ft. Myers to get some game action. In his first game back, Goodrum batted third and played shortstop. He went 4-5 with three doubles. Not a bad way to come back. Trey Vavra and Max Murphy each went 2-5. Tanner Witt went 1-2 with two walks.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 6, Beloit 4

Box Score

The Kernels fell behind 2-0 in the first inning, but they came back a couple of times to pick up a nice win. In the third inning, Brad Hartong’s double was followed by Sean Miller’s second home run of the year. It tied the game at two even though they were the only two hits the Kernels had at that time.

Then the pitchers put up zeros until the sixth inning when Kernels starter Eduardo Del Rosario was charged with two more runs. However, in the 7th, the Kernels struck for four runs. Austin Diemer hit a solo home run. A JJ Fernandez double scored Rainis Silva to tie the game at four. Chris Ibarra scored the go-ahead run when Brad Hartong hit into a fielder’s choice. Finally, Fernandez scored on a Miller sacrifice fly.

Diemer led the way, going 2-3 with his first homer in his return to Cedar Rapids. Miller was 1-3 with his second homer and three RBI. Hartong’s double was his fifth, while Fernandez’s double was his third.

Del Rosario started and gave up four runs on nine hits over 5.2 innings. He walked three and struck out two. Williams Ramirez came in and threw 2.1 hitless innings. He walked two and struck out two. Anthony McIver pitched the ninth. He gave up two hits, but got a strikeout and a game-inning ending play to record his third save.

E-Twins E-Notes

Elizabethton 4, Kingsport 0

Box Score

There were a couple of batters with strong games on Friday night, but when a team throws a shutout, we’ll most likely talk about the pitching first.

Alex Robinson, a reliever drafted out of Maryland in 2015, made the start for the E-Twins. The good news? He threw 4.2 shutout innings, gave up just two hits and struck out eight batters. The non-good news? He walked six batters. Max Cordy came in for the final out of the fifth and got five more batters out. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out two. Colton Davis got the final seven outs to record his first save.

Two players highlighted the E-Twins offense. In the first inning, Lewin Diaz doubled in Travis Blankenhorn, who had singled. In the third inning, Jaylin Davis doubled in Travis Blankenhorn, who had walked and stole second base. In the eighth inning, they got some insurance when Travis Blankenhorn and Lewin Diaz hit solo homers. Blankenhorn finished the day by going 2-3 with a walk and his second homer. He scored three of the four runs. Diaz made his first start and hit his first double and first home run of the year. Mitchell Kranson, in his first game, played third base and recorded his first professional hit, a double. Caleb Hamilton played shortstop and got his first hit, a single.

GCL Twins Takes

GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 3

Box Score

The GCL Twins took to the field for the first time this season in a game that counted. Yesterday, we reviewed the roster. Several of those players made their pro debuts on Friday. Joe Cronin led the offense. He went 2-5 and stole a base. Speedster Jean Carlos Arias went 2-4 with a double and two stolen bases. Jorge Munoz had a double. Ben Rortvedt caught the whole game and went 1-4 with a single and an RBI.

Miguel De Jesus was the story. The right-hander worked five innings and gave up just one hit. He walked none and struck out five. He was sitting 92-96, with movement, and attacked the strike zone. Daniel Martinez came on and was charged with two runs on three hits and got just two outs. However, the first two batters he faced grounded out. He struck out the third, but on a wild pitch the batter got on base. Could have been a great inning, but then three straight hits scored two runs. Brady Anderson came on and got four outs, three of them on strikeouts. Garrett Kelly gave up just a walk, but the runner scored. Patrick McGuff recorded the save with a perfect inning, including two strikeouts.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Felix Jorge, Ft. Myers Miracle

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Blankenhorn, Elizabethton Twins

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Louisville @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Andrew Albers (6-1, 3.36 ERA)

Jackson @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves (0-0, 1st AA Start)

Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (4:30 CST) - RHP Keaton Steele (2-6, 4.30 ERA)

Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Cody Stashak (4-4, 2.73 ERA)

Elizabethton @ Kingsport (6:00 CST) - TBD

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!