Twins Minor League Report (7/13): Pitchers Return

There was not much offense through the Minnesota Twins' farm system, with the usual exception of the Cedar Rapids Kernels. There was some very good pitching. There was the return of Nick Blackburn to an active roster as he made the start for the New Britain Rock Cats. Alex Wimmers returned to a mound for the first time since his Tommy John surgery last August.

One constant through the 2013 season has been the pitching of Andrew Albers, and he was on the mound again for the Rochester Red Wings.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] On Sunday, be sure to watch Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano represent the Twins at the Futures Game.

Here is a look at what happened in the Twins farm system on Saturday:

Rochester 5, Pawtucket 1

Box Score

Andrew Albers was back on the mound for the Red Wings and was terrific yet again. The Canadian southpaw went six innings to improve to 9-4. He gave up only an unearned run on five hits and a walk. He also struck out ten. Shairon Martis recorded his sixth save, of the three-inning variety. He gave up no runs on two hits and two walks. He struck out three.

Eight Red Wings had one hit in this game. Five of them went for extra bases. Ray Olmedo hit his second home run, as did Chris Herrmann. Chris Colabello hit his 23^rd double. Doug Bernier hit his 15^th double. Jeff Clement hit his 13^th double.

New Britain 1, Trenton 5

Box Score

After a few rehab starts with the GCL Twins, Nick Blackburn was sent to New Britain where he made the start on Saturday evening. He gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out two. Bruce Pugh was terrific, not allowing a base runner in 2.1 innings. Edgar Ibarra and BJ Hermsen each threw a scoreless inning in relief.

Angel Morales hit his second home run with the Rock Cats. He was 2-3 in the game. Eddie Rosario hit his seventh double.

Ft. Myers 1, Lakeland 4

Box Score

Matt Summers gets the loss in this game, though he did pitch quite well. He went 7.2 innings and gave up two runs (1 earned). He gave up seven hits, walked none and struck out three. Corey Williams got the final four outs, one on a strikeout. He gave up two runs on one hit and four walks.

Mike Kvasnicka went 2-4. Evan Bigley hit a double.

Cedar Rapids 6, Bowling Green 3

Box Score

Adam Walker remains hot with the bat. He went 2-4 with his 19^th double and his 16^th home run. Tyler Grimes went 2-4, including an inside-the-park home run. It was his sixth homer of the season. Jeremias Pineda went 3-4 with his second double. Jorge Polanco went 2-4.

Tim Atherton improved to 5-2 with a 2.45 ERA. The Australian right-hander gave up one run on two hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out four. Steven Gruver then gave up two runs on four hits in his two innings. Tyler Jones recorded his eighth save, striking out two in one inning.

Elizabethton 1, Greeneville 2

Box Score

It was a very good pitcher’s duel in the Appy League on Saturday night. South African lefty Hein Robb was charged with two runs on five hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out two. Dallas Gallant and Brian Gilbert each pitched a scoreless inning.

The E-Twins had just five hits. Dereck Rodriguez is now hitting .322 after going 2-4. Bryan Haar went 2-4 as well.

GCL Twins 3, GCL Red Sox 1

Box Score

A couple rehab stints took place in this rain-shortened 5.2 inning game on Saturday. Michael Gonzales returned to the field for the first time since breaking the hamate bone his hand. In his first at bat, he homered. Chad Christensen went 1-2 with his first professional home run. Jonatan Hinojosa went 1-3 with a triple.

The big story will be that Alex Wimmers returned to a mound in a game for the first time since he underwent Tommy John surgery last August. The 2010 first-round pick went three shutout innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out two. Chih-Wei Hu went the final 2.2 innings. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two.

Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

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