Twins Minor League Report (7/25): Stevenson and Prato Power the Saints

TRANSACTIONS

• Left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar was sent on a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints, and he made an appearance in their game against Toledo.
• In Cedar Rapids, LHP Zarion Sharpe was released, and LHP Jordan Carr was activated from the injured list.
• Down in Fort Myers, C Frank Nigro was assigned to the Mighty Mussels from the FCL Twins.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Toledo 7, St. Paul 14
Box Score
Louie Varland took the mound for the Saints, but wasn’t as sharp as we’ve become accustomed to. He finished just 3 2/3 innings, and was charged with six runs (five earned) on nine hits and a walk, striking out four. The most damage came on a three-run homer in the third inning, and his team was down 6-2 upon his exit.

Thankfully for the Minnesota native, the rest of his pitching staff and the lineup, picked him up.

The Saints cut into that lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, when team MVP Andrew Stevenson launched his 12th home run of the season, a three-run shot to make it 6-5. They took the lead in the bottom of the fifth thanks to an RBI double from Anthony Prato and an RBI single off the bat of Alex De Goti.

In relief of Varland, the Saints got a solid outing from Michael Boyle, who allowed just a walk in 1 1/3 innings, striking out two. Caleb Thielbar then made his first appearance of his rehab assignment. He walked one and struck out one in his inning. Cody Laweryson got hit with a blown save by allowing one run on two hits in his lone inning, striking out two. But he also got the win because the lineup took off after that.

A six-run bottom of the seventh put this one away, with the big hits coming from a Prato home run, and bases loaded double from Gilberto Celestino, who also homered earlier in the game.

Stevenson finished 4-for-5 with four runs scored and three-RBI, only missing a triple in his bid for the cycle. Prato also came a triple shy of the cycle. He went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and three RBI. Celestino scored three runs and drove in three with two hits in five at-bats.

As a team, the Saints also drew a club-record 13 walks on the night, which is how you end up with 14 runs total. 

Jorge Polanco played third base and was 1-for-4 with a run scored and two walks. He had one error. Austin Martin was in center field, but was removed from the game in the fifth inning with an apparent foot injury.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Frisco 10, Wichita 4
Box Score
Wind Surge starter Chad Donato got knocked around by the RoughRiders in the first inning, and the home team was unable to recover.

Donato recorded just two outs, and before the Wind Surge could get anyone warmed up, he had been charged with nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits.

Regi Grace and the rest of the bullpen admirably righted the ship after Donato’s exit, but it was too little, too late. Grace pitched 2 1/3 innings. he walked two and struck out three batters. Denny Bentley was charged with Frisco’s only other run, but completed three innings. He allowed four hits and struck out four batters. Curtis Taylor allowed one hit and struck out two in his two innings. Francis Peguero finished it out with a one-two-three ninth, all on K’s.

Wichita got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning, thanks to David Banuelos’ eighth home run of the season. They added three more in the fourth inning on Yunior Severino’s 19th home run and a two-run triple from Yoyner Fajardo.

Brooks Lee was 2-for-4 out of the leadoff spot, and Fajardo also had two knocks and stole his 30th base.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 1
Box Score
Pitchers Cory Lewis and Mike Paredes combined to hold the Timber Rattlers to just one hit, and home runs from Andrew Cossetti and Kala’i Rosario were plenty of ammo to back them up on offense.

Lewis got the starting nod and continued his string of strong performances to pick up his fourth win. He finished five innings, allowed just one run on one hit and one walk, and notched three strikeouts on just 59 pitches.

Paredes finished the final four innings to pick up his first save of the season. He allowed no hits, walked two, and struck out three batters.

The Kernels took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when they loaded the bases with one out, and Kyler Fedko delivered a sacrifice fly. Cossetti led off the fifth with his ninth double, and later scored on another sacrifice fly from Emmanuel Rodriguez to go up 2-1.

Rosario led off the eighth with his 14th home run, and Andrew Cossetti led off the ninth with his fifth home run with Cedar Rapids to provide insurance runs.

Noah Cardenas (3-for-4, 2B) joined Rosario (2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, RBI, K) and Cossetti (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB) with multiple hits in the game.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Palm Beach 3, Fort Myers 1
Box Score
The Mighty Mussels were unable to muster much offense at Hammond Stadium on Tuesday. Their lineup collected just three hits. 

Ben Ethridge made the start and finished 3 2/3 innings. He was charged with two earned runs on five hits and a pair of walks. He had three strikeouts. Danny Moreno recorded the next seven outs and allowed one hit and a walk to get them to the seventh inning. He struck out one batter.

Juan Mendez gave up one more run to the Cardinals in the top of the seventh to make it 3-0 Cardinals. He recorded three strikeouts.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Mighty Mussels were finally able to mount a threat when Rubel Cespedes drew a leadoff walk and Rafael Cruz was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Alec Sayre put them on the board with an RBI single. However, they also ran into the third out at third base on the play which ended the inning. 

Zach Veen finished the game for Fort Myers, allowing one hit in two innings. He struck out two batters.

Sayre had two of the team's three hits in the game, while Ricardo Olivar notched the other.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Braves 3, FCL Twins 2 (10 innings)
Box Score
Starter Eduardo Soriano completed the first three innings for the Twins and allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit and two walks. He had two strikeouts.

The Twins tied the game in the fourth inning when Dalton Shuffield, Nate Baez, and Yasser Mercedes hit consecutive singles to start the frame and load the bases. A pair of wild pitches resulted in their only runs of the game.

Shuffield, on a rehab assignment, finished 3-for-4 with a run scored out of the leadoff spot. Jose Rodriguez added a pair of hits, including a double, in four at-bats. The rest of the team managed just three hits, and they finished just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven men on base.

After Soriano’s exit, the bullpen trio of Pierce Banks (2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 4 K), Jeferson Lopez (1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K), and Kyle Bischoff (3 IP, 3 K) got them through the ninth with the score still tied.

Miguel Olivares was brought on for the start of the 10th inning and got two quick outs before a single drove in the go-ahead run. 

The Twins then went down in order in the bottom half, to fall to the Braves.

DOMINICAN DAILY
DSL Twins 2, DSL Mariners 3 (8 innings)
Box Score
Neither team was able to score a run during the scheduled seven innings, and in fact, the Twins had a no-hitter going into the extra eighth frame.

Adrian Bohorquez made the start and went the first two innings. He issued two walks and struck out one batter. Yency De Jesus took over to start the third inning and walked only two over the next five innings. He had five strikeouts.

The Twins had some threats and had five hits to the Mariners zero hits through seven innings. However, they ran themselves into outs multiple times which kept them off the scoreboard.

With the runner on second to start the extra inning, an error on a pickoff and then an RBI single from Angel Trinidad scored the first run of the game. A single from Jayson Bass later in the frame put a runner on third, and a passed ball led to their second run.

Back out to try and finish off their no-hitter, De Jesus ran out of gas. A leadoff walk was followed by the first Mariners hit of the game which loaded the bases. Then they scored their first run on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly tied the game at two. The Mariners walked it off with their second single of the game, putting a damper on a solid team effort.

Trinidad (2-for-2, RBI) and Bass (2-for-4, K) each had multiple hits in the loss to lead the offense.

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day - Cory Lewis, Cedar Rapids Kernels (W, 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K)
Hitter of the Day - Andrew Stevenson, St. Paul Saints (4-for-5, 4 R, 2B, HR (12), 3 RBI, BB, SB(34))

PROSPECT SUMMARY
#1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-for-4, K
#2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL)

#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, RBI, 3 K
#5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, R, HR (2), 2 RBI, 3 K
#8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, R, K (left game in 5th inning due to injury)
#10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 0-for-4, K
#11 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL) - 1-for-4, K
#16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR (14), RBI, K
#17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-3, R, HR (19), RBI, BB, K
#20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) - 2-for-4, K

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Toledo @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - LHP Brent Headrick (3-1, 3.76 ERA)
Frisco @ Wichita (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (2-2, 4.79 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (12:10 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (2-0, 0.00 ERA)
Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM CDT) - RHP Jose Olivares (2-3, 6.14 ERA)
DSL Reds @ DSL Twins (makeup of 7/13) - TBD

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

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