Twins Minor League Report (7/8): Romero, Graterol Post Strong Outings

It wasn’t long ago when Jose Berrios was a regular fixture on the Twins Daily Minor League Report. On Sunday, he found out he had been selected to his first All-Star Game. Top pitching prospects like Fernando Romero and Brusdar Graterol were both on the mound on Sunday and they hope to follow in Berrios’ footsteps in the years to come.

Did either of them have an All-Star performance on Sunday? Read on to find out...

ROSTER MOVES

• OF Tanner English placed on the disabled list at Chattanooga with a lower back strain.
  
• INF Taylor Motter transferred to Chattanooga from Rochester.
  

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 6, Lehigh Valley 7 (10 Innings)

Box Score

Rochester pitchers allowed five runs over the last three innings to end up on the wrong side of this one. Fernando Romero was strong for seven innings as he limited the Iron Pigs to two runs on four hits. He struck out six and didn’t walk any. His Triple A ERA is down to 2.04 for the season.

Every relief pitcher saw one run scored against them even if it wasn’t earned. Adalberto Mejia committed a throwing error in the eighth inning that eventually allowed an unearned run to be scored against him. John Curtiss ran into trouble in the ninth with two former Twins prospects, Trevor Plouffe and Danny Ortiz, starting the rally. Curtiss was charged with his second blown save after allowing two earned runs. Tyler Duffey took the loss after allowing the game-tying and winning run to score in extra-innings.

Rochester racked up 13 hits in this one but it wasn’t enough. Byron Buxton went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Kennys Vargas drove in a pair of runs as part of a three-hit effort. Nick Gordon also joined the hit parade by going 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 2, Jacksonville 5

Box Score

The Lookouts left nine men on base and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position to take the loss on Sunday. Luis Arraez went 3-for-5 at the plate and Zander Wiel collected his fourth home run as part of a two-hit game. Ryan Walker also reached base three times. Of the team’s 10 hits, Wiel had the lone extra-base hit.

Omar Bencomo took his third loss but he allowed only one earned run over six frames. In the second inning, Taylor Motter committed a throwing error that allowed multiple unearned runs to score. Bencomo uncorked a wild pitch in the fourth inning that eventually lead to another run. He finished with four strikeouts and one walk. Paco Rodriguez pitched two shutout innings with a pair of strikeouts to end the game.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 4, Bradenton 6

Box Score

One big inning was all it took for Fort Myers to see the rubber game of this series slip through its fingers. The Miracle took a 3-0 first inning lead thanks to a two-out double from Taylor Grzelakowski that plated two runs. It was his 10^th double of the season and he would eventually score on a Caleb Hamiton single.

Top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol made it through the first six frames relatively unscathed. He allowed one run in the third but he seemed to be sliding by nicely. The seventh inning was when he ran into a little trouble. Back-to-back one-out singles meant his day was done. Overall, Graterol went 6 1/3 inning, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked two while hitting 101 mph multiple times during the game.

Unfortunately, Hector Lujan replaced Graterol and allowed both runners to score along with three other runs. Lujan wasn’t able to record an out. Adam Bray pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to finish the game. His ERA lowered to 1.08 on the season.

Miguel Sano finished 2-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 4, Kane County 5

Box Score

Up one run in the final frame, it looked like Cedar Rapids would take a 2-1 series lead against Kane County. However, the Cougars flipped the script with back-to-back two-out RBI hits and ended up walk-off winners in the one. Bryan Sammons continued his strong pitching performance but he saw his 20-inning scoreless streak come to an end. He pitched into the sixth inning and limited Kane County to one earned run. Overall, he pitched 5 2/3 innings with six strikeouts and two walks.

Every batter in the Kernels line-up reached base at least once. Akil Baddoo went 3-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored. Jose Miranda drove in two runs as part of a two-hit day. Robby Rinn added his 11^th double and came around to score a run.

Calvin Faucher suffered his first blown save after allowing two earned runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings. Ricky Ramirez took the loss and the blown save after allowing two runs over the last 1 2/3 innings. He struck out two and didn’t walk any.

E-TWINS E-TALK

Elizabethton 1, Danville 3

Box Score

Hits were few and far between for the E-Twins as the club only had five hits. Trevor Casanova reached base three times including two hits and a run scored. Yunior Severino and Alex Robles both went 1-for-4. Albee Weiss reached base twice.

Austin Schulfer allowed one run on five hits in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two. Brian Rapp took over for Schulfer and pitched 3 2/3’s scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. Juan Gamez allowed a pair of runs over the last two innings for his first loss.

STARS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Akil Baddoo, Cedar Rapids (3-for-5, 2B, 2 R)

Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Fernando Romero, Rochester (7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 6 K, 0 BB)

TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

#1 – Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, RBI, 2 BB

#2 – Fernando Romero (Rochester) – 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, 0 BB

#3 – Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R

#5 – Alex Kirilloff (Fort Myers) – 0-3, BB, K

#7 – Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 0-5, 2 K

#9 – Brusdar Graterol (Fort Myers) – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 K, 2 BB

#10 – Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 3-5, 2B, 2 R

#14 – LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 1-5, RBI, 2 K

#18 – Yunior Severino (Elizabethton) – 1-4, 2B, 2 K

MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Chattanooga @ Jacksonville (6:05 CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (2-4, 5.05 ERA)

Fort Myers vs. Palm Beach (6:00 CST) – RHP Andro Cutura (3-3, 3.62 ERA)

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (12:00 CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (6-2, 3.74 ERA)

Elizabethton vs. Danville (6:00 CST) – TBD

GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays (11:00 AM CST) – TBD

Please feel free to ask any questions about Sunday’s games, or ask any questions you may have.

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