Twins Minor League Report (9/3): Miracle Down 1-0

Tuesday marked the beginning of playoff season in full-season minor league baseball. Game 1's were played in the Florida State League, including the Ft. Myers Miracle. On Wednesday, Rochester and Cedar Rapids will begin their second seasons.

Ft. Myers Miracle 0, Charlotte Stone Crabs 1

The Miracle had the best overall record in the Florida State League in 2013, and yet, after game one in the playoffs, they are on the brink of elimination. Remember, this is a best of three series. It takes just two wins to win the series. Of course, the Miracle will need to hold court at home to advance to the next round. Game one was played in Charlotte. The series will shift to Ft. Myers for games two and three.

For Matt Summers, he saw several nights like this in the regular season. Despite leading the Florida State League in ERA and WHIP, he had a record of just 6-5. He was quite good. The right-hander went six innings and gave up just one run. He allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four. Tyler Duffey came on and threw the final two innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Unfortunately, the Miracle managed just three hits in the game. The three batters at the top of the lineup (AJ Pettersen, Stephen Wickens and Byron Buxton) each had one single.

What's Next?

As previously stated, the Miracle series will now head to Ft. Myers for Game 2 on Wednesday night. Lefty Taylor Rogers will get the start for the Miracle in a must-win game.

In Rochester, the Red Wings will open up game 1 of their best of five series against Pawtucket (the Red Sox AAA affiliate). The Twins will send Cole De Vries to the mound. In yesterday's playoff preview, I mentioned that Dakota Watts had been promoted to the Red Wings for the playoffs. It was learned on Tuesday morning that Trevor May will also join the Red Wings.

Cedar Rapids will be playing in Davenport on Wednesday night against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Left Brett Lee will be the game 1 starter.

Awards

Eduardo Escobar was named the International League Batter of the Week. The Red Wings shortstop had a huge game on Monday for the, collecting three doubles, a homer and five RBI. He has also hit .307 in his 43 total games for the team.

Tim Shibuya threw a complete game shutout for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. On Tuesday, he was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week. He's been tremendous since coming back from his shoulder injury. With the Kernels, he is now 4-0 with a 0.96 ERA. He will get the nod in Game 2.

Coming Soon...

We will continue our playoff coverage as long as there is a Twins affiliate in the playoffs. There will also be a lot of minor league, season-ending coverage in the next week.

As always, if you have questions, please feel free to let me know.

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!