Sherry Cerny

CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 29-23 St. Paul Saints: 25-23 Wichita Wind Surge: 23-22 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 25-19 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 20-25 TRANSACTIONS The Saint Paul Saints made the following roster moves: Infielder Yunior Severino was activated from the seven-day IL, and catcher Jair Camargo was place on the 7-day IL with a right forearm sprain. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Norfolk 4 Box Score The Saints and Tides were both on a mission to not lose this series ending game, which Norfolk needed more than the Saints. The Saints offense initially was ahead of the Tides in the third inning, 4-1. The inning started with Jose Miranda’s hit-by-pitch, followed by a single and a walk to load the bases. The Saints challenged the strikeout on Anthony Prato but the call was upheld. Chase McDermott was starting to struggle from the mound and show a little bit of fatigue in the strike zone, and Patrick Winkel took every advantage of the opportunity and banged out a 385 foot grand slam to center field, to give the Saints a 4-1 lead. McDermott stayed out through the next inning, and was replaced by Houston Roth, who did a great job of keeping the Saints from making any further progress. It was unfortunately not a very good game for Saints starting pitcher Darren McCaughan. McCaughan stayed in for 4 1/3 innings and gave up nine runs on eleven hits. He threw 91 pitches, only 46 of them were strikes, and he only registered four strikeouts during his mound appearance. The Tides only had one run over two innings and there didn’t appear to be any issues from the mound. But, in the third inning, the Tides had taken command of the game early on and did not let up on McCaughan. They responded to the Saints four runs in the bottom of the third, scoring three in the third and one in the fourth, pulling ahead 5-4. The biggest issue for McCaughan was the four home runs that he gave up that had RBI attached to them. The good part about all of loading up the bases, was that McCaughan gave up only one walk in the 25 batters that he faced. By the time McCaughan was pulled, the Tides had nine runs and led the Saints 9-4. Tyler Beede came in to relieve McCaughan and allowed one inherited runner to score to give the Tides a 10-4 lead. The Saints couldn’t even get on base in the remaining innings. They registered nine strikeouts and hit into multiple ground outs, and no walks. Their bats fell flat on the ball for multiple soft hits or popped up for easy outs. The Saints brought in Ryan Jensen to replace Beede, and controlled the damage in the later innings not allowing any runs, and struck out four, including winning a pitching challenge from Tides hitter, Coby Mayo, to change the momentum of the game to a slower pace to hopefully give the offense a chance to get something going to close the gap or make a run at tying the game. The Tides pitching was just too settled in after the fourth inning and the Saints couldn’t get anything on the board. The line-up continued to struggle with the ability to read the ball, and struck out each player at least once to control the game. The Saints bullpen is the real winner of the game here. What started out as a hemorrhage, turned into a slow bleed eventually being cut off at the end and the defense was able to make some plays to keep the Tides from getting more runs on the board. The Saints played great in the field, but their bats simply could not battle back to meet the support that the pitching staff needed early on. The Saints tried to rally back in the eighth inning, with walks from Yunior Severino and Ryan Fitzgerald, got the inning started, but was stifled quickly by outs from the next three hitters. The loss wasn’t something that would rattle the world of the Saints, they are still above .500 and they are looking good in their division. Everyone gets a chance to reset on Memorial Day and come back rested in Scranton on Tuesday. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, San Antonio 3 Box Score A battle of the pitchers took place today in San Antonio Texas. Missions pitcher Matt Waldron came up against Wind Surge pitcher Trent Baker. The game was scoreless through four and both pitchers gave up hits, but no runs in the early part of the game. The highlight of the game was the appearance by Baker. While he gave up one of the two runs of the game in a rough fourth inning, respectively. Baker fought through six of the nine players in the line-up and the Missions got ahead of Baker. Baker gave up a single, a double and another single to Cody Roberts gave the Mission the go-ahead, scored Romeo Sanabria and got on the board first 1-0. The Surge responded and answered with a home run from Aaron Sabato gave them a 2-1 lead, but that was the last time the Surge would see a run through the game. The remaining pitchers for San Antonio allowed three walks, and only one hit over 4 2/3 innings. Wind Surge Pitcher Mike Paredes put two on base early in the seventh inning, and San Antonio’s offense kept a steady foot on the gas, putting pressure on the pitching. With two outs and two in scoring position, John Stankiewicz replaced Paredes, but a fielding error advanced everyone and scored Cody Roberts to give San Antonio the lead. The Wind Surge simply could not come out of the game with any more production. Both sides really held down their side of the game today, the Surge had two runs on six hits and San Antonio had three runs on six hits. The pitching from the Wind Surge kept the numbers low throughout the series, but the lack of offense’s ability to create production, cost them the entire series. They are still hovering above .500, but they need to figure out where the offense is off if they want to stay above .500 as the middle of the season creeps up. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Fort Wayne 4 Box Score All of the Twins affiliates struggled heavily this week, and the Kernels were just the last of them to finish out the evening, leading into Memorial Day. There Kernels went into the game with needing a win to hold the series win. They had their Friday game as a double header as a double loss, but had come back in game five of the series on Saturday to win 12-4, but tonight the Fort Wayne jumped out immediately to control the game. It wasn't a high scoring game. But for the Kernels, the series was low scoring outside of their game on Saturday. The Fort Wayne pitching was once again on point and the only run scored by the Kernels did not come until the seventh inning. Danny De Andrade walked to start the inning and Jaime Ferrer brought two guys around the bases, scoring one to cut the deficit 4-1, but that was it for the Kernels offense for the rest of night. Fort Wayne kept the Kernels at a season-low two hits, and struck out 12 to keep the team from making anymore headway. The Kernels pitching staff as a whole gave up 10 walks. The hardest part of the two hits was the 10 walks gave an advantage to Fort Wayne's offense. Starting pitcher Alejandro Hidalgo has pitched seven games for the Kernels this season over the months of April and May. In April Hidalgo had better starts across all his games. Over his four appearances he gave up nine hits and eight runs, only nine walks and 25 strikeouts. His ERA at the end of April was 4.50, but did bounce up to 6.55 at one point. However, In May, he started to struggle. Over his four appearances in May he allowed 19 runs, 10 walks and his strikes decreased to 17. Today's game against Fort Wayne was his best appearance for controlling the earned runs keeping it to only two runs on one hit, but the six walks were a season high. His ERA took a huge hit in May and ended at 8.44. He is throwing more pitches and losing more command in his release point. He was not the only pitcher that lead way to the loss, but his impact this month has been felt in every series this month. The Kernels split this series, which keeps them well above .500 but drops them to 25-19 on the season. They will play their first series with Lake County, who is 24-21. They were Baseball America's "2024 MiLB team of the year" and have one of the best developmental teams in the minors. Fun little fact, Cedar Rapids is fourth in the league in home runs at 34 and Lake Count is tied for first at 37, so that would add some fun to the competition this series. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 15, Lakeland 12 Box Score The Mussels lost their final game of the series to Lakeland, but not without trying from the offense, who showed up too little too late. Pitcher Michael Ross has been very dominant this season on the mound, but today, Lakeland got ahead of him in the bottom of the third. Before today’s game, Ross only gave up four runs, three walks and registered 12 strikeouts. This appearance was certainly out of the ordinary for Ross. He struggled with command, and Lakeland won a lot of the battles early on that continued through the game. Woody Hadeen got a single to left field to start the inning. Then Bryce Rainer on the very first pitch hit a 100 MPH line drive to right field for an inside-the-park home run, putting them up 2-0 over the Mussels. Ross allowed another one-out single and double, and battled with Stephen Hrustch through six pitches before Hrustch caught the underside of the change-up and launched the ball into center field for another team home run, his first of the season to put Lakeland up 5-0. Rayne Doncon hit a solo home run, and his first of the season, deep to left field to get the Mussels on the board, after falling briefly behind the count. The top of the fifth, the Mussels got another three runs coming within one run of Lakeland, 5-4, but Lakeland got back out in front with another six runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth. A few misreads and errors from Angel Del Rosario at short gave Lakeland the advantage that advanced two players early and late in the game that certainly affected the run differential. Lakeland led 14-5 in the sixth inning, after four walks and two hit-by-pitches. The Mussels closed the gap in the eighth with five runs, and tried to close it out in the ninth, but fell short leaving the tying run on base. The Mussels offense was not lacking today. There was a lot of production from the entire line-up and they battled everywhere they could. Doncon, Jefferson Valladeres, Peyton Carr and Del Rosario got eight of the 12 RBI, a large portion of the offensive support. Del Rosario got his first home run of the season. Rosario continues to put in the work to continue impacting the team. Since May 17, Rosario has had a run in all but one game, and hits in seven of ten games. His batting average has improved from .176 to .206 in those seven games. The downfall of the Mussels this week was not their offense. Today, they got another eight runs over the last half of the game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the offense of Lakeland. The offense wasn’t shut out, even if they didn’t run up the board, they were able to compete and keep up, but Lakeland was able to get around the Mussels pitching. It was a rough week for the Mussels, and they have gone five games under .500, but they have a chance to get back at it on Tuesday at home against Bradenton. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Angel Del Rosario 1-for-3, 2 R, 3 RBI Pitcher of the Day Trent Baker: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, BB, 4 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Cleveland @ Minnesota (6:40 PM CST) - TBD Saint Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - TBD Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Bradenton @ Fort Meyers (6:05 PM CST) - TBD F-ORI @ F-Twins (10:00 Am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the roster, and discuss Sunday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Let’s talk about hitting. The Twins' hitting has been exceptional lately. There has been more patience at the plate, a lot of “small ball” that has put games in the 'W' column and the timely long ball. Everyone has been making adjustments at the plate, after the dismal start to the season in which making weak contact and leaving guys on base was the norm. Amid a recent uptick in offensive momentum, one of the most noticeable sparks has come from Trevor Larnach, whose subtle yet strategic adjustment to his swing has started paying dividends at the plate. While the change may have flown under the radar at first, its impact is becoming increasingly clear—both in Larnach's individual performance and in the boost it’s giving the team’s overall production. Between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Trevor Larnach made a deliberate adjustment to his swing that’s paying off in a big way—specifically, in his attack angle, one of the new metrics offered by Baseball Savant. Larnach has flattened his bat path and altered his timing. His swing tilt has gone from 40° in both 2023 and 2024 (one of the steeper swings in the league) to 36°, which means that his bat is coming through the zone closer to horizontal. That's helped him bring down his whiff rate on high pitches, where a flat swing is necessary to get to the ball. (His 2024 whiff rates by location are on the left; 2025 is on the right.) He's also tweaked his attack angle (the vertical angle, relative to the ground, of the bat barrel at contact), bringing it down from 11° to 7°. This has to do both with his swing change and an approach adjustment, to use the whole field. In 2024, Larnach’s average attack angle hovered around 11°. That allowed him to make much more consistent contact than in the past, without sacrificing power. He had a peculiar but successful slugging profile, but it seems that power isn’t his concern anymore, as much as is creating space between himself and the front of the plate, trying to cover the outside part. In previous seasons, Larnach’s more pronounced uppercut swing often left him vulnerable to pitches away; the steeper angle meant his bat covered more vertical space but less horizontal ground through the hitting zone. Heading into 2025, he’s worked to lower that attack angle into the 7-8° range, optimizing his contact for more direct output. He's paired a flatter swing with timing that shows a greater willingness to risk being late and to hit the ball hard the other way when he's right. You can see this in how he addresses the ball, physically, at contact. In 2024, on his followthrough, he held his right wrist at a sharper angle, trying to maintain control of the barrel and working it uphill through the ball. This season, he has flattened out the wrist to slightly square up on the ball. The change hasn’t just improved his contact rate (albeit slightly), but he’s second on the team in home runs (7) next to Byron Buxton. Larnach is still hitting the ball hard (though less hard than last year); he is making contact; and he's getting on base. So what is the problem? Or, is there a problem? Looking at his projections, what’s happening on the field is different than what has been expected. Along with his attack angle dropping, so has his bat speed and his exit velocity. He is coming at the ball a little more directly, so there could be an argument that when he does cut under the pitch, there is less power, and now his ground balls have less chance of sneaking through while his flies tend to go to the big part of the park. This is not to say his production isn’t good, because he is one of the best producers on the team, but if one wanted to get picky about it, as he works through the new swing, and gets more comfortable with the angle, he could potentially generate hard line drives to left and power from center around to right, without the automatic outs on grounders to second. That might just require more time, to work on timing. View full article

Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Box Score Starting Pitcher (kind of): Joe Ryan 5.0 P, 3H, 3ER, 2BB, 4K (89 pitches, 51 strikes (65%)) Home Runs: None Win Probability Chart (via Baseball Savant) The Twins took on the Guardians today…again. Or still? Finally? The Twins and Guardians have had a rough go this week, thanks to the weather. First, Monday's game was delayed and (eventually) suspended by rain, pushing things to Tuesday. There were dogs at the game for Bark in the Park, but sadly for all the good boys and girls, they were rained out. Then Tuesday's 1.7 remaining games were also banged. The innings that they did play on Monday with Bailey Ober on the bump gave the Twins a 2-1 edge to take into Wednesday, but Joe Ryan would take over for Ober, keeping things somewhere within shouting distance of normal. Monday was wet and gross from the start, but still, the first three innings were played. Ober looked good on the mound, and the Twins answered an early Cleveland tally with individual ones in the first and second. A misplay off the wall by rookie Carson McCusker made Cleveland's run possible, but their lead wouldn't last. The Twins got one back on an RBI single by (who else, lately?) Ty France in the bottom half of that inning, after Ryan Jeffers set the table as the leadoff man against lefty Logan Allen. Willi Castro joined the team in this game and was looking good. He missed a very short time after taking a foul off his knee, but that didn't stop him from legging out a double to help the guys score in the bottom of the second, putting them up 2-1 before the rain ruined the hit parade. The game picked up right where it left off in the fourth inning Wednesday, and Joe Ryan came out looking prepared as ever. For him, it was as if he was starting in inning one. One of the hardest things for pitchers is all the issues with being routine, and changes in schedules can cause body issues, but Ryan and the offense were (mostly) ready. Ryan did work his way around the corners with Carlos Santana to get started. His former teammate was patient as always, and he waited for the perfect pitch. Ryan kept the ball low and in the zone, and Santana finally met Ryan where he was at. His home run to right field knotted things up, and signaled a trend that would continue for Ryan throughout the day: slightly diminished stuff. Per the usual with the Guardians, nothing is ever easy. In the bottom of the fourth (which still felt a lot like the first), the Twins had a big answer for Santana's homer. With a righty taking over, Kody Clemens pinch-hit for McCusker, and promptly cracked an RBI triple to reclaim the lead for Minnesota. Harrison Bader hit a sacrifice fly to score Clemens, doubling the lead. Insurance is always great against this Guardians team, because the magic they possess to win is deep, dark stuff, not to be trusted. After that, Ryan (with the help of Ryan Jeffers) settled in nicely. Despite diminished velocity, Ryan worked in and out of trouble. Jeffers caught a foul tip that ricocheted off his own body a time or two, to convert a key strikeout. Later in the contest, he threw out a would-be base-stealer. The bottom of the eighth was almost part of the new routine for the Twins. The small ball aspect has been the greatest part of this season for the team. Singles from Trevor Larnach and Jonah Bride set the table, followed by a beautifully laid-down bunt from Clemens to advance Keirsey. Bader brought pinch-runner DaShawn Keirsey Jr. home on a single to left, flared just over the drawn-in infield. The Twins seemed to have more than enough cushion, but who are we kidding? it’s the Guardians, and it’s going into the ninth and more black magic was about to ensue. Ryan was pulled off the mound, after putting the first two batters of the inning on base. Jhoan Duran came in, registering his first out, before everything really (if only temporarily) got away from the Twins. Duran gave up a single to Nolan Jones, which scored Ramírez, trimming the lead to 5-3. A wild pitch from Duran subsequently moved everyone up, and Bo Naylor then brought home both runners with a huge, game-tying hit. It seems like the Twins never get a break with the Guardians. Thankfully, Duran escaped without allowing further damage. Cade Smith took the mound to start the bottom of the ninth, and movement in both pens started to happen. With one out, Ty France took one for the team, going to first via his seventh plunking of the season. Keirsey flied out, leaving it to Jonah Bride to extend the rally. Bride was able to get on base, though, and pinch-runner Ryan Fitzgerald replaced France for the opportunity to bring home a winning run. Clemens, then, got to play the hero. His slicing line drive got over the glove of center fielder Angel Martínez, and Fitzgerald scored the winner. Clemens has been a huge factor in the Twins winning with players like Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton being out. Both players are starting to make their way through concussion protocol, Correa is further along, but the peace of knowing that their teammates have their back and can keep the fire going has to be a great feeling. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Image courtesy of © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 26-21 St. Paul Saints: 22-20 Wichita Wind Surge: 22-17 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 22-16 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 19-20 TRANSACTIONS The Saint Paul Saints made the following roster moves: They have activated RHP Randy Dobnak from the 7-day IL; and outfielder Carson McCusker was selected by the Twins and left Iowa to meet them to finish off the Brewers series to replace Byron Buxton, who is on the 7-day IL with concussion symptoms. RHP Zebby Matthew has also been recalled by the Minnesota Twins. The Twins Danny Coulumbe suffered a forearm strain and is on the IL, making way for Matthews, although the latter will really be taking the place of Simeon Woods Richardson in the starting rotation. LHP Christian MacLeod was transferred to Double-A Wichita. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Iowa 1 Box Score The Saints and Iowa game was scoreless through three. Both Andrew Morris and Jordan Wicks did an outstanding job of controlling the game from the mound early on. Morris, through two, had four strikeouts and only one walk and wouldn’t give up a hit until the third inning. Morris was 52 pitches deep by the end of the third, but maintained his composure, adding two more strikeouts to his stat line. The Saints got up on the board first. Edouard Julien drew a walk, moving up Will Howard to second, and a hard-hit single from Mickey Gasper scored Howard for a 1-0 lead. Morris stuck it out through five innings, scoreless—one of the best games he has pitched this season. He ended the game with only 71 pitches, and eight strikeouts. He was relieved in the sixth by Randy Dobnak, to spare Morris having to face the lineup a third time. Dobnak gave up a single to start the sixth, but a throwing error by third baseman Jose Miranda allowed Iowa's Kevin Alcántara to get to first, advancing Chase Strumpf into scoring position. Dobnak finally got the first out of the inning, but the next hitter, James Triantos, drove in Strumpf, and the game was tied, 1-1. The seventh inning looked like the momentum would swing back to the Saints, starting with Emmanuel Rodriguez making it on base after being hit by pitcher Jack Neely. During Jeferson Morales's at-bat, Rodriguez stole second. Morales struck out swinging, though, which turned out to be the emblem of the frame. The Saints got runners on second and third with one out and had the bases loaded with two, but a bad 3-0 swing decision by Jose Miranda helped defuse the rally. The entire inning there was someone on base, but just no ability to bring anyone home. The pitching staff of the Saints were truly the MVPs of the game. Pitcher Kyle Bischoff came in to replace Dobnak. Dobnak didn’t allow any more runs after the game-tying tally, and registered three strikeouts and no walks to end the inning. The name of the game at this point is to shut down Iowa completely and hope that the offense can get the initiative back. Bischoff made it through the eighth to give the Saints that chance. Bischoff gave up no walks, no runs and no hits. The ninth inning finally went the way of the Saints. The consistent push of making things happen finally paid off. Morales reached first base on a fielding error from Triantos. Will Holland then hit his second home run of the season, scoring himself and Morales, to push the Saints up 3-1. Morales and Holland were the most consistent of the team on the lineup Sunday with their ability to get on base at the right times. The Saints kept Iowa from scoring, and Richard Lovelady came in to do the job. He shut down them down in a 1-2-3 fashion, keeping the Saints from going into extras and securing the win. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 15, Arkansas 7 Box Score The first inning gave Wichita the start to finish out this series strong, but calmed down after getting four runs early on. The first inning started out with Kala’i Rosari getting his sixth double of the season to score Tanner Schoebel. A line drive and a sac fly from Noah Cardenes and Ben Ross, helped secure a three run lead 3-0 at the end of the first. The Windsurge scored again in the third inning, a single that scored Rosario, the man who got it all started in the first. A full circle moment early in the game giving them a 4-0 lead. There wasn’t much action from either side of the ball over the next XX innings. Trent Baker pitched four solid innings, only giving up the one run and striking out four. Arkansas was on the board 4-1 when Baker came out of the game, replaced by Pierson Ohl starting the fifth. Ohl cycled through seven hitters and 29 pitches, struggling heavily in the fifth inning. Arkansas loaded up the bases with a handful of singles and two doubles to close the gap and tie the game 4-4 before getting out of the inning. The fifth inning broke the game wide open for Wichita! Some of the most excitement the team has had all season started out with two walks from Noah Cardenas and Ben Ross, followed by a single from Tyler Dearden to score Cardenas, putting Wichita back in front 5-4. A wild pitch and HBP from Arkansas pitcher Peyton Alford and no outs, triggered a pitching change to try and eliminate the damage. The Windsurge did not let up. More than the pitcher being bad, the offense was cooking and they had been very consistent throughout the game. Joel Ortega, with no outs, got a single, scoring Ross, and a double from Tanner Schoebel, his 10th of the season looked like the insurance needed to win the game with the game being at a 9-4 lead for the Windsurge, but Kyler Fedko wanted in on the fun and cranked his eighth home run on the season to widen the gap 11-4 for the Windsurge. Rubel Cespedes continued the threat with another double, but Arkansas pitcher Taylor Ford finally got the three outs he needed to end the inning. Arkansas could not make back the runs, or get on base, but back in the top of the 6th, the Windsurge got another two runs pushing the dreams of catching back up for Arkansas further down the drain. They were now trailing the Wind Surge, 13-4. The Windsurge continued to dominate behind the plate. They continued to get hits in the next three innings, giving them a dominating lead of 15-4. Everyone on the Windsurge had a hit and a run, with Ortega carrying the brunt of the load with 3-for-5, 4 RBI, no strikeouts or walks. The Windsurge pitching staff kept things under wraps and only gave Arkansas a glimmer of hope to make a comeback in the eighth inning from pitcher Michael Martinez who struggled a little in the eighth. Martinez got started right away hitting Caleb Calli to take first, followed by a double and a triple with no outs, scoring two before being replaced by Joel Cesar. Cesar came in with no outs and managed to only allow one more run, before shutting down the rest of the inning. The Surge won 15-7. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Peoria 7 Box Score Pitcher Chase Chaney struggled heavily in the first inning of the game against Peoria, giving up six hits and four runs. The Kernels could not get any offense going in the game. They had remained scoreless through the seventh. only got two hits and three walks, and suffered 10 strikeouts from Peoria’s pitching staff. A double from Brandon Winokaur, his 11th of the season, finally got the Kernels out of a shut-out scenario and on the board in the eighth inning. The Kernels closed the gap to just a grand slam away at 5-1, but Peoria came back in the top of the ninth to score two more runs to gain a run back and take another, pushing the score 7-1. The Kernels pitching staff, as much as they were not the winners of the game today, a break down from the top: Chaney gave up the most runs at five, but also in the process of allowing runs, Chaney gave up only one walk and had three strikeouts. The two home runs were the crux of the day. Those home runs came with players on the bases, the first one with two players on and the second one with three players on. The singles weren’t anything that he couldn’t work out of and in fact at the top of the second, he allowed a wild pitch that moved hitters onto first and second base, but he got out of the inning with a double play and eliminated further damage early on. Chaney only has a 4.50 ERA and gets his first loss of the season. Chaney’s pitching today does not take away from the fact that if the offense is not going to make runs you are not going to win a game. Even PaulShawn Pasqualotto, only gave up two runs, and didn’t walk any, but only had one strike out. It’s a game of balance, and the Kernels are still far above .500. The fact that no one on the Kernels line-up is below .200 shows that they aren’t a bad team, they just couldn’t get around Peoria’s pitchers, who were absolutely lights out this game, with 12 strikeouts. Peoria has been struggling this season and settled well below .500, at this point in the season, a win for them is huge, and this series, Peoria took four of seven from the Kernels, winning the series. The Kernels get a day off before getting a chance to put a few more in the win column. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Jupiter 4 Box Score Both teams coming into this game are battling to crawl above .500 and there can only be one. The Mussels came out hot, all but one hitter saw the plate at the top of the Mussels first inning. The top of the first took 37 minutes, and also had three runs scored to start the game. At lead off, Damuery Pena took the first pitch deep off of pitcher Liomar Martinez’s 91 mph sinker for a homerun. The next two runs came off a double from Daniel Pena and a single line drive to Andres Valor, scoring Pena to put the Mussels up 3-0 before ending with a strikeout and flyout. The Mussels made an offensive substitution replacing Yasser Mercedes with pinch-hitter Daniel Pena and remained in the game as the catcher. Jupiter was slow to respond, but in the third inning a double and a one-out walk, prompted a mound visit as they closed the gap on the Mussels, 2-3. After the the mound visit, pitcher Jason Doktorczyk allowed Dillon Head to get ahead on the count with one pitch and singled on a line drive to right fielder Miguel Briceno, scoring Jesus Hernandez, and advancing Abrahan Ramirez to 3rd and Dillon Head to 2nd on a fielding error by right fielder Miguel Briceno. Doktorczyk managed to get out of the third with no more damage, but threw 14 pitches between two hitters before getting them both striking out swinging. The Mussels kept a healthy rotation of players at the top of the fifth. Starting with a single from Payton Eeles and two walks with Rayne Doncon and Daniel Pena to load the bases, staying ahead of the pitcher. A one-out sac-fly from Miguel Briceno scored Eeles, followed by a single from Maddux Houghton and Luke Napleton, scored two more to pad the score 6-2. Jacob Kisting replaced Doktorczyk before the sixth inning. Doktorczyk leaves on 74 pitches and only the two runs early on and nothing after. Doktorczyk struggled through some batters, but overall, kept the game in control to give the offense the chance to control their game. Jupiter closed the gap with two more runs in the bottom of the sixth 6-4, but the Mussels responded immediately in the seventh opening back up the lead 7-4. The top of the eighth the Mussels made another offensive substitution with Pinch-hitter Angel Del Rosario replacing Rayne Doncon. Rosario took and immediate walk and then stole his 17th base on the season to get the Mussels in a position to get some insurance that came from Daniel Pena on a routine grounder to score Rosario bringing the Mussels 8-4. The Mussels only went through three pitchers to end the series and Kisting registered his second win of the game and the Mussels got their 19th win to close in closer to .500. The Mussels line-up had a great day at the plate. Every plate appearance was productive by the line-up going 10 hits with eight runs, six of those runs were with the help of the six walks that were earned from the Jupiter’s pitching staff. Offensively, the Mussels continue to get better each game. The only player to not register a walk, run, hit or strike out was Yohander Martinez. Martinez has struggled this season, only three runs and 12 hits on the season and 14 K’s on 32 plate appearances. Clearly the Mussels aren’t concerned, but an all hitting line-up would sure push the gap closer on getting over .500. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Jorge Ortega helped push the Windsurge to one of their largest leads. He went 3-for-5 with no walks, no strikeouts and four RBI’s. An absolutely outstanding day. Pitcher of the Day Andrew Morris - Morris had an outstanding day for the Saints, keeping the game scoreless through five. 5.0 IP; 4 Hits; 0 R; 0 ER; 1 BB; 8 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, BB, K #7 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, RBI, BB, #9 - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP; 4 Hits; 0 R; 0 ER; 1 BB; 8 K #10 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, RBI, BB, K #13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 3-for-5; 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K #14 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, RBI, 1 BB, 1 K #18 - Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - (TWINS) #19 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 3-for-6, 3 R, 1 RBI, BB, 1K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Cleveland @ Minnesota (6:40 PM CST) - TBD Norfolk @ St. Paul (11:07 PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Fort Wayne (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CST) - TBD F-BRV @ F-Twins (11:00 Am CST) - TB Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the roster, and discuss Sunday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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Image courtesy of David Malamut (photo of Kaelen Culpepper) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 15-20 St. Paul Saints: 15-14 Wichita Wind Surge: 15-11 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 17-9 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 14-13 FCL Twins: 1-0 TRANSACTIONS The Mussels have added RHP Xavier Kolhosser from the FCL. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Columbus 2 Box Score Zebby Matthews took the mound to start this game. Matthews has had a really good start to his season, certainly one of the best pitchers in the Twins system. He had to work to minimize damage in this game. In his four innings, he gave up two runs on seven hits. He walked two and had five strikeouts. Columbus got on the board first in the second inning starting with a double by Kody Huff. Matthews walked Milan Tolentino, and a sac-bunt from Christian Cairo, advanced Milan Tolentino to second and Huff to third with only one out. Matthews managed to get out with only one run scored by Huff on a single from Petey Halpin, and a pop-out to end the inning with 1-0 lead. Columbus has a very good small ball system (as you might expect from the Guardians' Triple-A team) and know how to get around Matthews, and snagged a solo home run by Will Brennan off of Matthews for a 2-0 lead. Matthews rebounded in the fourth giving up no runs. The Saints remained scoreless. The Saints hitters struggled against Columbus starter Parker Messic. Messic only gave up one hit to the Saints hitters and kept the game scoreless. Royce Lewis, who is on a rehab assignment with the Saints, fouled out and struck out in his first at-bats. The top of the fifth, Messick got the first two outs, but a solo home run from Will Holland got the Twins on the board, now down just 2-1. Lewis was amped to run the bases, and his bat finally caught up and finally got on base in the sixth to get some momentum. A failed pitch challenge, for what they thought was a strike, by Columbus resulted in a walk from Emmanuel Rodriguez. With runners on first and second, it prompted a pitching change for Columbus, and after that, a hard line drive single from Carson McCusker, scored Lewis to tie up the game 2-2 and ended with a ground out double play. Matthews pitched four innings, giving up the only two runs of the game. The bullpen consisting of rehabbing Michael Tonkin and Darren McCaughan, who spent time with the Twins earlier in the season, kept Columbus from getting any more runs on the board through a combined five innings. The teams stayed scoreless through the remainder of regulation, even with a few threats, both teams were relentless in their pitching and defense. The game rolled over into extras with Anthony Prato as the "ghost runner" on second. Ryan Fitzgerald got a single to join Prato on the bases. Lewis, who already had a hit and was the first run in, struck out, so Prato had to wait to come home. Jeferson Morales hit a sac-fly to give Prato the go-ahead run, putting the Saints ahead 3-2 in the tenth. Pitcher Brady Feigl came in on the tenth to put Columbus down and secure the win for the Saints 3-2. The Saints were the second team of the affiliates to secure a win to end their series, putting them back above .500. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Frisco 6 Box Score Wichita and Frisco both came out to battle for this final game of their series. The Surge already had three wins in the series so a win for Frisco would be a split series at worst. Seth Update: Frisco was not going to go down without a fight and immediately started attacking starter Christian MacLeod, almost literally. Here's how the bottom of the first went according to Gameday: Why did I highlight and make lines and circles? Well, their sentence reads fairly simply. But I watched it. I went back and watched it a few times. First, if 95 mph is a 'soft line drive' than I can't imagine if it had been hard hit. Next, you'll notice that the ball was lined to left fielder Tyler Dearden. Yes, that is where the ball ended up, AFTER it deflected off the side of MacLeod's head. And yes, apparently the runner scored from first. I didn't even notice that in watching it and watching the replays. Seemed pretty minor. I'll also note that MacLeod never went to the ground. He kind of turned and looked for the ball, and then just walked around in front of the mound. When the play was deemed dead, teammates calmly walked toward MacLeod, as if they didn't want to scare him with their overreactions. Brian Dinkelman walked out with the trainer. They talked to him for quite a while, did some concussion checks, and then surprisingly had him throw a couple of pitches. He gave the thumbs up and miraculously (or just luckily) was able to stay in the game. He struck out the next batter and the hitter was thrown out attempting to steal second base. MacLeod got the third out on a slow ground ball to second base. Then he came out for the second inning. The leadoff man reached on a bunt single, so MacLeod picked him off and then got the next two outs easily. In the third inning, He got a ground out and a line out, then the top of the order came up. Sebastian Walcott beat out an infield single. On a full count pitch the Keyber Rodriguez, he tripled to drive in a second run, before a ground out ended that inning. And that ended the day for MacLeod. His overall line certainly isn't all that exciting. He went three innings and gave up two runs on five hits. He walked none and had one strikeout. In total, he threw 47 pitches, 30 for strikes. This would be one of those cases where the box score, or even the game log, doesn't tell the full story. MacLeod's ERA now sits at 2.00 after this game. Mike Paredes came in. He didn't give up a run in the entire month of April on his way to being named the Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month by Twins Daily. That streak came to an end as he gave up two runs on three hits and a walk over 2 2/3 innings, pushing his season ERA all the way up to 0.77. John Stankiewicz came on and finished the sixth and seventh innings. Two of the four outs he recorded were on strikeouts. Jaylen Nowlin came in to start the eighth inning. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning (both strikeouts). Angel Macuare got the final out of the inning. In the top of the fourth inning, Tanner Schobel led off with a single and moved to second on a fielding error by the outfielder. Ben Ross had a "productive out", a ground out to advance Schobel to third base. Rubel Cespedes than lined a single to right field to drive in Schobel with the first, and what was ultimately the last, run of the game. The Rough Riders, on the other hand, displayed composure under pressure and executed with precision when it mattered most. Their pitching staff, allowed minimal hits and only walked two players. Their hitters were able to work the Surge pitching staff and really put the pressure on in the sixth inning when the momentum truly changed for the Rough Riders when they scored two runs to make it 4-1. They added two more in the eighth inning to give us the final score of 6-1. . KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, South Bend 1 Box Score The Kernels put on a master class, not only on the mound, but at the plate as well. The team absolutely dominated and finished out the series on a very strong note. Kernels pitcher Jeremy Lee’s only run allowed came in the first inning, starting with a double by Jefferson Rojas. The next batter, Carter Trice, ripped a ball to the gap into centerfield, that scored Rojas, putting the Cubs on the board first 1-0. The Kernels didn’t have nearly the hits that the Cubs did, but the hits that they had made a difference. The previous two innings, the bats were finding the ball, but couldn’t get anything in motion and finally in the third with two outs, Kaelen Culpepper got his second home run of the season, putting the Kernels on the board, to tie the game 1-1. The next inning, the Kernels continued to put the pressure on the Cubs, starting with a walk to Danny De Andrade who then stole his seventh base to give the Kernels a little wiggle room, and it ended up paying off. After a fly out from Nate Baez, Kevin Maitan ripped a double from the middle of the strike zone scoring De Andrade and taking the 2-1 lead. The Kernels returned the next inning getting runners on base immediately. Back-to-back singles from Jose Salas and Culpepper with no outs, and a double steal , gave the Kernels the threat to get runs on the board. Back-to-back singles from Kyle DeBarge and Brandon Winokur put the Kernels ahead 4-1. The Cubs brought in a new pitcher earlier in the fifth inning in an attempt to slow the Kernels, but two runs came in before there was even an out. With runners on first and third, on the sixth pitch to Khadim Diaw, he squared up on a two-seamer and singled to left field, scoring DeBarge. Nahas continued to struggle against the Kernels, a wild pitch advanced Winokur to third and Diaw to second only for hitter Baez to rip another single that would score another run, before being tagged out on a steal to take second. The Kernels led 7-1 leaving a five-run, fifth inning. Lee was replaced by Spencer Bengard to start the sixth. Lee had an outstanding day. He gave up one run on five hits. He walked none and had four strikeouts. After allowing the one run in the first, he shut the rest of the innings down. Bengard continued the same attack from the mound on the Cubs hitters. With them remaining scoreless through seven innings. Bengard stayed out through the eighth and struggled a bit, but got out clean to end the inning. Combined the two pitchers only gave up nine hits through eight innings to the Cubs. The Kernels had one inning left and continued to play cat and mouse with Cubs pitching staff. With two on base and two outs, Salas at the plate and Culpepper on deck, with the chance to just give a few more runs for funsies if they wanted. And they did. The Kernels got another two runs on a double from Salas. Bengard came out again into the top of the ninth inning with new hopes of shutting down the remainder of the game, and another win on the day for the affiliates. Bengard recorded the four-inning save. And in true Jedi fashion a 1-2-3 inning to strike down the Cubs. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Tampa 12 Box Score The Mussels got to face the rehabbing Jonathan Loaisiga on Sunday afternoon. The veteran Yankees pitcher had elbow surgery about a year ago and is just starting his rehab. On the mound for the Mussels was Dylan Questad. Both pitchers tossed 1-2-3 inning to start the game, but the Mussels got the scoring started in the second inning. Jay Thomason knocked his fifth double of the season. Loaisiga got a strikeout before his day was complete. Cole Zaffiro came in to pitch and gave up a home run to Miguel Briceno to give the Mussels a 2-0 lead. After the second out, Peyton Carr ripped a ball 397 feel to left for his second double of the season. Just like earlier, the next hitter, Jefferson Valladares hit his first home run of the season, scoring Carr and pushing the score to 4-0. Starter Dylan Questad made his third start for the Mussels in Sunday’s game. Questad carried a 0.00 ERA through his first two appearances, a total of eight innings, and his third appearance he gave up two runs over five, one-hit innings. In April, Questad only allowed two runs, two hits, five walks and had 18 strikeouts in 13 innings, but he struggled on the mound in this one. After putting two zeroes on the mound, Questad walked Marshall Toole to start the third inning. Toole stole second, and advanced to third a single line drive to left. Questad had no outs and runners in scoring position, certainly a situation he wanted to get out of, but the next hitter, Edgleen Perez hit a single to right field, scoring Toole to get Tampa on the board. He gave up four runs in the third inning which ended his outing. The fourth inning brought more frustration to the Mussels pitching staff. Kade Bragg replaced Questad, but gave up another two runs, before registering his first out, giving Tampa the lead 6-4. Bragg finally got three outs the last two swinging strikes, but threw 32 pitches in his quest to do so. Still, he went out for a second inning and did well. The Mussels hitters struggled after the four-run second, only for Thomasson to get another double, but be left stranded. The bats seemed to make contact, but continued to find the glove of every defender in the outfield and infield. The Mussels rotated through the pitching staff in hopes to keep the damage as limited as they could to give the offense a chance to catch up in the remaining three innings. Zander Sechrist relieved Bragg and really struggled. In his two innings, he gave up five runs (3 earned) on five hits. Xavier Kolhosser made his debut. He had three strikeouts in a scoreless, one-hit eighth inning. The Mussels started hot, but ultimately Tampa’s hitters munched their way right through the pitching staff to secure the win on the last game of this series. The Mussels dangle barely above .500 going into the next week 14-13. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day: Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, HR(2), R, RBI, SB(4) Pitcher of the Day: Jeremy Lee (Cedar Rapids): 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, 3 BB, 2K #7 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, RBI, 2 K (played CF) #8 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, HR(2), 2R, RBI, SB(4) (played 2B) #13 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-for-2, 1R, 0BB, 2K #14 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, BB, R, RBI, SB(14) (played SS) #16 - Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - 0-for-4, BB, 2K #18 - Carson McCusker (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, 4 K #19 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - 0-for-4, R, BB, 1K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Baltimore @ Minnesota (6:40 PM CST) - TBD Buffalo @ Saints (6:37 PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ NW Arkansas (11:05 AM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Dunedin @ Fort Meyers (6:05 PM CST) - TBD F-Pirates @ F-Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TB Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the roster, and discuss Sunday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! 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Image courtesy of © David Richard-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Pablo López 6.1 P, 4H, 2ER, 0BB, 6K (90 pitches, 60 strikes (67%)) Home Runs: Brooks Lee (5) Top 3 WPA: Trevor Larnach (.461), Pablo Lopez (.110), Brooks Lee (.047) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Mickey Gasper got his first-ever turn in the leadoff spot Wednesday night against the Guardians, as Rocco Baldelli tried again to jumpstart his sleepy offense. It didn't work in the first frame, though, as the visitors went down in order. Pitcher Pablo López is back for his second start since returning from the IL. His first start back on April 25, López went five innings, giving up 5 runs (2 earned) and striking out six, with 101 pitches. He doesn’t have a strict pitch limit, but the team certainly wanted to keep him under that number Wednesday. The top of the order for the Guardians didn’t work López too hard, even with a hard-hit line drive down the first base line by José Ramírez. López worked his way out of the inning with 21 pitches. The game was lackluster through six frames. Neither the Twins nor the Guardians could really get anyone on base, outside two walks and a Ramírez double. Both pitchers did their jobs. It felt like every batted ball was a routine, unthreatening out—something the Twins are all too familiar with, and seemed to slip back into during the game Tuesday night. That not-real-rain delayed game was bound to be a disaster, though. When you make a player go through their routine, only to sit for three hours for rain that never happened, it was no wonder it was a low-scoring game. Wednesday night's game was just poor hitting and routine defense on both sides. Kody Clemens made his first Twins start at second base, and looked good there. He's a versatile defender, but if he's going to be needed for any significant amount of playing time, he's best cast at second. López’s pitch count was well under control through five frames. At the end of the fifth, he had five strikeouts, had retired 13 batters straight, and had enjoyed four 1-2-3 innings; he'd fired only 64 pitches. Good starting pitching continues to be the strength of the club. The Twins have given the bullpen a lot of work early on, but that's begun to change. (Unfortunately, it didn't change fast enough Wednesday night.) In the sixth, Byron Buxton reached on a two-out infield single. After Luis L. Ortiz knocked Carlos Correa down with a pitch high and tight, on the next pitch, Buxton took off for second base. He made it to third on an error by Bo Naylor, his seventh steal on the season and the 100th in his career. In the process, he joined Torii Hunter and Kirby Puckett as the only Twins to have 100 stolen bases. Sadly, the effort was wasted, with Correa striking out to end the inning. The seventh inning, sadly, was nothing but trouble. In a still-scoreless game, Ramírez cracked a leadoff double. A great catch by DaShawn Keirsey Jr. held the rally at bay momentarily, but on a dribbler back to the mound, López then committed a pivotal throwing error, overthrowing first base on what should have been a routine second out. Brock Stewart came out to relieve López, but offered no relief at all. A stolen base, a wild pitch, a walk and another steal put two more runners in scoring position. Then, the threat turned into an outright disaster with a three-run right-field homer off the bat of Bo Naylor. In a blink, the Guardians led 4-0. López should have stayed in. The argument that his error indicated fatigue or that he was at 89 pitches holds no water; he should have had the chance to stay in and work his way out of the jam. There were certainly poor calls that made the situation worse. Ultimately, though, the offense has to do their job. They didn't do it Wednesday night. Hunter Gaddis came in to relieve Cade Smith, and Brooks Lee ripped a home run just over the fence to give the Twins their first run. However, it stayed 4-1, as the eighth inning ended with two strikeouts on Gasper and Edouard Julien. The Twins got a reprieve in the ninth. The Guardians brought in Emmanuel Clase. Clase has been struggling this season, and he was off again Wednesday—but not enough for the offense to fully catch up. Larnach singled and eventually came home on a wild pitch to bring up the score 4-2, but Clemens struck out to end the game. What’s Next? The Twins finish out the series with a getaway game on their way to Boston to face the Red Sox. Simeon Woods-Richardson (2-2; 4.07 ERA) will be taking the mound against Ben Lively (1-2; 4.40 ERA) at 12:10PM CST. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Like the emotions of the fans, this game was up and down for three hours, but Trevor Larnach and Byron Buxton's grind shone through. Their big hits solidified the win. Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Box Score SP: David Festa 4.0 P, 4H, 2ER, 3BB, 5K (84 pitches, 52 strikes (64%)) Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (3), Byron Buxton (5) Top 3 WPA: Trevor Larnach (.389); Ryan Jeffers (.176); Ty France (.148) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) In David Festa's third start of the season, he worked a fairly uneventful first inning, allowing one baserunner but promptly picking him off to end the frame. Festa's bat-missing ability and sheer stuff at the back end of an injury-weakened Twins rotation has been a balm for the last two-plus weeks. The Twins faced pitcher Bryse Wilson, who had a few issues getting ahead in the count. Edouard Julien, Luke Keaschall and Trevor Larnach combined to load the bases with only one out. All three players were stranded, though, as another Correa line drive landed in a defender's glove for a double play to end the inning. It seems like even when Correa does something right, this year, it goes wrong. The White Sox threatened in the top of the second, with two outs, After a leadoff walk to Chicago rookie Edgar Quero, Miguel Vargas hit a two-out single to center field that sent Quero to third. On a pop-up near the Twins' dugout, though, Ty France made a fine catch to retire Brooks Baldwin and thwart the rally. The bottom of the second was a maddening remix of the bottom of the first: flyout, double, flyout, hit batter, walk, all to bring up Byron Buxton with the bases loaded again. Alas, Buxton was called out on strikes, and another chance went by the boards. The Twins would leave 13 runners on base for the game. Finally, in the third, the team managed to dent the scoreboard. Another Correa double play almost killed a promising rally, but an opposite-field single from Ty France brought home Luke Keaschall with the first run of the game. Meanwhile, Festa seemed to settle in, striking out three and allowing just two hits in the third and fourth, combined. Julien started the fourth with his fifth double of the season, battling lefty Brandon Eisert. Buxton struck out, but Keaschall advanced Julien to third and Larnach brought him home with a single to center. Both lefties came in and made magic happen against a left-handed pitcher. In the fifth, however, Festa hit a wall. He walked the eight-hitter and got entangled in a 10-pitch battle with pinch-hitter Bobby Dalbec, who eventually won that confrontation with a single. Suddenly, his pitch count was elevated, the Twins' lead was imperiled, and Rocco Baldelli went to his bullpen—only to find whatever the opposite of relief is. In the hands of Cole Sands, the inning absolutely unraveled for the Twins. Sands walked Joshua Palacios, then uncorked a wild pitch that scored Baldwin and moved Dalbec to third. A Texas Leaguer from frustrated would-be Tuesday hero Andrew Benintendi found the grass in front of Buxton, bringing home the tying run. One batter later, a Keaschall error allowed Palacios to score, and by the time the Twins stopped the bleeding, they were behind 3-2. Thankfully, Twins hitters don’t seem to give up easily. The bottom of the fifth was an instant answer, and the White Sox started to fall apart. France walked, Jeffers smacked a single to advance France, and a single by Brooks Lee scored France, with no outs and runners on first and second. The game was tied 3-3, The following inning, Larnach aimed a 9-iron well and gave the home team a 4-3 advantage. Griffin Jax came out to the seventh, looking more confident after his stellar outing Tuesday night. Jax cruised through the frame, with two punchouts. He seems to be back on track. The Twins got some much-needed insurance runs in the seventh. Harrison Bader walked, and with two outs, Buxton banged out a 414-foot, two-run homer for a 6-3 lead. Keaschall continued to terrorize the White Sox pitching staff on the bases. After a plunking put him on base, the Sox had the audacity to attempt back-to-back pickoffs against him. With their disengagements used up, Keaschall was off on the next pitch, for his fifth steal in as many tries—and as many big-league games. What’s Next? The Twins finish out the series at home with a day game. Chris Paddack (0-2; 7.27 ERA) will be taking the mound against Shane Smith (0-1; 2.82ERA) at 12:10 PM CST. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

The Mussels relied heavily on their pitching to dominate Bradenton this week, and it gave them a series win. The other affiliates added doubleheaders to their schedule due to rain. Image courtesy of © Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 7-13 St. Paul Saints: 7-10 Wichita Wind Surge: 8-7 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 9-5 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 8-7 TRANSACTIONS No transactions to note. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul x, Iowa x Box Score ****POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER**** Another double header to be scheduled at a later date WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita x, Box Score ****DAY OFF**** KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids x, Peoria x Box Score ****POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER**** Double header to be scheduled at a later date MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 1, Bradenton 0 Box Score The Mussels are hoping they will get a series win to end this stretch going into a new week. They had two previous shutouts against Bradenton and were in a good position to take the series. Pitcher Jakob Hall got his second career start for the Mussels on the mound against the Bradenton Marauders. In his April 10th appearance, he lasted 2 ⅓ innings and came out with some lower back discomfort, but appears to be feeling better. He went three up; three down, all on the ground to get started. The first inning was just a glimpse at how the rest of the game would go. Byron Chourio is back in the lead up spot with Jay Thomasson in second for the second game in a row. Chourio is very patient at the plate and can usually see five to six pitches an at-bat and got a walk to start today’s game in lead-off, the 17th walk for the Mussels this season. Thomasson hit a line drive force out to first baseman Axiel Plaz gunning to shortstop Konnor Griffin to get out Chourio. Thomasson stole second during Yasser Mercedes at-bat. Bradenton’s pitcher had a very rough time with the zone, he continued to allow the Mussels hitters to stay ahead in the count walking Mercedes. With runners in scoring position, Jose Rodriguez was walked, loading the bases after Valdez was behind on the count 3-0, bringing up Daniel Pena, the Mussels power hitter. Pena was the first victim of Veldez’s successful mound visit, getting a fly-out leaving all three players on base and no hits or runs generated. The first hit of the game came from Bradenton’s Johnny Severino in the third inning but a series of bad defensive plays threatened to let Bradenton get on the board. Second baseman Yohander Martinez, bobbled the ball in an attempt to get out runner Severino to first. Hall attempted to pick off Severino stealing second, but Martinez bobbled. Martinez picked up an error for the missed play. After some drama from Brandenton’s head coach over an out called at first for his hitter Andrew Patrick grounded to Thomason; but was called out at first, the Mussels got out of the inning with no damage. The game was scoreless, but the Mussels continued to carry momentum into the bottom of the fourth attempting to create scoring opportunities, but a swift double play from Daniel Pena line drive to pitcher Mendez to second baseman Jeral Toledo. Jacob Kisting came in for Hall and struggled a little bit in the fifth after his first ground out, he hit Patrick in the shoulder to get Patrick on first base, followed by a stolen base and then a walk from Joel Mendez. The Mussels got their second out from a Soloman Maguire force out to Carr, with Mendez as the victim of the out. The Mussels got out of the inning with no damage on a final fly out from Konnor Griffin. Going into a scoreless fifth, two of the only three hits of the day were by the first two guys up Chuorio and Bricenio. Bricenio walked with his appearance, and Chuorio got a single with only one out and Thomason coming up to bat. Thomason was 1-2 when Chourio decided to take off from second and was picked off at third, and Thomason got out swinging. Only one player had made it to third base, but continued RISP issues throughout the season continued today. Keeping the game scoreless through six. Mussels pitcher Devin Kirby started the seventh inning, retiring all three hitters all on the ground. Finally in the seventh there was a productive plate appearance for the Mussels. Carr walked and was replaced by Angel Del Rosario and on a pick off throw advanced to second on an error from first baseman Jose Garces. Del Rosario scored on a ground out from Martinez, getting on the board after seven long innings, the Mussels were up 1-0. For a second time, a Bradenton player’s base running ended in an out and manager Jim Horner came out of the dugout to express his frustration (for the second time this game) and this time it ended in his ejection. The argument came after Braylon Bishop was picked off at second, and an earlier double play where their hitter made it to first base, but they didn’t challenge the out. The Mussels have given Bradenton a run this week, and tension was bubbling over with Bradenton trailing 1-0 deep into the game. Bradenton had one more attempt to catch up to the Mussels in the top of the ninth, but pitcher Kade Bragg shut them down and shut out another game 1-0 for the third time this week. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Yohander Martinez (0H, 0R, 1RBI, 0BB, 1K) is the man to credit with the RBI for the day. His soft ground out to first allowed Pinch Runner, Angel Del Rosario to score the only run for the Mussels Pitcher of the Day Devin Kirby (2H, 0R, 0BB, 1K; 2.57 ERA) Kirby came in to relieve Jacob Kisting. Kirby had a great command of the plate and the one hit he did give up to Bishop, he picked him off trying to advance to second. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday. #3 - Luke Keaschall (St. Paul) - Postponed #15 - Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - 0R, 0H, 0RBI, 1BB, 1K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS White Sox @ Minnesota (6:40 PM CST) - TBD Indianapolis @ Saints (11:07 PM CST) - TBD Springfield @ Wichita (6:05 PM CST) - TBD Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Fort Meyers @ ClearWater (5:30 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the roster, and discuss Sunday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

The Twins rookie made huge waves in his MLB debut, but relief pitching drowned the team late in another devastating loss to the Braves. Image courtesy of © Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Chris Paddack 5.0 P, 3 H,1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (88 pitches, 57 strikes (64%)) Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (1) Top 3 WPA: Paddack (.174); Luke Keaschall (.085), Ryan Jeffers (.072) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The big headline in this game: Luke Keaschall joined the Twins tonight as the designated hitter, making his major-league debut as the team's No. 8 hitter. He was called up to replace Matt Wallner, the team's best hitter thus far who landed on the injured list with a hamstring injury. The pressure was on for Keaschall to help spark a struggling offense and he was ready to deliver. Coming off a series victory against the Mets that culminated with a walk-off on Wednesday, the Twins hoped they were building a little momentum as they headed into Atlanta to face a Braves that has struggled about as much as they have in the early going. Braves pitcher Bryce Elder appeared locked in the first inning, but back-to-back doubles from Carlos Correa and Ryan Jeffers soon brought the first run of the game. In his first at-bat, Keaschall got his first major league hit and his first RBI, scoring Jeffers to give the Twins a 2-0 lead and then stealing second for good measure. Keaschall would add a double down the left field line in his second at-bat, helping the Twins build a 4-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning. Things were moving along pretty smoothly up to this point. Chris Paddack allowed pitched well for a second straight outing, holding up the lead through his five innings of work. After a rough start, Paddack continues to bring down his ERA and look better each time out. His first game against the White Sox, he allowed nine earned runs. Since then he has a 3.21 ERA in 14 innings. Louis Varland came in to replace Paddack for the sixth inning. Paddack left with 88 pitches and just one run allowed. Varland stayed on the mound for mere moments getting the Braves out on defensive plays and striking out Sean Murphy to shut down the inning. Varland has been on fire this season, a testament to the work he's done with pitching coach Pete Maki to harness his potential as a reliever. Coming off an off day, the bullpen was fresh and fully stocked. Danny Coulombe came out for the seventh for Varland to keep the Braves from getting on the board. The Braves kept battling, but couldn't get around the defense from the Twins. Griffin Jax whose blown lead on Wednesday forced the Twins to win in extras, was Rocco Baldelli's choice tonight with a three-run lead in the eighth. Jax set down the first hitter with a strike out, but walked Marcel Ozuna and things snowballed from there. Matt Olson ripped a sharp line drive to right field advancing Ozuna, threatening with first and third and only one out. Ozzie Albies hit an infield single to Ty France, who dove for the ball, making a mistake by not letting Edouard Julien field it. Ozuna scored on the play. Jax followed with yet another walk, loading the bases, and got pulled in favor of Cole Sands. Back-to-back singles cemented the meltdown and put the Braves ahead 6-4. The Twins went quietly in the ninth, and another heartbreaking loss was in the books. Jax now has an 11.25 ERA on the season. What’s Next? The Twins are in Atlanta this weekend to hopefully pull off another series win. Simeon Woods Richardson (1-1; 4.30 ERA) will be taking the mound against veteran Chris Sale (0-2; 6.63 ERA) at 6:15PM CST. Post Game Interviews N/A Apple TV Bullpen Report View full article

Will someone, for the love of God, get Andie MacDowell and Bill Murray to fall in love with each other, so the Twins can stop starting 7-12 every year? Image courtesy of © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images It’s like Groundhog Day (1993), only instead of waking up over and over to another day of bad weather, it’s another season of bad baseball. At the end of last season, all eyes were on the White Sox, but it’s the Twins who are battling a 19-39 record since last August. Some things have changed, but some things (and people) have stayed the same. Let’s dive in. By the Numbers Despite talking a big game about changing the core of the team in October, the Twins front office made minimal changes in that regard. The players they did bring in—Danny Coloumbe (again), Harrison Bader and Ty France—happen to be three of the better producers of this young season. Bader and France, on paper, are doing more for the team than players like Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa. France has a stat line of .265/.324/.397, while Correa has batted .164/.227/.246. If we are looking at what has changed and what has stayed the same, the evidence suggests that change has been good. Maybe there should have been more of it. The fans were promised a solution to the problems that plagued the team last year; one was not provided. The Trio Last season, the Twins had no Buxton or Correa and a struggling Royce Lewis during that nightmarish final stretch. This season, there is no Lewis, and a struggling Correa and Buxton. This was supposed to be the trio that would carry the team each year, but they can’t even be on the same field for more than five games together. Do they all three have to be together to make something happen? Does this trio only work when they are together on the field and in the lineup? And doesn’t it feel, going even further back than 2024, like we’re going through the same cycles of losing them, in turns, over and over? Is there a problem with developing healthy cornerstone players here? Is it something the front office is doing wrong? Are they accepting too much injury risk when they evaluate potential draft picks, invest in players via extensions, or sign top-tier free agents? Realizing there are a lot of unanswered questions, we must then turn to the one thing that is a constant, the manager. Lost Faith in a Manager The team did hire a new hitting coach, but the lineup continues to struggle. Is it possible that the problem is with the manager? There have been louder-than-average whispers, the past three seasons, that manager Rocco Baldelli may be a portion of the problem. With all the same players being the cornerstone of the club, there is room to discuss the possibility that the players have lost faith in their manager, or that Baldelli's famously (and, generally, positively) consistent messaging has gone stale by having to be rehearsed to the same audience so often. This is a chicken-and-egg problem, which means it has no definitive answer, but throughout baseball history, when a group of players consistently underachieves, it usually winds up landing in the lap of the manager. There are believers in Baldelli, but there are also many who wonder why he's unable to get consistency from his players on the field. Last season, there were health issues, but there was also never a consistent “who’s playing” lineup, and the team could never get into a swing—pun intended. Keeping everyone involved has value, but so does assuring several players that they'll play every day, so they can prepare the same way for each game. The problem is, there's no one person to whom you can necessarily pin blame for errors, but as failures mount, someone will have to be held accountable. The collaboration between the front office and the manager and his staff is so seamless that they'll have a hard time pointing fingers at one another, but if the problems are things like playing too many matchups, pulling starting pitchers too soon, or doing too much roster churn, then little will change if the executive group fires Baldelli. Many of those things are their call, even more than his. Firing the players was an option, in a sense, last fall. Now, they've missed that shot, so a shakeup to leadership might be their only option. When players lose confidence in a manager's strategic choices—regardless of personal respect—it can lead to a breakdown in psychological cohesion and on-field execution. This disconnect may manifest subconsciously through decreased focus, hesitation in situational play, or reduced adaptability under pressure. Internalized stressors such as performance anxiety, role uncertainty, or dissatisfaction with team direction can compound these effects. The result is often a marginal decline in individual performance metrics and overall team efficiency, even if the effort level appears unchanged. Firing Baldelli isn't the answer, but it would be an answer. Not having the answers leaves the fans with more questions. Right now, it sure feels maddeningly, drive-off-a-cliff-in-a-stolen-van-with-your-favorite-celebrity-varmint possible that Groundhog Day will continue until the Pohlads finally sell the team and give everyone some relief. View full article

The Twins have their first home series win of the season, thanks to a bit of manager-encouraged aggressiveness and a whole lot of resilience. Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Box Score SP: David Festa 4.1 P, 5 H,0 ER, BB, 6 K (76 pitches, 51 strikes (67%)) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Cole Sands (.308), Danny Coulombe (.258), Jhoan Duran (.158) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) In his second start of 2025, David Festa got one fewer out than in the first one—but he might have pitched even better. Festa is up here for Pablo López, who is currently on the 15-day IL, with a hamstring injury. Like all young pitchers who come up to the Show, Festa had to go through some growing pains and adjustment periods last year, and he wasn't initially with the team this year. Only two games in St. Paul, he certainly didn’t have numbers as good as those of counterpart Zebby Matthews, but the team chose a second start in rotation for him over calling up Matthews Wednesday. He’s very well aware that this may not be a full-season engagement, but focused on making the most of each opportunity. The last time Festa saw Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso was July 30, 2024, and both went hitless against him. He continued to handle those two superstars (plus little old Juan Soto, sandwiched in between) very well, in the first frame. The Mets did give him a little commotion, top of two, with a line-drive double from Jesse Winker to right field. Brandon Nimmo’s single on pitch one was a fly ball to Harrison Bader, who quickly hurled the ball home from left to get Winker out at home, eliminating the opportunity of the Mets getting on the board. Festa continued to stay solid, but the Mets' bullpen game was equally effective early. The Twins remained hitless throughout two, getting their first hit in the third: a single from Bader, followed by a bloop ball in the gap in the outfield, by Edouard Julien. Both Bader and Julien saw the opportunities to exploit the Mets defense. Seeing no one at second base, Julien made it to second and Bader landed on third. Both Bader and Juien’s aggression at the bases is nice to see, but a hard-hit fielder’s choice from Byron Buxton to third baseman Brett Baty allowed the Mets to nail Bader at the plate for the second out. A strikeout by Ty France left Julien and Buxton stranded on first and third to end the inning. Another fruitless inning from the offense. The Twins' defense has been sharp this season, reining in a lot of the baserunning opportunities from the opposition and helping out the pitching staff. Festa, meanwhile, worked out of some trouble in the fourth inning, keeping the contest scoreless. Festa came out to pitch the fifth, and got two on the bases with no outs. He struck out Hayden Senger for the first out. That brought the top of the lineup around a third time, though, and when Festa plunked Lindor to load the bases, manager Rocco Baldelli came out to relieve him with lefty Danny Coulombe. A smart decision in this instance, with Soto coming up. Soto hit a chopper to second baseman Julien—who tagged out Lindor then scrambled to first in time to get Soto out to end the inning. The Twins offense insisted on continuing to be aggressive in the fifth, with a bloop double from Willi Castro to start the inning—which was challenged by the Mets, due to the close meeting of Castro’s hand and the defender's glove. The call was called safe by the office in New York, giving the Twins a huge advantage to start the inning. Well done, Castro. Big move. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. moved Castro to third, bringing up Bader and prompting a pitching change for the Mets with one on and one out. Jose Butto gave up a hard line drive to Bader with his second pitch, scoring Castro, getting the Twins on the board. Buxton then doubled, scoring Bader to put up another run on the board. Ty France was the last out of the inning. France has been 0-10 in his last appearances, after what was starting to look like a hot streak for a few games. The aggressive baserunning and the Mets' lost challenge earlier gave the Twins an advantage in the sixth inning. Catcher Ryan Jeffers doubled, and Castro then hit a grounder that resulted in a race to the bag between himself and the pitcher, Butto. It was abundantly clear he did not beat Butto there, but it didn’t matter with the lost challenge. As the Mets tried to get the out there, though, Jeffers raced all the way home from second and extended the Twins lead to 3-0. Alas, Griffin Jax had another tough outing in a close game. The top of the Mets order strung together four hits and scored three runs against him to tie the game. It was almost worse; Bader came in to snare a line drive to stop the bleeding. Twins closer Jhoan Duran came out for the ninth and took care of business. The Twins would now have to use their aggression at the plate and baserunning to finish this game off and take the series win. They couldn't score in the bottom of the ninth, but Cole Sands induced a crucial double play in the top of the 10th and they avoided allowing even the placed runner to score for the Mets. That set up a chance to walk things off in the bottom half. The Twins started out with Buxton on second base and France at the plate. France, who was 0-4, could have been defeated, and rolled over, but instead, he forgot his last 12 at-bats and hit a clean single. The Mets didn't handle the ball cleanly, anyway, but there was no chance anyone was throwing out Buxton on a play like that. Twins win. Notes Willi Castro left in the eighth inning, with what Rocco Baldelli termed minor right oblique tightness. Baldelli also announced after the game that Matt Wallner will land on the injured list with his strained hamstring. What’s Next? The Twins have played 12 straight but get a day off and then head to Atlanta to play the floundering Braves. Chris Paddack (0-2; 9.49 ERA) will be starting against a pitcher yet to be determined (0; 0.00 ERA) at 6:15PM CST. The game will be on Apple TV+. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

The season of injuries is having impacts on the affiliates and while the bats are struggling on some teams, other teams are starting to figure it out. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Darren Bowen) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 5-11 St. Paul Saints: 5-7 Wichita Wind Surge: 6-3 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 6-3 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 4-5 TRANSACTIONS The whole organization is starting to feel the pressure of the losses and the injuries that continue to plague all levels of the game. The club made more roster changes in wake of Jose Miranda’s demotion and more injuries. The Mussels have eight players on the Injured List and are bringing guys up from the Complex across the parking lots starting with right-handed pitcher Xavier Kolhosser. On Sunday, he made his pro debut as the starting pitcher for the Mussels. First baseman Kevin Maitan has been transferred from Fort Myers to Cedar Rapids. Maitan is 24 years old and has played in three games so far this season, going 3-for-10, but has a strong presence defensively at first base. The former Top 100 prospect played for the Kernels last year after the Twins signed him out of independent ball. Wichita pitcher Jarret Whorff with the Surge after one day up at St. Paul. He threw three innings, allowing two runs. The Twins optioned infielder Jose Miranda after Saturday’s game against Detroit. Infielder Brooks Lee was called up to the Twins after completing his rehab assignment. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Omaha 5 Box Score Darren McCaughan returned to St. Paul. The 29-year-old had a nice showing in the majors and continued that during his Sunday start on the mound. McCaughan gave up six hits on the day, and two walks, but only allowed an unearned run. The bats of the Saints fell silent after two runs in the bottom of the third when Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a double that drove in Luke Keaschall and Jeferson Morales, giving the Saints a temporary one-run lead over the Storm. The next four innings moved fast, remaining scoreless from both sides. The top of the eighth is when the Saints pitching lost momentum. Huascar Ynoa loaded the bases and gave up four runs that started with an errant throw on a sac-bunt. Ryan Jensen ended the inning with a swinging strikeout from Harold Castro. The Saints had a small rally in the ninth inning. Armando Alvarez drove in Mike Ford to keep things interesting at 5-3, but it wouldn’t be enough. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Midland 2 Box Score The first few innings both teams attempted to get on the board first. Both pitchers were locked in and their defensive assists helped create quick, effortless outs. The first run of the game was a two out, solo home run from Midland’s Brennan Malone off Darren Bowen to get Midland up 1-0. Bowen gave up just the one run on four hits and a walk. He had four strikeouts and threw just 66 pitches, 42 of those being strikes. Bowen was replaced after four innings by Mike Paredes. The Surge caught up to Midland in the fourth inning. Allan Cerda ripped a hard hit line drive to right field for a triple to start the inning. Tanner Schobel came to the plate and for lack of better terms “does what he does” and hit a sac-fly to score Cerda to even up the score 1-1. The Surge lineup continued to produce and got some insurance runs in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, a wild pitch scored Cerda to put the Kernels in a one run lead, 2-1. The Kernels got two more runs on a Jake Rucker single, pushing up the lead to 4-1 before Midland made a pitching change that finally resulted in the third out, but not before a double from Andrew Cossetti scored Rucker to give the Kernels the 5-1 lead. Midland tried to get runs going in the eighth inning, but the Surge pitching staff kept the inning to only one run. The Surge are missing some key players, including a number of impactful prospects including Walker Jenkins and several pitchers. Those injuries had a huge impact on the lineup, but clearly the Surge powered through and came away with a series win, only allowing one win to Midland. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Beloit 7 Box Score The Kernels started out this bookend game to the series hot. The Kernels completely obliterated the Sky Carp’s pitcher in the first inning. To put it plainly, the Kernels hung seven in the first inning. The lineup showed exactly how small ball should be played. The inning started with singles by Kyle DeBarge and Brandon Winokur. Billy Amick walked before Gabriel Gonzalez drove in two runs with a single. Following a balk, Khadim Diaw hit a single to score Amick. Kernels 3-0. The chaos continued for Sky Carp. Diaw stole second base, but on a throwing error Gonzalez scored. Diaw made it home on a double from Danny De Andrade The Kernels were up 5-0 and there were still no outs. Nate Baez grounded out, but Misael Urbina followed with an RBI single that made it 6-0. Caden Kendle was hit by a pitch. DeBarge knocked his second single of the inning to drive in the seventh run of the inning. Brandon Winokur reached on a walk before the final two outs were recorded. The Kernels added another run in the second inning. De Andrade doubled and three Cedar Rapids batters were hit by pitches in the inning. The Kernels took advantage of every single opportunity to steal, walk and put the ball into play. Sky Carp pushed three runs across in the fourth inning. In the bottom of the inning, Brandon Winokur stole second base, but more important, DeBarge was on third base and scored on a wild pitch to make it 9-3. By the time the fifth inning rolled around the Kernels were up 9-3, all but two in the line-up had a run scored in the game. Six players had at least one RBI during the game. The runs on the board make those left behind on base easier to stomach. Through six, the Kernels had left eleven on base, but were able to capitalize on the stolen bases and errors by Sky Carp. In the top of the eighth, Juan Mendez came in to relieve Juan Mercedes who gave up three more runs allowing Sky Carp to inch closer to closing the gap. Kyle Hess led of the bottom of the eighth with a double. He later scored the Kernels’ tenth run on a Brandon Winokour ground out to first base. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Tampa 4 Box Score Both pitchers for the day were making their pro debut. Xavier Kolhosser had a rough first appearance with the Mussels. The Twins 13th round pick from 2024 out of St. John’s pitched three innings and gave up four runs, three hits (2 home runs), and three walks. Not ideal for a first start, but after the first inning, Kolhosser settled in and didn’t give up anymore damage and ended with six strikeouts in three innings. Pitcher Devin Kirby came in to relieve Kolhosser. The damage was done in the first inning, so the goal was to keep any further damage. Kirby has had three games this season, rocking a 0-0 record and a 9.00 ERA, doesn’t show the consistency that Kirby has but he got a chance to do that today. Kirby pitched two innings, with two hits, two walks and three strikeouts. He did not allow any runs, got out of a potential run situation and lowered his ERA to 3.00 at the end of his appearance. Kirby has been putting in the work and gave the Mussels the chance to bounce back. The lack of runs, do not account for the lack of hits, newly minted Tampa starter, Gage Ziehl, kept the Mussels from gaining any momentum to create runs. The Mussels were continually getting the bat on the ball. Jay Thomasson, Daniel Pena, Isaac Pena and Byron Chourio were the biggest producers of the game. Isaac Pena registered a single right at the top of the sixth followed by Chourio getting on base with a walk advancing Pena to scoring position. Pena continued to advance on a sac-fly from Thomasson. Tampa’s pitcher rattled at this point and let the rest unravel by hitting his second player Aaron Sabato and then walking in the run Isaac Pena getting the Mussels on the board 1-4. The Mussels tried to rally back, only securing one more run in the bottom of the ninth, losing the game 4-2. The team went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base. While the reporting on these numbers may seem fruitless, it does speak a lot to the situational hitting of the team and the defense that they are up against. There are a lot of hits that continue to happen, across all levels of the club where there are lots of bats on balls, but they struggle to produce runs, fizzling out to ground outs, soft hits to the infield and sac-flies. The hope is that as the days go on, the consistency will help them find a way to convert to runs. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Gabriel Gonzalez (1H, 1R, 2RBI, 2BB, 0K) Gonzales was a playmaker Sunday. He was always on base to help with steals, scoring and a place holder to keep the score up. Gonzales continues to grow his stats and his impact on the team. Pitcher of the Day Mike Paredes (0H, 0R, 2BB, 3K; 0.00 ERA) came after four innings and only one run given up by Bowen. Parades had three scoreless innings getting his first win of the season. He has a total of eight innings pitched, seven strikeouts and a .60 Whip. His pitching more than likely kept the opposing team from adding more runs. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Sunday. #1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - Injured List (ankle) #2 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0R, 1H, 2RBI, 0BB, 2K #3 - Luke Keaschall (St. Paul) - 1R, 0H, 0RBI, 1BB, 0K #4 - Charlee Soto (Cedar Rapids) - Didn’t Pitch #5 - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - Didn’t Pitch #6 - Marco Raya (St. Paul) - Didn’t Pitch #7 - Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (wrist) #8 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 1R, 2H, 1RBI, 2BB, 0K #9 - Cory Lewis (St. Paul) - Didn’t Pitch #10 - Connor Prielipp (Wichita) - Didn’t Pitch #11 - Dasan Hill (Fort Myers) - Didn’t Pitch #12 - C.J. Culpepper (Wichita) - Injured List #13 - Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) - 2R, 2H, 1RBI, 2BB, 0K #14 - Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins) - No games yet. #15 - Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers) - Didn’t Play #16 - Rayne Doncon (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (oblique) #17 - Billy Amick (Cedar Rapids) -1R, 0H, 0RBI, 3BB, 2K #18 - Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) - Didn’t Play #19 - Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) - 1R, 1H, 2RBI, 2BB, 2K #20 - Ricardo Olivar (Wichita) - 0H, 0R, 0W, 2K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS NY Mets @ Minnesota (7:40 PM CST) - Joe Ryan (1-1; 2.65 ERA) Saints @ Iowa (6:38 PM CST) - Zebby Matthews (1-1; 1.80 ERA) Wichita @ Tulsa (6:05 PM CST) - Ricky Castro (0-1, 20.25 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (7:35 PM CST) - TBD Bradenton @ Fort Myers (7:05 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the roster, and discuss Sunday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article