Sherry Cerny

Image courtesy of © Brad Rempel-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Joe Ryan - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K (93 pitches, 61 strikes (59%)) Home Runs: Kody Clemens (9) Top 3 WPA: Joe Ryan (.350); Willi Castro (.125); Louis Varland (.094) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins pitching staff has been dismal throughout the month. It seems like in every game, there is a situation where a pitcher struggles and runs up their pitch count in some untenable way, or serves up meatballs and watches opponents feast, giving the offense a Herculean task trying to pull out a win. Joe Ryan started Wednesday night against Seattle, though, and although he needed 41 pitches to get through the first two innings, he seemed mostly in control. His appearance in the third was much quicker and better, getting out with only 10 pitches and no Mariners runs. This was the first time this series that the pitching staff has kept the Mariners from scoring in the first three innings. All things being equal, the Mariners also kept the Twins from making any progress at all. Seattle has been exceptional of late. Everything about the Mariners has been firing on all cylinders this season. Since 2022, they have continued to be a postseason threat, and until Houston’s most recent run, they were first in the American League West. They still look like a team who can hang around in that race The Twins, who climbed the standings in May and were able to stay above .500 for three weeks, are more of an enigma. All the parts are there, it seems, but if the pitching is great, they don’t get runs. If the pitching is off and giving up a lot of runs, they get runs, but not enough to win. Ryan has been the closest thing to a steady presence in the run prevention corps this month, and that continued Wednesday. The only issue was his high pitch count. He saw 93 pitches by the sixth inning, but he also struck out Cal Raleigh three times, which is half the battle against Seattle. Raleigh is a menace at the plate against the Twins. He’s had a home run against the Twins in the past five games the two teams have played, and entered Wednesday night on a torrid streak overall. Ryan gave up a hit to Randy Arozarena in the fourth, but Christian Vázquez cut down Arozarena on a steal attempt. That nipped the biggest threat the Mariners might have mounted all night in the bud. An error by Ty France put Luke Raley on first base, but Ryan shut down the inning by striking out Donovan Solano. Ryan was exactly what the Twins needed him to be Wednesday night: a stopper. The game remained scoreless, until Byron Buxton happened. Buxton got his first hit of the night in the bottom of the sixth, and continued to take large leads during Trevor Larnach’s at-bat, putting pressure on Mariners pitcher George Kirby. When Larnach hit a might-have-been double-play ball to the right side, Buxton was already in motion, landing safely at second despite the groundout. Buxton was feeling extra spicy tonight on the bases, and kept Kirby on his toes throughout Willi Castro’s at-bat. The mental games paid off. On the ninth pitch, Castro pulled a grounder between first and second that scored Buxton, giving the Twins the first run of the night, 1-0. The inning ended with a groundout from Carlos Correa, but the Twins had all the runs they'd need. Louis Varland stepped in to relieve Ryan in the seventh inning, and kept anxiety and stress to a minimum. He walked Arozarena, but struck out Raley, and the remaining batters fell victim to the Twins' defense to end the inning. The Twins would have another chance at the bottom of the seventh inning to get some insurance, in hopes of securing a win. Both Matt Wallner and Ty France struck out to start the bottom of the inning, but Kody Clemens stepped up to the plate and gave the team exactly what they needed. Clemens knocked a two-out, oppo-taco blast to left-center to give the Twins another run, for a 2-0 lead. Griffin Jax dispensed with the Mariners on nine pitches in the eighth inning. In the ninth, Jhoan Duran came back out for his first save opportunity since June 8. He locked it down as though it was still an everyday thing, including a strikeout of former teammate Jorge Polanco. What's Next The Twins finish out the long four-game series with Seattle Thursday, a getaway game before heading back into a divisional series with the red-hot Detroit Tigers. Simeon Woods-Richardson (2-4; 5.06 ERA) will be taking the mound against Emerson Hancock (3-3; 5.43 ERA) at 12:10PM CST. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Image courtesy of © Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images Box Score SP: David Festa 6 IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB, 4K (86 pitches, 51 strikes (59%)) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (11) Top 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (.341); Willi Castro (.253); Brooks Lee (.090) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) David Festa took his second turn since being recalled to replace the injured Pablo López Wedneaday, facing the Rangers for the second time in his short MLB career. The first game was Aug. 17, 2024 in Texas, when he pitched five innings, allowing six hits, two runs, and zero walks. He also recorded six strikeouts. It was the last real peak in the Twins' up-and-down season; their freefall began the next day. Festa had a solid first inning, and a much better start than his appearance against the Athletics last week. He pitched five innings, only gave up two runs and struck out four. The first run came from Marcus Semien, who took him deep on a 1-1 a changeup leading off the second and got the Rangers on the board first, 1-0. Jonah Heim got ahead of Festa in the count and got his fourth double of the season the next inning, and another double from Josh Smith, scored Heim to push the score up 2-0. It could have gotten ugly, right then and there—but it didn't. What might have been a two-out, two-run double by Semien to break another game open in the top of the third instead became Byron Buxton's latest chance to prove his greatness. The Twins bats were a little slow to catch up tonight, but once Buxton got the party started with that catch, he knew how to keep it going. Bottom of the third, a double from Brooks Lee, and a walk from Christian Vázquez set the table. Buxton feasted, with a 479-foot home run to left-center to flip the scoreboard and utterly electrify the crowd. Especially after last night, being ahead on the scoreboard and being able to answer back gave the team the steam needed to move forward. And move forward they did. In the fifth, a Buxton double chased Rangers starter Jack Leiter. He'd be retired on a fielder's choice, but later in the frame, with two outs, Willi Castro lashed a line-drive triple, scoring both Ty France and Matt Wallner for a 5-2, lead. For good measure, Carlos Correa hit his 13th double of the season, scoring Castro and giving the team one more insurance run and Festa a little more room to come in for his final inning up 6-2. Festa finished the sixth inning starting with a strikeout, followed by two defensive outs. Festa pitched an absolute gem of a game after a shaky second inning, and got the well-deserved run support he needed. Festa was relieved by Brock Stewart for the seventh and Stweart only threw 13 pitches to get out of a very clean inning. Louis Varland replaced Stewart for the eighth and battled a little bit to get out of the inning. He allowed two singles, before finally striking out Wyatt Langford for the first out. With two on base and only one out a mound visit to discuss exit strategy took place, and like it was planned two defensive outs ended the inning, with no damage. The Twins ended the night with closer Johan Duran, who didn't earn a save thanks to the cushion he had to work with but shut things down nicely. What’s Next? The Twins finish out the series with a rubber match, together with a getaway game before a series in Houston. Bailey Ober (4-2; 3.78ERA) will be taking the mound against Patrick Corbin (3-5; 3.52ERA) at 12:10PM CST. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Image courtesy of © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Box Score Starting Pitcher: Pablo López 5 IP, 4H, 4ER, 2BB, 3K (95 pitches, 63 strikes (66%)) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Pablo López (-.184); Royce Lewis (.-127); Ryan Jeffers (-.075) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) There are few things less comfortable than touching rubber on a hot day, and the Twins never looked at ease during their rubber match with the Rays Wednesday. The game-time temperature was over 90°, with a heat index more in the range of a Jhoan Duran fastball. The Twins put together a tepid first-inning rally, but nothing came of it. That would turn out to be emblematic of the whole game. Pablo Lopez started out hot—literally and figuratively. Pablo gave up a single off his sweeper to Brandon Lowe, but got a force out at second. The temperature on the field was 119 degrees at the start of the game and the water in the dirt was maybe just a little too much. When Pablo went to recover the ball, he slipped and disturbed the sand. The crew came out to put in a little mud patch and the game resumed. López cruised through three frames, but he was visibly off, even then. The Twins ace labored heavily through the fourth inning, and the Rays were able to get on the board starting with a home run from Brandon Lowe. Jonathan Aranda made it on a single to right-center, and was brought home on another homer from Junior Caminero. The Rays were up 3-0 with no outs in the frame. A mound visit gave a very tired and sweaty Lopez a moment to breathe and catch up to himself. Chandler Simpson, who had reached on a single, stole second base and Lopez walked Kameron Misner, who stole second, in tandem with Simpson stealing third during a Danny Jensen plate appearance. Jensen’s hit was a pop fly to second baseman, Brooks Lee, which resulted in an out, and the two stolen bases were stifled. Cole Sands came out for the sixth inning and threw a quick 15 pitches to get out of the inning, a near-perfect inning. The Twins bullpen continues to be a menace to hitters, as Jorge Alcala proved in the seventh with another shutout, 11-pitch inning. Alas, after that quick clap of Tampa thunder, the game was never very much in doubt. There was a chance to tilt the balance in the seventh, with two runners aboard, but a Royce Lewis fly ball died at the wall in right-center field. That would be as close as the Twins came to scoring, let alone catching up. Carson McCusker, who joined the Twins last week, got his first hit of his career, but it wasn't enough. The Twins drop the series to the Rays, and now head to the West Coast to continue this 10-game road series. Unfortunately, they'll find an even better and more balanced opponent in Seattle. Maybe the change in weather will help. What’s Next? Minnesota is off Thursday, and their schedule will resume (hopefully, with one or two more healthy hitters at their disposal) Friday night. Zebby Matthews (0-1, 7.71ERA) will be taking the mound against a pitcher to be announced at a later time. The game will start at 9:10 pm CST. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Image courtesy of © Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Box Score Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan 6 IP, 5H, 1ER, 1BB, 5K (82 pitches, 52 strikes (64%)) Home Runs: Kody Clemens (5) Top WPA: Joe Ryan (.232); Carlos Correa (.119); Brooks Lee (.114) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins dropped the first game of the series versus the Rays 7-2 on Monday, but Tuesday night, they wasted no time getting out in front with Joe Ryan on the mound. Ryan responded with three scoreless innings to open the contest, although he needed some help from his defense along the way—including multiple gems from Carlos Correa. Trevor Larnach led off today, and punched out his seventh double of the season to start the game, followed by a single from Correa (who has had a hit in nine games out of the 16 he has played in May and is hitting .375 since coming back from his concussion). A sac fly from Brooks Lee scored Larnach to put the Twins on the board 1-0, as good hustle and a great slide got Larnach past the tag in time. Kody Clemens continues to be a menace. He swatted his fifth home run of the season in the top of the second, to widen the lead to 2-0. Rays pitcher Taj Bradley tightened up after that, allowing just the two runs. The next time he allowed a hit was in the top of the fifth (Clemens again), but that was it. No more for the Twins lineup. Ryan didn't have a bad day, but he didn't have an easy day, either. By the time he reached the fourth inning, Ryan was laboring. The Rays got ahead of Ryan in the count a few times, and had a lot of movement on the bases. It was also the fourth time they had someone on third base, and while the defense did their job chasing down hard-hit balls (highlighted by a diving catch in right field from Clemens), the Rays kept the pressure on. The Rays' Brandon Lowe, hit a hard double out to the right-field wall. A single from Jonathan Aranda scored Lowe, to cut the lead to 2-1. A mound visit was the Twins' attempt to give Ryan some time to breathe, but with two outs in the inning, Ryan hit José Caballero to put more on base. He got out of the jam on a fly ball to left, but ran up his pitch count to 68. A small side note: The defense had a little different look tonight. With Byron Buxton still out, Harrison Bader’s finger ailing and Royce Lewis on the bench, Clemens took over right field, Willi Castro was in left and DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. was in center. All of them acquitted themselves well, though Castro did lose the ball in the sky on a key single for Tampa. Ryan was back out in the fifth and took back command of his pitches, logging a 1-2-3 inning in efficient fashion. The heat and humidity wer certainly a factor in tonight's game: If a bat grabbed the ball, it traveled. In the top of the sixth, Bradley walked Ryan Jeffers, and Correa got on base with a single. Brooks Lee hit a grounder to Lowe at second. He tried to start a double play, but his throw was too high, off the upstretched glove of the shortstop and trickling into left field. The error scored Jeffers to get back the run the Twins had lost and restore a two-run lead, 3-1. Louis Varland came out to replace Ryan. Caballero hit a single against him, then stole both second and third. Jeffers attempted to pick him off at second and third, but was unsuccessful in each attempt, and the next ground out from Kameron Misner scored Caballero to close the gap again: 3-2. While the weather truly had a factor in tonight’s game to help move the ball along, Correa took every advantage that he could and squared up every chance. He went 3-for-4 and got his ninth double of the season. Correa’s aggressive hitting and baserunning gave the Twins a huge advantage, and a base hit from old reliable Ty France brought Correa back home again, getting back their run and stretching the advantage to 4-2. The one constant tonight was the striking out of Yandy Diaz. Every pitcher who came in dominated Diaz at the plate, and reliever Griffin Jax was no different. Jax’s relief appearances have been better and better, and against the Rays tonight, he shut them down to secure the lead heading into the ninth. Jhoan Duran came in to close out the game and keep things in the win column. The Rays brought the tying run to the plate in the person of Caballero, who hit a long fly ball to left, but it settled into the glove of Keirsey (who'd moved over in a defensive switch) for the final out. What’s Next? The Twins finish out the series tomorrow with the Rays. Pablo Lopez (4-2; 2.31ERA) will be taking the mound against Drew Rasmussen (3-4; 2.60ERA) at 12:10PM CST. Postgame Interviews Rocco Baldelli - Postgame Interview 5/27/2025"> Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

Oh THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Doncon is one of the only things keeping the Mussels going. I thought all the pitchers yesterday seemed to labor at some point. I think for me, the interesting thing between the Minors and the Majors is the length of innings and how many pitches they throw in such a short amount of time. And, I equally love how out of hand hitting CAN get in Minor Leagues. it's so exciting, but when it's against us, I hate it. ha ha

Yesterday was miserable, and I was out coaching baseabll in the morning/early lunch time and I was fried, so it was hard to finally positives ha ha. Walker Jenkins! yes, he is STILL on the IL. I have not heard anything about him either!

I absolutely will. I did NOT do well this article.

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