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Eric R Pleiss

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Blog Entries posted by Eric R Pleiss

  1. Eric R Pleiss
    The Twins enjoyed an off-day on Thursday after taking a three-game set from the division leading Kansas City Royals. In the Minor Leagues, the postseason is now in full swing.
     
    Lookouts Look-In
    Montgomery Biscuits @ Chattanooga Lookouts
    Jamie Schultz vs. D.J. Baxendale
    Final: Biscuits 3, Lookouts 4
     
    In the first game of the best-of-five series the Lookouts secured the victory on a walk-off single from Southern League MVP, Max Kepler. With two on and two out, Kepler hit a line drive single to right scoring a pair of runs and earning the Lookouts the victory.
     
    In front of a home crowd of 1,279 at AT&T Field in Chattanooga, Tennessee, D.J. Baxendale gave the Lookout fans seven and two-thirds innings of hope. Baxendale gave up a pair of early runs in the second, and another in the sixth but pitched into the eighth inning, before being lifted after 101 pitches. Baxendale gave up seven hits, three runs all earned. He walked none and struck out four. Baxendale was lifted for Nick Burdi, who struck out three in an inning and a third of work, but had to get four outs in the top of the ninth after a dropped strike three and an errant throw to first base from Stuart Turner. Leadoff man Shannon Wilkerson, and cleanup hitter Travis Harrison were both held hitless, as were D.J. Hicks, Adam Brett Walker, Stephen Wickens and Stuart Turner.
     
    The Lookouts offense only generated five hits, but managed to earn NINE free passes from the Biscuits pitching staff, leaving the Lookouts with plenty of chances to score. Jorge Polanco was 2-4 plus a walk with a run scored. Max Kepler's ninth inning hit was his only one of the game, capping a 1-4 night that include a walk and a pair of strike outs.
     
    The Lookouts are back on the diamond Friday night in Chattanooga for game two. The series then heads to Montgomery for the conclusion of the five-game series.
     
    Kernels Korner
    Cedar Rapids Kernels @ Quad Cities River Bandits
    Sam Gibbons vs. Brock Dykxhoorn
    Final: Kernels 3, River Bandits 1
     
    The Cedar Rapids Kernels have advanced to the Midwest League semifinals with a 3 to 1 victory over the Quad Cities River Bandits on Thursday night in front of 1,555 fans at Modern Woodmen Park. The Quad Cities River Bandits had the best winning percentage of all full-season teams in Minor League Baseball prior to being swept out of the postseason by the Kernels.
     
    Sam Gibbons gave the Kernels everything he had on Thursday night, pitching eight innings of four-hit one-run baseball. He struck out four and walked zero. Yorman Landa pitched two scoreless innings, struck out three, walked zero and gave up just a single. Nick Anderson came in to pitch the bottom of the eleventh and shut down the River Bandits to lock up the game and series victory for the Kernels.
     
    The Kernels went ahead 3-1 in the top of the eleventh inning on a bizarre series of plays, culminating with a Chris Paul single that plated T.J. White and LaMonte Wade. After a T.J. White walk to start the inning, LaMonte Wade dropped down a sac bunt right in front of home plate but the River Bandits' catcher Garrett Stubbs thought he had a chance to nab White at second but his throw was late and low and bounced into center field. White advanced to third on the throwing error and then Wade advanced to second after the throw to third got by the Bandits, putting runners at second and third for Chris Paul.
     
    The game winning hit capped a big night at the plate for Chris Paul. He was 3-4 with all three Kernels RBIs, plus a walk. No other Kernels hitter had multiple hits. Edgar Corcino, who had a chance to win the game for the Kernels in the tenth with two on and two out, struck out for the fourth time in five attempts on the evening, a frustrating 0-5 night for Corcino.
     
    The Kernels will travel to Peoria, Illinois to take on the Peoria Chiefs in the semi-finals. That series begins on Saturday night.
     
    TwinsDaily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Chris Paul - Cedar Rapids Kernels
    TwinsDaily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Sam Gibbons Cedar Rapids Kernels
     
    Friday's Probables
    Montgomery Biscuits @ Chattanooga Lookouts - Jacob Faria vs. TBD
  2. Eric R Pleiss
    Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano ran out of magic on Thursday night as the pair lost for the first time while playing in the lineup together, snapping the Twins' longest winning streak since 2011. With September call-ups less than a week away, let's take a look at some of the action down in the Minor Leagues.
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
    Syracuse Chiefs @ Rochester Red Wings
    Box Score
     
    The Red Wings pitching staff limited the Chiefs to just six hits while racking up thirteen strike outs and not a single walk. Red Wings starting pitcher Michael Bowden picked up his tenth win of the year with seven scoreless innings. Bowden gave up five hits and struck out nine, bringing his season ERA down to 2.68. Bowden, a former first round pick by the Red Sox, has pitched in parts of six MLB seasons, but hasn't been in the show since 2013. Mark Hamburger pitched the final two innings in relief. Hamburger gave up a hit and struck out four.
     
    The Red Wings did pretty well with the the sticks as well, notching nine hits, including multi-hit games from their one, two, and four hitters. Danny Santana led off and was 2-4 with a double and a run scored. two-hitter James Beresford was 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Cleanup man Kennys Vargas was 2-4 with a run scored and a strike out. Josmil Pinto picked up four RBIs with a grand slam in the first inning. Just Pinto's seventh homer of the year. Pinto was once a player the Twins had high hopes for but his defense hasn't been up to par at catcher, and as a DH his .229/308/.373 line is not impressive.
     
    Final: Chiefs 0, Red Wings 6
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
    Tennessee Smokies @ Chattanooga Lookouts
    Box Score
     
    The Smokies pounded the Lookouts on Thursday night, taking a six run lead before the Lookouts were on the board. D.J. Baxendale pitched the first five innings, giving up eight hits, four runs (all earned), a walk and three strike outs. Brandon Peterson gave up a pair of unearned runs in the sixth on the back of two Lookouts errors, one each from Niko Goodrum and Levi Michael. Corey Williams pitched two strong innings of relief after the Lookouts were well out of the game, he gave up one hit, struck out three and walked one. J.T. Chargois pitched the ninth, giving up a pair of hits and a run.
     
    The Lookouts struggled at the plate, especially at the top of the order as the first five hitters combined to go 1-16. Levi Michael and Jair Rodriguez had the best nights for Chattanooga. Both players had a pair of singles.
     
    Final: Smokies 7, Lookouts 1
    MIRACLE MATTERS
    Bradenton Marauders @ Fort Myers Miracle
    Box Score
     
    Miracle pitchers held the Marauders hitters from scoring until the top of the ninth and then hung on for dear life. Ethan Mildren got things started for the Miracle, pitching six shutout innings. Mildren gave up five hits, one walk, and he struck out three. Jake Reed picked up a hold, his second, with a scoreless inning (facing the minimum). Zach Jones gave up a pair of hits in the eighth, but escaped unharmed for his first hold of the year. Trevor Hildenberger gave up a pair of runs in the ninth but still earned his third save of the year thanks to a three-run cushion.
     
    The Miracle couldn't grab an extra base hit on Thursday night, but nine singles and a pair of sacrifice flies put them in the driver's seat. Zach Granite was 2-4 with a run scored, as was Engelb Vielma who added in a stolen base for good measure. Anderlin Meija was 0-2 but he had both of the Fort Myers sacrifice flies, driving in a pair of runs.
     
    Final: Marauders 2, Miracle 3
    KERNELS KORNER
    Kane County Cougars @ Cedar Rapids Kernes
    Box Score
     
    The Kernels out hit the Cougars 8-6 but were 0-11 with runnings in scoring position, stranding twelve runners in the process. Alex Real had a nice night at the plate, 3-3 with a double and a HBP to reach four times. Real is a 2014 twenty-fourth round draftee out of New Mexico. The six-foot right hander is hitting .270/315/.382 but has played just 54 games because he started the year serving a 50-game suspension for a positive PED test.
     
    Starter Randy Rosario took the loss to drop to 1-5 on the year. He pitched six innings of four hit ball and gave up just one earned run. Rosario didn't help his own cause in the second inning earning an error on a missed catch which led to an unearned run. In the third a passed ball led to another unearned run. Yorman Landa gave up a pair of unearned runs in the eighth inning despite giving up just one hit, one walk, and striking out three. Zach Tillery pitched the ninth, giving up a hit and recording a strike out.
     
     
    Final: Cougars 5, Kernels 0
     
    E-TWINS E-NOTES
    Kingsport Mets @ Elizabethton Twins
    Box Score
     
    The Elizabethton Twins battled back from an early 3-0 defecit to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. Zander Wiel powered the offense with a 2-4 night with a double and two RBIs. Jermain Palacios also had a pair of hits and a double from the leadoff spot.
     
    Starter Eduardo Del Rosario gae up six hits, three runs, walked no one, struck out three and gave up a long ball over his four innings of work. Logan Lombana pitched THREE scoreless innings of relief and struck out five while walking one and giving up a pair of hits. Tyler Stirewalt pitched a clean eighth inning, but with the game tied 3-3 in the top of the ninth, he came back out for a second inning of relief and was tagged with the loss as three runs scored as Stirewalt unraveled. He gave up a double, an intentional walk, hit a batter, a fielder's choice that resulted in no outs, and a single before the damage was done. Then the Twins went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
    Final: Mets 6, Twins 3
     
    GCL Twins
    GCL Rays @ GCL Twins
    Box Score
     
    Matz Schutte struggled through 4.2 innings, giving up five hits, five runs, a walk and struck out six. He was replaced by Luis Hernandez who pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball. Andrew Vasquez gave up a pair of unearned runs in the eighth, walked three and struck out two. Hector Lujan finished the game, giving up a hit but otherwise putting up zeros.
     
    The Twins managed just five hits, with two coming from Roberto Gonzalez on a 2-4 night that included a run scored. Kolton Kendrick was 1-4 with a triple, two RBIs, a run scored and a pair of strike outs.
     
    Final: Rays 7, Twins 3
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Alex Real, Cedar Rapids Kernels
    Pitcher of the Day - Michael Bowden, Rochester Red Wings
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Syracuse @ Rochester - Paolo Espino vs. Taylor Rogers (9-11, 3.91)
     
    Chattanooga @ Birmingham - TBD vs. TBD
     
    Bradenton @ Fort Myers - TBD vs. Mat Batts (7-4, 2.54)
     
    Kane County @ Cedar Rapids - Josh Taylor vs. Sam Bibbons (7-3, 2.72)
     
    Kingsport @ Elizabethton - Nabil Crismatt vs. Onesimo Hernandez (5-1, 3,79)
     
    GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins - TBD vs. TBD
  3. Eric R Pleiss
    After being laughed out of the Bronx the Twins traveled to Baltimore and took out their frustrations on the Orioles with a 15-2 butt-kicking that included another Miguel Sano home run (his tenth) and a 1-6 night from Byron Buxton in his return to MLB action.
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
     
    Scheduled off day
     
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
    Chattanooga Lookouts @ Pensacola Blue Wahoos
    Box Score
     
    Lookouts starter Aaron Slegers cruised through six innings giving up just a single run, but ran into trouble and was lifted with two outs in the seventh for J.T. Chargois. Slegers finished the night giving up six hits, three runs, two walks, and he struck out seven. Chargois came in after the damage was done and struck out the only batter he faced in the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth.
     
    The Lookouts managed just six hits against the Blue Wahoos and the only man with a multi-hit night was the number nine hitter and DH, Levi Michael. Michael was 2-3 with a run scored. Max Kepler played center field and was 1-3 with an RBI and a walk.
     
    Final: Lookouts 1, Blue Wahoos 3
    MIRACLE MATTERS
    Fort Myers Miracle @ Bradenton Marauders
    Box Score
     
    Starting for the Fort Myers Miracle on Thursday night was none other than Omar Bencomo. You win all of the bonus points if you know who Omar Bencomo is and how he ended up on the Fort Myers Miracle. If you don't know who he is, you're not alone. Bencomo hasn't played affiliated baseball since 2011, when he was a 22 year-old in the Midwest League for the Tampa Bay Rays. Since then he spent a couple of years playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, and in 2015 he played for two different Independent League teams (Wichita Wingnuts, Laredo Lemurs) before finding his way onto the Fort Myers squad. But I digress. Bencomo pitched seven innings of three hit baseball. He gave up no runs, walked no one, and struck out four, picking up his first win of the season. Tyler Jay, the Twins top draft pick in this year's draft, came in to pitch the eighth and faced the minimum and recorded a strike out. Todd Van Steensel picked up his thirteenth save of the year and a pair of strike outs in the ninth.
     
    The pitching was working for the Miracle on Thursday and the bats did just enough, pushing across a single run in the seventh inning thanks to a two-out RBI from Logan Wade. Wade finished the night 2-4. Mitch Garver also had a pair of hits for the Miracle, 2-4 with a run scored. The rest of the squad was pretty quiet.
     
     
    Final: Miracle 1, Marauders 0
    KERNELS KORNER
    Kane County Cougars @ Cedar Rapids Kernels
    Box Score
     
    Kernels starter Ethan Mildren continues to work his way back from a recent demotion to the bullpen, and as a result is on a pretty limiting pitch count, which pulled him from the game after just four innings. Mildren gave up just three hits, one a costly solo home run. He walked one, and struck out two. He was replaced by Yorman Landa who pitched two hitless innings to earn his second win of the year. Zach Tillery picked up a two-inning hold (his first of the year), and John Curtiss picked up the save, preserving the one-run lead.
     
    Only one of the Kernels runs was earned, and it came off an RBI from Brian Navarreto. He was 1-3 with an RBI, and he scored the other run. Navarreto actually picked up his RBI and run scored on the same play, as he singled home Zack Larson and then scored on a throwing error by the catcher. That was all the offense the Kernels would get the whole night, winning the game 2-1 despite only four hits.
     
    Final: Cougars 1, Kernels 2
     
    E-TWINS E-NOTES
    Elizabethton Twins @ Pulaski Yankees
    Box Score
     
    The Twins had a 2-0 lead for most of the game before giving up a four-spot in the seventh inning. Starter Samuel Clay pitched four scoreless innings that included four strike outs and no walks, but reliever Nate Gercken, working into his third inning of relief, gave up three hits and a walk before being lifted in the seventh. Tyler Stirewalt replaced Gercken and proceeded to walk the first three batters he faced, pushing in two more runs, before inducing a double play to escape the inning. Because of the way baseball works, Stirewalk wasn't charged with any of those runs, and his statline looks fairly clean. No hits, no runs, no strike outs, but three walks and a wild pitch. Jose Abreu pitched the eighth with the Twins then down 4-2, to finish the game.
     
    The E-Twins bats were fairly inactive, as they recorded just six hits in the contest. Only LaMonte Wade had multiple hits, both for extra bases. Wade hit his fourth triple of the year and his eighth home run of the year, a solo shot in the third. No other hitter recorded multiple hits, and leadoff hitter Jermain Palacios kept the Twins out of any rallies with an 0-4 night that included three strike outs.
     
    Final: Twins 2, Yankees 4
     
    GCL Twins
    Gulf Coast League Twins @ GCL Orioles
    Box Score
     
    Lachlan Wells earned his fifth win of the year pitching five innings and giving up just one run on a solor home run in the fourth. Wells struck out five, walked one, and gave up just four hits. He was replaced by Luis Hernandez who gave up three runs on a walk and a hit in the sixth, recording just two outs. He was replaced by Hector Lujan who pitched two and a third innings of three hit baseball to earn his first Hold of the year. Closer Johan Quezada picked up a pair of strikeouts in the ninth, as well as his seventh save.
     
    Final: Twins 5, Orioles 4
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Omar Bencomo, Fort Myers Miracle
    Pitcher of the Day - LaMonte Wade, Elizabethton Twins
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Rochester @ Scranton/WB - Jose Berrios (3-2, 3.38) vs. Kyle Davies
     
    Chattanooga @ Pensacola - TBD vs. Cody Reed
     
    Fort Myers @ Bradenton - TBD vs. Frank Duncan
     
    Cedar Rapids @ Clinton - Randy Rosario (1-4, 4.50) vs. Lukas Schiraldi
     
    Elizabethton @ Pulaski - Dereck Rodriguez (5-1, 1.75) vs. TBD
     
    Gulf Coast Twins @ GCL Red Sox - TBD vs. TBD
  4. Eric R Pleiss
    The Twins started an important road trip with a frustrating extra inning loss to the Evil Empire (New York Yankees). Let's take a look down into the Twins' farm system to see if better things are on the way to Minnesota.
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
    Buffalo Bisons @ Rochester Red Wings
    Box Score
     
    The Red Wings were out hit 11-8, but came out victorious thanks to a couple of solo home runs and holding the Bisons to just 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
     
    Taylor Rogers gave up ten hits in 6.2 innings but managed to give up just three runs (two earned). Rogers walked one, and struck out three batters. Rogers picked up a win to move to 9-10 with an ERA of 3.85, nearly a run higher than it was ten starts ago when he was 7-4 with a 2.97 ERA. Over his last 10 Rogers is just 2-6 with a 5.14 ERA with a 1.522 WHIP and a 2.35/1 strikeout to walk ratio. Rogers' Monday night start was the first time since June 24 that he gave up two runs or fewer in a start.
     
    Rogers turned things over to the bullpen in the seventh and Cole Johnson pitched two-thirds of an inning spanning the seventh and the eighth, striking out one and giving up no runs, hits, or walks. Aaron Thompson finished the eighth in scoreless fashion and Michael Tonkin fanned two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to pick up his thirteenth save of the year.
     
    Xavier Avery hit a solo home run in the second inning to give the Red Wings an early lead. The Bisons came stampeding back and were up 3-1 when a Reynaldo Rodriguez single in the fifth inning evened the score. In the sixth inning Jose Martinez homered to left field, giving the Red Wings the lead and Rogers and the bullpen kept the Bisons bats silent the rest of the evening. Kennys Vargas started at designated hitter in the three hole and was 0-4 with a strike out. Vargas is 6-23 with five strike outs and seven walks with more multi-walk games than multi-strike out games since an August 11 promotion back to Rochester.
     
    Final: Bisons 3, Red Wings 4
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
    SCHEDULED OFF DAY
     
    MIRACLE MATTERS
    Charlotte Stone Crabs @ Fort Myers Miracle
    POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN
     
    KERNELS KORNER
     
    SCHEDULED OFF DAY
     
    E-TWINS E-NOTES
    Danville Braves @ Elizabethton Twins
    Box Score
     
    Andro Cutura pitched six strong innings for the E-Twins, giving up no runs on just three hits. He walked two and struck out four. His ERA is now 1.08 over his first nine starts for Elizabethton. Cutura, a Slidell, Louisiana native, was drafted by the Twins in the seventh round of the 2014 draft out of Southeastern Louisiana University. After Cutura's exit, Anthony Mciver pitched two scoreless, giving up a hit, a walk, and he struck out three. Alex Robinson pitched the ninth, giving up a hit and earning a strike out to preserve the victory for the Twins.
     
    E-Town's ninth hitter, second basemen Manuel Guzman had one of the best games of his young career, 4-4 with two doubles, two RBI, and a run scored. Catcher A.J. Murray had a nice game as well, 3-4 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and a strike out.
     
    Final: Braves 0, Twins 6
     
    GCL Twins
    GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins
    Box Score
     
    The GCL Twins gave up a pair of runs in the first, second and sixth innings, and a single run in the seventh to fall by a score of 7-3 to the GCL Orioles. Starter Jovani Moran was making just the fourth start of his career, drafted in the seventh round of the 2015 draft out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. Jovani has yet to pitch more than four innings in a start, and Monday night was no exception. Moran gave up four hits, four runs, and two walks. He struck out just one of the fifteen batters he faced. Reliever Matz Schutte didn't fare much better, giving up a pair of runs in the sixth before being lifted for Rich Condeelis. Condeelis gave up a run on three hits, but struck out three and walked just one in two innings. Andrew Vasquez pitched a scoreless ninth, but worked harder than he needed to, giving up a two-out single, then throwing a wild pitch before walking the next batter. Vasquez then struck out the final batter of the game to end the suffering for Twins pitchers.
     
    Leadoff hitter Christian Cavaness was 2-4 and first basemen Bryant Hayman was 2-4 with a double, the only hitters with multi hit gams. The Twins did rack up four doubles, half of their eight hits on the night. In addition to Hayman's double, Blake Schmit, Robert Molina and Roberto Gonzalez also added two baggers.
     
    Final: Orioles 7, Twins 3
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Manuel Guzman, Elizabethton Twins
    Pitcher of the Day - Andro Cutura, Elizabethton Twins
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Buffalo @ Rochester - Jeff Francis vs. Logan Darnell (2-1, 1.54)
     
    Chattanooga @ Pensacola - Greg Peavey (6-4, 4.40) vs. Daniel Wright
     
    Charlotte @ Fort Myers (Double Header) - Buddy Borden vs. Stephen Gonsalves (5-1, 2.34), Greg Harris vs. TBD
     
    Kane County @ Cedar Rapids - Josh Taylor vs. Keaton Steele (4-3, 3.65)
     
    Danville @ Elizabethton - TBD vs. Josh Stashak (4-1, 1.80)
     
    Gulf Coast Twins @ Gulf Coast Orioles - TBD vs TBD
  5. Eric R Pleiss
    David Price and the Blue Jays carved up the Twins on Monday afternoon, and to make matters worse, every affiliate in action on Monday night lost. All of the games were close, with only the Red Wings losing by more than one run, but outside of Elizabethton, there was not a lot of run scoring. Let's get to it.
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
    Rochester Red Wings @ Gwinnett Braves
    Box Score
     
    The Red Wings struck first, a solo home run in the second inning off the bat of Xavier Avery, to put the Red Wings up 1-0. Unfortunately, Rochester had just four other hits the rest of the way. James Beresford, Danny Ortiz, Argenis Diaz and Chris Herrmann had the rest of the hits. Danny Ortiz was the only Red Wings player other than Avery to have an extra base hit, a double. Danny Santana and Oswaldo Arcia were both 0-4, but neither dude struck out, what are the odds?!
     
    Jose Berrios pitched seven innings of three run baseball. He gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out four. Unfortunately he also gave up a pair of long balls, a solo shot in the fourth and a two run dinger in the sixth, both with two outs. Berrios was replaced by A.J. Achter, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, including a strike out.
     
    Final: Red Wings 1, Braves 3
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
    Chattanooga Lookouts @ Jackson Generals
    Box Score
     
    The Lookouts had OWNED the Generals this year, holding a 10-1 record against Jackson going into the Monday evening contest. It seemed like the Lookouts would bring that winning attitude again on Monday night, scoring a run in the top of the first on a Jorge Polanco solo home run, but that was the last run the Lookouts scored on Monday, and they recorded just five hits on the evening. No Lookout hitter had multiple hits, though both D.J. Hicks and Stephen Wickens reached safely twice, both 1-3 with a walk. Kennys Vargas was 0-4 with three strike outs. The big fella is hitting just .232 at AA, but he's still walking a fair amount so his OBP is still north of .350. He has 28 strike outs in 28 games, which doesn't seem like nearly enough, but he did have a nice stretch of games in the middle of July where he went four games in a row without any strike outs.
     
    On the mound the Lookouts received a nice performance from D.J. Baxendale, who was saddled with a tough luck loss to fall to 4-3. Baxendale pitched seven innings and gave up just four hits and two runs. He walked one and struck out two. He threw just 85 pitches and sent down the side in the order in the seventh, but was not given a chance to pitch any deeper into the game. J.T. Chargois pitched a clean eighth inning in relief, recording three straight ground balls.
     
    Final: Lookouts 1, Generals 2
    MIRACLE MATTERS
    SCHEDULED OFF DAY
    KERNELS KORNER
    SCHEDULED OFF DAY
    E-TWINS E-NOTES
    Elizabethton Twins @ Johnson City Cardinals
    Box Score
     
    Down 9-3 in the top of the eighth inning, the E-Town Twins put up a five spot to crawl within one run, but could not score the tying run in the ninth and fell to 19-21 on the season. Leadoff hitter Jermain Palacios was 2-5 with a pair of doubles and a pair of RBIs and still could not claim to have the best night for the Twins. That honor goes to cleanup hitter Chris Paul, who was 2-5 with a double, a home run (of the two-run variety) and FOUR RBIs. A.J. Murray (2-5), and Brad Hartong (2-4) also had multi-hit nights for the Twins.
     
    Twins starter Miles Nordgren gave up three runs on eight hits over five innings before giving way to Nate Gercken. Gercken gave up six runs, all earned, in two innings, incuding a pair of Cardinals home runs. Kuo Hua Lo pitched the eighth, facing the minimum and picking up a strike out to boot.
     
    Final: Twins 8, Cardinals 9
     
    GCL Twins
    GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles
    POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Chris Paul, Elizabethton Twins
    Pitcher of the Day - D.J. Baxendale, Chattanooga Lookouts
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Rochester @ Gwinnett - Michael Bowden (7-3, 2.27) vs. Sugar Ray Marimon
     
    Chattanooga @ Jackson - Jason Wheeler (2-2, 3.38) vs. TBD
     
    St. Lucie @ Fort Myers - TBD vs. TBD (Chih-Wei Hu's rotation spot)
     
    Dayton @ Cedar Rapids - Tejay Antone vs. Keaton Steele (2-3, 3.88)
     
    Elizabethton @ Johnson City - Andro Cutura (2-1, 1.03) vs. Ramon Santos
     
    Gulf Coast @ Orioles (Double Header) - TBD vs. TBD, TBD vs. TBD
  6. Eric R Pleiss
    The Twins finally won a game thanks to a three run dinger from Trevor Plouffe and a spectacular eight-inning start from Erving Santana. The Twins return home this weekend to face a red-hot Yankees team.
     
    Image courtesy of Tommy GIlligan, USA Today
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
    Gwinnett Braves @ Rochester Red Wings
    Box Score
     
    Jose Berrios earned his first Triple-A win with a seven-plus inning start. He gave up just four hits, he struck out one and walked two. Berrios faced two batters in the eighth, giving up a single and hitting a batter before being lifted for Thielbar. The Redwings used four pitchers to get through the eighth inning, Berrios, Thielbar for a third, Alex Meyer for a third, and Aaron Thompson for a third. A.J. Achter pitched a scoreless ninth to finish the game.
     
    Eric Farris picked up yet another hit for the Red Wings, now with hits in eleven of his last twelve games. Reynaldo Rodriguez led the way with a 3-4 afternoon including a double and an RBI. Jemese Beresford was 2-4 with an RBI of his own. Danny Ortiz provided the rest of the Red Wings runs on a two-run shot in the sixth inning.
     
    The Red Wings lead the International League North Division at 53-46, a half-game ahead of second place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Wings head out on the road for 18 of their next 21 games, where they've played below .500 ball so far this year.
     
    Final: Braves 0, Red Wings 4
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
    Tennessee Smokies @ Chattanooga Lookouts
    Box Score
     
    Lookouts starter D.J. Baxendale had one of his best starts of the year on Thursday night. In front of the home crowd at AT&T Field in Chattanooga, TN, Baxendale threw seven innings of two-hit one-run baseball. Baxendale walked five and struck out three. The lone run he gave up came in the top of the first after Baxendale gave up a lead-off walk to start the game. Unfortunately for Baxendale, Jake Reed showed up in the eighth inning and things went haywire. Reed gave up three runs on four hits and a walk before getting out of the inning. After the damage was done in the eighth, the Lookouts turned to another D.J., this time D.J. Johnson, in the ninth to finish the game. Johnson faced the minimum and struck out two.
     
    After Baxendale gave up a run in the first the Lookouts came right back and evened the score on a Max Kepler single that scored Levi Michael who doubled the start the game for the Lookouts. After those two hits in the first, the Lookouts had eight more, but stranded ten men on base and could not take advantage of their opportunities. Levi Michael was 2-5, including that leadoff double. Travis Harrison was 2-4 with a double of his own. Kennys Vargas was 0-4 with four strike outs and now has eleven strike outs in his last four games to go along with just two hits.
     
    Final: Smokies 4, Lookouts 1
    MIRACLE MATTERS
    Fort Myers @ Tampa Yankees
    Box Score
     
    Jason Kanzler hit his seventh home run of the year in the seventh inning as the Fort Myers Miracle defeated the Tampa Yankees 7-5. Kanzler was 1-4 on the evening. Ryan Walker was 2-4 with a walk and an RBI, and Mitch Garver was 2-5 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored. Logan Wade also had a pair of hits, an RBI, and a run scored.
     
    Mat Batts came into Thursday's game with a 1.66 ERA and after he gave up three earned runs in just over five innings (5.1), he left his his ERA a third of a run higher at 1.96. Batts struck out six and walked just two, but he gave up six hits (five singles and a double). Batts was replaced by Nick Burdi who gave up a wild pitch, allowing a run to score to even the game at 3-3. The wild pitch earned Burdi a blown save, but the Miracle went out and put up a four spot in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh Burdi picked up a pair of strike outs, threw another wild pitch, and escaped a two-on, two-out jam by inducing a ground ball to second. Todd Van Steensel pitched the eighth and ninth, giving up a run on three hits. He also struck out two.
     
    Final: Miracle 7, Yankees 4
    KERNELS KORNER
    Wisconsin Timber Rattlers @ Cedar Rapids
    Box Score
     
    Kernels' starter Zach Tillery faced twenty batters but didn't make it out of the fourth inning, lifted after just 3.2 innings. He gave up nine hits and five runs, all earned. He struck out one batter and did not walk anyone. Michael Theofanopoulos, owner of the longest name in the history of the world, earned a victory with 3.1 scoreless innings in relief. He walked two and struck out four. Jared Wilson earned his first save of the year, the two inning variety, with a pair of scoreless innings on an 80-degree night in Cedar Rapids.
     
    Brian Navarreto led the Kernels with three hits on a 3-4 night that included a double and a strike out. Navarreto had the misfortune of hitting at the bottom of the lineup so despite an extra base hit and a pair of singles, he did not have an RBI or a run scored. Nick Gordon was 2-4 with a double, two walks, an RBI and a run scored. Tanner English hit his fifth home run of the year, his only hit on the night.
     
    Final: Timber Rattlers 5, Kernels 6
     
    E-TWINS E-NOTES
    Princeton Rays @ Elizabethton
    Box Score
     
    Trailing 1-0 headed to the bottom of the ninth inning, with just three hits so far in the game, the E-Town Twins rallied for a pair of wins for a walk off victory. Down to their last out with no one on base, the Twins' Travis Blankenhorn walked and was replaced by a pinch runner, Manuel Guzman. Pinch hitter Amaurys Minier then doubled home Guzman to even the score at one. After a pitching change, Ariel Montesino singled on a ground ball to right. With two-outs Amaurys Minier was running on contact and came home to score the winning run!
     
    Those ninth inning theatrics were the result of a strong pitching performance from the Twins' starter Andro Cutura who went six innings, gave up four hits, walked three and struck out three. He was replaced by C.K. Irby who pitched two innings, giving up a run on three hits, but all six outs he recorded were via strike out. Onesimo Hernandez pitched the top of the ninth and was credited with the win for a scoreless inning of relief.
     
    Final: Rays 1, Twins 2
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Jose Berrios, Rochester Red Wings
    Pitcher of the Day - Nick Gordon, Cedar Rapids Kernels
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Rochester @ Columbus Clippers - Greg Peavey (1-4, 4.68) vs. Will Roberts
     
    Chattanooga @ Tennessee Smokies - Jason Wheeler (1-1, 3.09) vs. Ryan Williams
     
    Tampa Yankees @ Fort Myers - Dietrich Enns vs. Kohl Stewart (4-5, 3.26)
     
    Beloit Snappers @ Cedar Rapids - Joey Wagman vs. Randy Rosario (1-1, 1.15)
     
    Elizabethton @ Kingsport Mets - Samuel Clay (0-1, 5.68) vs. Darwin Ramos
  7. Eric R Pleiss
    Mike Pelfrey did not pitch great for the Twins on Thursday night and was a victim of his own efficiency as a low pitch count had him in the game into the eighth inning, despite a well-rested Twins bullpen after a midweek sweep of the Royals. Pelfrey ran into trouble and the Tigers scored a pair of runs and the Twins failed to respond. The Twins are now just 2-8 against Detroit this year.
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
    Buffalo Bisons @ Rochester Red Wings
    Box Score
     
    Nearly 4,000 fans at Rochester's Frontier Field watched an exciting back and forth game featuring one of the Twins' best Minor League starters of the year (Tyler Duffey), and a strong bullpen performance from three relievers who have all logged innings with the Twins in 2015. Duffey started and went six and two thirds innings. He walked one, struck out four, and gave up three runs (two earned). Tyler Duffey was tagged for six hits, including a home run from the Bisons number nine hitter, Jonathan Diaz. Duffey exited with the game tied, and Aaron Thompson picked up his first AAA win of the year pitching just two thirds of an inning. He walked one and struck out one. Alex Meyer came out next, pitching two thirds of an inning. He gave up a hit. A.J. Achter closed the game, picking up his fourteenth save of the season. He gave up a hit, a walk, and he struck a batter out in the ninth.
     
    The Red Wings spread out seven hits between seven different hitters. Jorge Polanco hit leadoff and was 1-3 with a pair of RBIs, driving in the winning run. He's hitting .400 at Rochester but he's already committed six errors. Oswaldo Arcia was 1-3 with a run scored and a pair of RBIs, and a strike out while hitting his sixth home run in his past nine games.
     
    Final: Bisons 3, Red Wings 4
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
    Mississippi Braves @ Chattanooga Lookouts
    Box Score
     
    The Lookouts scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead, but did not score again until the ninth, making things interesting, but ultimately could not come back against the Braves. Alex Wimmers gave up six runs (all earned) on nine hits, a pair of walks, and a home run in four and two thirds innings. He struck out just two. Wimmers' ERA is now over 5. Brandon Peterson recorded four outs while giving up one hit. Scott Atchison, D.J. Johnson and J.T. Chargois each pitched an inning to end the game without giving up any runs.
     
    The Lookouts had plenty of base runners, they tallied ten hits and six walks as a team, but left ten runners on base, despite going 4-10 with runners in scoring position. Stephen Wickens was 2-4 with two runs scored, a double and a walk. Kennys Vargas hit his first AA home run of the year, picking up two RBIs and he walked. Mike Gonzales and Heiker Menenses also had a pair of hits each. Adam Brett Walker had two RBIs on a 1-4 night with a walk and a strike out.
    Final: Braves 6, Lookouts 5
    MIRACLE MATTERS
    Fort Myers Miracle @ Jupiter Hammerheads
    Box Score
     
    Ryan Eades has been pitching very well over the past several weeks, he hasn't given up more than three runs since the middle of May. He continued that trend on Thursday night, turning in seven innings of three hit baseball. He struck out four and walked no one. He's now 6-1 with a 2.86 ERA. After Eades' night night was done, Dallas Gallant picked up a hold with a scoreless eighth, and Todd Van Steensel recorded his eleventh save of the year with a scoreless ninth.
     
    Thanks to Eades strong start, the Miracle bats did not have to do a lot of work, which is a good thing because despite scattering eight hits, the Miracle were just 1-10 with runners in scoring position. Five of the Miracle hits came from Ryan Walker (2-4) and Tanner Vavra (3-4 with a triple) near the back of the lineup. Mitch Garver (1-3) and Logan Wade (0-3) each had an RBI. Garver's RBI double was the game winner, scoring Jason Kanzler all the way from first base.
     
    Final: Miracle 2, Hammerheads 1
     
    KERNELS KORNER
    Cedar Rapids Kernels @ Beloit Snappers
    Box Score
     
    Ethan Mildren pitched well enough to pick up a win, but the Kernels bats didn't come alive until late in the game, giving the win to Randy LeBlanc. Mildren pitched six innings, gave up three earned runs, struck out five, and walked two. He has a 1.46 ERA since his demotion to Cedar Rapids. LeBlanc pitched two scoreless innings, six up, six down, and struck out two. Trevor Hildenberger pitched the ninth, picking up his eleventh save of the year.
     
    Down 4-3 in the top of the ninth, the Kernels exploded for three runs to earn the come from behind victory. With two outs in the ninth, the Kernels were still down 4-3, but they had runners on second and third with Nick Gordon at the plate. Gordon singled on a line drive to left, scoring a pair of runs. Gordon then stole second base and scored the winning run on an Edgar Corcino single. Corcino's game winner was part of a big 4-5 night from him. Nick Gordon was 2-5 with those two RBIs and a pair of runs scored.
     
    Final: Kernels 6, Snappers 4
     
    E-TWINS E-NOTES
    Elizabethton Twins @ kingsport Mets
    Box Score
     
    This seasaw game saw the teams combine for sixteen runs, twenty three hits and six errors over eleven innings. Elizabethton scored three runs in the top of the eleventh to earn the extra innings victory. Andro Cutura gave the Twins six strong innings, striking out six, walking none, and giving up just two runs (one earned). Tyler Stirewalt was credited with a seventh inning blown save after he gave up four runs on four hits, plus a walk in just two thirds of an inning. Jose Abreu pitched two and a third scoreless innings before the Twins went to C.K. Irby in the tenth. Irby pitched a scoreless tenth, but gave up a run in the eleventh and was lifted for Onesimo Hernandez, who faced one batter, struck him out, and earned a save.
     
    LaMonte Wade led the way for E-Town. The Centerfielder was 3-5 with two runs scored, a home run, two RBIs and two walks. Tyler Kuresa was 2-5 in the DH role before being lifted for a pinch runner late in the game. Rainis Silva also had a pair of hits, 2-5 with a run scored, two RBIs and a walk.
    Final: Twins 9, Mets 7
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - LaMonte Wade, Elizabethton Twins
    Pitcher of the Day - Ryan Eades, Fort Myers Miracle
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Rochester @ Syracuse Chiefs (Game 1) - Taylor Rogers (7-5, 3.04) vs. TBD
    Rochester @ Syracuse Chiefs (Game 2) - TBD vs. P.J. Walters
     
    Mississippi Braves @ Chattanooga - Jason Hursh vs. Brett Lee (0-2, 4.70)
     
    Clearwater Threshers vs. Fort Myers - David Whitehead vs. Mat Batts ( 3-2, 2.01)
     
    Cedar Rapids @ Kane County Cougars - Zach Tillery (5-3, 2.31) vs. Ethan Elias
     
    Elizabethton @ Kingsport Mets - Samuel Clay (0-0, 4.05) vs. Audry German
  8. Eric R Pleiss
    Miguel Sano made his MLB debut on Thursday evening and (of course) picked up his first career hit via an infield single in the top of the ninth inning at Kauffman stadium in Kansas City. He's a huge young man, just starting his (hopefully) huge MLB career. Oh, and the Twins won thanks to a spectacular eight-inning shutout from Kyle Gibson capped by a Glen Perkins save.
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
    Red Wings vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs
    Box Score
     
    Rochester and Lehigh Valley were scoreless through four and a half innings before the IronPigs broke through and scored a pair of runs on the Red Wings started, Greg Peavey. Peavey dropped to 0-2 and was charged with the loss. He pitched five innings, struck out five, walked two, and gave up a pair of earned runs. He was replaced by Caleb Thielbar who couldn't hold things together and gave up four earned runs in the sixth on three hits and three walks. Cole Johnson pitched a pair of innings to finish the game, giving up an earned run, striking out one and walking one.
     
    The Red Wings were down 6-0 before they scored a run of their own in the top of the seventh, and then gave that run right back in the bottom of the inning. Leading off for Rochester, Aaron Hicks was 3-4 with a walk and an RBI. He should be ready to be back in Minnesota at any time. Oswaldo Arcia was 2-5 with a double. and he's hitting .261, but he had three more strike outs on Thursday. No other Red Wings hitter had more than one hit, and no one else had an extra base hit.
     
    Final: Red Wings 1, IronPigs 7
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
     
    POSTPONED
     
    MIRACLE MATTERS
    Miracle vs. Palm Beach Cardinals
    Box Score
     
    Chih-Wei Hu gave up just a single run (earned) in five innings but was tagged with the loss as the Miracle hitters were shut out. Hu struck out three, walked three, and gave up four hits. He was replaced by the recently demoted Nick Burdi who pitched two scoreless innings with four strike outs. And Dallas Gallant pitched the eighth to finish the game, recording a strike out and giving up zero hits or walks.
     
    The Miracle gave up only four hits, and they only tallied four hits of their own. Engelb Vielma and Aderlin Mejia both had doubles, but no Fort Myers hitter had multiple hits and the Miracle never had back-to-back hits on Thursday night. Alex Swim and Marcus Knecht each had a single. The Miracle hitters did not have any walks, and combined for four strike outs.
     
    Final: Miracle 0, Palm Beach 1
     
    KERNELS KORNER
    Kernels vs. Burlington Bees
    Box Score
     
    The Kernels had thirteen hits and scored six of their eight runs before the fourth inning on Thursday night. Edgar Corcino (2-5), Max Murphy (3-5), Jorge Fernandez (2-4, and Rafael Valera (3-5) all had multiple hits. Only Tanner English (0-4) and Pat Kelly (0-4) were held hitless. Valera had three RBIS, and Murphy had three runs scored.
     
    Ethan Mildren picked up his second win for the Kernels, moving to 2-0 on the season with a 0.48 ERA in a Kernels' uniform. He pitched seven innings of three-hit baseball, walked two, struck out three, and gave up a home run. He was replaced by Brandon Bixler who pitched the final two innings of the game giving up three hits and a run. He struck out three as well.
    Final: Kernels 8, Burlington 2
     
    E-TWINS E-NOTES
    Twins vs. Greenville Astros
    Box Score
     
    In what was almost a mirror image of the Kernels' gavem, the E-Twins lose 2-8 and only picked up four hits (to go along with four errors). The Twins spread their hits out between Manuel Guzman, Alex Perez, LaMonte Wade and Rainis Silva.
     
    Andro Cutura was charged with the loss after four innings of two hit, three run (one earned) baseball. He struck out three and walked two. Alex Robinson pitched two innings and struck out SIX. C.K. Irby (who might be related to Andrew W. K.) pitched one and a third, but gave up five runs (two earned) giving up four hits, walking three and striking out one. He was replaced by Josh Guyer who pitched two thirds of an inning to finish the game. He gave up a hit, struck out two, and walked one.
    Final: Twins 2, Astros 8
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
    Hitter of the Day - Aaron Hicks - Rochester Red Wings
    Pitcher of the Day - Ethan Mildren - Cedar Rapids Kernels
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
    Rochester @ Lehigh Valley - Jose Berrios (0-0, -.--) vs. Severino Gonzalez
     
    Birmingham @ Chattanooga (Game 1) - Myles Jaye vs. David Hurlbut (3-3, 6.53)
    Birmingham @ Chattanooga (Game 2) - Time Crabbe vs. Alex Wimmers (5-1, 4.41)
     
    Fort Myers @ Palm Beach - Ryan Eades (5-1, 2.92) vs. Nick Petree
     
    Cedar Rapids @ Burlington - Jared Wilson (5-2, 3.41) vs. Justin Anderson
     
    Greenville @ Elizabethton - Jun Garcia vs. TBD
  9. Eric R Pleiss
    The Twins used an off-day on Thursday to make a couple of roster moves. Time Stauffer was designated for assignment and Michael Tonkin was recalled to take his place. Eddie Rosario returned from the paternity list and Jorge Polanco was optioned back to Chattanooga to make room. The Twins start a series against the Texas Rangers on Friday evening.
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
    Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders
    Box Score
     
    Danny Santana was 1-3 with a walk on Thursday. In three games Danny Santana has as many walks (1) as strike outs (1). Improvement! Unfortunately, even a productive Danny Santana at the top of the order did not do much to help the Red Wings. Danny Ortiz was 2-4 with a double, and old friend James Beresford led the way for Rochester on Thursday night, he was 3-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Beresford is having what could be the best season of his career, hitting .330 with an OBP over .370. He's riding an unsustainably high BABIP to get there, and he isn't showing any power (and never has), but he is playing well this year. If Brian Dozier hadn't turned into the current version of Brian Dozier over the past couple of seasons, you would probably have seen Beresford in Minneapolis by now.
    Starting pitcher Tyler Duffey's record dropped to 0-4 with the loss on Thursday. He was tagged for seven runs, all earned, over five and a third. He gave up nine hits, walked one, and struck out one. His 5.64 ERA looks ugly, but he's made just four starts in AAA this year and this clunker moved his ERA up almost two full runs. After Duffey, Logan Darnell pitched one and two third scoreless before yeilding to Ryan O'Rourke for the eighth inning O'Rourke gave up a pair of runs, one earned, on three hits, but the game was already well out of hand.
     
    Final: Red Wings 2, Railriders 9
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
    Chattanooga @ Birmingham Barons
    Box Score
     
    Byron Buxon remained hot, he was 2-3 with a pair of walks and another triple, his twelfth of the year. The recently returned Jorge Polanco was back in the lineup and was 1-4 with a walk. Miguel Sano bopped a home run, his eleventh, and Max Kepler was 2-4 with a double. With all of those studs doing their job, it is surprising that the Lookouts only managed to score one run. But the bottom of the lineup really hurt them on Thursday. The six through nine hitters were a combined 0-14 with four strikeouts on Thursday night.
     
    Brett Lee was cruising through six scoreless innings until he ran into a seventh inning buzzsaw. In the seventh, Lee walked the leadoff hitter, who was then sacrificed over. After that, with one out, Lee gave up back-to-back-to-back singles and was replaced by Cole Johnson with runners on second and third, but only two runs in. Johnson gave up a single and a double to the next two hitters, allowing both inherited runners, plus one of his own, to score. Johnson then pitched a scoreless eighth, but the damage was done.
    Final: Lookouts 1, Barons 5
     
    MIRACLE MATTERS
    Fort Myers @ Lakeland Flying Tigers - Game 1 (13 innings)
    Box Score
     
    Anytime you're playing a double header, even with shortened 7-inning double headers in Minor League Baseball, you hope to get a strong performance from your starting pitcher so you can save your bullpen for the second game. And the Miracle received a great start from Ryan Eades. Seven innings, six hits, one run, one walk and seven strike outs. Eades' best start since the Twins drafted him out of LSU was not enough, as the Miracle scored only one run of their own. So into the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth innings the bullpen carried the Miracle. Brian Gilbert pitched one and two thirds scoreless. Matt Summers did excellent work with two and a third scoreless. Corey Williams pitched the twelfth and picked up the win when the Miracle scored in the top of the thirteenth, and Brandon Peterson picked up his third save of the year, striking out a pair of Flying Tigers to close out the game.
     
    The Fort Myers hitters were stymied by the Lakeland pitchers, picking up just eight hits in 47 at bats to go along with 15 strike outs. Ryan Walker was the only Miracle hitter with multiple hits, 2-6 with a run scored. Marcus Knecht, was 0-4 with a walk and a strike out heading into the thirteenth when he roped a double to score Ryan Walker from first, giving the Miracle the decisive run.
    Final: Miracle 2, Flying Tigers 1
     
    Fort Myers @ Lakeland Flying Tigers - Game 2
    Box Score
     
    The Miracle had five more hits in six fewer innings of baseball in the bottom-half of the double header. Marcus Knecht rode his game winning hit in the first game to a 2-4 game. Ryan Walker, who scored the winning run in the first game, also had a nice evening going 3-3 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored. Logan Wade, not to be outdone, was also 3-3 with a pair of runs scored, but he also had a double and three RBIs.
     
    Kohl Stewart had a nice outing, despite a couple of defensive miscues that led to some unearned runs. Stewart pitched six innings, gave up only one earned run, walked three and struck out one. He picked up his second victory of the year for the Miracle to move to 2-4. Luke Westphal pitched the seventh, giving up a couple of hits, but preserving a four run lead to give the Miracle a double-header sweep!
     
    Miracle play-by-play man Brice Zummerman had this note on Twitter, "Tonight's total broadcast length was 7:17. Many people were still at work when the pregame started (4:40) and asleep when it ended (11:57).
     
    The Miracle have now won five straight games and are 30-30.
     
    Final: Miracle 7, Flying Tigers 3
    KERNELS KORNER
    Great Lakes Loons @ Cedar Rapids Kernels - Postponed
     
    Sorry beer drinkers, rain will keep you from $2 beers on Thirsty Thursday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Byron Buxton - Chattanooga Lookouts
    Pitcher of the Day - Ryan Eades - Fort Myers Miracle
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre - Lester Oliveros (2-1, 2.67) vs. Jose De Paula
     
    Chattanooga @ Birmingham - Alex Wimmers (3-1, 5.58) vs. Tyler Danish
     
    Fort Myers @ Bradenton - TBD vs. TBD
     
    Great Lakes @ Cedar Rapids (Game 1) - Grant Holmes vs. Dereck Rodriguez (0-1, 12.00)
    Great Lakes @ Cedar Rapids (Game 2) - Joe Broussard vs. Keaton Steele (2-1, 4.79)
  10. Eric R Pleiss
    Ricky Nolasco could not throw 100% in his pre-game bullpen and was placed on the Disabled List, clearing the way for Tommy Milone to start Thursday's game against the Red Sox. The Twins won the game late, thanks in part to a Joe Mauer bunt (of course), and managed to escape Boston with a split.
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
    Pawtucket Paw Sox @ Rochester
    Box Score
     
    Taylor Rogers pitched an eight inning gem on Thursday night in front of a crowd of 4,196 at Frontier Field. Rogers earned his fifth win of the year with eight innings of six hit baseball. He walked one, struck out three, and gave up just a single run. His season ERA now sits just above three at 3.09. Michael Tonkin, fresh from a MLB stint early in the week, picked up his sixth save with a perfect ninth, including a strike out.
     
    The Red Wings struck out twelve times against Paw Sox pitching, led by a miserable 0-3 performance from Kennys Vargas that included three strike outs. Recently demoted Oswaldo Arcia chipped in a pair of strike outs as well enroute to his 0-4 night. Josmil Pinto, the other bat Twins fans have been clamoring for, was 0-4 with two strike outs of his own as well. What a night! IT wasn't all bad, James Beresford and Eric Fryer (hitting eighth and ninth respectively) were both 2-3 with a run scored. I have no idea how the Red Wings scored any runs, but they clustered their hits together when it mattered to pull out a victory.
     
    Final: Pawtucket 1, Red Wings 4
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
    Chattanooga @ Tennessee Smokies
    Box Score
     
    The Lookouts committed more errors (2) than runs scored (1) on Thursday night. They also managed to strike out nine times and walked just once, and earned just four walks. No Lookouts hitter had multiple hits. Byron Buxton continued to slide with an 0-4 night with a pair of strike outs. Adam Brett Walker was 0-4 with two strike outs of his own as well. Max Leper was also 0-4, but managed just one strike out. The lone bright spot in the Lookouts lineup came from Mike Gonzales who was 1-3 with a solo home run.
     
    On the bump, Chattanooga pitchers struck out only one Tennessee hitter over eight innings. Lookouts starter Greg Peavey pitched into the seventh, but was pulled with one out. He was charged with three runs (two earned), he did not walk a batter, and had the Lookouts' lone strike out. Zack Jones finished the seventh for Chattanooga, but gave up a pair of runs. Time Shibuya pitched the eighth and gave up a run as well. Not much doing in a pretty quick game at Smokies Park, finished in 2:13.
     
    Final Score: Chattanooga 1, Tennessee 6
     
    MIRACLE MATTERS
    Bradenton Marauders @ Fort Myers
    Box Score
     
    Three Miracle hitters had multi-hit nights, and the Miracle picked up ten hits as a team, but couldn't put the bat on the ball when it mattered, just 3-13 with runners in scoring position. Bradenton, on the other hand, was 8-20 with runners in scoring position and seemed like they were able to score at will, picking up runs in six different innings. Engelb Vielma, hitting leadoff, was 2-5 with a double. Mitch Garver was 2-3 with a walk and a run scored, and Marcus Knecht was 2-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs to pace with Miracle.
     
    Kohl Stewart dropped to 1-4 with a five inning, ten hit, five run (four earned) performance. He walked two and struck out three. His ERA this year is 3.92. Stewart gave way to Brian Gilbert, who pitched two effective innings before turning the ball over to Corey Williams in the eighth, who gave up a run, and Luke Westphal in the ninth, who gave up another.
     
    Final score: Bradenton 7, Fort Myers 3
    KERNELS KORNER
    Cedar Rapids @ South Bend Cubs
    Box Score
     
    The Kernels fell short of a come from behind victory on Thursday night in South Bend, Indiana. Starting pitcher Dereck Rodriguez, making his Midwest League debut, was tagged for four runs in the first inning, but the Kernels rallied and were within striking distance most of the evening. Rodriguez lasted just three innings, he struck out one, walked four, and gave up those four early runs. Michael Theofanopoulos also threw three innings. He faired slightly better than Rodriguez, stricking out four, but giving up a pair of earned runs on four hits. Michael Caderoth pitched a clean seventh and Cameron Booser gave up a hit and recorded a strike out in the eighth. Booser's ERA is down to .74 after Thursday's game.
     
    The Kernels had just seven hits, but three of them went for extra bases, including a pair of doubles from Kernels' cleanup hitter Jorge Fernandez. Fernandez was 2-4 with two doubles, a run scored, and a strike out. Nick Gordon had a pair of hits as well, he was 2-3 with a run scored and a stolen base (his 13th of the year). The Kernels squandered a few opportunities to score runs, going just 1-8 with runners in scoring position,
     
    Final Score: Cedar Rapids 4, South Bend 6
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Jorge Fernandez, Cedar Rapids Kernels
    Pitcher of the Day - Taylor Rogers, Rochester Red Wings
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Pawtucket @ Rochester - Zeke Spurill vs. Pat Dean (5-3, 2.36)
     
    Chattanooga @ Tennessee - Brett Lee (AA Debut) vs. Ivan Pineyro
     
    Fort Myers @ Bradenton - Chih-Wei Hu (2-0, 2.29) vs. Jayson Aquino
     
    Cedar Rapids @ South Bend - Keaton Steele (2-0, 2.70) vs. Jake Stinnett
  11. Eric R Pleiss
    The Twins and the Royals both had the day off on Thursday which means the Twins remain in first place!
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
     
    Scheduled off day, back at it tomorrow against the Buffalo Bisons.
     
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
     
    Biloxi Shuckers @ Chattanooga
    Box Score
     
    The Lookouts were out-hit 9-7 and were just 1-8 with runners in scoring position, but picked up another win to move to 29-17 on the year. Jose Berrios started for Chattanooga and did his regular Jose Berrios thing. 7.1 innings, two earned runs, no walks, and seven strike outs. He gave up all nine of the Biloxi hits, but held the Shuckers to 1-7 with runners in scoring position. Berrios was cruising into the eighth inning with a shut out, but after retiring Nick Shaw to begin the eighth, the next three batters went single, single, double, scoring a run and ending Berrios' evening. Lifted with that one out in the eighth, Berrios was replaced by Zack Jones who finished the game to pick up his seventh save of the season Jones promptly walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, gave up a sacrifice fly to the next batter, and then induced a ground ball to Max Kepler to escape the game. Jones then sent the Shuckers down 1-2-3 in the ninth to preserve the Lookouts victory.
     
    Byron Buxton was 0-3 with a walk and two strike outs, the first time in more than a week Buxton failed to record a hit, ending a seven-game hitting streak. Jorge Polanco was 2-4 with an RBI and a stolen base (one of three stolen bases for the Lookouts on the evening), his tenth of the year. Adam Brett Walker was 1-4 with two strike outs but made that hit count, a two run home run, driving in what proved to be the game winning run.
    Final Score: Biloxi 2, Chattanooga 3
     
    MIRACLE MATTERS
     
    Fort Myers @ Clearwater Threshers - Game 1
    Box Score
     
    Ryan Eades is looking a lot more like a 1st round draft pick in 2015 than he did in either 2013 or 2014 and has rewarded the Twins for their patience with him. He pitched five innings of three hit ball for the Miracle on Thursday night, walked two and struck out six. Eades has given up three runs or less in seven of his eight starts so far this year. Eades was replaced by Luke Westphal who earned his first hold of the year with a perfect sixth inning and Brandon Peterson piked up his second save of the year with a scoreless ninth. Peterson put up great numbers in 2014 with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and earned an early promotion to Fort Myers where he pitched to a 1.80 ERA over 45 innings, racking up 65 strike outs while walking 17. This year, back at Fort Myers, Peterson continues to have a K/9 over 13 with 35 strike outs in just 24 innings, be he has already walked 14. Peterson may have made an adjustment in recent weeks as he has walked just two batters in his last nine innings of work while striking out 12.
     
    The Miracle managed just five hits in this low scoring affair, and leadoff man Zach Granite was the only player with two hits, 2-3 with a double and a run scored (via wild pitch in the first inning). The Miracle added the winning run in the top of the fourth, set up by two more wild pitches from Threshers starter Mark Leiter Jr.
     
    Final Score: Fort Myers 2, Clearwater 1 (seven innings)
     
    Fort Myers @ Clearwater Threshers - Game 2
    Box Score
     
    Miracle starter Brett Lee was tagged for six runs in 4.2 innings, giving up four of those runs in the fifth inning alone before being lifted for Dallas Gallant. Lee gave up six hits, six runs, walked four and struck out one. Dallas Gallant pitched a scoreless inning and a third and gave up two hits.
     
    The Miracle again managed just five hits in the second game of the double header, lead be Tanner Vavra, hitting ninth, who went 2-3 with a pair of RBIs. Zach Granite doubled and scored another run as part of a 1-4 performance in the nightcap. The Miracle had just five hits, but they also worked five walks and were 3-10 with runners in scoring position, but could not come up with a big hit to put up a crooked number.
     
    Final score: Fort Myers 3, Clearwater 6 (seven innings)
    KERNELS KORNER
     
    Wisconsin Timber Rattlers @ Cedar Rapids
    Box Score
     
    A tough game on both sides of the ball for the Kernels who picked up just four hits on the evening and gave up runs in five different innings, losing 6-0 to a pretty bad Timber Rattlers squad. Jared Wilson was charged with his first loss of the season, giving up eight hits, five runs (four earned) over five innings. He walked two, struck out two, and gave up two home runs. Michael Theofanopoulos came in for an extended relief outing, pitching three innings. He gave up two hits, an earned run, walked two, and struck out two. Trevor Hildenberger finished the game and struck out a pair of Timber Rattlers in the ninth.
     
    Just those four hits I mentioned earlier for the Kernels on Thursday night, all singles, to go along with only one walk and nine strike outs. Not an exciting game for the 1,957 fans in attendance at Perfect Game Field as the Kernels only managed to push two runners into scoring position the entire evening. 2014 first round draft pick Nick Gordon was 0-3 with three strike outs, but he did reach base on a HBP in the fourth. Zack Larson picked up a pair of hits, providing half of the Kernels hits, 2-4 with a pair of singles.
     
    Final Score: Wisconsin 6, Cedar Rapids 0
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Jorge Polanco, Chattanooga Lookouts
    Pitcher of the Day - Jose Berrios, Chattanooga Lookouts
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Rochester @ Buffalo Bisons - Game 1 - Pat Dean (4-3, 2.47) vs. Miguel Castro
    Rochester @ Buffalo Bisons - Game 2 (Make up of 4/10) - Tyler Duffey (0-1, 2.57) vs. Jeff Francis
     
    Biloxi Shuckers @ Chattanooga - Tyler Wager (5-1, 2.01) vs. Greg Peavey
     
    Fort Myers @ Clearwater Threshers - Kohl Stewart (1-3, 2.60) vs. Brandon Leibrandt
     
    Clinton LumberKings @ Cedar Rapids - TBD vs. Keaton Steele (1-0, 3.72)
  12. Eric R Pleiss
    The Twins survived a short start from Ricky Nolasco (four runs in five innings) and won a back and forth game against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday. The Twins scored six runs on just five hits, helped along by six walks and a pair of errors from Oakland. The victory wraps up an 8-3 homestand, including a four game sweep of the Chicago White Sox. The Twins are now 16-13 and three games over .500 for the first time since 2010.
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
     
    Rochester @ Indianapolis Indians
    Box Score
     
    Red Wings starter Taylor Rogers struggled and picked up his first loss of the season (2-1), and Rochester lost their second series of the year. Rogers gave up give runs, four earned, on seven hits and three walks over four innings. He struck out five and his ERA still sits at just 2.84. Rogers did not have his best stuff on Thursday, throwing three wild pitches (he had thrown just one in his first five starts). Rogers gave way to Logan Darnell who worked two scoreless innings of relief, giving up just a single hit and struck out one. Lester Oliveros continued his strong work with a scorless two-thirds of an inning. Caleb Thielbar finished the eighth for Oliveros, but surrendered what turned out to be the winning run.
     
    Aaron Hicks continues to hit, he was 2-4 with a walk and a double on Thursday, raising his statline to .323/.400/.542. The 25-year old seems to have figured things out over the past year and a half, bouncing between Minnesota and Rochester, and should be back in Minnesota soon if he continues to produce. James Beresford, Reynaldo Rodriguez, and Josmil Pinto each picked up two hits of their own. Argenis Diaz, the Red Wings' shortstop, was the only starter without a hit. Old friend Pedro Florimon started at second base for the Indians and was 0-4 with two strike outs.
     
    Final Score: Red Wings 5, Indians 6
     
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
     
    Jackson Generals @ Chattanooga
    Box Score
     
    With Terry Ryan in town to take a look at some of the premier talent in the Twins system, Lookouts starter Tyler Duffey was tagged with four unearned runs in the first inning (throwing error from Miguel Sano and a misplayed ball at first bace from Max Kepler), but Duffey help on to pitch six innings. He struck out seven, walked one, and gave up eight hits. After the first inning issues, the Lookouts shut out the Generals for the remainder of the game, with Jake Red throwing two innings and picking up a pair of strike outs, and Nick Burdy pitching a 1-2-3 ninth. Nick Burdi's ERA is now down to just 9.00, after peaking at 54.00 after a disastrous four walk, four earned run, two-thirds of an inning performance to start the year. The outing on Thursday was the first time in his last four appearances that Burdi did not give up a run, but he has now gone back to back outings without issuing a walk.
     
    After falling behind by four runs in the first inning the Lookouts went to work with the sticks, scoring ten unanswered runs. The Lookouts tied to game in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a two-run single from Heiker Meneses and a two-run RBI triple from speedster Byron Buxton. Buxton finished the night 1-5 with a strike out. Miguel Sano hit three singles as part of his 3-5 night, but is still hitting just .188/.314/.400 in 2015. Every single Lookouts batter had a hit last night. Sano led the way with three, but Travis Harrison, Max Kepler, Stuart Turner and Meneses all had a pair of base hits. Adam Brett Walker hit his league-leading seventh home run of the year, to extend the lead late, two-run shot in the seventh inning.
    Final Score: Generals 4, Lookouts 10
     
    MIRACLE MATTERS
     
    Jupiter Hammerheads @ Fort Myers
    Box Score
     
    The Miracle fell behind 3-0 and did not score their first run until the sixth inning, but they rallied late to take the series opener against the Hammerheads. Miracle starter Ethan Mildren pitched six innings, gave up three runs (one earned), walked three and struck out three. He also picked a guy off a first base. Mildren gave way to Alex Muren, who vultured a win when the Miracle bats came to life, despite recording just four outs. Muren gave up four hits, walked two, and struck out one, and Brandon Peterson relieved him in the eighth, picking up a double play to save Fort Myers from more damage. J.T. Chargois gave up two runs in the ninth despite not walking anyone and not giving up any hits thanks to a couple of Miracle errors from Chad Christensen and Bryan Haar.
     
    Leadoff hitter Zach Granite was 3-5 with a solo home run and two runs scored, and was one of three Miracle hitters with three hits. Alex Swim and Bryan Haar were also 3-5. DH Mitch Garver reached safely four times on Thursday, 2-4 with a double, and RBI and two walks. Engelb Vielma was the only Miracle starter without a base hit, going 0-5 with a strike out. Just three of Fort Myers' sixteen hits went for extra bases, and the Miracle stranded ten base runners.
     
    Final score: Hammerheads 6, Miracle 9
    KERNELS KORNER
     
    Cedar Rapids @ Beloit Snappers
    Box Score
     
    The Kernels scored at least a run in the first seven innings to give Kernels starter Stephen Gonsalves plenty of run support, not that he needs it. Gonsalves has been the Kernels' ace in 2015, turning in another strong start. Gonsalves was limited to just five innings, he gave up three hits, walked four and struck out five. The four walks were very uncharacteristic for Gonsalves, who had just three walks in his first four starts of the year. Samuel Clay pitched three scoreless innings in relief, walked three and struck out four giving up just one hit. Michael Theofanopoulos pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out two of the three batters he faced.
     
    The Kernels scored eleven runs on just ten hits and going 3-20 with runners in scoring position, assisted by nine walks and two Snappers errors. The Kernels stranded 14 runners on the night. Cedar Rapids' nine-hitter Pat Kelly led the team with three hits, a pair of doubles and a home run. He picked up three RBI and scored twice. Pat Kelly, if you're unfamiliar, was a 12th round selection a year ago out of the University Nebraska-Lincoln, but he was born and raised in Red Wing, MN. Zack Larson picked up three RBI as well on a 2-4 night with two walks. Nick Gordon, last year's fifth overall draft selection (and still just 19 years old) was 1-4 with a walk and three runs scored. For a full update on Nick Gordon, check out the Down on the Pond segment of the newest Talk to Contact podcast.
     
    Final Score: Kernels 11, Snappers 1
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Pat Kelly - Cedar Rapids Kernels
    Pitcher of the Day - Stephen Gonsalves - Cedar Rapids Kernels
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Rochester @ Louisville Bats - Tommy Milone (0-0, -.---) vs. Raisel Iglesias
     
    Jackson @ Chattanooga - Stephen Landazuri vs. Jose Berrios (3-1, 3.54)
     
    Jupiter @ Fort Myers - TBD vs. Ryan Eades (1-0, 2.35)
     
    Cedar Rapids @ Beloit - Michael Cederoth (0-2, 4.00) vs. Kevin Johnson
  13. Eric R Pleiss
    I just do not understand how baseball works. The Twins got all over perennial Cy Young candidate Chris Sale on Thursday night en route to trouncing the Chicago White Sox 12-2. Sale was out after just three innings and he had giving up nine runs, the most in his career. Trevor May gave up just a pair of runs despite scattering ten hits, but couldn't finish the sixth inning.
     
    Down in the Minor Leagues it was a little bit of a mixed bag on Thursday evening. Aaron Hicks, Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano all had notable performances, as well as a great pitching performance from Chih-Wei Hu. But Nick Burdi struggled again, and Dalton Hicks and Adam Brett Walker II combined to go 0-9 with seven strikeouts.
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
     
    Columbus Clippers @ Rochester
    Box Score
     
    At home at Frontier Field, in front of just shy of 4,000 fans, Mark Hamburger and the Rochester Red Wings came back from an early deficit to move to 12-8 on the season. The Red Wings chased the Clippers' starter Jordan Cooper after 3.2 innings, sending him to his first defeat of the season, surrendering nine hits and four runs (three earned). Those nine hits were part of a season high outburst of 17 hits for Rochester. Hamburger gave up three early runs (two earned) but hung around to finish the sixth, throwing 110 pitches, but just 65 for strikes. Hamburger walked three and struck out six and gave up just five hits. Lester Oliveros, who many have been clamoring to have join the Twins' bullpen, worked two innings of relief, striking out four, but he walked two and gave up a run. Ryan O'Rourke pitched the ninth to finish the game for the Red Wings.
     
    It was a pretty balanced attack from the Rochester Hitters with eight of nine starters picking up at least one base hit, and seven of nine picking up two or more. Aaron Hicks led off for the Red Wings and extending his hitting streak to 11 games by going 3-5, bringing his average up to .310 on the year. Eddie Rosario had three hits of his own, 3-5 with a pair of RBIs. How nice would those two look in the Twins outfield right now?! Despite the season-high 17 base hits, the Red Wings managed just two extra base hits, a double a piece from Reynaldo Rodriguez and James Beresford. Rochester was 7-18 with men in scoring position and still managed to strand twelve runners.
     
    Final Score: Clippers 4, Red Wings 8
     
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
     
    Jacksonville Suns @ Chattanooga
    Box Score
     
    Former first round draft pick Alex Wimmers had the start for Chattanooga on Thursday evening and pitched well through the first five innings, but ran into trouble in the sixth, giving up three runs and leaving with two outs in the sixth. His line for the night included 8 hits, 2 walks, 4 strike outs and 4 earned runs. Wimmers was replaced by D.J. Johnson who held the Suns scoreless through the seventh. Nick Burdi came on in the eighth, but struggled again, giving up two runs. He struck out one and walked won. Burdi's ERA is now 10.13, fairly disappointing for a guy that many suggested could slot right in to the Twins bullpen before the end of 2015. Those two runs gave Burdi the loss on the evening, his third of this young season. Dallas Gallant pitched a perfect ninth to finish the game.
     
    Byron Buxton continues to heat up, he went 2-4 with a triple and a walk, plus two stolen bases. Miguel Sano was 1-3 with a solo home run, and a walk, but he also had a pair of strike outs. In all, the Lookouts struck out thirteen times, including four for Dalton Hicks as part of an 0-5 night and three from Adam Brett Walk as part of his 0-4 night.
     
    Final Score: Suns 6, Lookouts 4
     
    MIRACLE MATTERS
     
    Charlotte Stone Crabs @ Fort Myers
    Box Score
     
    Chih-Wei Hu continues to impress every time out. On Thursday night in Fort Myers he mowed down the Stone Crabs, struck out eight, walked two, and gave up two runs (just one earned) on four hits. Hu is now 3-0 on the season and his ERA is down to 1.50. Todd Van Steensel pitched two scoreless innings of relief and struck out four to pick up his second hold of 2015. J.T. Chargois gave up a hit, a walk, an unearned run, struck out a batter and earned his second save of the year, throwing 19 pitches in the ninth.
     
    The Miracle scored five runs, all earned, on just eight hits despite being 0-9 with runners in scoring position and stranding 10 runners. In the first inning the Miracle scored a run without any hits at all thanks to a couple walks, a ground out and an eventual sac fly from Mitch Garver. Niko Goodrum hit his third home run of the year, a two-run round-tripper off of German Marquez in the third inning. Right fielder Chad Christensen had a perfect night for Fort Myers, he was 3-3 with a double.
     
    Final score: Stone Crabs 3, Miracle 5
    KERNELS KORNER
     
    Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities River Bandits
    Box Score
     
    The Kernels could not figure out how to attack the River Bandits pitching, picking up just four combined hits on the evening. The Trip of Brock Dykxhoom, Jose Montero and Joshua James kept the Kernels guessing all night long. No Kernels hitter had multiple hits and only Max Murphy (1-3 with a double and a walk) reached safely twice. Shortstop of the future, Nick Gordon, was 0-3 with a strike out and a walk. Zach Granite, Cedar Rapids' leadoff hitter, was 1-4 and extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a first inning double.
     
    Kernels starter John Curtiss only made it through the fourth inning. He gave up six hits, three earned runs, struck out four and served up a pair of home runs. Samuel Clay and Zach Tillery each pitched two innings of relief and both gave up only one hit. Clay, however, also walked three hitters and was charged with an earned run.
     
    Final Score: Kernels 2, River Bandits 4
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Byron Buxton - Chattanooga Lookouts
    Pitcher of the Day - Chih-Wei Hu - Fort Myers Miracle
     
    FRIDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Norfolk @ Rochester - Mike Wright vs. TBD
     
    Jacksonville @ Chattanooga- Jake Esch vs. Tyler Duffey (0-2, 3.16)
     
    Fort Myers @ Charlotte - Ethan Mildren (0-2, 5.28) vs TBD
     
    Clinton @ Cedar Rapids - Daniel Missaki vs. Stephen Gonsalves (2-0, 0.90)
  14. Eric R Pleiss
    The Twins were off on Thursday, so a lot of people spent a lot of time trying to figure out what the heck Torii Hunter was doing when he scampered towards home plate on Wednesday night, attempting a straight steal of home. If that doesn't do it for you, you can get your baseball fix from the newest Talk to Contact podcast featuring TwinsDaily's own Jeremy Nygaard talking about the MLB draft and the Twins' payroll.
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
     
    Rochester @ Syracuse Chiefs
     
    The Red Wings and Chiefs were postponed due to inclement weather.
     
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
     
    Chattanooga @ Mississippi Braves
    Box Score
     
    Byron Buxton had the night off, which likely ruffled the feathers of a few of the 2,735 packed into Trustman Park in Pearl, Mississippi, but the Braves came away with the victory, so the home crowd went home winners. Max Kepler replaced Buxton in center field and went 0-4 on the evening. The only real bright spot for Chattanooga was Mike Gonzales, we picked up a pair of hits, including a seventh inning solo home run to knot the game at two-two. The Lookouts had just six hits on the evening, none from their seconrd ranked prospect, Miguel Sano, was was 0-3 with a walk and a strike out. Sano is now hitting just .163 but retains an OBP well above .300 thanks to AA pitchers giving him nearly a free pass a game.
     
    Greg Peavey, a name all but the most die-hard Twins fans might not be familiar with (2014 Rule 5 draftee from the Triple-A portion of the draft), started for the Lookouts but failed to make it through the sixth inning. Over 5.2 innings, Peavey gave up a pair of runs, walked four, struck out four, and surrendered five hits. Peavey left the game with the Lookouts trailing 2-1 but was left out of the decision after that Gonzales homer. Cole Johnson, a former 44th rounder out of Notre Dame, came on in relief to close out the sixth without issue. Johnson came back out for the seventh and ran into trouble, giving up three runs before being bulled for Dallas Gallant with two outs. Gallant quickly retired the side and pitched a perfect eight for good measure.
     
    Final Score: Lookouts 2, Braves 5
     
    MIRACLE MATTERS
     
    Fort Myers @ St. Lucie Mets
    Box Score
     
    In front of 1,259 fans at Tradition Field in St. Lucie, Florida, Chih-Wei Hu moved his record to 2-0 with six innings of five-hit baseball against the Mets. Hu struck out four, walked none, and gave up just a single home run, a first inning home run to the St. Lucie leadoff hitter Champ Stuart Stuart owes Kernel's centerfielder Jason Kanzler a beer after the game for the assist on the home run, bouncing from Kanzler's glove over the wall as Kanzler crashed into the padding. After Hu left the game, Todd Van Steensel pitched two perfect innings that included four strike outs. Madison Boer earned earned his first save of the year, but he had to work for it. He gave up a run and three hits before sending the Mets to the showers.
     
    Losers of their last three games, the Miracle rallied from the first inning deficit to tie the game in the fourth before taking the lead for good with a pair of runs in the fifth innings. Anderlin Mejia and Engelb Vielma both had a pair of hits and an RBI but Mejia earns hitter of the game honors for me as he reached base a third time with a base on balls. Fort Myers had plenty of opportunities to score more runs, but were just 3-13 with runners in scoring position, stranding eight men on base and striking out ten times.
     
    Final score: Miracle 4, Mets 2
    KERNELS KORNER
     
    Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
    Box Score
     
    Six hits and three runs was plenty of offense for the Kernels as Stephen Gonsalves shut down the Timber Rattlers for seven innings and Trevor Hildenberger slammed the door shut with two shutout innings to earn his first save of the young season. Gonsalves was absolutely brilliant, giving up just a single hit and a single walk, and he fanned eleven of the twenty-four batters he faced. At one point Gonsalves retired ten consectuive batters. Gonsalves has been nearly unhittable this season, he has fanned 30 in just 20 innings spread over three starts and his ERA is just 0.90. Hildenberger kept Wisconsin guessing as well, adding in another pair of strike outs.
     
    Cedar Rapids' number nine hitter, Jonatan Hinojosa was the only batter from either team to collect multiple hits, finishing the night two for three with a couple of singles. Brian Navarreto provided the game's only extra base hit, his first double of the year. Without much in the way of a hitting display, this game went quickly, just 2:07 in front of a mid-week day game crowd of 476 at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, WI.
     
    Final Score: Kernels 3, Timber Rattlers 0
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Mike Gonzales
    Pitcher of the Day - Stephen Gonsalves
     
    THURSDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Syracuse @ Rochester - Scott McGregor vs. Mark Hamburger (0-1, 9.35)
     
    Chattanooga @ Mississippi - D.J. Baxendale (2-0, 0.00) vs. Ryan Weber
     
    Fort Myers @ St. Lucie - Ethan Mildren (0-2, 5.79) vs. Logan Taylor
     
    Kane County @ Cedar Rapids - Brent Jones vs. Michael Caderoth (0-1, 4.50)
  15. Eric R Pleiss
    The Twins surprised everyone and won on Thursday afternoon, taking two out of three against the Royals to win their first series of the year. Down on the farm, things did not go as well with every affiliate in action taking the loss.
     
     
     
    RED WINGS REPORT
     
    Rochester @ Pawtucket PawSox
    Box Score
     
    Despite seven runs on twelve hits, the Red Wings lost to the PawSox in the bottom of the ninth when Ryan Pressly, working in his third inning of the evening, gave up a one out home run to Pawtucket's Bryce Brentz. Pressly, who entered the game with two outs in the sixth, was charged with a blown save and a loss. Red Wings' starter Taylor Rogers was lucky to escape without a decision after giving up five runs, all earned, in six innings. Rogers struck out seven, but he also walked three and gave up two long balls. Logan Darnell came on the start the sixth and put two men on base before yeilding to Pressly who gave up a double, allowing both inherited runners to score and tagging Darnell with two earned runs.
     
    Twelve hits and seven walks led to plenty of scoring opportunities for the Red Wings, who failed to tally an extra base hit and left ten runners on base despite going 4-10 with runners in scoring position. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 3-4 with a walk and an RBI to pace Rochester. Eddie Rosario (2-4), Josmil Pinto (2-2, 2BB), and Jose Martinez (2-4) all collected two hits. Pinto is now hitting .417, including six hits in his last seven at bats, plus those two walks. He has to be wondering how much longer it will be until he is back with the Minnesota Twins.
     
     
    LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN
     
    Birmingham Barons @ Chattanooga
     
    POSTPONED - Jose Berrios will have an extra day of rest as the Lookouts were rained out tonight in Chattanooga.
     
     
    MIRACLE MATTERS
     
    Tampa Yankees @ Fort Myers
    Box Score
     
    Down 6-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the Miracle rallied for four runs on a Chad Christensen grand slam to send the game into extra innings. Aaron Slegers, Fort Myers' starter, went just 5.2 innings, surrendering six runs, four earned, he walked one batter and struck out five. Madison Boer finished the sixth for Slegers and pitched two more scoreless innings after that to get the Miracle through the eighth. With the game now tied, Todd Van Steensel pitched 1.2 scoreless innings for yielding to Brandon Peterson, with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the tenth. Peterson quickly got ahead of Angelo Gumbs 0-2 on a pair of breaking balls and then balked in a run when he dropped the ball while he was standing on the rubber, before eventually striking out Gumbs to retire the side.
     
    The Miracle were aided by four Tampa errors, but Engelb Vielma and Alex Swim managed to go 0-10 at the top of the order, leaving Fort Myers to manufacture runs without their table setters on base. Logan Wade's grand slam was part of his 2-4 night and was the punctuation mark on the night for the Miracle hitters. Marcus Knecht was the only other Miracle hitter with multiple hits, 2-4 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. Niko Goodrum finished the night 1-4 with a single and two walks. With a runner on second in the bottom of the tenth, Max Kepler was caught looking to end the game. Kepler, DHing on Thursday night, ended up 1-5 with a walk and two strike outs.
     
    KERNELS KORNER
     
    Peoria Chiefs @ Cedar Rapids
    Box Score
     
    A quick ballgame on Thursday in Iowa, lasting just two hours and five minutes. Kernels' starter John Curtiss cruised through five innings, but gave up three runs in the sixth inning to take the loss. The Kernels now need a win tomorrow night to avoid being swept at home by the Chiefs. Curtiss scattered ten hits, struck out six and walked just a single batter. His ERA now sits at 4.63 on the young season. Michael Theofanopoulos pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings, and C.K. Irby finished the game with an interesting ninth, walking two and striking out two.
     
    There was not a lot of offense for the Kernels against Peoria's Austin Gomber, who struck out eight Cedar Rapids batsmen and yeilded just a single run on an RBI single by Zack Larson in the bottom of the third. That Larson RBI gave the Kernels their first lead of the series against the Chiefs, but the Kernels did not have the hits to keep pace. Zach Granite was the bright spot for Cedar Rapids, going 3-4 with a double, raising his season average to .458 while extending his hitting streak to five games.
     
    TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
     
    Hitter of the Day - Josmil Pinto
    Pitcher of the Day - Michael Theofanopoulos
     
     
    THURSDAY'S PROBABLES
     
    Rochester @ Pawtucket - Jason Wheeler (0-1, 2.70) vs. Henry Owens (0-0, 1.42)
     
    Birmingham @ Chattanooga - Mike Recchia (0-0, 5.40) vs. Jose Berrios (1-0, 1.42)
     
    St. Lucie @ Fort Myers - Marcos Molina (0-0, 3.) vs. Chih-Wei Hu (0-0 3.60)
     
    Peoria @ Cedar Rapids - Daniel Poncedeleon (1-0, 0.00) vs. Stephen Gonsalves (1-0, 1.50) On the most recent episode of the Talk to Contact podcast, Seth Stohs identified Gonsalves as his pick to be the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
  16. Eric R Pleiss
    The Minnesota Twins exploded for six runs in the top of the tenth inning after they squandered three early game runs and beat the Kansas City Royals. Jordan Schafer continues to hit the ball well for the Twins, and had three more hits on Thursday against Kansas City.
     
    Down in the Minor Leagues the season is entering the final weekend, let's take a look at the Affiliates.
     
    Red Wings Report
    Rochester 6, Syracuse 3
    Box
     
    The Red Wings took the lead late (in the seventh) to defeat the Syracuse Chiefs and are now just two games out of the Wild Card spot with four games to control. The Wings control their own postseason fate and could squeeze in a spot with wins in their final four games (two against Buffalo, and finishing up the season with a pair against Wild Card leading Pawtucket).
     
    Virgil Vasquez, one of Rochester's most reliable starters, lasted only four innings. Vasquez gave up five hits, four walks, two earned runs and he struck out five. Vasquez turned things over to Logan Darnell, making a rare appearance out of the bullpen, and gave the Wings 3.2 innings of 1-hit baseball. The one hit went over the fence for a solo home run, but with Rochester scoring five runs between the sixth and eighth innings, Darnell picked up the W. Stephen Pryor pitched a scoreless inning, and Michael Tonkin earned a one out save to close out the victory.
     
    Pedro Florimon led the way for the Red Wings, he was 3-4 with a run scored, a triple, and three RBI. Chris Herrmann hit a home run for the second night in the row and finished 2-4. Chris Rahl, making his first start since an early August DL trip, was 2-4 as well.
     
    Rock Cats Review
    New Britain 5, Binghamton 3
    Box
     
    Jason Wheeler pitched seven innings of one run baseball and had nothing to show for it after Edgar Ibarra gave up two runs in the bottom of the eighth and left Wheeler with a no decision. Wheeler struck out four, walked one, and gave up his only run on a solo home run in the first inning. Ibarra, despite blowing the save, earned the win when he Rock Cats scored three runs in the top of the ninth. Ibarra pitched two innings, gave up two runs, struck out two and walked one.
     
    The Rock Cats used a slew of singles to score those runs in the ninth, with RBIs coming from Mike Gonzales, Reynaldo Rodriguez and Tony Thomas as part of four consecutive singles for New Britain. Other than those four ninth inning hits, the Rock Cats had just six hits in the first eight innings. Eddie Rosario, headed to the Arizona Fall League in a couple of weeks, was 0-4 with a strike out and is hitting just .234/.277/.378 in 75 games in New Britain. In addition to his ninth inning RBI, Tony Thomas had two more RBIs, including a solo home run in the second inning.
     
    Miracle Matters
    The Fort Myers and Jupiter were rained out and the game will be made up on Friday as part of a double header.
     
    Kernels Nuggets
    Cane County 3, Cedar Rapids 2
    Box
     
    Having already clinched a postseason birth, the Kernels fell in regulation to the best team in the Midwest League, The Kane County Cougars (89-47). Chih-Wei Hu gave up three first inning runs, all earned, but hung on to pitch four innings. He struck out five, walked three, and scattered four hits. Hudson Boyd pitched three scoreless innings of relief and Chris Mazza pitched the final two innings and struck out five.
     
    The Kernels went into the ninth inning down by two runs, and despite a late rally, could only plate one run and lost 3-2. The Kernels were paced by Jonatan Hinojosa who was 3-4 with a walk and a strike out. Tanner Vavra had two hits, including a double.
     
    E-Twins E-Notes
    Kingsport 6, Elizabethton 13
    Box
     
    Kingsport chased starter Derrick Penilla after three innings. Penilla gave up five runs, all earned, on eight hits. He struck out four and walked none. Zach Tillery pitched three innings in relief, giving up one run, no walks, and he struck out two. Kuo Hua Low pitched two scoreless innings and was the beneficiary of a nine-run inning from the Twins and he picked up his third win of the year. Keaton Steele pitched the ninth to finish the game.
     
    The Twins scored 13 runs on 15 hits, including five for extra bases. Nick Gordon led the way with a 3-5 night. He had a triple, four RBI and no strike outs. Will Hurt (GREAT baseball name) was 3-5 with a run scored. Trey Vavra, Tyler Mautner, and Austin Diemer also all had multi-hit nights. Mautner had a big night with both of his hits going for extra bases with a double and a solo home run.
     
    GCL Twins Takes
    GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 3
    Box
     
    The GCL Twins were in a hole from the beginning and could not string together enough timely hitting (1-8 with runners in scoring position) to steal a win from the Rays. The Twins used only two pitchers, Alexis Tapia, who pitched five innings and gave up three runs, and Miles Nordgren who pitched three innings of scoreless relief.
     
    Joel Polanco was the only Twins player with multiple hits, he was 2-4 with a run scored and two strike outs. Jake Barrie had the Twins' only extra base hit, a double, and Dubal Baez had their only walk.
     
    TwinsDaily Minor League Hitter and Pitcher of the Day
    TwinsDaily Hitter of the Day - Pedro Florimon, Rochester
    TwinsDaily Pitcher of the Day - Jason Wheeler, New Britain
     
    Friday's Probables
    Buffalo @ Rochester (6:15pm) - Sean Gilmartin
    New Hampshire @ New Britain (6:05) - Pat Dean
    Jupiter @ Fort Myers (4:00, Game 2 to follow) - TBD, TBD
    Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35) - Mat Batts
    Kingsport @ Elizabethton - TBD
  17. Eric R Pleiss
    The Twins had a busy day, but not as busy as some fans had hoped. They moved Sam Fuld back to Oakland in return for the soft-tossing lefty Tommy Milone. Milone will report to AAA for now, but should be up with the Twins before the end of next week. The Twins tried hard to find a buyer for Kurt Suzuki, but finding no suitors, the Twins bought high on Suzuki themselves, signing him to a two-year $12 million dollar extension, with a vesting option for a third year. To replace Sam Fuld on the 25-man roster, the Twins have promoted monstrous switch hitter Kennys Vargas from Double-A.
     
    Red Wings Report
    Rochester 2, Lehigh Valley 5
    Box
     
    Sean Gilmartin did not have his best stuff, surrendering five runs on five hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out four. His ERA in AAA is still just 3.98. Deolis Guerra pitched the final two innings and gave up one hit, walked one, and struck out one.
     
    The Red Wings had plenty of base runners, the collected nine hits and a walk, but could not string things together to score more than a pair of runs. Six of the Wings' nine hits came from Pedro Florimon, Eric Farris, and Chris Rahl, each of them was 2-4, hitting in the seven-eight-nine spots. Josmil Pinto, who probably wasn't having a great evening after hearing about the Suzuki extension, was 1-4, but hey, no strike outs!
     
    Rock Cats Review
    Erie 4, New Britain 5
    Box
     
    Tyler Duffey pitched eight innings, but didn't have the lead while he was on the mound, as the Rock Cats rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth to give Duffey the win. Duffey gave up seven hits, four earned runs, a walk and two strike outs. Alex Wimmers, recently promoted to AA, picked up his first save with he Rock Cats, pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
     
    Aaron Hicks had a big day at the plate for New Britain, he was 3-4 with two runs scored, a double, a home run, and an RBI. Hicks is now hitting .301/.392/.439 over 40 games in New Britain. Stephen Wickens was 2-4 with a double and an RBI, and Mike Kvasnicka was 1-4 with a three run homer that gave the Rock Cats the win in the eighth.
     
    Miracle Matters
    Clearwater 9, Fort Myers 3
    Box
     
    Matt Tomshaw was bad on Thursday night. He faced 20 batters in three innings. He gave up 11 hits, nine runs (all earned), walked one, and struck out four. Two of the 11 hits he gave up were home runs. The bullpen pieced together six scoreless innings, but the damage was already done. Brandon Peterson pitched 2.2 and struck out three and walked one, Todd Van Steensel went 2.1 and also struck out three, he walked two. And D.J. Johnson ended things pitching in the ninth, he struck out one and walked one.
     
    Nothing much doing for the Miracle with the bats, they collected just six hits, but worked their way into five walks. They also struck out 11 times. No Miracle batter had more than one hit. Levi Michael, who is back on the field after dealing with a foot injury, was 1-3 with a walk, a run scored, and a strike out. Byron Buxton was 1-3 with two runs scored, a triple and a walk.
     
    Kernels Nuggets
    Burlington 1, Cedar Rapids 4
    Box
     
    Chih-Wei Hu picked up his fourth win for the Kernels and is now 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA at Low-A. He went six innings, gave up just one run, struck out four and walked one. Brandon Bixler pitched the seventh and the eighth without allowing any runs, and Jared Wilson pitched a scoreless ninth.
     
    Max Murphy was 2-3 with a home run and two RBIs, and Mitch Garver had a home run of his own, a two run dinger on a 1-3 night. Logan Wade had two hits of his own, and a run scored, going 2-4 on the evening.
     
    E-Town E-Notes
    Elizabethton @ Kingsport - Postponed (rain)
     
    GCL Twins Takes
    GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 5
    Box
     
    Onesimo Hernandez went five innings, walked five, struck out three, and gave up two earned runs on four hits, including a home run. Seth Wagner earned a hold with 1.2 scoreless innings, even though he walked three batters. Trevor Hildenberger was tagged with a blown save and the loss (0-3) with two innings of three run ball that included four strike outs and no walks.
     
    The GCL Twins used 12 position players, and collected twelve hits and two walks. Corey Wimberly was 2-4 with a run scored and a double, Nelson Molina was also 2-4 with a run scored and Jack Barrie was 2-4, without a run scored. Jarrard Poteete had a double on a 1-4 night, and Manul Guzman had a triple, accounting for the Twins' remaining extra base hit.
     
    Twins Daily Minor League Hitter/Pitcher of the Day
    Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day - Aaron Hicks, New Britain Rock Cats
    Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Matt Tomshaw, Fort Myers Miracle
     
    Friday's Probables
    Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) – Kris Johnson
    Erie @ New Britain (6:05 CST) – Virgil Vasquez
    Ft. Myers @ Lakeland (6:11 CST) – Ethan Mildren
    Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (7:00 CST) – TBD
    Elizabethton @ Kingsport (4:00 CST), Double header – TBD
    DSL Twins @ DSL White Sox (10:30AM CST) - TBD
    GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (11:00AM CST) – TBD
  19. Eric R Pleiss
    You can download the new Talk to Contact (@TalkToContact) episode via iTunes or by clicking here, and if you want to add the show to your non-iTunes podcast player, this is the RSS Feed.
    http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/codygangh.jpg
    “Peace to my All Star homies in West Fargo.” – Cody Christie, probably
    This week we talk all about the first half, the Twins best players and worst players before the All Star break, and what we think might happen in the second half. Jay Corn rags on Joe Mauer, Cody Christie praises Brian Dozier, and Eric Pleiss raves about his boyfriend Phil Hughes.
    Join us for the Twins talk, stay for the beers and baseball chatter.

    I hope you enjoy this special episode.You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan, you can find Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) you can find Eric on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read his writing at Knuckleballs, and you can find Mr. Jay Corn on Twitter (@Jay__Corn)!
     
    If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review our show on iTunes. iTunes ratings and reviews are to podcasting as S'mores are to camping.
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