Seth Stohs

Yeah, Baxendale was eligible for the rule 5 draft last offseason too, but now that he's in his better long-term role, teams might have seeen what he could do and could be. I wouldn't be surprised to see him up on Tuesday.

Just learned, teams can now have up to 4 players from A ball on their AFL roster.

Rain was the story in Ft. Myers as both the GCL’s final regular season game and the Miracle game were postponed. Elizabethton had the day off to prepare for their playoff series. Their regular season ended with a record above .500 for the 28th straight season. The Red Wings came into the night needing to win out for a shot at the playoffs. The Lookouts are hanging on to some hope, and the Kernels needed to work some overtime.Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Friday night. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Lehigh Valley 7 Box Score The Red Wings came into the final weekend needing to win all four remaining games. The drama of a playoff run ended quickly. The Red Wings were down 5-0 before they even came to bat in the bottom of the first inning. Lefty Jason Wheeler, who has been the Red Wings most consistent starter all season, was able to record only one out. He gave up five runs on four hits, two walks and a hit batter. DJ Baxendale came on and went 4.2 innings. He gave up one run on three hits. He struck out six without issuing a walk. Neil Ramirez struck out four in 1.2 scoreless innings. Jake Reed gave up one run on two hits in 1.1 innings. Alan Busenitz struck out two in a perfect ninth inning. One bad inning of pitching isn’t all that hurt the Red Wings on this night. Phillies prospect Ben Lively threw six perfect innings. Joely Rodriguez came on and threw two more no-hit innings, though he walked two. In the ninth, Elvis Araujo got the first two outs, but then he walked James Beresford. Beresford took second on defensive indifference and scored on a Reynaldo Rodriguez single to end the no-hitter and the shutout. Unfortunately the Red Wings playoff hopes also ended on Friday night. It will be the first time in their history that they have won 80 or more games and not made the playoffs. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Jackson 0 Box Score It all starts with pitching, and Aaron Slegers put together another terrific start. Slegers threw seven shutout innings. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out seven. Mason Melotakis and Brandon Peterson each worked a scoreless inning in relief. Niko Goodrum went 3-4 with his ninth double. Dalton Hicks went 2-4 with his 26th double. Travis Harrison wente 2-4 with a walk and his 22nd double. Edgar Corcino contributed his sixth triple. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers , Bradenton Box Score The doubleheader was postponed due to rain. They teams will try to play a doubleheader on Saturday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 4 (16 innings) Box Score It started out like any other game. A nice 7:00 start time. The score was 4-4 after four innings. And that's where it remained until Nelson Molina again played hero for the Kernels and an unlikely pitcher got his first win of the season. Five hours and 27 minutes after it began, the Kernels ended the game as the winner. Tyler Beardsley started. He threw three no-hit innings but struggled after that. He ended the day having given up four runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out two. Michael Cederoth went the next 2.1 innings and gave up only one hit. He struck out two. Anthony McIver struck out four over three shutout innings. He gave up two hits and walked one. Max Cordy threw three shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out five. Colton Davis came on for his first Midwest League appearance. He worked a scoreless 14th inning. And then the fun began. Jake Mauer turned to his backup catcher, Kevin Garcia, and he was good. In two perfect innings, he struck out two and became the winning pitcher. In the top of the 16th, Zander Wiel singled with two outs. It was followed by a Nelson Molina triple. Way back in the second inning, JJ Fernandez hit a solo home run to put the Kernels on the board. It was his ninth of the season. In the 4th inning, Zander Wiel's 16th home run gave the team two additional runs. Manuel Guzman singled in the third run that inning and fourth of the game. Wiel and Fernandez each went 3-8 in the game. Brandon Lopez was also 3-8. Molina went 2-6. The triple was his third of the season. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton Box Score The E-Twins final regular season game was scheduled for Thursday night, but it got rained out. They had Friday off in preparation for their three-game playoff series against Johnson City. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins, GCL Red Sox Box Score Rains remained in Southwest Florida and caused this all-important GCL matchup to be delayed until today (Saturday). It will be the final game of the regular season. The Red Sox and Twins are tied at 32-28. The winner will advance to the playoffs and play the Cardinals on Sunday. The loser will be done for the season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Niko Goodrum, Chattanooga Lookouts SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (5:35 CST) - RHP Tyler Duffey Chattanooga @ Jackson (6:05 CST) -RHP Randy LeBlanc Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Brady Anderson Playoffs Round 1: Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - RHP Miguel DeJesus GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00 am) - LHP Taylor Clemensia Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. Click here to view the article

Well done... thank you!!

All true, and all mentioned in the article.

He has put up a lot of those stats in Cedar Rapids, so explaining my vote, I tried only to factor in his shot-season teams data.

I don't think so... there's a reason the Twins promoted Randy Rosario to Chattanooga a couple weeks ago too. Teams all do this. They changed the rules 3-4 years ago from 1 player below AA to two players. Maybe it'll change again, but it won't be due to this.

Wade has been on the Disabled List for a few weeks. Granite could have been moved, but English did have to move. This is my thinking... the rules of the AFL say that a team can only send two players below AA. English had to move up since they are also sending Gordon and Curtiss from Ft. Myers. Granite's had a great yet. English is the best defensive centerfielder in the organization not named Buxton. He'll hold his own in Rochester with the bat, but he'll help that pitching staff tremendously with his glove.

Wells measured in at 6-1, 186 this spring.

I'm not sure why that would be the assumption at this point. 19, success in Low A, 4 good pitches, great makeup... I mean, the likely ceiling for most pitchers is probably reliever, but at this stage, there's no reason to think that yet.

Daniel Palka enters the final weekend of the minor league season with 34 home runs. Can he rack up any more over the final four games of the season? 34 home runs is a pretty large number. I was chatting with Rochester radio man Josh Whetzel and we wondered aloud how often Twins minor leaguers have had that many home runs in a minor league season. You know me. I had to go do a little research, and it was a lot of fun! I went all the way back to 1961 when the Senators came to Minnesota and became the Twins. Do you remember the last time a Twins minor leaguer had as many as 34 home runs in a season?Well, give it some thought before continuing. Spend a couple of minutes thinking about the power hitting minor leaguers in your lifetime. If you’re my age you may remember that 1986 FLEER Major League Prospect card of Brewers prospect Billy Joe Robidoux and Twins prospect Mark Funderburk. Funderburk had debuted with the Twins late in the 1981 season and remained a prospect through the 1985 season. He had a little time with the Twins and hit a lot of minor league home runs. After Funderburk, you may remember Bernardo Brito. How about all those years when the Twins had some strong prospects in the late 90s in the Pacific Coast League? But how about minor leaguers in the ‘60s and ‘70s? How many of them hit 30 or more home runs? And, if you study the minor leagues from those early years, you’ll notice that there were a lot more minor league teams and levels like B, C and D and some A ball clubs and more. Here is a list of the Twins minor leaguers in their history who have hit 30 or more homers in a season. 1.) Tim Laudner - 42 in AA Orlando in 1981 2.) Moe Hill - 41 in A Wisconsin Rapids in 1977 3.) Stan Holmes - 37 in A Visalia in 1983 3.) Cotton Nash - 37 in AAA Portland in 1971 5.) Richard Means - 36 in A Charlotte in 1962 6.) Miguel Sano - 35 in FM/NB in 2013 6.) Danny Walton - 35 in AAA Tacoma in 1974 6.) Luis Lagunas - 35 in A WRK in 1966 9.) Daniel Palka - 34 in AA/AAA in 2016 9.) Mark Funderburk - 34 in AA Orlando in 1985 9.) Andy Kosco - 34 in AAA/WRK in 1965 12.) Cotton Nash - 33 in AAA Evansville in 1970 13.) Chad Rupp - 32 in AAA Salt Lake City in 1997 13.) Moe Hill - 32 in A Wisconsin Rapids in 1974 15.) Adam Brett Walker - 31 in AA Chattanooga in 2015 15.) Garrett Jones - 31 in A/AA (Ft. Myers/New Britain) in 2004 15.) Michael Ryan - 31 in AAA Edmonton in 2002 15.) David Ortiz - 31 in FM/NB/SLC in 1997 15.) Mark Funderburk - 31 in A Visalia in 1979 15.) Moe Hill - 31 in A Wisconsin Rapids in 1975 15.) Andy Kosco - 31 in A Wisconsin Rapids in 1964 15.) Chuck Weatherspoon - 31 in Class B Wilson in 1961 23.) Michael Cuddyer - 30 in AA New Britain in 2001 23.) David Ortiz - 30 in AAA Salt Lake City in 1999 23.) Matthew Lecroy - 30 in Ft. Myers/SLC in 1999 23.) Gary Gaetti - 30 in AA Orlando in 1981 23.) Moe Hill - 30 in A Wisconsin Rapids in 1976 23.) Randy Bass - 30 in A Lynchburg in 1974 23.) Gary Ward - 30 in A Wisconsin Rapids in 1974 23.) Bob Gorinsky - 30 in A Wisconsin Rapids in 1970 23.) Frank Leja - 30 in AAA Syracuse in 1961 So the answer to the question, who was the most recent Twins prospect to his 34 or more homers in a season is… Miguel Sano in 2013. Who knew? FSN Twins analyst, and 1987 World Champion Tim Laudner is on the top of this leaderboard with 42 home runs in AA in 1981. He debuted with the Twins in late August that year and in 14 big league games, he added two more home runs. In the 55 years since the Twins moved to Minnesota, 31 Twins minor leaguers have had seasons in which they hit 30 or more home runs. Some have done it multiple times, but the list of names is certainly interesting. There are some players who have become stars. Some have had solid MLB careers. A few had cups of coffee, and several never saw the big leagues. Some are familiar names to Twins fans and many likely have caused the word “Who?” to be uttered. MULTIPLE 25 HOME RUN SEASONS Did you know that there are ten players in Twins minor league history who have had multple seasons with 25 or more homers in the minor leagues? Here is that list. Andy Kosco - 1964-65 In 1964, Kosco hit 28 home runs in the Northern League. In 1965, he hit 27 in AAA Denver and seven more in Winter Rookie League ball. He had come to the Twins before the 1964 season . He played 89 games for the Twins between 1965 and 1967, hitting a combined 3 home runs. After leaving the Twins, he played for the Yankees, Dodgers, Brewers, Angels, Red Sox and Reds. He hit a combined 73 MLB home runs. Cotton Nash - 1970-71 The Twins have always had a connection to the University of Kentucky. . Cotton Nash played basketball for Adolph Rupp there and then played a year in the NBA. After two years, he played a season in the ABA. At the same time, he was playing minor league baseball in the White Sox system. He played three games with them, then came to the Twins organization. In 1970 in AA Evansville, he was 27 and hit 33 homers. He played four games for the Twins. The following year, he hit 37 homers in AAA Portland as a 28 year old but didn’t get called up to the Twins. In all, he played 10 games for the Twins between 1969 and 1970. He had no home runs in MLB. Randy Bass - 1974, 1977 Randy Bass was the Twins seventh-round pick in 1972. In 1974, he hit 30 homers for Lynchburg in the High-A Carolina League. He jumped to AAA and hit 18 and 21 in 1975 and 1976 , respectively. Then in 1977 at AAA Tacoma, he hit 25 homers. As a 23-year-old, he hit .321/.456/.560 (1.016). He was called up to the Twins late in the season and went 2-19. He hit a total of nine MLB homers for the Twins, Royals, Expos, Padres and Rangers. In 1983, he went to play in Japan and over the next six seasons, he hit a lot of home runs . In 1986, he hit 54 homers, and he hit another 47 homers in 1987. Stan Holmes - 1983 -1984 In 1983, Holmes was a 23-year-old and hit .302/.397/.586 (.983) with 37 homers. In 1984, he moved to Orlando and hit .280/.358/.485 (.843) with 25 homers. He spent several more years in the minors but never played in the major leagues. Moe Hill - 1974-1978 In five straight seasons Moe Hill hit 25 or more home runs. For eight straight seasons, he played for Class A Wisconsin Rapids. He had been in the Orioles organization from 1965-1968. He started playing for Wisconsin Rapids in 1971 and stayed there through the 1978 season. Remember, it was Low Class A ball. As a 24-year-old in 1974, he hit .339/.418/.621 (1.038) with 32 homers. He hit 31 homers in 1975, and 30 homers as a 29-year-old in 1976. As a 30-year-old and still in Low A, he hit .304/.420/.610 (1.030) with 41 homers. Then he hit 25 homers in 1978. The Twins let him go and he spent the next two seasons in the Royals system. It was such a strange situation that I had to go to an expert on Twins history. I contacted 1500 ESPN personality and Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse. Apparently Hill was a folk hero in Wisconsin Rapids. Since the Twins didn’t see him as much of a prospect, they kept him there. Not that there weren’t a few big supporters for Hill getting a call up to the big leagues. According to Reusse: “Twins didn't like to take advice from sports writers in those days, so the more (Tribune writer Mike) Gelfand wrote about it, the less chance there was the Twins would embrace such a gesture to a minor-league legend.” Mark Funderburk - 1978-80, 1985, 1987 Funderburk certainly had an interesting career. In 1978, he was a 21-year-old in Wisconsin Rapids. He hit .258 (.774) with 25 homers. In 1979, he moved up to Visalia where he hit .310/.384/.548 (.931) with 31 homers. He was a 23-year-old in 1980, playing in AA Orlando. He hit .250 (.762) with 26 home runs. He spent most of 1981 in AAA before spending eight games at season’s end with the Twins. He then spent 1982 in AA Orlando. He went to the Royals system in 1983 and ended up playing in Mexico that year too. He was out of baseball in 1984. He returned to the Twins in 1985> He was 28-years-old and in AA Orlando. He hit .283/.343/.520 (.863) with 34 homers. He finished the season by hitting .314 with an .879 OPS, and two home runs , in the big leagues. He hit just ten combined home runs between AA and AAA in 1986. In 1987, he was 30 and hit .250/.306/.498 (.863) with 28 homers. And that was the end of his pro baseball career. Bernardo Brito - 1990-92, 1994 Brito came to the Twins organization following the 1987 season from Cleveland. In 1990, he was a 26-year-old at AAA Portand. He hit .282/.330/.566 (.897) with 25 homers. In 1991, he was 27. Still in Portland, he hit .259/.311/.498 (.808) with 27 homers. In 1992, Brito hit .270/.313/.480 (.794) with 26 homers. In 1993, he hit 20 AAA homers and added four in the big leagues for the Twins. In 1994, he was 30 and played for Salt Lake. There, he hit .309/.353/.572 (.925) with 30 homers. Brito played in 40 games for the Twins between 1992, 1993 and 1995. He hit .219/.237/.466 (.703) with five homers in 76 plate appearances. I recall hearing about how much he struck out in the minor leaguers. He struck out between 20% and 25% of his plate appearances. David Ortiz - 1997, 1999 In 1997, Ortiz was 21 years old and split the season between Ft. Myers, New Britain and Salt Lake. He hit .317/.372/.568 (.940) with 31 homers. He hit 13 for the Miracle, 14 for the Rock Cats, four for Salt Lake. And, he added one more with the Twins. He spent most of 1998 with the Twins but returned to AAA in 1999. There, the 23-year-old hit .315/.412/.590 (1.002) with 29 homers. Miguel Sano - 2012-2013 In 2012, Sano was a 19-year-old playing in Beloit. He hit 28 home runs and hit .258/.373/.521 (.893). 2013 was even better. .He split the season between Ft. Myers and New Britain and hit a combined .280/.382/.610 (.992) with 35 homers. 16 came with the Miracle. 19 came with New Britain. Since then he missed a year with Tommy John surgery. He came back in 2015 and by July 1st, he was in the big leagues. Still just 23, he should have years of 30 home run seasons. Adam Brett Walker - 2013-2016 Walker was drafted in the third round of the 2012 draft out of Jacksonville, and he’s been hitting homers ever since. In Cedar Rapids in 2013, he hit .278 (.844) with 27 homers. As a 22-year-old in Ft. Myers in 2014, he hit .246 (.743) with 25 homers. In 2015 he moved up to AA Chattanooga and hit .239 (.807) with 31 homers. He led his league in homers each of those years. He is currently one homer behind the International League leader with 27 home runs for Rochester this year. Four more games to go! The 24-year-old is on the Twins 40-man roster and could be up by Tuesday for September. SUMMARY So, Palka has been one of the most prodigious home run hitters in Twins minor league history. Does it mean he’ll be a big, power-hitting big leaguer? Maybe, or maybe not. These lists are a good reminder that even with major minor league success, big league success isn’t guaranteed. However, the Red Wings power combination of Daniel Palka and Adam Brett Walker is very, very exciting. Hopefully we’ll see them both spend the majority of September in a Twins uniform. Click here to view the article

It's definitely a concern. Sano was probably 225-230 in Elizabethton, so Diaz already has him beat there. But what impressed me was that he didn't just hit home runs. 15 doubles is pretty impressive, and he has three triples too.

Looking at it that way, it makes a ton of sense. Turner and Murphy need playing time too behind the plate. That's certainly fair. There are four catchers on the Surprise roster, so Garver will catch probably twice a week, and DH a game or two a week. That's an extra 10-14 starts behind the plate, which is a positive, to be sure.

People must forget that Neil Allen is credited with working with guys like David Price, and Matt Moore, and Jeremy Hellickson and Jake Odorizzi, and several other Rays top pitching prospects over the years. It's not like he suddenly doesn't know how to teach/coach pitching. I'm perplexed by what happened with Berrios in MLB, but I don't think that's all on Allen... maybe a small piece. The only thing I didn't like was the excessive voices allowed in Berrios's ears.

I don't know if he's turned a corner or just on a nice streak. He's hitting .409 over a 6-game hitting streak, and he's hitting .405 in his last 11 games. Would be nice for him to end on a good note, I'd say.

Kirilloff has had a very nice debut, but Diaz has really been terrific, providing the power that the Twins envisioned when signing him for all that money. I personally see him in the Top 15, but we'll see how it plays out with more research and such. Could be a Top 10 guy. And, I'd put him more in the Vargas category than the Sano category at this point.

It seems like those short-season teams just started, and yet, here we are. The E-Twins and GCL Twins regular seasons are ending this week. It is time for us to hand out our Twins Daily awards. Over the next week or two, we’ll be posting our short-season and full-season minor league awards articles. Today we begin by handing out the award for Twins Daily short-season minor league hitter of the year. The five Twins Daily Minor League Report authors were asked to vote for the various awards. For the short-season hitter of the year, we each voted for five players. The player who was voted as #1 received five points, #2 received four points and so on with the #5 vote receiving one point. Results were tabulated and the results are found below. Image courtesy of Jon Tarr Before we get to the Top 4 short-season hitters, here are a few others who received votes. Receiving Votes: Jaylin Davis, Elizabethton Twins: 13-47, .277/.346/.745 (1.091), 1 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 12, RBI. Shane Carrier, Elizabethton Twins: 57-207, .275/.301/.449 (.751), 14 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 29 RBI. Ariel Montesino, Elizabethton Twins: 56-187, .290/.343/.332 (.675), 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 13 RBI. Amaurys Minier, Elizabethton Twins: 37-167, .222/.318/.449 (.767), 8 2B, 0 3B, 10 HR, 32 RBI. Short-Season Hitter of the Year Here are the top four places (eight players received votes) for Twins Daily Short-Season Hitter of the Year. #4 – Aaron Whitefield, GCL Twins: 57-185, .308/.372/.378 (.750), 7 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 31-40 SB. Whitefield is one of the more interesting stories in the Twins system this past year. He signed in May of 2015 and played in just a handful of games in the GCL last year. The 19-year-old had been a softball player in international competitions for Australia before turning to baseball in the last two years. At 6-4 and 200 pounds, he is very fast and a terrific athlete. He had a very nice season in the GCL, leading off most every day. He has hit over .300 and taken quality plate appearances most times up to bat. Once on base, he has the green light to run, and he was very successful on the base paths. He is certainly one to watch as he gains more baseball experience. #3 – Travis Blankenhorn, Elizabethton Twins: 41-138, .297/.342/.558 (.900), 7 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 29 RBI. Blankenhorn spent the second half of the 2015 short season in Elizabethton. However, in extended spring training, he made the transition to second base. It’s been a work-in-progress, but it hasn’t affected his offense to this point. In 34 games with the E-Twins this year, he hit well and showed a lot of power with 17 extra-base hits. In fact, the 2015 third-round pick was quickly promoted to Cedar Rapids where he has continued to hit. In 20 games there, he is hitting ..320 with extra-base hits. #2 – Alex Kirilloff, Elizabethton Twins: 66-216, .306/.341/.454 (.794), 9 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 33 RBI. The Twins used their first-round pick this June on the Pennsylvania prep. Kirilloff was sent directly to Elizabethton after signing and hit right from the start. While he has cooled off significantly in August, the 19-year-old has had a strong professional debut. He has shown he can hit for average as well as providing plenty of extra-base hit power, including nine home runs while making adjustments to the wood bat, pro life, and more. He has also done a nice job in the outfield for the E-Twins. Short-Season Hitter of the Year – Lewin Diaz, Elizabethton Twins: 54-174, .310/.353/.575 (.928), 15 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 37 RBI. Lewin Diaz was the Twins big international free agent signing in 2013, earning a seven-digit signing bonus. Due to his size and power potential, he has been compared to several big leaguers including David Ortiz and Ryan Howard. Lofty hopes. He spent 2014 in the Dominican Summer League. He played most of 2015 in the Gulf Coast League, though he played a handful of games in Elizabethton last year. He came to spring training this year at 6-4 and 250 pounds. He is a big, powerful man, and he has shown that power this year. However he has also hit for average, and while he doesn’t walk a lot, he has shown some control of the strike zone. It is fair to say that Diaz will fly up prospect rankings this coming offseason. He had fallen back some, but his power potential is immense and scouts and others will start to take notice. He will jump to Cedar Rapids to start the 2017 season. It will be interesting as he would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft if he’s not added to the 40-man roster following that season. The Ballots In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth Stohs – 1) Lewin Diaz, 2) Alex Kirilloff, 3) Aaron Whitefield, 4) Travis Blankenhorn, 5) Shane Carrier Jeremy Nygaard – 1) Alex Kirilloff, 2) Aaron Whitefield, 3) Lewin Diaz, 4) Travis Blankenhorn, 5) Ariel Montesino Cody Christie – 1) Lewin Diaz, 2) Travis Blankenhorn, 3) Alex Kirilloff, 4) Aaron Whitefield, 5) Shane Carrier Steve Lein – 1) Lewin Diaz, 2) Travis Blankenhorn, 3) Alex Kirilloff, 4) Aaron Whitefield, 5) Amaurys Minier Eric Pleiss – 1) Lewin Diaz, 2) Jaylin Davis, 3) Alex Kirilloff, 4) Travis Blankenhorn, 5) Aaron Whitefield Feel free to discuss. How would your ballot look? View full article

Check back to Twins Daily in about 45 minutes or so for more on this... Ha! Kirilloff has kept playing. He's just slumped in August some.

Just a September call up. Possible that Grossman's oblique issue is worse than thought.

He's been called up.

A couple of affiliates have already claimed playoff spots. A couple more still have a chance including the GCL Twins. The Rochester Red Wings had a tremendous last-inning comeback to keep their slim playoff choices alive. It was the return to the Red Wings’ mound for Jose Berrios. How did he do?There were seven games played by the six Twins affiliates on Wednesday. Enjoy today’s Twins Minor League Report. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Syracuse 3 Box Score Jose Berrios made his first start since returning to the Red Wings last week. It didn’t start out well. He gave up two runs in the first inning. Both came on a home run. Then in the sixth frame, he gave up a solo homer. All told, in eight innings, Berrios gave up three runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out 14 batters, including three in that eighth inning. 71 of his 100 pitches were strikes. Alan Busenitz worked a perfect ninth inning. The Red Wings offense didn’t do a lot. They didn’t have a run until the 7th inning when they got a single run. Down 3-1 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Red Wings were not ready to give in. Following singles from James Beresford and Kennys Vargas, Adam Brett Walker hit a two-run double to tie the game at three. Daniel Palka walked and Mitch Garver lined a single to center to load the bases. John Ryan Murphy played hero with a game-winning single to end it. In the 6th inning, Reynaldo Rodriguez pinch hit for Byron Buxton. There was no injury so the assumption is that he’s heading back to Minnesota to join the Twins. I’m certain we’ll find out more soon. UPDATE - per multiple sources, Buxton has indeed been called back up to the Twins. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Mississippi 6 Box Score Big innings are great when they happen for your team, less so when they happen to your team. Unfortunately, the Lookouts gave up a four-run second inning and were unable to complete the comeback. Felix Jorge gave up the four, second-inning runs, but then he threw five shutout innings after that. He came back out for the eighth inning but two batters in, he gave up a two-run homer to stretch the deficit. In all, Jorge was charged with six runs on 14 hits over the first seven innings. He walked none and struck out three. Brandon Peterson came on to get the final six outs. He gave up one hit and hit one, but gave up no runs over the final two innings. Engelb Vielma led the offense with his three-hit game. Edgar Corcino went 2-3 with a walk and his sixth double, which drove in a run. Niko Goodrum went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI triple. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 - Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 5 Box Score Miles Nordgren started for the Miracle in the first of two games on Wednesday. In four innings, he gave up four runs on seven hits, a walk and a hit batter. He struck out two. He had given up just one run in the first four innings. However, the first three batters of the fifth reached. One of the runs had already scored when John Curtiss entered. He allowed both inherited runners to score and one more of his own before getting the inning’s three outs. He pitched a scoreless sixth inning. The Miracle had just four hits in the game. Brian Olson was 1-2 with a walk and an RBI double, his second of the Miracle season. Brian Navarreto went 1-2 with a walk and his eighth double. Joe Maloney was 1-2 with a walk. Trey Vavra went 1-3 with a walk. Game 2 - Ft. Myers 1, Palm Beach 0 Box Score The two teams completed the game they had started a day before. On Tuesday, Cody Stashak started and threw 3.2 scoreless innings before the rains came. Those innings dropped his Miracle ERA to just 0.54. When they resumed play on Wednesday night, Michael Theofanopoulos entered. He got five outs and gave up only a walk. He struck out two.Nick Anderson picked up the final five outs to record his ninth save. He struck out two. As you can tell from the score, there wasn’t much offense. The lone run came when Christian Ibarra hit his fourth Miracle double to score Sean MIller who also had hit his fourth Miracle double. Alex Perez went 1-1 with two walks. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 3 Box Score Sean Poppen made the start in Appleton for the Kernels. The right-hander went five innings and gave up three runs on four hits. He struck out seven without issuing a walk. Andrew Vasquez went the next 2.1 innings and didn’t allow a run. He gave up one hit, walked three and struck out three. Tom Hackimer came on and struck out the two batters he faced. Luis Arraez and Kevin Garcia each went 2-4. JJ Fernandez hit his eighth home run. Jaylin Davis drove in Arraez for the team’s first run. The loss ended the Kernels eight-game winning streak. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Greeneville 6 Box Score The E-Twins fell behind early. Domenick Carlini gave up five runs on nine hits over five innings. He struck out four. Johan Quezada threw the next three innings. The only base runner he allowed was a hit batter. He struck out two. Hector Lujan gave up a run on two hits in the ninth inning. Ariel Montesino led the offense. He went 2-4. Lewin Diaz added his 15th double. Andre Jernigan went 1-2 with a walk. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 5 (10 innings) Box Score There certainly wasn’t a lot of offense in this game, at least not until the Rays batted in the 10th inning. In fact, the Twins had just four hits in the game. Jean Carlos Arias went 3-3 with a walk. He stole his sixth and seventh bases. He also drove in the team’s lone run. The other hit came off the bat of Aaron Whitefield. It was his seventh double. Jordan Balazovic started for the Twins. The Canadian gave up just one run over the first 3.1 innings. He gave up five hits, walked none, hit two batters and struck out five. Callan Pearce worked the next five innings without allowing a run. He gave up three hits and struck out four. Onas Farfan got the final two outs of the ninth inning. He came back out for the 10th inning and gave up four runs on four hits, a walk and a hit batter. The big blow was a grand slam off the bat of Jonathon Arrowood. He struck out three. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jean Carlos Arias, GCL Twins THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Nick Greenwood Mississippi @ Chattanooga (1:15 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 CST) - RHP Cody Stashak Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (7:05 CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells Greeneville @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Jose Martinez GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 am) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday's games. Click here to view the article