Seth Stohs

It was a quiet Mother’s Day in the minor leagues as both Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids had days off. However, the Twins finished their series in Detroit, the Red Wings were in Toledo and New Britain was in Bowie, and there was still plenty to write about. The Twins fell behind early in Detroit on Sunday, but they didn’t give up and walked away with a 4-3 win and a series win against the Tigers. They will get Monday off before hosting the Boston Red Sox in a three game series starting Tuesday. Here are the game updates from the Twins minor league system from Saturday. TRANSACTIONS The Ft. Myers Miracle placed Byron Buxton (wrist) and Levi Michael (foot) on the 7-Day Disabled List. As most know by now, Buxton re-injured his wrist on a slide into third base on Thursday. That same night, Michael fouled a ball off of his foot and hasn’t played since. In Cedar Rapids, Zack Larson was put on the Disabled List (on Saturday). Tony Thomas RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 0, Toledo 7 Box Score Things got off to a bad start and the bats just were not able to make up for it with their offense. In fact, the offense had just three hits in the game. Logan Darnell made his first Rochester start in two weeks. He had a nice stint with the Twins in between. In the first inning, he gave up five runs, though just two were earned due to a Pedro Florimon error. He gave up one more run over the next three innings. In his four innings, he gave up four hits, walked two and struck out four. Aaron Thompson gave up a run on two hits in the eighth inning. In between, set up man AJ Achter threw three perfect innings and had a lot of cheers from the Toledo crowd. The Toledo native had a lot of family and friends in attendance. In the three games in Rochester, Florimon went 0-8 (with three walks) at the plate. He also committed one error each game. Mike Hessman, the 36 year old for Toledo, his a third inning home run off of Darnell. It was the 399th home run of his minor league career. Since 2003, he has hit 14 major league home runs as well. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 11, Bowie 1 Box Score The Rock Cat bats were back on Sunday afternoon. They scored 11 runs while accumulating 13 hits and six walks. The first five batters in the lineup each had two hits. Corey Wimberly led off and went 2-4 with two walks and his fifth double. Tony Thomas was 2-4 with a walk, his fourth home run and three RBI. Danny Ortiz drove in three runs and went 2-5. Kennys Vargas was 2-5 and drove in two runs. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-4 with a walk and his sixth home run. Coming into the game, Kennys Vargas was on fire. In his last 19 games (since April 21), he had gone 26-70 and is hitting .371/.450/.671 (1.121) with six doubles, five homers and 13 RBI. Matt Summers put in a terrific start. He gave up one run on four hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out seven. Ryan O’Rourke gave up one hit and walked one in a scoreless inning. Dan Turpen pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Lester Oliveros struck out one in a perfect inning as well to end the game. MIRACLE MATTERS No Game Scheduled. KERNELS NUGGETS No Game Scheduled. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – AJ Achter, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tony Thomas, New Britain Rock Cats SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Toledo (9:30 a.m. CST) – Kris Johnson (Listen) New Britain – No Game Scheduled Ft. Myers @ Brevard Country (5:35 CST) – Matt Tomshaw (Listen) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (DH at 5:05 CST) – Josue Montanez, Ethan Mildren (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Sunday games. The Twins took the series against the Tigers with a 4-3 win on Sunday, so on Monday you can take 50% off a large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com by using the promo code 'twinswin'.

The Twins fell behind early and lost to Max Scherzer, Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. On Sunday, it will be Sam Deduno against Robbie Ray. YahooSports’ Jeff Passan reported that Byron Buxton will have an MRI on his reinjured wrist. The reports indicate that it is not considered serious, but the Twins are being very cautious. It was also a full day of baseball in the Twins minor league system. If you missed it, check out A Mother’s Perspective, by Diane Plouffe, Trevor’s mom, as you celebrate your Mother’s Day. Reynaldo Rodriguez RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Toledo 6 Box Score Alex Meyer had a rough start, and the Red Wings bats struggled to score runs. The Red Wings had eight hits, nine walks and one hit batter. However, they were only able to manage three runs and lost for the sixth straight time. Chris Herrmann went 3-5 with a double. He now is 6-9 in the two games since his return to the Red Wings. Deibinson Romero walked three times and was hit by a pitch. Pedro Florimon went 0-2 but he did walk two times. Oswaldo Arcia went 1-3 with a walk. Meyer went just four innings. He gave up six runs (5 earned) on seven hits and three walks. He struck out two. Edgar Ibarra gave up two hits over two shutout innings. Deolis Guerra struck out two in two perfect innings. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 7, Bowie 6 Box Score The Rock Cats brought out the power bats early and held on late for the win. The offense pounded out 16 hits including three home runs. Kennys Vargas went 3-5 with his seventh home run. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 3-5 with his fifth homer. Brandon Waring went 2-5 with his fourth homer. He drove in four runs. Kyle Knudson went 2-4 with a walk and his fourth double. Danny Ortiz went 2-5 with his seventh double. Tony Thomas also had two hits. Virgil Vasquez made the start. He gave up four runs on four hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out seven. Jim Fuller gave up two runs on two hits in four innings. He struck out three without a walk. Cole Johnson came in for the ninth inning and recorded his second save. He gave up just one hit. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 3, Ft. Myers 1 Box Score Jason Wheeler took the mound for the Miracle and went 6.2 innings. He gave up three runs on ten hits and two walks. He struck out three. Steven Gruver gave up one hit and struck out one in 1.1 innings. Brett Lee gave up a hit in his inning. It was his first appearance in May. The Miracle managed just five hits in this game. Aderlin Mejia and Stuart Turner both went 1-2 with a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 6 Box Score Ryan Eades was back on the mound on Saturday and struggled. In just 2.2 innings, he gave up three runs on five hits and four walks. He also threw two wild pitches. He struck out just one. Derrick Penilla came on and gave up two runs on six hits in 3.2 innings. He struck out three and walked none. Yorman Landa walked one and struck out one in 1.2 scoreless, hitless innings. Chad Christensen went 1-2 with two walks. He hit his sixth double and stole his ninth base of the season. Bryan Haar went 2-4 with his fourth double and two RBI. Tanner Vavra returned to the lineup and was hit by a pitch in his first plate appearance. He was 1-3. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Deolis Guerra, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, New Britain Rock Cats SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Toledo (1:00 CST) – Logan Darnell (Listen) New Britain @ Bowie (1:05 CST) – Matt Summers (Listen) Jupiter – No Game Scheduled Cedar Rapids – No Game Scheduled Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games.

The Minnesota Twins played one of the more crisp games of their 2014 season on Friday night. Phil Hughes needed just 86 pitches to get through seven shutout innings. Casey Fien dominated the 8th inning, and Glen Perkins got the save in the 2-1 win. Brian Dozier reached base four times, and Kurt Suzuki drove in both runs with a single off of Justin Verlander. Today, it will be Kyle Gibson taking on fellow Missouri Tiger Max Scherzer. It was also a full night through the Twins minor league system. TRANSACTIONS On Thursday the Twins announced that Pedro Florimon and Chris Herrmann were heading down to Rochester. The corresponding moves were announced on Friday afternoon. Aaron Hicks came off of the 7-Day Concussion List. The Twins also purchased the contract of Chris Parmelee and went 2-4 in his return. The Cedar Rapids Kernels put Logan Wade on the 7-Day Disabled List with a dislocated shoulder. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Toledo 7 Box Score Coming into this game, Yohan Pino was pitching better than anyone in the organization. His ERA was under one. On this day, he went just 2.1 innings and gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits. He walked two and struck out one and his ERA jumped up to 1.57. Aaron Thompson got the final two outs of the third inning. Ryan Pressly came in and gave up two unearned runs on three hits over three innings. Matt Hoffman gave up a run on three hits and a walk. Eric Farris led off and led the offense. He was 3-5 with his third double. He also stole his eighth base. Chris Herrmann returned to the Red Wings and went 3-4 with his first triple and stolen base. Pedro Florimon went 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in his first game for Rochester. James Beresford went 2-4 and drove in both runs. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, Bowie 5 (10 innings) Box Score The Rock Cats used the long ball to score all four of their runs. However, in extra innings, the team fell by a run. Danny Ortiz hit his first home run of the season and drove in two. Brandon Waring went 2-4 with his second homer. Nate Hanson hit his third homer. AJ Pettersen went 1-2 with a walk. Pat Dean started the game and went the first 6.1 innings. He allowed three runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out five. Dan Turpen came in and got the next three outs, though he walks one and was charged with an unearned run. Ryan O’Rorke struck out one batter. Adrian Salcedo got six outs, but he was also charged with an unearned run in the 10th to take the loss. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 11, Ft. Myers 2 Box Score A look at this box score reminds us that player development is the key in the minor leagues. One part of development in the Minnesota Twins organization is the ability to play several positions. This is a good thing long term, though it also means that once in a while you will have a pretty ugly result. In this game, Tyler Grimes played in left field. Travis Harrison made his first start of the season at third base. Niko Goodrum made the first start this season at second base. The result was a pretty ugly game with five errors and several other misplays. Goodrum and Harrison each had two errors, and Polanco added another. Alex Wimmers was on the mound. After three shutout innings, he recorded just two outs in the fourth inning. He was charged with ten runs. Just two of them were earned due to the errors. He gave up 11 hits, walked one and struck out three. Tim Shibuya came on and went the next 2.1 innings. He gave up only an unearned run on three hits. He struck out two. Brandon Peterson gave up one hit and struck out two over two shutout innings. Tyler Jones struck out two in his inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Wisconsin 5 Box Score Aaron Slegers had his worst start of the year, and yet he improved to 4-0 on the season. The Kernels’ offense came through for him with an 18 hit, ten run performance. Mitch Garver went 4-5 with a walk, his ninth and tenth doubles and three RBI. Engelb Vielma also had four hits, including his second triple. He scored four runs. Bryan Haar went 3-4 with a walk. Chad Christensen was 2-6 with his fifth double. Jason Kanzler was 2-5. Slegers gave up five runs on nine hits (including two home runs) in 5.2 innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Todd Van Steensel was impressive. He walked two and struck out six in 2.1 scoreless, hitless innings. Christian Powell walked three and struck out one in a scoreless innings. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Todd Van Steensel, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Mitch Garver, Cedar Rapids Kernels SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Toledo (6:00 CST) – Trevor May (Listen) New Britain @ Bowie (5:35 CST) – Virgil Vasquez (Listen) Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – Jason Wheeler (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (1:05 CST) – Ryan Eades (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday game. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday, it means that on Saturday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com.

Sunday is Mother’s Day! (All of you guys, after you’re done reading this, go to the store and pick up some flowers or at least a nice card for your mom) Two years ago before Mother’s Day, Trevor Plouffe donated his hair to Locks of Love in honor of his mother, Diane, who is a breast cancer survivor. Today, Diane Plouffe was kind enough to write for us and give us some insight into what it’s like to be the mother of a Major League Baseball player. Thank You, Diane! -------------------------------------------------------------------- A Mother’s Perspective by Diane Plouffe As a mother, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing your child immersed in their life-long passion, waking up every morning to do something they absolutely love, and have worked so hard for. Although I should be used to it by now, I still get chills whenever I have the opportunity to see Trevor play. It is so surreal that the same little boy I took to tee-ball practice years ago is at the height of his professional career in Major League Baseball. I think back to his childhood baseball games, and I remember standing for seven innings straight with my stomach in knots, riddled with anxiety. I think the only thing that has changed in the past twenty years or so, is that now I have to stand for nine innings instead of seven! After almost ten years, you would think I would get used to my son leaving for months at a time, but honestly, I still cry the same way I did when he left for spring training when he was only eighteen. Our family is very close, and it is not only hard for me to say goodbye to my son, but having to watch my children say goodbye to each other is somehow even more heartbreaking. Despite the trials we face when spread out across the country for work or school, baseball has always been an important part of our family and continues to bring us together, whether it is at the stadium, or at home watching the Twins play on TV. Trevor never ceases to make me proud of the person he has become. Not only is he successful, but he is also a kind, charitable man who stands up for what is important to him. He has always been a big supporter of programs that benefit the troops as well as cancer research. Recently he has become a part of a few different programs that benefit cancer research such as, Stand Up 2 Cancer, and a campaign entitled, Strike Out Cancer. As a cancer survivor myself, I feel it is important that people with a large social media presence and fan base address programs such as these in order to raise awareness and gain support. Although Trevor and many other players are able to use their social media platforms for good, they sometimes receive negative feedback. I’m sure many of them have learned to ignore these harsh remarks. As a mother, you can never get used to seeing these things written about your child. Constructive criticism is welcome, but cruel remarks are unnecessary. However, injuries, strike outs, errors, they are all a part of the game, and I have always felt that is important for me provide positive thoughts and encouraging words at times when I know they may be scarce. Despite the roller coaster of ups and downs my son has faced throughout his career, I am glad that I have been able to be a part of his journey. Here’s to hoping the ups are here to stay and the downs are few and far between. Photo by Betsy Bissen.