Theodore Tollefson

Royce Lewis has once again torn his ACL and will be shut down for the remainder of the 2022 season. The Twins are no strangers to a history of superstar players taking major injuries just as it is their turn to shine. Here is a look back at some of those cases for the Twins in recent memory. The Twins are no strangers to having rookies on the verge of becoming superstar players go down for a long stretch of the season due to injury. The latest of this collective is Twins top prospect Royce Lewis. Today it was announced by manager Rocco Baldelli that Lewis has a partial tear to the same ACL he injured in February of 2021. The surgery will keep Lewis out until the middle of next season at the earliest. With the news of Lewis out for another year, Twins Daily will take a look back at lauded Twins rookies that have had career set back by major injuries. Here are three other former Twins superstars that found themselves in the same boat as Lewis has today. Joe Mauer, 2004 Left Medial Meniscus Joe Mauer was no stranger to IL stints throughout his career. Most famously Mauer landed his first stint on the IL during his second game as he tore the left medial meniscus in his knee which forced him out until June of 2004. Mauer returned only for a month with the Twins until the knee injury forced him out for the season. This would only be the beginning of many knee injuries that would set back Mauer throughout his career. But the injury did not keep Mauer from becoming one of the best catchers in his generation that set him on a hall of fame trajectory. Twins fans do not need much of a reminder on where Mauer's career went following this injury. He still lived up to the potential of his career and did not start to experience decline in his performance until 2014 during his age 31 season and full-time move to first base. Francisco Liriano, 2006 Tommy John Talk about an extensive injury that kept a player out longer than expected. Francisco Liriano looked to be the second coming of Johan Santana during his 2006 rookie campaign, posting a 2.16 ERA in 16 starts. But he strained his ulnar collateral ligament midyear, ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery and was on the shelf until 2008. Today, pitchers receiving their first Tommy John Surgery usually recover quicker than Liriano did at the time, but it still kept a promising future star for the Twins rotation on the shelf for a year and a half, and Liriano never turned into the next Santana. Liriano still had a few solid seasons with the Twins in 2008 and 2010, and rebounded with more success later with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2013-15. Even with later success, Liriano never met his full potential after that first Tommy John surgery. Jason Kubel, 2004 Knee Injury Jason Kubel had a delay to the start of his MLB career just like Royce Lewis. After appearing in 23 games with the Twins in 2004, Kubel found himself in the Arizona Fall League playing every day. That was until he suffered a knee injury that caused him to miss all of the 2005 season. The injury set back Kubel's chances to play for the Twins full time until 2006 when he found himself as a backup outfielder to Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer, and Lew Ford. Then in 2007, Kubel finally had his breakout season with the Twins as an everyday outfielder hitting 20 home runs, driving in 72 runs, hitting .272 with a .785 OPS. Kubel's best years were only ahead of him with the Twins following the 2005 injury. Kubel was arguably the most crucial bat in the Twins lineup behind Mauer and Morneau from 2008-2011. He hit an average of 20 home runs, 83 RBI, a .340 on-base percentage, and .810 OPS over that time span. Kubel's knee injury that kept him out all of 2005 still could have dented a lot of potential he had for the Twins over the years. Commonalities Even with these injuries dealt to such great players, Mauer, Kubel, and Liriano all found success in the latter half of their careers to some degree. Does this mean the second ACL tear to Lewis could set him back even further with his potential like it did for those who came before him? It’s too early to tell. Lewis just turned 23 last Sunday but will likely be 24 by the time he returns from this injury. Both Mauer and Liriano were younger than Lewis was during the time of their injuries in their career and still turned into all-star level players after those injuries. For now, Twins fans can still hope for a great season even without their top prospect playing until next year. View full article

The Twins won their final game of an eight-game road trip that posted a series victory against the Toronto Blue Jays. Down on the farm, all minor league affiliates won their games (Ft. Myers dropped game one of a double header), and the Saints had a franchise-record eight home runs hit in a monster-sized victory over the Iowa Cubs. TRANSACTIONS St. Paul Saints RHP Ariel Jurado was assigned to Low-A Fort Myers on Minor League Rehab assignment SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 16, Iowa 7 Box score SP: JC Ramirez - 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K HR: Spencer Steer 3 HR (6), Alex Kirilloff 2 HR (6), Caleb Hamilton 2 HR (5), Tim Beckham (2) Multi-Hit Games: Steer (3-4, 5 R, 3 HR (6), 5 RBI (15), BB, HBP), Kirilloff (2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI (20), BB, 2 K), Beckham (2-5, 2 R, HR, RBI (7), BB, K), Michael Helman (3-4, 2 R, SB (1), BB, HBP), Hamilton (3-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI (19), BB, K) Putting the month of May behind them, the Saints chose a good day to opt for a bullpen game with pitching as the bats, more importantly, Spencer Steer, Alex Kirilloff, and catcher Caleb Hamilton, combined for seven home runs to give the Saints a 3-2 record for June. Steer’s first home run of the afternoon came right away as he worked a 2-2 count and then hammered a lead off home run to left field to make it a 1-0 game. Before the inning was over, Tim Beckham hit his second home run, a solo shot, to extend the lead to 2-0. In the top of the second, Hamilton hit his first home run of the afternoon, a two-run shot that scored Michael Helman and gave the Saints a 4-0 lead. Before the inning was over, Steer recorded his only RBI of the afternoon not from a home run. Steer hit a sacrifice groundout that scored John Andreoli to give the Saints a 5-0 lead. On the mound for the first two innings for the Saints was JC Ramirez. Ramirez was in for his 11th appearance, the second start, for the Saints and gave up three runs on three hits and two walks. Ramirez totaled 34 pitches in his 2 innings of work and left with the Saints still in the lead 5-3. The Saints would not score again until the top of the fourth, when Steer hit his second home run of the afternoon, this time to center field, to extend the lead to 6-3. In the bottom of the fifth, the Cubs would bring themselves within a run of tying the game as they scored two off of Tyler Thornburg, who made his first appearance with the Saints for the 2022 season. The two runs Thornburg allowed went unearned and the game was at a 6-5 score going into the top of the sixth. In the top of the sixth, Hamilton hit his second home run of the day, another solo shot, and later in the inning, Kirilloff hit his first of the afternoon, a two-run homer that scored Steer extending the lead to 9-5 over the Cubs. The final home run of the afternoon for Steer came in the top of the eighth with Elliot Soto on base and put the Saints up 12-6 at the time. The third and final home run of the afternoon for Steer was his first ever three home run game of his professional career. Kirilloff’s final homer was in the top of the ninth as he hit another two-run home run that brought home Steer for his fifth run of the game and put the Saints up 16-6. The Saints will return home for a six game series for their first ever match up against the Twins former Triple AAA affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings. First game of the series is Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:07 p.m. CT. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Frisco 3 Box Score SP: Simeon Woods Richardson - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K HR: Chris Williams (4) Multi-Hit Games: None Wichita completed a six-game homestand with the Frisco RoughRiders Sunday afternoon and pulled away with a series victory in their 5-3 win. Simeon Woods Richardson was on the mound for the Wind Surge Sunday afternoon making his ninth start of the season. The Twins second highest pitching prospect according to Twins Daily recovered from a shortened start against the RoughRiders on Tuesday, a game that ended up being suspended due to inclement weather. Woods Richardson completed five innings for the Wind Surge on Sunday and although he allowed eight base runners on six hits and two walks. Woods Richardson only allowed two runs, both earned, and struck out seven RoughRider batters. Woods Richardson improved his season ERA to an even 3.00 on the season and his strikeout total now stands at 50 in 48 innings. The RoughRiders did get the first two runs of the game in the top of the second and later the top of the third. Being down 2-0 in the bottom of the third, Wichita was able to score their first run thanks to an Anthony Prato sacrifice fly that scored Edouard Julien making it a 2-1 RoughRider lead. The Wind Surge were able to tie the game up in the bottom of the fourth thanks to first baseman Chris Williams fourth home run of the year. With the game still remained tied in the bottom of the sixth at 2-2. Ernie Yake found himself in a 2-2 count with the bases loaded. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Yake laced a ball down the right field line for a bases-clearing double that gave the Wind Surge the three runs they needed to complete their 5-3 victory. The Wind Surge begin their next series on the road Tuesday for their second road series against the Arkansas Travelers, the Seattle Mariners Double AA affiliate. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Lansing 3 Box Score SP: Aaron Rozek 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: Christian Encarnacion-Strand (10), Will Holland (4), Kennie Taylor (1), Aaron Sabato (7) Multi-Hit Games: Encarnacion-Strand (3-5, 3 R, 2 2B, HR, RBI (43), 2 K), Sabato (3-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI (32), K), Yunior Severino (2-4, R, BB), Jeferson Morales (2-5, 2B, RBI (18), 2 K), Taylor (2-3, R, HR, 2 RBI (3), BB, K) Cedar Rapids completed their road series in Lansing, Michigan with a banger on Sunday, crushing the Lugnuts in a 9-3 victory. Aaron Rozek was on the mound for the Kernels Sunday afternoon making his seventh start of the season. Rozek completed 4 innings for the Kernels but surrendered three runs on two home runs, a two-run home run from Lugnuts right fielder Lawrence Butler and a solo shot by center fielder Austin Beck. Aside from the home runs, Rozek only allowed two additional base runners on a single and a walk and struck out five batters in his 4 innings of work. The bats came swinging for the Kernels all afternoon. Leading the offense for the Kernels was prospect sensation Christian Encarnacion-Strand as he went 3-5 with three extra base hits including his tenth home run of the season at High-A. Kernels first baseman Aaron Sabato had one of his best games of the season at the plate, he was also 3-5 with a home run and three runs batted in. Having his best game of the season so far was Kernels right fiedler Kennie Taylor, who went 2-3 with his first home run of 2022 and drove in two runs. The Kernels victory over the Lugnuts on Sunday gave them a 4-2 series victory over Lansing and improved them to 33-18 overall on the season. The 33-18 record for the Kernels is the best in the Midwest Western division and only second to the Dayton Dragons, the Reds High-A affiliate, who have a 35-15 record on the season. Next series for the Kernels begins on the road against the South Bend Cubs on Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT. MUSSEL MATTERS Game 1 Fort Myers 5, Tampa 6 Box Score SP: Ariel Jurado 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: Emmanuel Rodriguez (9) Multi-Hit games: Rubel Cespedes (2-4, K) The Mighty Mussels played two on Sunday afternoon as the Mussels had a rescheduled rain out game with the Tampa Tarpons from June 3. The first game featured Ariel Jurado on the mound for his first rehab start with the Mussels. Jurado went 4 innings for the Mussels in game one showing signs of strength in his first game of 2022. Jurado allowed only three base runners off of two walks and one hit and struck out four Tarpon hitters without surrendering any runs. Fort Myers was the first to score in this game as it remained scoreless going into the bottom of the fourth inning. That first run came from an Emmanuel Rodriguez solo home run putting the Mighty Mussels up 1-0. The Mussels came up with three more runs their next time at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning. The first run came from a Nelson Roberto RBI single that scored Mikey Perez, that was followed up with an RBI triple to center field form Jake Rucker scoring Roberto and making the score 3-0 Mussels. Finally, Noah Miller laced a ground-rule double over the left field fence to score Rucker and give the Mussels a 4-0 lead. In the top of the sixth, the Tarpons began to mount their comeback against the Mussels as the Yankees number three overall prospect, Jasson Dominguez, hit a two-run home run for his sixth of the season making it a 4-2 ballgame. The Tarpons then added two more runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game up 4-4 and with the Mussels unable to pick up runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh, the game went to extras. The Tarpons completed their comeback as they scored two more runs in the top of the eighth making it a 6-4 game in their favor. Fort Myers responded with a singular run from a Mikey Perez sacrifice fly, but came up short in game one of the doubleheader losing 6-5. Game 2 Fort Myers 7, Tampa 1 Box Score SP: Pierson Ohl 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K HR: None Multi hit Games: Mikey Perez (2-3, R, 2 2B, 3 RBI (26), SB (20)), Luis Baez (2-3, 2 R, SB (6)) Fort Myers recovered in the second game of the doubleheader against the Tampa Tarpons as the bats came out the gate swinging in the bottom of the first. The Mighty Mussels put up five runs in the bottom of the first off of a walk, an error and four hits, the biggest hit coming from Mikey Perez’s RBI double that scored two. Perez wasn’t done performing when he had his second at-bat in the bottom of the second as he had another RBI double that only scored one but gave the Mighty Mussels a 6-0 lead. On the mound for the start for Fort Myers was Pierson Ohl. Ohl was making his eighth start for the Mighty Mussels and even though it was shortened, it was one of his most impressive yet as Ohl recorded all nine of his outs via strikeout while allowing five baserunners. Following an explosive first two innings of runs, the Mighty Mussels only scored one more insurance run in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a Jake Rucker single. Juan Mendez closed out the game in the top of the seventh for the Mussels to give them their 7-1 victory and a split doubleheader. The Mighty Mussels travel to Daytona Beach Tuesday for a six game series against the Reds Low-A affiliate the Daytona Tortugas with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Day – Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 3-4, 5 R, 3 HR (6), 5 RBI (15), BB, HBP PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-3, BB #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 2-5, RBI #5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 3-4, 5 R, 3 HR (6), 5 RBI (15), BB, HBP #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 1-2, R, HR, RBI, 2 BB Game 2: Did not play #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - Game 1: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB Game 2: 0-4, R #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-2, R, SB (6), 2 BB #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-4, R, SB (6) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 3-5, 3 R, 2 2B, HR, RBI (43), 2 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, June 7. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). Rochester @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ Arkansas (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Daytona (6:05 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games View full article

A flock of errors from the Jays gave the Twins early runs and the Twins survived a nail-biting ninth to win the game and the series over Toronto, Box Score SP: Devin Smeltzer 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K (62 pitches, 38 strikes (61.2 strike %)) Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (4), Gary Sanchez (7) Top 3 WPA: Jorge Polanco .186 , Luis Arraez .087, Nick Gordon .076 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Sunday was the Twins last day North of the Border potentially until October and the last day of an unusual roster. Thankfully for Twins fans, the team did not disappoint in the series final as the Twins collected eight runs on 16 hits and a few Blue Jays errors to give them the series win over Toronto. The Twins scored their first run on a wild play. Luis Arraez and Gary Sanchez had reached base both on singles. With Jorge Polanco at the plate, he hit a lazy fly ball to right field that was flat out dropped by Blue Jays right fielder Teoscar Hernandez. That allowed Arraez to score. The Twins were able to score another run in the next at-bat thanks to a Gio Urshela sacrifice flyout. The Twins' weren't done in that first inning. Next, Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman faced rookie Jose Miranda. Miranda worked the count full on Gausman and landed an RBI single to center field driving in Jorge Polanco. The Blue Jays caught a break to end the inning when Gilberto Celestino singled but the Blue Jays threw out Miranda as he tried to go from first to third. Three runs in the top of the first were exactly what the Twins needed as Blue Jays centerfielder George Springer led off the bottom of the first with his 50th career lead off home run. Later in the inning, Twins starter Devin Smeltzer found himself in a jam with two runners on from two walks and Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk at the plate. Kirk hit a ground ball on an 0-1 count that ended in a diving stop by shortstop Jermaine Palacios who turned a double play. The Twins did not stop hitting as the top of the second began. The Jays outfield was shifted more to the left for Nick Gordon and that was their first mistake. Gordon pulled a Gausman changeup down the right field line and turned it into a triple to lead off the inning. Next, Palacios was able to pull an opposite field single and get his first big league run batted in to give the Twins a 4-1 lead. A few at-bats later, Polanco drove his first, (or second depending on your scorecard), run of the game on an RBI single that scored Palacios. Gausman remained in the game for the third and fourth innings but left in the fourth facing another jam with Arraez on second and Polanco on first. Reliever David Phelps came in and got his team out of the jam, ending Gausman’s day with 3 ER’s, 9 hits, and a walk in 3 ⅔ innings pitched. Smeltzer fared well for his 4 innings of work on Sunday. Many Twins fans on Twitter were displeased that Rocco Baldelli pulled Smeltzer after 4 with only 62 total pitches thrown. Smeltzer had gone 6 ⅔ innings in his last start against Detroit on May 31 on 101 pitches. Early exit aside, Smeltzer’s command was inconsistent on Sunday. Smeltzer allowed two walks in the first that led to Palacios' impressive double play, but he also allowed two home runs, first to Springer and later to Kirk in the bottom of the fourth. The Jays had two additional hits off of Smeltzer. He recorded only one strikeout all day and that was in the fourth against Santiago Espinal. The Twins bullpen was effective, but not as perfect as they were Friday, following Smeltzer’s removal from the game. Jharel Cotton pitched the fifth for the Twins and was perfect with a strikeout of Danny Jansen. Griffin Jax came in next and was again perfect with a strikeout of his own, this one against Hernandez. Before the Twins continued with another reliever, Trevor Larnach took center stage in the top of the 7th. With the score still at 5-2, Larnach gave the Twins another insurance run with his fourth home run of the year making it a 6-2 game. Then it was Joe Smith’s turn, but Matt Chapman made sure his performance wasn’t a repeat of Friday night. Chapman drilled his seventh home run of the season to center field bringing the Blue Jays back within a run with the score at 6-3. What was starting to look like a save opportunity for the Twins turned into a bigger lead for them. With two outs in the top of the eighth, Arraez collected his fourth hit of the game and reached base for the fifth time to put a runner on for Gary Sanchez. The Blue Jays switched relievers prior to Sanchez’s at-bat taking out Andrew Vasquez and putting in Jeremy Beasly. The Jays may have wanted to keep Vasquez in a little longer as Sanchez smacked his seventh home run of the season on Beasly’s very first pitch making it 8-3, Twins. For the bottom of the eighth, the Twins brought in Johan Duran who had not pitched since Thursday. After one pitch, Duran’s day was looking to be shortened as Springer lined a ball off of Duran’s leg on the first pitch. Duran recorded the out, but time was needed before Bo Bichette’s at-bat for the Twins coaching staff to make sure Duran could stay in the game. Stay in he did, as Duran struck out Bichette and got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground out to complete the eighth for the Twins on eight pitches. For precautionary reasons, the Twins took Duran out after the eighth to be sure his bruise from Springer did not worsen. Baldelli handed the ball to Tyler Duffey to close out a five-run lead for the Twins in the ninth. Duffey, oh Duffey. The concern of Duffey coming into the game from Twins fans was well granted. After retiring only one batter, Duffey walked Kirk, gave up a single to Chapman, lining up a good at-bat for Santiago Espinal who hit a three-run home run to make it a 8-6 game. The bleeding did not stop there for Duffey. He gave up another hit, this time to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Duffey was finally able to record a second out on a fielder's choice, but the throw from Polanco to try and turn a double play was too far away from Jose Miranda at first. This allowed Jansen to advance to second, but the Twins thought pinch runner Bradley Zimmer, who was out at second, had interfered to mess up Polanco’s throw. After review, the call was upheld and Duffey was replaced by Jovani Moran to get the final out against George Springer. Springer wasted no time driving a single to right that advanced Jansen to third and brought up Bichette as the winning run at the plate for his at-bat. Thankfully for the Twins, Bichette hit a ground ball straight to Gio Urshela who threw him out to end the game and give the Twins their series victory in Toronto. What’s Next? The Twins return home, have an off day tomorrow, and play Tuesday night in a three game series against the dreaded evil (and overrated) empire that is the New York Yankees. Jameson Taillion is scheduled to start for the Yankees and the Twins have yet to announce a starter as many roster moves will be announced by the Twins prior to Tuesday night’s game which starts at 6:40 p.m. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Sheet View full article

The Twins won their final game of a seven-game homestand against the Royals but saw top prospect Royce Lewis exit the game due to injury. Thankfully the Twins Minor League affiliates stayed clear of crucial injuries in their games Sunday and had a mixed bag of results. Click below to find out more. TRANSACTIONS The Twins called up Royce Lewis from St. Paul and demoted Jose Miranda as a corresponding move. Lewis will be placed on the Injured List on Monday, but the news was fairly positive. The MRI showed "only" a bone bruise. RHP Austin Schulfer was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. IF Edouard Julien was activated from the Wichita Injured List. C/OF Jeferson Morales was activated from the Kernels Injured List. More moves coming on Monday throughout the organization. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Indianapolis 7 Box score SP: Jake Faria - 3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K HR: Jake Cave (4) Multi-hit games: Mark Contreras (2-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI (20)), Cave (2-5, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI (27)) The Saints went down to the wire to finish out their second home series against Indianapolis early Sunday evening as the teams battled into the bottom of the ninth to close out the series. The game started with a bang from Indianapolis shortstop Oneil Cruz as he hit a leadoff home run against Jake Faria. Faria’s evening continued to see many base runners. Through his 3 2/3 innings pitched, Faria allowed ten base runners on five hits and five walks allowing Indianapolis to score four runs against him. After Faria surrendered three runs to Indianapolis through two innings, the Saints' offense was able to pick up their bats and bring the team back into the game. The first two runs for the Saints in the bottom of the second came with the price of outs as Caleb Hamilton hit a fielder's choice that scored Jake Cave and Elliot Soto grounded out to score Roy Morales. The bottom of the third brought the Saints' first lead of the game thanks to a Jake Cave three-run home run to make the score 5-3. Then after Indianapolis brought themselves back within a run in the top of the fourth, the Saints added two more insurance runs of their own from an Alex Kirilloff RBI single scoring Caleb Hamilton and a Mark Contreras bases-loaded ground out scoring David Banuelos. Indianapolis would only get one run back in the top of the fifth as the game remained at a 7-5 score going into the top of the ninth. Jharel Cotton was on the mound for the Saints to get the save in the top of the ninth, but a leadoff home run from Indianapolis first baseman Mason Martin and RBI double from third baseman Cole Tucker prevented Cotton from earning the save and forced the game into the bottom of the ninth. Thankfully for the Saints faithful, the game was over quickly as the home-run hero of the day Cave walked it off for the Saints. Cave hit an RBI single that scored Contreras to win the game for the Saints. The walk-off win was the Saints second in a row, and they won their first series since mid-April when they last played Indianapolis and took three-out-of-five games. The Saints will embark on another road trip to Iowa to take on the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:38 p.m. CT. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Springfield 1 Box Score SP: Louie Varland - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K HR: Chris Williams (3), Andrew Bechtold (6), Michael Helman (6), DaShawn Keirsey (1) Multi-hit games: Helman (2-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI (20), SB (10), BB), Williams (2-4, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI (13), BB) The Wind Surge recovered Sunday night from a high-scoring affair Saturday when they lost 14-13. Wichita got the scoring going right away. They scored four runs in the top of the first inning against the Hooks thanks to an RBI double from Dennis Ortega and a three-run home run from catcher Chris Williams. Williams extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Wind Surge starter Louie Varland was thankful for the early run support as he made his eighth start of the season. Varland threw two scoreless innings to start his evening but gave up a run in the third on an RBI double to Hooks second baseman Emmanuel Valdez. Valdez was the only batter to get the better of Varland in the game as his second run surrendered was on a home run from Valdez. Aside from the troubles with Valdez, Varland threw five strong innings striking out four batters. However, he allowed nine base runners on four hits and five walks. Evan Sisk worked two scoreless innings to earn the win. Going into the bottom of the seventh the Wind Surge held the lead to 5-2. It would soon be taken over by the Hooks when their center fielder Justin Dirden drilled a grand slam off of Bryan Sammons to give the Hooks a 6-5 lead. The Hooks lead was short-lived as Michael Helman hit a home run in the top of the eighth to tie the game for the Surge. The Wind Surge would secure the win in the ninth inning as center fielder DaShawn Keirsey hit his first home run of the season to give the Wind Surge a 7-6 lead. The Wind Surge begin their next series at home on Tuesday against the Frisco RoughRiders, first pitch is scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Timber Rattlers 6 Box Score SP: Sean Mooney 2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K HR: Anthony Prato (6) Multi hit games: Prato (3-4, 3 R, 3B, HR, RBI (29), BB) The Kernels completed the series against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Sunday afternoon. The series was in the Kernels' favor at 3-2 through five games, but the Timber Rattlers got the better of the Kernels early. They scored all six of their runs in the first four innings. Sean Mooney was given the starting nod for his seventh start of the season. It was his shortest outing of the season. The right-hander made it into the third inning, but having allowed eight base runners, Brian Dinkelman pulled his starter. The bright spot for Mooney was that four of the seven outs he recorded came on strikeouts. Ryan Shreve, Miguel Rodriguez, Cody Laweryson, and Andrew Cabezas combined for five scoreless innings in relief on just one hit and one walk. Offensively, the Kernels had opportunities to score. In the bottom of the second inning, the Kernels scored their first run by luck as the Rattlers starter Ryne Moore overthrew the ball on a pickoff attempt which allowed for Pat Winkel to score. Cedar Rapids scored again in the bottom of the third inning thanks to a double-steal. Seth Gray stole second base. The throw allowed for Anthony Prado to steal home and cut the deficit to 3-2. After that, Wisconsin rallied for three more runs, and even though the Kernels scored two more runs in the game, it was not enough. The Kernels begin their next series on the road in Michigan against the Lansing Lugnuts on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 10:05 a.m. CT. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Bradenton 4 Box Score SP: Travis Adams 4 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Noah Cardenas (2-3, RBI (14), BB) The Mighty Mussels lost a low-scoring affair on Sunday morning. Travis Adams was on the mound for his seventh start of the season. He allowed two runs on a hit and three walks across four innings. The four-inning outing was Adams' shortest of the season but he still kept Marauder bats guessing as he recorded six strikeouts in the game. The Mussels scored the first run of the game when catcher Noah Cardenas hit a single to score Noah Miller and give the Mussels a 1-0 lead. That was the only run they scored until the top of the eighth inning when they found themselves down 4-1. Ft. Myers scored their second and final run came courtesy of their designated hitter and former first overall draft pick of the 2008 MLB amateur draft, Tim Beckham. The rehabbing veteran ripped an opposite-field line drive off of the wall in right field that scored Dylan Neuse. Beckham was held to a single. Unfortunately, he immediately exited the game, limping off the field. He has missed the first two months of the season with a quad injury. Hopefully, this is just a little setback on his road to recovery. Mikey Perez came on to pinch run for Beckham. The Mussels will be returning to Hammond Stadium on Tuesday to start a six-game series against the Yankees' Low-A affiliate the Tampa Tarpons. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Fort Myers) 4 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Chris Williams (Wichita) - 2-4, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI (13), BB PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins' top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-1 (played CF, left game in 3rd inning after remarkable catch caused him to bang into the wall.) #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R, SB (13)0-7, 4 K #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K #16 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-5 #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-1 (PH) #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-1 (PH) TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, May 31. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). St. Paul @ Iowa (6:38 PM CST) - TBD Frisco @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (10:05 AM CST) - TBD Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Mike Paredes Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games or the first two months of the season. View full article

As the author of this article I can admit the timing of its publication is both very good and very bad. Baseball is weird like that.

Twins Daily writer Theo Tollefson went out to CHS Field this weekend to sit down and talk with Twins top prospect Royce Lewis as Lewis reflected on playing consistently for the first time in two years, mentorship from Carlos Correa, and making the most of every day at the ballpark. After winning a game with the St. Paul Saints against the Iowa Cubs on Thursday evening (May 5), Royce Lewis drove back to his apartment to unwind like he usually does after a day at the ballpark; do laundry and play Call of Duty with his teammates. There was only one difference that night compared to others after a ball game. His manager Toby Gardenhire called him and Lewis presumed the call was about volunteer work he was scheduled to do with the team during the Twins Week of Service. Instead, it was something else entirely, the call every baseball player dreams of receiving one day. “Toby called, and he always calls me Lewis, and asked what was going on. I said I was playing games. I asked, ‘Do I have to come in early for some volunteer work because we have that Charity Week?’ He started laughing. Then I heard a bunch of other people in the background, and I thought that was kind of weird. He said, ‘All the coaches are here with me.’ Because I asked, ‘Are you guys trying to make fun of me or something?’ Did I mess up? And then he's like, ‘Well, no, if you stop talking, I have some good news for you. He told me that I was getting the call to the Big Leagues and I'd be a Big Leaguer tomorrow. I was really excited and definitely shocked and couldn't have enjoyed it any more.” The following day Lewis made his Major League debut against the Oakland Athletics at Target Field for the Minnesota Twins. Lewis went 1-for-4 in his debut and provided a few flashy plays at shortstop for the 17,509 fans in attendance. 2022 has been a special season for Lewis. After missing two full professional seasons due to no minor-league season in 2020 and 2021 due to a torn ACL. Lewis has played in a total of 45 games so far this season between the Saints and Twins and has led the Saints offense in batting average, on-base percentage, OPS, and stolen bases in his 34 games played with St. Paul. Lewis is grateful for the opportunity to play every day after missing the last two seasons, “It feels good. I just missed the game. So anything I can do to just be out here each and every day, I'm pretty positive about everything. I remember going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts the other day, and I was very happy with it because we won so it didn't matter. And even if we lost, I would be okay because I knew that the next day, I'd actually have an opportunity, instead of sitting on the couch and not being able to play the game I love.” As many Twins fans know, Lewis made the most of his time with the Twins. In the 11 games he played with the big-league club, he posted a .308/.325/.564 (889) slash line. After the second game of the Twins road series against the Oakland Athletics, a game in which he hit a double and a home run, Lewis was optioned to Triple-A. The Twins' front office wanted to make sure that he played every day but also had the opportunity to play multiple positions so that he could get back to the big leagues soon even with a healthy Carlos Correa. For Lewis, the frustration that Twins fans have had with him back at Triple-A is not as big a deal for him. Lewis is making the most of playing multiple positions with the Saints as it is the first time he has had the chance to do that since his time in the Arizona Fall League in late 2019. “I like all of them, but I think I like third and center more than left. Third base I played for three years in high school, that was like my first position and that move is actually very easy for me. It's the same side of the infield so the ground balls are very similar and it's usually just more topspin over at third base. That's the only difference over there to me.” The biggest adjustment for Lewis at the new outfield positions is not necessarily fielding in the outfield, but the planning it takes to backup other positions on any given play. “I think the toughest part about these positions is not necessarily the actual playing, but the backups. I'm in centerfield. I have to back up second base if there's a throw from the catcher. Always thinking where do I go? Where do I go off the throws from third base? What do I back up on that play? Do I go back up second on the next play throw or is that the left fielder’s job. So the little things like that take adjusting to.” Whenever Lewis gets the return to the majors, he is ready to play wherever he is needed because for him, it’s all about being a part of the Major League experience more than anything else. “If I had an opportunity to play in the big leagues again tomorrow, wherever I am needed to play, if I needed to pinch-hit, even be a bat boy or water kid, I would do it because it doesn't matter where I am.” While Lewis spent his two weeks with the Twins, he made the most of the mentorship he could receive from one of the best shortstops in Major League Baseball; Carlos Correa. Even in such a short time together, Correa made a large impact on the Twins' top prospect. “It was amazing. He said that we're just family, and that's truly special to me. It means so much because that's how I look at all my other teammates that I've been playing with for years now. If anyone was to come into town in the offseason and say, hey, they need help. I tried to find a way to help them out or stuff like that. That's what he's been doing for me, which is awesome. He’s really given me a lot of tips for being a shortstop, tips about being a leader and a good teammate in the clubhouse, all these things. And just a smarter baseball player. Little details in the game. I mean, he was, I would say just as good if not a better coach when he was out as he is a player when he's playing. It was like having four bench coaches.” Having the first two picks from the 2012 draft class (Correa and Byron Buxton) to mentor Lewis has been a tremendous asset to his development. Lewis has never felt the pressure of being a number one overall pick from outside sources such as fans and writers. If there is any pressure Lewis struggles with, it’s not from fans on Twitter, it’s from himself, as he shared. “I've talked to Buxton about the game, not necessarily as much as like the pressure. I honestly have never felt pressure, I put pressure on myself, which is different. I think everyone expects to kind of put goals and pressure on themselves to do things whether I'm trying to get this job and promotion here or I want to be the best at this job that I do, or I want to be the best painter in the world. There's always something that you're putting expectations on yourself for. As a baseball player, I think that helps me to continue to perform and be better. Just because I'm always trying to exceed my goals and expectations that I put on myself,” said Lewis. In his free time, Lewis has had the opportunity to explore Minnesota more than ever before. Although spending nine hours at CHS field every game does take away the time he could spend seeing more of the state. He has still been amazed by how much great food the Twin Cities has to offer and is even more happy that Raising Cane's has many locations in the area. When Lewis’ family comes to town again, he hopes to see some of the many lakes the state has to offer. Until he receives the call back up with the Twins, Lewis plans to make the most out of every game he gets on the field, no matter where he has to play. Because to him, every day at the ballpark as a player and a fan of the game of baseball, is something to cherish after sitting away from it for too long. View full article

1. Lewis played a game at third this weekend and I believe that was on Saturday. 2. Coulombe will be reactivated today, can't say for certain if it will be Megill or Cano who gets sent down. 3. Strotman has not been doing well, no. He is still on the 40-man roster but it is hard to say what his future is. 4. Don't worry, Canterino was in consideration yesterday but since he's a top 20 prospect for Twins Daily, I wanted to give recognition to one of the lesser known names in Festa. 5. I hope Encarnacion-Strand will get promoted soon but I know as much as you do in that timeline.

The Twins completed their sweep over the Royals Sunday afternoon. Down on the farm, no series sweeps were in play but the Twins affiliates provided exciting baseball for all their fans on the last unofficial weekend of spring. TRANSACTIONS The Twins activated Trevor Larnach from the IL and placed Cody Stashak on the IL with shoulder inflammation. Kernels placed catcher Jeferson Morales on the 7-day IL with a left oblique strain. Jeff Johnson of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids notes that catcher Patrick Winkel could be coming off the IL and joining the Kernels this week. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Omaha 8 Box score SP: Ronny Henriquez - 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: Curtis Terry (5) Multi-hit games: Royce Lewis (3-5, R, 2B, SB (10)), Elliot Soto (2-4, RBI (15), K) After breaking the game open in the top of the first with a 4-0 nothing lead. The Saints fell up short again in another loss against Omaha. The top of the first was an exciting start for the Saints. Royce Lewis led off with a double and scored in the next at-bat thanks to an RBI single from Alex Kirilloff. Saints left fielder Mark Contreras then drew a walk leading to two runners on for Curtis Terry who drilled a three-run home run to give the Saints their 4-0 lead. Ronny Henriquez was on the mound for the Saints and although his teammates gave him a 4-0 lead for his start. Henriquez gave up three runs to the Storm Chasers on two RBI doubles in the first and gave up another run in the top of the second that had the game tied at 4-4. Henriquez cooled off following a rocky first two innings as he surrendered only one hit in his final three innings of work on Sunday. The Storm Chasers took their first lead in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a solo home run from their designated hitters Vinnie Pasquantino. In the seventh inning the Storm Chasers tagged on three more runs to give them a 8-4 lead over the Saints. The Saints were able to tag on two more runs thanks to RBI singles from Cole Sturgeon and Elliot Soto, but it was not enough for a comeback, dropping another game and the series against Omaha. The Saints return home Tuesday to begin their second homestand against the Indianapolis Indians with an 11:07 a.m. CT start time. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 2, Springfield 1 Box Score SP: Danny Coulombe - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K HR: None Multi-hit games: DaShawn Keirsey (2-4, R, 2B) The Wind Surge’s series finale against Springfield was a low-scoring affair as the Wind Surge came out on top with a walk-off win from Michael Helman. The game was started by Danny Coulombe, who was given an inning of rehab work with the Wind Surge. After allowing only one walk, Coulombe completed his afternoon in Wichita and drove to Kansas City to join the Twins for the rest of their ball game. Following Coulombe’s one inning of work was Matt Canterino, who was originally planned to be the starter for Sunday’s Wind Surge game. Canterino pitched brilliantly following Coulombe as he pitched four no-hit innings, only walked one batter and struck out six. The Wind Surge’s bats were led by left fielder DaShawn Keirsey who went two for four with a double Sunday afternoon and scored the game-winning run from Michael Helman’s single in the bottom of the ninth. The Wind Surge begin their next series on the road against the Corpus Christi Hooks Tuesday evening at 6:35 p.m. CT. Louie Varland will be making the start for the Wind Surge on Tuesday. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Lake County 1 Box Score SP: Brent Headrick 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K HR: Christian Encarnacion-Strand (7) Multi hit games: Jair Camargo (2-4, R, K) The Kernels completed their series against the Lake County Captains Sunday and had a strong two pitcher performance from starter Brent Headrick and David Festa. Headrick allowed only one of his three hits given up in the first two innings, and although he did not have any strikeouts, his command of the strike zone was in place with a 70% strike percentage. Festa dominated as well, taking on the rest of the game for the Kernels. Festa went for 4.2 innings, three hits, one earned run, no walks, and six strikeouts. The only run that Festa surrendered to the Captains came in the ninth on an RBI single to Captains shortstop Gabriel Rodriguez. The big hits for the Kernels came in the first three innings scoring one in the first on a Seth Gray bases-loaded walk. Then in the bottom of the second, Christian Encarnacion-Strand slugged his seventh home run of the year for the Kernels to extend the lead to four, nothing. The Kernels then added on their final two runs in the third from a Will Holland single that scored Jair Camargo and Willie Joe Gray Jr. The Kernels begin the second series of their homestand on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. CT against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers for their first matchup of the season. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Clearwater 6 (13 innings) Box Score SP: Jaylen Nowlin 2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: Noah Cardenas (3) Multi hit games: Cardenas (3-5, R, HR, 2 RBI (12), BB, K), Keoni Cavaco (2-6, 2 K), Daniel Ozoria (3-5, 2 R, 2B, BB, 2 K) The Mighty Mussels gave fans extra baseball today as they fought an extra-inning battle with the Clearwater Threshers which ended with a 7-6 score through 13 innings. Jaylen Nowlin was the opener for the Mighty Mussels today as they opted to go with a bullpen game for Sunday. Nowlin only went two innings and gave up four of the Threshers five runs in the fourth inning. Nowlin had not pitched for the Mussels since last Sunday, making this his eighth appearance of the season. From there, the only Mussels reliever to give up a run was Niklas Rimmel in the bottom of the ninth which tied the game at five apiece and sent it into extra innings. The Mussels bats did not catch on as early as the Threshers did. The Mussels were the first to get a run on the board thanks to a bases-loaded two-run walk from Luis Baez that scored Kala’i Rosario, but the Mussels fell short of capitalizing on the bases-loaded opportunity. Baez drove in two more runs for the Mussels in the top half of the fourth scoring Dillon Tatum and Daniel Ozoria but was thrown out trying to stretch his single into a double. The Mussels were able to take the lead in the top of the seventh thanks to a two run home run from Noah Cardenas, giving Cardenas his third hit of the game. It wasn’t until the 13th inning when either the Mussels or Threshers scored again. The Mussels tagged on two runs in the top half of the 13th inning thanks to a double from Ozoria that scored Jake Rucker. Ozoria then scored the second run of the inning for the Mussels to give them a 7-5 lead. Malik Barrington was on the mound to close the game out for the Mussels in the bottom of the 13th inning. Although a Threshers runner reached on an error and scored on an RBI single, Barrington was still able to shut down the Threshers offense and record his second save of the season. The Mussels will begin their next six-game series on the road Tuesday against the Pirates Low-A Affiliate the Bradenton Marauders at 5:30 p.m. central time. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Royce Lewis (St. Paul) 3-5, R, 2B, SB (10) PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins' top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 3-5, R, 2B, SB (10) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-3, BB #4 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 0-3, K #8 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - IP, 2 K, SV #9 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 0-0, R, 2 BB #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-7, 4 K #14 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-4, R #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, HR, 3 RBI (34) 2 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, May 24. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). Indianapolis @ St. Paul (11:07 AM CST) - Cole Sands Wichita @ Corpus Christi (6:35 PM CST) - Louie Varland Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - Aaron Rozek Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) - Pierson Ohl Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games. View full article

Bailey Ober made his return from the IL Sunday afternoon in Kansas City to finish up the Twins second road trip to their I-35 opponents. The Twins were kept scoreless until the top of the eighth inning where they began a five run comeback to bring them back into the game and scored two more in the ninth to take the lead. The Twins entered their three-game series finale against the Royals on Sunday with a three-game winning streak they wanted to extend to four. Bailey Ober was on the mound for his first start since April 28 when he was pulled in the fourth inning with a groin injury. Ober pitched five quality innings in his return allowing only four base runners and one run in his five innings of work. Royals starter Brady Singer kept the Twins to two hits and one walk to Gilberto Celestino through the Twins first two times through the lineup. The walk to Celestino began the Twins best scoring opportunity all afternoon. Having only three total base runners through 5 1/3 innings, the Twins had their first opportunity to get runners into scoring position after Celestino’s walk and Luis Arraez’s second hit of the day. Following Arraez’s single, Polanco drew a full count that led to a walk and the Twins having the bases loaded for Max Kepler. Kepler drew an 0-1 count in his at-bat and connected for a swinging bunt close enough for Royals third baseman Emmanuel Rivera to get the force out at home and keep the Royals lead at 1-0. Gary Sanchez followed up Kepler’s fielder's choice with a fly out to left field that ended the Twins first big chance to score in the game. Following a failed opportunity to score in the top half of the sixth, the Royals offense took off against Twins reliever Yennier Cano who surrendered five runs off of four hits and two walks and was yanked out of the game after recording only out as the Royals lead extended to 6-0. Trevor Megill then came into the game for Cano to get the final two outs in the bottom of the sixth making his season and Twins debut. Megill allowed one base runner on a fielder's choice but got the Twins out of the jam on a strike out and flyout to Kepler in deep right field. In the top of the seventh, the Twins again had an opportunity to score after a Nick Gordon triple that fell a few feet short of clearing the stands. Again, the Twins failed to get Gordon home on the triple and the game was still scoreless going into the top of the eighth. The Twins bats finally woke up in the top of the eighth as they scored two runs off four straight hits from Celestino, Arraez, Polanco and Kepler. The bats did not stop there in the top of the eighth. Gary Sanchez drove in a run on a sacrifice fly that scored Polanco and after being hitless all game. Kyle Garlick hit a home run off of righty Scott Barlow to bring the Twins back into the game with the score 6-5. As Celestino began the second round of the lineup in the eighth, he was walked by Barlow to load the bases up for Arraez. Coming into the at-bat 3-4 for the day, Arraez was poised to make the Twins comeback complete. However, that didn’t end up being the case as some questionable strike calls caught Arraez looking to end the Twins eighth-inning run. Even after a dismal strikeout to Arraez, the Twins came back again in the top of the ninth to threaten with runners on second and third and nobody out for Gary Sanchez. Sanchez worked the count to 2-2 and smacked another sacrifice fly to tie the game at six apiece. Trevor Larnach was cold at the plate in his return from the IL and continued that in the top of the ninth. There was at least a wild pitch in his at-bat to advance Kepler to third. Garlick followed up with a walk putting runners on the corners with two outs for Gio Urshela’s first at-bat of the afternoon. Urshela would only need the one at-bat to contribute for the Twins Sunday as he hit an RBI single that scored Max Kepler for the game-winning run. Jhoan Duran came in for Twins to close out the game in the ninth for his third save opportunity of his young career. Duran completed a one, two, three ninth to give the Twins the win and set their winning streak to four straight. What’s Next? The Twins return home Monday night to start a seven game home stand and three game series against the cellar dwelling Detroit Tigers. Chris Archer will make the start for the Twins and the Tigers have yet to announce their own starter for Monday night. Postgame Interview View full article

The Twins had a series victory over the Guardians this weekend. The minor-league affiliates had a packed schedule with a doubleheader for the Saints, a canceled game due to weather for the Wind Surge, the Kernels maintaining the best record in the Midwest League, and the Mighty Mussels setting a new franchise record. TRANSACTIONS Following the Twins' game on Sunday, OF Mark Contreras was optioned to St. Paul. Presumably, Kyle Garlick will come off of the Injured List before the Monday series against the A's. SAINTS SENTINEL Game 1 St. Paul 3, Columbus 5 Box Score SP: Bailey Ober - 5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 7 K HR: Jermaine Palacios (2) Multi-hit games: Alex Kirilloff (2-4), Kyle Garlick (2-4, R, K), Caleb Hamilton (2-2, BB) The Saints played two on Sunday afternoon against the Columbus Clippers. The first game was started by Bailey Ober as he made his rehab start with the team. Ober totaled 72 pitches through five innings for the Saints but did not have the best return to the mound on Sunday. Ober gave up five runs (4 earned) on four hits. He struck out seven without giving up any walks. Even with all of Ober’s efforts, the Saints offense was not able to come through with run support in Game 1 to give themselves a victory. Alex Kirilloff did have a good return to the Saints on Sunday as he went 2-for-4 as the designated hitter in the first game. The Saints mounted a comeback in the top of the sixth thanks to RBI singles from Derek Fisher and Jose Godoy, but the offense was not able to pick itself back up in the seventh to make a comeback. The loss in game one to the Clippers brought the Saints losing streak to six in a row. Game 2 St. Paul 4, Columbus 5 (8 Innings) Box Score SP: Dereck Rodriguez - 4 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: Curtis Terry (4) Multi-hit games: Alex Kirilloff (2-3, R, BB), Curtis Terry (2-4, R, HR, RBI (16), K) Dereck Rodriguez was on the mound for the start in Game 2 for the Saints and his afternoon on the mound lasted an inning shorter than Ober's. The Clippers hitters were able to find the location where many of Rodriguez’s pitches were heading, accounting for seven hits and three runs, all of which were scored in the bottom of the first. As he cooled off from a rough first inning, the Saints' offense put two runs on the board in the top of the second thanks to RBI singles from David Banuelos and Ernie Yake to bring themselves within a run of the Clippers. The game remained scoreless until the top of the fifth when Saint's first baseman Curtis Terry crushed a two-run home run to give the Saints their first lead of the day at 4-3. The Saints had the lead going into the bottom of the seventh to close the game out and snap their losing streak. However, the Clippers were able to tie the game up and force extra innings thanks to a game-tying home run from second baseman Tyler Freeman off of Trevor Megill. The Saints could not amount any runs for a lead in the top of the eighth, the game went into the bottom half of the inning with Megill still on the mound. That worked in favor of the Clippers as they walked off Megill on a sacrifice fly by right fielder Oscar Gonzalez. The second loss in the doubleheader brings the Saints losing streak to seven straight. They will look to break the losing streak on the road Tuesday against the Omaha Storm for their first matchup of the season. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita, Northwest Arkansas Canceled The Wind Surge’s series finale against Northwest Arkansas on the road was canceled due to rain. The game will not be made up for future dates as the teams do not meet again during the season’s first half. Casey Legumina was scheduled to pitch for the Wind Surge on Sunday but will piggyback in relief on Tuesday for Matt Canterino who is scheduled to start for the Wind Surge. Wind Surge catcher Andrew Bechtold and Michael Helman had seven-game hitting streaks going into Sunday’s game which they still keep and have a chance to extend on Tuesday against the Springfield Cardinals at home. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 3 Box Score SP: John Stankiewicz 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K HR: Alerick Soularie (2) Multi-hit games: Soularie (2-3, 3 R, 3B, HR, 4 RBI (8), BB, K) The Kernels completed their final game against the Chiefs on Sunday winning in a 6-3 final and taking the series five to one against Peoria. The 6-3 victory for the Kernels was thanks in major part to second baseman Alerick Soularie, who scored three of the six runs for the Kernels and drove in four, finishing the day with his best offensive performance of the season so far. John Stankiewicz got the start for the Kernels making his first start of the season for them after spending all of April in Ft. Myers and making his Kernels debut out of the bullpen a week earlier. Stankiewicz pitched five solid innings for the Kernels allowing two earned runs on seven hits and only one walk while striking out five. In the four innings to follow, the Kernels bullpen only allowed three base runners on a hit, a walk, and an error. The Kernels will return home for a two-week homestand on Tuesday playing their first series against the Lake County Captains. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Palm Beach 0 Box Score SP: Marco Raya 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jake Rucker (3-5, 2 R, 2 2B, SB (7), RBI (9)), Noah Miller (2-5, 2 R, K), Emmanuel Rodriguez (2-4, R, 3B, 2 RBI (14), SB (7), BB, K), Kyle Schmidt (2-4, RBI (14)) The Mighty Mussels extended their winning streak to seven games Sunday afternoon completing a six-game sweep over the Palm Beach Cardinals with a shutout. The six-game sweep over the Cardinals became the first-ever six-game series sweep by the Mighty Mussels in franchise history. Marco Raya made his fourth start and threw his second scoreless outing of the season completing four innings in the frame. Raya only allowed one base runner in his four innings of work with a one-out walk in the top of the first. Following Raya in the Mussels shutout was Jaylen Nowlin making his seventh relief appearance of the season. Nowlin went three innings for the Mussels allowing only three base runners on a hit, walk and hit by pitch and registered four strikeouts. The final pitcher to come into the game for the Mighty Mussels Malik Barrington who recorded a six-out save for the Mussels. Barrington did surrender three hits in his two innings of work but retired five of the six outs he needed via strikeout. The Mussels offense had a slow start to the game as it was scoreless through five and a half innings. Then in the bottom of the sixth, the Mussels got the offense going thanks to an RBI single from Kyle Schmidt that scored Emmanuel Rodriguez. The Mussels added more insurance runs in the seventh with an RBI single from Mikey Perez and a bases-loaded walk from Kala’i Rosario. Then in the bottom of the eighth, Jake Rucker had an RBI double scoring Luis Baez and later in the inning, Emmanuel Rodriguez had a bases-clearing triple that brought the score to 6-0. The Mussels will begin their next series on the road Tuesday at Clearwater with a semi-double header. The first game Tuesday is the resumption of a suspended game from May 1 that will start in the top of the 11th inning tied 4-4. The regularly scheduled game against Clearwater will start a half-hour after the suspended game’s conclusion. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Hitter of the Day – Alerick Soularie (Cedar Rapids) - 2-3, 3 R, 3B, HR, 4 RBI (8), BB, K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-3 #3 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, R, 3B, 2 RBI (14), SB (7), BB, K #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 2-5, 2 R, K #15 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4 TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, May 17. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Springfield @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - Matt Canterino Lake Country @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Clearwater Game 1, Resuming May 1 Suspended Game (4:00 PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Clearwater Game 2 (5:30 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games. View full article

Twins rookie Joe Ryan took the mound on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to finish out the Twins' longest homestand of the season. Thanks to Ryan’s first 100-pitch start of the season and a couple of solo shots from Gio Urshela and Byron Buxton, the Twins were able to complete a series victory over Cleveland and finish their homestand 5-4. Box Score SP: Joe Ryan 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (103 pitches, 70 strikes (68 strike %)) Home Runs: Gio Urshela (3), Byron Buxton (11) Top 3 or Bottom 3 WPA: Joe Ryan (.204), Gio Urshela (.119), Byron Buxton (.081) After a low-scoring game Saturday that was decided by a questionable rule that just won’t go away, the Twins got on the first run on the board against Guardians starter Tristen McKenzie with an RBI single from Max Kepler that scored Luis Arraez. Kepler was able to drive in Arraez because he stole his first base of the season and adding the Twins' season total stolen bases to seven. Clearly a sign of the times. The game remained scoreless through the next two innings thanks to Ryan’s pitching. Ryan cruised his way through the Guardians lineup until the top of the fourth when, with one out, Jose Ramirez hit a solo shot to right-center field tying the game 1-1. Even after the Ramirez homer, Ryan remained in control for the remainder of his start. Ryan had his first start with more than 100 pitches this season and kept his strike percentage at 68 percent, totaling five strikeouts. He also only allowed base runners via hits making Sunday his second start without a walk this season. With the game tied going into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Twins found a way to retake the lead thanks to a two-out solo home run from Gio Urshela. An inning later, the Twins' unofficial captain Byron Buxton added to the lead with his 11th home run of the season making it a 3-1 game. Buxton’s home run was called to be the 1,000th home run ever hit at Target Field by the Twins. However, thanks to research from Twins Dingers on Twitter, the home run was corrected to be the 999th home run by a Twin in Target Field’s history. Twins beat writer for MLB.com, Do Hyoung Park retweeted this finding by Twins Dingers to remind everyone the next home run hit by a Twin at Target Field will be the 1,000th. The Twins bullpen kept the Guardians scoreless in the seventh inning thanks to a perfect inning from Cody Stashak who struck out two of three batters faced. In the eighth inning, Joe Smith did allow one base runner, a Richie Palacios single, but Palacios did not score thanks to the relief effort of Smith and Caleb Theilbar. Emilio Pagan was given the ball for the save in the ninth inning and his third consecutive day with a relief appearance. Pagan had thrown 22 pitches Friday but only nine on Saturday making his availability to come into Sunday’s game for the save acceptable to Rocco Baldelli. Pagan completed the save giving up only one hit. He was helped by an outstanding defensive play at third base from Gio Urshela. The win brings the Twins record to 20-15 through their first 35 games this season and extends their lead over the Guardians for first place in the American League Central to three games. What’s Next? The Twins make their first road trip west this season. On Monday night, they begin another three-game series against the Oakland Athletics. Chris Archer is scheduled to go against Athletics 26-year-old lefty rookie Zach Logue. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Chart WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Stashak 0 46 0 0 13 59 Jax 0 0 50 0 0 50 Pagán 0 0 22 9 10 41 Thielbar 0 23 0 15 2 40 Duffey 0 33 0 5 0 38 Cano 0 36 0 0 0 36 Smith 0 0 4 15 9 28 Duran 0 0 10 12 0 22 Cotton 0 0 0 17 0 17 View full article

Jordan Balazovic made his first start of the 2022 season with the St. Paul Saints this last Saturday coming off of a knee injury that set his season start back. Balazovic is currently on an 80 pitch count limit, so what are the expectations for him this month? The Twins' top pitching prospect in the minors, Jordan Balazovic, made his 2022 debut last Saturday against the Iowa Cubs in St. Paul. Balazovic's stat line for the game was 3 2/3 scoreless innings pitched, five hits, two walks, and four strikeouts with 79 pitches thrown. Balazovic’s start on Saturday was an improvement from his rehab appearance on May 1 with Fort Myers where he went two innings and gave up four earned runs on four hits, two walks, and only one strikeout. After Saturday’s game, Balazovic spoke about the improvement he had felt in his knee and in his performance compared to the rehab start. “Sunday was a tough one, but otherwise I feel great. It felt good to be back out here and back to natural adrenaline and body-wise I feel great,” said Balazovic. As of now, Balazovic is set up to make regular starts with the Saints every five to six days. Saints manager Toby Gardenhire shared the current plans that he, Balazovic, and pitching coach Virgil Vasquez have for Balazovic’s pitching limits. “Today he threw the ball really well, and we’ll work on him being more efficient. He's got great stuff, and he will learn to be more efficient with it. That's going to keep his pitch count down and that's the big thing. He threw some really good sliders and some not-so-good sliders. He threw some really good changeups and not as good changeups. Those are the little things that the longer he goes, hopefully, they'll be able to iron out because once he gets up there, all those things get magnified a lot,” said Gardenhire. A common theme in Balazovic’s start on Saturday was having the Cubs hitters foul a lot of balls off him which had raised his pitch count to 79 by the fourth inning. Currently, Balazovic is on a pitch count limit of 80 pitches. “They battled, when I was up in the count I couldn’t finish them off. It was one of those starts, but for the first one of the season, it’s definitely one I want to build off of for the most part. There's stuff we're gonna work on,” said Balazovic. Last season, Balazovic made 20 starts, all with the Wichita Wind Surge. He averaged 5 2/3 innings pitched throughout those 20 starts and averaged 84 pitches per start. Balazovic also posted a 3.62 ERA in 97 innings pitched. He had 102 strikeouts (9.5 K/9) and a 3.5 BB/9. Balazovic is scheduled to make his next start for the Saints on Friday, May 13, in Columbus against the Clippers. What would you like to see from Balazovic over the course of his next few starts, and then over the remainder of the season? Leave your COMMENTS below. View full article

The Twins completed a sweep of the Oakland A’s at home on Sunday to bring their record to 18-11 on the season. The Minor League affiliates had a busy schedule on Sunday as the Saints and Mighty Mussles saw lopsided scores, the Wind Surge played a double header, the Kernels had a low scoring victory that saw their stater’s best performance of the season. TRANSACTIONS Twins placed OF Trevor Larnach on the IL (right adductor strain) Twins recalled C Jose Godoy. OF Jake Cave was activated from the temporarily inactive list. C Roy Morales activated from the Development List and promoted to the Saints. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Iowa 10 Box Score SP: Cole Sands - 3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: David Banuelos (2) Multi-hit games: Mark Contreras (2-5, 2 2B, RBI (17), 2 K) The Saints played the final game of their 12-game homestead on Sunday with the conclusion of their series against the Iowa Cubs. On Saturday, the Saints crushed the Cubs in a 9-2 victory. On Sunday, they received the other end of the stick. The Cubs got to the Saints early in the top of the second scoring four runs on five hits and a walk off of starter Cole Sands. Sands had a better go in both the first and third innings giving up only one hit in each of those innings. The high number of strikeouts and a tiring second inning had Sands at 71 pitches through three innings, and six Saints relievers came in to finish out the game. At the plate, many of the Saints bats went cold aside from Mark Contreras who had two doubles and an RBI for the Saints on Sunday. The Saints lineup also featured the return of Jake Cave from the temporarily inactive list leading off for St. Paul and going 1-for-4 with a double and RBI. One of the newest additions to the Saints roster, second baseman Kevin Merrell, spoke on adjusting to the new clubhouse after his promotion from Wichita and which players he has gravitated to as mentors with the Saints. “There are so many guys in there with a ton of experience, and I just need to watch closely and see what I can pick up. It’s been an easy transition, there’s a lot of phenomenal dudes on this team,” said Merrell. Merrell is a former first-round draft pick by the Oakland Athletics in 2017 and went 33rd overall in the draft. Merrell has already found a teammate on the Saints he wants to learn as much as possible from, that teammate being Saints infielder Elliot Soto. Merrell explained, “He can talk to anybody. He’s super encouraging, and he’s very confident in what he does. I think that’s contagious for a lot of us. He’s played for a long time. He’s 32 or so, has a lot of experience, and I would say he stands out the most for me.” The Saints will start a two-week road trip on Tuesday with two different stops, the first being in Columbus, Ohio for a week-long match-up with the Clippers. WIND SURGE WISDOM Game 1 Wichita 4, Tulsa 7 Box Score Game 1 SP: Chris Vallimont - 3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None Game 2 Wichita 5, Tulsa 6 Box Score Game 2 SP: Casey Legumina - 2.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 5 K HR: Austin Martin (1), Michael Helman (4) Multi-hit games: Martin (2-4, R, HR, RBI (8)), Edouard Julien (2-3, R, 2 2B, RBI (10), K) The Wind Surge entered Sunday afternoon riding an eight-game win streak and had a doubleheader scheduled with the Tulsa Drillers to finish out their five-game series. Unfortunately for the WInd Surge, they were swept in the doubleheader. Chris Vallimont was on the mound for his sixth start of the season. Vallimont had a strong first inning recovering from a leadoff triple to Drillers shortstop Jacob Amaya. Amaya scored in the next at-bat on a sacrifice groundout. Vallimont continued to cool off in the second with a 1-2-3 inning, but the Drillers picked up three more runs in the third off of Vallimont which later knocked him out of the game. The Wind Surge bats were cold throughout Game 1 and although they tallied seven hits, no Wind Surge player was able to tally more than one hit. Wind Surge third baseman Spencer Steer managed to drive in two of their four runs in the game. ----------------------------------------------------------- Game 2 brought a better hitting game for the Wind Surge, but they still fell short in another loss against the Drillers. Game 2 was started by Casey Legumina who made his first start for the Wind Surge after three starts with Cedar Rapids to start 2022. Legumina gave up two walks in the top of the first inning but left the runners on base to get out of a jam. He continued that success in the second and retired the minimum in order. The third inning was where Legumina struggled the most, walking four batters and giving up two hits including a home run to Drillers left fielder James Outman. Austin Martin fans were able to rejoice at least in Game 2 as he hit his first home run of the season. Third baseman Michael Helman also had a home run in the sixth inning that brought Wichita within one run. The Wind Surge were unable to score more runs in the bottom of the seventh in order to tie the game and force it into extras. The Wind Surge begin their next series on the road against Northwest Arkansas Tuesday morning for another six-game series with the Naturals. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 1 Box Score SP: Sawyer Gipson-Long 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi hit games: Jair Camargo (2-5, K) The Kernels completed their final game against the River Bandits on Sunday taking a win to complete a 4-2 series victory of Quad Cities. The 2-1 victory for the Kernels was the smallest scoring game of the series as Anthony Prato and Wander Javier drove in the only two runs. Javier hit into a force out in the bottom of the 8th inning to score Aaron Sabato with the game-tying run. They went to extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Javier was on third base when Anthony Prato his a fly ball to right field, deep enough to end the game. Sawyer Gipson-Long had his best start of the season on Sunday. He had season highs in the start with innings pitched (5 1/3) and strikeouts (6). He also did not give up any runs or walks in the game. The Kernels will be on the road in Peoria to play another six-game series against the Chiefs. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Lakeland 1 Box Score SP: Steve Hajjar 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jake Rucker (3-4, 2 R, SB (6), RBI (6)), Mikey Perez (2-3, 2B, 3 RBI (7), 2 BB), Kyle Schmidt (2-5, 2B, 2 RBI (13), 2 BB, 2 K), Daniel Ozoria (2-4, R) The Mighty Mussels completed their series against the Lakeland Flying Tigers with a lopsided 9-1 victory which brought about a series split. The Mighty Mussels pitching was dominated by Steve Hajjar and Marco Raya. Hajjar started the game and threw three no-hit innings, walking four and striking out eight out of the nine outs. Raya came into the game in the top of the fifth. Although Raya gave up a home run in the top of the sixth, he only allowed one other base runner on a hit and struck out four to earn the win. The Mussels offense lit up all afternoon scoring nine runs on 11 hits without the help of a home run. Mussels third baseman Jake Rucker led the offense with a three-hit game. The Mussels will begin their next series at home on Tuesday night against Palm Beach for another six-game series against the Cardinals Low-A affiliate. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Sawyer Gipson-Long (Cedar Rapids) - 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Jake Rucker (Ft. Myers) - 3-4, 2 R, SB (6), RBI (6) PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1-3 #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - Game 1, 0-2, R, 2 BB Game 2, 2-4, R, HR, SB, RBI #4 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 1-4, R, 2B, RBI (3) #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, R, 2 BB #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R, RBI (6), BB, K #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K #15 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - Game 1, 1-4, SB, 2 RBI (20) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, SB, BB, K #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - Game 1, 0-3, BB, K Game 2, 2-3, R, 2 2B, RBI (10) TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, May 10. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 PM CST) - Ronny Henriquez Wichita @ Northwest Arkansas (11:05 AM CST) - Ben Gross Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:05 PM CST) - TBD Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (5:30 PM CST) - David Festa Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games. View full article