Steve Lein

Tuesday saw the return of a pair of top pitching prospects in Double-A, but it was power from the lineups for Cedar Rapids and Wichita that led their teams to victories. TRANSACTIONS There were a slew of transactions in the system leading into Tuesday’s games. RHP Tyler Viza was released from the St. Paul Saints roster, and RHP Daniel Gosset was assigned from the Wind Surge in his place.. In Double-A, RHP Francis Peguero was assigned to Wichita from Cedar Rapids, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, and RHP Blayne Enlow were activated from the injured list. SS Kevin Merrell was released, and RHP Melvi Acosta was placed on the development list. In Fort Myers, LHP Ryan Horstman was sent on a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins, and LHP Jesus Toledo was released. SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 6, St. Paul 2 Box Score Devin Smeltzer took the hill for the Saints on Tuesday and was solid through his five innings. He allowed just one run on four hits and a walk while punching out six Cubs hitters. Despite that effort, he wasn’t in line for a win as his offense struggled just as much against the opposing pitchers. They did manage to tie the game at one in the bottom of the fifth by stringing together three singles, the third of which was the RBI variety off the bat of Tim Beckham. Drew Strotman was summoned for the sixth inning and allowed a hit, a walk, and an unearned run for the Cubs to retake the lead. Juan Minaya came on for the seventh and delivered a scoreless inning. In the bottom half, the Saints put together a two-out rally, started by a Spencer Steer walk. Jake Cave then brought him home with a double to tie the game at two. Back out for the eighth, Minaya ran into trouble and a fielders choice grounder allowed another go-ahead run to score for the Cubs. Minaya finished 1 1/3, striking out one. With rain and lightning rearing its head by this point, the game was at risk of being suspended at any point. They made it into the top of the ninth inning and Evan Sisk had recorded three outs by that point, including two K’s, but a single and a walk in the ninth came before being delayed. When play resumed, Wladamir Pinto was brought in to pitch, and it didn’t go well. A double, walk, and sac fly resulted in three more runs for the Cubs, and a 6-2 lead. A pair of walks to start the bottom of the ninth gave some good vibes, but they were quickly erased by a double-play ball from Steer, and a strikeout from Cave to end the game. The Saints got multi-hit efforts from Beckham (2-for-4, RBI, K) and Jermaine Palacios (2-for-4, 2 K). As a team, they were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. WIND SURGE WISDOM NW Arkansas 3, Wichita 9 Box Score Wichita took the lead early and never looked back in this one, putting it well out of reach late. Blayne Enlow was given the start after being activated from the injured list and pitched the first two innings. He faced the minimum and allowed just a walk, and struck out one. Simeon Woods Richardson joined him on the return from the IL, and went the next two innings, allowing one hit and striking out two. The Wind Surge had taken a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a two-run home run from Chris Williams, his 18th of the season. The game was relatively quiet from there until the seventh, when Wichita extended their lead to 5-0 thanks to a three-run bomb from Cole Sturgeon. They tacked on four more in the eighth thanks to a two-run single from Christian Encarnacion-Strand, sac fly from Williams, and RBI double from Andrew Bechtold. After Enlow and Woods Richardson were done, Cody Laweryson (3 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 K), Alex Phillips (2/3 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, K), and Denny Bentley (1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, K) finished off the win for Wichita. Encarnacion-Strand (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, K), Sturgeon (2-for-3, R, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Bechtold (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB, K), and Nash Knight (2-for-3, R, BB, K) each had two hits in the win. Out of the leadoff spot, Edouard Julien went 1-for-4, scored two runs, and drew a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Wisconsin 4 Box Score The Kernels fell behind 4-1 through four innings in this one but came back big late to take care of the Timber Rattlers. John Stankiewicz made the start and completed three innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out two. While warming up for the fourth inning, he appeared to suffer an injury and had to leave the game. Tyler Palm replaced him and went the next two innings. He allowed two runs of his own on two hits and two walks. Cedar Rapids got on the scoreboard first in the opening frame, when Yunior Severino doubled, and a relay throw got away from the shortstop allowing Aaron Sabato, who had drawn a walk, to scamper home. They didn’t score again until the sixth, and that’s when the tides began to turn. They closed the gap to 4-3 thanks to a Severino two-run homer. They tied it at four in the seventh on a sac fly from Will Holland to score Wander Javier, who had led off the inning with a double. They took a 5-4 lead in the eighth when, you guessed it, Severino added another RBI double to his ledger. Orlando Rodriguez (2 IP, 3 H, 2 K), Hunter McMahon (1 IP, 2 K), and Jon Olsen (1 IP, 2 K) combined to shutout Wisconsin after the fourth inning. In the ninth, the Kernels blew it wide open thanks to some wild pitching, and a big blast from one of their sluggers. Javier led off with a single, then a pair of walks and a hit by pitch scored the first run, and left the bases loaded for Sabato. He cleared them on a 3-1 pitch, sending a 436-foot blast out of the stadium in dead center to put an exclamation on the win. Sabato finished 1-for-3, but reached base three times and scored three runs, in addition to the grand slam. Severino drove in four with his 3-for-5 night, including two doubles and a home run of his own. Javier also chipped in two hits, including a double, drew a walk, and scored two runs (don’t look now, but Javier has an .870 OPS since the start of June). MUSSEL MATTERS Tampa 7, Fort Myers 2 (10 innings) Box Score Jaylen Nowlin took the mound for the Mighty Mussels and was solid over his five innings. He allowed two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out five. Both runs came in the third inning, in which he allowed three singles. Jackson Hicks pitched two scoreless innings of relief, walking one and striking out three. He was followed by John Wilson who got them to extra innings with two scoreless frames. Back out for the tenth, however, he was charged with three earned runs on two hits and two walks, striking out one in his 2 2/3 innings. The Fort Myers lineup was actually being no-hit through six innings, but Noah Miller finally led off the seventh with a single to end that bid. He was caught stealing during the next at-bat, but Keoni Cavaco added a single of his own and two players were hit by pitches to load the bases, but they weren’t able to cash in. In the bottom of the ninth, it was again Miller getting a rally started, as he drew a leadoff walk. Cavaco and Kala’i Rosario then each followed with a single to get the Mighty Mussels on the board, before a pair of groundouts were enough to get Cavaco home to tie the game and send it to extra innings. But it unraveled pretty quickly for Wilson on the mound, and Johnathan Lavallee wasn’t able to limit the damage either, allowing two hits, a walk, and two runs (one earned) of his own as they fell behind 7-2. Cavaco’s two hits led the offense, who had just four hits on the night as a team. They were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left only six men on base for the game. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Braves 2, FCL Twins 5 (6+ innings) Box Score There were several games in the Florida Complex League on Tuesday that were affected by rain, and the Twins game was called official after being suspended in the top of the seventh. Brayan Medina pitched the first four innings, allowing two runs on a homer in the first inning, but didn’t allow any other damage after that, retiring 11 to finish his outing. He walked none and struck out four. Ryan Horstman (1 IP, K), Zaquiel Puentes (1 IP, 2 BB), and Yon Landaeta (2 BB) made appearances out of the bullpen. The Twins tied the game in the second inning, thanks to a two-run double from Ismael Perez. In the third, Danny De Andrade put them in front for good with a solo home run, his second of the season. Perez added another RBI double in the fourth, then a sac fly in the sixth to cap the scoring before the game was called. Perez (2-for-2, 2 2B, 4 RBI) and Gregory Duran (2-for-2, R, BB) each had two hits in the win. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 3, DSL Colorado 6 Box Score The Twins got a solid start from right-hander Miguel Olivares, who finished five scoreless innings and left with his team-leading 3-0. He allowed just one hit, walked two, and struck out three. Relievers Oscar Paredes (2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, K) and Leonardo Lugo (2/3 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, K) combined to allow six runs and Colorado to come back. Jose Brito got the last out of the game for the Twins. Leading the lineup was Jose Rodriguez, who went 2-for-4 including a two-run home run, his ninth of the season. Bryan Acuna also had two hits, including a double, and stole a base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Devin Smeltzer, St. Paul Saints (5 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 6 K) Hitter of the Day - Yunior Severino, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-for-5, R, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY #4 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 2 IP, H, 2 K #6 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, R, BB #8 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, R, BB, K #12 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 K #13 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 2 IP, BB, K #15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2 R, BB #16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (3-1, 4.50 ERA) NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Casey Legumina Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (12:10 PM CDT) - TBD Tampa @ Fort Myers, Game 1 (3:30 PM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (4-5, 4.37 ERA) Tampa @ Fort Myers, Game 2 - TBD DSL Cardinals @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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See, I would categorize this as a major success in Falvey drafting/developing a good pitcher, not a failure. Where he was drafted should have, literally zero, bearing on the value of the guy they have now. What you're missing in this assessment, is who have the Twins even drafted as a pitcher in higher rounds to expect Falvey to have "been able to make anything stick"? The list since 2017 when Falvey took over is the following (Winder was drafted in 2018): Landon Leach (Rd. 2) Blayne Enlow (Rd. 3) Charlie Barnes (Rd. 4) Cole Sands (Rd. 5, and only pitcher they drafted before Winder) Matt Canterino (Rd. 2) Sawyer Gipson-Long (Rd. 6) Marco Raya (Rd. 4) Chase Petty (Rd. 1, traded for Sonny Gray) Steve Hajjar (Rd. 2) Cade Povich (Rd. 3) Christian Macleod (Rd. 5) Travis Adams (Rd. 6) That's it. That's the list. And only 5 of those names I would even call one's that could have even reached the majors by now (and 2 of them have). So like...who do you think the Twins had invested draft capital into that came with expectations to be more than Winder has been by this point? Because the reality is it's basically nobody.

I was there too! Sano looked pretty good. He also hit the pitch before his 2nd HR, basically out of the stadium, but foul down the left field line. That was a slick play by Palacios diving toward the middle and flipping the ball with his glove to 2nd base! Cave made that mistake, but that wild pitch should have ended in an out at home. Banuelos didn't know where it went, but Petricka had the wherewithal to chase it down near the Mudhens dugout. He had plenty of time to get it back to Banuelos (runner was trying to score from 2nd base, and was dead to rites), but rushed it. Banuelos had to leap away from home to catch the throw and the slide beat him back to home. It was a fun game!

Being a lefty is a big help for Povich, but I don't think I'd put his ceiling at the top of the Twins SP prospects. Doesn't mean he can't end up being the best of them, but the pure "stuff" isn't necessarily on the level of others. He's a good strike-thrower though, too, which can make lesser stuff play up. For CES at 3B, I'd say his glove definitely needs to do some catching up to his bat to stick there. I'd move Javier up soon and see what happens. He's been around forever and might as well find out which it is.

The affiliates of the Minnesota Twins put up some impressive offensive numbers on Tuesday. But they also had a couple of their Top pitching prospects working. Find out how they did, and which teams were able to win. We'll give you one here. The Cedar Rapids Kernels became the first Midwest League team to win 50 games. Minnesota Twins affiliates got a lot of hits on Tuesday night, and they went big with them as well. One of their opponents would have been happy if even half of the hits they allowed to the good guys went for singles, but instead, 80% of them went for extra bases in a blowout. Multiple hitters didn’t produce an out in their games, including one who collected four doubles in a breakout performance. There was even a walk-off home run, from a player who had done the same thing just days ago. This is all without even mentioning a pitcher by the name of Cade Povich, who would be the lead story for his performance on almost any other night... Heck, just keep reading, you’re not going to want to miss the action from Tuesday night! TRANSACTIONS The Twins send 3B Miguel Sano on a rehab assignment to the St. Paul Saints. The Wichita Wind Surge activated RHP Alex Phillips. Blayne Enlow and Jordan Gore placed on the Covid IL. C Alex Rodriguez was assigned from the FCL Twins to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. According to his twitter page, and some great artwork, RHP Ben Heller announced he had signed with the Twins. He pitched for the Yankees in 2020 and in 2021, he has a stress fracture in his elbow. SAINTS SENTINEL Toledo 3, St. Paul 4 (suspended in the bottom of 2nd inning) Box Score While the Twins were able to keep their game going across the river in Minneapolis, the Saints didn’t have as much luck over in Lowertown St. Paul. After taking a 4-3 lead on a two-RBI double from the rehabbing Miguel Sano, the game was delayed and not able to be resumed. It will be completed on Wednesday in full, and be followed by a regularly scheduled seven-inning contest. Cole Sands made the start and allowed three runs on four hits and two walks in his two innings, though he did strike out four. Mark Contreras and John Andreoli had contributed doubles, and Michael Helman had slugged his fifth home run with the Saints before play was stopped. WIND SURGE WISDOM Arkansas 8, Wichita 10 Box Score After building a big lead early, the Wind Surge risked squandering a solid effort from right-hander Louie Varland late at home on Tuesday against the Travelers. They built an 8-1 lead after four innings, largely behind the bat of outfielder DeShawn Keirsey Jr. His first double in the second inning got them on the board, and he would score their second run on an RBI single from Anthony Prato. His second double of the game in the third inning plated two more runs, and he’d eventually score from third when Matt Wallner was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded that made the score 7-1. They pushed it to 8-1 in the fourth after a single from Keirsey Jr. loaded the bases, and Prato followed up with another RBI single. Varland was solid through his first five innings, scattering four hits and one walk, but finally got into trouble he couldn’t overcome in the sixth. Three consecutive singles and a walk put an end to his game after 5 1/3 innings pitched. His final line included three earned runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out four. Alex Scherff got the Wind Surge out of the sixth inning without allowing another run, but the Travelers jumped on him in the seventh. A pair of walks, two doubles, and a grand slam brought Bryan Sammons out from the bullpen, and he allowed a double of his own that ended up tying the game at eight. Sammons was able to pitch a one-two-three eighth inning to keep the game tied, but the offense had gone cold since the fourth. Besides Keirsey Jr., that is. He tacked on doubles in each of the sixth and eighth innings, giving him four on the game, but his teammates weren’t able to get on base in front of him or drive him in after. Alex Phillips struck out two in a perfect ninth inning, and after the Wind Surge went down in similar fashion the game went to extras, where Osiris German was tabbed. He got a strikeout before allowing an infield single but was able to induce an unassisted double-play liner to first baseman Chris Williams to keep the game knotted at eight. In the bottom half, Andrew Bechtold wasted little time, taking the second pitch of his leadoff at-bat into the bullpen in right-center, for his 11th home run of the year, and the walk-off exclamation win. It was his second walk-off homer in less that a week. The Wind Surge finished the game with fifteen hits, led by Keirsey Jr’s 5-for-5 game that included four doubles, two runs scored, three RBI, and his 24th stolen base of the season. Edouard Julien (2-for-5, R, BB, 2 K), Bechtold (2-for-5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K), and Prato (3-for-5, 2 RBI) also had multiple hits in the win. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 11, Beloit 0 Box Score Rather than ramble on-and-on about how thoroughly the Cedar Rapids Kernels took care of former Twins affiliate Beloit tonight, I’ll just give you my watching-the-game-Tweet-synopsis: The Kernels ended the game with 15 hits, and 12 were for extra-bases. Kyler Fedko and Jake Rucker each had two doubles. Jeferson Morales had a double and a triple. Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Wander Javier each had a double and a home run. In fact, the only hitters in the lineup to not collect an XBH, were third baseman Seth Gray and catcher Pat Winkel. Encarnacion-Strand and Javier each drove in three runs, and CES’s home run was remarked on the broadcast as being one of the longest balls hit in Beloit on the season as it exited the stadium over the bullpen in left field. While the offensive onslaught was more than impressive, it also shouldn’t overshadow the starting pitching effort from left-hander Cade Povich. He picked up an easy win, his sixth of the season, by completing six scoreless innings. He allowed just three hits, walked one, and struck out 10 Sky Carp hitters on the night. He was in command all game, with 59 of his 88 pitches going for strikes (67%), including an eye-popping 18 swinging strikes. While his last outing wasn’t the greatest in the end result, combined with this one he has struck out 21 hitters in his last 11 innings pitched and has a K-rate of 12.5/9IP on the season. Derek Molina was also impressive out of the bullpen for two innings, retiring every hitter he faced, including four strikeouts of his own. Matt Mullenbach finished the game for the Kernels with one-two-three ninth, making sure to end the pain as quickly as possible for the home team. MUSSEL MATTERS Clearwater 5, Fort Myers 9 Box Score Both teams scored runs in each of the first three innings of this game, but the Mighty Mussels were the only ones to put up crooked numbers and jumped out to a big lead. Starting pitcher Travis Adams worked hard to get through 4 2/3 innings, allowing four total runs working into the fifth inning. He allowed six hits, walked two, and struck out one. Samuel Perez got the final out of the fifth and worked a scoreless sixth, allowing a run of his own on a homer, and striking out one. Despite that, Fort Myers was always out front thanks to their offense. Misael Urbina led off the game for the home team with a single, and would later score on an RBI groundout from Kala’i Rosario. Mikey Perez followed that with a double to score Noah Miller, who had drawn a walk, and it was 2-1 after one. In the second frame, Nelson Roberto delivered an RBI triple and was followed by a sac fly from Urbina that made it 4-2. In the third Rosario led off the inning with a home run, then four consecutive hitters reached base, with Carlos Aguiar’s double driving in two more that made the score 7-3. Aguiar made it 8-5 with a home run of his own in the fifth, before Urbina reached on an error to lead off the sixth, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a wild-pitch to account for all the Mighty Mussels' scoring. Jordan Carr finished off the final three innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one to be credited with the win. Aguiar led the offense with his big 4-for-4 night. He scored two runs, stole a base, and drove in three. Miller (2-for-4, R, BB, K, SB) and Rosario (2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K) also joined him with multi-hit games. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 4, FCL Pirates 5 Box Score Down in the Florida Complex League, the FCL Twins made a late rally and had the tying run just 90 feet away, but fell short on the road against the FCL Pirates. Juan Rojas took the mound to start the game for the Twins and allowed two runs on four hits and a walk in his four innings. Highly notable, however, was that of his 12 outs recorded, a whopping 10 of them came on strikeouts, including the first six hitters of the game, and eight of the first nine. He likely wore down a little, as both of his runs and three of his hits allowed, came in his final inning. But that’s a nice game to hold your hat on for the 18-year-old lefty from Venezuela who was a standout in the DSL last season. Francis Peguero notched a scoreless inning in the fifth, allowing one hit and striking out one. He was followed by Develson Aria who went the final three innings, allowing three runs in the sixth, but recovered to throw scoreless frames in his final two. The Twins got on the board in the sixth inning thanks to an error after Danny De Andrade and Ricardo Olivar reached base by a hit-by-pitch and walk, respectively, to start it. Down 5-9 in the ninth, Fredy Michel got a one-out rally started by drawing a walk, and was followed by singles from Yonardy Soto and De Andrade to bring him home. Alexander Pena then drove them both in with a triple that made it 5-4, but Andres Centeno went down swinging to end the game. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 7, DSL Angels 5 Box Score The DSL Twins used two big innings, including a four-run ninth, to overcome the Angels and pick up the win on Tuesday. In the fifth inning, they took advantage of poor defense and wild pitches to score their first runs of the game. After Anderson Nova led off the inning with a single, three consecutive errors and a pair of wild pitches led to three runs and the lead for the Twins. Miguel Olivares made the start and went five strong innings. He allowed two runs on two hits and one walk, while striking out five. In 21 1/3 innings on the year, Olivares owns a 2.11 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and has struck out 25. Leonardo Lugo was charged with a blown save in his 2 1/3 innings, allowing the Angels to retake the lead with two runs allowed on three hits (including a home run) and three walks. He struck out one. Jose Brito picked up the win by finishing the final 1 2/3, allowing one run on two hits and a walk, while picking up two K’s. Down 4-3 heading into the ninth, the Twins again took advantage of poor defense. Bryan Acuna led off with a single, then two more errors allowed him to score. A walk and a sac fly later, and the Twins had the lead again, but Luis Rodriguez also tacked on some insurance runs with a two-RBI single to close the scoring. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Cade Povich, Cedar Rapids Kernels (W, 6 IP, 3 H, BB, 10 K) Hitter of the Day - Carlos Aguiar, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (4-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) DeShawn Keirsey Jr, Wichita Wind Surge (5-for-5, 2 R, 4 2B, 3 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY #8 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, R, BB, K, SB (18) #10 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - W, 6 IP, 3 H, BB, 10 K #11 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-for-4, RBI, BB, HBP, 3 K #15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, R, BB, 2 K #16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, 2B, HR (19), 3 RBI #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (game suspended) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP Ronny Henriquez (1-3, 6.15 ERA) Arkansas @ Wichita (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (1-4, 7.54 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (7:35 PM CDT) - TBD Clearwater @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM CDT) - RHP Jaylen Nowlin (3-3, 4.78 ERA) DSL Twins @ DSL Nationals (10:00 AM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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That at-bat was also against Edwin Diaz, and he was throwing 100 MPH heat (10 of the 11 pitches were 98+, other was a 92 MPH slider). Incredible to come in so abruptly and cold like that, and do what he did.

In a scheduling quirk with the new minor league realignments and the holiday, all four of the Minnesota Twins full-season affiliates had the day off on Tuesday after their 4th of July contests that were played on their normal day off. Both rookie league teams were in action with one of them providing a firework-worthy celebration of their own down in the Dominican Republic. TRANSACTIONS The Minnesota Twins officially recalled RHP Josh Winder to start tonight’s game with Chris Archer being scratched, after he had joined their taxi-squad yesterday. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Braves 4, FCL Twins 2 Box Score Despite outhitting their opponents 9-to-5 on the game, The Twins came out on the short end of this one as the Braves got the big home run to steal a victory. Jose Olivares made the start for the home team and went the first four innings. It was the last one that finally put a dent on his appearance, as a pair of walks preceded a three-run blast that put the Braves up by two. Before then, Olivares had allowed just two other hits and was in command. His final line would include three earned runs on three hits, the two walks that came back to bite him, and struck out four. The FCL Twins got two innings of perfect rehab work from Jon Olsen, who struck out two in the process, then got a pair of one-two-three innings from Francis Peguero (2 K) and Miguelangel Boadas to get them to the ninth down 3-1. Boadas came back out for the ninth and would finish the game, but allowed an insurance run thanks to a single and a triple. He struck out two in his two innings. Danny De Andrade put the FCL Twins on the scoreboard first in the third inning, with his first home run of the year, a solo shot. But the Twins weren’t able to push any more runs across until the bottom of the ninth when Andres Centeno led off the inning with a double, moved to third on a single from Amilcar Vasquez, and then scored on a Misael Urbina double, where Centeno was thrown out at home for the innings first out. The tying run was then in the batter's box, but Alexander Pena and De Andrade weren’t able to keep it going, falling 4-2 to the Braves. Urbina led the offense with a three-hit effort in four at-bats, also drawing a walk. De Andrade had two hits including the home run, and Centeno’s double accounted for their three extra-base hits in the game. Second baseman Fredy Michel also drew three walks, but wasn’t able to score any runs as the team finished just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base in total. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL KC Stewart 5, DSL Twins 6 Box Score The DSL Twins scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning en route to building an early 5-1 lead, but then let their Kansas City Royals-based opponents back into the game late. Would they be able to hold them off? The Twins got on the scoreboard first in the second inning as Anderson Nova, Isaac Pena, and Ricardo Pena all notched singles in the frame, with the last of those driving in a run. They had a chance for more as a walk loaded the bases with two outs, but would have to wait until the next inning to really cash in. They did so when Bryan Acuna and Jose Rodriguez started the third with consecutive singles, before all three of them trotted the bases thanks to a Rafael Cruz home run, his first of the season. Nova followed with his first triple of the year and scored the fourth run of the inning on an error to the next hitter. They remained in the lead until the ninth inning thanks to the collective efforts of Jose Ojo (1 IP, BB, K), Bianger Liendo (1 IP, BB, 2 K), and Eduardo Soriano (1 IP, 2 H, R) to start the game. Miguel Olivares then did the heavy lifting, pitching five innings from the fourth through the eighth. He allowed one earned run on two hits and three walks, while striking out six. With the score 5-2 entering the top of the ninth, the Twins brought Eider Machuca out of the bullpen for the save opportunity and he retired the first two hitters he faced. Then the wheels fell off. A pair of walks was followed by a three-run home run to tie the game at five, and he then walked the next batter to bring an end to his outing with a blown save. He was bailed out as the Royals attempted a steal with new pitcher Orlando Rubio on the mound, and catcher Javier Roman cut them down at second base for the third out. The Twins lineup wasn’t fazed, and remained patient against a new pitcher in the bottom half of the inning, with Luis Rodriguez drawing a leadoff walk. He was advanced to second with a sacrifice bunt before the next two hitters drew walks of their own to load the bases, the second of which was intentional to Yasser Mercedes. After a pop-out from Acuna, Jose Rodriguez delivered the walk-off fireworks with a single to left field to secure the 6-5 win. Jose Rodriguez (2-for-5, R, RBI, K), Nova (2-for-4, 2 R, 3B), and Isaac Pena (2-for-4) each had two-hit nights to support the big blast from Cruz. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Miguel Olivares, DSL Twins (H, 5 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 6 K) Hitter of the Day - Rafael Cruz, DSL Twins (1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY With the full-season affiliates enjoying their day off, there were no Twins Daily top prospects in action on Tuesday. WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Louisville (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Cole Sands (1-4, 4.68 ERA) Amarillo @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Louie Varland (6-2, 3.42 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - TBD Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Marco Raya (3-1, 2.77 ERA) DSL Cardinals @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

It'll be a crime against humanity if Wallner doesn't see triple-A this year... He was promoted from high-A after 66 games. He's now played 68 for Wichita, and he's increased his OPS at double-A compared to high-A by .150 points, and it's over 1.000 now. Been saying this for weeks now, since I've mostly been watching Wichita's games to keep tabs specifically on him: Even if there's still some K's, he's having great at-bats, and mashing everything he hits. Fastballs, breaking balls, inside/outside, High/Low. It hasn't mattered. Just go look at his HR highlights on the Wind Surge's twitter. Both of his most recent 2 HR games will show you exactly what I'm talking about. #FreeMattWallner

Fun thing about actually playing the game, is adrenaline. Brain/muscle memory definitely is the big part, but I guarantee a position player will throw it harder when his brain/muscles tell him it's needed in a game, than he will in say, a practice situation. Elite infielder arms average around high 80's on their throws, and max out around 95 MPH. Elite outfielder arms can max out over 100 MPH. But if Albert Pujols (who can't run) smokes one at the shortstop and it's in his glove before he's even out of the batter's box, that fielder is not going to make a high velocity throw for the out. Fielder's against Buxton, as an example on the other end of the spectrum, are going to speed everything up and get some extra juice from adrenaline trying to beat him to first. I'd love to see a stat like that, which player gets the highest average velocity throws to first on grounders.

Yeah, that throw is more like 130+ feet, not 90. Because, geometry. A straight path from third base to first base is off the top of my head, a few feet over 125.

Steer is an emergency option at SS on an MLB team, but he's very capable everywhere else in the infield. Had a nice play at third last night:

Holy moly. I'll admit, you definitely accomplished the goal of giving them an "offer they can't refuse" with that proposal. Baseball Trade Values puts this offer as equivalent to the value of Shohei Ohtani. Also, I think Winder can be just as good as Gallen. Maybe even Balazovic, too. Not a move I would even considering making, let alone with that type of offer (and Gallen's arm scares me more than most).

Definitely disappointing Headrick won't get to continue when they resume today. Hopefully the delay doesn't cool off the Kernels bats either.

As the second half of the minor league seasons got started for Minnesota Twins affiliates on Tuesday, a fun observation I made while perusing the games on MiLB.tv was that I have been to one at every stadium the full-season teams were playing at. The actual games were not that fun to observe however, as every team lost, including the Wind Surge who had a decent lead late. At least the Cedar Rapids Kernels were spared that fate due to rain (but they are currently winning!). TRANSACTIONS The Minnesota Twins optioned OF Mark Contreras back to the St. Paul Saints, and recalled RHP Josh Winder for their doubleheader. SAINTS SENTINEL Omaha 11, St. Paul 2 Box Score It didn’t matter who was pitching for the Saints on Tuesday night, the Storm Chasers made every one of them pay in an 11-2 bombardment at CHS Field that ended a seven-game home winning streak for St. Paul. Starter Dereck Rodriguez was hit for just his second loss of the season, as he allowed four earned runs on four hits and three walks in his 4 2/3 innings. He did strike out six, but two home runs allowed put his team in an early hole. Yennier Cano was the first arm out of the bullpen and got them through the sixth. He allowed one run of his own on one hit and one walk, while striking out two. Tyler Viza was roughed up for four runs (three earned) and didn’t record an out in the eighth inning after pitching a scoreless seventh. He struck out two. Wladimir Pinto finished the game with two innings, allowing two runs of his own on four hits, though he did strike out four. The Saints put the ball in play all night, striking out only four times as a team, but didn’t have many opportunities to put anything together to score runs. Jake Cave finished 2-for-3 with a home run and a double, but Michael Helman was the only other hitter to go for extra bases with a double to lead off the third inning. They finished just 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position, and left only two men on base for the game. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 8, Springfield 12 Box Score The Wind Surge came out swinging in this one, taking a 3-0 lead before their starting pitcher, Daniel Gossett, had taken the mound. Matt Wallner led off the game by being hit by a pitch and was followed by an Edouard Julien double to move him to third, before Austin Martin’s two-RBI single scored the game's first runs. Martin was moved to third on a Chris Williams single before he was able to score on a groundout from DeShawn Kiersey Jr. Gossett kept his team in the lead for 4 2/3 innings, finishing with three earned runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out six. He had allowed just a single run before a two-run shot in the fifth to make it 4-3 Wichita put an end to his night. In the sixth inning the Wind Surge tacked on a couple more runs when Anthony Prato delivered an RBI double, and was followed by a sac fly from Wallner that made it 6-3. They got two more insurance runs in the eighth thanks to an RBI single from Kevin Merrel, and a throwing error on a Prato infield single that allowed another runner to score. Left-hander Kody Funderburk came on in relief of Gossett and pitched 2 1/3 innings. He allowed one run on four hits, a walk, and struck out one. Andrew Cabezas came on to start the eighth inning, and promptly gave up a leadoff home run to Malcom Nunez that made the score 8-5. Cabezas wouldn’t record an out, and before the inning was over Jordan Gore and Bryan Sammons had also been summoned from the bullpen, and Nunez added a grand slam that put the Cardinals out front 12-8. It took just seven pitches for Wichita to go down in the ninth, and they fell to just one game above .500 on the season, and lost in spectacular fashion to start their second half. The lineup got multiple hits from Williams (2-for-5, RBI, 2 K), Andrew Bechtold (2-for-3, 2 R, BB), and Prato (2-for-4, 2B, RBI). Martin finished 1-for-2 with a run scored, two RBI, and drew three walks. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 0 (suspended in the third inning) Box Score The Kernels matchup with the Timber Rattlers was suspended due to rain before the bottom of the third inning, with Cedar Rapids leading 5-0. They will resume play tomorrow afternoon to complete a full nine innings, followed by a seven-inning game two. Brent Headrick made the start and completed two scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and struck out one. Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run homer, his 17th of the season, in the first, and back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles by Kyler Fedko, Yunior Severino, and Pat Winkel led to three runs in the top of the third before play was suspended. MUSSEL MATTERS Dunedin 2, Fort Myers 0 Box Score The Mighty Mussels got a decent outing from starting pitcher Travis Adams, but the offense wasn’t able to mount any offensive against the Blue Jays on Tuesday at Hammond Stadium. Adams went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks, while striking out three. Juan Mendez (2 IP, H, BB, 2 K) and Samuel Perez (2 IP, BB) each added two scoreless innings to give the home team a chance. Unfortunately, the Fort Myers lineup managed just four hits of their own, the biggest being a double from Keini Cavaco. Noah Miller, Rubel Cespedes, and Luis Baez each had a single. As a team, they went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and left only three men on base for the game. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 3, FCL Rays 4 Box Score Brayan Medina made the start for the Twins and went the first 3 2/3 innings, likely reaching a pitch limit after a two-out error was committed in the fourth inning. He allowed one run on one hit and two walks, while striking out four. It was tied at two heading into the ninth inning thanks to a sac fly from Danny De Andrade in the third and a Wilfri Castro solo home run in the fourth. The Twins took the lead thanks to a wild pitch in the top of the tenth, but an error on a double in the bottom half led to two runs and a walk-off loss for the good guys. As a team, they struck out 20 times versus no walks, and were unable to cash in any other opportunities as they were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and collected just five hits. Tanner Gaff (1/3 IP, K), Jon Olsen (1 IP, H, K), Jose Oliveras (4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BB, 3 K), and Giovahniey German (H, 2 R, BB) also pitched for the Twins. DOMINICAN DAILIES Scheduled day off. The DSL Twins had Tuesday off. They’re back in action at 10:00 AM CDT tomorrow against the DSL Cleveland Blue squad. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Samuel Perez, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (2 IP, BB) Hitter of the Day - Austin Martin, Wichita Wind Surge (1-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB) PROSPECT SUMMARY #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 3-for-7, R, 2B, HR, RBI (2 games) #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-4 #9 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, K, CS #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-for-3, R, RBI, 3 K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-5, R, 2B, 2 K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-1, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI (game suspended) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (1:07 PM CDT) - RHP Cole Sands (0-4, 5.20 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Casey Legumina (1-3, 6.57 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (12:10 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (3-0, 2.05 ERA) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM CDT) - RHP Pierson Ohl (3-3, 4.70 ERA) DSL Twins @ DSL Cleveland Blue (10:00 AM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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Shocked at the timing, until I read about the salary... Sorry ya'll, but there isn't anything shady about taking a job that more than doubles your salary... Even if the Twins offered to match it, I'm guessing Wes would have told them to kick rocks. College season much less demanding, Wes is a southern guy, and he might just be the highest paid pitching coach in the world now, at any level. I say "Congratulations, Wes!" Edit: Also not shady, is making this choice to spend more time with your kid(s).

No doubt this is still something to watch, but he has been improving. April: 39.2% K-rate, 16.2% walk rate. May: 37.9%/18.4% June: 32.9%/21.1% As an avid MiLB.tv and Wichita watcher this season, I can tell you despite the number of them, he is consistently having really good to great at-bats. It feels different to me, than watching Rooker did, if that makes any sense. He is hitting pitches all over the plate, breaking balls, fastballs... His first HR tonight was on a low breaking ball he golfed, second one was a high-outside fastball he destroyed. It doesn't seem to matter. And he is absolutely demolishing the ball when he hits it. There absolutely is a reason he's now batting in the leadoff spot. He had a single last week that probably had a launch angle of 1 degree, and it hit off the top of the fence in right field. Probably the hardest hit ball I've seen this year, anywhere. I hope we're seeing some of this in the majors in 2023, or heck, 2022 if he keeps this up at triple-A.

There were close games that went both ways for Minnesota Twins affiliates in their series openers on Tuesday, but it was a slugger in double-A that stole the show with a pair of home runs. This continued a torrid stretch that you need to start paying attention to, if you haven’t been already. TRANSACTIONS There were no transactions in the system heading into Tuesday’s games. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Buffalo 8 Box Score The Saints jumped out to a big lead with a five-run third inning, but the bullpen wasn’t able to hold it late as they fell back to .500 on the season in their series opener with the Bisons. On the mound for St. Paul was right-hander Ronny Henriquez, and he pitched into the sixth inning. As has been the knock on him in his minor league career, the home run ball was an issue, as he allowed two in his 5 1/3 innings. Luckily for him, they were both of the solo variety and were the only runs given up. In total he allowed four hits, walked two, and struck out five in his outing. In their big third inning, the Saints got a bases-clearing double from Tim Beckham, then later a two-run double from Jermaine Palacios to go out front. Palacios was robbed of a grand slam in the fifth, and instead had to settle for a sac fly that made the score 6-1, before he learned his lesson and muscled one further out in the seventh for a solo homer that made it 7-2. The bottom of the seventh is where it started to fall apart. Tyler Viza had come on in relief of Henriquez in the sixth after he walked two consecutive batters and escaped the jam, but very quickly got himself into one in the seventh. Two hit batters and a walk loaded the bases, then a sac fly and single scored two runs before St. Paul had anyone warmed up. Hunter Wood prevented any further damage that inning, but the lead was now 7-4. In the eighth it was Jovani Moran’s turn to shut the Bisons down and he got the first two hitters he faced, but a pair of walks around an RBI double ended his outing in favor of Yennier Cano. Who promptly allowed a go-ahead three-run homer to complete the Buffalo comeback. The Saints went down quietly in the bottom of the ninth, and will look to get back on track with Josh Winder on the mound tomorrow, continuing his rehab assignment. Beckham (2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 K) and Palacios (2-for-3, R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, K) led the way for the offense with multiple hits, and Spencer Steer finished 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and run scored out of the leadoff spot. WIND SURGE WISDOM San Antonio 2, Wichita 9 Box Score We need to talk about Matt Wallner. The slugger out of Southern Mississippi got off to a slow start this year, hitting just .200 in the season's first month. But as the weather has warmed up down in the Texas League, so has he. In the month of May he posted a .287/.410/.575 batting line, and after his two home run game tonight, is hitting .345(!)/.500(!!!)/.690(!!!!!) in the month of June. He’s been so good, and getting on-base so often, that he’s been batting in the leadoff spot for the Wind Surge in the last week. That was the case again tonight in the series opener with the San Antonio Missions, and it didn’t take long for him to show up. It was the fourth pitch of the bottom of the first inning to be exact. That blast tied the game at one, and in his second at-bat in the third inning, he put the Wind Surge in the lead with an RBI single. He later scored on a single from Edouard Julien and the home team took a 3-1 lead. The offense broke the game open in the fifth with four-run inning, though Wallner didn’t factor into the outburst this time. A three-run homer from Cole Sturgeon did most of the damage, but Julien tacked on another RBI single and their lead was now 7-2. Wallner was back at it in the eighth, delivering his third hit and a second home run, when he demolished the first pitch of his at-bat for a two-run blast. I’d imagine he’ll be up with St. Paul soon. Making the start for Wichita was Sawyer Gipson-Long, and he picked up his first win in double-A with a five-inning effort. He allowed two runs on six hits, walked zero, and struck out three. Relievers Melvi Acosta (2 IP, H, BB, K), Steven Cruz (1 IP, H, K), and Osiris German (1 IP, 2 H) finished off the final four scoreless innings in the 9-2 win. Joining Wallner in the multi-hit parade for the Wind Surge were Julien (2-for-3, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB), Anthony Prato (2-for-4, R), and Leobaldo Cabrera (2-for-3, 2 R, 2B). KERNELS NUGGETS West Michigan 1, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score The Kernels matchup with the Whitecaps on Tuesday was a good old-fashioned pitchers duel, as the starting pitchers battled each other for the first half of the game, allowing only two hits each in their time on the mound. There were just seven hits total in the game between both teams, and the Kernels did not have a runner advance past second base until the eighth inning. But they finally made it count when they did. Right-hander David Festa got the start and while he didn’t rack up strikeouts like he has been known to this season, kept the Whitecaps off balance in his six innings. He allowed two hits, walked four, and struck out three in allowing just one run. He was sitting mid-90’s all game and topped out at 97 MPH while I was listening to the broadcast. Bradley Hanner delivered two scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowing one hit, and gets credited with his fourth win of the season, as the lineup came through late. They finally got a runner in scoring position after a one-out single from Kennie Taylor was followed by a walk from Alerick Soularie, bringing up Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who has proven to be born for these situations. He delivered an RBI double down the first base line that tied the game at one, and put the go-ahead runner 90-feet away. After an intentional walk to Aaron Sabato, Seth Gray drove a fly ball deep enough into right field to give the Kernels the lead with a sac fly. Derek Molina came on for the bottom of the ninth, and retired the Whitecaps one-two-three, picking up his third save of the season, and punctuating the comeback with a strikeout to end it. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Lakeland 2 Box Score The Mighty Mussels got a solid start from left-hander Jordan Carr, and the bullpen finished off the battle of pitching staffs to collect their 40th win of the season against the Flying Tigers. Carr picked up his second win with five innings of one-run ball. He allowed five hits, two walks, and struck out five. His lone run allowed came in the fifth inning, which made the score 3-1 in favor of Fort Myers. The lineup had put single runs on the scoreboard in each of the second, fourth, and fifth innings to that point. In the second it was a triple from Keoni Cavaco to score Rubel Cespedes, who had led off the inning with a double. In the fourth, a groundout from Cespedes scored Noah Miller from third, who had led off the inning with a walk. Their run in the fifth came courtesy of an errant throw from the catcher that allowed Mikey Perez to score from second. Those three runs would hold up as the bullpen trio of Jackson Hicks (1 IP, H, BB, K), Anthony Escobar (1 IP, 2 H, 2 K), and Hunter McMahon (2 IP, H, ER, BB, K) kept Lakeland at bay over the final four innings. McMahon’s run allowed came on a solo home run in the eighth, but he set the opposition down in order in the bottom of the ninth for his fifth save. The Mighty Mussels were outhit 9-to-6 and drew only one walk as a team, but got enough to steal a win behind their pitching. They were just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and left only one man on base for the game. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Orioles 3, FCL Twins 15 Box Score The FCL Twins knocked out twelve hits and drew ten walks in blowing out the FCL Orioles. They scored multiple runs in each of the first, fourth, fifth, and seventh innings, led by three hits, including a home run, and five RBI from Yonardy Soto. Andres Centeno also drove in five with a pair of singles and two sacrifice flies. Brayan Medina got the win, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks in four innings pitched. He struck out two. Miguelangel Boadas added three innings of scoreless relief, allowing two hits, walking two, and striking out four. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Angels 4, DSL Twins 5 Box Score The DSL Twins held off a comeback attempt from the DSL Angels to even their record at 6-6 on the season. Shortstop Yilber Herrera led the way on offense with a 2-for-3 effort, including a double and a triple, and drove in three runs. Rafael Cruz and Denyerbe Gervis also added triples to the effort. Miguel Olivares made the start and went the first four innings, allowing no runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out six. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - David Festa, Cedar Rapids Kernels (6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 3 K) Hitter of the Day - Matt Wallner, Wichita Wind Surge (3-for-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 0-for-2 #5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, R, 2 BB #9 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-3, R, BB, 2 K #13 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 3-for-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-3, R, 2 RBI #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, K #20 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Buffalo (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Josh Winder (0-0, 6.75 ERA) San Antonio @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - LHP Kody Funderburk (6-2, 2.41 ERA) West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - LHP Brent Headrick (6-2, 2.55 ERA) Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Travis Adams (4-2, 2.94 ERA) DSL Braves @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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The low-levels of the Minnesota Twins farm system were hit by rain again on Tuesday, but it wasn’t too big of a deal as Alex Kirilloff isn’t playing for them. He continued his torrid stretch with another home run, while in double-A another slugger made an impression with his bat and arm to support his pitcher who almost outdueled a rehabbing major league starter. TRANSACTIONS CF Cole Sturgeon was assigned to Wichita from St. Paul C Jeferson Morales was placed on the 7-day injured list for Cedar Rapids SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Columbus 7 Box Score The Saints jumped out to a big early lead after just two innings, thanks primarily to the scorching hot bat of Alex Kirilloff. His double in the first scored one, then he was promptly driven in by a double from Jake Cave. In the second, Kirilloff came up with the bases loaded and cleared them with his seventh home run in his last 10 games. St. Paul added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings thanks to RBI doubles from Tim Beckham and Caleb Hamilton. Reliever Mario Sanchez came on to start the fifth inning and would go four innings. He allowed just one run on two hits, while striking out two, to keep the Saints out front. With the score 8-6 going into the bottom of the ninth, St. Paul went to Juan Minaya for the save opportunity, and it got interesting. He walked the first two batters he faced, putting the tying run on base, but a mound visit calmed him down some. He struck out the next two before allowing an RBI single to close the lead to one, but got a groundball from the next hitter to seal the victory and pick up his fourth save of the season. Kirilloff led the way for the offense by finishing 3-for-4 with five RBI, while Beckham (2-for-5, RBI, K) and Curtis Terry (2-for-4, R, K) also collected multiple hits. Spencer Steer returned to the lineup and added a double, a walk, and scored two runs. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Tulsa 4 Box Score The Wind Surge lineup was the unfortunate collateral damage for a Los Angeles Dodgers starter on Tuesday, as Andrew Heaney was with the Drillers for a rehab assignment. He cruised through five innings, allowing just two hits, one walk, and striking out nine Wichita hitters. It wasn’t all bad, however, as the Wind Surge also got a solid start from Casey Legumina that kept them in the game. He went six innings, allowing just one run on four hits, while striking out five. Once Heaney’s outing was done, Matt Wallner got the good guys on the board with his 12th home run of the season to tie the game at one. Legumina was replaced by Bryan Sammons to start the seventh inning, and the Drillers chipped away at him with four singles and a walk that led to three runs and a 4-1 lead for Tulsa. Melvi Acosta got the final out of the seventh and added a scoreless eighth, allowing two hits and striking out one in 1 1/3 innings pitched. Edouard Julien did his best to give the Wind Surge a chance with a two-run home run in the eighth, his third of the season, but they went down quietly in the ninth to fall to 32-24 on the year, just a half-game in front of Tulsa in the Texas League North Division standings. KERNELS NUGGETS Dayton 6, Cedar Rapids 5 Box Score This matchup of the Dragons and Kernels got off to a fast start, with nine of the eleven total runs scored coming in the first two innings. Dayton jumped on Cedar Rapids starter John Stankiewicz for four runs in the top of the first, including a three-run homer. They tacked on two more with another home run in the second and put an end to the pitcher’s game after just two innings. He allowed six runs on seven hits and a walk, while picking up two K’s. The home team put up three of their own in the bottom of the first courtesy of home runs from Christian Encarnacion-Strand (2 run) and Kyler Fedko (solo). In the fourth, the Kernels closed the lead to two on a Wander Javier RBI single, and Aaron Sabato got them within one with an RBI single of his own in the seventh. The Kernels bullpen was fantastic after the disappointing start from Stankiewicz, getting seven total scoreless innings out of Orlando Rodriguez (2 IP, 3 H, K), Cody Laweryson (3 1/3 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K), and Bradley Hanner (1 2/3 IP, 2 BB, 2 K). Unfortunately, the lineup wasn’t able to break through to complete the comeback, as they had just five at-bats with runners in scoring position, and left only six men on base for the game. Dylan Neuse (2-for-3, BB) and Javier (2-for-4, RBI, K) had multiple hits in the losing effort. MUSSEL MATTERS Bradenton 1, Fort Myers 2 (Suspended in the fourth inning) Box Score Thunderstorms moved into the Fort Myers area early Tuesday evening and resulted in the Mighty Mussels game being suspended before the start of the fourth inning. The game will be completed in-full tomorrow before playing a 7-inning regularly scheduled contest. To that point, Fort Myers had taken a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third thanks to some wild pitching from the Marauders. Luis Baez reached base on a wild-pitch strikeout, then the next four hitters reached base by a hit-by-pitch and three walks to score their two runs. Jaylen Nowlin made the start and allowed a solo home run, but just one other hit and one walk, while punching out seven Marauders in his three innings. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Braves 6, FCL Twins 11 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Brayan Medina (1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) Winning Pitcher: Miguelangel Boadas (3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K) Multi-Hit Games: Yonardy Soto (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI) XBH: Soto (2 2B), Daniel Robertson (2B), Danny De Andrade (2B) Rehab Players: Daniel Robertson (1-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB) The box score for this one doesn’t make a ton of sense, as the FCL Twins managed more than twice the amount of runs than they had hits, while being no-hit by their opposing starter for all five innings he remained in the game. It switched immediately when the Braves went to their bullpen, as the Twins got all five hits (including four doubles) and drew six walks to score all of their 11 runs in the sixth. DOMINICAN DAILIES DSL Twins 5, DSL Mariners 0 (Suspended in bottom of third inning) Box Score The DSL Twins jumped out to a five-run lead before rain caused the game to be suspended. Jose Rodriguez (3B) and Luis Rodriguez (2B) provided extra-base hits, while Junior Del Valle was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI before play was stopped. Starting pitcher Miguel Olivares finished 2 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out two. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Casey Legumina, Wichita Wind Surge (6 IP, 4 H, ER, 5 K) Hitter of the Day - Alex Kirilloff, St. Paul Saints (3-for-4, 2B, GS, 5 RBI) PROSPECT SUMMARY #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, K #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, 2 K #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, K #9 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - Game suspended #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 2-for-4, R, HR, RBI, K #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-4, R, HR, 2 RBI #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Ronny Henriquez (0-2, 7.68 ERA) Wichita @ Tulsa (4:35 PM CDT), Game 1 - RHP Louie Varland (5-1, 3.24 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (makeup of 5/7 PPD), Game 2 - LHP Kody Funderburk (6-1, 2.17 ERA) Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - RHP David Festa (3-0, 1.83 ERA) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL NYY Yankees (10:00 AM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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There were runs in bunches for Minnesota Twins affiliates on Tuesday, led by an unforgiving onslaught in Cedar Rapids. While one team wasn’t quite able to hold on, falling in extra innings, they combined to outhit their opponents 45-25 on a night filled with big hitting performances. TRANSACTIONS The St. Paul Saints received LHP Danny Coulombe to continue his rehab assignment, and also activated RHP Cole Sands, who made the start on Tuesday. SAINTS SENTINEL Indianapolis 8, St. Paul 5 (11 innings) Box Score The Saints struck first in their series opener with Indianapolis, taking a 3-0 lead after two innings when Roy Morales cleared the bases with a two-out double, his first of the season. Curtis Terry made it 4-0 after three with a sac fly that scored Alex Kirilloff, who had singled to lead off the inning. Right-hander Cole Sands was activated before the game and kept Indianapolis off the scoreboard for the first three innings. He allowed just one hit, walked one, and struck out three in his return from the injured list. Danny Coulombe followed to start the fourth and continue his rehab assignment in triple-A. With two outs, he surrendered a solo home run that made it 4-1 and then a double, but escaped any further damage with a strikeout to end the inning. In the bottom of the fifth St. Paul added another run when Royce Lewis started the inning by reaching on an error, moved to third on a Kirilloff single, then scampered home on a double-play grounder from Spencer Steer. In his first game with the Saints, Steer was batting third in the lineup playing second base, and reached base multiple times. He would finish his triple-A debut 1-for-4 with a walk. The top of the sixth is where fortunes started to change for the home team. Jake Faria came on to start the fifth and delivered a scoreless inning, but couldn’t overcome a leadoff double, walk, and throwing error on a double-steal in the sixth that made it 5-3. In the seventh Faria got two outs around a walk, but was lifted for Jovani Moran, who promptly gave up a game-tying home run. Moran would stay in the game and delivered a scoreless eighth, but the lineup wasn’t able to mount any rallies, sending it to extra innings. Juan Minaya got the ball for the ninth and tenth innings, keeping the game tied in the first extra inning, but after getting two outs in the eleventh, a walk brought in JC Ramirez from the bullpen. Three walks and a single later Indianapolis had an 8-5 lead the Saints weren’t able to come back from. Kirilloff led the way for the lineup with a pair of hits in five at-bats, while Steer and Terry each reached base multiple times. Despite the good start, they finished 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and had only one extra-base-hit on the game, and thus were unable to put it out of reach after the early lead. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 8, Corpus Christi 3 Box Score The Wind Surge were also able to jump on the Hooks early, scoring runs in each of the first three innings to go ahead 5-1 after three. Austin Martin and Michael Helman started the game by drawing walks, and would score on an Alex Isola single and double-play ground ball off the bat of Matt Wallner. In the second it was Leobaldo Cabrera’s third home run of the season that added two more, then in the third an RBI double from Wallner made it 5-1. Louie Varland took the mound for Wichita, and was unceremoniously greeted by a solo home run on his second pitch of the game. He would go on to fight through a couple of threats, finishing 4 2/3 innings, being charged with two earned runs on four hits, four walks, and striking out six. They tried really hard to get him through the fifth to be in line for his fifth win of the season, but a pair of walks leading to a run in his final frame had him up to 97 pitches, prompting his exit. Kody Funderburk came on and got the Wind Surge through the next six outs. He allowed one run of his own on two hits and two walks, while striking out two to get credited with the win. Evan Sisk went 1 1/3 scoreless after him, allowing one hit and striking out two. Austin Schulfer got the final three outs, striking out two in a scoreless ninth. Wichita added single runs in each of the sixth, eighth, and ninth innings to keep the game out of reach for Corpus Christi. Martin and Cabrera had RBI singles, while Helman launched his fifth home run of the season to account for those runs. Helman finished the day 1-for-3 with three runs scored and two walks, in addition to the home run. Wallner (2-for-5, 2B, RBI) and Cabrera (2-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBI) each had multiple hits in the win. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 2, Cedar Rapids 13 Box Score While they didn’t score in the opening frame, the Kernels put this one out of reach early as well, with crooked numbers in four consecutive innings to go up 11-0 before the Timber Rattlers could respond. Kyler Fedko got it started with an RBI single in the second, which was followed by a two-RBI triple from Anthony Prato. A Jair Camargo two-run homer and Fedko sac fly brought in three more in the third. In the fourth frame, Aaron Sabato and Camargo each notched RBI singles, before a two-RBI triple from Christian Encarnacion-Strand and another single from Sabato capped the 11 run explosion in the fifth. The Timber Rattlers were held scoreless until the seventh inning, as the Kernels got a solid outing from starter Aaron Rozek to pick up his fifth win of the season. He went five innings, allowing no runs on three hits and three walks while striking out two. Derek Molina pitched a scoreless sixth inning before a pair of doubles against Denny Bentley in the seventh finally got the visitors on the scoreboard. Bentley would record four outs, allowing one run on two hits and a walk, along with striking out two. Melvi Acosta finished off the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing an unearned run on a hit and walk. He struck out one. Encarnacion-Strand put an exclamation point on the game with his eighth home run of the season in the eighth inning, making the final score of 13-2 in favor of the good guys. All nine hitters in the Cedar Rapids lineup reached base in the game, with Prato (4-for-5, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, BB) falling a home run short of the cycle to lead the way. Encarnacion-Strand (2-for-6, 3 R, 3B, HR, 3 RBI), Sabato (2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, BB), and Camargo (3-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB) all finished with multiple hits in the blowout effort as well. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Bradenton 3 Box Score In a continuing theme for the night, the Mighty Mussels jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in this one, but they never looked back, tacking on four more runs late to keep the Marauders at bay. Mikey Perez got them on the board in the top of the first with a run-scoring double, his ninth of the season. They tacked on four more in the second after Keoni Cavaco led off the frame with a triple. He would score on a wild pitch, then a couple more walks loaded the bases and scored another before Emmanuel Rodriguez delivered a two-run single. Right-hander Pierson Ohl took the bump and was fantastic for the first five innings. He allowed just one hit and one walk while punching out seven. He faced the minimum until his two-out walk in the fifth inning, as left fielder Dylan Neuse cut down a runner trying to stretch a single into a double in the third. Ohl was efficient as well, throwing just 65 pitches (39 for strikes, 13 swinging) in his five frames to pick up his second win of the season. Juan Mendez gave up a pair of runs to Bradenton in the sixth thanks to three walks and a hit, but also struck out two. Matt Mullenbach allowed an unearned run on two hits in two innings of relief, striking out three. Hunter McMahon finished the game with a scoreless ninth, striking out one. Fort Myers broke the game open in the eighth, thanks to a two-run home run from Kala'i Rosario, and a two-run single from Noah Miller. Rodriguez (2-for-2, 2 RBI, 3 BB), Perez (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI), Cavaco (2-for-5, 2 R, 3B), Rosario (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB) and Miller (2-for-4, R, 3 RBI, BB) all collected two hits on the game in a 12 hit effort. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Pierson Ohl, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (W, 5 IP, H, BB, 7 K) Hitter of the Day - Anthony Prato, Cedar Rapids Kernels (4-for-5, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, BB) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 0-for-5, R, 3 K (played SS) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-for-4, R, RBI, BB #4 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 2-for-3, 2B #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - #8 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - Save (4), IP, H #10 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Fort Myers) - 2-for-2, 2 RBI, 3 BB #11 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 2-for-4, R, 3 RBI, BB, K #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 4 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 6 K #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 3 IP, H, BB, 3 K #16 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-6, 2 R, 3B, HR, 3 RBI WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (5:07 PM CDT), Game 1 - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-1, 8.38 ERA) Indianapolis @ St. Paul, Game 2 - RHP Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-2, 3.45 ERA) Wichita @ Corpus Christi (6:35 PM CDT) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (2-1, 2.39 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 PM CDT) - LHP Cade Povich (3-2, 3.25 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP Mike Paredes (0-1, 2.66 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! 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