Steve Lein

To find out who the standouts on the Fourth of July were in the minors, and just how many extra innings those teams played, keep reading! TRANSACTIONS Before we get into the games, there were a few Independence Day transactions. In Rochester, Justin Haley was sent on a rehab assignment to the Red Wings and made the start in their game. Outfielder Ryan Strausborger was promoted from Chattanooga and Kennys Vargas was optioned to AAA. The Lookouts also got a pitcher on a rehab assignment, theirs in the form of Zack Jones, who also started the game for Chattanooga though under different circumstances than Haley. RED WINGS REPORT Pawtucket 3, Rochester 5 Box Score The Red Wings got another multi-hit effort from Zack Granite, who went 2-4 with three RBI. He scored one of those with a single in the second inning, and his fourth inning single scored the other two and gave Rochester a 4-2 lead. They extended their lead to three in the fifth on a wild-pitch that allowed Mitch Garver to scamper home from third. Justin Haley made the start for the Red Wings and went the first three innings in his first rehab appearance. He allowed a two-run home run in the third and four hits total while striking out three. Nik Turley came on in relief and went the next five innings. He allowed no runs on two hits and a walk, and added three K’s. Jake Reed pitched the ninth inning and picked up his second save for Rochester. He did allow a solo home run for the final score of 5-3, but also struck out the last two hitters of the game. It was Reed’s first run allowed at AAA. Niko Goodrum scored two runs with a 1-2 day that included a walk. Bengie Gonzalez picked up the other RBI for the Red Wings with a single in the second inning that scored Kennys Vargas. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee 5, Chattanooga 6 (14 innings) Box Score Chattanooga jumped out to a 5-1 lead after five innings, but weren’t able to keep the Smokies at bay. They scored those five runs thanks to a T.J. White RBI single in the second inning, a Jonathan Rodriguez two-run homer in the fourth, and a two-RBI single off the bat of LaMonte Wade in the fifth. Starter Kohl Stewart gave up a run in the top of the first after a giving up a one-out double, but that would be it for the Smokies against him. He went five innings, allowing four hits and one walk. He struck out one. Relievers Matt Tracy and Paul Clemens each threw two innings, but the Smokies also tagged each of them for two runs to tie the game at five in the top of the eighth. Tracy’s runs came on three walks and double while Clemens’ came on four hits including three doubles. Both relievers also struck out two. Randy Rosario took over in the tenth, and went the next three scoreless and perfect innings while picking up two K’s. Luke Bard came on for the thirteenth inning and pitched a one-two-three frame. Chattanooga had an opportunity in the bottom of the thirteenth as three two-out walks loaded the bases, but Levi Michael grounded out to end the inning. Bard came back out in the fourteenth and again had a one-two-three inning, striking out the final two hitters of this one. Over his last eleven appearances and 17.2 innings pitched, Bard has allowed just one run on twelve hits and six walks, while striking out 30. #FreeBard The Lookouts got another bases-loaded opportunity in the fourteenth after a Nick Gordon single and walks to Edgar Corcino and LaMonte Wade with two outs, and this time the day’s hero came through. Designated hitter Rodriguez knocked his fourth hit of the game, a single to score Gordon and walk it off after a long day. Rodriguez finished 4-6 with two runs scored, two doubles, his tenth home run, a walk, and three runs batted in. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 1, Tampa 2 (14 innings) Box Score Fort Myers fell behind 1-0 in the second inning when starter David Fischer gave up a solo home run. He was pretty good otherwise in his four innings however, allowing just one other hit with one strikeout. Michael Theofanopoulos went the next three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and a walk, with six K’s. The Miracle tied the game at one in the top of the ninth inning thanks to an RBI single from Mitchell Kranson. His hit scored Jermaine Palacios who had singled to lead off the inning. Sam Clay came on for Theofanopoulos in the eighth and brought the game into extra innings. He finished four scoreless innings and allowed one hit, walked three and struck out two. Position Player Pitcher Alert: Catcher Kevin Garcia was the next arm brought on to pitch and he made it two plus innings. He had the first two outs of the bottom of the fourteenth, but a solo home run ended the game for Fort Myers. The Miracle lineup, despite the five extra frames, had just two at-bats in the entire contest with runners in scoring position and went 1-2. They had six singles after nine innings, and added three more singles for nine total hits on the game after fourteen innings. Max Murphy, Palacios and Kranson all had two hits. KERNELS NUGGETS Wisconsin 2, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score Cedar Rapids scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a sacrifice fly from Lewin Diaz, but that’s all the offense they would push across for the game as this one also turned into a pitcher’s duel. Eduardo Del Rosario made the start for the Kernels and went seven strong innings. He allowed just one run on a solo home run, three hits total, walked none and struck out six. The game was tied 1-1 when he left after those seven innings, and Max Cordy pitched a scoreless eighth before a leadoff walk in the ninth allowed the Timber Rattlers to manufacture the go-ahead run. The lineup for Cedar Rapids collected just six hits and was led by Diaz (2-3, RBI) and Ben Rortvedt (2-3, 2B) who each had two. Lean Marrero added a triple in the fifth inning but was left stranded. As a team they were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left only five men on base. E-TWINS E-NOTES Princeton 6, Elizabethton 2 Box Score Twins Daily’s 2016 Short Season Pitcher of the Year, Huascar Ynoa, made the start for the Twins and went the first five innings. They were of the scoreless variety as he allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out three. Elizabethton scored the first run of the game in the second inning when Andrew Cosgrove singled in Andrew Bechtold, who had picked up his first double of the year a batter earlier. The Twins made the score 2-0 for their starter in the bottom of the fifth when Jose Miranda led off the inning with his second Appalachian League home run. Bryan Sammons came on in relief of Ynoa for the sixth inning, and an error led to an unearned run to make the score 2-1. Sammons added a scoreless seventh inning and struck out three in his outing. In the eighth, Blair Lakso was summoned to keep the lead but it wasn’t meant to be. With one out there was an errant throw on a steal attempt, then a walk, single, wild pitch, two-run double, and RBI single ended his outing with the score 5-2 Princeton. Jared Finkel came on and got the last out of the inning with a K and he finished the game with another frame, but gave up an insurance run in the ninth on three singles. Down 6-2 in the bottom of the ninth, the Twins did their best to mount a comeback by loading the bases with two-outs for Brent Rooker. Unfortunately his ground ball to third didn’t find a hole and dropped Elizabethton to 8-5 on the season. Miranda finished his day 2-5 with the home run, Bechtold was 1-3 with a double, a run scored, and walk, and Matt Albanese added a double to lead the offensive effort. As a team they were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Rays 4 (10 innings) Box Score The GCL Twins jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning thanks to a Benjamin Rodriguez triple that scored Akil Baddoo and Victor Tademo who had reached base via a walk and hit by pitch, respectively. They made it 3-0 in the third as Royce Lewis drew a walk to lead off the frame and stole second base before Rodriguez singled him in. In the fifth Rodriguez delivered again with a single to score Alex Robles, who had doubled earlier in the inning. The Twins would need all those Rodriguez runs batted in as the Rays finally got to the bullpen of the Twins in the eighth inning. Zack Jones had started the game for his first rehab appearance, and stuck out two in the first inning. Jordan Balazovic then came on and went the next five scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out six. Matt Jones pitched a scoreless seventh inning before running into a heap of trouble after a strike three got away from the catcher and put a runner on. Four more singles and a hit batter scored four runs to tie the game before Austin Bizzle came one and struck out the two hitters he faced to end the threat. Jose Burmudez brought the game into extra innings with two scoreless frames, including the tenth which started with a runner on second base under the new rules. In the bottom of the tenth, Lewis started on second base for the Twins as he was the last out of the ninth inning. He didn’t have to do much running, as Baddoo launched his first home run of the season in walk-off fashion to give the Twins the 6-4 win and bring on the fireworks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RQDxu3WAzo Despite just six hits as a team, thanks to Rodriguez and Baddoo the Twins made the most of them by getting four of those with runners in scoring position. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Eduardo Del Rosario, Cedar Rapids Kernels (7.0IP, ER, 3 H’s, 6 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Jonathan Rodriguez, Chattanooga Lookouts (GW-single in fourteenth inning. 4-6, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, HR, BB, 3 RBI) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester, Game 1 (3:35PM CST) – RHP Dillon Gee (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Pawtucket @ Rochester, Game 2 (TBD) - TBD Tennessee @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Tampa (6:00PM CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (0-0, -.-- ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – LHP Evan Sanders (0-1, 11.25 ERA) Princeton @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – RHP Moises Gomez (0-0, 14.29 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

TRANSACTIONS Before we get to the games, there were some transactions leading into them on today. In Rochester, Yohan Pino was placed on the disabled list with a right-shoulder strain, Nick Tepesch was assigned for a rehab stint in the Gulf Coast League, Dillon Gee was optioned from the Twins, and Alex Wimmers cleared waivers and was outrighted. In the lower levels of the system, Fort Myers released Bradley Strong and the GCL Twins assigned first baseman Mariano Calcano to the Dominican Summer league. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Buffalo 2 Box Score Nik Turley made his first start with the Red Wings since being sent down after a deserved cameo with the Minnesota Twins, and went the first five innings. He allowed a solo home run in the second and an unearned run in the third and left the game with the score tied 2-2. In his five innings, he allowed three hits and walked two while striking out six. His ERA at AAA sits at 3.24 on the season. On the offensive side, if I were to ask you which Red Wings batter was responsible for their first run of the game in this one, who would you guess? Given these reports that you’ve been following for the last few weeks, if you didn’t think of Zack Granite I might ask what is wrong with you. His single in the second inning scored one and if not for a strong throw home would have scored another. He drove in another runner with single in the fourth and finished this one 3-5, raising his batting average to .371. D.J. Baxendale relieved Turley and went two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and struck out two. Rochester took the lead 3-2 in the top of seventh when Granite led off the inning with a single, but it wasn’t he who scored the run because he got himself thrown out at home on a wild-pitch, trying to score from second on the wild pitch. A two-out single from Byungho Park scored Mitch Garver to put the Red Wings out front. Michael Tonkin finished the final two innings for the Red Wings to pick up his third save on the season. He made it a bit interesting in the ninth, hitting the first two batters of the frame and causing hitting coach Chad Allen to be ejected in the process, but proceeded to strike the next three hitters out. Of his six outs, five came on K’s. Garver (3-5, R), Park (2-5, R, RBI), and Leonardo Reginatto (2-4, R) joined Granite with multiple hits on the game. Despite collecting 14 hits, all singles, and going 5-12 with runners in scoring position on the game, the three runs scored were enough in this one as Rochester pitchers allowed just four hits and two walks. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Scheduled Day Off. The Lookouts enjoyed a day off for travel on Tuesday and get back to action Wednesday night on the road against the Mississippi Braves. Stephen Gonsalves takes the hill in game one of the six-game series. MIRACLE MATTERS Clearwater 2, Fort Myers 3 Box Score With Cody Stashak on the mound for the Miracle, this one was a pitcher’s duel throughout. He went 7.1 innings, allowing just two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out eight. With the score 2-1 in the eighth, he was removed after allowing consecutive singles that put a man on third. Sam Clay came on and that runner scored on a squeeze play to tie the game at two. Fort Myers took the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh after the Threshers starter was removed from the game. Tanner English singled and stole second base, his seventh of the season, before scoring on a double from Sean Miller. The next batter, Max Murphy, brought him in with an RBI single. Clay stayed in the game and pitched a scoreless ninth inning to give his lineup a chance at some dramatics. They delivered. Miller doubled with one out to put the winning run in scoring position, and after moving to third on a Murphy single, Shane Kennedy brought him in with a walk-off single. Miller (2-4, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, RBI), Murphy (2-5, RBI), and Kennedy (2-5, RBI) provided all the RBIs for the Miracle out of the nine-one-two spots in the order. Mitchell Kranson added a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Burlington 6, Cedar Rapids 2 Box Score Cedar Rapids starter Colton Davis got tagged early and often in this one and the home team was unable to mount a comeback. Davis went the first three innings, and allowed at least one run in each. He finished with four runs allowed on six hits, including two home runs. He struck out two. Ryan Mason went the next three innings and allowed one run on one hit and a walk while striking out two. Alex Robinson pitched two perfect innings, including one strikeout. Evan Sanders finished the game for the Kernels and allowed one insurance run on two hits and a walk, but struck out two. The Kernels offense got one hit from every hitter in their lineup except Caleb Hamilton, but that wasn’t enough to crawl out of the hole they found themselves in early. Travis Blankenhorn clubbed his seventh triple of the season and drew a walk, and Aaron Whitefield blasted his eighth home run along with a walk to lead the offense. As a team the Kernels were 2-7 with runners in scoring position, left eight men on base, and had five hitters with multiple K’s. E-TWINS E-NOTES Pulaski 6, Elizabethton 4 Box Score 2017 fourth-round draft pick Charlie Barnes made his first professional start for the Twins in this one. He went the first 2.1 innings as he ran up his pitch count with three walks. He left with two runners on base in the third, and both came around to score later in the inning. He allowed just one hit and struck out one in his debut. Elizabethton scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning, when Rainis Silva led off with a double and scored on a single from T.J. Dixon. They added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings thanks to RBI singles from Jordan Gore and J.J. Robinson but were outpaced by the Yankees along the way. Twenty-second-round pick Christian Broussard came on in relief of Barnes for his debut and went the next 2.2 innings. He allowed two runs on four hits and a walk with one K. Nick Brown was the next pitcher to make his pro debut, and went two innings. He allowed two runs on two hits and three walks, striking out three. Taylor Clemensia finished the game with two scoreless innings, walking two and striking out two. The Twins closed the Yankees lead to two runs in the eighth inning on a groundout from Andre Jernigan, but were unable to string together enough hits to close the gap. Robinson (2-4, R, RBI) and Gore (3-4, RBI) had multiple hits to lead the offense. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 8, GCL Orioles 13 Box Score The Twins scored first in this one, but their lead was short-lived and if not for a ninth inning rally, would have been on the receiving end of a much worse blowout. Akil Baddoo led off the game with a triple to center field and was promptly driven in by a single from Royce Lewis. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, a throwing error on a double play ball led to two more runs and a 3-0 lead. The rehabbing Nick Tepesch started the game for the Twins, and didn’t do well. He recorded just two outs while allowing five runs on four hits, a walk and a hit-batter. Jordan Balazovic relieved him and stabilized the game for the next three innings, keeping the Orioles off the scoreboard through the fourth inning. Jean Carlos Arias closed the gap to 5-4 in the third with an RBI single, but that’s as close as the Twins would get the rest of the way. Balazovic had retired nine in a row after getting the first out of the fifth inning, but that’s when trouble finally struck. The next five batters reached base leading to three runs before he finally got out of the inning with the score 8-4. Overall, he pitched 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out three. Matz Schutte finished the final three innings, but gave up at least one run in each of those frames. His final line included five earned runs on four hits and two walks, thought he did pick up three strikeouts. In the top of the ninth inning, four consecutive walks scored one and kept the bases loaded for Lewis, who cleared them with a double for the final score of 13-8. He finished 2-5 with four RBI on the game. Colton Burns was 3-5 and scored two runs while Alex Robles added a double and two walks to the offensive effort for the Twins. Arias stole second and third base in the first inning for his first two stolen bases of the season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Cody Stashak, Fort Myers Miracle (7.1IP, 2 ER’s, 6 H’s, BB, 8 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Royce Lewis, GCL Twins (2-5, 2B, 4 RBI) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (6:05PM CST) – RHP Dillon Gee (0-0, -.-- ERA) Chattanooga @ Mississippi (7:00PM CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves (3-3, 2.85 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells (3-9, 4.28 ERA) Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (12:05PM CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario (7-3, 4.74 ERA) Elizabethton @ Kingsport (5:30PM CST) – RHP Edwar Colina (0-0, 8.31 ERA) GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

RED WINGS REPORT Buffalo 3, Rochester 4 Box Score The Red Wings scored early and held off the Bisons to win their fourth game in a row and move above .500 at 34-33 on the season. In the bottom of the first inning, RBI doubles from Mitch Garver and Byungho Park were followed by a sacrifice fly from John Ryan Murphy to jump out front 3-0. Starter Aaron Slegers kept Rochester out front through five innings before he ran into enough trouble to chase him after recording the first two outs of the sixth. In his 5.2 innings, he allowed three runs on six hits and three walks, while striking out six. With runners on first and second, Jake Reed was summoned from the bullpen for the first time at AAA, and struck out the final hitter of the sixth to keep Slegers in line for win. The offense had added the needed insurance run for their starter thanks to the speed of shortstop Engelb Vielma in the fourth inning. He reached base on a bunt single, stole second base and advanced to third on the errant throw before trotting home on a Matt Hague single. It was Vielma’s first stolen base at AAA. Reed also pitched the seventh inning, allowing a single but picking off the runner before also notching his second strikeout in a scoreless Red Wings debut. Ryan Pressly picked up the two inning save, his third with the Red Wings with two scoreless innings to finish the game. He walked one and struck out two. J.B. Shuck (2-5, R), Park (2-4, R, 2 2B’s, RBI, BB), and Niko Goodrum (2-4) each had multiple hits to pace the offense. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Southern League All-Star Break North All-Stars @ South All-Stars Unfortunately for the Southern League and host Pensacola, the All-Star Game scheduled for Tuesday was cancelled on account of Tropical Storm Cindy pounding the region with rain. As a consolation prize, I recommend you read about the “toxic” road that was taken by the Blue Wahoos franchise to reach the point of hosting the game. The Lookouts were represented on the North Division squad by pitchers Fernando Romero, Mason Melotakis (though he was promoted to Rochester this week), and John Curtiss; and position players Nick Gordon, Edgar Corcino, and LaMonte Wade. Chattanooga kicks off the second-half of the season at home on Thursday against the Blue Wahoos. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Jupiter 2 Box Score Left-hander Anthony McIver made his first professional start on Tuesday night after his first 64 career appearances came as a reliever. You could say it went well, so maybe it will stick for a bit longer? He went the first 3.2 innings, allowing no runs on just one hit while striking out four. The lone hit allowed came in the fourth inning and he was removed immediately as he had likely reached his pitch limit, at 60. Tom Hackimer came on for the final out and then went two more scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and one walk, and struck out one in his 2.1 innings. Unfortunately for those two pitchers, the Miracle offense was nowhere to be found in this one, as the first eleven hitters of the game were retired by HammerHead starter Scott Squier. As a team they struck out four times and managed just three hits and one walk against him in his 6.2 innings of shutout baseball. Fort Myers did threaten in the eighth inning as they had runners on second and third with one out, but strikeouts of Max Murphy and Zander Wiel closed the door on the opportunity. David Fischer was tagged with the loss as he gave up single runs in both of the seventh and eighth innings in finishing the game for the Miracle. Those runs scored on four hits and a walk in his two innings. Fort Myers finished the game 0-2 with runners in scoring position and left only six men on base as a team. They look to pick up their first second-half win of the season on Wednesday after dropping the first two games of their three game series versus Jupiter. KERNELS NUGGETS Midwest League All-Star Break West All-Stars 5, East All-Stars 2 Box Score The Midwest League All-Star Game in Midland, Michigan (home of the Great Lakes Loons, affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers) was able to be played on Tuesday night and all six of the Kernels representatives played, with their four position players also starting the game. Jermaine Palacios was the shortstop, batted second in the Western division lineup, and was 1-2 with a single before being lifted in the mass substitutions in the fifth inning. Lewin Diaz batted clean-up and manned first base, and put his squad out front 2-1 in the fourth inning with a two-run home run. If not for a two-home run game from one of his all-star team mates, he might have been player of the game (he’ll have to settle for the Twins “Daily” MiLB Award) Travis Blankenhorn was at third base and batted sixth in the lineup. He flew out in both his plate appearances. Mitchell Kranson started the game as the designated hitter, but also finished the game at first base. He doubled in the fifth inning and was 1-4 on the game. Pitchers Sean Poppen and Clark Beeker both gave scoreless appearances. Poppen struck out one in a one-two-three second inning, and Beeker gave up a double in the sixth and was replaced with two outs. The Cedar Rapids Kernels get back to action on Thursday on the road against the Quad Cities River Bandits, whom the Kernels edged out for the second Western Division playoff-spot in the first half. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Anthony McIver, Fort Myers Miracle (3.2 IP, 2 H’s, 4 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Lewin Diaz, Cedar Rapids Kernels (1-2, HR, 2 RBI in MWL All-Star Game) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (12:35PM CST) – LHP Hector Santiago (first rehab start) Chattanooga – No game. Southern League All-Star break. Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30PM CST) – RHP Cody Stashak (2-3, 4.02 ERA) Cedar Rapids – No game. Midwest League All-Star break. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!