Steve Lein

As you will find out reading the rest of this report, I don’t have to say much more in this opening other than pitching was fantastic on this night throughout the Twins’ affiliates after the clunkers the MLB team put on display in their double-header. They were 6-0 on the day (7-0 if I include the DSL), and you can check out all the standout pitching performances, including Stephen Gonsalves achieving “Ace” status by taking down his fifth Southern League opponent, the Birmingham (Red) Barons, in dominating fashion, by reading on!RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Syracuse 3 Box Score Rochester took an early lead in the first inning, thanks to a solo home run from Daniel Palka, his seventh with the Red Wings and twenty-eighth of the season. After that, it was a pitcher’s duel until the seventh inning. Red Wings starter Nick Greenwood went those first seven innings. Through the sixth, he had scattered just five hits in keeping the Chiefs off the board. Logan Schafer added a solo home run of his own in the top of the seventh for a 2-0 lead, but in the bottom frame the Syracuse lineup finally got to Greenwood. A single, double, and two-run single tied the game before Greenwood induced a double play ball to end the inning and his night. All told, he pitched seven innings, with two earned runs allowed on eight hits while striking out four. He factored into the decision as in the top of the eighth Byron Buxton led off with a single and later scored after some small ball to put Rochester back out front 3-2. Sean Burnett came on and pitched a scoreless eighth, “retiring” all four hitters he faced as his lone strikeout ended up with the runner on first. He was credited with his ninth hold. The Red Wings pushed their lead to 5-2 in the top of the ninth thanks to an RBI double from Mitch Garver and RBI single from Leonardo Reginatto. Twins organization newcomer, Pat Light came on for the ninth and picked up his ninth International League save of the year and second with the Red Wings. Hopefully that was a good enough consolation prize, as he perhaps was supposed to be on his way to Minnesota earlier in the day. He allowed three hits and one run two score in the ninth, but also recorded all of his outs via strikeout. Rochester got multi-hit efforts from Palka (2-5, R, HR, RBI), Reynaldo Rodriguez (2-4, RBI), and Schafer (3-5, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) to lead their offense and improve to 66-53 on the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Birmingham 1 Box Score The Lookouts got a dominating starting performance out of lefty phenom Stephen Gonsalves in this one, who finished it for his first nine inning complete game of his career. Interesting enough, it was also the first time he had ever finished more than seven innings in a game. He allowed just one unearned run in the second inning thanks to a Heiker Meneses error that put a runner on second to start the inning. The rest of the game he allowed just two hits and two walks, and racked up eight strikeouts. From the third through the end of the ninth he faced the minimum, picking up three double-play balls to assist along the way. He improved his record with the Lookouts to 5-1, and lowered his ERA to 2.01. In support of Gonsalves catcher Stuart Turner had a big game, going 3-4 with a double and two RBIs. Travis Harrison scored two runs and added a double. Edgar Corcino had two hits including an RBI triple. They scored four of their seven runs in the fourth inning, and added a single run in the sixth and two in the eight for the final score. Zach Granite stole his 40th base of the year. Is it too early to discuss Gonsalves to AAA?! Outside of one short appearance on July 6th in which he allowed six runs, Gonsalves has allowed just two, zero, zero, one, two, one, and zero runs in each of his other starts with Chattanooga not including today’s gem. He is striking out 10.6/9 IP in AA. MIRACLE MATTERS Charlotte 0, Fort Myers 1 Box score Not to be outdone by Gonsalves, the Miracle also got a fantastic outing from Cody Stashak in his second game in the Florida State League. He went the first seven innings, holding the Stone Crabs to just four hits and one walk. He struck out two and improves to 2-0 with Fort Myers. The Miracle’s lone run came in the seventh inning to break the stalemate, as Tanner Witt led off with a double and scored on a double play ground out off the bat of Alex Perez. Fort Myers got two hits on the game from Nick Gordon and Witt. Both of Witt’s hits were doubles to give him nine on the season. Randy Rosario finished the game’s final two innings, and picked up his first FSL save of the season in the process. He allowed no hits, walked one, and struck out two. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 0 Box Score Like their high-A friends, the Kernels also blanked their opponent on this night. Eduardo Del Rosario went the first five innings in this one and scattered five hits and a walk. He ran his pitch count a little high, at ninety-four four five innings, but went deep into several counts that mostly ended with strikeouts. He had eight for the game. The Kernels scored both their runs in the second inning, after Travis Blankenhorn led off the frame with his first Midwest League double. Later with the bases loaded and two outs, an error on a Luis Arreaz fly ball to left field scored both runs. Nelson Molina and Blankenhorn each had two hits on the game to lead the lineup. Cedar Rapids got two scoreless innings of relief from both Williams Ramirez (2.0IP, H, BB, 2 K’s) and Anthony McIver (2.0IP, H, 3 K’s). Ramirez got his fourth hold, and McIver his seventh save. The victory was manager Jake Mauer’s 300th with the Kernels, and they improved their record to 62-53 on the season and at 26-20 in the second half currently reside in second place in the Western division. E-TWINS E-NOTES Kingsport 2, Elizabethton 5 Box Score In keeping with the day’s theme, the E-Twins also got a strong effort from their starting pitcher on Thursday night. In this one, it was right-hander Alex Schick. Kingsport took a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks in part to an errant pickoff throw from Schick, but he settled in after that, scattering for hits and two walks in his six innings. He struck out five and improves to 4-1 with Elizabethton. He got plenty of offensive support, as Elizabethton scored two runs in the second, and three in the third to take the lead for good. The big blow was a two-run home run of the bat off Mitchell Kranson, his second of the year. Manuel Guzman added two hits, including a double. The bottom third of the order consisting of Trey Cabbage, Caleb Hamilton and Robert Molina each added an RBI. Quin Grogan pitched into the ninth inning, but was lifted after allowing two runners on and uncorking a few ill-timed wild pitches. His final line included 2.1 innings pitched and one run allowed on one hit and one walk, while striking out one. Hector Lujan finished the ninth for his second Appalachian League save. He retired both men he faced on groundouts, but the first of those scored the run credited to Grogan. Elizabethton improves to 25-22 on the short season, and are 1.5 games back of Johnson City for the West Division lead. GCL TWINS TAKES Twins 4, Orioles 3 Box Score It was a team effort on the pitching front for the GCL Twins in this one, as they used five pitchers on the night, with all of them recording a win, hold or save in their stats. Justin Fox got the Wwn as the starter. He went five innings, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks. He struck out three. Daniel Martinez, Garrett Kelly, and Callan Pearce all picked up holds for their efforts. Martinez pitched a scoreless sixth, Kelly a scoreless seventh and eighth, and although he was charged with two runs (one earned) Pearce also was credited with a ‘H’ after Zach Strecker came on with the tying runner on first in the ninth. Strecker got the save by striking out the first batter he faced, and getting a fly out to end the game. The Twins scored single runs in each of the third, fourth, seventh, and ninth innings to give themselves enough cushion. No hitter had more than one hit, but Gorge Munoz, Brian Olson, and Lean Marrero each had doubles, and Aaron Whitefield slugged his second home run of the season to lead the offense. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Chattanooga Lookouts (CG-W, 9.0IP, 0 ER’s, 3 H’s, 2 BB, 8 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Logan Schafer, Rochester Red Wings (3-4, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) Also a special shout-out to the DSL Twins centerfielder, Humberto Muldanado, who was 3-5 with three runs scored, two doubles, a triple, and three RBI’s to lead the DSL Twins to a 12-8 victory against the DSL Orioles2. FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes-Barre @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler (9-3, 2.97 ERA) Chattanooga @ Birmingham (7:055PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (8-6, 3.59 ERA) Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (3-2, 2.79 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30PM PM CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren (3-61, 3.16 ERA) Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (2-3, 3.34 ERA) GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday’s games. Click here to view the article

As you will find out reading the rest of this report, I don’t have to say much more in this opening other than pitching was fantastic on this night throughout the Twins’ affiliates after the clunkers the MLB team put on display in their double-header. They were 6-0 on the day (7-0 if I include the DSL), and you can check out all the standout pitching performances, including Stephen Gonsalves achieving “Ace” status by taking down his fifth Southern League opponent in the Birmingham (Red) Barons in dominating fashion, by reading on! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Syracuse 3 Box Score Rochester took an early lead in the first inning, thanks to a solo home run from Daniel Palka, his seventh with the Red Wings and twenty-eighth of the season. After that, it was a pitcher’s duel until the seventh inning. Red Wings starter Nick Greenwood went those first seven innings. Through the sixth, he had scattered just five hits in keeping the Chiefs off the board. Logan Schafer added a solo home run of his own in the top of the seventh for a 2-0 lead, but in the bottom frame the Syracuse lineup finally got to Greenwood. A single, double, and two-run single would tie the game before Greenwood induced a double-play ball to end the inning and his night. All told, he pitched seven innings, with two earned runs allowed on eight hits while striking out four. He factored into the decision as in the top of the eighth, Byron Buxton led off with a single and later scored after some small ball to put Rochester back out front 3-2. Sean Burnett came on and pitched a scoreless eighth, “retiring” all four hitters he faced as his lone strikeout ended up with the runner on first. He was credited with his ninth hold. The Red Wings pushed their lead to 5-2 in the top of the ninth thanks to an RBI double from Mitch Garver and RBI single from Leonardo Reginatto. Twins organization newcomer, Pat Light came on for the ninth and picked up his ninth International League save of the year and second with the Red Wings. Hopefully that was a good enough consolation prize, as he perhaps was supposed to be on his way to Minnesota earlier in the day. He allowed three hits and one run two score in the ninth, but also recorded all of his outs via the strikeout. Rochester got multi hit efforts from Palka (2-5, R, HR, RBI), Reynaldo Rodriguez (2-4, RBI), and Schafer (3-5, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) to lead their offense and improve to 66-53 on the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Birmingham 1 Box Score The Lookouts got a dominating starting performance out of lefty phenom Stephen Gonsalves in this one, who finished it for his first nine-inning complete game of his career. Interesting enough, it was also the first time he had ever finished more than seven innings in a game. He allowed just one unearned run in the second inning thanks to a Heiker Meneses error that put a runner on second to start the inning. The rest of the game he allowed just two hits and two walks, and racked up eight strikeouts. From the third through the end of the ninth he faced the minimum, picking up three double-play balls to assist along the way. He improved his record with the Lookouts to 5-1, and lowered his ERA to 2.01. In support of Gonsalves catcher Stuart Turner had a big game, going 3-4 with a double and two RBI. Travis Harrison scored two runs and added a double. Edgar Corcino had two hits including an RBI triple. They scored four of their seven runs in the fourth inning, and added a single run in the sixth and two in the eight for the final score. Zach Granite stole his fortieth base of the year. Is it too early to discuss Gonsalves to AAA?! Outside of one short appearance on July 6th in which he allowed six runs, Gonsalves has allowed just two, zero, zero, one, two, one, and zero runs in each of his other starts with Chattanooga not including today’s gem. He is striking out 10.6/9IP in AA. MIRACLE MATTERS Charlotte 0, Fort Myers 1 Box score Not to be outdone by Gonsalves, the Miracle also got a fantastic outing out of Cody Stashak in his second game in the Florida State League. He went the first seven innings, holding the Stone Crabs to just four hits and one walk. He Struck out two and improves to 2-0 with Fort Myers. The Miracle’s lone run came in the seventh inning to break the stalemate, as Tanner Witt led off with a double and would score on a double-play groundout off the bat of Alex Perez. Fort Myers got two hits on the game from Nick Gordon and Witt. Both of Witt’s hits were doubles to give him nine on the season. Randy Rosario finished the game’s final two innings, and picked up his first FSL save of the season in the process. He allowed no hits, walked one, and struck out two. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Kane County 0 Box Score Like their high-A friends, the Kernels also blanked their opponent on this night. Eduardo Del Rosario went the first five innings in this one and scattered five hits and a walk. He ran his pitch count a little high, at ninety-four four five innings, but went deep into several counts that primarily ended with strikeouts. He had eight for the game. The Kernels scored both their runs in the second inning, after Travis Blankenhorn led off the frame with his first Midwest League double. Later with the bases loaded and two outs, an error on a Luis Arreaz fly ball to left field would score both runs. Nelson Molina and Blankenhorn each had two hits on the game to lead the lineup. Cedar Rapids got two scoreless innings of relief from both Williams Ramirez (2.0IP, H, BB, 2 K’s) and Anthony McIver (2.0IP, H, 3 K’s). Ramirez got his fourth Hold, and McIver his seventh Save. The victory was manager Jake Mauer’s 300th with the Kernels, and they improved their record to 62-53 on the season and at 26-20 in the second half currently reside in second place in the Western division. E-TWINS E-NOTES Kingsport 2, Elizabethton 5 Box Score In keeping with the day’s theme, the E-Twins also got a strong effort from their starting pitcher on Thursday night. In this one, it was right-hander Alex Schick. Kingsport took a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks in part to an errant pickoff throw from Schick, but he settled in after that, scattering for hits and two walks in his six innings. He struck out five and improves to 4-1 with Elizabethton. He got plenty of offensive support, as Elizabethton scored two runs in the second, and three in the third to take the lead for good. The big blow was a two-run home run of the bat off Mitchell Kranson, his second of the year. Manuel Guzman added two hits, including a double. The bottom third of the order consisting of Trey Cabbage, Caleb Hamilton, and Robert Molina each added an RBI. Quin Grogan pitched into the ninth inning, but was lifted after allowing two runners on and uncorking a few ill-timed wild pitches. His final line included 2.1 innings pitched and one run allowed on one hit and one walk, while striking out one. Hector Lujan finished the ninth for his second Appalachian League save. He retired both men he faced on groundouts, but the first of those scored the run credited to Grogan. Elizabethton improves to 25-22 on the short season, and are 1.5 games back of Johnson City for the West Division lead. GCL TWINS TAKES Twins 4, Orioles 3 Box Score It was a team effort on the pitching front for the GCL Twins in this one, as they used five pitchers on the night, with all of them recording a finished game notch in their stats. Justin Fox got the Win as the starter. He went five innings, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks. He struck out three. Daniel Martinez, Garrett Kelly, and Callan Pearce all picked up Holds for their efforts. Martinez pitched a scoreless sixth, Kelly a scoreless seventh and eighth, and although he was charged with two runs (one earned) Pearce also was credited the ‘H’ after Zach Strecker came on with the tying runner on first in the ninth. Strecker got the Save by striking out the first batter he faced, and getting a fly out to end the game. The Twins scored single runs in each of the third, fourth, seventh, and ninth innings to give themselves enough cushion. No hitter had more than one hit, but Gorge Munoz, Brian Olson, and Lean Marrero each had doubles, and Aaron Whitefield slugged his second home run of the season to lead the offense. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Chattanooga Lookouts (CG-W, 9.0IP, 0 ER’s, 3 H’s, 2 BB, 8 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Logan Schafer, Rochester Red Wings (3-4, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) Also a special shout-out to the DSL Twins centerfielder, Humberto Muldanado, who was 3-5 with three runs scored, two doubles, a triple, and three RBI’s to lead the DSL Twins to a 12-8 victory against the DSL Orioles2. FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes-Barre @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler (9-3, 2.97 ERA) Chattanooga @ Birmingham (7:055PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (8-6, 3.59 ERA) Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (3-2, 2.79 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30PM PM CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren (3-61, 3.16 ERA) Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (2-3, 3.34 ERA) GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday’s games.

Kirilloff is doing so well we're re-using MiLB report headlines about him! Haha q:-) (That's a good thing!)

As the Minnesota Twins played an afternoon game with potential trade commodity Ervin Santana on the mound against the White Sox, there were five games being played in the minor leagues by their affiliates on Sunday. LaMonte Wade had a big game for the Fort Myers Miracle, but it wasn’t enough for his team to come out on top. Rain also affected two games on the day, with one being postponed and the other being called complete in the top of the sixth. Who got to play, and would anyone challenge Wade for the Hitter of the Day award?Check out all the action from Sunday, and discover the answer to those questions by reading on! RED WINGS REPORT Lehigh Valley 5, Rochester 1 Box Score The Rochester lineup was unable to muster much offense on Sunday afternoon, as they collected four hits as a team, were just 1-5 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. Logan Schafer was 2-3 and drew a walk. Wilfredo Tovar hit a triple, and scored the Red Wings only run a batter later on a Daniel Palka sac fly. Buck Britton had the other hit, a single. Lefty Andrew Albers took the mound for the Red Wings, and made it through 4.2 innings. He allowed three runs on six hits two walks, while striking out five. After a sac fly in the top of the fifth that scored one and advanced another runner to third, Marcus Walden was summoned from the bullpen for the final out, a strikeout. Walden also finished the sixth and started the seventh, but gave up a leadoff single that later scored with an assist from an error by Tommy Field at second base. Ryan O’Rourke got one out in the inning, a K, and Alex Wimmers stopped the threat by retiring the two batters he faced. Wimmers also threw a scoreless eighth inning, and Neil Ramirez gave up one run in the ninth to finish the game. It was his first run allowed since finding himself in AAA. The Red Wings fall to 62-48 on the season and are now one game behind the Iron Pigs for second place in the International League North standings after losing the series 2-1. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Mobile 0 (Postponed to 08/01/2016) Box Score The Lookouts game with Mobile was postponed for the night in the top of the third inning, as rains came into the area. The game will be completed tomorrow before the regularly scheduled second game of the five game series. Chattanooga currently holds a 1-0 lead thanks to a leadoff double in the third inning from Engelb Vielma that was followed by an RBI single from Levi Michae. Zach Granite also added a single before the rains brought a halt to the proceedings. Starter Aaron Slegers pitched two scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and had no walks or strikeouts. MIRACLE MATTERS Clearwater 8, Fort Myers 5 Box score Fort Myers got a big game out of outfielder LaMonte Wade, but didn’t get the chance to start a comeback as rains came in the top of the sixth, and the game was called complete after an hour-long delay. Wade was 2-3 with his third and fourth Florida State League home runs. He drove in three. Joe Maloney and Nick Gordon added doubles to the effort. Tanner Witt and Gordon drove in the other runs. Miles Nordgren made the start for the Miracle and went the first four innings. He had a little trouble with the strike zone and got knocked around which is not a good combination. He allowed four runs on seven hits and four walks. He struck out zero. Despite that, the game was tied when he left and he did not factor into the decision. In the fifth, Michael Theofanopoulos fared even worse to get saddled with the loss, as he allowed four more runs on two walks and three hits, including a three-run home run, to put Clearwater out front 8-4. Brian Gilbert got one out in the sixth before the game was called. He allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one. The Miracle look to avoid a sweep against the Threshers on Monday night, with Keaton Steele on the mound who, his last time out, pitched seven shutout innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Burlington 6 Box Score The Kernels scored first in this one, thanks to a first inning home run off the bat of Zander Wiel (second straight game with a home run), but the Bees did even more damage in the bottom of the first against starter Lachlan Wells. An RBI double, RBI single, and error led to three runs for Burlington in the inning, and they added two more in the third thanks in part to another error by the Kernels defense. Though four of the Bees six runs on the day were earned, Cedar Rapids committed four total errors in the game, leading to a lot of extra outs for their pitchers to get. Wells managed to finish six innings, allowing just two baserunners in his last three innings. He allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and two walks. He struck out three. Cameron Booser allowed an unearned run in the seventh. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out one in his inning. Michael Cederoth came on for the eighth and pitched a scoreless inning while walking one and striking out one. The Kernels continue their four game series with the Bees on Monday night with Dereck Rodriguez taking the hill. E-TWINS E-NOTES Princeton 6, Elizabethton 1 Box Score Like their AAA teammates, the Elizabethton Twins were unable to put much offense together on Sunday night. Their lone run came on a single from Bryant Hayman in the fourth to drive in Alex Kirilloff, who had doubled to lead off the inning. Ariel Montesino, Luis Martinez and Caleb Hamilton added the other hits for Elizabethton, who were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base for the game. Jose Martinez made the start for the Twins and lasted into the fifth inning. In his 4.2 innings, he allowed four runs on eight hits, including two home runs and a walk. He struck out one. Hector Lujan came on for the final out of the fifth and added two more scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out one. Austin Tribby added a scoreless eighth inning, picking up a double-play ball to end the inning and erase an error that had put a runner on base. Johan Quezada came on for the ninth, and couldn’t keep the game close. Two runs scored on four hits before he got his second strikeout to end the inning. In encouraging news, Quezada did not walk a batter. GCL TWINS TAKES The GCL Twins, like most of the rest of the Gulf Coast League, had the day off on Sunday. They get back to action tomorrow morning at home in Fort Myers against the GCL Rays. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Alex Wimmers, Rochester Red Wings (1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 K) (Wimmers has lowered his ERA by nearly two runs since June 11th, including scoreless appearances in 13 of 17 games along with 5 saves) Hitter of the Day – LaMonte Wade, Fort Myers Miracle (2-3, 2 R’s, 2 HRs, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester – Scheduled day-off. Chattanooga @ Mobile (6:35PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (5-4, 3.38 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Keaton Steele (4-9, 4.29 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:30PM PM CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez (3-11, 5.46 ERA) Princeton @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – RHP Tyler Beardsley (1-0, 3.33 ERA) GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

As the Minnesota Twins played an afternoon game with potential trade commodity Ervin Santana on the mound against the White Sox, there were five games being played in the minor leagues by their affiliates on Sunday. LaMonte Wade had a big game for the Fort Myers Miracle, but it wasn’t enough for his team to come out on top. Rain also affected multiple games on the day, with one being postponed and the other being called complete in the top of the sixth. Who got to play, and would anyone challenge Wade for the Hitter of the Day award? Check out all the action from Sunday, and discover the answer to those questions by reading on! RED WINGS REPORT Lehigh Valley 5, Rochester 1 Box Score The Rochester lineup was unable to muster much offense on Sunday afternoon, as they collected just four hits as a team, were just 1-5 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. Logan Schafer was 2-3 and drew a walk. Wilfredo Tovar hit a triple, and scored the Red Wings only run a batter later on a Daniel Palka sac fly. Buck Britton had the other hit, a single. Lefty Andrew Albers took the mound for the Red Wings, and made it through 4.2 innings. He allowed three runs on six hits two walks, while striking out five. After a sac fly in the top of the fifth that scored one and advanced the other runner to third, Marcus Walden was summoned from the bullpen for the final out, a strikeout. Walden also finished the sixth and started the seventh, but gave up a leadoff single that later scored assisted by an error by Tommy Field at second base. Ryan O’Rourke got one out in the inning, a K, and Alex Wimmers stopped the threat by retiring the two batters he faced. Wimmers also threw a scoreless eighth inning, and Neil Ramirez gave up one run in the ninth to finish the game. It was his first run allowed since finding himself in AAA. The Red Wings fall to 62-48 on the season and are now one game behind the Iron Pigs for second place in the International League North division standings after losing the series 2-1. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Mobile 0 (Postponed to 08/01/2016) Box Score The Lookouts game with Mobile was postponed for the night in the top of the third inning, as rains came into the area. The game will be completed tomorrow before the regularly scheduled second game of the five game series. Chattanooga currently holds a 1-0 lead thanks to a leadoff double from Engelb Vielma that was followed by an RBI single from Levi Michael in the third inning. Zach Granite also added a single before the rains brought a halt to the inning. Starter Aaron Slegers had pitched two scoreless innings thus far. He allowed two hits and had no walks or strikeouts. MIRACLE MATTERS Clearwater 8, Fort Myers 5 Box score Fort Myers got a big game out of outfielder LaMonte Wade, but didn’t get the chance to start a comeback as rains came in the top of the sixth, and the game was called complete after an hour long delay. Wade was 2-3 with his third and fourth Florida State League home runs. He drove in three. Joe Maloney and Nick Gordon added doubles to the effort. Tanner Witt and Gordon drove in the other runs. Miles Nordgren made the start for the Miracle and went the first four innings. He had a little trouble with the strike zone and got knocked around which is not a good combination. He allowed four runs on seven hits and four walks. He struck out zero. Despite that, the game was tied when he left and did not factor into the decision. In the fifth, Michael Theofanopoulos fared even worse to get saddled with the loss, as he allowed four more runs on two walks and three hits, including a three-run home run, to put Clearwater out front 8-4. Brian Gilbert got one out in the sixth before the game was called. He allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out one. The Miracle look to avoid a sweep against the Threshers on Monday night, with Keaton Steele on the mound who pitched seven shutout innings his last time out. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Burlington 6 Box Score The Kernels scored first in this one, thanks to a first inning home run off the bat of Zander Wiel (second straight game with a home run), but the Bees did even more damage in the bottom of the first against starter Lachlan Wells. An RBI double, RBI single, and error led to three runs for Burlington in the inning, and they would add two more in the third thanks in part to another error on the Kernels defense. Though four of the Bees six runs on the day were earned, Cedar Rapids committed four total errors on the game, leading to a lot of extra outs for their pitchers. Wells managed to finish six innings, allowing just two more baserunners in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. He allowed five runs (four earned on seven hits and two walks. He struck out three. Cameron Booser was charged with an unearned run in the seventh. He allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out one in his inning. Michael Cederoth cam one four the eighth and pitched a scoreless inning while walking one and striking out one. The Kernels continue their four game series with the Bees on Monday night with Dereck Rodriguez taking the hill. E-TWINS E-NOTES Princeton 6, Elizabethton 1 Box Score Like their AAA teammates, the Elizabethton Twins were unable to put much offense together on Sunday night. Their lone run came on a single from Bryant Hayman in the fourth to drive in Alex Kirilloff, who had doubled to lead off the inning. Ariel Montesino, Luis Martinez, and Caleb Hamilton added the other hits for Elizabethton, who were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base for the game. Jose Martinez made the start for the Twins and lasted into the fifth inning. In his 4.2 innings, he allowed four runs on eight hits, including two home runs, and a walk. He struck out one. Hector Lujan came on for the final out of the fifth and added two more scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out one. Austin Tribby added a scoreless eighth inning, picking up a double-play ball to end the inning and erase an error that put a runner on base. Johan Quezada came on for the ninth, and couldn’t keep the game close. Two runs would score on four hits before he got his second strikeout to end the inning. In encouraging news, Quezada did not walk a batter. GCL TWINS TAKES The GCL Twins, like most the rest of the Gulf Coast League, had the day off on Sunday. They get back to action tomorrow morning at home in Fort Myers against the GCL Rays. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Alex Wimmers, Rochester Red Wings (1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 K) (Wimmers has lowered his ERA by nearly two runs since June 11th, including scoreless appearances in 13 of 17 games along with 5 saves) Hitter of the Day – LaMonte Wade, Fort Myers Miracle (2-3, 2 R’s, 2 HR’s, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester – Scheduled day-off. Chattanooga @ Mobile (6:35PM CST) – TBD Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Keaton Steele (4-9, 4.29 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:30PM PM CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez (3-11, 5.46 ERA) Princeton @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – RHP Tyler Beardsley (1-0, 3.33 ERA) GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

I'd have to believe it is! Haha.

Steve is the best host! Have to thank him for by far my most interesting 'journalistic/sports writer' experience, being in the interview room with Joe Mauer while he and Nolasco were rehabbing there. Good times!

No reason to as a high school signing. I'd let him get acclimated to pro ball for this year in E-town if he was hitting .800. He'd still be in Cedar Rapids to start next year anyway. Edit: Though technically, the E-town season ends before Cedar Rapids's does, so it is a possibility.

He got out of that jam, but 1.1IP with a hit allowed, walk, and just 1 K doesn't stack up to what Vasquez did

The Minnesota Twins were unable to complete their comeback against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon, but there were still five games to be played in the minor leagues for the organization. Left-hander Stephen Gonsalves was on the mound for the Lookouts, and put zeroes on the board for the first five innings of a game that went into extras. How did he and Chattanooga finish? Rochester got little offense and Elizabethton traded blows with their Appalachian League rival, Johnson City. Were they able to come out on top? 2016’s top draft pick also continued a hot stretch in the Appy League. Just how hot has it become?To find out the answers to those questions and how the rest of the affiliates fared on Sunday, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 0, Syracuse 6 Box Score Rochester starter Pat Dean got roughed up for six runs in five innings of work. He allowed eight hits, including two home runs, walked two and struck out two. Five of those six runs came in the third inning, and Dean did recover and finish two more innings. Ryan O’Rourke (1.2IP, 2 K’s), D.J. Baxendale (0.1IP, K), and J.T. Chargois (1.0IP, 1 H) combined to pitch three scoreless innings of relief. Top pitching prospect Reynaldo Lopez held the Red Wings to just four hits on the day, and they didn’t have a single plate appearance with a runner in scoring position. Lopez threw a complete game shutout, striking out seven along the way. John Ryan Murphy was 2-3 in the game. James Beresford and Jorge Polanco added the other singles for Rochester. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jackson 4 (12 innings) Box Score Chattanooga took the first lead of the game in the top of the fourth inning as they sent eight men to the plate and scored three runs on two hits and two walks in the inning. The big hit was an Edgar Corcino triple to score two and put the Lookouts out front 3-0. Lookout’s starter Stephen Gonsalves was effectively wild for the game's first five innings, as he held the Jackson Generals scoreless despite five walks and three hits allowed. He also did not strike out a single hitter. It finally caught up to him in the sixth. He walked the first two men he faced, and threw a wild pitch, before Raul Fernandez came in from the bullpen. Both inherited runners would score, one on a bases loaded passed ball, and the other on a ground out. Fernandez allowed a run of his own to on a single to tie the game at three. He came back out for the seventh and allowed a double, but struck out two to finish the inning. Mason Melotakis walked three hitters around two consecutive K’s in the eighth before Zack Jones was brought on with the bases loaded. He got a fly out to end the inning and keep the game tied. Jones added a scoreless bottom of the ninth to push the game to extra innings. Trevor Hildenberger was the next reliever up for the Lookouts, and went one-two-three in each of the tenth and eleventh innings, striking out two along the way. In the top of the twelfth and a runner on second base, Corcino sent a single into right field, but D.J. Hicks was out at home on the throw, keeping the game tied. Hildenberger came back out for the bottom of the twelfth and struck out the first batter of the inning, but a throwing error on a ground ball to third baseman Niko Goodrum put the winning run on base. A single to the next batter moved him to third and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out. The next batter sent a ground ball through the hole on the right side and brought in the walk-off winning run for Jackson. The Lookouts have the day off on Monday and head back home for a five-game series starting on Tuesday against the Tennessee Smokies after losing the five-game set with the Generals 4-1. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Clearwater 7 Box score The Miracle fell behind early in the second inning as starter Miles Nordgren ran into trouble. The Threshers scored three runs on four singles and a wild pitch in the inning, and another potential run was erased on a 1-2-3 double play ball. Nordgren allowed one more unearned run in the fourth and finished five innings in the game. He allowed six hits and walked two while striking out three. The first three runs against Nordgren would be all Clearwater needed in the game, as Fort Myers managed just five hits. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his second Florida State League home run of the year. Joe Maloney, Trey Vavra, Tanner Witt and Brian Olson all had singles. Michael Theofanopoulos threw a scoreless sixth and struck out two. Luke Westphal allowed three runs (zero earned) in the seventh to put the final score on the board, thanks to a throwing error charged to third baseman T.J. White. Yorman Landa started the eighth and struck out two, but allowed a double and two walks to load the bases before Nick Anderson came on and ended the threat with a strikeout of his own. The Miracle lost the four-game series with the Threshers 3-1 and are now an even 50-50 on the season. They return home to Fort Myers on Monday to take on the Palm Beach Cardinals. KERNELS NUGGETS Dayton 6, Cedar Rapids 10 Box Score Cedar Rapids fell behind 2-0 before their first at bat, but responded with six runs of their own in the first two innings to take an early 6-2 lead. An RBI double from Sean Miller, an RBI single from Jaylin Davis, and a two-run triple from Chris Ibarra put the Kernels out front 4-2 after one. A bases loaded walk from Luis Arreaz and a run scoring double play ball in the second made it 6-2 Kernels starter Cody Stashak recovered from the first inning runs to pitch four straight scoreless innings. He allowed two more runs in the sixth but finished the inning. In his six innings he allowed the four runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out four and improves to 7-5 on the season. Cedar Rapids added four more runs in the seventh inning thanks to bases loaded walks from Davis and Ibarra, and a two-RBI ground-rule double off the bat of Rainis Silva to make it 10-4. Reliever Andrew Vasquez picked up his first hold with the Kernels, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out four. Cam Booser allowed two runs on one hit and two walks in the ninth inning. He struck out one. The Kernels offense got multi-hit efforts from Miller (2-3, 2 R’s, 2B, RBI, BB) and Nelson Molina (2-4, R, 2B). Casey Scoggins drew four walks and scored three runs out of the leadoff spot. The Dragons and Kernels wrap up their three-game series with a high-noon rubber match tomorrow at Veterans Memorial Stadium. E-TWINS E-NOTES Johnson City 4, Elizabethton 5 Box Score The Twins and Cardinals traded blows in this one, as Elizabethton scored one in the bottom of the first to take the early lead thanks to an errant pick-off throw with runners on the corners. Right fielder Alex Kirilloff may have saved a run in the first inning, as he cut down a runner at third on a single for the outfield assist and the inning's first out. It was the beginning off a good day that brought his average on the year up to .383. He singled in the bottom of the inning to move Ariel Montesino into scoring position for the errant pickoff (Kirilloff was also thrown out at third trying to stretch the error into a two-base error). Johnson City scored two runs in the third against Elizabethton starter Jose Martinez to go up 2-1, and scored a third in the fourth thanks to an error. Kirilloff scored the Twins second run in the bottom of the fourth, as he singled and scored on a single from Shane Carrier to bring them within one. The Cardinals went up 4-2 in the top of the fifth as another Twins error led to another unearned run for their starter. Martinez would finish six innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits while striking out four. In the bottom of the fifth Elizabethton tied the game at four, with the tying run being driven in by none other than Alex Kirilloff. Luis Martinez had driven in Robert Molina with a double earlier in the inning. In the bottom of the sixth the Twins took back the lead thanks to an RBI single from Martinez to drive in Carrier, and the bullpen took it from there. Quin Grogan recorded five outs and allowed three hits and a walk, but got some help thanks to a 9-6-4 double play that was started by Kirilloff in right field. The runner on first also tagged on the fly and shortstop Montesino cut the throw off and nabbed the trailing runner at second. Kirilloff got credit for his second outfield assist of the game. Grogan got a double play ball in the eighth but then allowed a double that summoned Johan Quezada from the bullpen. He got the final out of the inning, and though he walked the bases loaded in the ninth, he also struck out two including the final out of the game to pick up his second save with Elizabethton. Kirilloff finished 3-4 with a run scored and RBI and is second in the Appalachian League in batting average. He also owns a ten game hitting streak over which time he is 21-44 (.477) with two doubles, three home runs, fourteen runs scored and ten RBIs. Carrier (2-4, R, RBI), Molina (2-4, R), and Martinez (2-3, R, RBI) also added multiple hits. GCL TWINS TAKES The GCL Twins, like most the rest of the Gulf Coast League, had the day off on Sunday. They get back to action tomorrow morning on the road against the GCL Orioles. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Vasquez, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Hold, 2.0IP, BB, 4 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Casey Scoggins, Cedar Rapids Kernels (0-1, 3 R’s, 4 BB) (Because I love a day like that out of a leadoff hitter!) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (6:05PM CST) – LHP Nick Greenwood (2-1, 3.75 ERA) Chattanooga – Scheduled day-off. Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Keaton Steele (4-9, 4.64 ERA) Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (12:05PM PM CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells (2-2, 2.05 ERA) Elizabethton @ Pulaski (6:00PM CST) – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins were unable to complete their comeback against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon, but there were still five other games to be played in the minor leagues for the organization. Lefthander Stephen Gonsalves was on the mound for the Lookouts, and put zeroes on the board for the first five innings of a game that went into extras. How did he and Chattanooga finish? Rochester got little offense and Elizabethton traded blows with their Appalachian League rival, Johnson City. Were they able to come out on top? 2016’s top draft pick also continued a hot stretch in the Appy League. Just how hot has it become? To find out the answers to those questions and how the rest of the affiliates fared on Sunday, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 0, Syracuse 6 Box Score Rochester starter Pat Dean got roughed up for six runs in five innings of work. He allowed eight hits, including two home runs, walked two, and struck out two. Five of those six runs came in the third inning, and Dean did recover and finish two more innings. Ryan O’Rourke (1.2IP, 2 K’s), D.J. Baxendale (0.1IP, K), and J.T. Chargois (1.0IP, 1 H) combined to pitch three scoreless innings of relief. Top pitching prospect Reynaldo Lopez held the Red Wings to just four hits on the day, and they didn’t have a single plate appearance with a runner in scoring position. Lopez threw a complete game shutout, striking out seven along the way. John Ryan Murphy was 2-3 in the game. James Beresford and Jorge Polanco added the other singles for Rochester. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Jackson 4 (12 innings) Box Score Chattanooga took the first lead of the game in the top of the fourth inning as they sent eight men to the plate and scored three runs on two hits and two walks in the inning. The big hit was an Edgar Corcino triple to score two and put the Lookouts out front 3-0. Lookout’s starter Stephen Gonsalves was effectively wild for the games first five innings, as he held the Jackson Generals scoreless despite five walks and three hits allowed. He also did not strike out a single hitter. It finally caught up to him in the sixth. He walked the first two men he faced, including a wild pitch, before Raul Fernandez came in from the bullpen. Both inherited runners would score, one on a bases loaded passed ball, and the other on a ground out. Fernandez would allow a run of his own to on a single to tie the game at three. He came back out for the seventh and allowed a double, but struck out two to finish the inning. Mason Melotakis walked three hitters around two consecutive K’s in the eighth before Zack Jones was brought on with the bases loaded. He got a fly out to end the inning and keep the game tied. Jones added a scoreless bottom of the ninth to push the game to extra innings. Trevor Hildenberger was the next reliever up for the Lookouts, and went one-two-three in each of the tenth and eleventh innings, striking out two along the way. He came back out for the twelfth and struck out the first batter of the inning, but a throwing error on a ground ball to third baseman Niko Goodrum put the winning run on base. A single to the next batter moved him to third and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out. The next batter sent a ground ball through the hole on the right side and brought in the walk-off winning run for Jackson. The Lookouts have the day off on Monday and head back home for a five-game series starting on Tuesday against the Tennessee Smokies after losing the five-game set with the Generals 4-1. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Clearwater 7 Box score The Miracle fell behind early in the second inning, as starter Miles Nordgren ran into trouble. The Threshers scored three runs on four singles and a wild pitch in the inning, and another potential run was erased on a 1-2-3 double play ball. Nordgren allowed one more unearned run in the fourth and finished five innings in the game. He allowed six hits and walked two while striking out three. The first three runs against Nordgren would be all Clearwater needed in the game, as Fort Myers managed just five hits. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his second Florida State League home run of the year. Joe Maloney, Trey Vavra, Tanner Witt, and Brian Olson all had singles. Michael Theofanopoulos threw a scoreless sixth and struck out two. Luke Westphal allowed three runs (zero earned) in the seventh to put the final score on the board, thanks to a throwing error charged to third baseman T.J. White. Yorman Landa started the eighth and struck out two, but allowed a double and two walks to load the bases before Nick Anderson came on and ended the threat with a strikeout of his own. The Miracle lost the four-game series with the Threshers 3-1 and are now and even 50-50 on the season. They return home to Fort Myers on Monday to take on the Palm Beach Cardinals. In the bottom of the twelfth and a runner on second base, Corcino sent a single into right field, but D.J. Hicks was out at home on the throw, keeping the game tied for the Generals. KERNELS NUGGETS Dayton 6, Cedar Rapids 10 Box Score Cedar Rapids fell behind 2-0 before their first at bat, but responded with six runs of their own in the first two innings to take an early 6-2 lead. An RBI double from Sean Miller, an RBI single from Jaylin Davis, and a two-run triple from Chris Ibarra put the Kernels out front 4-2 after one. A bases loaded walk from Luis Arreaz and a run scoring double play ball in the second made it 6-2 Kernels starter Cody Stashak recovered from the first inning runs to pitch four straight scoreless innings. He allowed two more runs in the sixth but finished the inning. In his six innings he allowed the four runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out four and improves to 7-5 on the season. Cedar Rapids added four more runs in the seventh inning thanks to bases loaded walks from Davis and Ibarra, and a two-RBI ground-rule double off the bat of Rainis Silva to make it 10-4. Reliever Andrew Vasquez picked up his first hold with the Kernels, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out four. Cam Booser allowed two runs on one hit and two walks in the ninth inning. He struck out one. The Kernels offense got multi-hit efforts from Miller (2-3, 2 R’s, 2B, RBI, BB) and Nelson Molina (2-4, R, 2B). Casey Scoggins drew four walks and scored three runs out of the leadoff spot. The Dragons and Kernels wrap up their three-game series with a high-noon rubber match tomorrow at Veterans Memorial Stadium. E-TWINS E-NOTES Johnson City 4, Elizabethton 5 Box Score The Twins and Cardinals traded blows in this one, as Elizabethton scored one in the bottom of the first to take the early lead thanks to an errant pick-off throw with runners on the corners. Right fielder Alex Kirilloff may have saved a run in the first inning, as he cut down a runner at third on a single for the outfield assist and the innings first out. It was the beginning off a good day that brought his average on the year up to .383. He singled in the bottom of the inning to move Ariel Montesino into scoring position for the errant pickoff (Kirilloff was also thrown out at third trying to stretch the error into a two-base error). Johnson City scored two runs in the third against Elizabethton starter Jose Martinez to go up 2-1, and scored a third in the fourth thanks to an error. Kirilloff scored the Twins second run in the bottom of the fourth, as he singled and scored on a single from Shane Carrier to bring them within one. The Cardinals went up 4-2 in the top of the fifth as another Twins error led to another unearned run for their starter. Martinez would finish six innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits while striking out four. In the bottom of the fifth Elizabethton tied the game at four, with the tying run being driven in by none other than Alex Kirilloff. Luis Martinez had driven in Robert Molina with a double earlier in the inning. In the bottom of the sixth the Twins took back the lead thanks to an RBI single from Martinez to drive in Carrier, and the bullpen took it from there. Quin Grogan recorded five outs and allowed three hits and a walk, but got some help thanks to a 9-6-4 double play that was started by Kirilloff in right field. The runner on first also tagged on the fly and shortstop Montesino cut the throw off and nabbed the trailing runner at second. Kirilloff got credit for his second outfield assist of the game. Grogan got a double play ball in the eighth but then allowed a double that summoned Johan Quezada from the bullpen. He got the final out of the inning, and though he walked the bases loaded in the ninth, he also struck out two including the final out of the game to pick up his second save with Elizabethton. Kirriloff finished 3-4 with a run scored and RBI and is second in the Appalachian League in batting average. He also owns a ten game hitting streak over which time he is 21-44 (.477) with two doubles, three home runs, fourteen runs scored, and ten RBI. Carrier (2-4, R, RBI), Molina (2-4, R), and Martinez (2-3, R, RBI) also added multiple hits. GCL TWINS TAKES The GCL Twins, like most the rest of the Gulf Coast League, had the day off on Sunday. They get back to action tomorrow morning on the road against the GCL Orioles. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Vasquez, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Hold, 2.0IP, BB, 4 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Casey Scoggins, Cedar Rapids Kernels (0-1, 3 R’s, 4 BB) (Because I love a day like that out of a leadoff hitter!) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (6:05PM CST) – LHP Nick Greenwood (2-1, 3.75 ERA) Chattanooga – Scheduled day-off. Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Keaton Steele (4-9, 4.64 ERA) Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (12:05PM PM CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells (2-2, 2.05 ERA) Elizabethton @ Pulaski (6:00PM CST) – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

In the minor leagues on Sunday there were several standout performances on both the pitching side and the hitting side as Minnesota Twins affiliates went 4-1 on the day. Top pitchers were on the mound for Chattanooga and Fort Myers, but they wouldn’t quite compare to the TOP pitcher on the mound Sunday afternoon for Rochester. Elizabethton’s offense unloaded on opposing pitching and there were big RBI efforts in nearly every game. To see who did what and where on Sunday, keep reading!RED WINGS REPORT Norfolk 2, Rochester 3 Box Score Rochester scored single runs in the first three innings to jump out to an early 3-0 lead in support of starter Jose Berrios. Turns out that would be just enough to preserve his ninth win of the year with the Red Wings. In the first, a double from Adam Walker scored Daniel Palka, who had singled earlier to start the two-out rally. In the second, consecutive two-out singles from John Ryan Murphy, Tommy Field, and James Beresford made it 2-0. In the third, consecutive errors from the Norfolk defense led to the game's decisive run. Berrios went the first six innings, allowing no runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out nine, including two in the first and two in the third, and retired seven in a row at one point. At ninety-five pitches after the sixth, Buddy Boshers came on for seventh and had a one-two-three inning. Marcus Waldon was summoned in the eighth, and the Tides finally broke the barrier. All four hitters Walden faced reached base, and the knockout blow was a two-RBI single that brought in Sean Burnett to limit the damage. He retired the next three hitters to preserve the 3-2 lead for Rochester. In the ninth, it took J.T. Chargois nine pitches to close the door on the game, and pick up his seventh save with the Red Wings. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Mobile 6, Chattanooga 5 Box Score The Lookouts took a 3-0 lead in this one in the third inning, when a Zach Granite single plated Engelb Vielma who had singled earlier, and Mitch Garver followed with a two-RBI double to score Levi Michael and Granite. Michael had reached base by being hit by a pitch in between the singles from Vielma and Granite . Mobile closed the lead to 3-2 in the top of the fifth, as Chattanooga starter Felix Jorge ran into his first trouble of the game after picking up the first two outs of the inning. Up to that point he had faced the minimum, allowing only a single that was erased with a double play ball in the second. But two singles were followed by a two-RBI double to close the gap before he got out of the inning. Chattanooga got those runs back in the bottom of the inning, as Garver again delivered a two-RBI hit, this one a single to score Granite and Ryan Walker, making it 5-2 Lookouts. Jorge came back from the two-run fifth to go one-two-three in the sixth, allowed a solo home run in the seventh, and recorded the first two outs of the eighth before issuing a walk that brought in Jake Reed from the bullpen. Jorge’s final line was 7.2 innings pitched, and four runs allowed on five hits and two walks. Despite recording twenty-three outs against just twenty nine hitters, only one of those outs came via a strikeout. Reed hit the first batter he faced to put two runners on, threw a wild-pitch to move them to second and third, and walked another batter to load the bases before they were cleared with a double to put the BayBears out front late, 6-5. The Lookouts offense, including an appearance from Garver, was unable to muster anything else in the eighth or nine, and they went home with the loss to drop them to 50-44 on the season, and 14-10 in the second half. They are tied atop the Southern League North division standings. MIRACLE MATTERS Lakeland 1, Fort Myers 4 Box score Fort Myers starter Fernando Romero allowed three consecutive singles in the first inning to put Lakeland up 1-0 right away, but he and the bullpen settled in the rest of the way and allowed no further damage on the scoreboard. Romero went the first six innings, allowing just the one run on five hits and a walk, while striking out six. Luke Bard pitched two scoreless innings in relief, allowing two hits and striking out one. Nick Anderson notched his second save in the Florida State League with a perfect ninth inning. The Miracle offense got a solo home run from Tanner Witt in the third inning to tie it at one, and a two-run home run in the sixth from Lamonte Wade to make it 3-1. Wade’s home run was his first in the FSL. In addition to Witt and Wade’s 2-4 night’s, they also got multi-hit efforts from Trey Vavra (2-4, R) and Alex Perez (2-4) while knocking out twelve hits as a team. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Fort Wayne 6 Box Score The Kernels took the lead late, and held on for a road victory against the TinCaps on Sunday. Cedar Rapids took a 1-0 lead in the first when Luis Arreaz reached base on a strikeout and wild pitch that was followed by a Zander Wiel double and Jaylin Davis single to drive him in. Fort Wayne tagged starter Eduardo Del Rosario for three runs in the second, including a two-run home run but would get no more against the Cedar Rapids starter. Rosario went six innings, allowing the three runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out seven. Thanks to a two-run double from Nelson Molina in the sixth, and three more runs scored in the seventh Rosario remained in line for the win despite each reliever that followed him allowing at least one run. Davis added his third Midwest League home run in the top of the ninth for an added cushion. Michael Cederoth pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowing a single run in each frame on three hits and a walk. He struck out two. Anthony McIver allowed the TinCaps to close it to 8-6 and had two-runners on base when he struck out the game’s final batter for his fifth save with the Kernels. The Kernels thirteen hits were amassed by multi-hit efforts from over half of their lineup. Casey Scoggins was 2-5 with a run scored out of the leadoff spot. Arraez was 2-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Zander Wiel picked up an RBI and clubbed two doubles. Davis finished 3-5 with three runs scored, a double, home run, and three RBI. Molina picked up three RBI’s of his own in a 2-5 night. Sean Miller added his fourth triple of the year. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 11, Princeton 6 Box Score Elizabthton pounded out fifteen hits compared to just the five for Princeton, but four Twins errors and a wild ninth inning for reliever Johan Quezada made the score quite a bit closer than it should have been. Ariel Montesino went 4-5 with a double and scored three runs out of the leadoff spot for the Twins. He raised his batting average to .423 in the Appalachian League thus far. Alex Kirilloff went 2-5, scored three runs, and hit his second home run of his professional career out of the three spot in the lineup. Amaurys Minier drove in four runs, including a three-run home run in the fourth in a 2-4 night. Lewin Diaz (2-5, R, 2B, RBI) and Andre Jernigan (2-5, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) also collected multiple hits. Jernigan’s blast was the first home run of his young professional career, and both his and Minier’s long balls came in the ninth inning to push the game well out of reach for the Rays. Sean Poppen made the start for Elizabethton and pitched the first five innings. He allowed an unearned run on two hits and three walks, and struck out seven to pick up his first professional win. Patrick McGuff went 2.1 scoreless innings to follow Poppen. He walked two, allowed one hit and struck out three. Colton Davis was responsible for one run on one hit as he finished off the last two outs of the eighth, and recorded one out in the ninth before Quezada was brought in. What followed was a very bizarre sequence, as Quezada had trouble finding the strike zone. There was a wild pitch to the first batter he faced, but he picked up a strikeout for the inning's second out. He then walked the next three batters to score one and load the bases, then a wild-pitch and walk scored another, and an error would score two more before Quezada got an infield pop-up to end the game. All told Quezada allowed four runs (two earned) on one hit and four walks in the inning that started with the Twins out front 11-1. GCL TWINS TAKES The GCL Twins had the day off on Sunday. They get back to action tomorrow morning on the road against the GCL Rays. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Red Wings (W, 6.0IP, 0 R’s, 4 H’s, 2 BB, 9 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-4, 3 R’s, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Durham @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler (6-2, 2.80 ERA) Mobile @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves (3-1, 3.48 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren (0-1, 3.86 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Fort Wayne (6:05PM PM CST) – RHP Cody Stashak (6-5, 3.16 ERA) Elizabethton @ Princeton (6:00PM CST) – RHP Jose Martinez (0-1, 7.47 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. 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In the minor leagues on Sunday there were several standout performances on both the pitching side and the hitting side as Minnesota Twins affiliates went 4-1 on the day. Top pitchers were on the mound for Chattanooga and Fort Myers, but they wouldn’t quite compare to the TOP pitcher on the mound Sunday afternoon for Rochester. Elizabethton’s offense unloaded on opposing pitching and there were big RBI efforts in nearly every game. To see who did what and where on Sunday, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Norfolk 2, Rochester 3 Box Score Rochester scored single runs in the first three innings to jump out to an early 3-0 lead in support of starter Jose Berrios. Turns out they would be just enough to preserve his ninth win of the year with the Red Wings. In the first, a double from Adam Walker scored Daniel Palka, who had singled earlier to start the two out rally. In the second, consecutive two out singles from John Ryan Murphy, Tommy Field, and James Beresford made it 2-0. In the third, consecutive errors from the Norfolk defense led to the games decisive run. Berrios went the first six innings, allowing no runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out nine, including two in the first and two in the third, and retired seven in a row at one point. At ninety-five pitches after the sixth, Buddy Boshers came on for seventh and had a one-two-three inning. Marcus Waldon was summoned in the eighth, and the Tides finally broke the barrier. All four hitters Walden faced reached base, and the knockout blow was a two-RBI single that brought in Sean Burnett to limit the damage. He retired the next three hitters to preserve the 3-2 lead for Rochester. In the ninth, it took J.T. Chargois nine pitches to close the door on the game, and pick up his seventh save with the Red Wings. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Mobile 6, Chattanooga 5 Box Score The Lookouts took a 3-0 lead in this one in the third inning, when a Zach Granite single plated Engelb Vielma who had singled earlier, and Mitch Garver followed with a two-RBI double to score Levi Michael and Granite. Michael had reached base by being hit by a pitch in between the singles from Vielma and Granite . Mobile closed the lead to 3-2 in the top of the fifth, as Chattanooga starter Felix Jorge ran into his first trouble of the game after picking up the first two outs of the inning. Up to that point he had faced the minimum, allowing only a single that was erased with a double play ball in the second. But two singles were followed by a two-RBI double to close the gap before he got out of the inning. Chattanooga got those runs back in the bottom of the inning, as Garver again delivered a two-RBI hit, this one a single to score Granite and Ryan Walker, making it 5-2 Lookouts. Jorge came back from the two-run fifth to go one-two-three in the sixth, allowed a solo home run in the seventh, and recorded the first two outs of the eighth before issuing a walk that brought in Jake Reed from the bullpen. Jorge’s final line was 7.2 innings pitched, and four runs allowed on five hits and two walks. Despite recording twenty-three outs against just twenty nine hitters, only one of those outs came via a strikeout. Reed hit the first batter he faced to put two runners on, threw a wild-pitch to move them to second and third, and walked another batter to load the bases before they were cleared with a double to put the BayBears out front late, 6-5. The Lookouts offense, including an appearance from Garver, was unable to muster anything else in the eighth or nine, and they went home with the loss to drop them to 50-44 on the season, and 14-10 in the second half. They are tied atop the Southern League North division standings. MIRACLE MATTERS Lakeland 1, Fort Myers 4 Box score Fort Myers starter Fernando Romero allowed three consecutive singles in the first inning to put Lakeland up 1-0 right away, but he and bullpen settled in the rest of the way and allowed no further damage on the scoreboard. Romero went the first six innings, allowing just the one run on five hits and a walk, while striking out six. Luke Bard pitched two scoreless innings in relief, allowing two hits and striking out one. Nick Anderson notched his second save in the Florida State League with a perfect ninth inning. The Miracle offense got a solo home run from Tanner Witt in the third inning to tie it at one, and a two-run home run in the sixth from Lamonte Wade to make it 3-1. Wade’s home run was his first in the FSL. In addition to Witt and Wade’s 2-4 night’s, they also got multi-hit efforts from Trey Vavra (2-4, R) and Alex Perez (2-4) while knocking out twelve hits as a team. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Fort Wayne 6 Box Score The Kernels took the lead late, and held on for a road victory against the TinCaps on Sunday. Cedar Rapids took a 1-0 lead in the first when Luis Arreaz reached base on a strikeout-wild-pitch that was followed by a Zander Wiel double and Jaylin Davis single to drive him in. Fort Wayne tagged starter Eduardo Del Rosario for three runs in the second, including a two-run home run but would get no more against the Cedar Rapids starter. Rosario went six innings, allowing the three runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out seven. Thanks to a two-run double from Nelson Molina in the sixth, and three more runs scored in the seventh Rosario remained in line for the win despite each reliever that followed him allowing at least one run. Davis added his third Midwest League home run in the top of the ninth for an added cushion. Michael Cederoth pitched the seventh and eighth innings, allowing a single run in each frame on three hits and a walk. He struck out two. Anthony McIver allowed the TinCaps to close it to 8-6 and had two-runners on base when he struck out the game’s final batter for his fifth save with the Kernels. The Kernels thirteen hits were on the game were accumulated by multi-hit efforts from over half of their lineup. Casey Scoggins was 2-5 with a run scored out of the leadoff spot. Arraez was 2-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Zander Wiel picked up an RBI and clubbed two doubles. Davis finished 3-5 with three runs scored, a double, home run, and three RBI. Molina picked up three RBI’s of his own in a 2-5 night. Sean Miller added his fourth triple of the year. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 11, Princeton 6 Box Score Elizabthton pounded out fifteen hits compared to just the five for Princeton, but four Twins errors and a wild ninth inning for reliever Johan Quezada made the score quite a bit closer than it should have been. Ariel Montesino went 4-5 with a double and scored three runs out of the leadoff spot for the Twins. He raised his batting average to .423 in the Appalachian League thus far. Alex Kirilloff went 2-5, scored three runs, and hit his second home run of his professional career out of the three spot in the lineup. Amaurys Minier drove in four runs, including a three-run home run in the fourth in a 2-4 night. Lewin Diaz (2-5, R, 2B, RBI) and Andre Jernigan (2-5, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) also collected multiple hits. Jernigan’s blast was the first home run of his young professional career, and both his and Minier’s long balls came in the ninth inning to push the game well out of reach for the Rays. Sean Poppen made the start for Elizabethton and pitched the first five innings. He allowed an unearned run on two hits and three walks, and struck out seven to pick up his first professional win. Patrick McGuff went 2.1 scoreless innings to follow Poppen. He walked two, allowed one hit, and struck out three. Colton Davis was responsible for one run on one hit allowed, as he finished off the last two outs of the eighth, and recorded one out in the ninth before Quezada was brought in. What followed was a very bizarre sequence, as Quezada had trouble finding the strike zone. There was a wild-pitch to the first batter he faced, but he picked up a strikeout for the innings second out. He then walked the next three batters to score one and load the bases, then a wild-pitch and walk scored another, and an error would score two more before Quezada got an infield pop-up to end the game. All told Quezada allowed four runs (two earned) on one hit and four walks in the inning that started with the Twins out front 11-1. GCL TWINS TAKES The GCL Twins had the day off on Sunday. They get back to action tomorrow morning on the road against the GCL Rays. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jose Berrios, Rochester Red Wings (W, 6.0IP, 0 R’s, 4 H’s, 2 BB, 9 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-4, 3 R’s, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Durham @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler (6-2, 2.80 ERA) Mobile @ Chattanooga (6:15PM CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves (3-1, 3.48 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren (0-1, 3.86 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Fort Wayne (6:05PM PM CST) – RHP Cody Stashak (6-5, 3.16 ERA) Elizabethton @ Princeton (6:00PM CST) – RHP Jose Martinez (0-1, 7.47 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

Don't disagree with any of that, really. It did work out as well as one could hope for the rest of the year, but it just was a move that sat between "unnecessary" and "not enough to matter" to me.

Me too, just wasn't the same feel.

I agree. But the whole experience of the video on the board and the song, was awesome. A packed Target Field when Rauch entered the game gave you chills. Glen Perkins entering the game never had that same feel, even though he was a far better closer.

Plus, Rauch had the sweetest entrance to close games in the 9th, ever:

A damning quote, and one I think is quite accurate. I also thought the 2015 Twins were playing over their head the entire year. It was fun, but as has been mentioned here several times, it was also possibly the worst thing that could have happened to them. I didn't like trading for a player like Jepsen. I didn't like that it was Hu whom was given up. Worked out well for one year, but it was the wrong year.

Granite has definitely been showing up in these reports throughout the year. Lots to like about him, and he had some darkhorse mentions from several prospect people coming into the year. I like Wimmers as a reliever. They obviously see something they like to have him closing games for Rochester, even when a guy like J.T. Chargois is there as well. He's not dominating on J.T.'s same level but since June 11th he's lowered his ERA by over a run and has racked up five saves. I had him as potential September call-up coming into the year if he pitched well. Might be on his way to that.

In the minor leagues on Sunday afternoon for the Twins, one affiliate pounded out fourteen hits and scored nine runs, but ended up losing in a slugfest. Another got all the runs they would need in a victory in one inning. In Chattanooga, a top prospect and 2016 performer was on the mound for his AA debut. How did it go?To find out how it all went down in the minors on Sunday, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 2 Box Score In the seventh inning Rochester got all the offense they would need to take the lead and keep it, when they scored all three of their runs. Jorge Polanco led off the inning with his seventh AA home run of the year to make it 2-1. Daniel Palka followed with a double and moved to third on a Byung-Ho Park single. They each moved up a base on a passed ball to tie the game at two, before Wilfredo Tovar drove in Park with a double of his own for the lead. Andrew Albers made the start for the Red Wings, and it was of the quality variety. He picked up the win to improve to 7-3, going six innings and allowing two earned runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out six. Marcus Walden pitched two perfect innings, striking out one, and Alex Wimmers picked up his eighth save with a one-two-three ninth, punctuating the end game with a strikeout. Palka was the only hitter in the Red Wings lineup with multiple hits, going 2-2 with a run scored, double, and two walks. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 5 Box Score Lefty Tyler Jay was on the mound for the Lookouts in this one, making his AA debut. He ran into some early trouble, but finished five innings and didn’t factor into the decision. Chattanooga’s offense gave him an early 3-0 lead, as a two-run double from D.J. Hicks in the first was followed by an RBI single from Zach Granite in the second. In the Smokies half of the second inning it was a walk and four singles, including three ground balls that found their way through the infield that led to a 3-3 tie. It remained that way until the fifth, when Jay gave up his first AA home run to the leadoff man. All told, Jay allowed four earned runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out four. The Lookouts again tied the game in the sixth, as back-to-back doubles from Travis Harrison and Leonardo Reginatto made it 4-4. Ryan Eades came on in relief of Jay, and would finish the game but also ended up with the loss when he allowed a solo-home run to the second batter he faced. He went three innings, allowing the lone run on three hits and a walk. He struck out five. Chattanooga’s lineup got multi-hit efforts from Granite (2-3, R, RBI, 2 BB), Reginatto (2-4, 2B, RBI), and Niko Goodrum (2-4, R, 2B). Granite added two outfield assists from center on the defensive side. MIRACLE MATTERS Dunedin 6, Fort Myers 1 Box score Dominican pitcher Fernando Romero made his fourth start with the Miracle in 2016, and scattered six hits over five innings before a fifty-five minute rain delay ended his game. He allowed two runs (one earned), and struck out 3. The Blue Jays got single runs off of him in the first and second innings for an early 2-1 lead, and that would be all they needed as the Miracle offense was held at bay. Fort Myers was outhit in the game just 10-8, but their lone run didn’t come until the bottom of the ninth with the game seemingly out of reach. Alex Perez singled in Nick Gordon, who had doubled two batters earlier. For the game the Miracle were just 1-9 with runners in scoring position, and left only six men on base. Gordon and Joe Maloney were each 2-4. T.J. White added a double out of the leadoff spot. In relief of Romero, John Curtiss and Todd Van Steensel each pitched two innings and allowed two runs. Between them there were four hits allowed, two walks, and they each struck out three. KERNELS NUGGETS Kane County 11, Cedar Rapids 9 Box Score Both the Kernels and Cougars brought their bats in this one, as the teams combined for twenty runs on twenty-seven hits and nine walks. Cedar Rapids got on the board with three runs in the bottom of the first. It was a single, sacrifice bunt, single, RBI single, pop-out, double-steal of home, and RBI single sequence to score them. Zander Wiel and Nelson Molina picked up the RBI’s, and Jaylin Davis got the steal of home. Kernel’s starter Sam Gibbons lost his early lead in the top of the second when he gave up a 2-RBI triple that was followed by a two-run home run. Kane County added two more in the fourth with a based loaded 2-RBI single to make it 6-3 to end Gibbons start. He went 3.1 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out four. Andrew Vasquez came on in relief and stranded two runners, and Cedar Rapids would get those runs back and more in their half of the frame Casey Scoggins reached on an error to lead off, and Jaylin Davis drew a two-out walk to bring up Wiel. His 2-RBI triple was followed by a two-run home run from J.J. Fernandez for a 7-6 score. It would stay that way until the seventh, as Vasquez finished two more scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out two in 2.2 innings. Kuo Hua Lo came on for the seventh, but before the inning was done it was 8-7 Cougars and he had a blown save added to his line. He also pitched the eighth, but allowed two runs on three hits and one walk in two innings. He notched three K’s. Michael Cederoth pitched the ninth, and had a worse go, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk in his inning. He picked up two of the outs via strikeouts. The Kernels added two runs in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a Brian Olson double to score Davis and Molina, who had singled and walked respectively, but Rainis Silva grounded out to end the game. Jermaine Palacios (3-5, R) and Fernandez (3-5, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) each had three hits. Zander Wiel was 2-5 with the triple, two runs scored, a stolen base, and three RBI. Molina (2-3, R, RBI, BB), Davis (2-3, 3 R’s, 2 BB, SB) also collected multiple hits for the home team. E-TWINS E-NOTES Greeneville 4, Elizabethton 1 Box Score Amaurys Minier slugged his third home run of the year as part of a 3-4 game at the plate, but the rest of his teammates combined for just three other hits in twenty-nine at-bats. Minier’s home run came in the seventh inning to pull the Twins within one of the Astros at the time. Lewin Diaz and Minier also added doubles. Right-hander Sean Poppen made the start for Elizabethton and went the first five innings. He allowed one run on four hits and a walk, while striking out six. Austin Tribby was the first reliever up, and pitched into the seventh. He allowed one run on three hits in 1.1 innings. All four of his outs came on strikeouts. Quin Grogan went the next 1.1 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out one.Patrick McGuff then made his Appalachian League debut. In his 1.1 innings he walked one and struck out two. The E-Twins fall to 7-10 on the young season and will wrap up their three game series with the Astros in a rubber match Monday night. GCL TWINS TAKES The GCL Twins, like the rest of the Gulf Coast League, enjoyed the afternoon off on Sunday. They get back to action tomorrow morning against the GCL Orioles. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Albers, Rochester Red Wings (W, 6.0IP, 2 ER’s, 7 H’s, 2 BB, 6 K’s) Hitter of the Day – J.J. Fernandez, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-5, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester – All Star break Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:05PM CST) – Felix Jorge (first AA start) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (10:35AM CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren (first Miracle start) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (12:05PM PM CST) – RHP Eduardo Del Rosario (0-2, 6.25 ERA) Greeneville @ Elizabethton (6:00PM CST) – TBD GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00AM CST) – LHP Taylor Clemensia Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article