Steve Lein

Do we have English's numbers correct?! That's not a line I would have missed!

Two more big games in the Twins minor leagues. The Chattanooga Lookouts went to Montgomery for Game 3 of their Southern League playoff series. The Cedar Rapids Kernels held a 1-0 series lead against Peoria and returned to Cedar Rapids for Game 2. Would a Game 3 be needed? Continue below to read more in today's Minor League Report.The Minnesota Twins continued to have the number of American League Cy Young contender Chris Sale, who was chased after just three innings, nine hits, and six earned runs. Torii Hunter slugged his nineteenth home run of the year in the first inning to get it started, and they never looked back behind the start of Kyle Gibson. He went 7.2 innings of shutout ball, and struck out seven. The win kept the Twins just one game back of the Texas Rangers for the final AL Wild Card, who also won Sunday afternoon. In the minors on Sunday, both the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Chattanooga Lookouts continued their postseason push. One team found themselves down early and needed a comeback if they wanted to prevent a sudden death game three, and the other had to hold off a late comeback if they were going to take a series lead on the road. To find out how all it all went down on Sunday night, keep reading! CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Montgomery 3 Box Score The Chattanooga offense got things started quickly, and it was courtesy of the Southern League home run champ, Adam Brett Walker. His two-run blast in the second inning put them up 2-0, as Lookouts starter Greg Peavey cruised in the early innings. Singles from Shannon Wilkerson, Stephen Wickens, and Max Kepler loaded the bases with one out in the third inning, and an error and fielder’s choice would add to more runs to make it 4-0 early. Peavey scattered five hits and three walks in six innings, striking out five while holding the Biscuits off the scoreboard. The Lookouts would add an insurance run for him in the top of the seventh on a Jorge Polanco sac fly. Peavey was relieved by Alex Wimmers with a five run lead in the seventh, and that’s when things got dicey. He recorded the innings first out, but consecutive walks were followed by a three run home run to make it 5-3. A double and single would follow to put the tying run in scoring position before the bullpen could get warmed up. Lefty Corey Williams was summoned for a same-sided hitter matchup, but he walked the batter to load the bases. Jake Reed was quickly brought in to face the right-handers coming up, and escaped the threat with consecutive strikeouts. The Lookouts mounted a two-out rally in the eighth, as an error put runners on second and third for Wilkerson, who brought them in with a single to right field to make it 7-3. Reed remained in the game for the eighth inning and kept Montgomery off the board, despite two walks. D.J. Johnson was called upon for the ninth, and finished the game with a one-two-three inning. The Lookouts got multiple hits from Wickens (2-5, R) in the leadoff spot, and Wilkerson (3-3, 2 R’s, 2 RBI) in the nine hole. Kepler was 1-4 with walk, and Walker’s home run was their only extra base hit of the day. The win puts Chattanooga out front 2-1 in the series, and they’ll look to end the five game series tomorrow night on the road. KERNELS NUGGETS Peoria 4, Cedar Rapids 5 Box Score In game two of their best of three Midwest League Western Division title series, Cedar Rapids sent left-hander Randy Rosario to the mound. He was spotted a 1-0 lead in the second inning when doubles from Chris Paul and Austin Diemer got the Kernels on the board first, but a rough top of the third for Rosario put Peoria out front. Consecutive singles started the inning, and a fielder’s choice ground ball and walk put runners on the corners. A strikeout for the second out gave Rosario two outs and a chance to escape unscathed, but a T.J. White error allowed the first two Chiefs runs to score and prolonged the inning. A balk on Rosario would score the third run of the inning and move another runner into scoring position, who came in on a single to the next batter to make it 4-1 Peoria early. Rosario picked up another strikeout to end the threat, and went on to finish six innings total. He retired the side one-two-three in each of the fifth and sixth. All of the four runs against Rosario were unearned. He allowed seven hits and walked one, while striking out five on the day. The Kernels would come back to pull within one run by scoring single runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Max Murphy led off with a single, and was followed by a double from Brian Navaretto to put runners on second and third. Diemer sent a single into left field to score Murphy, but Navaretto was gunned down at home for the innings first out. A double play ball would end the inning. The fifth started with a double from Edgar Corcino, and his run made the score 4-3 when LaMonte Wade doubled to right field. Michael Theofanopoulos came in from the bullpen for the seventh inning and struck out two hitters in a scoreless inning. He allowed one hit. In the bottom of the seventh, Nick Gordon wreaked some havoc on the bases, and the result put the Kernels out front. He led off the inning with a single and was moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Corcino to put the tying run in scoring position. Gordon didn’t think he was quite close enough, as he took off for third and stole it to put himself ninety-feet away. It was a pretty smart and important base, as a wild-pitch to the next batter allowed him to score the tying run and moved White to second. He would score on Paul’s single a batter later put the Kernels out front 5-4. Yorman Landa was then summoned from the Kernels bullpen in the eighth, and came out throwing fire. He struck out the side in quick fashion, all swinging, and made it four K’s in a row to start the ninth. He then walked a batter to put the tying run on base for Peoria, but followed that up by inducing a game-ending double play for his first postseason save. (Video by Steve Buhr) As a team the Kernels outhit the Chiefs thirteen to eight, and had far more scoring opportunities than Peoria. They were 4-18 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base, compared to just 1-4 with runners and scoring position and four men left on base for Peoria. Gordon led the Kernels with a 3-5 night, scoring one run and adding a double. Corcino (2-3, 2B, R), Paul (2-4, 2B, R, RBI), and Diemer (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI) each had two hits on the night. With the sweep of the three game series, the Kernels will make their first appearance in the Midwest League Championship Series since 1994, when they defeated Rockford three games to one in the five game series. Their defeat of the Chiefs also marks the second series win of the postseason where their opponent finished one or both halves of the MWL season with a better record. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Yorman Landa, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Save, 2.0 IP, 1 BB, 4 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Shannon Wilkerson, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-3, 2 R’s, 2 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Chattanooga @ Montgomery (7:05PM CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids – Day off before MWL Championship series begins on Wednesday. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games! Click here to view the article

Well, it is pretty obvious to me that the similarities in those numbers is directly attributed to the differing seasons from Phil Hughes. Put his 2014 numbers into 2015, and it would be pretty obvious 2015's starters as a whole are vastly superior. Meaning everyone else in 2015 has been a good deal better than 2014's versions. So yes, I would say quite easily that Allen deserves the support.

He's been one of the entire farm's best hitters since June, showing a lot of improvement as the year went on. June: .293/.370/.341 July: .309/.349/.423 August: .311/.355/.437

I don't disagree to an extent, but to ignore the fact he's kept the same numbers while moving up levels ignores what he has done in an "improvement" sense to maintain them. By this type of logic, his numbers should be considerably worse at the higher levels. They are not. (and this is coming from a guy who hasn't been known to defend Walker for similar reasons to your own)

You can look at it that way, or you can look at it this way: In 2013 with Cedar Rapids (Low-A), he hit: .278/.319/.526, with 31 2B's and 27 HR's. In 2014 with Fort Myers (A+), he hit: .246/.307/.436, with 19 2B's and 25 HR's. In 2015 with Chattanooga, he's (now) hit: .241/.313/.499, with 30 2B's and 29 HR's. To me, that says he's been making strides each year, because his production has stayed similar each season, all while moving up to a new, higher and tougher level each year. It's very hard to stand out in power in the FSL, the league leader this year has 14 HR's, and the top slugging percentage in the league matches Walker's .436 of last year.

ABW had the average up around .270 entering July, which was encouraging. Then he went almost a month without a HR and the average and slugging plummeted. The on-base percentage has remained around .315 though, so he's been drawing more walks.

The Minnesota Twins got a brilliant start from Ervin Santana on Sunday afternoon, and held off a late rally to win two of three games from the American League West division-leading Houston Astros, and remain in the thick of the wild card standings. That Miguel Sano guy hit another home run, too. (He might be good…) In the minors on Sunday, there were a few other brilliant starts from pitchers, a pair of double-headers, including one that went late into the night, and a tropical storm set its sights on Florida.Keep reading to find out what happened! RED WINGS REPORT Pawtucket 0, Rochester 7 Box Score Lefthander Pat Dean made the start for the Red Wings, and cruised to his eleventh victory of the season. He was brilliant throughout, scattering five hits and one walk in eight innings while striking out three, keeping the Red Sox off the scoreboard with some help from his defense. The only threat against him came in the sixth inning, when a pair of singles put runners on first and second. Another single was sent into left field, but Reynaldo Rodriguez’s throw cut down the runner at home for the final out of the inning. The win brought Dean’s ERA back below 3.00, where it has hovered all season. The Red Wings got on the board early, as Kennys Vargas launched his sixth home run of the season in AAA, a three-run shot to put them in front from the start. They added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, along with two more in the seventh. A.J. Achter finished the game with a scoreless ninth inning, walking one and striking out one. Vargas led the offense with his home run and finished his day 1-2 with two walks, two runs scored and the three RBIs. James Beresford (3-5, R), Danny Santana (2-5, 2 R’s), and Oswaldo Arcia (2-3, RBI) collected multiple hits. In his first appearance of his rehab assignment, Aaron Hicks led off and was the DH. He went 1-5 with an RBI. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER The Lookouts had a double-header on Sunday afternoon, making up their game against Birmingham that was rained out on July 2nd. Game 1: Chattanooga 10, Birmingham 4 Box Score Starter Greg Peavey was in control through the game’s first four innings, facing just one batter over the minimum. But a long inning inside the dugout may have switched his fortunes around in this one when it got to the fifth inning. Chattanooga’s lineup struck for four runs in the fourth inning by sending every hitter in the lineup to the plate. It was four walks (one intentional to Max Kepler), a sacrifice bunt, a single from Heiker Meneses, and an error off the bat of Travis Harrison that combined to put the runs on the board. Menses added another single in the fifth to score Wickens and make the game 5-0 at that point. This is where Peavey unraveled. A pair of two-run home runs pulled the Barons within one, before Peavey was able to finish the inning and his day. He finished with the four runs allowed on four hits and one walk, while striking out four. Corey Williams came on for the sixth inning and recorded the first two outs before a walk then brought J.T. Chargois into the game. He hit the first batter he faced, but struck out the next to end the inning. The Lookouts added five more runs in the seventh inning to give Chargois a good cushion. They again sent nine hitters up to bat, and again it was started by Walker, though this time with a double. Singles from Wickens, Meneses, Wilkerson and Kepler, and a sac fly from Harrison added the runs to the board. Chargois pitched a double-perfect ninth inning, striking out the side to secure the win in game 1. Game 2: Chattanooga 3, Birmingham 0 Box Score In the makeup game, Brett Lee got the start for Chattanooga, and was untouchable. In the seven-inning complete game shutout, Lee allowed just two hits and two walks, while striking out eight Barons hitters. Lee recorded a strikeout in all but one inning, and struck out the side in the sixth. The win pushed his record to 6-4 on the season with Chattanooga, and the eight strikeouts were a season high. Chattanooga's three runs in this one came in the sixth inning, when Birmingham went to their bullpen. Travis Harrison got it started with a one-out double, and came around to score on a Niko Goodrum single. After Goodrum stole his sixteenth base, D.J. Hicks launched his fifth home run of the year to make it to the 3-0 final. MIRACLE MATTERS The Fort Myers Miracle game against the Jupiter HammerHeads was postponed and rescheduled due to Tropical Storm Erika. They will have a second day off tomorrow. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Peoria 3 Box Score Cedar Rapids took an early lead they would not relinquish in the second inning, plating six runs. Alex Real brought in the first two runs with a single, Austin Diemer brought him in with a double, an error off the bat of Rafael Valera scored Diemer, and a triple from Nick Gordon added the fifth run. Gordon scored the sixth on a wild pitch. T.J. White capped the Kernels scoring in the third inning, leading off the frame with his second home run of the year with Cedar Rapids. Starter Keaton Steele gave a quality effort, finishing eight innings to improve his record to 6-4. He allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out six. A two-run home run in the second inning was the only major damage as Peoria was just 1-5 with runners in scoring position, and left only four men on base for the game. John Curtiss finished the game with a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. The Kernels offense got multiple hits from Valera (2-5, R), Gordon (2-5, R, 3B, RBI), White (3-5, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) and Diemer (2-4, R, 2B, RBI). The win ended a season long five-game losing streak for the Kernels. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton had a double-header scheduled for Sunday against the Bristol Pirates to make up a prior rainout from August 15th, but the weather did not cooperate on this day either, pushing the start time back and the makeup game to late in the evening. But they did manage to finish both games. Game 1: Bristol 7, Elizabethton 6 (9 innings) Box Score Bristol jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after two innings when they finally did get started, as they tagged starter Andro Cutura for two in the first and an error in the second led to another run. Cutura finished five innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out seven and ended his day with his team down 4-0. Elizabethton’s offense finally found some life in the fifth inning, when Kamran Young led off with a double. He came around to score the Twins first run of the game on a single from Christian Cavaness. In the sixth, they got Cutura off the hook for a loss by tying the game at four. Zander Wiel led off with a single, and scored after a walk and error put two more runners on base. Another single from Manuel Guzman loaded the bases, and a wild pitch scored one more before another RBI single from Cavaness tied the game. It went into extra innings for a seven-inning game and wound up ending at the normal nine. After Cutura was lifted from the game, Josh Guyer added 2.1 innings, allowing two unearned runs on one hit and one walk. He struck out four. After those two runs made it 6-4 in favor of the Pirates in the eighth, the Twins were quick to get them back in the bottom half. A double from Jermaine Palacios brought home Nelson Molina and Manuel Guzman, who had reached base with a pair of singles. For the Twins, Jose Abreu had been brought into the game to end the threat in the eighth, but didn’t quite make it through the ninth. He got the first two outs on ground balls, but then a solo home run put Bristol back out front. Lewin Diaz doubled to put a runner in scoring position in the home half of the ninth, but ground balls from Brian Olson and Nelson Molina weren’t enough to tie it back up. Cavaness (2-4, 2 RBI), Palacios (2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI), Diaz (2-5, 2B), and Guzman (2-4, R) all collected two hits. LaMonte Wade drew three walks and stole his ninth base. Game 2: Bristol 4, Elizabethton 11 Box Score The Twins scored two in the first inning after Jermaine Palacios and Daniel Kihle started the inning with singles. A sac fly from LaMonte Wade and an error scored the first run, then a sac fly from Amaurys Minier the second. Elizabethton starter Nate Gercken gave both those runs and more back in the following inning, as a three-run home run gave Bristol the lead. In the bottom of the third inning, Kihle tied the game at three with a solo home run of his own for the home team. After that, the rest of the Elizabethton lineup exploded, putting crooked numbers on the board in each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. When the dust settled, it was 11-4 Twins. Kihle (2-3, 2 R’s, HR, RBI, BB), Brad Hartong (3-4, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, RBI), and Nelson Molina (2-3, RBI) led the way with multiple hits. LaMonte Wade drew two more walks and stole another base. Gercken finished his game with four earned runs on four hits and four walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out five. Anthony McIver came on for the final 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk. Of the eight outs he recorded, six came via strikeout. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League regular season came to an end yesterday for GCL Twins. The GCL Blue Jays and GCL Red Sox will face off for the league championship. The Twins ended their season with a record of 27-32, and third place in their division. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brett Lee, Chattanooga Lookouts (W, 7.0 IP, CGSO, 2 H’s, 2 BB’s, 8 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, Rochester Red Wings (1-2, 2 R’s, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – RHP Jose Berrios (4-2, 2.78 ERA) Chattanooga @ Birmingham (4:15PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (1-3, 5.32 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter – No Game Scheduled due to Tropical Depression Erika Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (7:00 PM CST) – RHP Felix Jorge (6-6, 2.90 ERA) Bristol @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins got a brilliant start from Ervin Santana on Sunday afternoon, and held off a late rally to win two of three games from the American League West division leading Houston Astros, and remain in the thick of the Wild Card standings. That Miguel Sano guy hit another home run, too. (He might be good…) In the minors on Sunday, there were a few other brilliant starts from pitchers, a pair of double-headers, including one that went late into the night, and a Tropical Storm set its sights on Florida. Keep reading to find out what happened! RED WINGS REPORT Pawtucket 0, Rochester 7 Box Score Lefthander Pat Dean made the start for the Red Wings, and cruised to his eleventh victory of the season. He was brilliant throughout, scattering five hits and one walk in eight innings while striking out three, keeping the Red Sox off the scoreboard with some help from his defense. The only threat against him came in the sixth inning, when a pair of singles put runners on first and second. Another single was sent into left field, but Reynaldo Rodriguez’s throw cut down the runner at home for the final out of the inning. The win brought Dean’s ERA back below 3.00, where it has hovered all season. The Red Wings got on the board early, as Kennys Vargas launched his sixth home run of the season in AAA, a three run shot to put them in front from the start. They would add single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, along with two more in the seventh. A.J. Achter finished the game with a scoreless ninth inning, walking one and striking out one. Vargas led the offense with his home run, and finished his day 1-2 with two walks, two runs scored, and the three RBI. James Beresford (3-5, R), Danny Santana (2-5, 2 R’s), and Oswaldo Arcia (2-3, RBI) collected multiple hits. In his first appearance of his rehab assignment, Aaron Hicks led off and was the DH. He went 1-5 with an RBI. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER The Lookouts had a double-header on Sunday afternoon, making up their game against Birmingham that was rained out on July 2nd. Game 1: Chattanooga 10, Birmingham 4 Box Score Starter Greg Peavey was in control through the game’s first four innings, facing just one batter over the minimum. But a long inning inside the dugout may have switched his fortunes around in this one when it got to the fifth inning. Chattanoog’s lineup struck for four runs in the fourth inning by sending every hitter in the lineup to the plate. It was four walks (one intentional to Max Kepler), a sacrifice bunt, a single from Heiker Meneses, and an error off the bat of Travis Harrison that combined to put the runs on the board. Menses would add another single in the fifth to score Wickens and make the game 5-0 at that point. This is where Peavey unraveled. A pair of two-run home runs would pull the Baron’s within one, before Peavey was able to finish the inning and his day. He finished with the four runs allowed on four hits and one walk, while striking out four. Corey Williams would come on for the sixth inning and recorded the first two outs, before a walk then brought J.T. Chargois into the game. He hit the first batter he faced, but struck out the next to end the inning. The Lookouts added five more runs in the seventh inning to give Chargois a good cushion. They again sent nine hitters up to bat, and again it was started by Walker, though this time with a double. Singles from Wickens, Meneses, Wilkerson, and Kepler, and a sac fly from Harrison would add the runs to the board. Chargois pitched a double-perfect ninth inning, striking out the side to secure the win in game 1. Game 2: Chattanooga 3, Birmingham 0 Box Score In the makeup game, Brett Lee got the start for Chattanooga, and was untouchable. In the (7-inning) complete game shutout, Lee allowed just two hits and two walks, while striking out eight Barons hitters. Lee recorded a strikeout in all but one inning, and struck out the side in the sixth. The win pushed his record to 6-4 on the season with Chattanooga, and the eight strikeouts were a season high. Chattanooga three runs in this one came in the sixth inning, when Birmingham went to their bullpen. Travis Harrison got it started with a one-out double, and would come around to score on a Niko Goodrum single. After Goodrum stole his sixteenth base, D.J. Hicks launched his fifth home run of the year to make it to the 3-0 final. MIRACLE MATTERS The Fort Myers Miracle game against the Jupiter HammerHeads was postponed and rescheduled on Sunday afternoon due to Tropical Storm Erika. They will have a second day off tomorrow. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Peoria 3 Box Score Cedar Rapids took an early lead they would not relinquish in the second inning, plating six runs. Alex Real brought in the first two runs with a single, Austin Diemer brought him in with a double, an error off the bat of Rafael Valera scored Diemer, and a Triple from Nick Gordon added the fifth run. Gordon would score the sixth on a wild pitch. T.J. White capped the Kernels scoring in the third inning, leading off the frame with his second home run of the year with Cedar Rapids. Starter Keaton Steele gave a quality effort, finishing eight innings to improve his record to 6-4. He allowed three runs on eight hits, and struck out six. A two-run home run in the second inning was the only major damage as Peoria was just 1-5 with runners in scoring position, and left only four men on base for the game. John Curtiss finished the game with a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. The Kernels offense got multiple hits from Valera (2-5, R), Gordon (2-5, R, 3B, RBI), White (3-5, 2 R’s, HR, RBI) and Diemer (2-4, R, 2B, RBI). The win ended a season long five-game losing streak for the Kernels. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton had a double-header scheduled for Sunday against the Bristol Pirates to make up a prior rainout from August 15th, but the weather would not cooperate on this day, either, pushing the start time back and the makeup game to late in the evening. But they did manage to finish both games. Game 1: Bristol 7, Elizabethton 6 (9 innings) Box Score Bristol jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after two innings when they finally did get started, as they tagged starter Andro Cutura for two in the first and an error in the second led to another run. Cutura would finish five innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out seven and would end his day with his team down 4-0. Elizabethton’s offense finally found some life in the fifth inning, when Kamran Young led off with a double. He would come around to score the Twins first run of the game on a single from Christian Cavaness. In the sixth, they got Cutura off the hook for a loss by tying the game at four. Zander Wiel led off with a single, and would score after a walk and error put two more runners on base. Another single from Manuel Guzman would load the bases, and a wild pitch would score one more before another RBI single from Cavaness would tie the game. It would go into extra innings for a seven-inning game, and finish after the normal nine. After Cutura was lifted from the game, Josh Guyer added 2.1 innings, allowing two unearned runs on one hit and one walk. He struck out four. After those two runs made it 6-4 in favor of the Pirates in the eighth, the Twins were quick to get them back in the bottom half. A double from Jermaine Palacios brought home Nelson Molina and Manuel Guzman, who had reached base with a pair of singles. Jose Abreu was brought into the game to end the threat in the eighth, but didn’t quite make it through the ninth. He got the first two outs on ground balls, but then a solo home run put Bristol back out front. Lewin Diaz doubled to put a runner in scoring position in the home half of the ninth, but ground balls from Brian Olson and Nelson Molina weren’t enough to tie it back up. Cavaness (2-4, 2 RBI), Palacios (2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI), Diaz (2-5, 2B), and Guzman (2-4, R) all collected two hits. LaMonte Wade drew three walks and stole his ninth base. Game 2: Bristol 4, Elizabethton 11 Box Score The Twins scored two in the first inning after Jermaine Palacios and Daniel Kihle started the inning with singles. A sac fly and error from LaMonte Wade scored the first run, then a sac fly from Amaurys Minier the second. Elizabethton starter Nate Gercken gave both those runs back and more in the following inning, as a three-run home run gave Bristol the lead. In the bottom of the third inning, Kihle tied the game at three with a solo home run of his own for the home team. After that, the rest of the Elizabethton lineup exploded, putting crooked numbers on the board in each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. When the dust settled, it was 11-4 Twins. Kihle (2-3, 2 R’s, HR, RBI, BB), Brad Hartong (3-4, 2 R’s, 2 2B’s, RBI), and Nelson Molina (2-3, RBI) led the way with multiple hits. LaMonte Wade drew two more walks and stole another base. Gercken would finish his game with four earned runs on four hits and four walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out five. Anthony McIver came on for the final 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk. Of the eight outs he recorded, six came via strikeout. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League regular season came to an end yesterday for GCL Twins. The GCL Blue Jays and GCL Red Sox will face off for the league championship. The Twins ended their season with a record of 27-32, and third place in their division. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brett Lee, Chattanooga Lookouts (W, 7.0 IP, CGSO, 2 H’s, 2 BB’s, 8 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, Rochester Red Wings (1-2, 2 R’s, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (6:05PM CST) – RHP Jose Berrios (4-2, 2.78 ERA) Chattanooga @ Birmingham (4:15PM CST) – RHP Aaron Slegers (1-3, 5.32 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter – TBD Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (7:00 PM CST) – RHP Felix Jorge (6-6, 2.90 ERA) Bristol @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

Very cool! Just a note of correction, though. Walker is the first player to hit 100 RBI in a single league this season. A.J. Reed, one of the top contenders for MiLB Player of the Year awards, has 112 between A+ and AA.

Why are we contemplating if Duffey is a better starter option than May? May earned it this year, yet still got moved to the 'pen. May has been miscast out of necessity in this move to the bullpen. Duffey was converted to a starter from relief after being drafted... I have a very hard time believing Duffey would be the better starter option moving forward, and have no doubt he could make a similar transition as May moving back to the bullpen. He was a power-arm closer. This is thinking about this in the reverse fashion from what it should be, in my opinion.

The Minnesota Twins got to Orioles closer Zach Britton on Sunday, and stole a 4-3 win in extra innings thanks to some early help from the bat of Miguel Sano (11th HR in first inning), and late help from the defense of Baltimore (2 errors in the 12th inning) to move back to two games above .500. In the minors on Sunday two affiliates had trouble producing offense, starting pitching was a struggle throughout, including one game from a top lefty, and one game was rained out.Overall the Twins affiliates were 1-3 on the day. To find out how it all went down, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 4 Box Score The Rochester lineup made little of their opportunities on Sunday, and they didn’t have many of them. As a team they totaled only five hits, were 1-7 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. Kenny Vargas was responsible for their two runs on the day, as he blasted a two-run home run in the ninth inning. He was 2-4 on the day and the only Red Wings hitter with multiple hits. Carlos Paulino added a double. On the mound for the Red Wings, lefty Taylor Rogers was solid but got handed his eleventh loss of the season. He went 6.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out nine. A.J. Achter came on in the seventh and finished the game with 1.1 innings. He allowed one hit. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee @ Chattanooga (postponed) The Lookouts match-up with the Smokies was rained out on Sunday afternoon. The game will be made up on Monday in a double-header in Chattanooga. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 4, Fort Myers 1 Box Score Just like their AAA brothers, the Miracle weren’t able to muster much offense. Their lone run came in the eighth inning when Engelb Vielma led off the frame with a walk. That was followed by a Ryan Walker single and a Mitch Garver walk to load the bases with nobody out. After a pitching change, three consecutive strikeouts killed the rally, and the lone run came on a strike-three wild pitch with Jason Kanzler at bat. Logan Wade collected two singles, but no other hitter had more than one hit and there were no extra-base hits on the day. As a team Fort Myers was 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. Stephen Gonsalves made the start for the Miracle, but only made it through four innings with a high pitch count as he didn’t appear to be his normal self. He allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks, while striking out only one. The loss dropped him to 6-2 on the season with Fort Myers. Jake Reed pitched two innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit and striking out one. Zach Jones added 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings, striking out two; and Trevor Hildenberger finished the final 1.1 hitless innings without allowing a baserunner. He struck out two as well. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 11 Box Score The Kernels jumped out to the first lead of the game, but didn’t hold it for long. A double from Austin Diemer and a single from T.J. White put them up 2-0 after the top of the third inning, but things unraveled quickly for starter Randy LeBlanc after that. Clinton scored one in the bottom of the third, two in the fourth to take the lead, eight in the fifth and never looked back. LeBlanc came out for the fifth inning, but did not record an out and left with the bases loaded. In four innings, he allowed seven earned runs on six hits and two walks. Two of those hits were home runs. Jared Wilson didn’t fare much better, but finally finished the eight run fifth inning. He allowed four earned runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out two. Yorman Landa kept the LumberKings off the scoreboard in the sixth and seventh innings, allowing two hits and walking one, with two strikeouts. John Curtiss finished the final inning, allowing one hit. The Kernels managed to add a run in the fifth, three in the eighth, and another in the ninth to make the score respectable, but it was never that close. White (3-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI) and Alex Real (2-4, R, 3B, RBI) had multiple hits on the game. Nick Gordon was 1-4 with a double, walked once, stole his twenty-fourth base and scored three runs in the loss. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 8, Greeneville 6 Box Score Elizabethton took the early lead, and held on to improve their record to 31-27 on Sunday, one game back of the Appalachian League West division-leading Kingsport Mets with eight games left to play in the regular season. They face the Mets in a three-game series later in the week with obvious playoff implications. On this day, the Twins got the scoring started in the second inning. A.J. Murray led off with a double and scored on a single from Lewin Diaz. Later in the inning, a hit-by-pitch and walk loaded the bases, and Jermaine Palacios delivered a two-out, two-run single to make it 3-0 Twins. They added another run in the third on a sac fly from Rainis Silva to score Murray, and then went off for four more runs in the fourth. Kamran Young led off the fourth with a walk and scored on a Manuel Guzman double. Guzman came into score on a LaMonte Wade single. Then Wade and Murray scampered home on a single from Travis Blankenhorn to reach their final tally. Miles Nordgren made the start for Elizabethton, and pitched five innings to pick up the win. He allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out four. Logan Lombana pitched into the eighth inning. He allowed one run on three hits in 2.2 innings, striking out one. Kuo Hua Lo picked up his seventh save on the year by pitching the final 1.1 innings. He struck out three. Five hitters in the Elizabethton lineup had multiple hits, those being Palacios (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI), Wade (2-5, R, RBI), Murray (2-4, 3 R’s, 2B, BB), Diaz (2-4, R, RBI) and Blankenhorn (2-5, 2 RBIs). GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They play a home and home double-header vs. the GCL Rays Monday morning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Fort Myers Bullpen: Jake Reed (2 IP, 1 H, 1 K), Zack Jones (1.2 IP, 0 H’s, 2 K’s), Trevor Hildenberger (1.1 IP, 0 H’s, 2 K’s) Hitter of the Day – T.J. White, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05PM CST) – LHP Logan Darnell (3-1, 3.54 ERA) Tennessee @ Chattanooga (4:15PM CST) – Game 1: LHP David Hurlbut (8-6, 4.03 ERA), Game 2: TBD Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (6-7, 3.21 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids(6:35 PM CST) – RHP Keaton Steele (4-4, 3.36 ERA) Elizabethton @ Greeneville (6:00 PM CST) – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (9:00 AM CST) – Game 1: TBD, Game 2: TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Yes, I would say he's better defensively than Gordon. He's got a good amount of "flash" that Gordon doesn't, and that's your difference. Is also what makes Gordon rate "above average" on scouting scales, and Vielma "Plus" to "Plus-Plus" when it comes to defense. I've watched both of them play. Multiple times, and in multiple locations. Come down to spring training with us sometime, or go to the MiLB's field near to us in Minnesota. You'll see things!!!

The Minnesota Twins got to Orioles closer Zach Britton on Sunday, and stole a 4-3 win in extra innings thanks to some early help from the bat of Miguel Sano (11th HR in first inning), and late help from the defense of Baltimore (2 errors in the 12th inning) to move back to .500. In the minors on Sunday two affiliates had trouble producing offense, starting pitching was a struggle throughout, including one game from a top lefty, and one game was rained out. Overall the Twins affiliates were just 1-3 on the day. To find out how it all went down, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 4 Box Score The Rochester lineup made little of their opportunities on Sunday, and they didn’t have many of them. As a team they totaled only five hits, were 1-7 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. Kenny Vargas was responsible for their two runs on the day, as he blasted a two-run home run in the ninth inning. He was 2-4 on the day and the only Red Wings hitter with multiple hits. Carlos Paulino added a double. On the mound for the Red Wings, lefty Taylor Rogers was solid but got handed his eleventh loss of the season. He went 6.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out nine. A.J. Achter came on in the seventh, and finished the games 1.1 innings. He allowed one hit. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee @ Chattanooga (postponed) The Lookouts matchup with the Smokies was rained out on Sunday afternoon. The game will be made up on Monday in a double-header in Chattanooga. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 4, Fort Myers 1 Box Score Just like their AAA brothers, the Miracle weren’t able to muster much offense. Their lone run came in the eighth inning when Engelb Vielma led off the frame with a walk. That was followed by a Ryan Walker single and a Mitch Garver walk to load the bases with nobody out. After a pitching change, three consecutive strikeouts killed the rally, and the lone run came on a strike-three wild pitch with Jason Kanzler up to bat. Logan Wade collected two singles, but no other hitter had more than one hit or an extra-base hit on the day. As a team Fort Myers was 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. Stephen Gonsalves made the start for the Miracle, but only made it through four innings with a high pitch count as he didn’t appear to be his normal self. He allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks, while striking out only one. The loss made him 6-2 on the season with Fort Myers. Jake Reed pitched two innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit and striking out one. Zach Jones added 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings, striking out two; and Trevor Hildenberger finished the final 1.1 hitless innings without allowing a baserunner. He struck out two as well. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 11 Box Score The Kernels jumped out to the first lead of the game, but didn’t hold it for long. A double from Austin Diemer and single from T.J. White put them up 2-0 after the top of the third inning, but things unraveled quickly for starter Randy LeBlanc after that. Clinton scored one in the bottom of the third, two in the fourth to take the lead, and eight in the fifth to never look back. LeBlanc came out for the fifth inning, but wouldn’t record an out and left with the bases loaded. In four innings, he allowed seven earned runs on six hits and two walks. Two of those hits were home runs. Jared Wilson didn’t fare much better, but finally finished the eight run fifth inning. He allowed four earned runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out two. Yorman Landa kept the LumberKings off the scoreboard in the sixth and seventh innings, allowing two hits and walking one, with two strikeouts. John Curtiss finished the final inning, allowing one hit. The Kernels managed to add a run in the fifth, three in the eighth, and another in the ninth to make the score respectable, but it was never that close. White (3-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI) and Alex Real (2-4, R, 3B, RBI) had multiple hits on the game. Nick Gordon was 1-4 with a double, but also walked once, stole his twenty-fourth base, and scored three runs in the loss. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 8, Greeneville 6 Box Score Elizabethton took the early lead, and held on to improve their record to 31-27 on Sunday, one game back of the Appalachian League West division leading Kingsport Mets with eight games left to play in the regular season. The face the Mets in a three game series later in the week with obvious playoff implications. On this day, the Twins got the scoring started in the second inning. A.J. Murray led off with a double and scored on a single from Lewin Diaz. Later in the inning, a hit-by-pitch and walk loaded the bases, and Jermaine Palacios delivered a two-out two-run single to make it 3-0 Twins. They would add another run in the third on a sac fly from Rainis Silva to score Murray, and then went off for four more runs in the fourth. Kamran Young led off the fourth with a walk and scored on a Manuel Guzman double. Guzman came into score on a LaMonte Wade single. Then Wade and Murray would scamper home on a single from Travis Blankenhorn to reach their final tally. Miles Nordgren made the start for Elizabethton, and pitched five innings to pick up the win. He allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk. He struck out four. Logan Lombana pitched into the eighth inning. He allowed one run on three hits in 2.2 innings, striking out one. Kuo Hua Lo picked up his seventh save on the year by pitching the final 1.1 innings. He struck out three.’ Five hitter in the Elizabethton lineup had multiple hits on the day, including Palacios (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI), Wade (2-5, R, RBI), Murray (2-4, 3 R’s, 2B, BB), Diaz (2-4, R, RBI), and Blankenhorn (2-5, 2 RBI). GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They play a home and home double-header vs. the GCL Rays Monday morning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Fort Myers Bullpen: Jake Reed (2 IP, 1 H, 1 K), Zack Jones (1.2 IP, 0 H’s, 2 K’s), Trevor Hildenberger (1.1 IP, 0 H’s, 2 K’s) Hitter of the Day – T.J. White, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05PM CST) – LHP Logan Darnell (3-1, 3.54 ERA) Tennessee @ Chattanooga (4:15PM CST) – Game 1: LHP David Hurlbut (8-6, 4.03 ERA), Game 2: TBD Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (6-7, 3.21 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids(6:35 PM CST) – RHP Keaton Steele (4-4, 3.36 ERA) Elizabethton @ Greeneville (6:00 PM CST) – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (9:00 AM CST) – Game 1: TBD, Game 2: TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

Thanks for writing this. I mentioned this about him in my 8/16 MiLB report. Keith Law was super high on him two years ago, had him at #11 for Twins prospects. We know he's the best defensive SS in the system, and it's probably not all that close. But he entered June hitting under .200 and is now at .280. That's flat-out an amazing turnaround. Nearly .350 in June, nearly .340 in July, and around .380 in August. That certainly should make anyone notice.

Interesting side conversation... That article doesn't match data I've pulled before but I don't remember exactly the data set I was looking at. Can't remember if it was all balls hit to the OF, or all batted balls in general. Either way, my percentages came out to 22.5% toward LF, 57.1% toward CF, and 20.4% toward RF... Other interesting data for that particular year, was that RH-hitters "pulled" (to LF) 26.5% of all batted balls, and "pushed" (to RF) 16.2% of them. LH-hitters "pulled" (to RF) 25.9%, and "pushed" (to LF) 17.3%. Anyway, I don't know why you'd want Hicks in LF and Rosario in RF, though. Hicks has a significantly better arm, which is why RF makes the most sense for him. The longest throw in the field you have to consider when it comes to an arm is RF to 3B (i.e.: a LF-er is almost never throwing the ball to 1B).

I asked Baseball America this exact question a year or so ago. They left off some of my key questions about it, but do a good job describing how the minor league players are protected. Basic jist, is there are "reserve rosters" at each level that function the same way the MLB 40-man roster does: http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/ask-ba-2/

Tommy Milone’s return to the Twins rotation and a home run off the bad of Trevor Plouffe gave them a series victory in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon, and brought Minnesota’s record on the season back above .500. In the minors, it took a superb day from a (or the) top prospect in Rochester to bring them a win in extra innings,multiple hitters powered Chattanooga to a blowout win at home, and a dynamite start from a pitcher with a hitters name gave Fort Myers an easy win on the road. There were also two other “walk-off” games on the day as well. To find out how it all went down, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 2, Rochester 3 (12 innings) Box Score It took twelve innings Sunday afternoon, but the Red Wings managed a walk-off win despite being out-hit 13-8 on the day and receiving little support from most of the lineup. The RailRiders took the an early 2-0 lead off Rochester starter David Hurlbut, scoring a run in each of the first two innings, but that would be it for the game. Hurlbut finished 6.2 innings, allowing just the two runs on nine hits while striking out two. Alex Meyer would bring the Red Wings into extra innings, finishing the seventh and four more scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and two walks, while striking out four. Mark Hamburger picked up the win by tossing a scoreless twelfth inning despite allowing two hits. He struck out two. Leading the offense for the Red Wings was Byron Buxton from the leadoff spot. He was 3-6 on the day with his first AAA home run, a solo shot in the fifth inning to tie the game at two. James Beresford also picked up three hits from the two-hole, and Kennys Vargas and Danny Ortiz each drew two walks. The rest of the lineup managed just two hits and one walk. In the bottom of the twelfth Jose Martinez led off the inning with a single and was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Carlos Paulino. That brought the top of the order and Buxton back up to the plate. On a 2-0 pitch, he sent a line drive single into center field to bring home Martinez and start the extra-inning walk-off win celebration. Buxton has hit safely in all 11 of his AAA games to this point, owning a .404 batting average and has collected multiple hits in five games. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee 4, Chattanooga 11 Box Score The Lookouts found themselves down 4-1 after the top of the fifth inning, but after the bottom of the seventh found themselves in front by seven. Left-hander Jason Wheeler got the start and finished five tough innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out two. He even picked up his third AA win of the year thanks to the offense after his day was done. Alex Wimmers pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three, and D.J. Johnson and J.T. Chargois each added a scoreless inning. The Chattanooga offense worked ten walks and combined those free passes with twelve hits to rout the Smokies. Max Kepler continued to be Max Kepler, ending his game 3-4 with two runs scored, two doubles and two RBIs. Not to be overshadowed, Niko Goodrum scored three runs while also collecting three hits, including his fourth triple and fourth home run, a two-run blast in the seventh inning. He drove in four. Travis Harrison was the only batter in the lineup to not collect a hit, but did reach base three times via walk. Adam Brett Walker scored two runs and drew two walks while ending his day 1-3. Kepler is near the top of the leaderboard in the Southern League in runs scored (2nd), hits (5th), doubles (2nd), triples (1st, tied with Buxton), total bases (2nd, behind Walker), on-base percentage (1st), slugging percentage (1st), batting average (1st), and OPS (1st). He also has sixteen stolen bases, forty-eight walks compared to just fifty-three strikeouts, and fifty-six RBI. This is the type of overall season from the young German that wins Minor League Player of the Year awards. Bask in its glory! MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Charlotte 1 Box Score The Miracle jumped out to an early lead and never had to look back in this one thanks to their starting pitcher. In the second inning, a double from Logan Wade, walk from Michael Quesada, and single from Tanner Vavra brought Engelb Vielma to the plate with one run in and runners on first and second base. Vielma then “cleared” the bases with an infield single and an throwing error to make the score 3-0. Fort Myers added two more insurance runs in the fifth inning after Vavra and Vielma singled to start the inning, and were brought home on a Jason Kanzler triple. Vielma was 4-5 on the day and has raised his average to .280 on the season with the Miracle. Quite an accomplishment when you discover he was hitting below .200 entering the month of June. But he hit .346 that month, then followed it by hitting .338 in July, and is at .380 so far in August. In his last ten, he’s hitting .425. Mat Batts was sensational on the mound for Fort Myers to pick up his seventh Florida State League win. In eight innings, he allowed just a solo home run and three other hits, while striking out nine. He retired the first eight batters of the game before giving up a hit, and then proceeded to strike out the next three hitters. Charlotte had just one opportunity with runners in scoring position on the game due to his dominance. Todd Van Steensel pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing two hits and striking out one. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Fort Wayne 7 (10 innings) Box Score Cedar Rapids scored four runs in the seventh inning to take the lead in this one 4-1, and added two more insurance runs in the eighth to enter the bottom of the ninth inning on the road up 6-1. For TinCaps fans, it turned into the type of game you regret leaving early. For Kernels fans, that means it turned into a disappointing loss. Randy LeBlanc started the game for Cedar Rapids, and went four innings allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three. Luke Bard and Nick Anderson threw two scoreless innings apiece, each allowing a hit. Bard struck out two and Anderson struck out three. The four runs in the seventh inning came after an Austin Diemer double scored two, a Pat Kelly single scored Diemer, and a Rafael Valera double scored Brian Navaretto. A triple from Diemer in the eighth added another run, and he was brought home on a Navaretto single to make the score 6-1. In the ninth inning, John Curtis was summoned to finish the game for the Kernels. As alluded to earlier, he was not able to. A single and back-to-back home runs made the score 6-4, then consecutive walks with two outs would bring Yorman Landa into the game. The first batter he faced singled to bring in two more runs and tie the game before he got the third out to send it to extra innings. Landa remained in the game for the tenth inning, but ran into immediate trouble after a throwing error from third baseman T.J. White put the winning run on base to start the inning. A groundout moved him to second base, and a wild pitch put him ninety feet away for the TinCaps game-winning single. Cedar Rapids got two hits from Alex Real (2-5, 2 R’s, BB) and Diemer (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) and two-RBI from Valera (1-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) to lead their offense. E-TOWN E-NOTES Danville 5, Elizabethton 6 Box Score As opposed to their Midwest League cousins, the E-Twins were able to give their fans a comeback walk-off victory on Sunday despite being outhit 11-7 on total hits and 6-0 on extra-base hits. Danville scored two runs in the first inning and one in the second jump out to a 3-0 lead against Twins starter Miles Nordgren. He would finish 3.1 innings on the day but no further damage. In the bottom of the second Elizabethton tied it at three after a bases-loaded walk to Daniel Kihle scored one, and an Alex Perez single scored two more. The game would remain tied until the seventh inning when the Twins took a 4-3 lead after Manuel Guzman came around to score from first base after a throwing error. C.K. Irby had pitched 3.2 scoreless innings to get Elizabethton to that point, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out four, but was replaced by Jose Abreu to start the eighth. He was greeted by a lead-off double, and one out later a two-run home run to put Danville back in front 5-4. The Twins managed to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, as LaMonte Wade reached on another Danville error, and singles from Travis Blankenhorn and Brian Olson were enough to get him home. Abreu made it interesting in the top of the ninth inning, but got a ground ball double play to end the threat and bring the home team back up to the plate. Guzman got them started with a leadoff single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. An intentional walk to Perez was followed by a walk from Wade to load the bases for A.J. Murray. His line drive to right field brought home the game winner for the home team. Guzman led the team with three hits on the day (3-4, 3 R’s) and was the only hitter in the lineup with multiple hits. Wade drew three walks and scored a run. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They host the GCL Orioles Monday morning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Mat Batts, Fort Myers Miracle (W, 8 IP, 4 H’s, 1 R, 0 BB’s, 9 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Niko Goodrum, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-5, 3 R’s, 3B, HR, 4 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers (8-10, 3.90 ERA) Chattanooga - Scheduled day off. Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – Stephen Gonsalves (5-1, 2.34 ERA) Cedar Rapids – Scheduled day off. Danville @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Andro Cutura (2-2, 1.23 ERA) GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Tommy Milone’s return to the Twins rotation and a home run off the bad of Trevor Plouffe gave them a series victory in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon, and brought Minnesota’s record on the season back above .500. In the minors, it took a superb day from a (or the) top prospect in Rochester to bring them a win in extra innings, multiple hitters powered Chattanooga to a blowout win at home, and a dynamite start from a pitcher with a hitters name gave Fort Myers an easy win on the road. There were also two other “walk-off” games on the day as well. To find out how it all went down, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 2, Rochester 3 (12 innings) Box Score It took twelve innings Sunday afternoon, but the Red Wings managed a walk-off win despite being out-hit 13-8 on the day and receiving little support from most of the lineup. The RailRiders took the an early 2-0 lead off Rochester starter David Hurlbut, scoring a run in each of the first two innings, but that would be it for the game. Hurlbut would finish 6.2 innings, allowing just the two runs on nine hits while striking out two. Alex Meyer would bring the Red Wings into extra innings, finishing the seventh and four more scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and two walks, while striking out four. Mark Hamburger picked up the win by tossing a scoreless twelfth inning despite allowing two hits. He struck out two. Leading the offense for the Red Wings was Byron Buxton from the leadoff spot. He was 3-6 on the day with his first AAA home run, a solo shot in the fifth inning to tie the game at two. James Beresford also picked up three hits from the two-hole, and Kennys Vargas and Danny Ortiz each drew two walks. The rest of the lineup managed just two more hits and one walk. In the bottom of the twelfth Jose Martinez led off the inning with a single and was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Carlos Paulino. That brought the top of the order and Buxton back up to the plate. On a 2-0 pitch, he sent a line drive single into center field to bring home Martinez and start the extra-inning-walk-off-win celebration. Buxton has hit safely in all 11 of his AAA games to this point, owning a .404 batting average and has collected multiple hits in five games. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Tennessee 4, Chattanooga 11 Box Score The Lookouts found themselves down 4-1 after the top of the fifth inning, but after the bottom of the seventh would find themselves in front by seven. Lefthander Jason Wheeler got the start and finished five tough innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out two. He even picked up his third AA win of the year thanks to the offense after his day was done. Alex Wimmers pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three, and D.J. Johnson and J.T. Chargois each added a scoreless inning. The Chattanooga offense worked ten walks and combined those free passes with twelve hits to route the Smokies. Max Kepler continued to be Max Kepler, ending his game 3-4 with two runs scored, two doubles, and two RBI. Not to be overshadowed, Niko Goodrum scored three runs while also collecting three hits, including his fourth triple and fourth home run, a two-run blast in the seventh inning. He drove in four. Travis Harrison was the only batter in the lineup to not collect a hit, but did reach base three times via walk. Adam Brett Walker scored two runs and drew two walks while ending his day 1-3. Kepler is near the top of the leaderboard in the Southern League in runs scored (2nd), hits (5th), doubles (2nd), triples (1st, tied with Buxton), total bases (2nd, behind Walker), on-base percentage (1st), slugging percentage (1st), batting average (1st), and OPS (1st). He also has sixteen stolen bases, forty-eight walks compared to just fifty-three strikeouts, and fifty-six RBI. This is the type of overall season from the young German that wins Minor League Player of the Year awards. Bask in its glory! MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Charlotte 1 Box Score The Miracle jumped out to an early lead and never had to look back in this one thanks to their starting pitcher. In the second inning, a double from Logan Wade, walk from Michael Quesada, and single from Tanner Vavra would bring Engelb Vielma to the plate with one run in and runners on first and second base. Vielma then “cleared” the bases with an infield single and an throwing error to make the score 3-0. Fort Myers added two more insurance runs in the fifth inning after Vavra and Vielma singled to start the inning, and were brought home on a Jason Kanzler triple. Vielma was 4-5 on the day and has raised his average to .280 on the season with the Miracle. Quite an accomplishment when you discover he was hitting below .200 entering the month of June. But he hit .346 that month, then followed it by hitting .338 in July, and is at .380 so far in August. In his last ten, he’s hitting .425. Mat Batts was sensational on the mound for Fort Myers to pick up his seventh Florida State League win. In eight innings, he allowed just a solo home run and three other hits, while striking out nine. He retired the first eight batters of the game before giving up a hit, and then proceeded to strike out the next three hitters. Charlotte had just one opportunity with runners in scoring position on the game due to his dominance. Todd Van Steensel pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing two hits and striking out one. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Fort Wayne 7 (10 innings) Box Score Cedar Rapids scored four runs in the seventh inning to take the lead in this one 4-1, and added two more insurance runs in the eighth to enter the bottom of the ninth inning on the road up 6-1. For TinCaps fans, it turned into the type of game you regret for leaving early. For Kernels fans, that means it turned into a disappointing loss. Randy LeBlanc started the game for Cedar Rapids, and went four innings allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three. Luke Bard and Nick Anderson threw two scoreless innings apiece, each allowing a hit. Bard struck out two and Anderson struck out three. The four runs in the seventh inning came after an Austin Diemer double scored two, a Pat Kelly single scored Diemer, and a Rafael Valera double scored Brian Navaretto. A triple from Diemer in the eighth added another run, and he was brought home on a Navaretto single to make the score 6-1. In the ninth inning, John Curtis was summoned to finish the game for the Kernels. As alluded to earlier, he was not able to. A single and back-to-back home runs would make the score 6-4, then consecutive walks with two outs would bring Yorman Landa into the game. The first batter he faced singled to bring in two more runs and tie the game before he got the third out to send it to extra-innings. Landa remained in the game for the tenth inning, but ran into immediate trouble after a throwing error from third baseman T.J. White put the winning run on base to start the inning. A groundout moved him to second base, and a wild pitch put him ninety feet away for the TinCaps game-winning single. Cedar Rapids got two hits from Alex Real (2-5, 2 R’s, BB) and Diemer (2-4, 2 R’s, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI) and two-RBI from Valera (1-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) to lead their offense. E-TOWN E-NOTES Danville 5, Elizabethton 6 Box Score As opposed to their Midwest League cousins, the E-Twins were able to give their fans a comeback walk-off victory on Sunday despite being outhit 11-7 on total hits and 6-0 on extra-base hits. Danville scored two runs in the first inning and one in the second jump out to a 3-0 lead against Twins starter Miles Nordgren. He would finish 3.1 innings on the day but no further damage. In the bottom of the second Elizabethton tied it at three after a bases loaded walk to Daniel Kihle scored one, and an Alex Perez single scored two more. The game would remain tied until the seventh inning when the Twins took a 4-3 lead after Manuel Guzman came around to score from first base after a throwing error. C.K. Irby had pitched 3.2 scoreless innings to get Elizabethton to that point, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out four, but was replaced by Jose Abreu to start the eighth. He was greeted by a leadoff double, and one out later a two-run home run to put Danville back in front 5-4. The Twins managed to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, as LaMonte Wade reached on another Danville error, and singles from Travis Blankenhorn and Brian Olson were enough to get him home. Abreu made it interesting in the top of the ninth inning, but got a ground ball double play to end the threat and bring the home team back up to the plate. Guzman got them started with a leadoff single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. An intentional walk to Perez was followed by a walk from Wade to load the bases for A.J. Murray. His line drive to right field brought home the game winner for the home team. Guzman led the team with three hits on the day (3-4, 3 R’s) and was the only hitter in the lineup with multiple hits. Wade drew three walks and scored a run. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They host the GCL Orioles Monday morning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Mat Batts, Fort Myers Miracle (W, 8 IP, 4 H’s, 1 R, 0 BB’s, 9 K’s) Hitter of the Day – Niko Goodrum, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-5, 3 R’s, 3B, HR, 4 RBI) MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Taylor Rogers (8-10, 3.90 ERA) Chattanooga - Scheduled day off. Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – Stephen Gonsalves (5-1, 2.34 ERA) Cedar Rapids – Scheduled day off. Danville @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Andro Cutura (2-2, 1.23 ERA) GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games.

The human element of the pitcher/hitter/umpire interactions, is one of the most important strategic and fundamental aspects of playing the game of baseball to me. I am 100% against robot-umpires. Now, there certainly should be a better way to hold the umpires accountable.

Mike Pelfrey battled with Hisashi Iwakuma Sunday afternoon at Target Field, and Brian Dozier’s ninth inning home run to tie the game at one was the Minnesota Twins first earned run against Iwakuma in his career, a streak lasting 42.0 innings (they did have two unearned). But the bullpen wasn’t able to hold off the Mariners in extra innings and they fell 4-1 to split the series. In the minors on Sunday, there was little offense except for one guy in a Florida State League double-header, a lefty in Rochester was brilliant, and the Elizabethton and Chattanooga lineups produced big run totals.To catch up on everything that happened, keep reading! RED WINGS REPORT Syracuse 0, Rochester 6 Box Score Five runs in the third inning were more than enough to carry the Red Wings on Sunday, as lefty Pat Dean was in control throughout. He retired the first nine hitters, before issuing a walk to start the fourth. It may have been because he was in the dugout for too long, as the Rochester lineup brought eight men to the plate in the bottom of the third. Doug Bernier led off with a single, Danny Santana reached on an error, and James Beresford singled to load the bases. Two outs later, a Danny Ortiz walk scored the inning's first run, and it was followed with a grand slam from Xavier Avery, his first as a Red Wing, to put them up 5-0 Dean scattered just four hits and another walk the rest of the way, and finished the complete game shutout with a one-two-three ninth inning that included two strikeouts to hit double digits in K’s for the first time this season. He also lowered his ERA under three for the season. In his last four starts Dean has completed at least seven innings, going 2-2 in those games with just five earned runs allowed on twenty-eight hits and 7 BB’s in 32 total innings. His 10 strikeouts on the day exceeded his total of nine in the prior three games. Rochester added their sixth run in the sixth inning, when Beresford drove in Eric Farris with a single. Beresford was 2-4 on the day with an RBI and Reynaldo Rodriguez had two hits including a double to support the Avery slam. Oswaldo Arcia was 0-3 on the day with a strikeout and a hit-by-pitch. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 8, Jackson 2 Box Score On the mound for the Lookouts on Sunday was left-hander Brett Lee looking for his second win of the year in the Southern League. He tossed the first six innings with- out allowing a run, scattering five hits and a walk with four strikeouts to end up with the win. Chattanooga took a 1-0 lead in the top of third when Jairo Rodriguez led off with a double and moved to third on a Shannon Wilkerson single. An errant pick-off throw allowed Rodriguez to score. They added multiple runs in each of the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to go up 8-0. The two in the sixth came courtesy of two walks, two wild pitches, and a sac fly. The three in the seventh by way of two singles, two errors and a sac fly. Then two more runs in the eighth brought in by two walks, two singles and two wild pitches. The eight runs on the scoreboard were more than Chattanooga’s six hits, due largely to the ten walks drawn, three Jackson errors and six(!) wild pitches. Wilkerson and Rodriguez had multi-hit and multi-run games. Stephen Wickens scored two runs and Jorge Polanco added two RBI.s Adam Brett Walker II drew three walks, giving him nine free passes in his last ten games. Alex Muren came on to pitch the seventh and eighth innings, and allowed one run on three hits that included a solo home run. He struck out one. Tim Shibuya came on for the ninth and also gave up a solo home run, but finished the 8-2 victory. Chattanooga improved to 13-20 overall in the second half of the Southern League season, and have won five of their last eight. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1: Fort Myers 0, Daytona 3 Box Score In game one of their Sunday double-header, the Fort Myers offense was nowhere to be found outside of anyone not named Aderlin Mejia. He had both of their two hits, both doubles. They did manage three walks, but were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. Starter Aaron Slegers was knocked around for three runs in the first inning, but settled down to shut the Tortugas out the rest of the way. For the final five innings he allowed just one more hit and one walk, which started the second inning. He then retired the final fifteen men he faced in a row. In six total innings Slegers allowed four hits and one walk, while striking out five but the lack of run support saddled him with the loss and a now 8-6 record on the year with the Miracle. Game 2: Fort Myers 0, Daytona 1 Box Score The second seven inning game of the day was also a pitcher’s duel, with both teams remaining scoreless into the final inning. Aderlin Mejia didn’t have all of the Miracle’s hits in this game, but the one he did was another double. If not for a runner being picked off first base beforehand, it might have driven in a run in the third inning. The rest of the lineup managed just three hits, all singles, and were unable to string anything together. They again left six men on base and had only three at-bats with runners in scoring position in this one. Ryan Eades started for the Miracle, and went the first five. He allowed four hits and two walks, while striking out three. Corey Williams pitched a scoreless sixth, walking one. It was then Todd Van Steensel’s turn in the bottom of the seventh. He was greeted with a double to put the winning run in scoring position. Daytona bunted him to third, then an intentional walk set up the potential for a double-play ball. Instead, a single to right field brought home the walk-off winner for the Tortugas. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Kane County 5 Box Score Cedar Rapids jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning as Tyler Kuresa and Brian Navarreto collected RBI singles and Rafael Valera added an RBI fielder’s choice. Luke Westphal made the start for the Kernels and pitched the first three scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and one walk, and struck out three. Randy LeBlanc then came in for the next three and two-thirds innings, and it was the final two-thirds that were troublesome. In the seventh a double with one out put a runner in scoring position, and a single to center brought him home. LeBlanc got the second out with a groundout, but an RBI single and RBI double put Kane County out front 4-3 and brought in Cameron Booser from the bullpen. Another single made it 5-3 before Booser got a strikeout to end the inning. The Kernels got one of the runs back in the eighth as Edgar Corcino slugged his third home run of the season to right field. They then got the tying run in scoring position in the ninth when Navarreto doubled with one out, but an Austin Diemer strikeout and Valera ground out ended the game. Navarreto (2-3, 2B, RBI, BB) and Brett Doe (2-4, R) each had two hits in the loss for the Kernels. E-TOWN E-NOTES Burlington 6, Elizabethton 13 Box Score Burlington scored early, getting four runs in the top of the first, but Elizabethton was quick to respond with a two-run home run from Chris Paul to answer in the bottom half. The Twins took the lead back for good in the bottom of the second. Amaury Minier led off with a single, Brian Olson drew a walk, and Nelson Molina singled to load the bases with one out. Jermaine Palacios then brought in a run with a sac fly, and the bases stayed loaded when it was dropped for an error. An Alex Perez walk tied the game at four, then a LaMonte Wade (University of Maryland draftee) walk gave them the lead 5-4. A potential double-play ball to end the inning then went awry for Burlington, allowing two more to score. The Twins added a single run in the fourth on a single from Wade to score Perez who had doubled, and two runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings courtesy of home runs from Palacios and Olson. Their 13th and final run came in the eighth on an RBI double from Wade, again scoring Perez. After his 26 game stay at the GCL Twins and posting a 1.06 OPS there, Palacios in his three games for the Elizabethton Twins has posted an OPS of 1.47 (SSS warning). After the four-run first inning, starter Onesimo Hernandez recovered to go three scoreless. In his four innings on the day he allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out three. Logan Lombana was the first in relief and picked up the win with one run allowed on two hits and a walk in 3.1 innings. He struck out two. Jose Abreu finish the final 1.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits. Wade (3-3, R, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Paul (2-5, R, HR, 3 RBI), and Molina (2-4, 2 R’s) each had multiple hits on the day. Palacios also added three RBI. Travis Blankenhorn was the only hitter on the day to not reach base or score a run for the home team. The win moved Elizabethton a game in front of Burlington in the standings, and one win shy of a .500 record at 19-20. GCL TWINS TAKES The Gulf Coast League Twins, like the rest of the GCL, had the day off on Sunday. They travel to play the GCL Orioles on Monday. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Pat Dean, Rochester Red Wings (CG-SO, W, 9 IP, 4 H’s, 0 R’s, 1 BB, 10 K’s) Hitter of the Day – LaMonte Wade, Elizabethton Twins (3-3, R, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB’s) TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Gwinnett (5:35 PM CST) – TBD Chattanooga @ Jackson (7:05M CST) – RHP D.J. Baxendale (4-2, 4.10 ERA) Fort Myers – Scheduled day off. Cedar Rapids – Scheduled day off. Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 PM CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren (0-2, 1.07 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article