Ted Schwerzler

Everyone keeps saying it's hard to hit home runs at Camden Yards now. It doesn't seem that hard to hit home runs at Camden Yards. Maybe it even needs to be harder. Image courtesy of © Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Pablo López 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K (87 pitches, 55 strikes, 13 whiffs) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Griffin Jax (-.365), Steven Okert (-.232), Byron Buxton (-.137) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pitchers of a Different Ilk Scheduled to face former Twins prospect Tyler Wells today, Minnesota instead was opposed by Albert Suárez, with Wells going on the injured list due to elbow inflammation. Wednesday’s start was Suárez’s first appearance in a major-league game since 2017, and the first time he was making a start since 2016. They don't make big-league hurlers much more different from one another than Suárez and Pablo López. Despite not having much of a track record and struggling mightily during his brief Triple-A showing this year, Suárez acquitted himself in the first inning. Blowing pitches past Minnesota leadoff hitter Edouard Julien, it was as though the Twins hitter couldn’t touch his fastball. Ryan Jeffers and Byron Buxton went down on softly-hit fly balls, and Suárez kept it simple with nine straight fastballs. For whatever reason, Minnesota could not adjust. Gunnar Henderson stepped in against López, having homered in back-to-back games, and decided to make it a third straight. Before Minnesota had recorded an out, they trailed 1-0. Minnesota’s ace got out of the inning without allowing any more damage, but once again, the Twins trailed early. Suárez Continues to Shove Despite having been out of affiliated baseball for years, and looking like organizational fodder at Triple-A to start this season, Suárez showed up ready to compete against the Twins today. Rocco Baldelli has watched his lineup be largely lethargic for the duration of the season, but Wednesday in Baltimore was a new low. Velocity has long been a significant part of the game at the highest level. What Suárez flashed against the Twins was impressive, but his 95-96-mph fastball shouldn’t have overwhelmed a competent big-league lineup. It did, anyway. Through four innings, Suarez had generated 10 whiffs on his four-seam fastball, and 13 total in just 56 pitches. A pair of doubles from José Miranda and Alex Kirilloff were the only positive outcomes in the early portion of the contest, and as the Twins have done for a while now, they stranded both on the bases. The gameplan at the plate seemed to be nonexistent. It might be time for both David Popkins and Rudy Hernandez to find themselves in hot water. Pablo Does His Job After a pair of victories for Baltimore, the Twins needed their ace to be a stopper. While Henderson did get the solo home run leading off the game, the Minnesota starter settled in thereafter. While he didn’t seem to overmatch Orioles hitters at the same confounding level that Suárez did against Minnesota, he continued to set them down. Following a Ryan Jeffers hit by pitch, and move to second base after a wild pitch, Baltimore countered by bringing in former Minnesota reliever Danny Coulombe. (He could still be in the Twins bullpen, but that’s a rehashed frustration for a different time.) Coulombe got Kirilloff to ground out and turned over the inning. López got Jackson Holliday and Henderson both on whiffs to start the sixth inning. Then Adley Rutschman stepped in and got acquainted with Austin Martin in center field. With Buxton operating as the designated hitter today, it was Martin patrolling the deep green. Ranging to his right and diving, Martin came up with a big catch and sent his teammates back to the dish Martin then found himself in a position to impact the game offensively during the next half-inning. Manuel Margot took a one-out walk, and running on Martin’s base hit to left center, Tommy Watkins got aggressive and sent him in to tie things up at one. Martin came through in the field, then immediately knotted things up in the top of the 7th inning. Despite looking utterly lost in his first two at-bats of the game, Farmer lined a 2-2 single to left field that allowed Martin to score from second base. Martin’s speed is a significant part of his game, and going on contact with two outs, there was never a doubt as to whether he’d be sent home. López was in line for a well-earned win. Short-Lived Lead Despite López being at just 87 pitches through six innings, Baldelli opted for his bullpen to take over starting the seventh. Steven Okert was the first man up, and after getting Austin Hays to fly out, he gave up a big fly to Anthony Santander tying the game at two. With an off day next on the docket for the Twins, and both Brock Stewart and Griffin Jax fresh in the bullpen, having your ace go seven would have been ideal, and not allowing him to start that frame was a frustrating decision by the Twins skipper. Stewart came on to bail out Okert needing one out with runners on the corners. Getting Jordan Westburg on strikes, he preserved the tie. Sent to the Orioles in the Jorge López trade, Yennier Canó came on for Baltimore against his former organization. He got Jeffers to ground out, and a Buxton strikeout pushed the struggling slugger's strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season to 22/1. Kirilloff drew a walk to make things interesting, but Miranda went down swinging and Minnesota was going to need the ninth inning. Stewart got Minnesota over the hump, but the lineup again needed to come through. Mullins Ends It Ending López’s day early and turning the ball over to the bullpen, Baldelli had committed to Stewart and Griffin Jax to finish the first nine innings. Stewart did his job, while the lineup failed to produce another run. In the bottom of the ninth, Cedric Mullins called game. Mullins finishing them off neatly rounded out the narrative for this series. From his run-saving catch in the first inning of the first game, Mullins symbolized the sheer superiority of the Orioles at this moment in time throughout the set. The two-run shot secured the sweep for Baltimore, and Minnesota was set to return home after going a terrible 2-5 on their road trip. Notes Max Kepler, who has been on the injured list dealing with a bone bruise, is starting a rehab assignment with the St. Paul Saints on Friday. The Twins Triple-A club is in Indianapolis this week, so he could presumably rejoin the big league club sometime early next week if things go well. After DFA’ing Michael Tonkin earlier this week, the Twins found out they have lost him on waivers to the New York Mets. New York is who Minnesota claimed Tonkin from, and to make a spot for him on the roster, they DFA’d another former Twins prospect, Tyler Jay. What’s Next? The Twins return home on Thursday with their final scheduled off day of the month on tap. Welcoming a pair of divisional foes to Target Field, both the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox represent beatable teams for Minnesota to use as a get-right spot. Needing to turn the tide of their start, it’s getting late early for Baldelli’s club should things continue. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

A night after dropping a game that got out of hand against the Baltimore Orioles, the Minnesota Twins dropped a game that got out of hand against the Baltimore Orioles. Chris Paddack was largely ineffective from the get-go; his inability to end innings with two outs spelled disaster for the reeling Roccos. Image courtesy of © Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports Box Score Starting Pitcher: Chris Paddack 5.1 IP, 12 H, 9 ER, 9 ER, 1 BB 2 K (89 pitches, 58 strikes, 6 whiffs) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Chris Paddack (-.342), Christian Vazquez (-.046), Alex Kirilloff (-.045) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Sheriff Serves it Up After the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles both traded zeroes in the first inning, Baltimore broke the ice in the second. Chris Paddack was on the bump for the visitors, and while he had flashed solid outcomes thus far this season, he struggled to assert dominance and end innings. With two outs and two strikes. James McCann broke through against the Twins starter. No longer playing for the Tigers or White Sox, McCann continued to do damage against a familiar American League Central foe. His two-out liner into the right-center gap was booted by Manuel Margot, allowing Colton Cowser to score. One batter later, Gunnar Henderson blasted a two-run homer and made it a 3-0 game. Similar to Louie Varland last night, Paddack was unable to execute the final pitches necessary to get back into the dugout. McCann’s double was an unfortunate result, but it was Henderson’s big fly that truly spoke to the Twins' perpetual pitching problems. More of the Same Many of the same outcomes have repeated themselves for the Twins in the early going this season. Following big innings for the opposing offense, the lineup has consistently gone down in order and returned to the field with the other side's momentum intact. After Willi Castro walked to lead off the third inning, Margot lined out, and Christian Vázquez grounded into a double play to end the frame. As has also happened often this year, the opposition then ruthlessly added to their advantage. Already up 3-0, Baltimore started their half of the third inning with a Ryan O’Hearn single. After Anthony Santander lined out, Cedric Mullins singled and Colton Cowser grounded out to drive in the fourth run. Once again close to closing a frame with two outs, Paddack threw Jordan Westburg a fat first-pitch strike, and the young infielder sent it over the left-center field wall to make it a 6-0 game. Henderson’s second hit of the game scored Jackson Holliday, and now up 7-0 in the early stages, Baltimore was in position to cruise to victory. Paddack the Pin Cushion You’d like to think that being down 7-0 through the first three innings of a game represents rock bottom, but the Twins found a way to make it worse. While Paddack had largely escaped a blowup coming into this contest, he owned a 5.99 FIP and was headed for this kind of crash. Another two-out run scored in the bottom of the fourth. This time, Cowser singled home Santander to make it an 8-1 game. The tally canceled out good fortune by Minnesota, after Byron Buxton tripled to left field in the top half of the frame, scoring Alex Kirilloff, and giving Minnesota their first run of the game. After an ugly outing by Varland last night, the Twins needed Paddack to give them a chance, and he all but gave that away before recording the first nine outs of the game. Buxton Does it Anyway While the game was all but over early on tonight, the Twins continued to step into the batter’s box. The quality of their at-bats wasn’t ideal, but there were still some notable performances. Kirilloff singled home Jeffers in the sixth inning after the catcher notched his fourth double of the season. Making it 8-2, it was hardly a noteworthy occurrence. In the bottom half of the inning, Santander singled Adley Rutschman in to make it a 9-2 game, but the highlight for Minnesota was Buxton’s defensive play in center field. While his injury history has become a substantial talking point at this juncture, Buxton simply continues to show up for the Twins in every way possible to start the year. His catch up against the center-field wall against O’Hearn was impressive, and it saved further damage. The biggest positive is that he was no worse for the wear after hitting the padding; those are the types of plays baseball fans have come to love to see from the Twins outfielder. It Gets Worse Minnesota got some life from Vázquez to lead off the eighth inning, and his single put the Twins in a spot to claw back again. Edouard Julien immediately went down on strikes, though, and despite a wild pitch from Yohan Ramírez that moved the Minnesota catcher to second base, Jeffers and Kirilloff both punched out to end the inning without any sort of a threat. In the bottom half, Jay Jackson continued to work against Baltimore. A leadoff walk of Rutschman immediately gave the Orioles a baserunner, and O'Hearn sent one over the wall just out of Buxton's reach this time. While a fan did impact the baseball, and potentially kept the Twins centerfielder from catching it, there was no interference call as the baseball was clearly above and beyond the wall. Jair Camargo got a pinch-hit opportunity to start the 9th inning, making his major league debut against Mahtomedi's own Mike Baumann. Working a 3-1 count, he took a walk that brought Trevor Larnach to the plate and allowed for the outfielder to grab his first base hit of the season. When Miranda singled up the middle on the next at-bat, Camargo came around to score his first big league run. That's where things ended though, and the Twins' ability to mount any sort of a comeback was thwarted before it got off the ground. Notes The Twins signed veteran outfielder Tony Kemp to a minor league deal on Tuesday. He provides some depth for the St. Paul Saints, who began the year with just two outfielders on their roster. Matt Wallner will also join the team after being optioned by Minnesota. What’s Next? Wrapping up the series with Baltimore, the Twins send Pablo Lopez to the mound on Wednesday. The Orioles will have former Minnesota prospect Tyler Wells on the bump and then will have their last off day of the month. They return home over the weekend to face the same Detroit Tigers club they split with last weekend. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins made the decision to send Matt Wallner back to Triple-A St. Paul. That move made way for Trevor Larnach’s return to the big leagues. Now entering what will be his fourth major-league season, there are clear expectations for the former first-round pick. Image courtesy of © Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports Slowed at the end of spring training by turf toe, Trevor Larnach started his season on a rehab assignment with Fort Myers. Though Larnach was expected to return to Triple-A St. Paul, the incredibly slow start for Matt Wallner opened up an opportunity. After a successful rookie campaign, Wallner scuffled through the spring schedule and started 2-for-25 with a 17-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Of those two hits, one was a home run off a position player. Wallner’s misfortune is Larnach’s gain, but Larnach has been in very similar situations to the guy he's now replacing. Despite dealing with injuries at different points over the past three years, Larnach has never played more than 79 games at the major-league level in a single campaign. While the maladies have influenced that, it is largely due to a desire for greater production. With 188 big-league games to his credit, Larnach has launched just 20 home runs and owns a 95 career OPS+. From someone with his build and pedigree, that leaves plenty to be desired, and it’s the power production that Minnesota sent the former Oregon State Beavers outfielder on a journey to find last season. Racking up 212 plate appearances with the parent club last season, Larnach had just eight home runs and only seven doubles. His three triples were uncharacteristic, but again, Rocco Baldelli puts him in the lineup to drive the baseball. Exit velocities were a large part of the draft hype for Larnach, but that hasn't come to fruition consistently at the highest level. Beyond just hitting the ball hard, a refined process has to take shape for the Twins outfielder. He has consistently posted strikeout rates above 33% during his career, and it wasn’t until last season that his walk rate crept above 12%. His 46% hard-hit rate from 2023 was nearly 10% better than anything he had previously accumulated during his career, and his fly ball rate ticked up nearly 50% as well. The book on Larnach, for some time, has been an inability to hit breaking pitches. He crushes fastballs, but has seen pitchers all but stop throwing them to him. We saw him work something of an inside-out approach last season, with the lowest pull rate of his career, and he made a significant amount of contact going back up the middle. That will only add additional hits if he can drive the ball out of the park to the deepest part, and sacrificing pull-side power certainly could help him. There have been multiple points throughout his career where it has looked like Larnach is starting to figure things out. Another brief heater would be great to see in the absence of Wallner and Max Kepler. Unless Larnach can be that person, the team is suddenly short on power in the corners. Minnesota has been waiting for it to take shape over the years, and now is as good a time as any. Last season, it was Wallner replacing Larnach amid the latter's struggles to produce. Now the roles are reversed, and with health to his credit, the Twins need to see a bat that plays on a significant power scale. There are many similarities in the games of Wallner and Larnach, but one that the Twins don’t need playing out is a debilitating dearth of consistency. View full article

After all affiliates outside of St. Paul played just a short three-game series to kick off their season, this week was the first six-game series on the farm. There were plenty of highlights, but none have been more rapid fire than what Emmanuel Rodriguez continues to do at Double-A. Image courtesy of Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports Shuffling in St. Paul Returning home from a weekend in Nashville, there was plenty of roster shuffling for the St. Paul Saints this week. The Twins needed a pitcher for their weekend doubleheader, and Simeon Woods Richardson was called upon. Grabbing his first big league win, Woods Richardson looked to be an entirely different pitcher, and the velocity uptick he showed this spring stayed with him. In the wake of Carlos Correa injury news, Jair Camargo was also promoted to the majors for the first time, and Rocco Baldelli’s taxed bullpen saw Jorge Alcala go back to St. Paul with Matt Bowman getting his first chance of the season. Similar to the big league club, it’s been a tough go of it for the Saints lineup out of the gate. Playing against the Iowa Cubs, St. Paul dropped four of the six home contests. The offensive exploding for 13 runs on Sunday was a highlight, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. has been a consistent threat for Toby Gardenhire. Winless for Wichita A slow start has been the narrative for Wichita, and that didn’t get any easier with Springfield playing host for the past week of games. St. Louis’ Double-A affiliate has started the season strong, and after sweeping the six-game series against Wichita this week, they improved to 9-0. The Wind Surge return home to face Tulsa, and do so with just a 1-8 record. Although the team results haven’t been great, there is no prospect across the system that has gotten off to a better start than Emmanuel Rodriguez. His 1.594 OPS is otherworldly, and he already has four home runs in just 26 at-bats. His process hasn’t changed at the dish either, and his 11/10 K/BB represents the same strong discipline we saw from him last season with Cedar Rapids. The catching tandem of Noah Cardenas and Andrew Cossetti have also gotten out of the gate strong. They should be expected to be key pieces in the Wind Surge lineup well after Rodriguez ultimately earns a promotion. The Twins are still handling Marco Raya with kid gloves as he has thrown just six innings across two starts. Cruising in Cedar Rapids The reigning Midwest League Champions are looking to repeat this season, and while they started winless on the road in Beloit, all it took was some home cooking to get them going. Winning four of six against Dayton this week, the Kernels evened their record at .500 and can head out against the Timber Rattlers feeling good about themselves. Luke Keaschall began the year only operating as a designated hitter, but progressed to playing the field on Sunday. His 1.015 OPS trails only Rubel Cespedes to start the season, and he has already launched a pair of home runs. Danny De Andrade went down with an injury this week, and the hope is that it won’t sideline him for too long. On the mound it’s Andrew Morris that has turned heads. He has a ridiculous 15/1 K/BB across his first ten innings this season, and owns a 0.90 ERA in two starts. Zebby Matthews had a strong showing in his first turn, and John Klein has flashed well also. Back to the Fort After starting with a brief three-game set in Fort Myers that saw Walker Jenkins go down with an injury, we haven’t seen Minnesota’s top prospect yet return for the Mighty Mussels. On the round at Clearwater the past week, Fort Myers was able to come away with just two of the six games. Returning home this week against Jupiter, they’ll look to expand on the 2-1 start in Fort Myers. Rayne Doncon, acquired with Manuel Margot in the Noah Miller trade to the Dodgers, has kicked off the season nicely as he owns a .900 OPS. Maddux Houghton and Brandon Winokur are the only other Mighty Mussels to join Doncon with home runs to this point. Byron Chourio, acquired in the Luis Arraez trade, has got off to a great start too as he owns a .303 average through his first nine games. A significant amount of professional debuts have taken place in Fort Myers to start the year. Jeremy Lee, Ross Dunn, Charlee Soto, and Paulshawn Pasqualotto have all made impressive starts in the early going. The rotation should be among the highlights of this team as the season goes on. View full article

Isn’t that insane?!

That’s absolutely what they’re doing, but using him for multiple innings at a time is a weird way to follow that process.

Could be Bowman too. I am told the plan for Staumont was to go on the road trip this week with St. Paul.

Prior to Sunday’s matinee in Detroit, the Minnesota Twins opted to make a roster move that sent Jorge Alcalá to Triple-A St. Paul. The decision was a curious one. Image courtesy of © Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports Through the Twins' first 14 games this season, Rocco Baldelli called Jorge Alcalá in from the bullpen six times. That’s despite Alcalá being unavailable for a couple of games, while he was dealing with a bout of soreness, and he wasn’t even on the roster for Sunday's contest. To put it mildly, the Minnesota reliever has been a key part of their pitching staff. Throwing 8 1/3 innings this season, Alcalá has already accumulated nearly half of the total innings he threw for the Twins a season ago. He's spent far too great a share of his Twins tenure unavailable due to injury. He pitched just 2 1/3 innings during the 2022 season, and it was really only in 2021 that he was consistently available. Alcala’s injury history is why the Twins have options with him--literally. Despite being a 28-year-old with more than four years of service time and six big-league seasons under his belt, he still has a minor-league option year remaining. Although a perennial candidate for the Opening Day roster, he's spent long stretches on the 60-day injured list, only technically a big-leaguer. After rehabbing to be an option late last year and coming to camp healthy, Alcalá competed on a consistent enough basis during spring to earn a job. That meant throwing strikes, getting ahead in counts, and generating outs from the opposition. His 31% strikeout rate is a career high, and his 10.3% walk rate is acceptable if he's missing that many bats. To date, he looks like a credible high-leverage reliever for a team badly needing them. So when the bullpen doesn’t have Jhoan Durán, Justin Topa, or Josh Staumont, why was it Alcalá sent out in favor of the returning Caleb Thielbar? Well, that answer gets more confusing after Baldelli’s pregame comments Sunday. If we’re taking Baldelli’s comments at face value, they're little more than eye wash. Maybe that’s what the manager is ok with saying to the media, but in reality, Alcalá was doing all of that and then some. More realistically, the assignment to St. Paul should be about getting the reliever a breather after being used so heavily. Alcalá threw 22 pitches for Minnesota on Saturday, and had thrown three of the past five days for the Twins. He wasn’t going to be available for Sunday’s game, and with Bailey Ober starting, Thielbar could be brought back as a fresh arm. With Matt Bowman as the only other reliever without big-league pitches on him, the pen had been relatively tapped out. Earlier this week, Thielbar completed his rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul, and once he was ready to go, reinstating him was a no-brainer. That could have come at the expense of Kody Funderburk, had the team opted against keeping three lefties (with out-of-options Steven Okert as the other). Funderburk doesn’t have the injury history, though, and there is less worry about protecting his arm. The Orioles are also a heavily lefty-swinging lineup, which incrementally increases the value of that third southpaw. We’ll see how often Alcala is used with St. Paul over the next week or so. It stands to reason that it will be sparingly, and although we saw him in multi-inning roles for the Twins, that’s not something he should ever do on the farm. Letting him reset (de-load, they would call it in spring training) could help him stay ready deep into this season. Minnesota’s best bullpen unquestionably includes Alcalá at this point, and he should be back as soon as he is eligible. Bowman will be exposed to waivers when he is jettisoned from the roster; he’s just a warm body they needed to have fresh for the immediate future. This has been the year for Alcalá thus far, and keeping him healthy is the top priority for him and the team as a whole. If they need to give his arm some rest and let him work on things in a controlled setting for a couple of short stints, so be it. Let's just not pretend it's purely about performance, and the fine margins over small samples therein. View full article

Grabbing both sides of a doubleheader is never an easy task, and even less so when calling upon a spot starter. In the nightcap though, Minnesota watched Simeon Woods Richardson shove for his first career major league victory, and Willi Castro's home run allowed for Cole Sands to grab his second career save. Image courtesy of © Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports Game 2: Twins 4, Tigers 1 Box Score SP: Simeon Woods Richardson 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (80 pitches, 53 strikes, 7 whiffs) Home Runs: Edouard Julien (4), Willi Castro (1) Top 3 WPA: Simeon Woods Richardson (.252), Cole Sands (.167), Willi Castro (.162) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Out to a Lead While it took the Twins some time to grab a lead during the first half of the doubleheader today, they wasted no time in the nightcap. Julien started the game against Matt Manning with a walk, rather than a strikeout, and it immediately put the Tigers in a bad spot. Jeffers drew a walk out of the two hole after being the offensive hero from game one, and Kirilloff moved Julien to third with a ground out. Buxton then lifted a sacrifice fly to center and Minnesota had a 1-0 lead. Today was the first showing of Simeon Woods Richardson at the major league level this season. After using a fastball that barely broke 91 mph the past two seasons, his spring was highlighted by a four-seam pitch that moved up into the 93-94 mph range. He flashed that against the Tigers during the 1st inning, and was able to grab strikeouts from both Greene and Torkelson to set Detroit down in order. Woods Richardson saw traffic in the 2nd inning with the bases loaded and just one out, but thankfully he had Baez stepping in. Despite a miss of a pitch, the Tigers shortstop popped it up to center and only tied the game on a sacrifice fly. He got out of the inning with the game being even, but a 25-pitch 2nd inning meant that Woods Richardson was already over the 40-mark for the game. Moar Tacos Farmer came up and grounded out, again, in the 3rd inning but Julien decided he had seen enough. Punching another opposite field home run for 400 feet, the Twins second baseman grabbed yet another taco and put the good guys back up by a run. With the amount he continues to go the opposite way, it seems like it's only a matter of time before he gets a taco sponsorship. Jeffers followed him with a single but Kirilloff and Buxton grounded out to end the inning. Woods Richardson also got what he needed in the bottom half. After a laborious 2nd inning, he worked the 3rd inning on just five pitches. Comerica is where he made his major league debut, and while he looks like an entirely different pitcher at this point in his career, shutting down the opposition so easily is never going to bring on anything but good vibes. He carried those through the next two innings and that left his teammates in a good spot. Hello From the Other Side Castro has struggled to get things going this season, but he is going to be a vital part of the Twins plans going forward without Correa. Starting at shortstop on a routine basis, he will draw plenty of at bats against both righties and lefties. After Buxton struck out to bring his tally to 18/1 K/BB on the season, the Minnesota utility man clobbered a baseball to right center. With Martin on base, Castro's first home run of the season made it a 4-1 game. Entering the 6th inning having retired 11 in a row, Woods Richardson quickly got Greene out on a ground ball to first base. Seeking his first win, there may be some exciting sorts of vindication to get that victory at the place he made his major league debut. Finishing off the inning in order, the Twins starter had sent 14 in a row packing and the victory vibes were building again. Leaving after six, Woods Richardson was in line for his first big league win, and he gave the club everything they could have wanted in a spot start following a long first game. Kody Funderburk got the first two outs on a pair of strikeouts, but a pair of hits made things dicey. Cole Sands came in and got a first-pitch grounder from Baez that Julien made a nice play on to end the inning. Sands Sends it to the 9th As has been the case with Alcala early this season, Sands has found a way to make himself among the Twins most impressive relievers. After generating a one-pitch out in the 7th inning, he worked a full 8th inning, grabbing two strikeouts while allowing no baserunners. Sands hit the mid-90's with his fastball and also showed a velocity uptick that Minnesota could work with. While it's unfortunate that Jhoan Duran, Caleb Thielbar, Josh Staumont, and Justin Topa are missing time to begin the year, it's the bullpen depth that has an opportunity to prove its mettle. Margot struck out to kick off the 9th inning before a Santana single gave him his second base hit of the game. Stranded at second following a Julien groundout, it was on Minnesota to grab the final three outs and make it a sweep of the doubleheader on Saturday. Baldelli stuck with Sands after the strong work he already showed, and he entered the frame in line for the second save of his career. Notes With the win today Simeon Woods Richardson gets his first at the major league level. While he was called up to be the 27th man for Minnesota, there's no doubt they'll rely on him as the season goes on. With Brent Headrick on the injury list and David Festa still getting his feet wet at Triple-A, it's Woods Richardson that should be expected top be the first man up for the foreseeable future. Find today's game 1 recap here. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

The Twins and Tigers were scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday after Thursday’s outing was postponed. Rather than make it a straightforward affair between the clubs, they decided to play 12 in game one with the tilt going to the Twins. Image courtesy of © David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Joe Ryan 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K (96 pitches, 70 strikes, 20 whiffs) Home Runs: Ryan Jeffers (3), Matt Wallner (1) Top 3 WPA: Ryan Jeffers (.733), Jorge Alcala (.261), Brock Stewart (.140) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Facing the Former King For the first time since he signed with the Detroit Tigers, Kenta Maeda was going to face his former Minnesota Twins teammates. A noticeable drop in velocity was a big talking point this spring, and that hasn’t slowed into the regular season as the Tigers starter is nearly 2 mph slower than where he sat last year. Topping out at 90.6 mph in the first inning, Maeda made the slow slop work as he struck out Edouard Julien and retired the Twins in order. Joe Ryan was to oppose Maeda, and looking to set the tone for the doubleheader, Rocco Baldelli needed a strong showing from his game one starter. He got Riley Greene on strikes before Jose Miranda made an errant throw on an easy play that should have gotten Mark Canha. After a Spencer Torkelson strikeout, Kerry Carpenter made the error hurt with a two-run homer. As the Twins have done almost all season, they struggled to turn the page or build momentum in their next chance as well. In the top of the 2nd inning, Manuel Margot and Matt Wallner both got outs on first pitch swings before Miranda lifted a harmless fly ball to left. King of Doubles Rolling through the 2nd inning, Ryan settled in. After a pair of strikeouts in the 1st inning, Minnesota’s starter got the Tigers in order on just ten pitches, for three strikeouts. Through his first six outs of the game, five of them came on punch outs. Austin Martin hasn’t been in the big leagues long, but he’s been there long enough to know he won’t be stopping at first base any time soon. Following a 3rd inning Willi Castro double, Martin recorded his third big league hit. All of them are doubles, and this one drove in Minnesota’s first run. It took a bit, but the Twins had broken through against Maeda. If there was someone fooled by Maeda early, it was Minnesota’s second baseman. Julien was the only hitter to strike out the first time through the order, and the Tigers pitcher punched him out for a second time to record the second out of the 3rd inning. Carlos Santana flew out softly to right, and Martin was left in scoring position. Ryan continued his dominance in the bottom half, striking out Parker Meadows and Greene again. A walk of Canha interrupted the flow, but Torkelson went down on strikes and it was a second consecutive side of strikeouts. Ryan now had eight for the ballgame, and one bad pitch following an error, was the only difference. Joe Keeps Rolling Having struck out the side in both the 2nd and 3rd innings, Minnesota’s starter threatened to do it again in the 4th inning. Getting both Carpenter and Colt Keith, Matt Vierling broke things up with a single to left. Zack McKinstry then lined out to right and ended the inning. Outside of the one miss to Carpenter in the 1st inning, Ryan absolutely diced up the opposition. Of the 12 outs he needed to get through four innings, Minnesota’s starter racked up 10 strikeouts. Detroit’s lineup was clearly overmatched when it came to deciphering Ryan’s stuff. Maeda, a good fielding pitcher, got a weak comebacker from Julien in his third at bat, and instead of the double play he threw it into centerfield. With Martin at third and Julien at first, Minnesota was in position to tie the game in the 5th inning. Santana hit a ball to Torkelson, and looking for the double play, Detroit wound up with just one out as Martin raced home and tied things at 2. Striking out Carson Kelly in the bottom of the 5th inning, Ryan tied his career-high of 11 strikeouts and needed just 13 outs to do it. After an infield single for Greene, Canha stepped in as the only Tigers hitter not to fan yet today. Ryan made sure to correct that, and with a 2-2 sweeper, he set a new career-high with his 12th strikeout. Unfortunately the bottom of the 6th inning started with a Torkelson double that should have been caught. A Keith single brought him home and the Twins trailed again, this time 3-2. Jeffers Steps Up The 7th inning came and went with no noise being made on either side. Both Maeda and Ryan were out of the game, and it would be a battle of the bullpens to the finish. Steven Okert worked a scoreless frame for Minnesota, and Baldelli found himself pleading for the offense to do something. Kyle Farmer pinch hit for Julien but came up empty, and Santana fared the same way he has all year. Then Ryan Jeffers came off the bench to hit for Kirilloff and he unloaded on a Shelby Miller pitch, sending it over the left centerfield wall, to tie the game at three. Griffin Jax was on for the 8th inning and the Twins were looking to complete the comeback. Through eight frames, both teams accomplished the same output. Three runs on six hits and an error was as even as it was going to get. On to Extras Neither team could find the winning run during the first nine innings, so to extras they went. Christian Vazquez started at second base, and Martin seemed like an ideal batter to have up and, at worst, move him over. Instead Martin struck out swinging and the Twins needed a hit. Farmer grounded out moving Vazquez over, but once again Santana did nothing, and his fly out ended the half inning. Maybe this is a bad time, but Joey Gallo has twice the OPS of Santana to start the year. Jorge Alcala got the 10th inning an: walked Green to set up the double play. Canha followed through on the plan, and while Detroit had Gio Urshela at third base, there were two outs. Punching out Torkelson to end the inning, the 11th was on deck. Santana started at second, and Jeffers immediately stepped in and came through again. His single scored Santana and gave Minnesota their first lead of the game. Matt Wallner advanced Jeffers 90 feet before Byron Buxton stepped to replace Miranda. He struck out swinging and left the insurance run stranded. The insurance run would have been beneficial as Carpenter reached on catcher’s interference before Keith drove in Torkelson. Alcala struck out Vierling and then got McKinstry to put runners on the corners with two outs. Kelly popped out and these two decided that a doubleheader wasn’t enough, why not play 12. And Finally, Conclusion Going this deep into a game while needing to play two is a wild choice, but that’s where Minnesota was. Castro drew a walk with Buxton on second to start the 12th inning. Vazquez bunted them over and wound up safe, while Martin walked to bring home a run and make it a 5-4 game. Farmer then went down on strikes before Santana punched out as well. Jeffers worked a full count, and with the bases loaded everyone was in motion. McKinstry booted a ball at third, clearing the bases and putting Minnesota up 8-4. The Tigers were clearly done with this game, and despite him being the reason Minnesota scored three runs, McKinstry came on to pitch. Wallner hasn’t found his groove to start that year, but facing a position player, he blasted his first homer of the year. The three-run shot made it an 11-4 game and all but ended the first tilt in the Twins favor. Jay Jackson got the bottom half, and while the placed runner did score, that’s all the damage Detroit was able to do. Minnesota ended the long first tilt with a 7-spot in the 12th, and their eight hits produced twice as much as Detroit’s did. Jeffers came off the bench to lead the club, and now they’ll settle in for game two. Notes Jair Camargo earns his first major league promotion against the Detroit Tigers and Kenta Maeda. Camargo was part of the return Minnesota got from the Dodgers when dealing Brusdar Graterol. Carlos Correa talked of his oblique injury before the games today. Baldelli suggested the hope is that it isn't a long-term thing. Dealing with some imaging, the Twins shortstop talked to Audra Martin about what he expects to come next. What’s Next? Minnesota plays one more against Detroit on Sunday afternoon with Bailey Ober starting against Jack Flaherty. The two squads will then go their separate ways, but only for a brief period as A.J. Hinch brings his club to Target Field next weekend. Baldelli's group goes to see Jackson Holiday and the Baltimore Orioles for the first time this season. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet View full article

The Minnesota Twins need some good news in the worst way, and they got it on the farm from arms like Marco Raya and Jeremy Lee both starting strong Friday night. Power hitting prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez continues to be otherworldly, and he's making Double-A look too easy. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge TRANSACTIONS RHP Jack Noble transferred from Cedar Rapids to Wichita INF Dalton Shuffield placed on Development roster by Wichita SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 6, St. Paul 0 Box Score The Saints had a bit of a different test tonight with rehabbing Cubs starter Jameson Taillon on the mound for Iowa. With Simeon Woods Richardson headed to the Twins as the 27th man for the doubleheader on Saturday, some shuffling was done to the starting rotation. Friday night, before the fireworks, was Joe Gunkel taking the ball. Gunkel tiptoed around a very strong Iowa lineup. Allowing three runs in the first two innings, he still lasted four and didn’t give up greater damage on the seven hits. He also walked one. It didn’t take long for Iowa to get on the board. The Triple-A squad is home to many of the Cubs top hitting prospects, and despite getting a first out of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Alexander Canario then singled back up the middle before Matt Mervis destroyed a baseball 422 feet. The Saints threatened to answer with a run of their own in the bottom half, but Yunior Severino’s double wasn’t in the gap enough to score Jair Camargo from first and he was thrown out at home. Continuing to stomp out a chance at momentum, Iowa homered on the first at bat of the 2nd inning to make it a 3-0 game. After cruising through the first three innings of the game, St. Paul started to mount a threat against Taillon. Camargo reached on a fielding error before Patrick Winkel singled to put runners on first and second with one out. Another error allowed Diego A. Castillo to reach, knocking out Taillon, and loading the bases for St. Paul. Yoyner Fajardo bounced a one-hopper to first and the inning was over with no damage done. Michael Boyle came on in the 5th inning for St. Paul, and Mervis quickly welcomed him with his second home run of the night. The solo shot made it a 4-0 game. St. Paul had runners at first and second for Fajardo in the 6th inning, and his liner to left gave them a chance to get on the board, but Owen Caissie cut down Castillo at home. Working on a rehab assignment as he makes his way back towards the Twins, Josh Staumont took over in the 7th inning. The reliever looked great, striking out the side, and topping out at 96.5 mph. He got five whiffs on just 14 pitches. In the 8th inning it was Ronny Henriquez’s turn to throw. After two quick outs he issued a walk before B.J. Murray Jr. was given credit for an inside-the-park home run. The ball rolled to, and under, the right centerfield was. Both Fajardo and Keirsey Jr. threw up their arms to signal it dead, but none of the umpires acknowledged the play and allowed the Iowa runner to advance. Toby Gardenhire was wildly animated, but wasn’t tossed, and didn’t have his point change the outcome either. Fajardo recorded his second hit of the game, the only Saints player to do so, giving St. Paul a 9th inning baserunner. Will Holland whiffed on strike three to end the game, and the Saints lineup continued to sputter. WIND SURGE WISDOM Game 1: Springfield 3, Wichita 1 (F/7) Box Score After a postponement earlier this week, the Wind Surge were set to play two on Friday night. The pair of seven-inning games featured Marco Raya in game one, and he looked sharp. Working three innings, Raya allowed one run on four hits while striking out three and walking none. He threw 34 of his 51 pitches for strikes. Following up a strong Thursday night affair, Emmanuel Rodriguez again flexed his muscles. A first inning triple put him in scoring position, and Andrew Cossetti’s double brought him home easily. Springfield did even things in the bottom half, but if Wichita expected to hand the Cardinals their first loss of the season, they had to know it wouldn’t come easily. Miguel Rodriguez took over for Raya in the 4th inning and worked a scoreless frame. He went back out for the 5th, and with two outs in the inning, Springfield had the bases loaded. Unable to escape the jam, Noah Medlinger doubled and brought home two runs, making it a 3-1 game. Looking for a shot to make it even with Ben Ross, Tanner Schobel, and Cossetti loading the bases, Noah Cardenas stepped in with two outs in the top of the 6th inning. His fly ball to center was tracked down, and the threat was put to bed. Wichita put runners on first and second in the 7th inning, and Rodriguez stepped in with an out. He was called out on strikes and it was up to Schobel to keep the game alive. His single loaded the bags for Cossetti, with two outs, needing two runs to tie. Working a full count, the runners were moving but the fly out to left ended game one in a loss. Wichita managed just a single run on five hits, and turned their attention to game two for another try. Game 2: Springfield 10, Wichita 2 (F/7) Box Score Travis Adams was on the bump for game two, making his second start of the season. He was cruising through the first two innings before things went off the tracks in the 3rd inning. Working 2 2/3 innings, Adams allowed six runs on five hits and a pair of walks. He struck out four. Rodriguez wasted no time scoring during game two. On the fifth pitch of his at bat, the first of the game, he blasted his third home run of the season. With the bases loaded and two outs in the 2nd inning, Alerick Soluarie lifted a sacrifice fly to score Ben Ross and make it a 2-0 game. That's where Springfield made their move. Scoring six runs in the 3rd inning, the Cardinals had quickly doubled up the Wind Surge and then some. Another run came in for the opposition on a 4th inning balk. In the 6th inning Wichita sparked back to life. The Wind Surge loaded the bases with no outs and Carson McCusker stepped in. He went down swinging, but with two outs still to work with, it was Jorel Ortega's turn. The one thing the Wind Surge couldn't afford was a double play, and that's exactly what took place. All three runners were stranded and Wichita trailed 7-2 heading to the bottom of the 6th inning. Sheldon Reed struggled with his command in the 6th inning, and after a leadoff single, he followed an out with a pair of walks. The bases were again chucked, and Wichita had just a single out. Getting a strikeout for the second out helped, but walking in a run on the next batter continued the onslaught. A single followed and made it a 9-2 game and another walk added the 10th run. Reed, at 52 pitches clearly in just wearing it, had issued five free passes while completely losing the zone. Wichita did nothing in the 7th inning and finished with just two hits in the nightcap. Springfield remained undefeated at 7-0. KERNELS NUGGETS Dayton 5, Cedar Rapids 3 Box Score Cedar Rapids was up against a tough matchup tonight with Reds prospect Rhett Lowder on the bump for Dayton. He touched 96 mph in the first inning, and isn’t expected to last at this level long. Tonight was his second professional outing. John Klein was on the bump for Cedar Rapids Friday night. He went three innings allowing a single run on two hits. Command escaped him as he walked four, but Klein did strike out one. Jacob Wosinski followed with three innings of his own in relief, and while he gave up two hits and a walk, he struck out six. Dayton struck first with a run in the 1st inning, but the Kernels got to Lowder in the 2nd inning with two outs. Agustin Ruiz ripped his first double of the season and scored Rubel Cespedes to even things at one. In the 6th inning Ricardo Olivar hit his first home run of the game, and the solo shot broke the tie. The Dragons weren’t ok with trailing and did their part to even things at two in the 7th inning. That tie didn’t last as Willie Joe Garry Jr. hit his first home run of the season as the first batter to step in during the bottom half. With both sides staying scoreless in the 8th inning, A.J. Labas remained on to close things out in the 9th. Instead, Dayton tagged him for three runs and forced the Kernels into a must-score situation. Not looking to role over, Nate Baez took a leadoff walk bringing the tying run to the plate. He advanced to second on a groundout, but that's where Cedar Rapids left him, falling 5-3. Cespedes was the lone batter with multiple hits. MUSSEL MATTERS Clearwater 3, Fort Myers 0 Box Score 2023 draft pick Jeremy Lee made his first professional start tonight for Fort Myers, and it would have been hard for it to go much better. He worked 4 2/3 innings giving up just one run on four hits. Lee walked two and struck out seven. It wasn’t until the 5th inning that Clearwater got on the board with a run, and they added two more in the 7th inning. After Brandon Winokur was hit by a pitch and then stole second base in the top half of the 7th inning, it was especially crushing to see two more come across immediately after squandering the opportunity. With only three outs left to mount a comeback, Fort Myers came up in the 9th inning and went down in order. The Mighty Mussels finished the night with just three hits while striking out 15 times and drawing two walks. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jacob Wosinski (Cedar Rapids) - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) - 2-5, 2 R, 3B(1), HR(3), RBI 2 BB, 3 K PROSPECT SUMMARY #3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) – 2-5, 2 R, 3B(1), HR(3), RBI 2 BB, 3 K #4 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 0-5 #5 – Marco Raya (Wichita) – 3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K #7 – Austin Martin (Minnesota) – 0-2 #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-3, K, SB(3) #11 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-4, K #12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 1-5, 2B, K #13 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 0-3, 3 K #16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 1-4 #17 – Matt Canterino (IL) – Shoulder injury #18 – Connor Prielipp (IL) – UCL Surgery #19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, R, RBI, HR(1), 2 K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs Iowa (2:07 PM CST) – RHP Aaron Rozek (0-0, -.-- ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Pierson Ohl (0-0, 3.60 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs Dayton (1:05 PM CST) – RHP Christian MacLeod (0-0, -.-- ERA) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM CST) – RHP Charlee Soto (0-0, 6.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Friday’s games! 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Sure, but the Twins don't get to play these seven games against the Tigers later.

With a postponement of Thursday’s tilt against the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota will now face their AL Central foes seven times in the next 10 days. Rocco Baldelli’s club hasn’t gotten off to a quick start, and their schedule has been disjointed, with both planned and unplanned off days. If they want to right the ship, it starts by taming the Tigers. Image courtesy of © Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports A year ago, Rocco Baldelli watched as his lineup virtually sleepwalked through the first half of the season. It really wasn’t until Royce Lewis was inserted that the group found something to jumpstart it. That same narrative has played out again over the first 10 games of the 2024 season, and Lewis won’t be around for the next couple of months to act as a savior. Following a tough series that ended on a high note against the Dodgers, Minnesota must find a way to harness that momentum and lock in for this stretch of divisional games. Under the new scheduling parameters, teams no longer play divisional opponents as often as they previously did. The Twins face Detroit only 13 times this year, meaning more than half of those matchups will come in the next week and a half. While not a juggernaut, A.J. Hinch's squad started out on the right foot this season. With a 7-4 record, the Tigers have established that they are ready to contend this season. Expected to be among the one or two teams competing with Baldelli’s Twins for the division title, they put themselves in a good position after the first two weeks of the season. Last year, Minnesota struggled with Detroit more than anyone else in the division. The Twins had a 5-8 record and a -11 run differential against a team they simply couldn’t solve. They dropped two one-run games to the Motor City Kitties, and were shut out twice. What may be worse for the Twins is that despite him making 15 starts in 2023, none of Tarik Skubal’s outings came against them. Ineptitude against left-handed pitching was a problem last year, and Skubal is among the best in the game, regardless of handedness. He is expected to compete for a Cy Young when the dust on 2024 settles, and figuring him out is a must for Minnesota. Even without Skubal, the Tigers pitching staff allowed just a .666 OPS to the Twins, and Minnesota helped them plenty, with a lopsided 133/41 K/BB. It is fair to note that the Tigers staff no longer has Eduardo Rodríguez, but a healthy Skubal is quite the come-up. The Twins will get to see Kenta Maeda, a free agent whom they passed on retaining, for the first time in the opposing clubhouse, and he appears to be someone on whom they should tee off. How they fare against Reese Olson, Casey Mize, and Jack Flaherty could very well be the difference in deciding which way the series goes. The Twins also must contend with a bit deeper lineup this time around. Javier Báez is still abysmal at the plate, but Minnesota can’t be the reason Spencer Torkelson gets going again. Riley Greene has come on strong, and while they haven’t yet found it, Colt Keith, Parker Meadows, and Kerry Carpenter are all talented young batsmen. Miguel Cabrera is done holding down the middle of this lineup, and a new wave is looking to make their mark. Ultimately, the Twins should be better than Detroit. Even without the full complement of their bullpen arms (though Caleb Thielbar and Josh Staumont look close to a return), and even without Lewis. Minnesota should feel confident in each pitching matchup, and the lineup should be looking to get right against most of the Tigers arms. While this is a team on the rise, they don’t appear to be there just yet. Twins pitching is fourth in the majors by strikeout percentage, while the Tigers are 20th. Detroit also gives up the 12th-highest walk rate, with Minnesota being in the bottom third. So far, there has been far too much swing-and-miss from Minnesota's lineup, but this isn't a team that should overpower or confuse them. Detroit doesn't strike out a ton at the plate, but they don't walk much, either. They also have the third-lowest ISO across the entire sport. Pitchers should feel a level of comfort in being able to pick this group apart. Having struggled to find consistency against the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Dodgers over the past handful of games, this is a stretch where Minnesota can turn the early momentum of their season. Starting strong with a four-game set (including Saturday’s doubleheader) should give Baldelli’s club some momentum before heading to Baltimore on Monday. Returning home and continuing a semblance of dominance over Detroit next weekend would turn the page on lackluster early results from a season ago, and set the stage for a fresh feel in 2024. With only six games left against the Tigers after the next week and a half, the Twins will see Detroit for just two more series the rest of the way. No matter how close Hinch’s club is to competing for the top spot, Minnesota shouldn’t be looking to give them any hope in the form of a tiebreaker in September, and establishing an identity for the season ahead can begin right now. View full article

Trevor Larnach kicked off his season with a rehab appearance for Fort Myers, and Caleb Thielbar continued to work his way back with St. Paul. It was a night for the Andrews though, with pitcher Morris dominating for Cedar Rapids, and hitter Cossetti crushing with Wichita. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily TRANSACTIONS RHP John Stankiewicz transferred from Cedar Rapids to Wichita OF Trevor Larnach assigned to Fort Myers on a rehab assignment SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Iowa 2 Box Score Top prospect David Festa took the ball for St. Paul on Thursday and it wasn’t a lengthy outing. Working just 2 2/3 innings, Festa struggled with command as he threw just 37 of his 69 pitches for strikes. Despite the off night that included three hits and four walks, he still allowed only a single run and struck out four. After getting down early with the Cubs scoring a run in the 1st inning, St. Paul wasn’t able to answer until the 6th inning. It came in a big way, however, as Diego A. Castillo homered to center for his first of the season. The three-run shot scored Jair Camargo and Anthony Prato, putting the Saints up 3-1. Rehabbing Twins reliever Caleb Thielbar worked two nearly flawless innings, only interrupted by a solo shot from Ali Sanchez in the 7th inning. Otherwise he struck out four, walking none, and throwing 21 of 28 pitches for strikes. St. Paul quickly negated that tally in the bottom of the 7th inning as well. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. hit a solo shot to center for his second dinger of the season, and Patrick Winkel lofted a sacrifice fly to score Michael Helman and make it a 5-2 game. As has been the case for the Saints this season, it was Hobie Harris on to grab the save. He made quick work of the Cubs and held onto the victory. Both Keirsey Jr. and Prato recorded multi-hit games tonight for St. Paul WIND SURGE WISDOM Springfield 7, Wichita 6 (F/10) Box Score Jarret Whorff got the ball tonight for the Wind Surge. Although he allowed only a single run, command was a bit spotty as he walked three and gave up another three hits. Still, he exited with the Wind Surge in position to pull out a win. Wichita scored first when Carson McCusker sent a single to right and brought Andrew Cossetti home. That held until Whorff’s allowed solo shot to R.J. Yeager in the 4th inning. Cossetti then put the good guys back out front with his first home run of the season, and the 5th inning blast brought breathing room as Emmanuel Rodriguez came jogging around as well. A five-run bottom of the 5th inning for Springfield wiped away Wichita’s lead and made it a 6-3 game, but there was still time for a response. It was Cossetti again, this time in the 7th inning, that drove in another run. His single to center brought home Rodriguez for a second time and made it a 6-4 game. Continuing to claw their way back, the other part of the dynamic Wichita catching duo stepped up in the 8th inning. Noah Cardenas ripped a line drive dinger to left, and it was suddenly just a one run game. Down 6-5, the Wind Surge had three outs left to make it even. After working through a scoreless bottom of the 8th inning, Wichita came up looking to do damage. Rodriguez stepped in as the first batter and smoked a homer to right, his second of the season, and this one of the game-tying variety. The rest of the side went down in order, but extras were within view. Jared Solomon came on to replace Hunter McMahon needing to grab three outs and he sent Springfield down in order. Free baseball was coming on Thursday night. Kala'i Rosario began the 10th inning as the placed runner, but was caught stealing on a McCusker strikeout. Just like that, Wichita was without a scoring opportunity and had only a final out in the inning. Cardenas popped out, and it would be on the pitching and defense to generate another opportunity. After getting the first out of the inning, Solomon worked a seven-pitch at bat against Cardinals Chandler Redmond, but a single to right field was enough to walk it off for Springfield. The comeback got there, and then fell short for Wichita. Cossetti led the lineup with three hits, and both Rodriguez and Kyler Fedko had a pair apiece. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Dayton 4 Box Score A night after getting their first victory of the season it was the Kernels looking to make it two in a row. With Andrew Morris on the mound their chances were good, and that was before he went out and dominated as he did Thursday. Working six innings of one-run baseball, Morris allowed only three hits (two on broken bats) and walked none. He punched out nine on the evening and now owns a 15/1 K/BB across his first 10 innings this year. After the game, Morris told Seth Stohs, "I feel like everything was working. I probably could have thrown more fastballs. I was breaking out the cutter. I've never really thrown a true cutter. I was throwing that a lot, and it was working well, getting some broken bats and some strikeouts." He said it was the first time he's thrown a cutter in games. "I've always been really good at throwing accidental cutters, but now it's using it intentionally. It was working well for Zebby yesterday, So I thought it would be good to work on. It was good to get feel for that and trust that a little bit." Manager Brian Dinkelman noted that he's started this year looking a lot like he did late last season in his time with Cedar Rapids. "Good velo. Curveball. Changeup, a little cutter also this year. He's running it up there with the velo, some good carry on his fastball. He looked good tonight. Good outing for Andrew." Still operating solely as the designated hitter, Luke Keaschall blasted his first homer of the season. The leadoff shot to open the bottom of the 1st inning put Cedar Rapids ahead early. After Cam Collier evened things for Dayton in the 4th inning, the Kernels responded with a three-spot in the 5th inning. Dillon Tatum scored on a throwing error following a Jay Harry grounder, and Ricardo Olivar made it hurt by driving him in with a single to center. Jose Salas then singled to score Olivar and the Kernels had a 4-1 lead. Looking to grab the final six outs and secure the victory, Dayton had other plans, putting up a three-run inning of their own in the 8th. With the score knotted at 4, it was a brand new ballgame. Not looking to play extras, Cedar Rapids made full use of the bottom of the 8th inning. Keoni Cavaco notched his first hit of the night, a two-run double to bring home both Salas and Misael Urbina. A Keaschall single followed to drive in Agustin Ruiz and Cavaco, making it a four-run inning and an 8-4 ballgame. Cavaco, Salas and Urbina are all among the youngest Kernels players this year. Each of them struggled at the plate last year and return to Cedar Rapids this year, Still young for the level. Dinkelman said, "You have to have short memory in baseball. That's for sure. Hopefully those guys can turn it around this year and kind of forget about last season, keep working and get better and learn from what happened last year. Keoni's got off to a nice start for us this year and that big hit tonight. Salas had a nice game for us again tonight." Cavaco had two hits on Wednesday night and the big double on Thursday. Salas went 2-for-4. Kyle Bischoff stayed on for the 9th inning looking to wrap it up, and his finished the night with a strikeout, his second of the outing. Keaschall and Salas both had multi-hit affairs for the Kernels, and while the former is definitely itching to get back into the field, it's clear the bat plays just fine as a designated hitter too. It was a rough night for Danny De Andrade. In his first plate appearance, he was hit in the left elbow area. He had the elbow guard on, but it didn't appear to work as the Kernels' infielder reacted as if he got hit in the funny bone. The next time he came to the plate, he hit a ground ball and hustled to first. He nearly beat the throw but was called out. He appeared to trip over the base and went to the ground, clearly in pain. He was helped off of the field to the dugout, putting very little weight on his left foot. At this point, he appears to have rolled the ankle, and if so, that might be the best-case scenario. The fear is it could be a knee injury or a torn achilles tendon. After the game, he was limping but had his ankle taped. My assumption is that he would be considered day-to-day, but that is based on reaction, response, concern level of the staff, etc. MUSSEL MATTERS Clearwater 10, Fort Myers 5 Box Score It was a night of big league excitement down in Florida with both teams having rehabbing major leaguers going. Taijuan Walker was on the mound for Clearwater, and worked four innings of two-run baseball against the Mighty Mussels. Trevor Larnach kicked off his rehab assignment working his way back to St. Paul, or possibly Minnesota. Ross Dunn made his second professional appearance and looked for similarly positive results. Working three innings tonight, he gave up one run on four hits while walking two and striking out four. Larnach kicked off the scoring in the 3rd inning with a double off of Walker. Both Yohander Martinez and Cole Elvis came in and the Mighty Mussels had a 2-0 lead. The bottom half saw Clearwater answer with a run of their own. Then, in the 5th inning, the Threshers took the lead on a pair of solo homers. Like Clearwater did earlier, Fort Myers answered quickly. In the 6th inning Rafael Cruz singled to center with the bases loaded. Both Byron Chourio and Larnach scored with Jose Rodriguez moving to second. The runners ultimately found themselves stranded, but the Mighty Mussels were back on top 4-3. Back and forth the sides went again after Clearwater evened it in the bottom of the 6th inning, and Fort Myers jumped ahead with a Chourio groundout, scoring Angel Del Rosario in the 7th inning. That’s where the wheels fell off for Fort Myers. The Threshers put up a four-spot in the bottom half of the inning, and then added another pair in the 8th inning. On 13 hits, Clearwater put up 10 runs and won by a 10-5 tally. Despite plating five runs in the contest, Fort Myers was able to generate only five hits, two of which came from the rehabbing Larnach. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Morris (Cedar Rapids) - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K Hitter of the Day – Andrew Cossetti (Wichita) - 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR(1) PROSPECT SUMMARY #3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (Wichita) – 2-4, BB, 2B(3), HR(2), 3 R, RBI, #6 – David Festa (St. Paul) – 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K #10 – Brandon Winokur (Fort Myers) – 0-4 #11 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 0-4, BB #12 – Luke Keaschall (Cedar Rapids) – 2-3, R, 3 RBI, HR(1), BB, SB #13 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 1-5 #15 – Danny De Andrade (Cedar Rapids) – 0-1 #16 – Yunior Severino (St. Paul) – 0-4, K #17 – Matt Canterino (IL) – Shoulder injury #18 – Connor Prielipp (IL) – UCL Surgery #19 – Ricardo Olivar (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, R, RBI, 2 BB FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul vs Iowa (6:37 PM CST) – RHP Joe Gunkel (0-0, 7.71 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (5:05 PM CST) – RHP Marco Raya (0-0, 3.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs Dayton (6:35 PM CST) – RHP John Klein (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM CST) – RHP Jeremy Lee (1-0, 2.25 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! 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