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One of his teammates took Hitter of the Day honors, though. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (Image is Anthony Prato) TRANSACTIONS None Saints Sentinel St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 5 Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: Yunior Severino (2) Multi-hit games: Yunior Severino (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI), Gilberto Celestino (3-for-3, R, BB), DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (2-for-4, R) The Saints made it close on Saturday. Simeon Woods Richardson continued to pitch effectively on Saturday; the 22-year-old held an ERA of 2.96 in July, and now he’s at a 2.79 mark in August. It took a while for the bats to get going, but when they did, they did so with gusto. Yunior Severino blasted a 461 foot moonshot to center, apparently clearing the batter's eye for the first time since St. Paul became an affiliate of the Twins. More runs soon followed for the Saints—they plated a trio in the 8th—but Indianapolis struck for three before they could, leaving St. Paul with a one run disadvantage. All three runs scored off a Hernán Pérez double. The heart of St. Paul’s lineup came up in the 9th, but they went down 1-2-3. Brooks Lee’s sharp lineup was the only non-strikeout. Indianapolis possesses a few notable players. The first, Quinn Priester, started for the first time since his brief, ineffective stint with the Pirates. He pitched four shutout innings. The other—Canaan Smith-Njigba—is brothers with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, whom the Seahawks just selected in the 1st round of the NFL Draft in May. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 2, Springfield 11 Box Score Curtis Taylor: ⅓ IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Alex Isola (3-for-4, 2B, R), David Bañuelos (3-for-4, 2B, RBI) The Wind Surge were thoroughly blown out on Saturday. It’s never great when your starter can’t finish the first inning; it’s even worse when he can only find one out. The Cardinals lineup struck him for four earned runs, turning a leadoff double into a nightmare frame. The more astute amongst us may notice that Taylor earned three strikeouts but only one out. That means that—yes—twice a man reached first on a wild pitch strikeout. Sometimes, it may have been better to avoid the ballpark altogether. Wichita’s bats weren’t up to the herculean task of matching their opponents, but two batters—Alex Isola, and David Bañuelos—collected three hits in the game. For Isola, the game was simply a continuation of an outstanding August; he’s now slashing .295/.396/.659 in the month. Will Holland swiped his 24th base of the season. Cardinals leadoff man Victor Scott II is St. Louis’ 4th-best prospect; he went 3-for-5, with a walk, a stolen base, and a caught stealing. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 6, Wisconsin 5 Box Score C.J. Culpepper: 5 ⅔ IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: Ben Ross (17), Kyler Fedko (4) Multi-hit games: Ben Ross (2-for-5, HR, 3B, R, 3 RBI), Jorel Ortega (2-for-4, 3B, RBI), Kyler Fedko (2-for-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB) The Kernels won on a walk-off on Saturday. Cedar Rapids blew a lead late, coming close to sending their fans home disappointed, before they struck with a run in the 9th, overcoming the Timber Rattlers for an exciting win. Starter C.J. Culpepper was strong as usual, reaching the sixth inning while only allowing one run along the way. He struck out four and walked two. His bullpen couldn’t hold the lead, however, as Alejandro Hidaglo and Malik Barrington allowed runs to eventually knot the game at five. It stung for a Cedar Rapids offense that had been explosive up to that point. They collected a perfectly normal nine hits, but fully loaded them with extra-base hits, giving them two doubles, two triples, and two homers respectively in the game. With Emmanuel Rodriguez on first, Jorel Ortega blasted one out to left field, greeting the yellow home run line in left with a startling crack. The shot didn’t clear the fence, but it was enough to plate Rodriguez, who ran like lightning to score off the hit. Big leaguer Jesse Winker played 1st base for the Timber Rattlers, singling once in three at bats. Milwaukee’s 1st-round pick in 2023—3rd baseman Brock Wilken—singled twice in four trips to the plate. Mussel Matters Ft. Myers 4, Palm Beach 0 Box Score John Klein: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jay Harry (2-for-3, R, BB) Mighty Mussels pitching and defense allowed just one hit on Saturday. John Klein was dominant. The Brooklyn Park native diced up Palm Beach’s lineup, tossing six scoreless innings with eight punchouts and two baserunners allowed. The 21-year-old has been fairly nondescript outside of an incredible debut start for the FCL Twins on June 10th, but starts like this will certainly put him on the prospect map. The Fort Myers offense wasn’t overwhelming, but that did everything they needed to do to support their excellent pitching. Maddux Houghton scored on an error. Luke Keaschall—the man on base because of the mistake—scored on a single. Later efforts pushed Fort Myers’ scoring to four runs. That was enough. The Mighty Mussels swiped three bases on Saturday—one each from Maddux Houghton, Luke Keaschall, and Rubel Cespedes. The Cardinals’ 21st overall pick in 2023—and outfielder named Chase Davis—walked once in three plate appearances. Complex Chronicles Game One: FCL Twins 1, FCL Red Sox 2 (7 Innings) Box Score Spencer Bengard: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The FCL Twins lost the first game of their doubleheader against the FCL Red Sox on Saturday. The bats were cool all game; the Twins collected just two hits—singles from Brayan Acuna and Walker Jenkins. They did take three walks, though. It was a bullpen day on the mound with Devin Kirby pitching the bulk of the game’s innings. His relation to Seattle’s George and Nintendo’s pink blob is unclear. His pitching was excellent, though, as he punched out six over just three frames of work. The team committed four errors, three of which came from 3rd baseman Issac Pena. Game Two: FCL Twins 5, FCL Red Sox 0 (7 Innings) Box Score Nolan Santos: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K HR: Jose Rodriguez (6), Jankel Ortiz (2) Multi-hit games: Walker Jenkins (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI), Brandon Winokur (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI), Jose Rodriguez (3-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI) The FCL Twins took game two, though. The bats were much more potent in their second look at FCL Red Sox pitching. It started early, as Brandon Winokur knocked in a pair in the 1st inning, setting the expectations for the game. Later extra-base hits by Jose Rodriguez, Walker Jenkins, and Jankel Ortiz brought the team to five runs. 2023 draftee Nolan Santos started the game for the Twins. The 7th-round selection out of Bethune-Cookman University—the alma mater of a handful of former big leaguers—pitched one scoreless inning, striking out a batter in the process. Kyle Bischoff inhaled the plurality of innings, though, as he whiffed six over four scoreless frames. FCL Twins pitchers struck out 21 batters in the doubleheader. Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 3, DSL Phillies White 5 Box Score De Jesus: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K HR: Junior Del Valle (1) Multi-hit games: None The DSL Twins reached halfway to Satan on Saturday. That is, each number in their “R,” “H,” and “E” column was 3. As you could probably predict, that didn’t go well for them; DSL Twins pitchers actually never allowed an earned run, as, instead, all five runs were unearned. DSL Twins hitters had a tough time at the plate, striking out 11 times while earning just three hits. Junior Del Valle’s homer served as the long extra-base knock. Big-name international signing, Hendry Chivilli, continued his abysmal start to affiliated ball, striking out three times while committing his 12th error of the season. The 17-year-old has plenty of time to turn it around, but his Twins introduction has not gone well so far. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – John Klein Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Ben Ross PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (St. Paul) - 1-4, 2B, BB #2 - Walker Jenkins (FCL Twins) - 3-6, 2B, R, RBI, BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 3B, R, RBI, BB, K #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-5, 2 K #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-4, R, 2 K #12 - Luke Keaschall (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, R, K #13 - Brandon Winokur (FCL Twins) - 2-7, 2B, R, RBI, 2 K #14 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K #15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K #17 - Yunior Severino (St. Paul) - 2-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, 2 K #18 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 3-7, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (2:07 PM) - RHP Randy Dobnak Springfield @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Pierson Ohl Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (1:00 PM) - RHP Zebby Matthews Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (10:00 AM) - RHP Jose Olivares View full article

The Minnesota Twins were shutout for the second time in the series and lost to the Tigers for the third game in a row. Yuck. Kenta Maeda had another great start but with the lineup mustering just two singles it didn't matter much. Trevor Larnach, who has an OPS north of .900 during his time with the Saints, hit another home run in St. Paul. Ben Ross hit his 15th homer of the year for the Kernels. All that plus some bonus discussion on the Twins hitting with runners in scoring position, their approach at the plate and a bit on how opponents are adjusting to Jhoan Duran. View full video

There was another walkoff for the Kernels today, and Randy Dobnak was nothing short of lights out for the Saints. Maddux Houghton kept the Fort Myers lineup rolling, and it was a busy day on the farm. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Randy Dobnak) TRANSACTIONS RHP Aaron Sanchez released from St. Paul OF Luis Baez released from Fort Myers SAINTS SENTINEL Omaha 3, St. Paul 1 Box Score It was Randy Dobnak’s night on the bump for St. Paul, and he worked four innings of very strong baseball. Allowing only a single run on four hits and a walk, Dobnak also struck out six and continued a stretch of solid performances. Two-way player Andrew Bechtold then took over in relief. The Saints called him Bechtani tonight, which is amazing. After getting down in the first inning, it took the Saints a bit to score, but they finally broke through during the sixth inning. Mark Contreras roped his 17th double of the season to bring home Kyle Garlick and even the score at one. Omaha added a pair in the seventh inning, and it was up to St. Paul to find an answer in the ninth inning. After Garlick struck out, Contreras singled to bring the tying run to the plate. Chris Williams struck out swinging, but Jair Camargo made it first and third with two outs. Austin Martin stepped in and got down 0-2 before battling back to a full count. He punched out on a cutter and that’s how the game ended. Contreras grabbed two hits off the bench for Trevor Larnach and Camargo followed his lead. Rehabbing Jorge Polanco was 1-for-2 with a HBP and didn't have a ball hit to him. This was his first game at third base since 2016. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 12, Amarillo 6 Box Score Taking the ball for Wichita was Aaron Rozek, but it was an abbreviated outing with the starter working just three innings. Rozek gave up a pair of runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out two, but both of the runs came on solo shots in the first inning. Answering and taking the lead during the fifth inning, Wichita first got an RBI double from David Banuelos when he drove in Seth Gray. Then DaShawn Keirsey Jr. tripled home Will Holland and Banuelos. The good guys had their first lead of the night. Yunior Severino singled to score Keirsey Jr. and double up Amarillo. In the sixth inning, Gray singled home Jake Rucker. Later in the inning, Gray stole home on a double steal with Banuelos. With two more runs, the Wind Surge led 6-2. The Sod Poodles scored a run in the sixth inning, but the Wind Surge quickly responded. During the seventh inning, Yoyner Fajardo singled home Severino. Next, Rucker doubled to drive in Alex Isola and Fajardo. Gray continued his hot hitting with a ground-rule double. Jake Rucker scored to make it a 10-3 lead. Amarillo had yet to record an out during the inning. Tanner Schobel did flew into a double play. However, Gray scored their 11th run on the play. Amarillo drew closer in the bottom of the seventh inning with two runs. Ivan Melendez homered for Amarillo in the eighth inning to make it an 11-6 game, but Will Holland answered with a solo blast in the ninth. Wichita stayed out in front and their commanding lead was enough. Rucker recorded three hits in the game. Keirsey Jr., Severino, Fajardo, Gray, and Banuelos each added two hits. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Peoria 6 Box Score Christian MacLeod drew the start on Sunday for Cedar Rapids and went 5 2/3 innings. He allowed just one run on four hits and a pair of walks. MacLeod struck out five and his ERA dropped to 3.22 on the year. After allowing Peoria to take a lead during the third inning, the Kernels answered and jumped ahead in the fourth inning. Jorel Ortega singled to center scoring both Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kala’i Rosario. In the sixth inning, Noah Cardenas doubled for the 16th time this season, plating Rodriguez to make it a 3-1 game. Noah Miller drove in Andrew Cossetti on a seventh-inning double play. After giving up the lead, the Kernels found themselves down 6-4 heading to the bottom of the ninth. Cedar Rapids mounted a comeback. Cossetti scored when Rosario was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Still down a run, Ben Ross singled to drive in Willie Joe Garry, Jr., and Emmanuel Rodriguez for another walk off win. Cardenas was 3-for-3 on the day to lead the Kernels offense. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 11, Bradenton 7 Box Score Samuel Perez started on Sunday for the Mighty Mussels and went three innings. He allowed two runs on three hits (including a home run). He struck out three batters. During the first inning, Perez served up a two-run blast putting Fort Myers behind. Maddux Houghton singled to score Gregory Duran in the second inning and put the Mighty Mussels on the board. Entering the eighth inning down 7-1, Fort Myers was sick of playing from behind and responded in a big way. Rubel Cespedes blasted a solo shot for his ninth homer on the year. Dillon Tatum drove home Duran. Trailing by four entering the top of the ninth inning, Fort Myers exploded for eight runs. Carson McCusker doubled to drive in Danny De Andrade before a dropped third strike to Rafael Cruz allowed McCusker to scamper home. Tatum took a bases-loaded walk, bringing home Kamron Willman, and Houghton singled in Duran and Alec Sayre to give the team a lead. Ricardo Olivar crushed his eighth home run of the season, a three-run shot that gave the Mighty Mussels up 11-7. Jackson Hicks worked two scoreless innings of relief and punched out three batters. He gave up no hits or walks. He recorded his fourth win of the season. Houghton had three hits while Olivar, De Andrade, and Cespedes each had a pair. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Randy Dobnak (St. Paul) - 4.0 IP, 4 H, R, ER, BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Maddux Houghton (Fort Myers) - 3-5, R, 3 RBI PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, 3 R, 2 BB, K #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 2-2, R, 2B, BB #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-4, 2 K #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 1-4, RBI, BB, K #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, R, RBI, BB, 2B, 2 K #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-4, R, RBI, BB, 2 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - TBD Frisco @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40PM CST) - TBD Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (5:00PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games! 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xThe Minnesota Twins and two of their minor league affiliates rallied from behind to capture dramatic victories Sunday. The Twins erased a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the ninth before pulling out a victory over the White Sox in the 12th inning thanks to a Ryan Jeffers walk-off single. The Kernels trailed 6-4 in the bottom of the ninth but won on a Ben Ross walk-off hit. The Mighty Mussels were down 7-1 in the eighth inning but scored 10 unanswered runs to win. Today's recap is a review of the entire weekend, so there's also some information on both Friday and Saturday's games. View full video

It's always a good day when multiple batters with three-hit games couldn't take home Hitter of the Day honors. Image courtesy of Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports (Image is of David Festa) TRANSACTIONS None Futures Game Buried somewhere deep beneath the streaming super highway, MLB’s yearly Futures Game played out, with the NL team handily beating the AL team 5-0. More important to us Twins fans: RHP David Festa pitched a scoreless inning with one hit and a strikeout of Milwaukee uber-prospect Jackson Chourio on three-straight sliders. He touched 97.6 MPH with his fastball. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 5, Iowa 2 Box Score Brent Headrick: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K HR: Anthony Prato (4), Chris Williams (16) Multi-hit games: None A breakout seventh inning led the Saints to victory on Saturday. It wasn’t working. No matter the start, and no matter the strategy, Simeon Woods Richardson couldn’t get anyone out. The top prospect entered the weekend with a 7.27 ERA on the year at AAA—and had peripherals unable to offer him any comfort. The Saints offered a solution: Brent Headrick would start the game—acquiring as many outs as he could—allowing Woods Richardson to enter facing a Cubs lineup tuned into a left-hander. It worked. Not only did Headrick crush his outing, Woods Richardson had one of his finest performances all year, punching out seven batters over five innings of work with a lone homer as his only blemish. This may be the blueprint needed for the talented youngster. The bats, while not overwhelming, were well-coordinated, leading to five runs off of six hits—more than enough to best the Cubs. Austin Martin plated the first run with a double into the right-center gap, marking St. Paul’s only score until the third act. Patience begat rewards, with an Anthony Prato moonshot finally breaking the stalemate. And fruit continued to bear, turning a 3-1 advantage into a 5-1 lead after Chris Williams cracked a homer out to the right-center power alley. The Cubs played feisty to end the game, scoring a second time to bring the game within three. With two runners on, Josh Winder snapped off a high curve—thought too high by the home plate ump. Williams, the catcher, disagreed. He quickly called for a challenge, and the robots agreed with his assessment, ending the game on a call overturned. Of course, one could opine about the minors having a better strike/ball system than MLB, but that’s better saved for later. The best Cubs prospect in Saturday’s game was Chase Strumpf. Ranked 23rd in the system by MLB.com, Strumpf struck out three times and committed an error. (Strumpf was the shortstop at JSerra High School which is why Royce Lewis played third base his first three years of varsity baseball.) Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 4, Tulsa 3 Box Score Travis Adams: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: Seth Gray (5), Aaron Sabato (5), Alerick Soularie (6) Multi-hit games: DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (3-for-5, 2B) The Wind Surge came back late to win on Saturday. Travis Adams was fine—maybe not great—over his five innings of work, allowing three runs against a surprisingly disappointing Drillers lineup. The 23-year-old started the season poorly, but now has back-to-back five inning starts with one and three runs allowed respectively. His bullpen had his back as well, as Regi Grace and Alex Scherff combined to toss four scoreless frames, carrying Wichita to the finish line as their bats came alive to win it. First it was Seth Gray—sudden and violent—blasting a ball over the centerfield wall to start the scoring, then Aaron Sabato shot one the other way to tie the game at two; Alerick Soularie’s skyscraper gave Wichita the lead for good. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. collected three hits and stole his 28th base of the season. The Drillers are led by Diego Cartaya, the Dodgers next big catcher in their efficient development system. He singled and walked in four trips to the plate. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 8 Box Score Cory Lewis: 3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K HR: Tanner Schobel (14), Noah Miller (3) Multi-hit games: Ben Ross (3-for-4, 2B, 3 R), Noah Miller (2-for-4, HR, R, 4 RBI), Noah Cardenas (2-for-5) The Kernels scored four in the 1st, but couldn’t hold on in a thriller. It was an ambush. Tanner Schobel blasted a fastball 420 feet away into centerfield, surging ahead to first place on the Midwest League homer leaderboard. A few batters later, Noah Miller became the one jogging safely around the bases—and his homer plated three runners, leading to a commanding 4-0 advantage. Unfortunately, Cory Lewis wasn’t sharp. The typically tough righty mis-fired and battled, leading to an inflated pitch count as the River Bandits spit on obvious balls and waited out hittable strikes. He was out after three. Malik Barrington held down the fort for two frames, handing the game off to Alejandro Hidalgo. His Mr. Hyde appeared. A laborious sixth shifted favor towards the River Bandits; a two-run seventh ended the game for good. While Cedar Rapids scored twice after their initial outburst, their bats couldn’t break through to save their lost lead, and the Kernels ended up falling with a bases-loaded groundout in the 9th. Gavin Cross—Kansas City’s best prospect—singled once and plated two runs. Mussel Matters Wet playing conditions ended this game before it began, and the Mussels will play a double-header on Sunday. Complex Chronicles The FCL Twins did not play on Saturday. Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 10, DSL Rockies 11 (10 Innings) Box Score Miguel Cordero: 3 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K HR: Carlos Silva (1) Multi-hit games: Dameury Pena (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI), Moises Lopez (3-for-4, 2B, 3B, R, 4 RBI), Carlos Silva (2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI) The DSL Twins lost a classic, sloppy DSL game on Saturday. These things happen when your starting pitcher is 16-years-old (born in 2006; hope that doesn’t ruin your Sunday). Miguel Cordero peppered the plate, making judicial use of his allotted targets to fire off four walks and five runs allowed. In his defense, his defense failed him for a few of those runs. Also in his defense, he’s two years away from being legally allowed to vote. The DSL Twins offense was prolific, plating 10 runs off of eight hits and seven walks, leaving just five men on base. Dameury Pena, Moises Lopez, and Carlos Silva (not that one) were your stars: the trio combined for seven knocks—with four going for extra-bases. Lopez served as a complex hero, though, as he drove in four runs and gave a few back with a pair of errors. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Carlos Silva PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5 #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 2-4, 2B, R #7 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K #8 - David Festa (Wichita) - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (Futures Game) #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-5, RBI #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-5, 2B, RBI, K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, K #15 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (1:08 PM) - RHP Louie Varland Wichita @ Tulsa (1:05 PM) - LHP Aaron Rozek Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) - LHP Christian MacLeod Fort Myers @ Tampa (10:00 AM) - RHP Jose Olivares Fort Myers @ Tampa (30 minutes later) View full article

David Festa was in a final prep start before heading to Seattle for the Futures Game, Austin Martin was again in the lineup for St. Paul. With teams playing on The Sandlot's greatest night, there was plenty of excitement to be had throughout the system. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Pierson Ohl) TRANSACTIONS OF Carlos Aguiar reinstated from IL by Fort Myers OF Francis Florentino played on 7 day IL (left thumb UCL tear) by Fort Myers SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 3, St. Paul 2 Box Score It was Dobber Day for the Saints with Randy Dobnak toeing the rubber. He threw four innings allowing three runs on four hits and a pair of walks. He did strike out three batters in the contest, however. After Cubs prospect Matt Mervis kicked off the scoring with a double in the first inning, Gilberto Celestino launched his second dinger of the season to tie things in the second inning. Edwin Rios then tagged Dobnak for a two-run shot in the fourth inning to give Iowa the lead and end the St. Paul starters day. Patrick Murphy saw the bases loaded against him during the bottom of the eighth inning but got a strikeout to end the frame. Needing a rally, the Saints came up in the ninth. Caleb Kilian was out for his fifth inning of work, and he had yet to allow a run for Iowa. He got Martin on an excuse-me swing, and St. Paul had just two outs left. Matt Wallner was out on strikes for the third time, and it was down to Trevor Larnach. He blasted a dinger to right field on a big fly, going 446 feet, that made it a 3-2 game, and Celestino needed to play hero. After taking a walk, Chris Williams stepped in. He punched out against Jeremiah Estrada and their would be no spoiler fireworks. Celestino walked twice while Wallner whiffed three times, but no St. Paul hitter recorded a multi-hit game. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Tulsa 4 (F/11) Box Score David Festa was somewhat of an opener this evening as he was limited to just two innings with sights set on working during the Futures Game on Saturday in Seattle. He allowed a run on two hits and two walks, but did strike out three. Pierson Ohl came on in relief of Festa, and the starter stole the show out of the bullpen. Working four scoreless innings, he gave up just two hits while punching out seven. Aaron Sabato kicked off the scoring in the first inning when his single drove home Yoyner Fajardo. Though the Wind Surge gave the run back on a wild pitch in the bottom half, they added again just innings later. In the top of the third inning Fajardo lifted a sacrifice fly to score Will Holland, then an Alex Isola singled brought home Brooks Lee to make it a 3-1 game. The game appeared in hand as Regi Grace came on for the eighth inning, and he has been sharp all season. Unfortunately a two-run homer by Jose Ramos tied things up. Needing extras to sort this one out, Fajardo singled in Holland during the tenth inning to take a 4-3 lead. Curtis Taylor came on in the bottom half and allowed a run to tie things up. Still on for the 11th, Eddys Leonard singled bringing in Imanol Vargas and Wichita found themselves walked off in the 11th. Fajardo posted a three-hit night with Lee grabbing two of his own to lead the charge. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 1 Box Score The Kernels gave Zebby Matthews the Independence Day baseball and he provided them with 5 2/3 innings of one-run baseball. Allowing three hits, he walked one while also striking out five. Ben Ross opened the scoring during the bottom half of the first inning with his 15th double of the season. Emmanuel Rodriguez scored with the ball being hit to River Town, a person not a place. Noah Cardenas added another pair of runs on his second home run with the Kernels, also scoring Misael Urbina on the play. After the River Bandits, a team not a person, added in the sixth inning, Ross ripped his 13th home run of the year in the eighth inning to make it a 4-1 game. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Jupiter 4 Box Score Fort Myers looked for fireworks behind Andrew Morris today and while he allowed three runs, none of them were earned. The Texas Tech product gave up four hits, allowed no walks, and struck out five. Kyle Schmidt’s first inning single brought home Ricardo Olivar to kick off the scoring. After Jupiter raced out to a 3-1 lead in the bottom half, the Might Mussels had work to do. The third inning is where the answer came for Fort Myers as they put up a four-spot. Carson McCusker hit his second home run of the season, bringing home Rubel Cespedes in the process. Maddux Houghton then crushed his third double of the year to score both Schmidt and Gregory Duran. Looking to stretch things to third base, Houghton was thrown out and the inning ended with things knotted up. In the eighth inning Chase Luttrell doubled for the 15th time this year, and it was enough to bring Houghton home for the game-winning run. Cespedes was the lone Fort Myers player to record a pair of hits with the team grabbing just seven on the day. Olivar drew a pair of walks. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Braves 4, FCL Twins 3 Box Score The Twins used an opener today in the form of Josh Mitchell , the lefty making his second rehab appearance since his second Tommy John surgery, but Jacob Wosinski worked five innings of bulk relief allowing only one run on two hits. He struck out four and the lone run was a solo shot. Down 1-0 heading to the seventh, the Twins got their first run when Fredy Michel scored on a wild pitch. Needing to come back from a 4-1 deficit in the ninth inning, the Twins scored two on singles from Harold Grant and Yasser Mercedes. The rally fell just short however, and Jankel Ortiz was the lone hitter to record a pair of hits today. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Pierson Ohl (Wichita) - 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Day – Ben Ross (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B(15), HR(13), K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-5, R #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, R, K #8 - David Festa (Wichita) - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-4, 3 K #10 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL) - 1-5, RBI #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-4, 2B #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3 #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, BB, K #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) - 0-4, BB, K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 0-1 WEDNEDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (6:38PM CST) - RHP Aaron Sanchez Wichita @ Tulsa (6:35PM CST) - RHP Carlos Luna Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Jaylen Nowlin Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30PM CST) - RHP Ben Ethridge Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

The Twins won. The Saints offense continues to dominate. CJ Culpepper and Jack Noble made their first starts for new teams. Three-hit games. Extra-inning homers. Quality Starts. Another strong day in the Twins minor leagues. Proceed. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Yunior Severino) and Steve Buhr, Twins Daily (photo of Ben Ross) First things first... a quick shout out to the social media teams of the St. Paul Saints and Wichita Wind Surge. They do a great job of posting video tweets of highlights from their teams shortly after they happen. They allow those who don't have MILB dot TV to see video of the prospects. And, we definitely like to share those tweets here. So, Thank You Saints and Surge Social Media teams!! The Twins got an incredible start from Bailey Ober and a home run from Joey Gallo and picked up their second straight win in Baltimore. A quick look at the Twins bullpen shows that they have decided that relying on their pitching development and pipeline for outs late in games is what they need to do. On Saturday, it was Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran, two home-grown arms, that maintained Ober's shutout. They stood by Jovani Moran, a seventh-round pick in 2015 from Puerto Rico, this spring. And they have started using Jordan Balazovic in some big moments. Brent Headrick has been used in long relief. Cole Sands is on as rehab assignment. And Josh Winder has had a couple of solid outings since he has been back. Here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Saturday. St. Paul Saints: 47-31 Wichita Wind Surge: 32-40 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 45-28 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 37-36 FCL Twins: 10-10 DSL Twins: 6-14 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS LHP Josh Mitchell began his rehab assignment with the FCL Twins on Saturday. Since the Twins selected him in the minor-league Rule 5 draft in December 2020, he has needed to have Tommy John surgery twice. The southpaw was touching triple digits at times when healthy, so we certainly wish him the best in his return. RHP Miguelangel Boadas was activated from the Injured List for Fort Myers. In less than encouraging news, Royce Lewis had to leave Saturday’s Twins game with an oblique strain. The team announced immediately after the game that he would need to be placed on the Injured List. While nothing has been announced officially, Jose Miranda was removed from the Saints lineup on Saturday and presumably will join the Twins in Baltimore on Sunday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Gwinnett 6 Box Score When the Saints scored their fourth run of the sixth inning, they reached double digits in runs scored for the fourth consecutive game. Dallas Keuchel made his second Saints start, his first at CHS Field. A quick look at his line score shows that he threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked four and struck out three batters. He needed 25 pitches to get through the first inning and 23 pitches in the second inning. He was just a handful of pitches shy of the number he threw in his first Saints start. He had a quick third inning and finished the fourth inning with 75 pitches. He had a walk and then a strikeout in his 86th pitch of the day, and Toby Gardenhire came to take him out. More on Dallas Keuchel: The 35-year-old whose wife is on Seasons 2, 3 and 4 of Succession threw 32 sinkers and topped out at 88.0 mph. His average sinker was 86.9 mph. He threw 24 cutters. He hit 85.2 mph and averaged 84.0 mph on average. He threw 23 changeups, the fastest was at 80.9 mph and averaged 78.9 mph. He also threw seven sliders. In total, he got 33 swings and eight whiffs (24%). And just three balls were hit hard, each on the ground. Lefty Michael Boyle came on and got the final two outs of the fifth frame. Then Cole Sands came in and struck out five batters over two scoreless innings in his rehab outing. Connor Sadzeck came into a 10-0 game in the eighth inning. He gave up four runs on four hits (including two homers) and a walk. Kody Funderburk came on to get a strikeout to end the inning. He went out for the ninth and made it interesting. He gave up two runs on one hit and two walks. But, he was able to finish the game, with some help from the umpires. Now, let’s talk Hitters. The Saints got on the board with a Chris Williams sacrifice fly that scored Trevor Larnach. In the fifth frame, Anthony Prato and Elliot Soto hit back to back homers. Kyle Garlick and Larnach had back-to-back singles before Jair Camargo drove in the inning’s third run with a ground rule double. Chris Williams followed with a double of his own to drive in two more runs and give the Saints a 6-0 lead. The following inning, Gilberto Celestino singled in Prato. It was followed by a Garlick single that scored Soto. Finally, Larnach doubled high off the right-center field wall to score two more runs and put the Saints in double digits. Kyle Garlick went 3-for-5 with his sixth double. He made a rare start at first base. Trevor Larnach was also 3-for-5 with his fifth double and two RBI. Jair Camargo, on his 24th birthday, went 2-for-5 with his eighth and ninth doubles. Matt Wallner went 2-for-5. Elliot Soto went 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season. Anthony Prato went 2-for-3 with a walk, and his third homer with the Saints. Prato has been an incredible story this year. Finally healthy, he had a breakout in 2022 between Cedar Rapids and Wichita. He began the 2023 season with the Wind Surge and in 43 games, he hit .171 with five extra base hits and an OPS of .553. In fact, when he was promoted to the Saints, he was on an 0-for-22 stretch. In 17 games with the Saints, he has hit .362/.493/.638 (.1.131) with seven doubles, three homers, and 13 walks to just 11 strikeouts. He is also 5-for-5 in steal attempts. Finally, check out the center field defense from Gilberto Celestino. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 6, NW Arkansas 4 Box Score The Wind Surge fell behind 3-1 early, but a three-run fourth inning and two more runs in the fifth frame were enough to win their fourth straight game. Wichita got a little help throughout their lineup. The first eight batters in the lineup each had one hit. Yunior Severino got the scoring started in this game when he hit his 16th homer of the season in the bottom of the first inning. In the bottom of the fourth, Seth Gray walked with the bases loaded to score Aaron Sabato. Then Brooks Lee singled to score Jake Rucker and Alerick Soularie to give the Surge a 4-3 lead. An inning later, Aaron Sabato hit a two-run homer to push the lead to 6-3. Sabato’s home run was his fourth of the season. David Banuelos hit his third double, and Seth Gray drilled his second triple of the season. Jose Bravo made the start. He gave up three runs on four hits (two homers) over five innings. He struck out three and issued no walks. After Bravo gave up a leadoff single in the sixth, lefty Denny Bentley came on and gave up a single before getting two outs, one on a strikeout before Regi Grace came on with two runners on base. Grace got the final out with no further damage. In the seventh inning, Regi Grace struck out the side. In the eighth inning, he gave up a double, followed by a single. However, Grace picked the runner off at first and then struck out the next two batters to end the inning. Francis Peguero came on for the ninth inning. He gave up a leadoff single, but then got the next three batters out to record his first save. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 2 Box Score This game was certainly a pitcher’s duel. The Kernels scored one run in the first inning, and Peoria scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to send it to extra innings. As they continue to do, the Kernels found another way to win a ballgame. Ben Ross hit his 13th double of the season in the bottom of the first inning to score Tanner Schobel. Then he came to the plate to lead off the top of the 10th inning with Kala’i Rosario acting as the Manfred Man on second base. Ross drilled his 12th home run to drive in two runs. He went 2-for-5 in the game, but those two hits and six total bases and three runs batted in were pretty large. C.J. Culpepper made his first Midwest League start and was fantastic. The right-hander worked the first six innings. He gave up no runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out two batters. Mike Paredes came on and worked the final four innings. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits over four innings. He struck out four batters and didn’t issue a walk to improve to 4-1 on the season. It’s not that the Kernels offense didn’t show up. They had 11 hits and walked seven times in the game. Unfortunately, they went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. Andrew Cossetti went 3-for-5. Noah Miller went 2-for-4 with a walk. Tanner Schobel went 1-for-3 with two walks. Emmanuel Rodriguez went 0-for-1, but he walked four times as well. In addition to the walks, Rodriguez had a nice day in center field. With runners on first and third and nobody out in the bottom of the fifth, Jeremy Rivas hit a fly ball to center. Rodriguez made the catch and threw a strike to Cossetti to nail the runner at home. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Lakeland 6 Box Score The game started almost two hours late, but it was a good game after all. Down 6-0 during the seventh-inning stretch, the Mussels mounted a comeback but fell just short to take the loss. Jack Noble made his first start for Ft. Myers. In five innings, he gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits, two hit batters, and two walks. He had one strikeout. Danny Moreno came in and allowed an inherited runner to score and three runs of his own over the next two innings. Jackson Hicks walked two and struck out three over two hitless, scoreless innings. The Mussels had five hits in the game and walked five times. In fact, when they scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, they got a sacrifice fly before two runners scored on wild pitches. In the eighth, Francis Florentino singled in Danny De Andrade for the fourth run, but that was it for the game. With some recent injuries, the Twins have had to fill the Ft. Myers roster with some players from the independent leagues. Florentino went 1-for-3 in this game. He signed last week from the United Shores Professional Baseball League. Kamron Willman played second base. He’s already had a walkoff hit for the team. He signed out of the Pioneer League. And Carson McCusker , a former Brewers draft pick, signed this week from the Frontier League. He made his debut in the organization and was hitting fourth in this game. He went 1-for-4. The Twins are scouting players all over the country and beyond. Austin Martin led off and played left field. He went 0-for-5 in this contest. Kyle Schmidt went 2-for-4, and Rubel Cespedes walked twice. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 4, Red Sox 7 Box Score After playing two games on Friday at JetBlue, the Twins and Red Sox played their Saturday game on Bill Smith Field in the CenturyLink Sports Fields. John Klein started and gave up four runs on seven hits (including two homers) and two walks in 3 2/3 innings. Jeferson Lopez stranded two runners in the fourth, but then gave up three runs on two hits (including one homer) and two walks in the fifth inning. Josh Mitchell came on for his first rehab appearance. He gave up a hit but struck out two batters in a scoreless sixth inning. Pierce Banks struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning. Down 7-0 going into the final half inning (bottom of the seventh), catcher Daniel Pena ripped a grand slam. It was his third homer of the season. It was his second hit of the game. Andres Centeno walked twice. Bryan Acuna went 1-for-2 with a walk. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 3, DSL Angels 13 Box Score The Twins scored their three runs over the first three innings, and then it was all Angels who broke things open with a seven-run seventh inning. Yency De Jesus started and gave up four runs on six hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters. Jose Ojo got four outs without allowing a run. Jose Vasquez gave up eight runs on five hits and four walks over just 1 2/3 innings. He also hit two batters, had two balks, and threw a wild pitch. Jose Betancourt came on and worked the final 2 1/3 innings. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk. The Twins had nine hits and four walks, but they went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 stranded. Carlos Silva had a single and a walk. The Twins had four walks, one each from Denyerbe Gervis, Dameury Pena, Moises Lopez, and Junior Del Valle. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitters of the Day – Ben Ross (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, 2B(13), HR(12), R, 3 RBI Pitcher of the Day – CJ Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 71 pitches, 43 strikes (60.6%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. (Note - our next prospect rankings update will come after the draft.) #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-5, 2-RBI, K. #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 0-for-2, K (left game, oblique injury, will be ILd) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-1, 4 BB, K, 2 OF Assists. #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, K #11 - Austin Martin (Rehab Ft. Myers) - 0-for-5, K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, K, CS(8) #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, BB #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-for-3, BB, K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, HR(16), R, RBI, 2 K. SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Gwinnett @ St. Paul (2:07 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-5, 7.47 ERA) NW Arkansas @ Wichita (1:05 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (2-6, 6.17 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (3-0, 0.60 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (5:00 PM CST) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-2, 4.38 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

Well, they can't all be winners. TRANSACTIONS OF Kyle Garlick recalled by Minnesota. Joey Gallo went on the Injured List. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 8, Buffalo 3 Box Score Simeon Woods Richardson: 4 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K HR: Trevor Larnach (3) Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI) The Saints won easily on Saturday. You don’t see too many eight-run outbursts fueled by only one multi-hit effort; that was just the kind of democratic, balanced offensive attack the Saints elected to employ; every batter reached base except for Andrew Stevenson, the lead-off man. The innings of note were the 5th and 8th when Edouard Julien emptied the bases with a wind-aided double, and Alex De Gotti and Trevor Larnach slugged their way to three bonus runs. Simeon Woods Richardson was off again. The 22-year-old couldn’t figure out his mechanics, frantically spraying balls around the plate to the tune of five walks—the most free passes he’s handed out in one game since joining the Twins. We all hope Woods Richardson’s turned corner appears soon, but tonight was not it. The Saints’ bullpen was nails, though, working 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball to bring the game to a quiet close. Oliver Ortega struck out four, Patrick Murphy earned six clean outs, and Josh Winder wrapped business up with a relatively boring 9th frame. Both Ortega and Murphy have ERAs under 2.00 on the season. Technically old friend Luke Bard allowed five hits and three earned runs out of Buffalo’s bullpen. The Bisons’ best prospect, Hayden Juenger—ranked 10th in the system by MLB.com—pitched an excellent inning of work, punching out two in a scoreless frame. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 1, Tulsa 8 Box Score Chad Donato: 5 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, K HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Wind Surge fell down early and never recovered against Tulsa on Saturday. It’s never ideal to spot the other team five runs in the first; it’s even less ideal to do so against the pitching force known as Emmet Sheehan. The next man in the Dodgers’ Great Pitching Machine, Sheehan entered the day third in all of MiLB in strikeouts, aided by a carrying fastball that seems to elevate into eternity, always slipping above hitters’ bats. Sheehan and the rest of Tulsa’s pitching staff turned Wichita’s bats dull. All the Wind Surge could offer was three singles and just as many walks; amazingly, they strung two of those knocks together in the sixth to plate their first—and only—run of the night. Brooks Lee was the RBI earner. Chad Donato suffered no such fortune. His evening began single, single, walk, grand slam, effectively ending any chance he had at a normal start before an out could even be had. Eddys Leonard followed up with a solo homer to drown Donato’s wound in sodium. Curtis Taylor—an arm signed a month ago by the Twins—was the only pitcher to escape with an unperturbed ERA; he tossed a pair of scoreless innings with two strikeouts. The Drillers are loaded with prospect talent, and the current king of the system, catcher Diego Cartaya, singled once in five trips to the plate. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 6, Lansing 3 Box Score Christian MacLeod: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K HR: Kala’i Rosario (8), Ben Ross (7) Multi-hit games: Tanner Schobel (4-for-5, R, 3 RBI) Cedar Rapids came from behind to win on Saturday. It was an unusual offensive method utilized by the Kernels; the six runs appear flashy, but dissecting the lineup reveals the soul of scoring stemming from an absurd four-hit day by Tanner Schobel and homers from Kala’i Rosario and Ben Ross. Hardly an even approach, but it was an effective one. Speaking of effective—this one of the “-ly wild” variety—Christian MacLeod claims an atypical pitching line for the day. The lefty walked four batters, but Lansing could only swing cement when those batters reached base, allowing MacLeod to escape with a single earned run and nothing else. Regi Grace continued his tremendous start to the season with two scoreless frames and four punchouts. In more irregular baseball, Lugnuts outfielder Brayan Buelvas stole four bases on Saturday; he entered the day with just one in 45 games. It’s somewhat shocking that Noah Cardenas didn’t rip out his hair. Catcher Daniel Susac—Oakland’s 4th best prospect, according to MLB.com—earned three hits, including a double on Saturday. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 8, St. Lucie 10 Box Score Jose Olivares: 3 1/3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 5 K HR: Dylan Neuse (2) Multi-hit games: Rafael Cruz (2-for-5, 2 RBI), Dylan Neuse (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB), Alec Sayre (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB), Dillon Tatum (3-for-4, 2B, R, RBI) Fort Myers lost a high-scoring affair on Saturday. With 23 hits and 13 walks combined between the two teams, pitching was at a premium? Non-existent? Whichever you prefer, remember to say a quick prayer for any arm who had the unfortunate task of finding normality on the mound. Jose Olivares was one such casualty. The righty earned a pair of scoreless frames before unwinding in the third, allowing a trio of two-out runs to flip the lead. Fort Myers handed him a fresh advantage, but the fourth proved painful like the inning before it, and following an RBI knock to bring the game within one, Olivares mercifully exited the game. That only placed the pain of handling this match onto someone else. Samuel Perez was a phenomenal stopper, acquiring seven outs while somehow avoiding an earned run, but Ben Ethridge was caught with the ticking time bomb hitting 0:00; he allowed five runs to put the game out of reach. Fort Myers’ bats nearly saved their arms, though, as the back end of their lineup harassed Mets’ pitchers to the tune of eight hits from the 6-9 batters. Every hitter in the lineup reached base at least once. MLB.com sees shortstop Jett Williams as the Mets’ third-best prospect, and he played like it, walking three times and singling while scoring a trio of runs. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Christian MacLeod Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tanner Schobel PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-3, RBI, BB, 2 K #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1-4, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, BB, 2 K #4 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 K #7 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 4 ⅓ IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-3, 2B, 2 R, BB #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, R SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Buffalo (12:05 PM) - RHP Kenta Maeda (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Tulsa @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-1, 3.13 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (12:05 PM) - RHP Zebby Matthews (0-0, -.-- ERA) St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (11:00 AM) - LHP Wilker Reyes (1-0, 5.74 ERA) View full article

The Minnesota Twins lost 4-2 to Cleveland Saturday in another quite night for the lineup. Jorge Polanco even led off the game with a homer and the team could only muster one more run. Down in the minors, there are highlights of Matt Wallner, Edouard Julien, Trevor Larnach, Kala'i Rosario and Ben Ross featured. Rosario homered for the third-straight game for Cedar Rapids. View full video

The St. Paul Saints kicked off early action in grand style before the Cedar Rapids Kernels showed up and took everyone by storm. It was a runs-filled day on the farm for the Twins organization. Image courtesy of Steve Buhr (photo of Ben Ross) TRANSACTIONS 2B Edouard Julien optioned to St. Paul as Jorge Polanco was activated from the IL> INF Dalton Shuffield placed on 7-day IL by Fort Myers (wrist sprain) SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 11, Buffalo 5 Box Score The Saints apparently live by the wake and rake ideology as they put up double-digit runs during a morning game today in New York. Cody Laweryson worked as an opener putting up two scoreless innings before giving way to Jordan Balazovic. Balazovic gave up three runs on four hits across two innings, but he struck out five and walked none. Looking to answer the Bisons earlier trio, St. Paul put up a five-spot in the fifth inning. Jair Camargo lifted a sacrifice fly to score Chris Williams before Andrew Stevenson singled in Andrew Bechtold. With the recently-promoted Seth Gray in third and Alex De Goti at second, Matt Wallner continued his hot hitting and played them both on a scorching single. Buffalo tied things with a pair of runs in the sixth inning, but the Saints weren’t done marching in. Wallner blasted yet another home run, a solo shot, for his seventh of the year. In the ninth inning, Mark Contreras drew a bases-loaded walk to score De Goti before Williams hit a grand slam to make it an 11-5 game. After rehabbing Twins reliever Caleb Thielbar worked a scoreless seventh inning striking out two, Josh Winder slammed the door. Working two scoreless innings, he struck out a pair. Wallner and Williams both had big days with multiple hits. Bechtold joined that pair as well. WIND SURGE WISDOM Tulsa 5, Wichita 4 Box Score Aaron Rozek took the ball for the Wind Surge. It was a tough start as he managed just 2 2/3 innings before bowing out after allowing four runs on six hits. He struck out three while walking just two on the evening. Wichita got off to a quick start with DaShawn Keirsey Jr. doubling in Brooks Lee in the first inning. Alex Isola then ripped his eighth home run of the season to drive in a pair and make it 3-0 good guys. By the fourth inning, Tulsa had plated four and took the lead. It was necessary for the Wind Surge to answer. Anthony Prato did just that in the bottom half when he grabbed his second double of the season to bring home Keirsey Jr. yet again. Prato was thrown out at third trying to stretch it for a triple. The Drillers retook the lead in the fifth inning and that’s where the difference in this one came. Keirsey Jr. and Isola were the lone Wichita batters to record a pair of hits. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 24, Lansing 5 Box Score Pierson Ohl started on the mound for Cedar Rapids, but I’m pretty sure the Kernels could’ve started Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, you, or I, and still won this game. Ohl was fine working 4 2/3 innings while giving up three runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out three. None of that really mattered considering how the game went. CEDAR RAPIDS SCORED TWENTY-FOUR RUNS. Ben Ross singled in Tanner Schobel during the first inning to kick things off before Noah Cardenas used a sacrifice fly to plate Kala’i Rosario. Cardenas then singled in the third inning to bring home Rosario again and make it a 3-0 game. That’s where things began to get out of hand. A wild pitch allowed Ross to score before a Jose Salas single brought in Cardenas. Jeferson Morales then singled to drive in Salas and Schobel capped the inning off with a three-run blast, his fifth of the season, to make it 9-0. After the Lugnuts answered with a third inning run of their own, Cedar Rapids added on again in the fifth inning. Ross doubled home both Keoni Cavaco and Emmanuel Rodriguez before yet another Cardenas hit allowed Ross to cross the plate. Up 12-1 headed to the bottom of the fifth, Lansing answered with three to get within a pair of grand slams. Fortunately for Cedar Rapids, Rosario had one of his own up his sleeve and sent his sixth homer of the year deep to clear the bases. Now 16-4, it was a laugher. After a seventh-inning run from Lansing made it 16-5, the Kernels ignored the mercy rule in the ninth. Ross hit his fifth homer of the year before Schobel was hit with the bases loaded to score Salas. Rodriguez then blasted a grand slam for his sixth dinger of the year, and Ross homered for the second time in the inning to make it a 24-5 rout. The Kernels recorded 20 hits on the night with Schobel, Rodriguez, and Cardenas all grabbing three of their own. Ross had a four hit game while Rosario and Morales each added a pair. This one was nothing short of incredible. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, St. Lucie 1 Box Score With C.J. Culpepper on the mound for Fort Myers tonight, the Mighty Mussels appeared in good hands from the jump. He worked five hitless innings allowing three walks while striking out six. Rubel Cespedes kicked off the scoring with his fifth double of the season, a second inning hit that scored Mikey Perez. Alec Sayre then singled to drive in Cespedes and Fort Myers was off and running. Rafael Cruz lifted a sacrifice fly to score Danny De Andrade in the third inning and make it a 3-0 game. After St. Lucie answered with a run of their own in the sixth inning, Carlos Aguiar blasted his eight homer of the year in the seventh inning. The two-run shot also brought home Jorel Ortega and pushed it to the final 5-1 tally. Cespedes was the only Mighty Mussels batter to record a pair of hits tonight, but Aguiar grabbed two RBI on his own. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – C.J. Culpepper (Fort Myers) - 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Ben Ross (Cedar Rapids) - 4-6, 4 R, 6 RBI, 2B, 2 HR(6) PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-4, R #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR(2) #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 3-6, 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, HR(6) #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-5, R, 3 RBI, HR(7), 2 K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 0-4, 2 K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Buffalo (6:05PM CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak Tulsa @ Wichita (6:45PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya St. Lucie @ Fort Myers (3:30PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (GM 2 follow) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! View full article

In the meantime, enjoy some absolute blowouts on a fruitful evening for minor league baseball. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Zebby Matthews) TRANSACTIONS None Saints Sentinel St. Paul 14, Omaha 1 Box Score Randy Dobnak: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K HR: Andrew Stevenson (3), Royce Lewis (4) Multi-hit games: Andrew Stevenson (2-for-6, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI), Royce Lewis (2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB), Mark Contreras (3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI), Andrew Bechtold (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB), Hernán Pérez (3-for-5, 3B, R, 5 RBI), Jair Camargo (3-for-5, 2 R, RBI) It was destruction. Two-thirds of the lineup earning multi-hit honors says more than anything creative this writer could conjure. The Saints scored for breakfast, scored during lunch, and scored while consuming dinner, bludgeoning Omaha’s poor pitchers for 14 runs off 16 hits. It’s almost cruel. It’s almost impossible to pick a leader from the bunch, but Hernán Pérez and his five RBIs sticks out amongst the melee; any other selection would be just fine, though. The pitchers did their job as well. The walk monster crept up and swallowed Randy Dobnak whole again, coaxing four free passes from the righty, but he halted the damage, only allowing one earned run over his five innings of work. From there it was a combo bullpen effort, with Ronny Henriquez, Cody Laweryson, and Jose Bravo holding the Storm Chasers scoreless to end the game. Royce Lewis tormented a minor-league pitcher again, smacking the fourth homer of his rehab assignment with St. Paul. Mark Contreras added twin stolen bases to go with his three knocks on Saturday. Tyler Gentry was the Royals’ best prospect to have a close look at the chaos; he walked and took a hit by pitch. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 6, Springfield 3 (10 Innings) Box Score Travis Adams: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Brooks Lee (2-for-6, 2B, R), DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (3-for-5, 2 2B, R), Yunior Severino (2-for-5, R, RBI) An explosive 10th inning gave Wichita the victory on Saturday. It would probably be hard to find a player more relieved than Travis Adams. The 23-year-old suffered earned runs and a hurt ego to start the season, entering the game with an ERA north of 7.00 on the young season. He cut a full run off of it. Staring down a tough Springfield offense—one second in the Texas League in OPS—Adams held mayhem down, allowing a lone earned run over six impressive innings. The offense was there, too, but it took a little longer for this truth to become self-evident. Wichita struck for two runs in the 3rd, giving themselves a slim lead before nestling into a hibernation. Outs came easy; bats were chilled. It wasn’t until the bonus inning before the team made their second attack. But what an attack it was: four runners crossed home plate as Yoyner Fajardo and Will Holland both earned two-RBI knocks—Holland’s of the rare triple variety. Springfield plated their Manfred Man(n), but Hunter McMahon ensured the game ended there, striking out the final batter of the game. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. earned three hits in a game for the second time this month. Brooks Lee’s 14 doubles are good for first in the Texas League, tying him with Ryan Bliss for the honors. Wichita turned a season-high three double plays; they also committed a season-high three errors. In an atypical turn, the usually-stacked Cardinals could only offer their 22nd-ranked prospect—Mike Antico—as their finest selection for their AA squad; he singled twice and walked. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 7, Wisconsin 1 Box Score Alejandro Hidalgo: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K HR: Ben Ross (4) Multi-hit games: Ben Ross (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI), Noah Miller (2-for-4, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI) The Kernels smoked their opponents on Saturday. Alejandro Hidalgo—wild; often unable to command himself—found great success on the mound. While not perfectly efficient, the righty battled well, utilizing his dazzling changeup to great effect across four empty frames of work. He struck out four and walked two. In a season of extremes with walks, this was a positive step for the youngster. And the Kernels had his back early. A 1st-inning ambush established a pair of quick runs and subsequent scores in the 6th and 8th made the game a laugher. The twin poles of offensive stimulants came from Ben Ross and Noah Miller: the two batters earned five bases each, turning in clutch extra-base hits precisely when their team needed it. Miller’s effort was especially quenching, as he had not had a multi-extra-base-hit game all season. That essentially ended the game. Mike Paredes and John Stankiewicz protected the lead, carrying the team to the finish line with only a small one-run scratch marking the immense achievement for Cedar Rapids’ pitching staff. Wisconsin’s lead-off hitter, Eric Brown Jr., is the best prospect the team has to offer, and the second baseman was held hitless in five trips to the plate. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 2, Dunedin 7 Box Score Zebby Matthews: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K HR: Rafael Cruz (2) Multi-hit games: None Fort Myers’ bullpen soiled an opportunity to win on Saturday. Zebby Matthews was as expected. The Western Carolina product continued his tremendous dominance over Low-A hitters, out-witting Dunedin with each of his many offerings over five shutout innings before mercifully ending his reign on the mound. He touched 95.4 MPH and elicited 10 swings and misses. It’s been clear for nearly two months that Matthews is simply too good for his current level. Like their father team, Mighty Mussels’ relievers could not induce quiet outs against Blue Jays bats. Perhaps inspired by Matthews no longer eating them alive, Dunedin ran the kind of assembly line that would make Henry Ford proud—only their product was runs, not cars. The carnage ended with seven painful runs searing and ruining the ERAs of Johnathan Lavallee and A.J. Labas. Fort Myers’ tepid offense could offer no response. Outside of Rafael Cruz’s solo shot—a smoked 109.3 MPH missile—the Mighty Mussels could only muster an RBI walk in the 1st, totaling four hits over the 9-inning battle. DH Tucker Toman represented the best prospect on Dunedin’s squad; he singled and walked in four plate appearances. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Zebby Matthews Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Hernán Pérez (ft. Noah Miller and Ben Ross) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-for-6, 2B, R #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, 2R, 2 BB, K #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 3-for-5, HR, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, K #9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 4-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-for-5, R, RBI SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Omaha @ St. Paul (5:07 PM) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-5, 7.12 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (6:05 PM) - RHP Chad Donato (1-3, 9.90 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) - TBD Fort Myers @ Dunedin (11:00 AM) - TBD Fort Myers @ Dunedin (30 Minutes Later) - TBD View full article

The St. Paul Saints played a pair of contests today as they dealt with rain all weekend, and the rest of the organization split their decisions. Get caught up on the action within. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Nashville 3 (Game 1) Box Score Looking to play a doubleheader yesterday, the weather decided not to cooperate. Instead, the Saints were able to reschedule a twin bill today and Randy Dobnak was on the bump for game one. Dobnak worked a solid 5 1/3 innings allowing three runs on six hits while striking out four. Josh Winder took over for Dobnak in the 6th and allowed both the inherited runners to score before locking things down the rest of the way to earn the win after recently being optioned. Nashville scored first, but Kyle Farmer continued his strong rehab assignment as he returns from his hit by pitch. Having doubled twice yesterday, he launched a solo shot in the 1st inning today to knot things up. It would seem likely that he returns to the big league roster on Tuesday. Down 3-1 in the bottom of the 6th inning, Michael Helman stepped in and launched a three-run homer to put St. Paul in the lead 4-3. Farmer and Andrew Stevenson came in on the big fly. Helman’s dinger came of the brother of Twins pitcher Louie Varland, Gus Varland. Nashville 7, St. Paul 1 (Game 2) Box Score It was quick revenge for the Sounds as Aaron Sanchez recorded just two outs for the Saints in the second game. He allowed six runs on two hits. Four walks did him in as they came around on a pair of homers. Nashville led 6-0 before St. Paul took their first at bats. Leading off the game for the Saints, Edouard Julien hit his fourth home run of the year to put them on the board. Despite generating five hits on the afternoon, the one run was all they could muster. WIND SURGE WISDOM NW Arkansas 12, Wichita 3 Box Score David Festa took the mound today for Wichita and it wasn’t his best start of the season. Lasting 4 1/3 innings, NW Arkansas touched him up for six runs on eight hits and three walks. He did record five strikeouts on the afternoon. The Wind Surge jumped out to an early lead as they plated two in the 1st inning. Yunior Severino doubled to drive in Alex Isola before DaShawn Keirsey Jr. singled in Severino. They did give both runs back in the bottom half of the inning before Yoyner Fajardo tripled to score Will Holland in the top of the 2nd inning. Fajardo’s triple extended his hitting streak to eleven games. That was as far as Wichita would lead in this one however. Two runs in the 3rd inning were followed by three-spots in the 5th and 6th inning for NW Arkansas. The Naturals added two more in the 8th inning and the 12-3 tally stood as a final. Fajardo racked up a pair of hits as did Keirsey Jr. The six hits for Wichita checked in 13 behind the Naturals 19 for the game. Twins prospect Royce Lewis will begin a rehab assignment this week starting out at Wichita. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, South Bend 1 Box Score It was Kyle Jones on the mound today for Cedar Rapids, and he was very sharp for the afternoon. Working five innings of one-run ball, Jones allowed five hits and a single walk while striking out five. The bullpen then worked four scoreless innings while giving up just two hits to close it out. Scoring got underway in the 2nd inning when Misael Urbina grounded out but plated Kala’i Rosario in the process. Ben Ross then doubled in the 3rd inning to score Emmanuel Rodriguez and make it 2-0. After giving up a run back in the 3rd inning, the Kernels put the game away with a four-run 5th inning. Rosario walked with the bases loaded to score Rodriguez before Jose Salas singled in Ross. Urbina then took another bases loaded walk and brought in Noah Cardenas and Willie Joe Garry Jr. ended the inning on a sacrifice fly that allowed Rosario to score again. Cedar Rapids only had six hits for the game, and only Ross recorded a pair of hits, but the Kernels had great plate discipline taking nine walks. MUSSEL MATTERS Dunedin 8, Fort Myers 5 Box Score Tomas Cleto was on the bump today for the Mighty Mussels, and his day got started a bit late after a brief delay. Working 3 2/3 innings, Cleto gave up five hits that turned into three runs. Cleto punched out four while walking three. Ronny Henriquez did get two innings of work in relief, and the Twins prospect will move up to St. Paul shortly. After getting behind 4-0 through the top half of the 5th inning, Fort Myers began to answer. Danny De Andrade singled in Rubel Cespedes to put the Mighty Mussels on the board. It was De Andrade doing damage again in the 7th inning when he took a bases loaded walk to drive in Dalton Shuffield. Andrew Cossetti then followed his lead and walked to score Dylan Neuse and make it a one-run game. Dunedin doubled their tally in the 8th inning and made it an 8-3 contest. While Alec Sayre was able to drive in Ricardo Olivar on a single in the bottom half, that’s where this rally would end. Carlos Aguiar was the only hitter to record multiple hits in the game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Kyle Jones (Cedar Rapids) - 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day – Ben Ross (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, R, RBI, 2B, BB, K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-5 #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) -0-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 2-7, R, RBI, 2B, HR(4) K #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, RBI, K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, 3 K #17 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ Frisco (6:05PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30PM CST) - TBD Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games! View full article