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Ronny Henriquez has had his fair share of ups and downs in his Twins career. Acquired as part of the Mitch Garver deal, he’s gone from a starting pitching prospect to a relief prospect before injuries wiped him off the map. Henriquez may finally be righting the ship, and the Twins may be smart to see if they can hop aboard. The Twins perhaps waited too long to transition Henriquez to a full-time reliever. His body has been a red flag for his future as a starting pitcher, as his listed 5’10 height is considered extremely generous. He was making starts well into the 2022 season despite suffering from crippling home run issues. The Twins clearly liked what they saw when he finally landed in the bullpen, as they called him up for three appearances at the end of the season as a reliever. Henriquez began this season on the shelf after experiencing some elbow problems this spring. He didn’t make his first appearance until May, and the results as a whole have been less than impressive. In just under 40 innings, Henriquez’s 5.50 ERA looked earned when looking at his 18.8% strikeout rate compared to his 14.8% walk rate. He’s likely been off the Twins' radar when it comes to being a call-up, but things may finally be clicking. It’s an incredibly small sample, but a dominant one. Henriquez has a fastball that plays up in the mid-to-high 90s with an impressive changeup and usable slider. As a reliever, he should have all the tools he needs to contribute to an MLB bullpen. The walk issues he’s shown have never been seen before in his career, contributing to the theory that he may have just needed time to get his feel back after a worrisome injury and subsequent time off. It’s also the first season of his career where he’s been able to fully focus on the routine of being a reliever. Henriquez is already on the 40-man roster at the age of 23. The Twins have also been rostering multiple bulk relievers for several weeks now. As a former prospect of at least some pedigree, it’s likely Henriquez doesn’t need to show a ton more in Triple-A to find his way into the MLB bullpen mix. Considering their willingness to call him up in 2022, they’ve likely been waiting around for any signs that something has clicked. The Twins have plenty of options to cycle out in order to take a shot on Henriquez. First and foremost, they don’t need Josh Winder and Cole Sands in the same bullpen, as historically they’ve gone weeks without needing to use a bulk reliever, let alone two. Especially if Dallas Keuchel is no longer in the rotation, the need just isn’t there often enough. Jordan Balazovic also has regressed in unfortunate fashion. After filling more of a bulk relief role in Triple-A, he was thrust into more of a traditional relief role upon his debut. It’s possible more seasoning in Triple-A would benefit him if the Twins insist on having multiple long relievers on their MLB roster. Ronny Henriquez is clearly a pitcher the Twins saw something in at the end of 2022, and if he looks like he’s found his groove, it costs them little to see how it translates to the big league bullpen which is in need of someone to step up. Should Henriquez have to show he’s flipped the switch a bit longer? Should they call him up as soon as possible? Let us know below!

Box Score Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober, 5.0 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (93 pitches, 64 strikes, 68.8%) Home Runs: Carlos Correa (14), Joey Gallo (18) Bottom 3 WPA: Bailey Ober (-.330), Jordan Balazovic (-.159), Kyle Farmer (-.144) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Ober is off to a slow start With a 3.68 ERA (3rd best in baseball) and 13.2 fWAR (2nd best), the Twins rotation establish itself as one of the most dominant in baseball during the first half of the season. In the second half, however, the Twins’ rotation saw a significant decrease in productivity, with an ERA of 4.45 (ranked 15th in baseball). All but one of Minnesota’s starters have had at least one rough start since the All-Star break. That includes Bailey Ober, roughed up by the Kansas City Royals in his final start of July when he gave up six earned runs in four innings of work, by far his worst start. Ober had been so effective before that only after that start had his ERA gone above three for the first time this season. After an excellent bounce-back start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he wanted to remain on track with tonight’s start. But to begin this game, Ober could not prevent Detroit from scoring. Riley Greene drew a four-pitch walk against him in the first, then Matt Vierling singled to put two men on. After striking out Spencer Torkelson for the second out, Ober gave up a single to Kerry Carpenter, and a rare misplay by Max Kepler in right allowed both runners to score. Correa and Gallo homer, but Ober lets the lead slip away The Tigers’ early lead was short-lived, as the Twins rallied for three runs in the second. Carlos Correa jumped on the second pitch he saw for a solo home run to center, his 14th of the year. Coming into this game, C4 had a .969 OPS in his previous seven games, and he seems to be heating up at the plate. Tigers starter Alex Faedo managed to get two quick outs after that, but Minnesota did some two-out damage. Ryan Jeffers hit a long double to left, and Joey Gallo went yard for the first time since July 17 to give the Twins their first lead of the night. But that lead wouldn’t last, either. Detroit scored two more runs after collecting four hits in the bottom of the second and regained a one-run lead. Zach McKinstry and Eric Haase doubled and singled, respectively, and Greene and Vierling hit back-to-back two-out singles to score both runners. It would be the fourth time Ober has allowed four runs or more in a start this season – though one of them was unearned. Both pitchers settled in briefly, but Ober was in trouble again in the fifth. Torkelson blasted a leadoff home run to right. Now, Ober has given up at least a home run in his last five starts, which hadn’t happened since September 2021. Before the inning was over, Miguel Cabrera hit his second single of the night shortly before McKinstry hit a double to left to put two men in scoring position. Fortunately, Ober got the final out, stranding both runners and keeping this a two-run game. Twins get within one… but not for long Faedo departed the game in the fifth, and Minnesota’s offense became more productive. Matt Wallner got hit by a pitch against reliever Brendan White, and then he was waived around third to score a Willi Castro double to left center, putting the Twins again within a run. With great baserunning, the Twins were close to tying the game or even taking the lead: Castro stole third, and later on, after drawing a walk, Jordan Luplow stole second, putting two men in scoring position with two outs. Kyle Farmer fought hard during his at-bat but struck out after six pitches, ending the inning. Emilio Pagán, who came into tonight’s game posting a brilliant 1.26 ERA over his previous 15 outings, continued his redemption tour by pitching a scoreless 1-2-3 sixth on 14 pitches. He’s prevented opposing teams from scoring in 15 of his last 18 outings. But came the seventh inning, and Jordan Balazovic couldn’t keep the Tiger lineup on a leash. Torkelson smacked a leadoff home run off him to score Detroit’s sixth run. Balazovic went on to give up three singles, allowing Haase to push Jake Rogers across and make it 7-4 Detroit. Lefty reliever Tyler Holton dominated Minnesota’s lineup for two-plus innings: Twins batters went 0-for-7 with a walk against him. Still, the Twins had a slight chance of rallying back in the ninth if their deficit had remained three runs. However, Balazovic struggled again in the bottom of the eighth, and the game was out of reach. Vierling tripled and then scored on a wild pitch. Torkelson, who had drawn a walk right after Vierling’s triple, scored from second on a Carpenter single. The Twins put on a fight in the ninth and loaded them up against reliever Trey Wingenter. A.J. Hinch was forced to bring José Cisnero to get the final out. He gave up an RBI single to Kepler that scored the Twins’ fifth run, but he struck out Correa to end the threat. What’s Next? Both teams retake the field on Thursday (Aug 10) for the series' final game. First pitch is scheduled for 12:10 pm CDT, with Kenta Maeda (3-6, 4.22 ERA) trying to keep his hot streak alive and Reese Olson (1-5, 4.94 ERA) taking the mound for the Tigers. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Balazovic 26 0 0 0 39 65 Winder 0 0 0 42 0 42 Headrick 0 0 41 0 0 41 Pagán 0 18 0 0 14 32 Jax 0 27 0 0 0 27 Floro 0 20 0 0 0 20 Thielbar 0 17 0 0 0 17 Durán 0 0 0 0 0 0

It seemed disaster was around the corner when the Twins lost Brock Stewart to injury before the all-star break. The resurgent flame thrower had become the Twins fireman to complement Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran, and was arguably pitching better than either of them with Caleb Thielbar on the IL and Jorge Lopez not living up to expectations. The Twins were seemingly left with two reliable bullpen arms and a whole lot of questions. Emilio Pagan certainly deserves his praise, but Jordan Balazovic’s performance may be the most encouraging for the future of the Twins bullpen. Jordan Balazovic so far has posted a 2.93 ERA on the season. While his peripherals indicate regression is coming, his xERA is in the perfectly acceptable mid-3s. His FIP and xFIP are in the high 4s to mid 5s range, but they're being skewed quite a bit by his most recent outing where the Mariners put together two great at-bats, not chasing well-executed pitches to work walks before Dylan Moore ambushed Balazovic on a 95 mph fastball at the top of the zone. The stuff looked good despite the disappointing outcome. On Monday night, the Twins bullpen was depleted after having to use Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax on consecutive days. Balazovic was thrust into his first high-leverage opportunity. Facing the heart of the Mariners lineup, Balazovic stranded a runner at third base to preserve the lead. While Jax would allow a go-ahead homer in the ninth, Balazovic had himself set up for his first Major League hold. Despite it looking like Balazovic could be headed in the wrong direction by the numbers, it’s very possible he can stave off regression with some further adjusting. The Twins did Balazovic no favors when it comes to his MLB debut. He had spent his season in St. Paul as a long reliever before injuries forced him onto the Twins roster where he filled a single-inning role. It’s a completely different style of pitching, and now that he’s been fully transitioned to a one-inning relief role, it should be expected that he’ll adjust as he settles in. A big reason the underlying numbers aren’t big fans of Balazovic is the lack of strikeouts thus far. He hasn’t shown a lack of whiffs in the minors since 2017 and had struck out 31.1% of hitters in St. Paul this season before his call-up. It may take some playing around, but Balazovic should have the tools to collect punchouts at an acceptable rate. His mid-90s fastball paired with a slider that’s posted a 118 Stuff+ alone should collect more whiffs long-term, and he’s rarely used his changeup despite it posting a 37.5% whiff rate having only been thrown 17 times. For a starter-turned-long reliever-turned-traditional reliever all in the same season, things could be going worse for Jordan Balazovic, and he’s been a cog in a bullpen machine that could have easily misfired regularly while missing multiple important pieces. When some of the injured arms return or the Twins go out and acquire help at the deadline, Balazovic will be pushed back down into lower leverage. As long as the walks stay down, Balazovic has shown that he deserves a spot as at least a functional middle reliever, and given his prospect pedigree as a starter, it’s fair to imagine that there’s much more he has to offer over the next 6+ years of team control. With their backs against the wall, the Twins bullpen has held it’s own, and Jordan Balazovic has been a pleasantly surprising reason why. Can he parlay his fill-in performance into a bigger bullpen role in the next few years?

Box Score Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan, 3.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (95 pitches, 63 strikes, 66.3%) Home Runs: Christian Vázquez (3), Édouard Julien (10), Matt Wallner 2 (4) Bottom 3 WPA: Joe Ryan (-.305), Max Kepler (-.207), Jordan Balazovic (-.190) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Ryan gives up two homers, three runs early When Twins and Mariners met for the first time last week, All-Star centerfielder Julio Rodríguez didn’t cause Minnesota much trouble, going 1-for-10 with five strikeouts and only a walk to show for against Twins’ pitching. In this second encounter between the two teams, though, he has been a real thorn in the Twins’ side. After picking up three hits in the first two games of the series, including two home runs that powered the M’s comeback on Tuesday, he was at it again right out of the gate this afternoon. He got ahead on the count against Joe Ryan in the game’s first at-bat and ended up hitting a leadoff double after six pitches. Teoscar Hernández pushed Rodríguez across on a one-out bloop single giving Seattle their first lead of the day. The Twins’ offense struggled to get anything going against Mariners’ starter Bryce Miller to start this game, allowing Seattle to add on and increase their lead. Ryan quickly retired the first two batters he faced in the second, then was one strike away from retiring Dylan Moore, but the struggling shortstop took him deep for the second home run of the game. Back to the top of the Seattle order in the third, Rodríguez picked up where he left off and crushed a no-doubter to the second deck in left field, making it 3-0 Mariners. Ryan is in trouble again, but the offense hits three homers The bats finally got into the game during the third, and they also punished Miller with the long ball. Christian Vázquez jumped on the very first pitch of his at-bat to hit a one-out solo shot to center-left and put the Twins on the board. A couple of at-bats later, it was Édouard Julien’s turn to take Miller deep. Exactly like Vázquez, Eddy jumped on the first pitch he saw, hitting a line drive that cleared the left field track by a few feet. Suddenly, the Twins cut their deficit to only one run. But it simply wasn’t Ryan’s day, as Seattle batters seem to have him absolutely figured out. The Mariners swung on only 34% of his pitches outside the zone in this game, while Ryan has been getting hitters to swing at his outside pitches almost 40% of the time this season. With that, it didn’t take long for Seattle to get him in trouble again. Ryan loaded the bases before recording an out in the fourth inning, then gave up a single to Kolten Wong that scored the Mariners’ fourth run. Ryan managed to strike out the next two batters, but with his pitch count nearing a hundred, Rocco Baldelli decided to bring Jordan Balazovic into the game, making this Ryan’s second-shortest outing of the season. Balazovic got Hernández to fly out, avoiding any further damage. In the bottom of the inning, Matt Wallner hit his first home run of the afternoon, and once again, the Twins were within a run, trailing 4-3. Mariners explode to build a five-run lead, but the Twins answer back Balazovic remained in the game for the fifth, and with 14 pitches, he had retired two batters and allowed a walk. He failed to retire Cade Marlowe next, instead giving up an eight-pitch walk, which would cost him highly on the next at-bat. Moore, who before this game had homered only twice all year, hit his second home run of the day, a 429-feet bomb to left-center, making it 7-3 Mariners. Rodríguez led off the sixth inning with another double, this time against Josh Winder, and he scored on the next at-bat after Eugenio Suárez smashed a long single off the right-center field wall. Seattle had its biggest lead of the afternoon, heading into the bottom of the sixth. For many teams, an 8-3 deficit this late would be too much to overcome. But this Twins team simply refuses to quit as of late. Minnesota’s offense rallied for four runs in the sixth and cut the Mariners’ lead to only one run once again. Wallner kicked things off with his second solo home run of the game, a rare opposite-field monster shot by a lefty that landed in the second deck. Willi Castro flied out to put Miller within an out of finishing the inning, but Trevor Larnach doubled and scored next on a Kyle Farmer single to shallow center, making it 8-5 Mariners and immediately ending Miller’s day. Reliever Matt Brash took over, but he wasn’t able to stop the two-out bleeding. Joey Gallo hit a long fly ball to deep right, and Rodríguez couldn’t make the play, allowing Farmer to score and Gallo to reach second. Then, Vázquez, Minnesota’s seventh player to bat in the inning, joined the party and grounded to right to bring Gallo home and close the gap even more, cutting Seattle’s lead to 8-7. Winder preserves the one-run deficit, but the rally falls short Winder gave up two hits and a run in the sixth, but he did a fantastic job the rest of the way. He retired all the remaining batters faced (11 in a row) without allowing a single hit or walk while striking out four and throwing 75% strikes. But the offense went down in order in the seventh and stranded its only runner in the eighth. Minnesota would need their offense to step up once more to complete their rally in the bottom of the ninth. Things started off well, with Vázquez finding a gap in the middle for a leadoff groundball single. But reliever Andrés Muñoz managed to induce three groundball outs next, and the Mariners prevailed in the end. Postgame interview SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Balazovic 7 0 12 0 32 51 Jax 16 8 19 0 0 43 Durán 21 16 0 0 0 37 Winder 0 0 0 0 36 36 Pagán 0 11 0 19 0 30 J. López 0 9 12 0 0 21 Morán 0 0 5 14 0 19 Sands 0 0 0 0 0 0

At one point, the Twins had four pitchers in their bullpen who were essentially called up from St. Paul out of necessity. Brent Headrick was recently sent back upon Jorge Lopez’s return, and Josh Winder was replaced by Cole Sands who was activated from the IL. Three arms remain, and Thielbar and Brock Stewart are not quite on the verge of returning, there’s a short window for these guys to prove themselves. Jordan Balazovic Perhaps the likeliest candidate to find himself as a textbook reliever down the line, the Twins have already started the process of switching Balazovic to a traditional relief role It’s a bit disappointing, but this is the path many pitching prospects take. Balazovic was being used as a long reliever in St. Paul, and the hope is that his stuff plays up enough to legitimately help in the late innings rather than bouncing up and down to Triple-A after making bulk inning appearances. Balazovic’s stuff hasn’t shown through, as despite his sub 2.00 ERA, he’s not even struck out 15% of the hitters he’s faced. He has cut down on the walks significantly though, and his slider and changeup have drawn some whiffs. If he can harness the stuff that once made him a top starting pitching prospect, Balazovic could become a legitimate weapon in the bullpen down the stretch. Oliver Ortega Ortega was one of the Twins few waiver claims prior to the season and later passed through waivers and stuck around. Like Balazovic, the stuff hasn’t shown through in his brief MLB stint so far, but Ortega was dominant in St. Paul, pitching to a 2.22 ERA with an over 30% K rate. He has a curveball and slider that each draw a whiff rate of at least 36% to pair with a fastball that’s been around 95 but has been in the upper 90s in previous seasons. It’s easy to see why the Twins took a flier, as even at 26 years of age, Ortega has all of the tools to become a valuable MLB reliever. Cole Sands Most people think of the two inning, five walks performance from Sands on May 13, but he’s been great otherwise. Sands was working on a change in arm angle and has looked dominant at times. In St. Paul, he’s struck out nearly 35% of batters faced and struck out over a batter per inning in the MLB. The walks haven’t been an issue aside from the one outing and he’s avoided the homer-happy concerns that have popped up last year. Sands has leaned into a split finger this season to pair with his plus breaking ball and fastball that has ticked up near 94 mph now that he’s fully transitioned to the bullpen. He should in theory have a pitch mix to attack hitters from both sides of the plate, and given his success in Triple-A, it may just be time to see what Cole Sands can do to help the Twins at nearly 26 years of age. The Twins lack of proven bullpen depth hasn’t hurt them as of yet, and hopefully the offense and starting pitching can continue to soften the blow of the injuries they’ve suffered. While they wait for some of their proven relievers to return, it doesn’t have to be all negative. There’s a chance one of these arms could come out on the other end of this as a semi-established option in the late innings. Do you agree? Does anyone stand out above the rest? Let us know below!

Box Score Starting Pitcher: Kenta Maeda, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (82 pitches, 53 strikes, 64.6%) Home Runs: none Bottom 3 WPA: Kyle Farmer (-.109), Joey Gallo (-.103), Michael A. Taylor (-.098) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins came into this game looking to avoid their second sweep of the season and perhaps gain some momentum ahead of the Baltimore series. But that would be no simple task: the Braves, who currently have the best record in the National League, have kept the Twins' offense on a leash in the first two games of the series. This afternoon, they brought lefty Kolby Allard to the mound, and with the Twins having the third-worst OPS against lefties in all of baseball (.666), the task seemed even harder. If the Twins were to have a chance in this game, they would need to rely heavily on their pitching to keep them alive, and based on their starter’s track record against today’s opponents, their chances looked good (in theory). Making his sixth start of the season, the second since returning from the Injured List, Kenta Maeda was looking to have another solid start, similar to the one he had last Friday when he tossed five scoreless with eight strikeouts against the Tigers. Maeda had a 2.00 ERA against the Braves in his previous three starts against the Braves, his lowest ERA against any single opponent in his career. After the offense fell down in order with three strikeouts in the top of the first, Maeda was off to a strong start, but a defensive miscue in right field allowed the Braves to get on the board first. Joey Gallo dropped an apparently easy foul ball near the railing, allowing Ronald Acuña Jr. to work out a walk and later score on a Matt Olson two-out double. Without any sign of life from the Twins lineup, the Braves scored another run in the third, taking advantage of back-to-back singles given up by Maeda to open the inning, followed by an RBI sac-fly. Allard looked fantastic through four, allowing no runs, just two hits, and striking out six, having tossed only 51 pitches. But in the fifth, the Twins' offense put together its first real threat of the game. Alex Kirilloff hit a leadoff single and was followed by a Christian Vázquez walk, and for the first time in the game, the Twins had two men on with no outs. Allard fought back and retired the next two batters but was removed from the game despite having thrown only 71 total pitches. Kirby Yates took over and struck out Donovan Solano to end the inning. With that out, the Twins were 0-for-22 with runners in scoring position in this series. After giving up back-to-back hits in the third, Maeda went on to limit Braves hitters to 2-for-10 with a walk, completing five once again. This was the second time this season in which he’s tossed at least five innings in two consecutive starts, but only the first time he does so while also allowing two or fewer runs in each start since July 9, 2021. He did his part by keeping the Twins' chances alive, but the offense would need to step up if Minnesota was going to steal this game. Jovani Morán took over in the seventh and, like Maeda, kept Minnesota alive by tossing two scoreless frames next. Yates retired the side with ease in the sixth, but hopes went up when Willi Castro hit a leadoff single in the seventh. But after a couple of short-lived at-bats, Vázquez grounded into an inning-ending double play, and all hope was gone. The offense was a no-show again in the eighth, but Jordan Balazovic got two quick outs in the bottom of the inning, seemingly keeping the Twins’ chances alive too. But that didn’t last long: in the very next at-bat, he gave up a solo home run to Olson, making it 3-0 Atlanta. A three-run deficit isn’t an impossible one to overcome… if you’re not the current Twins offense. The bats went down in order in the top of the ninth against closer Raisel Iglesias. Postgame interview What’s Next? The Twins travel to Baltimore, where they’ll enjoy a day off on Thursday and start a three-game series against the Orioles on Friday (6/30). Taking the mound for Minnesota is Pablo López (3-5, 4.41 ERA), while the O’s turn to Dean Kremer (8-3, 4.50 ERA). The series opener’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 pm CDT. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Balazovic 6 18 0 0 18 42 Headrick 0 6 0 35 0 41 Pagán 30 0 8 0 0 38 Morán 0 0 0 0 36 36 Ortega 0 0 0 32 0 32 Winder 0 0 19 0 0 19 Jax 0 17 0 0 0 17 Durán 0 15 0 0 0 15

Typically, observing stats from one appearance is a bad idea—what with small samples and all that—but raw data does not require such patience, and we can parse through some of Jordan Balazovic’s Statcast information to understand his game better. Let’s not beat around the bush: here’s what caught my attention from his page. The most impressive pitch in Balazovic’s arsenal is his curveball. It’s a yakker, folks. The scouting reports were accurate. It doesn’t get too much extra vertical break; just 1.7 inches above average places him around Marco Gonzales and Lucas Sims—quality veteran arms who typically acquire outs through other means. What’s notable is his lack of horizontal movement; -5.7 inches of horizontal break places him amongst the top 20 of pitchers with vertical downers. You’d think the pitch may help neutralize platoons, but Balazovic has struggled with opposite-handed batters throughout his minor league career (although that could be for separate reasons). He’s death to righties at his peak, though. Here’s Javier Báez learning that Balazovic’s curve has an endless bottom to it: It appears that, if Balazovic is to stick at the major-league level, his curve will be the main contributor to his success. And that’s because his heater is nothing too special. He gets a little vertical movement on it, but not enough to stand out from the pitching quagmire around him; his outs in the minors have typically been from its location, not its pure bully factor. He does mirror his curveball’s movement perfectly, possibly allowing the offering to play above its raw characteristics—and the Twins have done well in developing vertical specialists in their pitching staff. That prior paragraph may sound like damning with faint praise, but having one average MLB selection and a second potentially plus pitch is enough for anyone to accrue outs these days, especially if they’re wise about usage. That’ll be crucial for Balazovic, as his slider doesn’t stand out too much. His changeup is interesting—owning almost no horizontal break, just like his curveball—so if he can command the pitch, he may have the three/two-and-a-half-ish pitch mix that turns him from tweener reliever to legitimate starter. And that’s the crucial aspect of talking about pitching: pitches are tools, but they’re only that, and it takes a Pitcher to separate themselves from the pack. The pitching industrial complex spits out a thousand arms scientifically built to miss bats and get outs; beating those hurlers requires something beyond just stuff, and whether Balazovic possesses that nebulous thing will soon be seen. At least he has a great curveball to help guide him.

The Twins drafted Jordan Balazovic in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of secondary school in Canada. Minnesota identified plenty of big-league talent in that draft, and Balazovic is the latest from that class to make his debut. Balazovic was seen as a projectable starter at the time of the draft because of his body type and pitch mix. Scouting high school players from cold weather climates can be challenging, but the Twins saw enough in Balazovic to sign him for $515,000. He spent his first two professional seasons pitching for the GCL Twins, making 18 appearances (72 1/3 innings). He posted a 3.61 ERA with a 1.36 WHIP and a 45-to-25 strikeout-to-walk ratio. During the 2016 season, he never faced a batter younger than himself, and he faced older batters in 80% of his plate appearances in 2017. While his numbers don’t stand out, he added strength to his frame to help him move up the organizational ladder. Balazovic got his first taste of full-season ball during the 2018 season when the Twins assigned him to Cedar Rapids, the organization’s Low-A affiliate at the time. He made 12 appearances (11 starts) and posted a 3.94 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP in 61 2/3 innings. His most significant improvement was in his strikeout rate. He posted a 5.6 K/9 in the rookie leagues, but that total jumped to 11.4 K/9 in his first season with the Kernels. He also continued to be young for the level, as he was 2.4 years younger than the average age of the competition in the Midwest League. In the 2019 season, Balazovic put himself on the prospect map, including being named the Twins’ representative in the Futures Game. He began the year in Cedar Rapids and dominated hitters by limiting them to five earned runs in 20 2/3 innings with 14.4 K/9. He continued his strong pitching performance after being promoted to High-A. In Fort Myers, he posted a 2.84 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP and 11.8 K/9 in 73 innings. Following the season, Baseball America and MLB Pipeline included him in the backend of their top-100 prospect lists. After the pandemic, the Twins added Balazovic to the 40-man roster and sent him to Double-A. His start to the 2021 season was delayed until June because of a back issue. Across 20 starts (97 innings), he combined for a 3.62 ERA with a 1.40 WHIP and 9.5 K/9. He allowed more hits per nine (9.1 H/9), his highest rate since rookie ball, but he was still young for his level, with nearly 82% of his plate appearances coming versus older batters. His fastball averaged 96 mph, and there was hope he’d still develop into a middle-of-the-rotation starter at the big-league level. Balazovic struggled with his on-field performance for the first time in his career during the 2022 season. A knee injury during the spring kept him from pitching until May. He never seemed to put it all together after the injury, but the team continued to use him regularly. With the Saints, he pitched 70 2/3 innings while allowing 58 earned runs (7.39 ERA) with a 1.94 WHIP. His average fastball velocity also dipped to 94 mph. During September, Balazovic had his best month of the season. He posted a 3.43 ERA in five starts with 30 strikeouts and ten walks in 21 innings. The Twins hoped it was a sign of bigger things to come for Balazovic in 2023. Entering this season, Balazovic reported early to Twins camp to get work in before the scheduled reporting date. However, his early arrival led to an altercation. On the evening before the players reported, he went to a local bar, and someone punched him in the face. He broke his jaw, requiring surgery and an overnight hospital stay. In interviews, he told reporters that he didn’t know the person and he didn’t throw a punch of his own. It was shaping up to be an important spring for Balazovic, and this incident put him behind at the season’s start. The Twins were clearly frustrated with the Balazovic situation, making him the first cut during spring training. At Triple-A, he began the year as a reliever, with the team using him sparingly as a spot starter. In 35 2/3 innings, he posted a 4.79 ERA with a 1.60 WHIP and a 5.3 K/9. His performance wasn’t pushing him to the big-league level, but he was on the 40-man roster, and the Twins needed a reliever. Balazovic’s MLB debut showcased what he can do out of the bullpen with 3 2/3 scoreless innings while throwing a lot of strikes. It will be interesting to see how Balazovic adjusts to a bullpen role. He used his fastball and curveball over 32% of the time in his debut. His slider is another option, but he didn’t get a lot of swings and misses. It might be best for him to focus on those three pitches and ditch his changeup since that pitch gets hit the hardest. Few pitchers follow a linear development path, and Balazovic has dealt with some issues on the way to his debut. However, he can provide future value for the Twins. How do you view Balazovic at this point in his career? What is his ceiling? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

TRANSACTIONS RHP Jordan Balazovic promoted to Minnesota Minnesota Twins end OF Gilberto Celestino’s rehab assignment and option him to St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 12, Louisville 5 Box Score Aaron Sanchez took the ball today for St. Paul and worked five innings. He gave up five runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks. Command was not at all to be found, but he did strike out three. Making it five, and benefitting from the bats, he did get his fourth win. The Saints jumped out to an early lead when Matt Wallner drove in Andrew Stevenson on a first inning sacrifice fly. Trevor Larnach then followed suit to score Jose Miranda and make it a 2-0 game. After St. Paul gave up the lead in the second inning, they put up a five-spot during the third inning to take the lead for good. Miranda’s second homer was a two-run blast making it 4-3, then Mark Contreras went yard to drive in Larnach on his seventh home run. Andrew Bechtold rounded out the scoring with a single to score Jair Camargo and make it a 7-3 game. In the fourth inning Wallner ripped his 17th double to drive in Stevenson. As Max Kepler continues to struggle for the Twins, Wallner stays putting on the pressure. A Contreras ground out made it a 9-3 lead. Adding again in the fifth inning, Stevenson singled in Bechtold and gave the Saints a ten-spot. Louisville did answer with two in the bottom half, but the sixth inning saw Anthony Prato drive in Wallner, and Bechtold drove in Larnach. The 12-5 score is where this ended. Stevenson grabbed three hits today with both Miranda and Bechtold having a pair each. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Midland 3 Box Score The Wind Surge went with Travis Adams today. He lasted three innings, giving up three runs on three hits, and a pair of walks. Adams did strike out one but also allowed a pair of home runs. Wichita’s bullpen saw five relievers combine for six scoreless innings allowing no hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Seth Gray kicked off the scoring when his fifth double brought home DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in the first inning. Getting behind 3-1, Wichita answered during the fifth inning. David Banuelos blasted his fourth homer before Gray singled in Keirsey to even things at 3-3. Aaron Sabato put the Wind Surge ahead when his seventh double scored Yunior Severino. A wild pitch put Wichita up 5-3 and that’s where the score held. Both Severino and Gray recorded a pair of hits today. Brooks Lee had the day off. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 14, South Bend 2 Box Score A slight rain delay kept these teams off the field, but this one eventually got underway. It was Kyle Jones on the bump for Cedar Rapids this afternoon and the lineup gave him breathing room with seven early runs. He went four innings of scoreless baseball allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out four. After a scoreless first inning, Jose Salas reached on a fielding error that allowed Noah Miller to score. ANother fielding error, this on an Andrew Cossetti batted ball, gave Salas the opportunity to score and make it a 2-0 game. In the fourth inning it was the same culprits with Salas recording his second homer of the season, and the three run shot brought home both Miller and Misael Urbina. Cossetti then launched his third High-A homer to make it 7-0. The fifth inning saw more corn cob action with the Kernels scoring five. A Noah Miller double brought in Kala’i Rosario before an Urbina single scored Noah Cardenas and Miller. Kyler Fedko then drove in Urbina with Tanner Schonel lifting a single of his own to plate Salas. South Bend did answer with two in the seventh inning, but Schobel and Emmanuel Rodriguez each drove in a run during the bottom half to make it a 14-2 game. Even with Cedar Rapids grabbing 14 runs on 13 hits, it was just Cardenas, Miller, Urbina, and Salas grabbing multiple hits. MUSSEL MATTERS Bradenton 4, Fort Myers 3 Box Score Fort Myers had Develson Aria on the mound this afternoon. It was a short outing as he lasted just two innings while giving up three runs on three hits. He also walked three and struck out that same amount. The Mighty Mussels scored first when Yohander Martinez recorded his first home run during the second inning. Mikey Perez was on, making it a two-run blast. By the fourth inning Bradenton had added four of their own and doubled up the Fort Myers score. Jorel Ortega did single in Maddux Houghton in the fifth inning, but that was as close as they would get. With only six hits on the day, Martinez and Houghton were the only players to record a pair of hits today. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 2 K Hitter of the Day – Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, HR(2) 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: #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1-2, RBI, K #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-4, R, BB, 2 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B, K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR(2), K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, 3 R, RBI, BB, 2B(5) #14 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 2 K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-3, R, BB TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05PM CST) - TBD Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - TBD Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games!

Box Score SP: Louie Varland: IP, H, ER, BB, K (99 Pitches, 67 Strikes, 67.7%) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Varland (-0.272), Joey Gallo (-0.168), Byron Buxton (-0.097) Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs): Baez Continues to Rake Louie Varland started his outing by getting two quick outs. A Kerry Carpenter single broke up the no-hitter, and Javier Baez broke up the chance the Twins had at winning the game. On a 1-2 count, Christian Vasquez asked for a pitch two feet north of the strike zone, and Varland laid it right at the top of the zone, and Baez crushed it to right. Max Kepler misplayed the carom off of the wall, and Carpenter scored with Baez cruising into third base for a triple to make it 1-0 Tigers, The Twins fought back breifly in the bottom of the second inning, when Kyle Farmer and Vasquez unleashed a pair of doubles to knot the score at 1-1. Michael A. Taylor and Edouard Julien flailed away the scoring opportunity from there, and Vasquez was left at second to end the threat. Pleading in the Fifth The offenses took turns making the pitchers look like Cy Young Award winners until the top of the fifth inning, when the Tigers unloaded on Varland. Jake Marisnick laced a triple to center, as Taylor failed to read a second ball tailing away from him. Varland then got ahead of Spencer Torkelson 0-2, before Torkelson caught up in the count and then really caught up to this 89 mph cutter for a two-run home run that broke a chunk off of Joe Mauer's retired number sign. Ouch. Does Varland have a home run problem? Carpenter stepped up to the plate next and shouted "YES!" as he rounded the bases, making the score 4-1 Tigers. Welcome to the Show Jordan Balazovic!? After a controversial start to spring training, Balazovic worked his way back up the pitching pecking order until making his debut today. He got his chance today because Jorge Lopez was placed on the restricted list, and then the injured list for mental health reasons. This roster shake-up no doubt had the Twins shooken up, and more details will be forthcoming over the coming weeks on Lopez's future with the team. No one wants to see Lopez hurt, and hopefully this story has a redemptive ending. Back to the game itself, Balazovic inherited runners at first and second, with only one out. The first batter up was Andy Ibanez, and he rudely welcomed the rookie by lacing an RBI single to left. The timeless Miguel Cabrera followed that up with a sacrifice fly to deep center, and suddenly the Tigers were in control of the game and the series with a 6-1 lead in the sixth. Undeserved Hope in the Eighth... The Tiger's bullpen game approach continued to baffle the Twins lineup, with five relievers scattering five hits over the first seven innings. closer Alex Lange started the eighth for the Tigers, and he started it off by almost hitting Taylor in the gut. Unfortuneately for Taylor, Lange then succeeded by climbing the ladder, and striking Taylor in the back of the helmet. Taylor was able to walk off the field under his own power, but Ryan Jeffers took his place on the bases. The danger of the bullpen game is that a team runs the risk of having one of the multiple arms go off the rails, and that appeared to be Lange today. Julien walked. Then Willi Castro took two strikes, called timeout, and then laced a double to right to plate Jeffers to make the score 6-2. Donovan Solano followed by taking one for the team in a softer spot on his body, and suddenly Carlos Correa strode to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out, representing the tying run! Lange promptly sent a pitch to the backstop to take the grand slam out of play, plating Julien from third to make it 6-3. Correa couldn't even get a strike to swing at, walking on four pitches to load the bases yet again for Royce Lewis. Needless to say, Lange's night was done, and the Tigers turned to Jason Foley with the bases loaded and nobody out. Unredeemed Opportunities in the Eighth Royce didn't hit a grand slam, but he didn't get out either. Lewis lost his bat in the process, but he gained a single up the middle and an RBI to make the score 6-4. Farmer battled, but ultimately flied out weakly to left field, unable to advance any of the runners. This set the stage for Joey Gallo and his 11 home runs and 66 strike outs. Make that 67 strike outs for Gallo, and now the Twins miracle inning was down to its last out. Byron Buxton strode to the plate to pinch hit for Vasquez and the last hope for the game and series perhaps. Buxton still looked lost at the plate, watching a called strike three to end the threat. Bases loaded, nobody out, and the Twins can't cash in once again. Let's Put This Game Out of It's Misery Jovani Moran got the top of the ninth for the Twins, and he mowed them down in order to set up a potentially dramatic bottom of the ninth. Foley remained in the game to face Jeffers, Julien, and Solano with the Twins hopes hanging by a thread, but present nonetheless. Jeffers struck out looking. Julien struck out looking. Castro flew out weakly to left field. Fade to black. What's Next The Twins will send RHP Pablo Lopez (3-3, 4.27 ERA) out on Monday night after some extra rest to face the Boston Red Sox to kick off their second four-game series in a row. The Red Sox will counter with LHP James Paxton (2-1, 3.09 ERA) who has pitched six games since returning from the injured list. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Chart WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Pagán 0 24 0 21 0 45 Balazovic 0 0 0 0 40 40 Headrick 0 0 0 35 0 35 Morán 0 22 0 0 11 33 Durán 12 0 0 15 0 27 De León 0 0 0 24 0 24 Jax 11 0 0 8 0 19 Stewart 14 0 0 5 0 19

He's a little worn—used, certainly lacking in the luster he once claimed—but Jordan Balazovic is still standing. Once one of the golden arms of the farm, inconsistency and injury have altered his path, dropping him down from a regular of top 100 lists to the doldrums of prospects lists, mentioned, but only briefly. Fantasies of stardom atop a major-league starting rotation may only remain in dreams now, yet the Twins have put together a plan for the Canadian righty, and he may be able to contribute to the club very soon. If you haven’t noticed, Balazovic’s usage in 2023 evolved. Once a fledgling reliever throughout April, Balazovic then grew back into his assumed role in the starting rotation for three starts before finding himself entering a game following an opener on May 20th. He has now done so four times. Openers aren’t random in the Twins organization—the team employed many of them starting in their lukewarm 2018 campaign—but they quickly fell out of vogue, and the team almost entirely eschewed them from their organizational strategy with a few exceptions. Consistently starting an opener before Balazovic four straight times is not an accident. They are, it seems, allowing him to become more familiar with the role while still ensuring that his innings diet is satisfied; three of the four outings resulted in at least three innings of work. His stamina won’t atrophy, and Minnesota will reap the double benefit of knowing they can call him up whenever they want, as Balazovic should be comfortable with acquiring outs out of the bullpen. Because that’s what this is: they’re preparing him as a reliever. And it makes sense why. While the starting rotation has been phenomenal, the bullpen—outside of one very special individual—has been a tragedy, and not even one of the ones with eye-stabbing and incest: it’s just tedious. It’s to the point where any arm they call up that can locate the strike zone with even mild consistency is now amongst their most well-trusted troops. Balazovic, though, has found his strikeout stuff (at the loss of some control) and owns a tremendous 2.84 FIP in the four starts he’s made following an opener. The plan will likely be for Balazovic to see time around the end of June or early July—whenever the team feels like DFA-ing someone, basically. Rather than potentially dip their toes into Jorge López-filled waters at the trade deadline, the team will at least see if Balazovic could provide some aid before rashly dealing away yet another future breakout prospect. If he can, great! That’s a problem solved. If not, they can still potentially deal for an arm, although they may prefer not to roll that dice again. The previous paragraph is pure speculation, but it makes sense, at least to me. Why else would the team bother with opener shenanigans if they didn’t anticipate calling Balazovic up to help out in relief? It seems very likely that he will finally join the team soon and will likely be seen entering from the bullpen.

TRANSACTIONS After appearing in a game Monday for the FCL Twins, IF Austin Martin continued his rehab assignment with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. The St. Paul Saints were assigned 3B Seth Gray from Wichita. The Cedar Rapids Kernels sent RHP Owen Griffith on a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 4, St. Paul 10 Box Score Jordan Balazovic was the scheduled starter early Tuesday morning, but by game time the Saints went with an opener in Cody Laweryson, before handing it over to Balazovic. Laweryson pitched into the second inning, but his pitch count soared and after recording two outs, gave up a three-run homer to end his outing. Balazovic then came on and gave up a pair of doubles to put another run on the board for the Cubs, before getting his first strikeout to end the second inning. Laweryson went 1 2/3 IP, and was charged with three runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out three on 48 pitches (27 for strikes). Of note from the Saints Broadcast, the talk was of Balazovic coming out of the bullpen, and how the Twins wanted to get him used to that instead of the routine of starting. They may be onto something, even if his usage has been odd this year if that’s the case. Anyway, they might be onto something as Balazovic cruised for the next three innings, allowing just one hit and two walks, while punching out six more Iowa hitters. He finished with one earned run allowed on three hits and two walks, striking out seven total. He still threw 71 pitches, which you’d rather see in about five innings, but made it work. He was 94-96 MPH with his fastball, and dropped in some great breaking balls hitters watched for called third strikes. The Saints offense scored first in the game thanks to International League Player of the Week, Matt Wallner. His double in the first inning left his bat at 106.3 MPH to score Andrew Stevenson, who had led off with a single. In the bottom of the fourth, they cut the Cubs lead to two, when Jose Miranda delivered an RBI double. Almost unfathomably, this was Miranda’s first double since joining the Saints. He added his second in the eighth inning. In the fifth, the Saints loaded the bases with nobody out, and Jair Camargo cashed them all in with his sixth home run of the season, a 447-foot grand slam that put them out front 6-4. After Balazovic’s day was done, Austin Schulfer pitched a scoreless sixth inning, working around three singles thanks to Wallner’s arm in right field, as his bullet cut down a runner at home to keep the inning scoreless. Austin Brice chipped in two scoreless frames, striking out three. In the eighth inning, a single, double, and walk loaded the bases again for the Saints, and this time it was Chris Williams with the moonshot. His 440-foot grand slam made it 10-4 Saints. Oliver Ortega finished it out with a scoreless ninth to send the CHS Field faithful home happy, and ensure Balazovic earned his first career triple-A win. The Saints knocked out 13 hits as a team, with Stevenson (3-for-4, 2 R, 2B), Miranda (2-for-5, R, 2 2B, RBI, K), Williams (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB, K), and Mark Contreras (2-for-5, R, K) collecting multiple hits. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, San Antonio 6 Box Score The Wind Surge jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after two innings, stringing together a bunch of doubles in both frames. Brooks Lee led off the game with his 17th double of the year, extending his Texas League leading tally. Then it was Yunior Severino and Jake Rucker who followed suit to give them a 2-0 lead before an out was recorded. Pat Winkel later added an RBI single to make it three runs in the first. In the second, Lee got a two-out rally started with his 18th double, Severino drew a walk, then Rucker brought them both in with his second double in the first two frames for the 5-0 lead. Unfortunately for Wichita, they got just two more hits the rest of the way, and San Antonio battled back. Starter Carlos Luna went the first four innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks, while striking out three. His run allowed came in the fourth on a solo home run. Hunter McMahon delivered a scoreless fifth, but didn’t make it out of the sixth. He was charged with two earned runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings, striking out one. Jordan Brink went the next 1 1/3 scoreless, allowing one hit and one walk. Regi Grace then made his double-A debut, delivering a scoreless eighth inning to pick up a hold and keep the Wind Surge’s two-run lead intact. He walked one and threw 14 pitches (7 strikes). In the bottom of the ninth Wichita turned to Curtis Taylor, and it didn’t work. Two walks and a hit-batter loaded the bases before Francis Peguero was brought in. His first pitch was sent into center field for a bases-clearing double, and walk-off win for the Missions. Lee (2-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B) and Rucker (2-for-2, R, 2 2B, 4 RBI, BB) led the way for the offense, but what started out white hot, finished ice cold for the team as whole and San Antonio was able to steal game one of their six-game series late. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Dayton 6 (5 innings) Box Score The Kernels series opener against the Dragons was cut a bit short by rain in Dayton, Ohio but it may have been for the best. They fell behind 5-0 after just two innings, as starter Kyle Jones got ambushed from his first pitch. Literally, as it went for a solo home run to begin the bottom of the first inning. From there, a walk, single, and an error made it a 2-0 for Dayton after one. In the second inning, another error led to an RBI single and two-run homer, and the Dragons were in control. Jones went on to finish four innings, allowing those five runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks. On a positive note, he did strike out seven. Malik Barrington came on to start the fifth and allowed one run on two hits, while striking out two. The Cedar Rapids offense managed just two hits in the shortened contest, which came from Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kala’i Rosario. Rosario’s single in the third drove in their only run of the game, scoring Tanner Schobel who walked twice in three at-bats. As a team the Kernels did draw seven walks, but were just 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Right-hander Mike Paredes is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday, taking on former Twins first round draft pick Chase Petty, who has a 0.56 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts for the Dragons in four starts and 16 innings pitched on the season so far. MUSSEL MATTERS Clearwater 10, Fort Myers 5 Box Score Fort Myers starter Develson Aria recorded only one out in this contest, and the Mighty Mussels never recovered. Aria couldn’t find the strike zone, walking five of the first seven hitters of the game and before the inning was over had four earned runs on his ledger. Emergency reliever A.J. Labas managed to keep the damage to just that and added a scoreless second inning, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three in 1 2/3 innings. Danny Moreno (1 2/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R (3 earned), BB), Samuel Perez (3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, K), Johnathan Lavallee (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BB), and infielder Mikey Perez (2/3 IP) accounted for the rest of the pitching staff’s innings. The Mighty Mussels' scoring came in just two innings, with three runs in the fourth inning on a Rubel Cespedes RBI double and Alec Sayre two-RBI single, then two in the eighth thanks to a double steal of home and second base, and an RBI single from Cespedes. Jorel Ortega (2-for-3, 2 R, BB, K, SB) and Cespedes (2-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K) had multiple hits, and Dylan Neuse chipped in a double. Gilberto Celestino continued his rehab assignment but finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Austin Martin began his rehab assignment playing second base and batting second. He was 0-for-3 with a walk. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 5, FCL Rays 6 Box Score Jack Noble put together a strong start for the Twins, finishing the first five innings, allowing just one run on three hits and three walks, while striking out five. The rehabbing Owen Griffith pitched a scoreless sixth inning, striking out one Down 1-0 at that point, but the Twins offense finally got going in the seventh. A sac fly from Bryan Acuna tied it, then two batters later Anderson Nova put them in front 4-1 with a three-run home run. Unfortunately, the Rays countered with five of their own in the bottom half. Carlos Gutierrez finished the final two innings for the Twins, but gave up those five runs on three hits and a walk while striking out four. Yasser Mercedes was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks out of the leadoff spot. Jose Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. Byron Chourio scored a run and drew two walks in four plate appearances. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Twins 3, DSL Phillies Red 4 Box Score The Twins got solid pitching for the first five innings, allowing just one run as a team in that timeframe. They were led by starter Adrian Bohorquez who went the first three innings, and recorded all nine of his outs via strikeout. He allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk. But they weren't able to hold on from there. Oscar Paredes (1 IP), Jeicol Surumuy (2/3 IP, 3 H, K), Jose Ojo (1/3 IP), Leonardo Lugo (2 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K), and Reynel Garcia (1/3 IP) finished off the rest of the game, with Lugo getting saddled with a blown save and the loss. The lineup managed just six hits, with shortstop Yilber Herrera and first baseman Javier Roman collecting doubles and an RBI. The Twins biggest bonus baby of the year, Ariel Castro, went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout hitting in the three-hole. Catcher Carlos Silva was also 1-for-3 with a walk and two K’s. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Jordan Balazovic, St. Paul Saints (W, 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) Hitter of the Day - Chris Williams, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, BB #4 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R, 2 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB, HBP, 2 K #10 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL) - 1-for-2, 2 BB #11 - Austin Martin (Rehab-Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, BB #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-1, BB, K #14 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - W, 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) - 1-for-3, R, BB, K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, 2 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (3-4, 3.72 ERA) Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CDT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (0-2, 6.11 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Mike Paredes (2-0, 2.11 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (2-2, 2.59 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!