Image courtesy of © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 26-21
St. Paul Saints: 22-20
Wichita Wind Surge: 22-17
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 22-16
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 19-20
TRANSACTIONS
The Saint Paul Saints made the following roster moves: They have activated RHP Randy Dobnak from the 7-day IL; and outfielder Carson McCusker was selected by the Twins and left Iowa to meet them to finish off the Brewers series to replace Byron Buxton, who is on the 7-day IL with concussion symptoms. RHP Zebby Matthew has also been recalled by the Minnesota Twins. The Twins Danny Coulumbe suffered a forearm strain and is on the IL, making way for Matthews, although the latter will really be taking the place of Simeon Woods Richardson in the starting rotation. LHP Christian MacLeod was transferred to Double-A Wichita.
SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 3, Iowa 1
Box Score
The Saints and Iowa game was scoreless through three. Both Andrew Morris and Jordan Wicks did an outstanding job of controlling the game from the mound early on.
Morris, through two, had four strikeouts and only one walk and wouldn’t give up a hit until the third inning. Morris was 52 pitches deep by the end of the third, but maintained his composure, adding two more strikeouts to his stat line.
The Saints got up on the board first. Edouard Julien drew a walk, moving up Will Howard to second, and a hard-hit single from Mickey Gasper scored Howard for a 1-0 lead.
Morris stuck it out through five innings, scoreless—one of the best games he has pitched this season. He ended the game with only 71 pitches, and eight strikeouts. He was relieved in the sixth by Randy Dobnak, to spare Morris having to face the lineup a third time. Dobnak gave up a single to start the sixth, but a throwing error by third baseman Jose Miranda allowed Iowa’s Kevin Alcántara to get to first, advancing Chase Strumpf into scoring position. Dobnak finally got the first out of the inning, but the next hitter, James Triantos, drove in Strumpf, and the game was tied, 1-1.
The seventh inning looked like the momentum would swing back to the Saints, starting with Emmanuel Rodriguez making it on base after being hit by pitcher Jack Neely. During Jeferson Morales‘s at-bat, Rodriguez stole second. Morales struck out swinging, though, which turned out to be the emblem of the frame. The Saints got runners on second and third with one out and had the bases loaded with two, but a bad 3-0 swing decision by Jose Miranda helped defuse the rally. The entire inning there was someone on base, but just no ability to bring anyone home.
The pitching staff of the Saints were truly the MVPs of the game. Pitcher Kyle Bischoff came in to replace Dobnak. Dobnak didn’t allow any more runs after the game-tying tally, and registered three strikeouts and no walks to end the inning. The name of the game at this point is to shut down Iowa completely and hope that the offense can get the initiative back. Bischoff made it through the eighth to give the Saints that chance. Bischoff gave up no walks, no runs and no hits.
The ninth inning finally went the way of the Saints. The consistent push of making things happen finally paid off. Morales reached first base on a fielding error from Triantos. Will Holland then hit his second home run of the season, scoring himself and Morales, to push the Saints up 3-1. Morales and Holland were the most consistent of the team on the lineup Sunday with their ability to get on base at the right times.
The Saints kept Iowa from scoring, and Richard Lovelady came in to do the job. He shut down them down in a 1-2-3 fashion, keeping the Saints from going into extras and securing the win.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 15, Arkansas 7
Box Score
The first inning gave Wichita the start to finish out this series strong, but calmed down after getting four runs early on. The first inning started out with Kala’i Rosari getting his sixth double of the season to score Tanner Schoebel. A line drive and a sac fly from Noah Cardenes and Ben Ross, helped secure a three run lead 3-0 at the end of the first.
The Windsurge scored again in the third inning, a single that scored Rosario, the man who got it all started in the first. A full circle moment early in the game giving them a 4-0 lead.
There wasn’t much action from either side of the ball over the next XX innings. Trent Baker pitched four solid innings, only giving up the one run and striking out four. Arkansas was on the board 4-1 when Baker came out of the game, replaced by Pierson Ohl starting the fifth.
Ohl cycled through seven hitters and 29 pitches, struggling heavily in the fifth inning. Arkansas loaded up the bases with a handful of singles and two doubles to close the gap and tie the game 4-4 before getting out of the inning.
The fifth inning broke the game wide open for Wichita! Some of the most excitement the team has had all season started out with two walks from Noah Cardenas and Ben Ross, followed by a single from Tyler Dearden to score Cardenas, putting Wichita back in front 5-4. A wild pitch and HBP from Arkansas pitcher Peyton Alford and no outs, triggered a pitching change to try and eliminate the damage.
The Windsurge did not let up. More than the pitcher being bad, the offense was cooking and they had been very consistent throughout the game. Joel Ortega, with no outs, got a single, scoring Ross, and a double from Tanner Schoebel, his 10th of the season looked like the insurance needed to win the game with the game being at a 9-4 lead for the Windsurge, but Kyler Fedko wanted in on the fun and cranked his eighth home run on the season to widen the gap 11-4 for the Windsurge. Rubel Cespedes continued the threat with another double, but Arkansas pitcher Taylor Ford finally got the three outs he needed to end the inning.
Arkansas could not make back the runs, or get on base, but back in the top of the 6th, the Windsurge got another two runs pushing the dreams of catching back up for Arkansas further down the drain. They were now trailing the Wind Surge, 13-4.
The Windsurge continued to dominate behind the plate. They continued to get hits in the next three innings, giving them a dominating lead of 15-4. Everyone on the Windsurge had a hit and a run, with Ortega carrying the brunt of the load with 3-for-5, 4 RBI, no strikeouts or walks.
The Windsurge pitching staff kept things under wraps and only gave Arkansas a glimmer of hope to make a comeback in the eighth inning from pitcher Michael Martinez who struggled a little in the eighth. Martinez got started right away hitting Caleb Calli to take first, followed by a double and a triple with no outs, scoring two before being replaced by Joel Cesar. Cesar came in with no outs and managed to only allow one more run, before shutting down the rest of the inning. The Surge won 15-7.
KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 1, Peoria 7
Box Score
Pitcher Chase Chaney struggled heavily in the first inning of the game against Peoria, giving up six hits and four runs.
The Kernels could not get any offense going in the game. They had remained scoreless through the seventh. only got two hits and three walks, and suffered 10 strikeouts from Peoria’s pitching staff.
A double from Brandon Winokaur, his 11th of the season, finally got the Kernels out of a shut-out scenario and on the board in the eighth inning. The Kernels closed the gap to just a grand slam away at 5-1, but Peoria came back in the top of the ninth to score two more runs to gain a run back and take another, pushing the score 7-1.
The Kernels pitching staff, as much as they were not the winners of the game today, a break down from the top: Chaney gave up the most runs at five, but also in the process of allowing runs, Chaney gave up only one walk and had three strikeouts. The two home runs were the crux of the day. Those home runs came with players on the bases, the first one with two players on and the second one with three players on. The singles weren’t anything that he couldn’t work out of and in fact at the top of the second, he allowed a wild pitch that moved hitters onto first and second base, but he got out of the inning with a double play and eliminated further damage early on.
Chaney only has a 4.50 ERA and gets his first loss of the season. Chaney’s pitching today does not take away from the fact that if the offense is not going to make runs you are not going to win a game. Even PaulShawn Pasqualotto, only gave up two runs, and didn’t walk any, but only had one strike out. It’s a game of balance, and the Kernels are still far above .500.
The fact that no one on the Kernels line-up is below .200 shows that they aren’t a bad team, they just couldn’t get around Peoria’s pitchers, who were absolutely lights out this game, with 12 strikeouts. Peoria has been struggling this season and settled well below .500, at this point in the season, a win for them is huge, and this series, Peoria took four of seven from the Kernels, winning the series. The Kernels get a day off before getting a chance to put a few more in the win column.
MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 8, Jupiter 4
Box Score
Both teams coming into this game are battling to crawl above .500 and there can only be one. The Mussels came out hot, all but one hitter saw the plate at the top of the Mussels first inning. The top of the first took 37 minutes, and also had three runs scored to start the game.
At lead off, Damuery Pena took the first pitch deep off of pitcher Liomar Martinez’s 91 mph sinker for a homerun. The next two runs came off a double from Daniel Pena and a single line drive to Andres Valor, scoring Pena to put the Mussels up 3-0 before ending with a strikeout and flyout.
The Mussels made an offensive substitution replacing Yasser Mercedes with pinch-hitter Daniel Pena and remained in the game as the catcher.
Jupiter was slow to respond, but in the third inning a double and a one-out walk, prompted a mound visit as they closed the gap on the Mussels, 2-3. After the the mound visit, pitcher Jason Doktorczyk allowed Dillon Head to get ahead on the count with one pitch and singled on a line drive to right fielder Miguel Briceno, scoring Jesus Hernandez, and advancing Abrahan Ramirez to 3rd and Dillon Head to 2nd on a fielding error by right fielder Miguel Briceno. Doktorczyk managed to get out of the third with no more damage, but threw 14 pitches between two hitters before getting them both striking out swinging.
The Mussels kept a healthy rotation of players at the top of the fifth. Starting with a single from Payton Eeles and two walks with Rayne Doncon and Daniel Pena to load the bases, staying ahead of the pitcher. A one-out sac-fly from Miguel Briceno scored Eeles, followed by a single from Maddux Houghton and Luke Napleton, scored two more to pad the score 6-2.
Jacob Kisting replaced Doktorczyk before the sixth inning. Doktorczyk leaves on 74 pitches and only the two runs early on and nothing after. Doktorczyk struggled through some batters, but overall, kept the game in control to give the offense the chance to control their game.
Jupiter closed the gap with two more runs in the bottom of the sixth 6-4, but the Mussels responded immediately in the seventh opening back up the lead 7-4.
The top of the eighth the Mussels made another offensive substitution with Pinch-hitter Angel Del Rosario replacing Rayne Doncon. Rosario took and immediate walk and then stole his 17th base on the season to get the Mussels in a position to get some insurance that came from Daniel Pena on a routine grounder to score Rosario bringing the Mussels 8-4.
The Mussels only went through three pitchers to end the series and Kisting registered his second win of the game and the Mussels got their 19th win to close in closer to .500.
The Mussels line-up had a great day at the plate. Every plate appearance was productive by the line-up going 10 hits with eight runs, six of those runs were with the help of the six walks that were earned from the Jupiter’s pitching staff. Offensively, the Mussels continue to get better each game. The only player to not register a walk, run, hit or strike out was Yohander Martinez. Martinez has struggled this season, only three runs and 12 hits on the season and 14 K’s on 32 plate appearances. Clearly the Mussels aren’t concerned, but an all hitting line-up would sure push the gap closer on getting over .500.
PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day
Jorge Ortega helped push the Windsurge to one of their largest leads. He went 3-for-5 with no walks, no strikeouts and four RBI’s. An absolutely outstanding day.
Pitcher of the Day
Andrew Morris – Morris had an outstanding day for the Saints, keeping the game scoreless through five. 5.0 IP; 4 Hits; 0 R; 0 ER; 1 BB; 8 K
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Saturday.
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) – 0-for-3, BB, K
#7 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) – 3-for-5, RBI, BB,
#9 – Andrew Morris (St. Paul) – 5.0 IP; 4 Hits; 0 R; 0 ER; 1 BB; 8 K
#10 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-3, RBI, BB, K
#13 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 3-for-5; 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K
#14 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-4, RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
#18 – Carson McCusker (St. Paul) – (TWINS)
#19 – Kala’i Rosario (Wichita) – 3-for-6, 3 R, 1 RBI, BB, 1K
TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Cleveland @ Minnesota (6:40 PM CST) – TBD
Norfolk @ St. Paul (11:07 PM CST) – TBD
Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CST) – TBD
Cedar Rapids @ Fort Wayne (6:35 PM CST) – TBD
Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CST) – TBD
F-BRV @ F-Twins (11:00 Am CST) – TB
Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the roster, and discuss Sunday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!