TRANSACTIONS
Fort Myers moved RHP Cristian Hernandez to the Development List. He started Game 1 of the Mussels doubleheader on Thursday and tossed three innings.
RHPs Max Bayles and Tyler Bryan were assigned to the Mussels from the FCL Twins. Bayles was the Twins 7th-round pick in July out of Santa Clara. Bryan is a non-drafted free agent who pitched collegiately at the University of Houston earlier this year. The Twins signed him on July 22nd and he’s been hanging out, getting his work in at the Twins minor league complex.
SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 1, Omaha 7
Box Score
Cody Morissette hit his 15th Saints home run, a solo shot in the top of the seventh inning. It was the lone run scored by the Saints.
The Saints had seven of their hitters with one hit each. They had four walks (three of them by the two batters that went hitless). Aaron Sabato had a single and a walk. David Banuelos walked twice. Alan Roden had a single and was hit by a pitch.
Veteran German Marquez was charged with six runs on six hits (including two home runs) over the first six innings. However, just two of the runs were earned thanks to three errors by infielders.
Alejandro Hidalgo gave up one run on one hit (a solo homer) over two innings. He walked one and had two strikeouts.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 2, Tulsa 8
Box Score
Cory Lewis started for Wichita and worked the first four innings. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and two walks. He also had six strikeouts. Hunter Gregory came on and gave up three runs on four hits (including two home runs) in the fifth inning. Sam Armstrong gave up three runs on two hits (both homers) and a hit batter over the final three innings. He had five strikeouts.
In the top of the fifth inning, Khadim Diaw hit his third home run with Wichita to make it a 2-1 ballgame.
In the top of the eighth inning, Brandon Winokur, Garrett Spain, and Kyle DeBarge singled to give the Wind Surge their second run. Of course, by that time, they were down 8-2.
Khadim Diaw went 3-for-5 with his third home run. Brandon Winokur was 3-for-5 as well. Marek Houston went 2-for-5. Caden Kendle was 2-for-4.
KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 7
Box Score
The Kernels got a Quality Start from Reed Moring. The 2025 draft pick gave up two runs on five hits. He had seven strikeouts to go with zero walks. Sixty-one of his 81 pitches (75.3%) were strikes.
Finnegin Wall gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and two walks in the seventh inning.
The Kernels actually scored first. In the top of the first inning, Jacob McCombs scored on a double play ball. In the top of the fourth inning, Jose Salas tripled and then scored on a Byron Chourio single to tie the game at 2-2.
The Cubs took the lead at 3-2 through seven innings. Salas started the top of the eighth inning with a single. He moved to second on a groundout and then stole third base. Irvin Nunez singled to drive in Salas and make it 3-3. Yilber Herrera followed with a single. After a pitching change and a strikeout, Vahn Lackey singled to left field to drive in Nunez. Herrera then scored on a wild pitch to give the Kernels a 5-3 lead.
Wall faced one batter in the top of the eighth before exiting the game. Yehizon Sanchez came in and that runner scored to make it 5-4. Sanchez then gave up a three-run walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Cubs had a win.
Yasser Mercedes went 2-for-4 with a walk. Salas was 2-for-5 with a triple. He also stole a base. Vahn Lackey was 1-for-3 with two walks, and he stole his fourth and fifth bases.
MIGHTY MATTERS
Game 1: Fort Myers 3, Clearwater 9
Box Score
The Mussels fell behind early in Game 1 on Thursday. Cristian Hernandez started and gave up three runs on five hits and four walks over three innings. He struck out two. However, Melvin Rodriguez came in for the fourth inning, and he gave up six runs on four hits, a walk, and two hit batters and recorded just two outs. Rainer Marin got the final out of the fourth inning (after allowing two of three inherited runners to score. He also got two outs in the fifth inning, but he gave up a hit and three walks but no runs. Nick McAuliffe got the final out of the fifth inning. Max Bayles became the first 2026 draft pick to pitch in a game this season. He walked three but struck out one in a scoreless inning.
The Mussels got on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning. Merphy Hernandez drove in Bryan Acuna with a single to center. At the time, it cut the deficit to 3-1.
In the top of the sixth inning, Charlie Scholvin walked. Hernandez hit a double to push Scholvin to third base. Carson Tinney walked to load the bases. Scholvin scored on a wild pitch. With two outs, Quentin Young singled to drive in Hernandez with the third and final run.
Hernandez went 2-for-3 with his sixth double.
Game 2: Fort Myers 5, Clearwater 6
Box Score
Game 2 was wonderful for the Mussels, well, for the first 6 1/2 of the seven innings.
Matthew Dalquist started and tossed four scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and had six strikeouts.
Tyler Bryan came on for his professional debut. In 1 2/3 innings, he gave up one hit and two walks but kept the Threshers scoreless. Hendry Chivilli got the final out of the bottom of the sixth.
Colby Turner led off the top of the second inning with his third home run.
Bryce Fowler followed with a single. With one out, Jimmy Keenan knocked his first professional home run to give his team a 3-0 lead.
Ricardo Paez led off the top of the fifth inning with a walk. He went to third on a Merphy Hernandez double. Carson Tinney walked to load the bases. Isaiah Lane walked to make it 4-0. Colby Turner was hit by a pitch which made it 5-0.
Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Chivilli was back on the mound. The leadoff man reached on an error. That was followed by a ground out. A walk was followed with a line-drive single to lead the bases. Another single and the Threshers were on the board, down 5-1. A wild pitch made it 5-2. Another single made it 5-3. That ended Chivilli’s day. Jake Covey entered the game. A stolen base put runners on second and third. A single to right drove in both runs and the score was tied at 5-5. Two more singles and the game was over, the Mussels being walked off 6-5.
The Mussels scored their five runs on seven hits and five walks. Merphy Hernandez led the way again. He was 3-for-4 with his seventh double. He also stole his 49th and 50th bases.
Ricardo Paez had a single and a walk. The Mussels went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position with six left on base.
PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter(s) of the Day
Khadim Diaw (Wichita): 3-for-5, HR(3), 1 R, 1 RBI, K
Merphy Hernandez (Fort Myers): 5-for-7, 2-2B(7), 2 R, RBI, 2-SB(50), CS(11)
Pitcher(s) of the Day
Reed Moring (Cedar Rapids): 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 81 pitches, 61 strikes (75.3%).
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today.
#2 – C Vahn Lackey (Cedar Rapids) – 1-for-3, 2 BB, RBI, K, 2-SB(5) (batted second, played catcher)
#4 – SS Marek Houston (Wichita) – 2-for-5, K (batted first, played SS)
#6 – OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) – 1-for-5, 2 K (batted first, played LF)
#11 – C Carson Tinney (Fort Myers) – Game 1: 0-for-2, BB (batted second, DHd); Game 2: 0-for-3, BB, K (batted second, played catcher)
#12 – 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (Wichita) – 3-for-5, R (batted third, played 3B)
#13 – C/OF Khadim Diaw (Wichita) – 3-for-5, HR(3), R, RBI, K (batted second, played catcher)
#18 – 3B/SS Quentin Young (Ft. Myers) – Game 1: 1-for-3, RBI (batted fifth, played 3B); Game 2: 0-for-3, 3 K (batted sixth, played SS)
#19 – OF Yasser Mercedes (Cedar Rapids) – 2-for-4, BB, 2 K, (batted third, played RF)
UPCOMING PROBABLES
Friday, September 4
St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 pm CT) – LHP Aaron Rozek (3-5, 4.10 ERA)
Wichita @ Tulsa (7:00 pm CT) – RHP Preston Johnson (1-3, 3.94 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 pm CT) – RHP Merit Jones (0-1, 6.14 ERA)
Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 pm CT) – RHP Matt Barr (0-1, 6.75 ERA)
CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 67-73
St. Paul Saints: 76-58
Wichita Wind Surge: 51-76 (Final Game 9/13)
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 47-80 (Final Game 9/6)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 67-58 (Final Game 9/6)
FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete)
DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete)
Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!
Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins’ top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!