Minnesota Twins Recap vs New York Yankees – June 8th, 2021

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Robb

The New York Yankees are in town. How will this go?

The Minnesota Twins face their nemesis for the first time since the 2019 postseason and not one Twins fan, unless they’re absolutely new to Twins Territory, needs to be reminded of the miserable history of the Twins against New York. If you do…use the Google Machine.

First…a couple of #Twinsactions:

OF Rob Refsnyder was reinstated from the 7-Day Injured List (IL) (Concussion) and OF Gilberto Celestino was optioned to #TripleA @stpaulsaints who will actually have a pretty decent OF playing in CF because Byron Buxton is starting a rehab assignment tonight in St. Paul at #CHSField AND RHP Kenta Maeda will make a rehab start tomorrow night, too! So…that might be a tough ticket but you should try, right?

The New York Yankees are in town to start a tough 6-game homestand for the Twins as they’ll play 3 against NY followed by 3 vs the #Astros but tonight….

RHP Michael Pineda will take the mound for his 10th start of the season and he’ll be opposed by #Yankees LHP Jordan Montgomery (3-1, 3.92 ERA (Earned Run Average), 1.12 WHIP (Walks+Hits per Inning Pitched))!

With a LHP on the mound, the Twins will go with the heavily right-handed lineup as only OF Trevor Larnach will hit from the left side.

The #FirstPitch has already been thrown and DJ Lemahieu has a leadoff double…with OF Aaron Judge at the plate…

Here….We….GO!

Let’s Go Twins!!!

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Minnesota Twins Lineup:

New York Yankees Lineup:

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Recap

Nice job by Minnesota Twins starting pitcher RHP Michael Pineda to get out of the trouble of a leadoff double from New York Yankees 1B DJ LeMahieu with a couple of ground balls to 3rd from RF Aaron Judge & SS Gleyber Torres and a ground ball to the catcher from DH Giancarlo Stanton to keep the Yanks off the board in the 1st.

LHP Jordan Montgomery struck out RF Kyle Garlick swinging to begin the bottom of the 1st. Josh Donaldson then got the first Twins hit of the game with a hard grounder down the 3rd baseline that Gio Urshela couldn’t field cleanly so infield hit for JD. 2B Jorge Polanco then flew out to center field on the first pitch he saw and that brought up 1B Miguel Sanó who went down 0-2 on the first 2 pitches on a called sinker & a fouled-off changeup. He took the next 3 pitches to work the count full then singled to right field to advance Donaldson to 3rd and bring C Ryan Jeffers up to the plate. He went down 0-2 right away, too, but, just like Sanó, he worked the count back to full with 3 straight takes and…he fouled off the 6th pitch, the 7th pitch & the 8th before hitting a 2-RBI single down the left field line to score Donaldson & Sanó and put the Twins up 2-0. LF Trevor Larnach then struck out swinging to end the 1st. Twins 2-0

“Big Mike” Pineda then needed just 5 pitches to get through the 2nd as RF Kyle Garlick made a great running catch down the right field line for the first out then Gary Sanchez popped out to short and Rougned Odor bunted back to Pineda. The Twins got a 1st pitch single off the bat of returning CF Rob Refsnyder and a 1-out single up the middle from SS Andrelton Simmons then the ump showed his strike zone to Kyle Garlick as he struck out looking at an inside pitch that wasn’t very close and that was the 2nd pitch of the at-bat that was questionable. Josh Donaldson then lined out to short to end the 2nd.

Pitch 3 & 6 were called strikes. 3 for strike 1? Maybe. 6 to end the at-bat? No!

Pineda kept cruising in the 3rd thanks to some more great defense as Miguel Andújar lined out to 3rd on a great lunging/diving catch from The Turtle for the 1st out. CF Brett Gardner then lined out to 2nd and Big MiKe got his 1st strikeout of the game with the strike zone that he & C Ryan Jeffers saw New York get in the top of the inning. 

Pineda & Jeffers saw the strike zone NY got & got a called strike go their way!

The Twins got a 2-out single from Jeffers but did nothing with it so back to the mound for Pineda and he got a strikeout of Judge and a pop out to short from Torres before giving up a weak grounder through the left side from Giancarlo Stanton then made a fielding error on a swinging bunt to allow Gio Urshela to reach and bring Gary Sanchez up and he hit a hard liner but it was an at-him ball as Andrelton Simmons made a nice leaning catch to end the top of the 4th. Pineda started the inning at 32 pitches (27 strikes) and finished the inning at 54 pitches (44 strikes) so he needed 22 pitches to get through it.

The Twins then went down 1-2-3 on 7 pitches in the bottom of the 4th and Pineda started to struggle as he walked Andújar with 1 out then Gardner got a bloop single and LeMahieu got a single to left field to load the bases and Pineda walked Judge to walk in a run to cut the lead in half and that was it for the night for Michael Pineda as Rocco went to RHP Jorge Alcala with the bases still full with just 1 out and Gleyber Torres at the plate.

Alcala started him with a slider outside that got an ugly swing for strike 1. That was followed with another slider for another swinging strike then another slider close for ball 1 but he then threw a wild pitch* to allow the tying run to come in. He did get Torres to line out to short for the 2nd out and they almost doubled off LeMahieu at 3rd but he got back in time to keep the inning alive. Alcala then got Stanton to ground out to short to end the top of the 5th. Tied 2-2

Did the Twins respond to being scored on?

Not in the 5th inning, they didn’t. They went down 1-2-3 (strikeout swinging, groundout to 3rd & strikeout swinging). The Yankees then got a 1-out single from Gary Sanchez and Minnesota Twins manager brought in RHP Alex Colomé & he gave up a double (4) to Rougned Odor. Sanchez advanced to 3rd. Miguel Andújar then hit a grounder to 3rd that went off Astudillo’s glove but Simmons caught it to keep Sanchez from advancing home on the play. Brett Gardner then flew out to left field and Trevor Larnach made what looked like a very good to maybe great throw but, for some reason, Astudillo cut it off and Ryan Jeffers reacted like he thought it could’ve got Sanchez at home to end the inning to keep the game at 2-2 but…the Yankees took a 3-2 lead. LeMahieu grounded out to short to end the top of the 6th. Yankees 3-2

Miguel Sanó grounded out to 2nd and Ryan Jeffers struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the 6th for Minnesota. Trevor Larnach hit a 2-out single through the left side and New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone looked like he was coming out to make a pitching change but Jordan Montgomery must’ve talked his way into staying in the game to face Rob Refsnyder and…he threw a Wild Pitch to advance Larnach to 2nd then…

The Legend of Rob Refsnyder grew a little more as he hit a game-tying RBI-double (4) that was a matter of inches** from being a 2-run HR to take a 4-3 lead. Refsnyder may have thought the ball was going to leave the park when he hit it but he needed to get to 2nd so he slid kind of hard and it was obvious something was wrong. He just came off the 7-Day Concussion Injured List & a lot of the time, a dive can make those concussion symptoms come back* so he was replaced by Alex Kirilloff and the pitching change was made to RHP Jonathan Loaisiga and he needed just one pitch to get Willians Astudillo out on a ground ball to 3rd. Tied 3-3
*CF Rob Refsnyder left the game due to an injured leg (left hamstring tightness) according to MLB At-. That’s better than concussion problems but not great for #TheLegend.

Kirilloff stayed in the game, playing right field & batting 7th, and RF Kyle Garlick moved to CF. RHP Luke Farrell took over for the Twins to begin the 7th inning and he got Aaron Judge to line out to center then gave up back-to-back singles to Gleyber Torres & Giancarlo Stanton. Torres advanced to 3rd. Urshela hit a weak popup to short right field that was caught by Jorge Polanco and Torres stayed at 3rd. Gary Sanchez then came up to the plate and Luke Farrell GOT HEEM swinging at one of those slider thingies!!! “Slider! You Stink!” Haha Still Tied at 3!

The Twins went down 1-2-3 (all groundouts (to 2nd twice & 3rd)) so into the game came Twins LHP Taylor Rogers to face Rougned Odor, Miguel Andújar & Brett Gardner but OF Clint Frazier pinch-hit for Odor and he led off the inning with a single on a ground ball through the right side. Andújar then did the same thing to advance Frazier to 2nd. Tyler Wade then came in to pinch-run for Frazier. Brett Gardner then hit a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners up a base, Wade to 3rd & Andújar to 2nd and DJ LeMahieu, with the infield in, hit a grounder to Polanco at 2nd and he made a throw to try to cut the runner down at home but it was off target so the Yankees take a the lead at 4-3. Judge then hit a slow grounder that couldn’t be turned into a double play so another run scored to make it 5-3.

The Yankees then challenged the out at 2nd as Andrelton Simmons tried to make the transition as quick as he could and ended up catching the ball just after his foot left 2nd base so back to 1 out and 2 on (1st & 2nd). Then a Torres base hit loaded the bases to bring up Giancarlo Stanton and he grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play but…the damage was done on a couple of errors. Yankees 5-3

The Twins went down 1-2-3 on a Jorge Polanco popup to 2nd, a Miguel Sanó strikeout and a Ryan Jeffers flyout to deep right center field.

In the top of the 9th, Minnesota Twins prospect & Air Force Captain, RHP Griffin Jax came in to make his Major League Debut*** and the first pitch he threw was a bloop hit off the bat of Gio Urshela then he hung a breaking ball and Gary Sanchez hit it out (7) to center field to double the lead to 7-3. Jax then got his 1st career strikeout by getting Tyler Wade swinging but gave up a solo HR (4) to Miguel Andújar but after a Mound Visit, he got Brett Gardner to line out to right field and DJ LeMahieu to ground out to short. Yankees 8-3

The Twins led off the bottom of the 9th with back-to-back singles from left-handed rookies Trevor Larnach & Alex Kirilloff then Astudillo grounded to short in what should’ve been a double play ball but Kirilloff went hard into 2nd and may have affected the throw as it sailed wide of 1st and allowed Larnach to score & Astudillo to advance to 2nd. Simmons & Garlick then grounded out to 3rd to end the game.

New York Yankees 8, Minnesota Twins 4
Final
W-Loaisiga (5-2) L-Rogers (2-3)

Pitching:
Michael Pineda: 4.1IP 4H 2R/ER 2BB 2K
Jorge Alcala: 1IP 1H 1R
Alex Colomé: 0.2IP 1H
Luke Farrell: 1IP 2H 1K
Taylor Rogers: 1IP 3H 2R/ER
Griffin Jax (MLB Debut): 1IP 3H 3R/ER 0BB 1K 2HR

Hitting:
Ryan Jeffers: 2-for-4 – 2B (2), 2 RBI
Rob Refsnyder: 2-for-3 – Game-Tying RBI-2B (4) in 6th 
(left game afterwards due to a left hamstring strain)
Larnach: 2H, 2R
Sanó/Donaldson: H, R
Kirilloff/Simmons: H

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Game Notes

*Man, it just seems this is always how it goes when the Twins play the Yankees or, at least, when the Twins start out well. The Yankees just keep battling and the Twins make a couple mistakes to tie the game or take the lead. 

**”A matter of inches” seems to always be involved in these games, doesn’t it? Will that be the case in this game? Refsnyder’s game-tying double hit the padding at the top of the fence by the bullpen in center field just inches from being a 2-run HR. It was the case, maybe not on this play although who knows if taking a 4-3 lead instead of just tying the game would’ve made a difference. Most fans would say no because it’s the Twins vs the Yankees but, unfortunately, there’s no way to know regardless of the past. It’s why you play the games. If that ball goes for a home run, Refsnyder probably doesn’t get hurt because he can trot instead of having to dive into 2nd but 

There were multiple plays that were…”a matter of inches”… from changing this game. The throwing error from Polanco, the fielding error from Simmons, Astudillo cutting off the throw home, walking in a run and even the Wild Pitch from Alcala that tied the game. Those errors were tough plays to make but the players felt they needed to try to make them to stay in the game and, unfortunately, they weren’t made.

***It seems almost cruel to put Griffin Jax, a rookie pitcher, in the position of facing the New York Yankees as a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins. That’s what every fan will think but, one thing I like about the current regime is they don’t think about if it’s the right situation as much as they believe these are good baseball players and they either need experience and to get him in there to see what they can do.

Ask all Twins fans what they think of watching their team play the New York Yankees and the majority will probably say they know what will happen and that they will never beat the Yankees. I disagree. With most of my TwinsTakes, I try to think about what the major league team will do or how they will react to situations they’re put it and if it’s facing the Yankees at any point in any season, be it the regular season or the postseason, I believe, all through the organization, they want to face them because they’ve struggled against them. The only way to get past that and break through is to play them so… with that being said, it’s… same teams, same time tomorrow night with…

Twins RHP Randy Dobnak (1-5, 6.19 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) 

vs

Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole (6-3, 2.26 ERA, 0.87 WHIP)

at 7:10pm on Bally Sports North!

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Twins Minor-League Scores

Coming in a matter of minutes as I’ll post them from AAA down to Low-A because I’m sure you want to know what Byron Buxton did, right?

Omaha Storm Chasers 1, St. Paul Saints 4
Final
W-I. Hamilton (2-0) L-Zuber (0-1)BS(1) S-Coulombe (2)

Saints starter RHP Charlie Barnes had a great start throwing 6 innings of 1-run ball but the bullpen one-upped him by pitching 3 innings of scoreless ball without allowing a hit to get the win & the save as the Saints needed a solo HR in the 7th off the bat of 3B Daniel Descalso to tie the game at 1 then got 3 runs in the 8th after Byron Buxton led off the inning with a single. He advanced to 2nd on a Brent Rooker 1-out walk then was pinch-run for with Jimmy Kerrigan after the pitching change.

The Saints greeted the new pitcher, RHP Tyler Zuber, with back-to-back singles, the 2nd one of the RBI-single variety and it was followed by an RBI-groundout and then scored on a Wild Pitch to go up 4-1.

The bullpen had already taken over but LHP Danny Coulombe closed it out by striking out the first two batters then got a groundout to 3B Daniel Descalso to end the game.

Byron Buxton was 2-for-3 with a triple (1) & a walk in 7+innings of game time. 

Pitching:
RHP Charlie Barnes: 6IP 3H 1R/ER 2BB 7K
RHP Ian Hamilton: 2IP 1BB 4K 1 Win
LHP Danny Coulombe: 1IP 2K 1 Save
Hitting:
3B Daniel Descalso: 1-for-4 – Game-Tying HR (1) in the 7th
DH Byron Buxton: 2-for-3 – 3B (1), BB
Here’s how to pronounce his name…if you didn’t know:



RF Brent Rooker: 1-for-2 – 2 BBs, R
1B Sherman Johnson – 2-R 1B in 8th
SS Drew Maggi – 2H RBI-Groundout in 8th
LF Mark Contreras: H, BB, R
CF Keon Broxton: BB

Wichita Wind Surge 3, Tulsa Drillers 8
Final
W-Zuniga (4-1) L-Phillips (1-2)

Pitching:
RHP Josh Winder: 5IP 6H 2R/ER 1BB 9K 2HR
RHP Alex Phillips: 2IP 2H 3R/ER 1BB 2K 1HR
RHP Ryan Mason: 1IP 1H 3R 1ER 2BB 1K
Hitting:
RF Ernie De La Trinidad: 3-for-4 – RBI-2B, RBI-1B
C Caleb Hamilton: HR (3)
SS Jermaine Palacios: 2BB, 2R
Jeferson Morales/Aaron Whitefield: BB

Cedar Rapids Kernels 4, Beloit Snappers 5
Final
W-Nardi (1-0) L-Griffith (2-2)(BS-2)

Pitching:
RHP Cody Laweryson: 4IP 2H 1R/ER 2BB 4K
LHP Tyler Watson: 2IP 2H 2R/ER 2BB 0K
RHP Owen Griffith: 2IP 2H 2R/ER 1BB 3K
Hitting:
HR: Spencer Steer (5), Wander Javier (2)
2B: Michael Helman (5), Trey Cabbage (5)

Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 7, Jupiter Hammerheads 4
Final
W-Bentley (1-1) L-Suriel (1-1) S-German (3)

Pitching:
RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long: 5IP 6H 4R/ER 2BB 9K
LHP Denny Bentley: 2IP 1H 1BB 6K 1 Win
RHP Osiris German: 2IP 2BB 4K 1 Save
Scoring Plays
Top of 2nd
CF Justin Washington 2-R 2B (1) tied the game at 2
Top of 5th
LF Misael Urbina bases-loaded walk in the 5th puts the Mussels up 3-2
Jupiter scored 2 in the bottom of the 5th to take a 4-3 lead
Top of 7th
DH Eduard Julien-Leadoff BB
SS Keoni Cavaco 1B’d to CF, Julien out at 3rd, Cavaco advanced to 2nd
1B Aaron Sabato reached on a fielding error (E6), Cavaco scored to tie the game at 4
RF Jeferson Morales & LF Misael Urbina BB’d to load the bases
C Kyle Schmidt BB’d to put the Mussels up 5-4
3B Yunior Severino BB’d to put the Mussels up 6-4
2B Ruben Santana 1B’d to score LF J.D. Orr, 7-4 Mussels
RHP Osiris German pitched a scoreless 8th & 9th giving up just 2 walks while striking out 4 to earn his 3rd Save of the season

Minor-League Pitcher of the Night
AAA-St. Paul Saints
RHP Charlie Barnes: 6IP 3H 1R/ER 2BB 7K
He went 6 innings in a quality start allowing just 3 hits, 1 run & 2 walks while striking out 7 to keep his team in the game so they could come back and win late in a 4-1 win in St. Paul at CHS Field

Honorable Mention:
Low-A Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
LHP Denny Bentley: 2IP 1H 1BB 6K 1 Win
He allowed just 1 hit & 1 walk but he struck out the side in both the 6th & the 7th to earn his first win of the season.
AA-Wichita Wind Surge
RHP Josh Winder
He allowed 6 hits & 2 runs on 2 HRs but he only walked 1 & struck 9 in 5 innings

Minor-League Hitter of the Night
RF Ernie De La Trinidad: 3-for-4 – RBI-2B, RBI-1B
Ernie had his 4th multi-hit game (& 2nd 3-Hit Game) in the 7th game since the calendar turned to June and he’s now slashing…
.407/.448/.630 (AVG/OBP/SLG)

Ernie De La Trinidad is hitting well in June!

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Minnesota Twins Recap vs Kansas City Royals – May 29th, 2021

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Robb

The Minnesota Twins look to rebound after a disappointing 8-3 loss yesterday!

The Minnesota Twins sent LHP J.A. Happ to the mound today for his 9th start of the season and he’s been pretty good so far this season, save for a couple starts against the Chicago White Sox. His ERA (Earned Run Average) is 5.44 and his WHIP (Walks+Hits per Inning Pitched) is 1.306. If you took out the 2 starts against Chicago, he would have an ERA of 2.64 and a WHIP of 0.968. You can’t do that but it’s interesting to see those numbers.

He faced former Minnesota Twin, Kansas City Royals RHP Ervin Santana, who was making just his 2nd start of the season as he’s been used out of the bullpen for most of the season so far. He’s made 7 appearances out of the KC bullpen after starting in his first game for them on April 17th. That start is the only game he’s appeared in that the Royals have won so he’s been doing a lot of mop-up duty just eating innings up to finish games for them. He has an overall ERA of 2.20 and a WHIP of 0.980 which is pretty good. As a reliever, he has an ERA of 2.03 and a WHIP of 1.050. His 1 start was just 3 innings and he gave up 1 run on 2 hits with no walks and 1 strikeout so that breaks down to an ERA of 3.00 and a WHIP of 0.667.

Twinsactions

Today, the Minnesota Twins selected the contract of RHP Juan Minaya from the Triple-A St. Paul Saints. They have also optioned RHP Cody Stashak to make room on the 26-man roster and they have Designated RHP Dakota Chalmers for Assignment (DFA’d) to make room on the 40-Man Roster.

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

Kansas City Royals Lineup:

Recap

J.A. Happ allowed just a walk to Carlos Santana in the top of the 1st while the Twins put together 3 straight 1-out hits with back-to-back singles from Josh Donaldson & Alex Kirilloff and a ground-rule double (5) off the bat of Nelson Cruz to score Donaldson from 2nd and that run ended up being the 2,000,000th run scored in MLB History so that’s pretty cool. It put the Twins up 1-0 in the 1st inning.

Happ worked around a leadoff Adalberto Mondesi single and 1-out stolen base with a called strikeout and a flyout to center. The Twins then doubled their lead on a Trevor Larnach monster solo HR (3) on the 1st pitch of the bottom of the 2nd that was just to the right of going into the Minnie & Paul’s restaurant in the 2nd deck of center field which is where his 2nd HR of the season landed off of Baltimore LHP John Means! 2-0 Twins

Unfortunately, Minnesota Twins RF Max Kepler had to be removed* from the game before the 3rd inning due to the hamstring injury he’s been dealing with for awhile. Also unfortunately, the Royals responded in the top of the 3rd when a Carlos Santana single was followed by Salvador Perez’ 10th HR of the season to the left field seats to tie the game at 2. Happ set down the next 7 in a row beginning with 4 straight strikeouts before being replaced by RHP Jorge Alcala after the 5th inning and by that time, the Twins had given him a 2-run lead when they led off the bottom of the 4th with 3 walks and a Rob Refsnyder RBI-bloop single that scored one run and a passed ball scored another one as KC RHP Carlos Hernández had some command problems when he first entered the game. The Twins left the bases loaded again after Josh Donaldson struck out to end the 4th, though. 4-2 Twins 

Alcala needed just 10 pitches to get through the 6th, striking out the 1st 2 batters then getting a flyout to center field. Mitch Garver led off the bottom of the 6th with a double (8) down the left field line and he was driven in by Trevor Larnach on a ball that was later scored as a fielding error by KC 1B Carlos Santana. 5-2 Twins 

Minnesota Twins RHP Tyler Duffey pitched the 7th and struck out the side.** The Twins also went down 1-2-3 in the 7th. RHP Hansel Robles took over for Minnesota for the 8th and 2B Hanser Alberto then led it off with a double (6) to left-center field. Cam Gallagher then used the Sledge-O-Matic* to single to left field and advance Alberto to 3rd. Whit Merrifield then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to score Alberto. Carlos Santana then walked but Salvador grounded out to end the top of the 8th. 5-3 Twins
*I couldn’t resist that because of Gallagher. Haha!

Jorge Polanco saw KC leadoff the 8th with a double so he led off the bottom of the 8th with a double (11) of his own. Garver grounded out to 2nd to advance Polanco to 3rd. Larnach walked and KC made a pitching change to RHP Greg Holland but Rob Refsnyder didn’t care. He hit another RBI-single to score Polanco from 3rd and this one wasn’t one of those blooper singles like his previous RBI. This was a solid knock through the left side to get the Twins the run back they gave up in the top of the inning. 6-3 Twins

Minnesota Twins LHP Taylor Rogers came in to get the save in the 9th. Gutierrez doubled (2) to lead it off and Adalberto Mondesi hit his 1st HR of the season to get the Royals within 1 but Rogers got Hunter Dozier to lineout to center field then struck out pinch-hitter Andrew Benintendi swinging and ended the game by striking out Hanser Alberto to earn his 4th save of the season.

Final

5 #TogetherRoyal | #MNTwins 6  
W-Happ(3-2) L-Santana(0-1) S-Rogers(4)
H-Alcala(1) Duffey(6) Robles(9) 

Pitching:
Happ-5IP 3H 2R/ER 2BB 5K 1HR 1 Win
Alcala-1IP 2K
Duffey-1IP 3K
Robles-1IP 2H 1R/ER 1BB
Rogers-1IP 2H 2R/ER 2K 1HR 1 Save

Scoring Plays:
B1: Cruz bloop 2B(5) scored Donaldson (2,000,000th run in @MLB History)
B2: Larnach HR’d(3) on a Monster solo Blast to CF
B4: Refsnyder bloop RBI-1B w/bases loaded scored #JoPo
B4: Passed Ball scored Garver B6: Larnach reached on E3 (Fielding), Garver scored
B8: Refsnyder RBI-1B through left side scored Polanco 

Notables:
Kepler left after the 2nd (hamstring)
Refsnyder keeps producing in big spots (2 big RBI-1Bs)
Larnach solo HR & 2BBs
Everyone got on base except Kepler(Sanó BB, tho) 

Is the real Tyler Duffey back?
Last 4 Games:
4IP 1H 0R/ER 2BB 7K

The Minnesota Twins will go for another series win tomorrow: 

RHP Matt Shoemaker (2-5, 5.48 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) 

vs

KC RHP Brad Keller (4-4, 5.72 ERA, 1.73 WHIP) 

Time: 1:10pm 
TV: @BallySportsNOR
Radio: @wccoradio
Location: #TargetField 

Game Notes

*Add Max Kepler to the long list of Minnesota Twins injuries this season. Do they have any outfielders left? Buxton, Cave, Arraez, now Kepler. Geez! You could almost say it was Injury, Incorporated. Who else? Hmmm….Maeda, Pineda, Kirilloff for a while & Cruz for a little bit, too.

Obviously, injuries stink but they’re a part of the game and every team deals with them at some point. The worst thing about them, though, is it forces the organization to bring up players who either might not be ready or, aren’t already on the 40-Man Roster so they then have to DFA (Designate For Assignment) or Waive a player and possibly lose them like they did with Travis Blankenhorn and could with RHP Dakota Chalmers who was DFA’d today.

A lot of teams are having problems with injuries this season, though, so hopefully, it’s not something the Twins are/aren’t doing to keep their players healthy.

**It sure looks like we’re starting to see the Tyler Duffey and #TheStuffOfDuff lately. In his last 4 games, Tyler Duffey has allowed just 1 hit, no runs & only 2 walks while striking out 7! 

From Betsy Helfand at the Pioneer Press: He sensed things starting to change last Friday. The Twins had landed in Cleveland early that morning after a redeye flight from Los Angeles and his teammates were running on adrenaline.”

“Everyone kind of looks at each other and you just know, ‘Yeah, we’re all tired. We all feel terrible. Let’s play baseball!…And ultimately that’s what we’re here to do, and I think sometimes you need to take the thinking out of it. … I think sometimes taking the brain out of the way and just letting the body take over, that works, and I think we’re hitting that good stride right now.”

***Rob Refsnyder is making a difference for this team. It’s fun to see a guy get an opportunity and take advantage of it and it’s been exciting to see how he competes everywhere on the field whether that be at the plate taking great at-bats or in center field where it’s easy to see he’s competing as hard as he can to help his team win.

He also gets it. When asked the other day about playing center field:

Minor League Scores

May 29th, 2021

St. Paul Saints 6 at Iowa Cubs 5
W-Leyer (1-0) L-Stock (0-2) S-Law (2)
H-Coulombe (2) Hackimer (1)

Saints Pitching:
RHP Chandler Shepherd – 3IP 7H 2R 1ER 0BB 3K
RHP Robinson Leyer – 2IP 1H 3K 1 Win
LHP Danny Coulombe – 2IP 1H 4K 1 Hold
RHP Tom Hackimer – 1IP 1H 1BB 1 Hold
LHP Andrew Vazquez – 0.1IP 0H 3R/ER 4BB 1K
RHP Derek Law – 0.2IP 1H 1K 1 Save

Saints Scoring Plays:
SS JT Riddle 1B’d to 3rd, E5 (Throwing) allowed Ryan Jeffers to score in 4th
C Ben Rortvedt HR’d (1), Riddle scores in 4th
3B Damek Tomscha HR’d (2) to center field to leadoff the 7th
2B Drew Maggi 3B’d w/1-out & scored on a Tomás Telis groundout in 7th
3B Damek Tomscha HR’d (3) to lead off the 9th

Notables:
Damek Tomscha went 4-for-4 with 2 HRs (2.3) & a 2B (3)
Middle Relievers RHP Robinson Leyer & LHP Danny Coulombe combine to pitch 4 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits while striking out 7 and one got the Win while the other got a Hold

Springfield Cardinals 9 vs Wichita Wind Surge 10

Coming soon…most games are still being played but the Wind Surge did just get a Game-Tying 2-Run HR (6) from Jose Miranda in the bottom of the 9th and that was followed by a Walk-Off HR (2) off the bat of Gilbertooooo Celestinooooo!!! That is just fun to say! Go ahead! Say it and tell me it’s not a lot of fun!

W-Cano (2-0) L-Escobar (0-1)

Pitching:
RHP Josh Winder – 5IP 2H 2R/ER 1BB 7K 1HR
RHP Calvin Faucher – 0.1IP 3H 3R/ER 2BB 1K
RHP Brandon Koch – 1.2IP 2H 1R/ER 0BB 1K 1 Hold
RHP Yennier Cano – 2IP 3H 0ER 0BB 3K 1HR 1 Blown Save 1 Win

Surge Scoring Plays:
Just signed on May 27th LF B.J. Boyd 2B’d (1) to CF, Aaron Whitefield scored in the 3rd – 1-0
SS Jose Miranda 1B’d on a popup to 2nd, B.J. Boyd scored in the 3rd – 2-0
CF Aaron Whitefield walked, Palacios scored in the 4th – 3-0
LF B.J. Boyd 1B’d to LF, 3B Andrew Bechtold & 2B Peter Mooney scored in the 4th – 5-0
C David Banuelos hit a Sacrifice Fly to RF, Aaron Whitefield scored in the 4th – 6-0
SS Jose Miranda grounded out to 1st, BJ Boyd scored – 7-0
Then everything switched…
After not having a hit or a baserunner in the 1st 4 innings, Springfield scored 2 in the 5th, 3 in the 6th, 1 in the 7th, 1 in the 8th to tie the game at 7 then scored 2 in the 9th to take a 9-7 lead. 
And the Wind Surge had just 1 baserunner (Boyd 2-out 2B (2) in the 6th) from the 5th through the 8th…
But…
You never give up! You keep playing!
To the bottom of the 9th…
Whitefield K’d looking
Boyd 1B’d to RF on a ground ball
Sherman Johnson PH for Banuelos then K’d looking, Boyd stole 2nd (1)
Jose Miranda came to the plate with a runner on 2nd…
He swung & missed at the first pitch then took 2 pitches in the dirt then…
he got a pitch down the middle & HE DID NOT MISS IT….HR to LF and THIS GAME IS TIED, BABY!!!
Gilberto Celestino to the plate…
See for yourself…

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 8 vs Cedar Rapids Kernels 1
Game 1 of the Double-Header
The Kernels were No-Hit in Game 1
W-Adames (2-0) L-Cabezas (1-1)

Pitching:
RHP Andrew Cabezas – 4.2IP 5H 3R/ER 3BB 6K
RHP Derek Molina – 1IP 3H 5R/ER 2BB 2K
LHP Zach Featherstone – 1.1IP 1H 2BB 2K

Kernels Scoring Plays:
1B Jair Camargo grounded out, CF Michael Helman scored – 1-0

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 6 vs Cedar Rapids Kernels 1
Game 2 of the Double-Header
W-Walters (3-1) L-Olsen (0-3)

Pitching:
RHP Jon Olsen – 3.2IP 4H 2R/ER 2BB 5K
LHP Tyler Watson – 3IP 6H 4R 3ER 2BB 3K 1HR  

Kernels Scoring Plays:
They got their 1st hit of the day in the bottom of the 6th in Game 2
RF Trey Cabbage HR’d (3) in the 7th to avoid the shutout

Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 1 at Lakeland Flying Tigers 2
W-Guzman (2-1) L-Legumina (1-1) S-Davila (1)

Pitching:
RHP Casey Legumina – 4IP 7H 2R/ER 1BB 4K
RHP Sean Mooney – 3IP 1H 6K
RHP Matthew Swain – 1IP 1K

Mighty Mussels Scoring Plays:
DH Charles Mack BB’d, RF Jeferson Morales scored in the 6th

Minor League Pitcher of the Day
Wind Surge RHP Josh Winder – 5IP 2H 2R/ER 1BB 7K 1HR
He didn’t allow a baserunner until the 5th inning

Minor League Hitter of the Day
St. Paul Saints 3B Damek Tomscha
4-for-4 with 2 HRs & a 2B

Honorable Mentions
Wind Surge RF Gilberto Celestino – Walk-Off HR in the 9th
Wind Surge SS Jose Miranda – Game-Tying 2-R HR in the 9th
Wind Surge LF BJ Boyd – 4-for-4 w/2 2Bs, 2 1Bs, 3 RBI, 3 Runs & a SB in his 1st game for AA-Wichita

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Minnesota Twins Recap vs Kansas City Royals – May 28th, 2021

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Robb

The Minnesota Twins have won 6 out of their last 7 games. They got a well-deserved day off yesterday after playing 26 games in 27 days with just 1 day off (May 10th.) They played a double-header in Anaheim against the Angels and had 1 game in Detroit postponed due to weather.

So, the #MNTwins started a 3-game series against AL Central opponent, the Kansas City Royals (or #TogetherRoyal) last night with RHP Randy Dobnak on the mound for his 2nd start of the season. He was 1-3 with a 5.75 Earned Run Average (ERA) & a 1.28 WHIP (Walks+Hits per Inning Pitched) but he won his 1st start (which was also his first start) with 6 innings on 3-hit, shutout ball so, as a starter, he had an ERA of ZERO and a WHIP of 0.38.

The Royals sent LHP Kris Bubic to the mound for his 3rd start of the season. He has no record with an ERA of 1.52 & a WHIP of 1.14. As a starter, those numbers are an ERA of 1.64 & a WHIP of 1.09 in 11 innings.

With a lefty on the mound, the @Twins had a heavily right-handed lineup with the only left-handed hitter being LF Alex Kirilloff but 2B Jorge Polanco is a switch-hitter.

Did the Twins extend their winning streak?

Let’s see!

Oh, AND….Let’s Go Wild in Game 7 in Vegas!!!

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

Kansas City Royals Lineup:

Recap

Minnesota Twins RHP Randy Dobnak needed just 43 pitches to get through the 1st 4 innings and he allowed just 2 singles and no walks but he didn’t strike out anyone, either.*

Mitch Garver hit his 8th HR of the season to lead off the bottom of the 4th and put the Twins up 1-0. Dobnak then struck out Kelvin Gutierrez to begin the top of the 5th and then got Jorge Soler to ground out to 3rd but he then walked Hunter Dozier** (he was 0-for his last 32 at-bats with just 2 walks since May 5th). 3 straight hits on a double from Michael A. Taylor & back-to-back singles from Whit Merrifield & Carlos Santana changed a 1-0 lead to a 1-3 deficit.*** He then struck out Andrew Benintendi to end the 5th inning but it took 25 pitches to get through that inning.

Adalberto Mondesi hit a 1-out double but was thrown out trying to steal 3rd by Mitch Garver then Dobnak struck out the next batter to end the 6th. He then gave up 3 straight singles to begin the 7th and he was pulled for RHP Cody Stashak at 89 pitches.**** The Royals greeted Stashak with a 2-run Whit Merrifield double (11) followed by a Carlos Santana sacrifice fly then an Andrew Benintendi walk and two RBI-singles from Salvador Perez & Adalberto Mondesi before getting a strikeout and a flyout to end the inning to change a 2-run deficit to a 7-run deficit with just 3 innings remaining for the Twins to come back.

The Twins immediately had a huge chance to get back into the game by walking the bases loaded with 1-out walks from Jorge Polanco, Rob Refsnyder & Andrelton Simmons. Trevor Larnach then hit a pinch-hit (for Kyle Garlick) RBI-single to score Polanco but Josh Donaldson struck out after coming within a few foul feet of making it an 8-6 game. A wild pitch allowed another run to come in but Nelson Cruz grounded out to 3rd to end the inning so they only got 2 runs out of it.

Minnesota Twins RHP Luke Farrell pitched a perfect 8th with 2 strikeouts. The Twins went down 1-2-3 in the 8th but they got a leadoff double from Jorge Polanco in the 9th but Refsnyder lined out to center and Simmons struck out. Trevor Larnach walked but Donaldson struck out to end the game.

Game Notes

*Is this a problem? It’s hard to say. Obviously, you want pitchers to get outs and, arguably, to get them as quickly as possible but…the best pitchers have strikeout stuff and making hitters miss is huge because strikeouts rarely have a bad outcome. The ball isn’t in play so the worst that can happen is a hitter still gets to first on a passed ball or a wild pitch. Do we yet know what to expect from Randy Dobnak? It seems he has very good stuff. He started this game going 4 innings and allowed just 2 hits so he can be hard to hit against but…

**He can also seem to go in the complete opposite of that and maybe lose command and walk a batter then give up hits in bunches. Is it hitters figuring him out? Or mistake pitches? The sinker not sinking or the slider not sliding? Are we expecting too much from him? Did he move up too quickly? 

***It should’ve likely been only a 1-run deficit but Garver dropped the ball on the throw home to get Dozier on the Taylor double. It’s a game of inches. Garver had to try to catch the throw on a short hop and the ball fell out of the pocket of his glove to allow Dozier to score.

****What do the Twins do with Stashak? He seems to be all over the place this season. He had 4 walks total from 2019 to 2020 and this season he has 10 walks through 15 games and 15.2 innings. It’s difficult to know what’s going on because these are not normal times for baseball. We’ll see what the Minnesota Twins going forward with him.

Minor League Scores
May 28th, 2021

St. Paul Saints 4 at Iowa Cubs 0

W-Jax (3-1) L-Mills (0-2) H-Anderson, S. (1)
RHP Griffin Jax gave up just 1 hit through 6 very good innings and struck out 10.

Saints Pitching:
RHP Griffin Jax – 6IP 1H 0R/ER 2BB 10K 1 Win
RHP Shaun Anderson – 1IP 1BB 1K 1 Hold
RHP Ian Gibaut – 2IP 1BB 4K

Saints Scoring Plays:
C Ryan Jeffers – RBI-1B in 3rd
3B Damek Tomscha – RBI-Groundout in 4th
RF Mark Contreras RBI-2B (1) in 8th – 2-for-4
RF J.T. Riddle – RBI-1B in 8th – 2-for-4

Notables:
SS Tzu-Wei Lin – 1B, 2 SB (3) 2 R
3 of 4 runs scored with 2-out hits
Team RISP: 3-for-9

Springfield Cardinals 5 vs Wichita Wind Surge 2

L-Schulfer (1-2) W-Roach (1-2) S-Escobar (1)

Pitching:
RHP Austin Schulfer – 4.2IP 6H 3R 1ER 2BB 3K
RHP Hector Lujan – 2.1IP 1H 1R/ER 0BB 2K 1HR
RHP Ryan Mason – 1IP 3H
RHP Jonathan Cheshire – 1IP 2H 1R/ER 1BB 2K  

Surge Scoring Plays:
DH Jose Miranda RBI-Walk w/Bases Loaded in 7th
Palacios – Solo HR (3) in 8th

Notables:
3B Andrew Bechtold – 2-for-4, 2B (3)
Team: 1-for-10 w/RISP (Runners in Scoring Position)

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 6 vs Cedar Rapids Kernels 2

L-Gore (2-1) W-Schanuel (1-0)

Pitching:
RHP Matt Canterino – 4IP 3H 10K
RHP Tyler Palm – 3IP 1H 5K
RHP Jordan Gore – 1.2 4H 5R/ER 3BB 4K
RHP Melvi Acosta – 0.1IP 1H 1R 0ER 0BB 1K  

Kernels Scoring Plays:
5 consecutive walks in the 8th; RBI-Walks from 3B Seth Gray & SS Wander Javier

Notables:
Team RISP: 0-for-8

Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 2 at Lakeland Flying Tigers 3

L-Sharpe (0-1) W-Arriera (1-1) S-Tassin (3)

Pitching:
RHP Louie Varland – 2.2IP 2H 1R/ER 5BB 5K
LHP Zarion Sharpe – 2.1IP 1H 2R/ER 2BB 4K
LHP Denny Bentley – 3IP 0H 2BB 8K 

Mighty Mussels Scoring Plays:
DH Yunior Severino RBI-1B in 1st
2B Ruben Santana Sacrifice Fly in 2nd

Notables:
CF Willie Joe Garry, Jr – 2-for-4, 2B (1)
Team RISP: 1-for-11

Minor League Pitcher of the Day
RHP Griffin Jax with the 1-hitter over 6 shutout innings while striking out 10 in a 4-0 Saints Win

Honorable Mention:
RHP Matt Canterino with 10 strikeouts in 4 innings for the Cedar Rapids Kernels 
LHP Denny Bentley with 3 hitless innings and 8 strikeouts for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

Minor League Hitter of the Day
Saints RF Mark Contreras going 2-for-4 with a clutch 2-out double (his 1st AAA XBH) in the 8th

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Minnesota Twins Recap at Chicago White Sox – May 11th, 2021

Posted on May 11, 2021 by Robb
Can the Twins start a turnaround in Chicago, who lead the AL Central right now?

The Minnesota Twins had 2 days off after the rainout in Detroit on Sunday and having yesterday off so they should be good and rested for this division battle against the American League Central Division-leading Chicago White Sox who lead by 1 game but are 7 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins got UTIL Luis Arraez back today as he was activated from the 7-Day Injured List (IL). To make room for Arraez, INF Nick Gordon was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul, who have their Home Opener tonight for the 1st time as the Twins top minor-league affiliate.

It’s also Miguel Sanó’s birthday today but he’s not in the lineup as the Twins will give him an extra day off. 

Here’s how they lined up for Game 1 with Kenta Maeda on the Ma-ound-a:

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

Chicago White Sox Lineup:

Recap

Frankly, the Minnesota Twins really need to turn their season around starting with this game. They beat the Kansas City Royals 2-out-of-3 games when they were leading the American League Central Division in a home series 10 days ago and it just feels like they need something similar to get something going this season. Facing a division foe when they’re leading the division should get their competitiveness going, that’s for sure. We’ll see if that means anything.

The Twins went down 1-2-3 (strikeout, popout & strikeout). The White Sox got a 1-out single but Yoan Moncada lined into a 5-3 double play when a shifted Andrelton Simmons caught the liner & threw out Adam Eaton at 1st.

In the 2nd, Jorge Polanco hit a 1-out solo HR (3) to right field to put the Twins up 1-0. Trevor Larnach walked after a popup to 3rd was dropped when Yoan Moncada backed away like he heard someone say they got it. Willians Astudillo & Andrelton Simmons singled to bring up Ben Rortvedt and he was hit by a pitch to score another run. That brought up Luis Arraez and he hit a sacrifice fly to score Astudillo and he scored just before Simmons was tagged out trying to advance to 3rd to end the inning.* 3-0 Twins!

Jose Abreu led off the bottom of the 2nd with a single followed by a Yermin Mercedes walk and Yasmani Grandal HR’d (3) to tie the game at 3 just that quickly. The next batter, Andrew Vaughn, then walked on 4 pitches and Leury Garcia grounded out to 2nd but Jorge Polanco muffed it but still got the out at 1st but not the lead runner. Nick Madrigal flew out to center for the 2nd out then Tim Anderson singled to left field but Luis Arraez charged & fielded the ball and came up throwing home and he threw out Andrew Vaughn at home to end the inning with the game still tied. 3-3

The Twins offense had something going in the top of the 6th after a 1-out double (3) from Willians Astudillo and then a single from Andrelton Simmons that Astudillo was only able to advance to 3rd on. Chicago White Sox manager Tony LaRussa pulled starter RHP Dylan Cease in favor of LHP Garrett Crochet so Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli countered by pinch-hitting for Ben Rortvedt with Mitch Garver for the good matchup but Garver flew out to right field & Luis Arraez then struck out looking to end the threat.**

Minnesota Twins RHP Kenta Maeda had set down 9 straight White Sox in the 3rd, 4th & 5th innings before being replaced by RHP Jorge Alcala in the 6th & Alcala got a groundout from Adam Eaton but walked Yoan Moncada on 5 pitches then left a slider up and Jose Abreu put it in the seats to break the tie game. 5-3 Chicago

The Twins then had something going again in the top of the 7th on a Nelson Cruz 1-out single, a Jorge Polanco 2-out single and LaRussa went LHP Aaron Bummer so Kyle Garlick pinch-hit for Trevor Larnach and he reached on a fielding error to load the bases but Willians Astudillo grounded out to short on the very 1st pitch he saw to end the threat.***

LHP Caleb Thielbar took over on the mound for the Minnesota Twins and walked the 1st batter, Andrew Vaughn, who was then pinch-run for with Billy Hamilton. Leury Garcia then sacrifice-bunted Hamilton over to 2nd and Hamilton then stole 3rd on the 1st pitch to Nick Madrigal. The Twins challenged the steal as it was a close play but the call remained safe. Madrigal then flew out to short right field but Tim Anderson got a bloop single to left field to score Hamilton. Adam Eaton then hit a bloop double (5) to right field to score Anderson from 1st and Eaton ended up advancing to 3rd when Jorge Polanco couldn’t retrieve the dropped ball cleanly. Thielbar got Yoan Moncada to strike out swinging to end the 7th but the damage was done as this strange Twins season continued. 7-3 Chicago

In the bottom of the 8th, Jose Abreu was hit by a pitch as LHP Caleb Thielbar started his 2nd inning. Yermin Mercedes followed with a single then Thielbar struck out Yasmani Grandal looking and RHP Derek Law was brought in to relieve Thielbar and he got Leury Garcia to ground into a force out on a nice defensive play by Jorge Polanco to get the out at 2nd. Unfortunately, Leury Garcia & Nick Madrigal both hit RBI-singles to extend the lead by 2 more runs before Law got Tim Anderson to fly out to right center field. 9-3 Chicago

The Twins had nothing in the 9th so they fell 9-3 in Game 1 and also fell 8 games back of 1st place in Game 33.

Final Score
Minnesota Twins 3, Chicago White Sox 9
L-Alcala (0-1) W-Crochet (1-2)

Game Notes

*That’s just a bad play to be thrown out as the 3rd out in that situation. Who knows what could’ve happened with Josh Donaldson coming to the plate, there? We’ll never know because of that play from Simmons. This is finding a way to lose a game.

**Even when the Twins can get a good matchup, it doesn’t seem to matter. This seemed like a questionable move by Tony LaRussa. Why bring in a left-handed pitcher so the other team can pinch-hit with a guy who hits lefties well? He has actually been pretty good against hitters on either side over his short career, so far.

***Willians Astudillo is a good baseball player but he’s also a guy who will get out on one pitch very often. Is that a bad thing? Well, his stats say no but man, it seems like a bases-loaded situation is the time to see a couple of pitches.

****This is the strangest season any of us have ever seen. This 2021 Minnesota Twins team has the talent to have the opposite record of what they currently have at 12-21* so we still think they can get out of this just terrible run they’re on. It starts tomorrow night with LHP J.A. Happ on the mound!
*The opposite record is also 21-12 which is one of the greatest Rush albums of all time!

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Minnesota Twins – Return of the Minors – May 4th, 2021

Posted on May 5, 2021 by Robb
Minor-League Baseball is BACK!

We had Minor-League Baseball last night for the first time in 595 days so it’s pretty exciting for all baseball fans and all of the cities that still have minor-league baseball but likely not as exciting as it is for all of the prospects who haven’t been able to play real games for that long. 

Minor-league baseball is a HUGE part of every Major League Baseball team. Every team needs prospects to keep feeding the big club every year. That’s why it’s called a farm system. Every team is growing prospects every year to build the depth of their top program. They can build through the draft then use those prospects to acquire players they might need to strengthen the Major League club when they feel their team has reached contender status. 

The Minnesota Twins need a healthy farm system because they won’t always be able to fill spots through free agency or via trade. If they have to acquire someone through a trade, that weakens their farm system. The Minnesota Twins Front Office has to beat other teams with how they develop their players so they can be perennial championship contenders.

Chief Baseball Officer has said they want to have waves of prospects on a yearly basis so they will always have prospects coming. We have yet to reach that stage but an almost 2-year hiatus for prospect development has had something to do with that for sure.

We expect the pitchers to start impacting the Twins soon although we heard in the last week that both of their top pitching prospects are battling injuries: 

We will pay closer attention to the pitching as the Twins arguably have better pitching prospects than they have ever had before.

Leading Off

First things first. There were some big changes in Minor-League Baseball since the last time they played. It was completely re-organized as Major League Baseball took over control and with that they eliminated 40 teams so every team only has 4 teams instead of the 6 they had before. Rookie or Short-Season Leagues were eliminated so now there are only Triple-A, Double-A, High-A & Low-A leagues.

For the Minnesota Twins, it worked out pretty well as they were able to sign on the local & legendary St. Paul Saints as their Triple-A affiliate which will make moving guys up & down very easy since they are 10 minutes from Target Field*. Their former Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings, had to find a new MLB team affiliate so the Washington Nationals are now their new parent club.
*How often might a Saints player play in a minor-league game then get called up to play in a Twins game later that night?

The Twins also had to move on from the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos and they ended up affiliating with the new Wichita Wind Surge franchise. Pensacola joined with the Miami Marlins. The Twins were able to keep both of their Single-A level teams but they flip-flopped so the Cedar Rapids Kernels are now their High-A team and the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, who changed from the Fort Myers Miracle before the 2020 season, are now their Low-A club. This works out nicely because the Twins minor-league & spring training facility is in Fort Myers at Hammond Stadium & the CenturyLink Sports Complex.

Let’s Play Some Minor-League Baseball

Fort Myers Mighty Mussels vs Braden Marauders

The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels got the ball flying first as their game started 30 minutes earlier than the other 3 teams. When we say they got the ball flying, we mean that literally because Minnesota Twins 2018 9th-round pick, OF Willie Joe Garry, Jr. (Dub-Jay-Gee (WJG)?) sent a 2-0 pitch out to right center field for his 1st home run of the season! Oh, we like that, Willie! How’s that for Mussels, huh?

Twins 2019 1st-round pick, SS Keoni Cavaco singled after that leadoff HR. A groundout advanced him to 2nd and a wild pitch advanced him to 3rd. The Mussels got a 1-out from Edouard Julien & a 2-out walk from Yunior Severino to load the bases but Will Holland popped out to 2nd to end the threat.

On came RHP Regi Grace to make the start for Fort Myers and he struck out the 1st batter then allowed a single but got a 4-3 inning-ending double play to end the 1st inning. Regi allowed a baserunner every inning but was getting out of it until the 4th when he allowed back-to-back extra-base hits, a William Mattheissen triple & an Endy Rodriguez double, to allow the Bradenton Marauders to tie the game at 1. Regi ended up being pulled in the 5th after striking out the first 2 batters for his 5th & 6th strikeouts of the game. He was at 75 pitches and we assume that was they reason he was pulled being the 1st game and all.

St. Paul, MN native LHP Louie Varland, who also attended Concordia College, replaced Grace and he struck out the next batter to get the Mussels through the 5th with the game still tied at 1.

Since the walk that loaded the bases in the 1st, the Mussels didn’t have a baserunner until an Edouard Julien 2-out double (1) in the 6th as 15 Mussels were set down in a row by the Marauders. Julien was left on base to end the top of the 6th. In the bottom of the 6th, Louie Varland set down the Marauders 1-2-3 on 10 pitches on 2 strikeouts & a groundout back to the pitcher.

Mussels 3B Will Holland got a 1-out walk then stole 2nd base (1) and advanced to 3rd on a pickoff attempt. The Mussels used their walking muscles to walk in a run courtesy of walks from Charles Mack, Willie Joe Garry, Jr & Keoni Cavaco to take a 2-1 lead but they left the bases loaded when 2020 1st-round pick 1B Aaron Sabato struck out to end the top of the 7th. Go ahead & stretch, boys!

Well, maybe they shouldn’t have stretched because Varland walked Jase Bowen with 1 out then struck out Norkis Marcos for the 2nd out but gave up a 2-run HR and the 1-run lead to Alexander Mojica before striking out Sammy Siani to end the 7th. Marauders lead 3-2

Both pitchers, Marauders RHP Alex Aquino & Mussels RHP Louie Varland, struck out the side in the 8th. Varland gave up a leadoff single 1st, though. On to the 9th for the Mussels and they had to face Marauders RHP Oliver Mateo to try to tie the game.

Will Holland led off the 9th with a groundball through the left side for a double (1) then Charles Mack walked and was pinch-run for by Daniel Ozoria. Jefferson Morales pinch-hit for Leobaldo Cabrera and he struck out swinging. Mateo intentionally walked Willie Joe Garry, Jr to load the bases then threw a wild pitch to allow Will Holland to score & tie the game at 3. Keoni Cavaco then walked on a wild pitch that put the Mussels in front 4-3. Sabato struck out as Cavaco stole 2nd base (1) then Edouard Julien hit a 2-run single to put the Mussels up 6-3 before a flyout ended the top of the 9th.

Louie Varland stayed in the game to pitch the 9th. He struck out the 1st 2 batters swinging and got a flyout to center field to finish off his 1st professional win and the Twins Minor League Teams were off!

Final Score
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 6, Braden Marauders 3

Omaha Storm Chasers vs St. Paul Saints

It’s the first game for the St. Paul Saints as the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. It should be the start of a beautiful relationship between two great Minnesota franchises.

Unfortunately, it didn’t start out very well. LHP Andrew Albers made the start and the leadoff hitter tripled then came home on a sacrifice fly. Albers limited the damage to just the one run in the 1st by striking out 2. In the bottom of the 2nd, the leadoff hitter tripled again but this time, not only did that runner score but 3 more did, too, after a hit by pitch, a single & a groundout had runners on 1st & 3rd, Edward Olivares—who hit the triple to leadoff the game—homered to left field & the Chasers were leading 5-0.

In the bottom of the 3rd (Ryan McBroom) & the 4th (Anderson Miller), the leadoff hitter homered. Albers got out of both of those innings allowing just the 1 run and he was at 87 pitches after the 4th so that was his night. Not the start he was looking for, for his team & for himself. RHP Glenn Sparkman took over for the 5th and he struck out the leadoff batter looking but…the next batter, Gabriel Cancel, homered (1) to make it 8-0. Sparkman struck out the next batter and got a groundout to end the 5th then he struck out the side (2 looking, 1 swinging) in the 6th before being relieved by LHP Andrew Vazquez to begin the 7th.

The Saints had a walk (Trevor Larnach) & a single (Ryan Jeffers) through the 1st 4.2 innings then got a single (Zander Wiel) & a walk (Keon Broxton) but Tzu-Wei Lin struck out to end the threat. They then went down 1-2-3 in the 6th but got a leadoff double (1) from Travis Blankenhorn followed by a 2-run HR (1) from Ryan Jeffers. Zander Wiel got his 2nd hit of the game with a 1-out single but Broxton & Lin struck out but, hey, Ryan Jeffers was responsible for the 1st Triple-A runs (& HR) for the Saint Paul Saints and that’s pretty cool.

Andrew Vazquez threw 20 of 27 pitches for strikes as he set down all 6 Storm Chasers in 2 perfect innings and he struck out 3 (2 swinging & 1 looking.)

The Saints got a 2-out double (1) from JT Riddle in the top of the 9th but Wiel struck out to end the game.

Final Score
Omaha Storm Chasers 8, St. Paul Saints 2

W-Kowar (1-0) L-Albers (0-1)
HR:
OMA: Olivares (1) McBroom (1) Cancel (1)
STP: Jeffers (1)
3B:
OMA: Olivares (1) Gutierrez (1)
STP: None
2B
OMA: Gutierrez (1)
STP: Blankenhorn (1) Riddle (1)

Pitching:
OMA:
RHP Jackson Kowar: 5.1IP 2H 0R/ER 2BB 9K 1 Win
LHP Jake Kalish:  2.2IP 3H 2R/ER 0BB 4K 1HR
RHP Andres Sotillet: 1IP 1H 2K
STP:
LHP Andrew Albers: 4IP 8H 7R/ER 0BB 6K 3HR 1 Loss
RHP Glenn Sparkman: 2IP 1H 1R/ER 5K 1HR
LHP Andrew Vazquez: 2IP 5K

Wichita Wind Surge vs Springfield Cardinals

Another new team for the Minnesota Twins and their fans as the Wichita Wind Surge played their very first game as a franchise and as the Double-A affiliate for Minnesota & this looks like it was a pretty good game.

CF Gilberto Celestino, the Twins #8 Prospect, singled for the 1st hit of the Wichita Wind Surge’s existence. Jose Miranda got a 1-out walk but there was no surge for runs in the first. 2018 7th-round pick RHP Josh Winder made the start for Wichita and he allowed a leadoff single to start the game, off the bat of Delvin Perez, but he was thrown out at 2nd. We’re not sure how this happened as it just says it was on a groundball to 3rd. Maybe it was an overthrow on an infield single but 1B Andrew Bechtold was able to corral it right away & still get the runner trying to advance. Anyways, it was an out. The next batter walked then Winder got a groundout & a strikeout to end the 1st inning.

Wichita RF Jimmy Kerrigan hit a 1-out triple (1) in the top of the 2nd but David Banuelos & Aaron Whitefield both struck out swinging & in the bottom of the 2nd, Springfield LF Nick Plummer got a 2-out single but was caught stealing by Wichita C David Banuelos to end the 2nd.

This game was a duel of pitching & defense & Wichita did it better. The Wind Surge got out of the 2nd & 4th inning by throwing out a baserunner trying to steal & in the 1st, 3rd & 5th, they struck out 1, 2 & 1. Then, in the bottom of the 7th, they threw out a runner at home with an outfield assist from LF Aaron Whitefield.

That big defensive play may have gotten their adrenaline running because they got back-to-back 1-out singles from Derek Tomscha & Jose Miranda then got back-to-back 2-out singles from Mark Contreras & Andrew Bechtold to go up 2-0.

Then Wichita RHPs Tom Hackimer & Yennier Cano took care of the 8th & the 9th to win the first game for the Wichita Wind Surge by striking out 2 in both innings. Hackimer got the 1st win & Cano got the 1st save.

Final Score
Wichita Wind Surge 2, Springfield Cardinals 0
W-Hackimer (1-0) L-Roach (0-1) S-Cano (1)

HR:
None
3B:
WCH: Kerrigan (1)
SPR: None
2B
WCH: Palacios (1) Whitefield (1)
SPR: Yepez (1)

Pitching:
WCH:
RHP Josh Winder: 4.2IP 5H 0R/ER 0BB 6K
LHP Jovani Moran: 1.1IP 3K
RHP Tom Hackimer: 2IP 2H 3K 1 Win
RHP Yennier Cano: 1IP 2K 1 Save

Players of the Game:
Aaron Whitefield: 2 hits, 2B & on OF Assist to keep the game scoreless in the bottom of the 7th
Mark Contreras: Game-Winning RBI-single in 8th

Pitchers of the Game:
All Wichita pitchers for the shutout
If I have to pick one, LHP Jovani Moran with 3K & no hits over 1.1 innings on 18 pitches (11 strikes)
He’s one to watch

Cedar Rapids Kernels vs Peoria Chiefs

The Kernels came out swinging the bats as they sent everyone to the plate in the bottom of the 1st inning* and it started with a Spencer Steer leadoff single. Seth Gray struck out looking but Matt Walner & Jair Camargo hit back-to-back doubles to score Steer & Walner and then Gabe Snyder hit a triple to score Carmargo. Wander Javier struck out swinging. Deshawn Kersey was hit by a pitch & Trey Cabbage walked but Gabriel Maciel struck out swinging to end the 1st but hey, 3-0 is a nice way to start a game and your season.
*Was it Oprah night? You get a plate appearance! You get a plate appearance! You get a plate appearance! 

That meant Spencer Steer led off the 2nd inning, too, and this time, he walked to get on base and then scored on Seth Gray’s double (1) to right field. A wild pitch from Peoria reliever RHP Wilfredo Pereira allowed Gray to advance to 3rd and another wild pitch allowed Gray to score to put the Kernels up 5-0.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Spencer Steer didn’t lead off but he hit a 2-out single with Gabriel Maciel (single) on. Maciel advanced to 3rd on the play then the Kernels executed a double steal with Steer stealing 2nd (1) & Maciel stealing home (1) to add another run for the Kernels and make it 6-0.

Cody Funderburk started the game for Cedar Rapids and he allowed just 1 hit, a 1-out single to Malcom Nunez in the 2nd that he followed with an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. He allowed 2 walks but struck out 2 as well. He was pulled for RHP Andrew Cabezas to begin the 4th and Cabezas started his night by setting the Chiefs down 1-2-3 on a lineout, a flyout and a groundout on just 8 pitches. The Kernels bats drew 4 straight 1-out walks in the bottom of the 4th to increase their lead to 7-0.

The pitching took over for the rest of this game. From the 5th inning to the end of the game, only 7 players reached base and that’s for both teams. 1 was hit by a pitch, 4 were on walks and 2 were singles.

Final Score
Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Peoria Chiefs 0

W-Cabezas (1-0) L-Bedell (0-1)

HR:
None
3B:
CR: Snyder (1)
2B
CR: Walner (1) Camargo (1) Gray (1)

Pitching:
CR:
LHP Cody Funderburk: 3IP 1H 0R/ER 2BB 2K
RHP Andrew Cabezas: 4IP 1H 0R/ER 2BB 2K 1 Win
RHP Melvi Acosta: 2IP 1H 0R/ER 1BB 2K

Our Player of the Day:

Cedar Rapids Kernels SS Spencer Steer with 2 singles, 2 runs, a walk and a stolen base, leadoff single & leadoff walk started the 1st & 2nd innings and helped the Kernels get started on the right track.

Honorable Mention:
Willie Joe Garry, Jr leading off the Twins Farm System Minor-League Season with a Home Run!

Our Pitcher of the Day:

RHP Louie Varland: 4.1IP 2H 2R/ER 1BB 10K 1HR 1 Win

Honorable Mention:
LHP Jovani Moran: 1.1IP 3K

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