TRANSACTIONS
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In Triple-A with the St. Paul Saints, C Diego Cartaya was transferred to the development list, while OF Austin Martin was activated from the injured list and started in left field (more on that to come…).
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Down in the Florida State League IF Dameury Pena was activated from the injured list, and in a corresponding move the Mighty Mussels sent RHP Xavier Kolhosser back to the FCL Twins.
SAINTS SENTINEL
Buffalo 2, St. Paul 6
Box Score
In the words of Sean Aronson on the Saints broadcast, “Carson McCrusher” needs to be on a t-shirt. And probably trademarked. By somebody. Not me. Maybe. But somebody. We’ll see…
That’s because Carson McCusker finished this one 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs to give him nine on the season, ranking second in the International League. And my goodness, the first one was absolutely obliterated (make sure you turn the sound up):
The broadcast was adamant this ball cleared the roof of the Cuba Cabana out in right field. If you’ve been to CHS Field, you know that this party area is not particularly close to the field. Just to show how much power he has in his six-foot eight-inch tall frame, he went the opposite way for his second home run in the eighth inning.
But I digress, because we also need to talk about David Festa.
For the second game in a row the lanky right-hander cruised through his opposition. Last Tuesday he needed just 68 pitches to get through six innings, and punched out seven. In this one they didn’t quite let him finish six, but he again punched out seven and needed just 72 pitches, with 50 going for strikes (69%). In his 5 2/3 innings he gave up just three hits, and was removed from the game with two outs and a runner on second base.
Travis Adams was brought on and promptly gave up an RBI single, leading to an earned run on Festa’s ledger and a no-decision in the scorebook. If it were me, I’d have let Festa at least finish that one batter one way or the other (and he wanted to), but it didn’t really end up making much of a difference thanks to McCusker.
Adams went on to complete 2 1/3 innings of his own, allowing no runs on three hits while striking out four. Jacob Bosiokovic finished out the ninth inning with the Saints up by five. He gave up one run on two hits and a pair of walks and struck out two.
Besides McCusker, Mickey Gasper finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and his third home run in five games with the Saints. Jeferson Morales added a double.
Austin Martin returned from the injured list and started this game in left field. He led off the game for the Saints with a single, and along with McCusker executed a double-steal for the game’s first run. However, Martin pulled up injured before reaching home and the only reason he did score is the throw got away from the catcher. He was removed for Anthony Prato to start the second inning.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 4, NW Arkansas 5
Box Score
The Wind Surge took an early lead in this one as leadoff man Tanner Schobel started the game by reaching base on an error. Two outs later Rubel Cespedes drove him in with an RBI double for a 1-0.
Taking the bump for Wichita was Darren Bowen and he would get the first three innings. He delivered a one-two-three first inning including a strikeout, but lost his control in the second. Four walks led to a tie game, and he also allowed a solo home run in the third that made it 3-2.
The Wind Surge had that lead as in the top of the third Jake Rucker and Schobel traded places with back-to-back doubles to start the inning, and Kala’i Rosario drove in Schobel with a single two batters later that put them in front 3-1. They added their fourth run in the sixth inning after a Kyler Fedko double and two walks loaded the bases, before Rucker brought a run in with a groundout.
Righty Pierson Ohl came on to start the fourth inning and went the next two scoreless frames, giving up just two hits to keep Wichita in front. John Klein delivered a scoreless sixth inning, but ran into trouble in the seventh and eighth. A three-run homer in the seventh put the Naturals in front, then a pair of two out singles in the eighth ended Klein’s outing. He finished with three earned runs on six hits and a walk in his 2 2/3 innings pitched, while striking out three. Cody Laweryson got the final out of the game for the Wind Surge.
Down 5-4 in the ninth, the Wichita lineup went down one-two-three to fall to 15-13 on the season. Aaron Sabato (2-for-3, BB) led the way with multiple hits. Schobel scored two runs from the top of the lineup. Five of their nine hits as a team were doubles, but the Naturals’ big blast was enough to overcome the Wind Surge’s warning track power in this one.
KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 8, Beloit 0
Box Score
The Kernels blanked the Minnesota Twins former Midwest League Affiliate on Tuesday behind a stellar effort from their pitching staff and taking advantage of Snappers miscues.
Chase Chaney made the start and was excellent. He did not allow a run or issue a walk, scattering seven hits over six shutout innings. He threw 90 pitches, with 60 going for strikes (67%), and punching out six. He retired the first eight hitters of the game before giving up a single in the third inning.
The lineup scored all the runs they would need in the top of the first inning, after Brandon Winokur reached base on an infield single, and advanced to second on a throwing error. Danny De Andrade followed with an RBI single that made it 1-0.
They added a single run in the third when Kaelen Culpepper led off with a double, moved to third on another error (off the bat of Winokur), and was brought in to score on a De Andrade groundout.
The Kernels lineup did most of their damage in the fifth inning. Caden Kendle led off with a double. Two more consecutive errors loaded the bases before Winokur drove in two with a single. Another De Andrade groundout scored another, before Khadim Diaw brought in the fourth run of the inning with an RBI single to make it 6-0.
The bullpen duo of Samuel Perez (2 IP, 2 H, 2 K) and Jacob Wosinski (IP, K) closed out the final three innings in scoreless fashion to complete the shutout. Chaney picked up his first win of the year and completed six innings for the second straight game.
The offense tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth thanks to an RBI double from Kevin Maitan and a Nate Baez sac fly to make the final score.
Winokur was the only Kernels batter with multiple hits, finishing 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. De Andrade had just one hit in five trips to the plate, but drove in three.
MUSSEL MATTERS
Dunedin 12, Fort Myers 13 (11 innings)
Box Score
Fans at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers were treated to an extra-inning barn-burner on Tuesday, as a big early lead turned into a tied up affair late and headed to extra-innings.
The Mighty Mussels ambushed Blue Jays starter Austin Cates, who wasn’t able to make it out of the first inning. Byron Chourio got him first with a solo home run. Then a sequence of single, walk, single, single knocked him from the game with Fort Myers up 3-0. They tacked more in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a thousand cuts approach, as singles from Demeury Pena, Chourio, Yasser Mercedes, and Jay Thomason built their lead to six.
Starting for the Mighty Mussels was Michael Ross, and he pitched the first three innings, retiring the first seven hitters he faced before allowing a one-out triple in the third. That runner ended up scoring on a wild pitch, but Ross also struck out the final two hitters he faced. In total, Ross allowed one earned run on one hit, while striking out four.
Then it got weird for Fort Myers and pitcher Jason Doktorczyk. While he did work the next three-plus innings, he was also kept in the game while giving up nine hits (including three home runs), eight runs (seven earned), and walking two. He did punch out four but by the time the Mighty Mussels made another call to the bullpen the game was tied at nine.
Hunter Hoopes pitched a scoreless and hitless 1 2/3 innings, striking out one. Ivran Romero came in for the ninth and kept the game tied to head to extras. Back out for the 10th the ghost runner did come around to score on a double, but one run wouldn’t be enough.
In the bottom half an RBI single from Yohander Martinez tied it up again, and they got the winning run to third before Chourio went down swinging.
Tyler Stasiowski was brought in for the top of the eleventh, and again the Blue Jays were able to take advantage, as a two-run homer put them up 12-10.
The visiting team couldn’t close it out, however. A walk to Mercedes and a single from Thomason loaded the bases with nobody out. An error brought the home squad within one, a wild-pitch tied it back up, and a sac fly from Jefferson Valladeres walked it off for those who stuck it out.
Five of the starting nine hitters had multiple hits in the win. Martinez (3-for-5, 2 RBI) and Thomason (3-for-5, 3 R, RBI, BB, 2 K, 2 SB) each had three to lead the way. As a team the Mighty Mussels racked up sixteen hits (though only two went for extra bases), and they finished 8-for-17 with runners in scoring position.
COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Pirates 3, FCL Twins 7 (7 innings)
Box Score
The Twins lineup scored runs in five of their six turns at bat, taking advantage of 10 walks as a team in the game.
Daiber De Los Santos led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored on a groundout from Eduardo Beltre to get it started. In the second it was a pair of walks, a wild pitch, and a sac fly from Victor Leal. In the next two innings they scored two runs each, with those coming thanks to those walks and a sac fly in the third, and an extra out in the fourth. De Los Santos reached base on a passed ball strikeout in the fourth, which allowed Bryan Acuna (double) and Jayson Bass (single) to take advantage with RBI hits. Three more walks and a sac fly from Beltre in the fifth capped their scoring.
Right-hander Miguel Cordero made the start and pitched into the fourth inning. He allowed three earned runs on four hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out three. Ruddy Gomez finished the fourth and fifth innings by facing four hitters, and striking out all of them to earn his first professional win. Will Armbruester closed out the final two innings, allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out two.
The Twins had just three hits on the game, compared to five from the Pirates, but they took advantage of their extra opportunities. Beltre (0-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI) drove in two and scored two runs without recording a hit or walk. Acuna (1-for-2, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB) and Bass (1-for-2, R, RBI, 2 BB, SB) each drew a pair of walks in addition to their hits.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – David Festa, St. Paul Saints (5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 K)
Hitter of the Day – Carson McCusker, St. Paul Saints (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, K)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. (Seth Note: We found that Twins Daily writers rankings were not included in the recent vote. The rankings have now been updated to include those votes. There were a few players that moved up or down 1-3 spots.)
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 1-for-3, BB, K
#6 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, 2 R, 2B
#9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI
#11 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, R, BB, K
#16 – Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins): 0-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI. HBP, SF
#17 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita): 1-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 K
#18 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers): 1-for-5, 2 R, RBI, BB, 3 K
#19 – Carson McCusker (St. Paul): 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR (9), 3 RBI, K, SB (1)
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 1-for-3.
WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Buffalo @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) – RHP Andrew Morris (0-1, 4.57 ERA)
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CDT) – RHP Trent Baker (1-2, 2.49 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (11:10 AM CDT) – RHP Alejandro Hidalgo (0-0, 6.00 ERA)
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) – RHP Adrian Bohorquez (0-1, 6.75 ERA)
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!
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!
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