The Twins earned a walkoff win thanks to France. On Friday night, it was Holland that helped Wallner, Festa, Gardenhire and company to a big win.
TRIVIA
On Thursday, Matt Wallner hit two home runs in his first rehab game with the Saints. (you’ll be happy to see how he did in this second rehab game on Friday) He has hit 38 total home runs in a St. Paul Saints uniform. That ranks third in the Saints Career Home Run Leaders (since 2021, of course). Which two players have more career home runs with the Saints than Matt Wallner? Leave your answers in the comments below. I’ll answer the question around noon on Saturday, and if you got it right, I will think “Good job!”
CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 28-22
St. Paul Saints: 24-21
Wichita Wind Surge: 23-20
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 24-18
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 19-24
FCL Twins: 9-5
DSL Twins: Scheduled to start on June 2.
TRANSACTIONS
What? No transactions the whole day? Well, Carlos Correa was reinstated from the concussion list, but Ryan Fitzgerald was already optioned a day earlier.
SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 10, Norfolk 2
Box Score
If you are looking for offense from your minor-league affiliate, you might only want to read the Saints section today. (I’m kidding. You, of course, want to read it all, thoroughly, and add questions and comments.)
While the Tides scored first in the top of the first, a five-run second inning gave the Saints an early lead. The added on late in the game. And, they got strong pitching, and that rehabbing outfielder from Forest Lake played a big role in the win.
Let’s start with pitching. David Festa made his first appearance in over two weeks due to an arm issue. He needed to use a lot of pitches, but his pitches looked good. In 3 2/3 innings, gave up one run on two hits and a walk. He had seven strikeouts. One of the two hits was a hard-hit ball to the left-center field gap that Emmanuel Rodriguez clearly lost in the sun and was unable to catch. That runner came around to score.
Travis Adams came in and had one of his best performances of the season. He tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and had six strikeouts to earn his third win in his long-relief role. Kyle Bischoff gave up one run on two hits and two walks in the ninth innings. He had two strikeouts. He just wanted to make things entertaining for the crowd at CHS FIeld.
Matt Wallner was back in the lineup, one night after he homered twice in Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader. He was leading off and was the DH. He struck out on a questionable check swing in the first inning.
The second inning began with a Jose Miranda walk. Mike Ford struck out. Emmanuel Rodriguez was hit by a pitch, and Armando Alvarez walked to load the bases. After Fitzgerald struck out on three pitches (two of which were on the edge and overturned), Will Holland walked to put the Saints on the scoreboard.
That brought Wallner to the plate. On a 2-1 pitch, the Tides’ starter tried to throw a four-seamer inside on Wallner, but he turned on it, hit it 103 mph right down the right field line. With Holland’s speed, all three runners scored and the Saints led 4-1.
Mickey Gasper was hit by a pitch, and then Edouard Julien lined a single to center to drive in Wallner with the fifth run of the inning.
Have we talked about the speed of Holland lately. Well, the Saints scored a run in the fourth inning because of it. With one out, Holland hit a routine ground ball to second base and beat the throw to first. With two outs, Holland stole second base and went to third on a throwing error. Soon after, #OldFriend Matt Bowman unleashed a wild pitch, and Holland scored easily.
Holland led off the bottom of the seventh frame with a walk. He went to third on a solid single to center by Wallner. After two strikeouts, Miranda doubled to drive in Holland. Ford singled to drive in Wallner and Miranda and make it 9-1.
The Saints added one more run in the bottom of the eighth inning to put them in double digits. Fitzgerald walked. He went to second on a Wallner single. With two outs, Julien walked to lead the bases, and then Miranda walked to score that 10th run.
Wallner went 3-for-5 with the double and three RBI. Miranda was 1-for-3 with a double and two key walks. Holland was 1-for-2 with two walks. He scored three runs. Rodriguez was 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch.
WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 1, San Antonio 2
Box Score
For the second straight day, there was a pitcher’s duel near the Alamo. Unfortunately, the Wind Surge ended up on the short end, losing 2-1 for the second straight night. They are just 4-9 on games decided by one run.
Darren Bowen was very impressive in this game. The right-hander, acquired as part of the Jorge Polanco trade, made the start. He tossed five innings. He gave up one run on three walks and four strikeouts. He gave up no hits through his five innings, but when he left the game, it was tied. Joshua Mears, who earlier this week launched a home run recorded at 504 feet, was credited with a steal of home in the third inning which gave the Mission a 1-0 lead. He was one of two batters to walk in that inning.
Bowen has now made seven starts (and one bullpen appearance) for Wichita. He is 2-0 with a 2.73 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. In 33 innings, he has given up just 17 hits, walked 14 batters and struck out 26 hitters.
With one out in the top of the fifth inning, Aaron Sabato singled. He came around to score on Ben Ross’s sixth double of the season to tie the game at 1-1.
In the sixth inning, Michael Martinez replaced Bowen on the mound. The inning started with a double. With one out, Martinez fielded a ground ball and threw the ball wildly in the general direction of first base. That gave the Mission a 2-1 lead they held onto for three more innings.
Angel Macuare threw two scoreless innings to keep it close.
The Wind Surge scored one run on six hits and two walks. Sabato was 2-for-4. He has seven multi-hit games this season. Four of the hits went for extra bases. Ross and Tanner Schobel doubles. Rubel Cespedes and Andrew Cossetti each hit a triple. But the Surge was 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base.
San Antonio is the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. A month ago, we kicked off another sister site, Padres Mission. Be sure to check it out and tell your friends from San Diego! Of our top 20 Padres prospects, seven of them are on the San Antonio roster.
KERNELS NUGGETS
Game 1: Cedar Rapids 2, Fort Wayne 6
Box Score
The Kernels jumped out to a fast lead in the first inning, but a four-run third inning for the TinCaps gave them an insurmountable lead.
Kaelen Culpepper led off with a single to the hole at shortstop. He stole second, and then scored on a single by Kyle DeBarge. He stole his 21st base of the season, and then scored from second when the throw went into center field, and then the center fielder’s throw got past third base.
Ty Langenberg made the start. He was charged with six runs on five hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. He had seven strikeouts. Jeremy Lee got the final four outs of Game 1 for the Kernels. He gave up two hits, but no runs. He had three strikeouts.
Cedar Rapids had seven hits in the game. Culpepper went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a stolen base.
Game 2: Cedar Rapids 3, Fort Wayne 9
Box Score
The Kernels fell behind again in Game 2, but through four-and-a-half innings, the game was tied 3-3. However, the TinCaps scored late and often.
Cole Peschl made his first start of the season. He worked the first four innings and gave up three runs (just 1 earned) on five hits. He had five strikeouts and no walks.
In the top of the fourth inning, Nate Baez led off with a single. He came around to score on Danny De Andrade’s fourth home run of the season.
In the top of the fifth, Misael Urbina led off with his second homer of the season which tied the game at 3-3.
Wilker Reyes came out for the fifth inning. He gave up two runs on one hit and two walks. He had two strikeouts. Jacob Wosinski came in for the bottom of the sixth inning. He was charged with four runs on two hits and two walks in just one-third of an inning. The big hit was a bases-clearing triple by Brandon Butterworth. Eston Stull came in and quickly got the final two outs.
The Kernels had just three hits and five walks in the game. Jaime Ferrer walked twice. Kyle DeBarge walked twice and stole two bases. Culpepper stole his 10th bag of the season.
Fort Wayne is the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. A month ago, we kicked off another sister site, Padres Mission. Three of our Top 20 Padres prospects play for the TinCaps including arguably the #1 prospect in all of baseball, Leo De Vries.
MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers 3, Lakeland 6
Box Score
The Mussels tried to mount a comeback in the ninth inning, but it was too little too late.
Eli Jones started and went the first five innings. He was charged with three runs (1 earned) on four hits. He had three walks and four strikeouts.
Lefty Brennen Oxford got the sixth inning. He gave up three runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out two batters. Jacob Kisting worked the final two innings without any further damage. He gave up two hits and had one strikeout.
The Mussels didn’t score their first run until the sixth inning. They scored two in the top of the ninth but came up well short of the needed runs. The team had six hits, five walks and had three hit batters. Well, Dameury Pena was hit by a pitch twice. Unfortunately, they went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base.
Jefferson Valladares hit his fifth double. Yohander Martinez hit his first triple of the season. He also walked twice. So did Maddux Houghton.
Rehab updates: Rayne Doncon played third base. He went 2-for-5 and stole a base.. Payton Eeles was 1-for-3 with a walk. He also stole a base.
COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 4, FCL Red Sox 3
Box Score
Matt Gabbert made 13 appearances between the FCL Twins and Fort Myers. Unfortunately, arm pain and ultimately surgery meant that he missed the entire 2024 season. On Friday, he made his third rehab appearance in the FCL. He went three innings, and gave up one run on three hits. He had three strikeouts and no walks.
Eider Machuca came on and gave up one run on one hit and a walk in the fourth inning. Juan Cota struck out two batters over two scoreless, hitless innings. With a two-run lead heading into the ninth, Xavier Kolhosser entered. He gave up a leadoff triple which he followed with a strikeout. He hit a batter, and the game was turned over to Liam Rocha. The game-tying runner stole second base. Rocha got a ground out that drove in the runner from third base. With the tying run 90 feet away, Rocha got a strikeout to end the game.
Down 1-0 going to the third inning, Jayson Bass and Ricardo Paez started the inning with singles. They were then successful on a double steal. Bass scored the tying run on a Yilber Herrera sacrifice fly.
With one out in the fourth inning, Ariel Castro and Ricardo Pena walked. Following a groundout, Bass walked. The catcher threw toward third, but the ball went into the outfield and allowed Castro to score. Pena later scored on a wild pitch.
Leading 3-2 going to the seventh (and final) inning, Luis Fragoza walked and Bass singled him to third. Fragoza scored on a sacrifice fly by Paez, an insurance run that proved important in the bottom of the inning.
The Twins had five hits and six walks. Bass went 2-for-2 with a walk. He also stole two bases.
PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day
Matt Wallner (St. Paul): 3-for-5, 2B(1), 2 R, 3 RBI, K
Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-6, 2 BB, 2-2B(7), 1 R, 2 K, 2-SB(10).
Pitcher of the Day
Travis Adams (St. Paul): 4 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 58 pitches, 38 strikes (65.5%)
Darren Bowen (Wichita): 5 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 73 pitches, 44 strikes (60.3%)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Friday.
#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) – 1-for-2, BB, HBP, R.
#6 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1 (SS): 3-for-3, BB, 2-2B(7), R, SB(9), Game 2(DH): 0-for-3, BB, 2 K, SB(10)
#9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1(CF): 0-for-3, K; Game 2(SS): 0-for-3, 2 K.
#11 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids) – Game 1(2B): 1-for-4, R, RBI, 3 K, SB(21); Game 2(CF): 0-for-1, 2 BB, K, 2-SB(23)
#14 – Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita) – 0-for-3, BB.
#17 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita) – 1-for-4, 2B(11)
SATURDAY PITCHING PROBABLES
Kansas City @ Minnesota (1:10 PM CT) – RHP Zebby Matthews (0-1, 12.00 ERA)
Norfolk @ St. Paul (DH @ 5:07 PM CT) – RHP Marco Raya (0-3, 12.06 ERA), RHP Andrew Morris (1-1, 3.44 ERA)
Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CT) – LHP Christian MacLeod (0-1, 1.38 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Fort Wayne (5:35 PM CT) – RHP Chase Chaney (1-1, 4.50 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CT) – LHP Dasan Hill (0-0, 1.26 ERA)
FCL Red Sox @ FCL Twins (9:00 AM CT) – RHP Joel Garcia (0-0, 3.38 ERA)
Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss Friday’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!
View Twins Top Prospects
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