The Twins go 6-1! Three shutouts! Byron Buxton gets back into the swing!
ROCHESTER 1, INDIANAPOLIS 0 IN ROCHESTER
Batting star: Eric Farris was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.
Pitching stars: Sean Gilmartin pitched 7.1 innings, giving up five hits and one walk with four strikeouts. Michael Tonkin pitched one inning, giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Rafael Perez pitched eight shutout innings, giving up three hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Jose Tabata was 2-for-4.
The game: Indianapolis threatened in the third, opening the inning with two singles and a sacrifice bunt, but Chris Rahl threw out a runner tagging up from third on a fly out to end the inning. Rochester put men on first and second with one out in the fourth, but a line drive double play ended the inning. The Indians had men on first and second with one out in the ninth, but a pair of ground outs stopped the threat. In the ninth, Farris and Josmil Pinto walked and Nate Hanson delivered a one-out single to bring home the winning run.
Of note: Doug Bernier was 1-for-3 with a walk. James Beresford was 0-for-2. Pinto was 0-for-1 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Pedro Florimon was 1-for-3.
NEW BRITAIN 7, PORTLAND 0 IN NEW BRITAIN
Batting stars: Aaron Hicks was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving in three. Brandon Waring was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in two. Kennys Vargas was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.
Pitching stars: Tyler Duffey struck out seven in seven innings, giving up five hits and no walks. Jim Fuller pitched two innings, giving up one walk with one strikeout.
Opposition star: Sean Coyle was 2-for-4.
The game: Waring doubled in a run in the second to give New Britain a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, consecutive doubles by Vargas, Hicks, and Waring were followed by a Brad Boyer single later in the inning to produce three runs and make the score 4-0. Hicks doubled in two in the fifth to make it 6-0 and the Rock Cats added another run in the sixth. Portland's best chance came in the first inning, when the Sea Dogs got back-to-back one out singles, but the lead runner was thrown out trying to advance to third.
Of note: Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4 with a double and a run in his AA debut. Eddie Rosario was 1-for-4 with a double. Mike Kvasnicka was 2-for-4 with a double and a run. New Britain had eight doubles in the game.
FORT MYERS 8, TAMPA 6 IN TAMPA (11 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Aderlin Mejia was 2-for-2 with three walks, scoring twice and driving in two. Mike Gonzales was 2-for-3 with a home run (his seventh), a double, and a hit-by-pitch, scoring twice and driving in two. Byron Buxton was 2-for-6 with two doubles and three RBIs.
Pitching stars: Todd Van Steensel pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout. Brandon Peterson struck out two in a perfect inning. Brian Gilbert struck out three in two perfect innings.
Opposition stars: Dante Bichette, Jr. was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two. Eric Jagielo was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.
The game: The scoring came early and late. Jagielo had a two-run single in a three-run Tampa first. Gonzales homered and Buxton had an RBI double in the third to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Yankees scored in the bottom of the third on an Angelo Gumbs double to make it 4-2. Buxton had a two-run double in a four-run fourth to put the Miracle on top 6-4. There was no more scoring until the ninth, when a single, a walk, an error, and a sacrifice fly tied the score at six. In the eleventh, a single, a hit batsman, and a bunt put Fort Myers runners on second and third with one out. RBI singles by Mejia and Travis Harrison gave the Miracle an 8-6 lead. Tampa went down in order in the bottom of the eleventh.
CEDAR RAPIDS 4, DAYTON 0 IN DAYTON
Batting stars: Engelb Vielma was 2-for-4 with a run. Logan Wade was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Pitching stars: Chih-Wei Hu struck out ten in six innings, giving up two hits and a walk. Jake Reed struck out three in two perfect inning. Nick Burdi pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.
Opposition star: Tony Amezcua struck out three in three shutout innings, allowing one hit.
The game: Three singles and two productive outs brought home three runs for Cedar Rapids in the first inning. That was really all the runs the Kernels needed, although they added one on another productive out in the fifth. Hu was in complete control, not allowing a hit until the fifth. Dayton only twice got a man as far as second base, in the fifth and the sixth.
Of note: Chad Christensen was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Mitch Garver was 0-for-4 with an RBI. Alex Swim was 0-for-4.
JOHNSON CITY 5, ELIZABETHTON 2 IN JOHNSON CITY
Batting stars: Pat Kelly was 3-for-3 with two doubles and a run. Nick Gordon was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Max Murphy was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.
Pitching star: Dereck Rodriguez pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit. He has not given up an earned run all season (sixteen innings, ten appearances).
Opposition stars: Dailyn Martinez struck out eight in 7.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and no walks. Anthony Ray was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run. Casey Grayson was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.
The game: Tyler Kuresa doubled in a run in the first. An error with the bases loaded and one out scored two for Johnson City to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. Kelly and Gordon each doubled in the third to tie the game at two. Two hit batsmen, a walk, and a ground out gave Johnson City a 3-2 lead in the fifth. A triple two walks, and a two-out error led to two more Cardinals runs in the sixth. Elizabethton could not get the tying run up to bat after that.
Of note: Jeremias Pineda was 0-for-4. Kuresa was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Starter Michael Cederoth pitched five innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts.
GCL TWINS 5, GCL RED SOX 2 AT RED SOX
Pitching stars: Amaurys Minier was 2-for-4 with a double and a hit-by-pitch, scoring once and driving in two. Jarrard Poteete was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Joel Ramirez was 1-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch, scoring twice.
Pitching stars: Eduardo Del Rosario pitched three shutout innings, giving up one hit with one strikeout. Trevor Hildenberger pitched two shutout innings with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Javier Guerra was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs. Rafael Devers was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk, driving in one.
The game: An error put the Red Sox up 1-0 in the first. A bases-loaded walk tied it in the third, and a two-run Minier single later in the inning gave the Twins a 3-1 lead. Doubles by Guerra and Devers cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the third. It stayed 3-2 until the eighth, when Poteete delivered a two-out two-run single. The last thirteen Red Sox batters were retired.
Of note: Manuel Guzman was 1-for-5. Gabriel Ojeda was 0-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Starter Brandon Easton pitched four innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks and one strikeout.
DSL TWINS 11, DSL PADRES 4 AT TWINS
Batting stars: Antonio Tovar was 3-for-3 with a double and two walks, scoring twice and driving in one. Jermaine Palacios was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, and two walks, scoring three times. Jorge Parra was 3-for-3 with a double, scoring twice and driving in two.
Pitching stars: Argenis Silva struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit. Daulin Ramirez struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up one hit. Juan Herrera pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.
Opposition star: Dayon Olmo was 1-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs.
The game: RBI singles by Tovar and Parra were part of a four-run first. The Padres scored in the top of the second, but in the bottom of the second Palacios circled the bases on a triple-plus-error and Parra singled in another run to make it 6-1. Olmo's bases-loaded triple in the third cut the lead to 6-4, but the Twins again answered as Edwin Franco walked, stole second and third, and scored on a ground out to increase the margin to 7-4. The Twins scored once in the sixth and got three in the eighth to put the game out of reach. Francisco Hernandez had a two-run single in the eighth inning.
Of note: Jorge Andrade was 1-for-5 with an RBI. Roni Tapia was 0-for-5. Lewin Diaz was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch, scoring three times. Starter Jose Ramirez pitched three innings, giving up four runs on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
TODAY'S TILTS
12:00 Fort Myers (Ethan Mildren, 1-0, 6.46) at Tampa (Conner Kendrick, 3-7, 5.86)
12:05 Indianapolis (Brandon Cumpton, 5-2, 2.61 at Rochester (Kris Johnson, 8-4, 2.75)
12:35 Portland (Luis Diaz, 3-2, 2.82) at New Britain (Virgil Vasquez, 5-6, 4.26)
1:00 Cedar Rapids (TBA) at Dayton (Amir Garrett, 4-5, 3.80)
3:00 Elizabethton (Sam Gibbons, 2-2. 3.06) at Johnson City (Landon Beck, 1-0, 3.48)