Jose Miranda keeps hitting.  A brilliant game by Jordan Balazovic.  Louie Varland and Osiris German have excellent high-A debuts.  The Mighty Mussels give one away.

ST. PAUL 9, COLUMBUS 5 IN ST. PAUL

The Saints scored in four of the first five innings, building a 7-0 lead.

Batting stars:  Jose Miranda was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Mitch Garver was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.  Mark Contreras was 1-for-3 with a home run (his ninth), a walk, and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Yennier Cano struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up a walk.  Kyle Barraclough struck out two in a perfect inning.  Barracloughs are cool.

Opposition stars:  Gavin Collins was 1-for-4 with a grand slam.  Alex Call was 1-for-4 with a home run.  Owen Miller was 1-for-2 with two walks.

Starter:  Chandler Shepherd pitched six innings, giving up five runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out five.

Good stats:  Garver is batting .364.  MIranda is batting .356.

Bad stats:  Jake Cave was 0-for-4 and is batting .167.  Keon Broxton was 0-for-1 and is batting .186.  Shepherd has an ERA of 6.84.

Record:  The Saints are 31-31, in fourth place in the AAA East/Midwest, 7.5 games behind Omaha.

WICHITA 9, TULSA 0 IN WICHITA

Spencer Steer hit a two-run homer in the seventh to make it 5-0.  The Wind Surge added four in the eighth.

Batting stars:  Roy Morales was 3-for-5.  Steer was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his fifth) and two runs.  Aaron Whitefield was 2-for-5 with a triple, two runs, and three RBIs.  Ernie De La Trinidad was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  Jordan Balazovic struck out eleven in seven shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk.  Ryan Mason pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and two walks and striking out one.  Adam Lau pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition star:  Hunter Feduccia was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Good stats:  De La Trinidad is batting .318.  Mason has an ERA of 2.59.  Balazovic has an ERA of 2.89.

Bad stats:  Lau has an ERA of 6.30.

Record:  The Wind Surge is 35-28, in first place in the AA Central/North, a half game ahead of Arkansas.

SOUTH BEND 2, CEDAR RAPIDS 1 IN SOUTH BEND (10 INNINGS)

The Cubs scored one in the ninth to tie it and one in the tenth to win it.

Batting stars:  None.

Pitching stars:  Louie Varland pitched six shutout innings, giving up four hits and two walks and striking out five.  Osiris German struck out three in two perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Edmond Americaan was 2-for-4.  Ryan Jensen struck out eight in six innings, giving up one run on two hits and one walk.

Good stats:  Varland was making his High-A debut and has an ERA of zero.  German was making his High-A debut and has an ERA of zero.  Ryan Shreve gave up an unearned run in a third of an inning and has an ERA of 2.16.

Bad stats:  Yeltsin Encarnacion was 0-for-2 and is batting .119.  Kyle Schmidt was 0-for-3 and is batting .176.  DaShawn Keirsey was 0-for-4 and is batting .183.

Record:  The Kernels are 35-28, in second place in the High-A Central/West, seven games behind Quad Cities.

JUPITER 9, FORT MYERS 2 IN FORT MYERS (GAME 1--8 INNINGS)

The Mighty Mussels tied it with a run in the seventh, but the Hammerheads scored seven in the extra inning.  The seven runs scored on one hit, two errors, two hit batsmen, and five walks.  Three of the runs scored on bases loaded walks and one scored on a bases loaded hit by pitch.

Batting star:  Misael Urbina was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Aaron Rozek struck out seven in five shutout innings in his Mighty Mussels debut, giving up three hits and no walks.  Zario Sharpe pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Eddy Alvarez was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second), two runs, and three RBIs.  Dax Fulton pitched four innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks and striking out three.

Good stats:  Rozek has an ERA of zero.  Zaquiel Puentes gave up no runs in two-thirds of an inning and has an ERA of 2.25.

Bad stats:  Nick Garland was 0-for-1 and is batting zero.  Nick Anderson was 1-for-3 and is batting .157.  Justin Washington was 0-for-2 and is batting .185.  Will Holland was 1-for-3 and is batting .192.  Aaron Sabato was 1-for-3 and is batting .197.

JUPITER 2, FORT MYERS 1 IN FORT MYERS (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)

The Hammerheads scored single runs in the third and fourth.

Batting stars:  Will Holland was 2-for-3.  Justin Washington was 1-for-3 with a home run.

Pitching stars:  Sawyer Gipson-Long pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and no walks and striking out five.  Denny Bentley pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Cameron Barstad was 2-for-3 with a double.  Davis Bradshaw was 2-for-3.  Luis Palacios struck out seven in a seven-inning complete game, giving up one run on four hits and no walks.

Good stats:  None.

Bad stats:  Jesus Feliz was 0-for-3 and is batting .188.  Washington is batting .189.  Aaron Sabato was 0-for-3 and is batting .194.  Gipson-Long has an ERA of 5.36.

Record:  The Mighty Mussels are 35-28, in third place in the Low-A Southeast/West, 8.5 games behind Tampa.

TODAY'S TILTS

6:00  Jupiter at Fort Myers (Bobby Milacki, 0-1, 4.22)
6:05  Cedar Rapids (Jon Olsen, 0-3, 3.59) at South Bend
7:05  Columbus at St. Paul (Josh Winder, 1-0, 3.52)
7:05  Tulsa at Wichita (Bryan Sammons, 0-3, 6.19)