SAINTS 3, INDIANS 2 IN INDIANAPOLIS
Ryan LeMarre doubled home the go-ahead run in the eighth.
Mark Contreras was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. Tony Wolters was 2-for-3. Andrew Stevenson was 2-for-5.
Louie Varland was scheduled to start but was a late scratch, apparently because he's been promoted to Minnesota. Dereck Rodriguez started instead and pitched four innings, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk and striking out five. Jordan Balazovic struck out four in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and three walks. Austin Schulfer pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a walk and striking out one. Jose De Leon pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.
NATURALS 10, WIND SURGE 3 IN WICHITA
Trailing 3-1, Northwest Arkansas scored seven runs in the sixth. They had eight hits in the inning, one double and seven singles.
DaShawn Keirsey was 2-for-4. Seth Gray hit a home run.
Starter David Festa pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk and striking out six. Michael Boyle pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.
RIVER BANDITS 4, KERNELS 1 IN CEDAR RAPIDS
Jack Alexander hit a two-run double in the seventh to give Quad Cities a 3-0 lead.
Tanner Schobel hit a home run, his second.
Starter Kyle Jones pitched six innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk and striking out four. Matthew Swain struck out two in a perfect inning.
MIGHTY MUSSELS 10, THRESHERS 6 IN CLEARWATER
Fort Myers scored four in the first and led all the way.
Ricardo Olivar was 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Rubel Cespedes was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, two walks, and two runs. Alex Kirilloff hit a home run. Maddux Houghton hit a home run.
Starter Develson Aria struck out seven in three innings, but gave up two runs on four hits and four walks. Samuel Perez struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit. Johnathan Lavallee struck out two in two perfect innings.
TODAY'S TILTS
5:30 Fort Myers (Cory Lewis, 0-1) at Clearwater
6:05 St. Paul (Aaron Sanchez) at Indianapolis
6:35 Quad Cities at Cedar Rapids (Jordan Carr)
7:05 Northwest Arkansas at Wichita (TBD)
Yep. Twins are skipping Maeda's turn in the rotation because of fatigue. Mahle will be pushed back one day so Varland starts tonight. López stays on his schedule and will start the final game in New York.
Didn't Louie do well against the NYY last year? Of course, now they've scouted him into the ground
5 ⅓ innings, two runs given up, one walk, and seven strikeouts. He got a no decision in the loss.
It might just be time to admit that Maeda is an opener and/or bullpen guy, and stop trying to force the traditional starter role. I think that's as much on him as anyone, based on what I recall reading, but ultimately for the good of the team, let's find him a workable role.
He threw 106 innings in 2021 before needing TJ and had 175 innings as a fulltime starter in his MLB debut year of 2016. It has been a while since his surgery but he's still working back from it. I figure give him more than two starts before moving him to the bullpen.