Games of April 11

Sorry these reports have been so inconsistent.  Unfortunately, it will probably remain that way for another week or so.  After that, I hope to get on a normal schedule again.

Luke Raley hits his first homer.  Brusdar Graterol gets his ERA below one.  The Miracle is blanked.  Nine strikeouts for Jordan Balazovic.

LEHIGH VALLEY 13, ROCHESTER 5 IN ROCHESTER

The Iron Pigs scored three in the fifth to go up 7-3 and put it away with five in the ninth.

Batting stars:  Luke Raley was 3-for-4 with a three-run homer.  John Andreoli was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Mike Morin pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition star:  Lane Adams was 3-for-5 with a triple and a double, scoring three times.

Stats:  Raley is batting .375.  Morin has an ERA of zero.  Lewis Thorpe had his second consecutive bad game, allowing six runs on seven hits and five walks in 4.2 innings.  He did strike out five.

Record:  The Red Wings are 2-6, in sixth (last) place, four games behind Lehigh Valley.

PENSACOLA 4, DUNEDIN 3 IN PENSACOLA

Jimmy Kerrigan hit a two-run double in the sixth to give the Blue Wahoos a 3-0 lead.

Batting star:  Luis Arraez was 3-for-4.

Pitching star:  Brusdar Graterol pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and three walks and striking out four.

Opposition star:  Rodrigo Vigil was 2-for-3 with a double.

Stats:  Arraez is batting .357.  Graterol has an ERA of 0.87.  Dusten Knight struck out four in two innings, giving up one run on two hits, and has an ERA of 1.93.

Record:  The Blue Wahoos are 5-2, in first place, one game ahead of Biloxi.

DUNEDIN 5, FORT MYERS 0 IN FORT MYERS

Ryan Noda's two-run homer capped a three-run eighth that put the game out of reach.

Batting star:  Trevor Larnach was 2-for-3.

Pitching star:  Jhoan Duran struck out five in five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Nick Allgeyer struck out five in five shutout innings, giving up two hits and no walks.

Stats:  Lewin Diaz was 1-for-3 and is batting .476.  Travis Blankenhorn was 1-for-3 with a walk and is batting .350.  Duran has an ERA of 2.00.

Record:  The Miracle is 4-4, in fourth place, two games behind Bradenton and Palm Beach.

KANE COUNTY 7, CEDAR RAPIDS 3 IN KANE COUNTY

Tra Holmes hit a three-run homer in a four-run sixth that gave the Cougars a 6-1 lead.

Batting stars:  Joe Cronin was 2-for-4 with a double.  Andrew Bechtold was 2-for-4.  Gabe Snyder was 2-for-4.  Trey Cabbage was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Jordan Balazovic struck out nine in 4.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks.  Cronin pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Eduardo Diaz was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.

Stats:  Snyder is batting .500.  Cabbage is batting .440.  Balazovic has an ERA of 2.79.  Cronin has an ERA of zero.

Record:  The Kernels are 2-6, in eighth (last) place, four games behind Burlington.

TODAY'S TILTS

5:30  Fort Myers at Clearwater (Alejandro Requena, 1-0, 1.80)
5:35  Lehigh Valley (Enyel De Los Santos, 1-0, 1.80) at Rochester (Zack Littell, 0-1, 10.38)
6:35  Burlington (Jake Lee, 1-0, 0.00) at Cedar Rapids (Cole Sands, 0-0, 0.00)
6:35  Jacksonville (Jorge Guzman, 0-0, 1.80) at Pensacola (Devin Smeltzer, 1-0, 0.00)

Games of April 5

Four no-hit innings for Jhoan Duran as the Twins sweep.

ROCHESTER AT LEHIGH VALLEY

Rained out.  Will be made up today.

PENSACOLA 7, MOBILE 0 IN MOBILE (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Jimmy Kerrigan hit a two-run homer in a four-run fourth that broke a scoreless tie.

Batting stars:  Luis Arraez was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Kerrigan was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer.

Pitching stars:  Jorge Alcala struck out six in five shutout innings, giving up three hits and no walks.  Jovani Moran pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  None.

WP:  Alcala (1-0).  LP:  Jeremy Beasley (0-1).

PENSACOLA 4, MOBILE 3 IN MOBILE (GAME 2--8 INNINGS)

The Blue Wahoos scored two in the eighth and held on.

Batting star:  Luis Arraez was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Brusdar Graterol struck out six in 4.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks.  Andro Cutura pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk and striking out one.

Opposition star:  Brandon Marsh was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

WP:  Cody Stashak (1-0).  LP:  Zac Ryan (0-1).  S:  Dusten Knight (1).

Record:  The Blue Wahoos are 2-0, tied for first with Biloxi.

<h4?FORT MYERS 4, CHARLOTTE 3 IN FORT MYERS

A strikeout/passed ball brought home the deciding run in the eighth.

Batting stars:  Travis Blankenhorn was 2-for-4.  Royce Lewis was 1-for-2 with a triple, two walks and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Jhoan Duran struck out four in four no-hit innings, giving up a walk.  Tom Hackimer struck out three in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Moises Gomez was 2-for-4.

WP:  Hackimer (1-0).  LP:  Simon Rosenblum-Larson (0-1).

Record:  The Miracle is 2-0, tied for first with Bradenton and Palm Beach.

CEDAR RAPIDS 10, PEORIA 4 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

The Kernels scored five in the fifth to take an 8-1 lead.

Batting stars:  Trey Cabbage was 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, two runs, and three RBIs.  Ben Rodriguez was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.  DaShawn Keirsey was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.  Yunior Severino was 1-for-1 with four walks and three runs.

Pitching star:  Jordan Balazovic struck out nine in five innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks.

Opposition stars:  Nolan Gorman was 4-for-4 with a triple, a double, and two RBIs.

WP:  Balazovic (1-0).  LP:  Alvaro Seijas (0-1).  S:  None.

Record:  The Kernels are 1-1, tied for second, a half-game behind Quad Cities.

TODAY'S TILTS

4:05  Cedar Rapids (Cole Sands) at Wisconsin (Max Lazar)
4:35  Rochester (Chase De Jong) at Lehigh Valley (Enyel De Los Santos)
Game 2  Rochester at Lehigh Valley
5:00  Fort Myers (Tyler Watson) at Charlotte (Resly Linares)
7:05  Pensacola (Devin Smeltzer) at Mobile (Patrick Sandoval)

Games of April 4

We're back!

Lots of strikeouts!

ROCHESTER 4, LEHIGH VALLEY 2 IN LEHIGH VALLEY

Randy Cesar hit a two-run homer in the sixth to break a 2-2 tie.

Batting stars:  LaMonte Wade was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Wilin Rosario was 2-for-5 with a home run.  Ronald Torreyes was 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk.  Cesar was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Kohl Stewart struck out eight in five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks.  Ryan Eades struck out four in two perfect innings.  Tyler Duffey struck out four in two shutout innings.  Red Wings pitchers combined for sixteen strikeouts.

Opposition star:  Cole Irvin struck out five in five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks.

PENSACOLA AT MOBILE

Rained out.  Will be made up today.

FORT MYERS 11, CHARLOTTE 3 IN FORT MYERS

The Miracle scored three in the sixth to break a 3-3 tie.

Batting stars:  Lewin Diaz was 4-for-5 with a double, two runs, and three RBIs.  Ben Rortvedt was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.  Akil Baddoo was 2-for-5 with a home run and a triple, scoring twice.

Pitching stars:  Bryan Sammons struck out five in 4.1 innings, giving up an unearned run on seven hits and two walks.  Alex Phillips struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Johan Quezada pitched a scoreless innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.  Miracle pitchers combined for fourteen strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Carl Chester was 4-for-4 and scored twice.  Vidal Brujan was 4-for-5 with two RBIs.  Those two batters had eight of the eleven Stone Crab hits.

PEORIA 10, CEDAR RAPIDS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

The Chiefs scored five in the third to take a 6-0 lead.

Batting star:  Yunior Severino was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Austin Schulfer struck out five in three shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.  Carlos Suniaga struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Tommy Parsons struck out five in five shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.  Ivan Herrera was 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs.

Kernels starter:  Blayne Enlow pitched two innings, giving up six runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out one.

TODAY'S TILTS

5:05  Pensacola (Jorge Alcala) at Mobile (Jeremy Beasley)
Game 2  Pensacola (Brusdar Graterol) at Mobile
5:30  Charlotte (Tommy Romero) at Fort Myers (Jhoan Duran)
6:05  Rochester (Chase De Jong) at Lehigh Valley
6:35  Peoria (Alvaro Seijas) at Cedar Rapids (Jordan Balazovic)

First Summary

I hope to provide a summary every couple of weeks of how Twins players are doing in the fall/winter leagues.  This is a hope, not a promise.  It's all small sample sizes, so I wouldn't recommend making too much of any of it.

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE

BATTERS

Luke Raley:  .214/.333/.357 (14 at-bats).
Jaylin Davis:  .259/.310/.259 (27 at-bats).
Travis Blankenhorn:  .185/.333/.222 (27 at-bats).

PITCHERS

Adam Bray, 1-0, 1 save, 1.50, 1.00 WHIP, 5K (6 innings).
Devin Smeltzer, 1-0, 1.80, 1.40 WHIP, 5K (5 innings).
Griffin Jax, 0-1, 3.38, 1.38 WHIP, 4K (8 innings).
Hector Lujan, 0-0, 9.82, 2.45 WHIP, 2K (3.2 innings)

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

BATTERS

Kennys Vargas:  .375/.444/.406 (32 at-bats).
Brian Navaretto:  .071/.125/.071 (14 at-bats).

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

BATTERS

Luis Arraez:  .364/.396/.455 (44 at-bats).
Andy Wilkins:  .200/.396/.400 (35 at-bats).
Willians Astudillo:  .265/.324/.265 (34 at-bats).

PITCHERS

Omar Bencomo, 2-0, 0.64, 1.29 WHIP, 13K (14 innings).
Moises Gomez, 0-0, 2.08, 1.15 WHIP, 4K (4.1 innings).
Dietrich Enns, 2-1, 2.13, 1.11 WHIP, 7K (12.2 innings).
Anthony Marzi, 1-0, 2.25, 1.50 WHIP, 2K (8 innings).

Sorry About That

If you care, you've noticed by now that I'm not doing daily reports.  My work schedule just became such that doing them was impossible.  I don't apologize for that--it's just the way it is--but I do apologize for not letting you know.  I hope to be back in the spring with daily minor league reports. 

Games of October 12

Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. shows he's too good to be playing in the AFL.  The Venezuelan League gets underway and Willians Astudillo celebrates by drawing a walk.  The Mexican League also gets underway.

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE

SCOTTSDALE 6, SALT RIVER 2 IN SCOTTSDALE

Twins:  Luke Raley was 1-for-4 with a triple.  Travis Blankenhorn was 0-for-3 with a walk.  Griffin Jax pitched one inning, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and no walks and striking out none.

Salt River:  Monte Harrison was 2-for-4.

Scottsdale:  Abraham Toro-Hernandez was 3-for-3 with a home run, scoring twice and driving in two.  Desmond Lindsey was 2-for-4 with two home runs.  Austin Lisi was 2-for-4.  Tyler Viza pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.  Luke Leftwich struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

SURPRISE 4, GLENDALE 1 IN SURPRISE

Glendale:  Cody Thomas was 2-for-4.  Tanner Banks struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Surprise:  Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Nick Heath was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Andy Young was 2-for-4 with a double.  Julio Pablo Martinez was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Nate Pearson struck out four in 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and three walks.  Jackson McClelland struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up no hits and no walks.

Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. is clearly too good for this league, just as he was clearly too good for AA in 2018.  He's 9-for-14 with four doubles and a walk.  I get manipulating the service time, although I don't agree with it.  But I see no purpose served in having him play in the AFL.  Yes, he gets more playing time, but I don't see how playing against clearly inferior competition helps him.  All he can do is get into bad habits and/or get injured.

MESA 8, PEORIA 0 IN PEORIA

Mesa:  Jahmai Jones was 3-for-3 with a home run, scoring twice and driving in two.  Nico Hoerner was 3-for-5.  Bobby Dalbec was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk, driving in four.  Erick Leal struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and two walks.  Darwinzon Hernandez struck out six in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Ryan Clark pitched two shutout innings, walking one and striking out one.

Peoria:  Jon Olczak struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up three hits.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

ZULIA 5, CARIBES 3 AT CARIBES

Twins:  Willians Astudillo (Caribes) was 0-for-3 with a walk.

Zulia:  Alex Romero was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Zach Houchins was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Jose Tabata was 2-for-4 with a double.  Charle Rosario pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out two.

Caribes:  Cesar Valera was 2-for-3.  Daryl Thompson pitched 4.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks and striking out two.  Emerson Martinez pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.

LARA 5, MARGARITA 3 IN LARA

Twins:  Omar Bencomo (Margarita) pitched 3.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks and striking out three.  Moises Gomez (Margarita) struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk

Margarita:  Jose Rojas was 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.  Francisco Diaz was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Olmo Rosario was 2-for-3.  Cade Gotta was 2-for-5.

Lara:  Denis Phipps was 3-for-5.  Rangel Ravelo was 2-for-3 with a double and two walks.  Jose Castillo was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Yojhan Quevado was 2-for-4.  Williams Perez struck out four in four innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk.

CARACAS 4, LA GUAIRA 1 IN CARACAS

La Guaira:  Eudis Idrogo pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.

Caracas:  Jesus Guzman was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Ramon Cabrera was 2-for-3.  Franklin Gutierrez was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer.  Luis Diaz pitched 3.2 innings, giving up one run on one hit and two walks and striking out two.

ARAGUA AT MAGALLANES (3 1/2 INNINGS--SUSPENDED)

Magallanes leads 3-2 in the top of the fourth.  Luis Arraez (Magallanes) was 0-for-2.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

NAVOJOA 8, CULIACAN 2 IN CULIACAN

Navojoa:  Diego Madero was 2-for-4 with a double.  Christian Zazueta was 2-for-4.  Alonzo Harris was 2-for-5 with a home run and a double, scoring twice.  Luis Fonseca was 2-for-5.  Jovan Rosa was 2-for-5.  Fernando Flores was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.  Jose Oyervides pitched 3.2 innings, giving up a run on three hits and two walks and striking out two.  Marco Carrillo pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.

Culiacan:  Joey Meneses was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Roemon Fields was 2-for-4.

MEXICALI 3, HERMOSILLO 0 IN MEXICALI

Hermosillo:  Arturo Reyes struck out four in four innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks.

Mexicali:  Ricky Alvarez was 2-for-3.  Xorge Carrillo was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Juan Perez was 2-for-4 with a double.  C. J. Retherford was 2-for-4.  Javier Solano struck out twelve in six shutout innings, giving up two hits and no walks.

Games of October 11

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE

Every game went longer than ten innings.  I wonder if that's ever happened before.

SALT RIVER 7, SCOTTSDALE 6 IN SALT RIVER (11 INNINGS)

Twins:  Luke Raley was 0-for-4 with two walks.  Jaylin Davis was 2-for-5.  Hector Lujan pitched 0.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk and striking out one.  Adam Bray struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two walks.

Scottsdale:  Peter Alonso was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Alfredo Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Abraham Toro-Hernandez was 2-for-5 with two doubles and a walk.  Darick Hall was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and two runs.  J. B. Bukauskas struck out five in 3.1 innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits and a walk.  Gerson Bautista struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Salt River:  Tyler Nevin was 3-for-5 with a walk and two runs.  Carter Kieboom was 2-for-6 with a triple.  Drew Ellis was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer.  Jordan Yamamoto struck out five in three shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk.

MESA 10, PEORIA 9 IN MESA (10 INNINGS)

Peoria:  Chris Mariscal was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Lucius Fox was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer and a walk, scoring twice.  Jeremy Walker pitched three innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk and striking out one.

Mesa:  Trent Giambrone was 4-for-6 and scored twice.  Eli White was 3-for-5 with a walk.  Esteban Quiroz was 2-for-3 with a home run and three walks, scoring three times.  Daniel Woodrow was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Daniel Pinero was 2-for-5 with a double and a walk.  Manuel Rondon pitched two shutout innings, giving up a walk.  Eduardo Jimenez struck out two in two perfect innings.

SURPRISE 10, GLENDALE 9 IN GLENDALE (10 INNINGS)

Surprise:  Khalil Lee was 2-for-3 with two walks, scoring twice and driving in two.  Tommy Edman was 2-for-4 with three walks.  Charles Leblanc was 2-for-5 with two walks.  Cole Tucker was 2-for-5 with a walk and three RBIs.  Bryan Reynolds was 2-for-6 and scored twice.  Demarcus Evans pitched two shutout innings, giving up a walk and striking out one.

Glendale:  Ryan McKenna was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.  Errol Robinson was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Steven Sensley was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Luis Robert was 2-for-5 with three runs.  Chris Lee struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and three walks.

Glendale pitchers walked sixteen Surprise batters.