Games of April 14

Ex-Twins sink the Red Wings and the Lookouts.  Three pitchers combine for a Miracle shutout.  Sean Poppen is impressive in defeat for the Kernels.

SYRACUSE 3, ROCHESTER 2 IN ROCHESTER

A sacrifice fly tied it 2-2 in the fifth and it stayed there until the ninth.  Then Corban Joseph's RBI double put the Chiefs ahead 3-2 and that's how it ended, as the Red Wings went down in order in the ninth.  Joe Nathan pitched the perfect ninth inning for Syracuse.  Another former Twin, Neal Cotts, pitched two perfect innings of relief for the Chiefs.

Nick Tepesch pitched very well, striking out eight in eight innings while giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk.  The losing run came off Drew Rucinski, who came in to start the ninth.  Matt Hague stayed hot, going 3-for-4 to make his average .424.  J. B. Shuck and Kennys Vargas each went 2-for-4.  Leonardo Reginatto was 1-for-4, making his average .400.  Ben Paulsen was 0-for-4 and is now batting .360.

JACKSONVILLE 4, CHATTANOOGA 0 IN JACKSONVILLE

The Jumbo Shrimp scored single runs in the first, second, third, and eighth.  The Lookouts loaded the bases with two out in the seventh and again in the eighth, but could not score.  They had seven hits and six walks, but stranded eleven and went 0-for-8 with men in scoring position.  Ex-Twin Omar Bencomo got the win for Jacksonville, striking out six in six shutout innings.  Ex-Twin Jeremias Pineda was 2-for-4 with two doubles for the Jumbo Shrimp.

Starter Fernando Romero pitched only 2.2 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and five walks with five strikeouts.  He threw 79 pitches.  Nik Turley saved the bullpen by striking out eight in 4.1 scoreless innings of relief.  Engelb Vielma was 2-for-4 with a walk and is batting .308.  Edgar Corcino was 1-for-1 and is batting .323, but came out of the game in the first inning after getting injured trying to steal second base.  I have no information on his condition.  Nick Gordon was 1-for-4 with a walk and is batting .310.

FORT MYERS 6, DAYTONA 0 IN DAYTONA

A leadoff triple by Alex Perez and another by Rafael P. Valera in the second led to a 2-0 Miracle lead.  Fort Myers put it out of reach with a four-run fifth, with Sean Miller capping the inning with a two-run double.  David Fischer and two relievers took it from there, limiting the Tortugas to five hits and striking out ten.

Fischer struck out eight in five innings, giving up two hits and three walks.  Williams Ramirez and Anthony McIver each pitched two shutout innings, with Ramirez allowing two walks and McIver giving up three hits.  Each struck out one.  Valera, Miller, and Perez led the offense.  Valera was 3-for-4 and scored twice.  Miller was 2-for-3 and drove in three runs.  Perez was 2-for-4 and scored twice to raise his average to .429.  Chris Paul was 1-for-4 and is batting .333.  Daniel Kihle was 0-for-4 and is batting .304.  Trey Vavra was 0-for-4 and is now batting .091 in 22 at-bats.

WISCONSIN 3, CEDAR RAPIDS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS (10 INNINGS)

It was scoreless through nine.  Each team had only two hits through nine innings, with the Kernels not getting one until the sixth.  The Timber Rattlers finally broke through in the tenth, with Demi Orimoloye hitting a two-out three-run homer.  In the bottom of the tenth, Aaron Whitefield hit a one-out two-run homer, but the next two batters were retired to end the game.

Sean Poppen struck out eight in 7.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and one walk.  Whitefield and Lewin Diaz were each 2-for-4, with Diaz contributing a double.  Travis Blankenhorn was 0-for-5, dropping his average to .343.  Jermaine Palacios was 0-for-5 and is now batting .303.  Ben Rortvedt was 0-for-4 and is now batting .087 in 23 at-bats.

TODAY'S TILTS

12:35  Syracuse (Taylor Hill, 0-1, 9.64) at Rochester (Jason Wheeler, 0-1, 7.20)
5:05  Chattanooga (Felix Jorge, 0-0, 4.50) at Jacksonville (Mike Kickham, 0-0, 3.60)
5:05  Wisconsin (Braden Webb, 0-1, 7.71) at Cedar Rapids (Alex Schick, 1-0, 1.29)
6:05  Fort Myers at Daytona (Jesus Reyes, 1-0, 5.06)