TRANSACTIONS
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Minnesota Twins sent LHP Caleb Thielbar on a rehab assignment at St. Paul Saints.
HOLY SENTINELS
St. Paul 8, Iowa 4 (10 innings)
The score of the box
Ice in his veins.
Tied four with two out and bases loaded in 10th inning, “Big Game” Jermaine Palacios broken in the draw. On the first pitch of his at-bat, Palacios tossed a fly ball over the left center field wall and into the outside hall to leave the Saints in the series finale against Iowa.
Palacios wasn’t the only attacking star of the day; St. Paul put up a crucial three-run third inning on an RBI single from Spencer Steer and a two-run homer courtesy of Jake Cave . The 29-year-old may have gray hair on that luscious beard, but his swing has looked as timeless as ever over the past week. Cave hit safely in all six games against the I-Cubs and recorded multi-hit performances in three of those six games. His huge on-base streak may have ended earlier this month, but Cave had an impressive July, slashing .263/.388/.563 with six home runs, 18 RBIs and 17 runs.
Palacios’ statement on a game didn’t just feature his no-date grand slam. Trailing 4-3 in the eighth inning, Palacios doubled a double right field that tagged Cave from second base.
Palacios and Cave certainly stole the show on the plate, but Sunday morning featured a slew of quality pitching performances. starting pitcher Ariel Jurado allowed just one run on three hits while striking out seven in four innings. The native of Aguadulce, Panama was perfect in the walk category and his seven strikeouts were a season high.
Making his first appearance on the return of the IL Twins’ bullpen staple, Caleb Thielbar pitched a perfect fifth inning, drawing a groundout and a pop out with one strikeout.
After a scoreless pair of innings from Tyler Thornburg and Ian Hamilton, RHP Michael Feliz put the nail in the coffin for the Saints, pitching a perfect ninth and tenth inning.
WIND WAVE WISDOM
Wichita 5, Northwest Arkansas 3
The score of the box
Speed kills.
Scoring on two crazy throws, Deshawn Keirsey Jr. touted a multi-hit game with a triple to propel the Surge to a victory Sunday afternoon against Northwestern Arkansas in Wichita.
Keirsey Jr. got the party started in the second inning when he pitched 2-1 to right field for a starting triple (3). Just two batters later, Keirsey Jr. headed home when a pitch to Ernie Yake creaked to the right of the passenger-trap.
Wichita stayed quiet until he staged a massive four-run eighth inning. Keirsey Jr. started that inning with a walk and scored on another wild pitch. The incident was not just Northwest Arkansas in the inning: on a double flight of Edouard Julien and Yake, a missed shot allowed Yake to score from the third. Chris Williams and Yake both scored RBI singles to contribute to the four-point frenzy.
Keirsey Jr. wasn’t too bad on the field either, stealing an extra hit to record the sixth-inning final.
Much-vaunted pitch prospect Simeon Woods-Richardson returned to the bump for the first time since June 11, throwing 2 2/3 innings scoreless. Woods-Richardson allowed four hits and walked three while striking out four. Not a bad first day back in the office for a guy who is sure to be a vital part of the organization’s presentation staff for years to come.
CORE NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 9, Wisconsin 2
The score of the box
Racing was the main course at Kernels on Sunday afternoon in Cedar Rapids. Thanks to three hits, two home runs and five RBIs by the batter Aaron Sabatothe Kernels picked up their 59th win of the season.
Sabato kicked things off right away with a two-run shot in the first inning to put Cedar Rapids on the board. Just four lengths later, Yunior Severino kicked a ball over the center field wall to give Kernels a 3-0 lead. Sabato struck again in the third inning with an RBI double that scored Jake Rucker (who also scored on Sabato’s first-inning bombshell).
The party continued into the fifth. With Rucker on base, Sabato took a 3-2 pitch off the left field wall to give the Kernels a 7-0 lead.
Sunday continued a torrid July for Sabato. Hitting safely in seven of his last eight games, Sabato has reduced 0.273/0.375/0.709 in the month of July. Sabato now has two three-hitter games this season and Sunday marked the first time Sabato smashed two homers and a double in his time with Cedar Rapids.
Cedar Rapids used five locations to defeat the Timber Rattlers. starting pitcher Orlando Rodriguez pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out one. hot red Bobby Milacki (W, 5-0) followed Rodriguez with 2 1/3 innings on a hit, scoreless while striking out two. Milacki now has an impressive 1.97 ERA on the season.
MOLD MATTERS
Fort Myers 8, Tampa 6
The score of the box
Despite an early 3-0 deficit, the Mussels used six more hits to pass the Tarpons and end the week in the Sunshine State. Five Mighty Mussels had multi-hit games and left fielder Carlos Aguiar had a double, a triple and a homer in Sunday’s win.
Aguiar put the molds on the board in the fourth inning with a solo homer on a 1-1 pitch. Misael Urbina followed suit with a two-run RBI single to tie the game at three.
The fun came in the sixth. Leading for Fort Myers, Aguiar hit a 1-1 pitch to right field for a teeing triple that eventually turned into a “little league home run” when Tampa’s second baseman missed. a throw on the relay, allowing Aguiar to score. The play was critical, as Fort Myers’ next three batters struck out.
It might not count as a circuit, but hey, a race is a race no matter how it goes!
Tied in a dogfight, the Moules provided enough confidence in the eighth inning to secure victory. Following an RBI single from Daniel Ozoria, Urbina hit a two-run homer over the left-field wall to seal the deal for Fort Myers.
The Moules gave it their all from the bump in their victory over the Tarpons, using six different pitchers. starting pitcher Jordan Carr went two innings, allowing three runs on four hits. Niklas Rimmel reliever (W, 4-1) was rock solid late in the game, throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings while walking two and striking out three.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the day: Aaron Sabato (Cedar Rapids) – 3 for 4, 2 HR, 2B, 3 R, 5 RBI
Pitcher of the day: Ariel Jurado (Saint-Paul) – 4 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 7 K
OUTLOOK SUMMARY
Here’s a look at the performance of Twins Daily’s top 20 twin prospects.
#5 – Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) 2.2 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K
#6 – spencer steer (St. Paul) – 1 for 5, R
#12 – Matt Waller (St. Paul) – 0-4.2K
#15 – Edward Julien (Wichita) – 0 for 2, R, 3 BB, K
#16 – Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Wichita) – 1 for 2, BB, K
LIKELY MONDAY STARTERS
FCL Twins @ FCL Orioles 11:00 CST
DSL Rockies @ DSL Twins 9:00 AM CST
