On the Pond Daily (6/23): Anderlin Mejia Stays Hot, Mauer Doubles Again
By Wally Fish
The Minnesota Twins system went 6-1 on Sunday, June 23rd. New Britain narrowly missed making it a perfect 7-0 day losing by a single run. While the organization piled up the victories, they did so with sketchy starting pitching at all levels.
Making an emergency start, Hernandez helped the Twins avoid a sweep on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports)
Minnesota Twins (34-38): 5-3 win over Cleveland (38-36)
LHP Pedro Hernandez was called up from Rochester to make an emergency start for the team when Mike Pelfrey‘s back pushed him to the DL. As was the case for most of the starters (see below for proof) in the system on Sunday, Hernandez was far from dominant. Yet he somehow got the job done despite issuing 6 walks and allowing 3 hits in 5.0 innings pitched. He held Cleveland to just 2 runs and helped the Twins avoid being swept.
Joe Mauer continued to prove that he’s still one of the best hitters in baseball with a 2-4 performance that included his 24th double of the season. Ryan Doumit, Josh Willingham, Chris Parmelee and Oswaldo Arcia all had two hits in the game as well.
Rochester Red Wings (39-39): 8-5 win over Louisville (37-40)
LHP Andrew Albers improved to 7-2 and the Red Wings returned to 0.500 thanks to his start which turned out to be the best in the system on the day. He only made it through 5.0 innings but limited Louisville to a single run on 5 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 6.
Everyone who came to the plate for the Red Wings managed at least one hit. Drew Butera was a surprising 2-4 while Chris Colabello continued to do what he’s been doing all season with Rochester. He was 2-4 in the game with his 17th HR and 2 RBI.
In other team news, Rochester released RHP Esmerling Vasquez.
New Britain Rock Cats (35-39): Lost 4-3 to Akron (36-38)
RHP Trevor May (5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) followed up his dominant start against Erie on the 18th with a slight hiccup. Through the first two innings it appeared as though the success he had in his last start was going to carry over. He faced the minimum six batters and struck out three to start the game but then started to wobble. May faced five in the 3rd, seven in the 4th and five in the 5th before a pair of home runs knocked him out of the game in the 6th.
C Josmil Pinto (2-4, 2B, RBI, SO) was the only Rock Cat to have multiple hits in the game.
Fort Myers Miracle (48-23): 7-5 win over Palm Beach (30-42)
RHP Manuel Soliman picked up his first FSL win but he wasn’t entirely on his game. In 5.2 innings he allowed 8 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB and collected 3 SO. It was just his third start with Fort Myers this season (and fifth of his career) and the 21 hits in 12.2 IP is more than a little disconcerting.
SS Aderlin Mejia and CF Jhon Goncalves were both 2-5 in the game. Mejia has been building upon a strong 2012 season and is now hitting 0.357/.426/.413 with 18 BB and only 14 SO in 39 games. For the second straight game RF Mike Kvasnicka went 2-4 with a home run.
Cedar Rapids Kernels (44-28): 13-9 win over Wisconsin (29-40)
On Sunday, RHP Hudson Boyd wasn’t fooling anyone in his 5.0 innings of work. He allowed 14 baserunners (8 H and 6 BB), 5 runs and struck out one lone, solitary batter. It was the third straight time he’s allowed as many runs as innings pitched and the sixth time in seven starts that he’s pulled the feat off.
Despite the rough outing Boyd picked up the win thanks to the Kernels offense that racked up 20 hits and scored six runs in both the 3rd and 5th. Every member of the lineup had at least one hit and seven out of the nine had a multi-hit game. 2B Jorge Polanco (4-6, 2 R, 2B, RBI, SO) led the parade but it was Max Kepler who was the star of the game. He went 3-6 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, a run and a strikeout.
Elizabethton Twins (3-1): 5-3 win over Greeneville (1-3) in 10 innings
After making three starts (7.59 ERA, 1.87 WHIP, 9 BB and 10 SO in 10.2 IP) with Cedar Rapids, LHP Hein Robb found slightly better results in his first start of the season with the E-Twins. In 5.0 IP he allowed 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB and 1 SO on the day. Andrew Ferreira, Dallas Gallant and Luis Nunez supported Robb by throwing a combined 5.0 innings of scoreless relief.
1B Rory Rhodes (2-4) and DH Mitch Garver (2-5) were the only two E-Twins with multiple hits. Each had a double and each drove in two of the team’s five runs in the game.
GCL Twins (1-1): Scheduled Off Day
DSL Twins (10-8): 5-4 win over DSL D-Backs (8-11) in 10 innings
RHP Wilfredy Liranzo was first on the mound for the Twins but his time out there was short lived. He allowed 5 baserunners (2 hits and 3 walks) and 4 runs (2 earned) in 1.1 innings pitched. He now has a 7.11 ERA with 11 BB and 12 SO in 6.1 IP so far this season.
Liranzo had a rough day, but his replacement was fantastic. RHP Jose Ramirez threw 4.2 scoreless innings while striking out 5. Last season in the DSL, opponents hit 0.301 off of him but this year he’s held them to a 0.170 average. It’s early on and it’s in a league where stats aren’t overly important but his 1.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 15-5 SO-to-BB in 14.2 innings is impressive despite these factors.
On June 18th, 2B Manuel Guzman made his professional debut and went 0-4. Since then he’s hit in four straight going 8-16 with a 2B, 3B, HR, 2 BB and 2 SO in the process. That includes his 3-5 performance on Sunday which was his second 3-hit game of the season.