Minnesota Twins Daily Morning Dip for September 8th, 2017

Minnesota Twins Daily Dip, September 8th, 2017

Welcome to the September 8th edition of the Daily Dip, your daily piece of news and notes here on Puckett’s Pond. You’ll find the scores and a quick summary of every level of the Minnesota Twins organization and links to any information you need to know to follow the Minnesota Twins here every morning!

You will be seeing some changes begin to filter in this week as the minor leagues begin to finish playoffs, and the Daily Dip will begin to implement looks around the league as well at happenings in the game of baseball as a whole.

News and Notes

Sano suffers setback

Minnesota Twins 4, Kansas City Royals 2

The Twins rallied with 3 runs in the top of the 9th to take the win from the Royals on Thursday night. Kyle Gibson threw another excellent start, though he didn’t have the same swing and miss as he has had recently, going 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits and a walk, with no strikeouts. Joe Mauer had a double, two singles, and a pair of walks. Jorge Polanco had a double, a single, and a walk. Jason Castro had a pair of singles. Robbie Grossman had a home run and a walk. Max Kepler had a single, a walk, and a stolen base.

September 8th Probable Starter: Ervin Santana @ Kansas City, 7:15PM CT

Montgomery Biscuits 3, Chattanooga Lookouts 2

After coming back to tie up the ball game in the bottom of the 7th, the bullpen gave back the run in the top of the 8th, giving the Biscuits the victory and tying the series. Dereck Rodriguez made the start, going 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and no walks, striking out 7. Max Murphy had a double and a single. Nick Gordon and Jonathan Rodriguez each had a single and a walk. T.J. White hit a home run.

September 8th Probable Starter: TBD @ Montgomery, 6:15PM CT

Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Kane County Cougars 3

Cedar Rapids used a 6-run 4th inning to propel toward victory on Thursday and the next round of the Midwest League playoffs. Clark Beeker made the start, going 7 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 9 hits and 3 walks, striking out 6. Jimmy Kerrigan had three singles. Trey Cabbage had a home run, a walk, and was hit by pitch. Lewin Diaz and Aaron Whitefield each had a single and a walk. Travis Blankenhorn had a pair of singles. Ben Rortvedt had a single and was hit by pitch. Ariel Montesino had a triple.

September 8th Probable Starter: Off Day

Elizabethton Twins 12, Pulaski Yankees 1

The Twins took game 1 of the championship series with a fervor, putting up runs in 5 of the first 6 innings of the game as they smoked the Yankees. Nick Brown made the start, going 6 innings, allowing a run on 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 3. T.J. Dixon had a monster game with a home run, a double, a single, and a walk. J.J. Robinson had three singles and a walk. Gorge Munoz had a pair of doubles and a walk. Mark Contreras had a home run, a double, and a walk. Carson Crites had a pair of singles. Rainis Silva had a single and a walk. Jose Miranda had a single and was hit by pitch. Akil Baddoo had a triple.

September 8th Probable Starter: TBD vs. Pulaski, 6:00PM CT

Minor League Pitcher/Hitter Of The Day

Pitcher: Dereck Rodriguez, Chattanooga – 7 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts
Hitter: T.J. Dixon, Elizabethton – 3-3, 3 runs, double, home run, 2 RBI, walk

Notes from around baseball

Next: Twins Minor League Awards

One Last Thing

Many may not know him, and if they did, they lamented his role in creating what became the Yankee “super power” in the late 1990s and 2000s, but Gene Michael is known throughout the baseball industry for his incredible intelligence and way with people. Often Brian Cashman is credited with much of the Yankees’ success, but the heart of those teams were built through the work Michael did, including his own grooming of Cashman into the GM that he became.

I’ve been making calls as the minor league season ends and I begin work on prospect lists, and nearly every scout I talked with that had been doing the job for more than a handful of years had a story of interacting with Michael and the way he blessed them with knowledge and encouragement to follow their scouting craft. One of the more touching moments of the day was when Orioles manager Buck Showalter was scheduled to appear on Buster Olney’s podcast for ESPN. The interview changed tenor quickly with the news of Michael’s passing, and the raw emotions were evident in Showalter’s voice.

RIP, Stick.