Granite shines in debut as Wings win 3-1

Jose Berrios took the mound for Rochester and faced early pressure from Pawtucket, as Sam Travis delivered an RBI double in the top of the first, giving Pawtucket an early 1-0 lead.

The Red Wings came back strong in the bottom half of the inning against Shawn Haviland, with back-to-back singles by Zack Granite and J.B. Schuck. Field ripped a double to bring home both runners, giving the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at the end of the first.

The top of the Red Wings lineup continuede to produce, as Granite led off the bottom of the third inning with his second single of the day, followed by a stolen base. Two batters later, Field singled up the middle, allowing Granite to score and further pad the Rochester lead, 3-1.

Berrios worked into the seventh inning, when Buddy Boshers took over with two outs and a runner at second. Berrios pitched 6.2 innings and allowed six hits and an earned run, with four strikeouts. Berrios did not walk a batter, and threw 96 pitches – 62 for strikes.

Haviland worked six innings before Edgar Olmos. Haviland allowed five hits and three earned runs, walked one, and struck out six. Haviland threw 106 pitches, 61 for strikes.

Boshers set down the only batter he faced in the seventh, and Trevor Hildenberger pitched the eighth inning for the Wings. Hildenberger allowed a single and struck out one.

Alex Wimmers worked the ninth inning, striking out the first hitters he faced. Wimmers allowed a walk and a single to put the tying runs on base, but a groundball out ended the game and sealed the victory.

Granite, last year’s Sherry Robertson Award winner as Twins Minor League Player of the Year, made his Triple-A and Red Wings debut after missing over a month with an injury. He made an immediate impact Sunday, with two hits, two runs scored, and a stolen base.
Winning Pitcher: Berrios (3-0)
Losing Pitcher: Haviland (2-3)
Save: Wimmers (3)

NOTES: The Wings hit 24 home runs in April, the most by a Wings club since at least 1998. The Wings tallied just nine home runs in April last season…The Twins returned from a rehab assignment and reinstated RHP Justin Haley (right biceps tendinitis), who made one rehab appearance with Rochester on Friday…Class A Cedar Rapids OF Lewin Diaz is the Twins minor league Player of the Week…in five games for the Kernels, he hit .474 (9-for-19) with four doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, one walk and four runs scored…Diaz has played in 27 games for the Kernels this season, hitting .282 (29-for-103) with 11 doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI…the 20-year-old was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent in July of 2013.