Rox Top Bismarck, Twins Rout Diamondbacks

The St. Cloud Rox beat the Larks to open the two-game weekend series on Saturday, and the Minnesota Twins dominated Arizona in game two of their series.

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- The Rox held off Bismarck for an 8-4 win on the road to kick off the two-game series. St. Cloud got on the board first with two runs in the opening inning. The Lark responded with one of their own in the bottom of the inning. Things quieted down at home plate for a bit before Bismarck went off for three runs in the third inning, taking a 4-2 lead. The Rox had an answer in the top of the inning, sending three men in to reclaim the lead 5-4. Neither team scored again until the top of the eighth when St. Cloud added three more to lock up the win for good. Chipper Beck led the Rox with two runs. Tyler Hemmesch struck out just two batters and allowed three runs on three hits in the first three innings for St. Cloud. The bullpen reigned it in with six strikeouts and one hit in the final six innings. The Rox improve to 38-23 and now need to win just five more to lock up a spot in the playoffs with just one week remaining in the regular season. St. Cloud will close out the series against the Larks (23-39) in Bismarck on Sunday. First pitch is set for 5:35 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM KXSS.

- The Twins routed Arizona 12-1 following Joe Mauer's Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Target Field on Saturday. The Diamondbacks scored the first run of the day in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. After that, it was all Minnesota as the Twins scored at least one run in every remaining inning except the seventh. Ryan Jeffers led the way with four RBIs on two home runs and a double, making the most of his four trips to the plate and tying the program record of 10 bases for a catcher in a single game. Willi Castro added an RBI triple, Matt Wallner hit an RBI double and an RBI single, and Michael A. Taylor and Max Kepler each hit a solo homer to add to the dominant offensive performance for Minnesota. Kenta Maeda struck out seven batters and allowed one run on two hits through the first six innings. Jordan Balazovic and Jovani Morán combined for two strikeouts and no hits in the final three innings. The Twins improve to 58-54 and will look to earn the sweep in game three against the Diamondbacks (57-55) on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.