Stewart rebounds in first Double-A win

Kohl Stewart bounced back after a rough Double-A debut, and a little extra run support didn't hurt, either.

The Twins' No. 7 prospect allowed three hits over six scoreless innings on Thursday for his first Double-A victory as Chattanooga hammered Jacksonville, 15-1.

Stewart (1-0) rebounded from a disappointing Southern League debut on June 4 to claim a win, striking out five without walking a batter at AT&T Field. He threw 52 of 87 pitches for strikes and retired 10 consecutive batters during a stretch between the first and fourth innings.

Corey Williams, Mason Melotakis and Mike Strong each added an inning of relief to wrap up the win.

Stewart certainly didn't need to be perfect -- the Lookouts fell one home run shy of tying the Southern League record for homers in a game with six. Twins No. 28 prospect Daniel Palka went 2-for-3 with a pair of homers and four RBIs while Zach Granite, Leonardo Reginatto, Travis Harrison and Mitch Garver also went deep.

Stewart, a 21-year-old right-hander, began the season at Class A Advanced Fort Myers and dominated in nine starts, striking out 44 batters over 51 2/3 innings in the Florida State League. The Twins' 2013 first-round Draft pick went 3-2 with a 2.61 ERA before Minnesota moved him up to Double-A.

His Chattanooga debut was a forgettable one, though -- he allowed five runs on four hits and three walks and lasted just 1 2/3 innings at Birmingham five days ago.

Last season, the Houston native finished 7-8 with a 3.20 ERA in 22 starts for the Miracle. In 2014, he was a Midwest League All-Star with the Kernels, for whom he had a 2.59 ERA in 19 outings.

Suns starter Pat Johnson (2-2) was charged with four runs on six hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings to suffer the loss, although reliever Chipper Smith allowed the bulk of the runs -- he surrendered seven while recording three outs.