Cardinals Minor League Notebook: 7/21/17

(photo: Harrison Bader/Springfield Cardinals FANatic Photos)

Harrison Bader was a Swiss army knife for Memphis in its road win with two walks, a stolen base, a home run, two RBI and four runs scored. Mike O’Reilly pitched well in his Palm Beach debut, but the system overall went just 2-5 on Thursday.

Results from games played Thursday, July 20th.

Memphis 10 at Oklahoma City 8

Harrison Bader (USA TODAY Sports Images)

The Redbirds withstood a late charge to top the Dodgers, 10-8, for a split of the four-game road set.  Memphis (62-35) leads Nashville (OAK) by 16 ½ in the American Southern Division.

The bats got to work early, pushing across a four-spot in the first plus one more the next frame and built a 9-2 lead through six.  Wilfredo Tovar led the 14-hit attack, going 4-for-5 with a double, walk, run scored and RBI.  Nick Martini, Alex Mejia and Patrick Wisdom had two hits apiece, Wisdom hitting a two-run bomb that was his 21st home run of 2017 to go with a double in four at bats.  Mejia also doubled once in five at bats, knocking in three while Martini crossed home twice.

Harrison Bader added a solo shot for his 19th blast, his only hit in four at bats.  Bader was very involved in the scoring throughout, walking twice, touching home four times, driving in two and swiping his ninth base.

Luke Weaver/USA TODAY Sports Images

Luke Weaver (W, 9-1) tossed a solid effort for Memphis despite going just five innings.  The righty held Oklahoma City (52-45) to a run on four hits and a walk.

The big damage done by the Dodgers was against Josh Zeid, who was touched for six runs on six hits and a walk in 1 1/3.  Two of the scores were via one long ball and the last runner crossed under Mark Montgomery’s watch.

Montgomery yielded the final tally on four hits and a base-on-balls over 1 1/3.  Ryan Sherriff recorded the eighth’s final out, stranding two inherited, but got the hook after putting his next two batters on via a hit batsman and free pass.  Josh Lucas worked around that jam for his eighth save.

Friday’s game:  vs. Las Vegas (37-61) (NYM), 7:05 pm CT, Jack Flaherty (1-1, 3.82)

Springfield 3 at Arkansas 6

The S-Cards were clipped by the Travelers, 6-3, in the road series opener, halting their seven-game winning streak.  First-place Springfield (17-10) leads Tulsa (LAD) by a game in the North Division.

Austin Gomber (L, 4-7) simply did not have it, yielding five runs on nine hits – including a three-run home run, in just three innings. The big lefty issued one base-on-balls and did not record a strikeout.

Pedro Echemendia hurled the next three, allowing a run on two hits.  Andrew Morales and Rowan Wick each tossed a scoreless frame.

Seven of Springfield’s nine starters garnered at least one of the team’s nine hits, all singles.  Second baseman Darren Seferina was the only Cardinal with more than one hit, going 3-for-5 with a run scored.

Friday’s game:  vs. third-place Arkansas (13-14) (SEA), 7:10 pm CT, Zac Gallen (2-2, 2.35)

Palm Beach 4 vs. Daytona 2

Mike O’Reilly (The Cardinal Nation)

A rain delay at the onset did not bother the Cardinals, as their Thursday victory clinched the four-game set, three games to one.  Danny Diekroeger’s two-run bomb gave Mike O’Reilly a winning Florida State League debut as the Beach Birds downed the Tortugas, 4-2. Palm Beach (14-12) sits in third, four games in back of Fort Myers (MIN).

The blast came with Shane Billings (force) aboard in the bottom of the fifth, widening the lead from 2-1 to 4-1.  It was the third baseman’s only hit in four at bats.

Billings was one of six PB-Cards with a hit apiece, singling once in four at bats with two runs scored.  Leobaldo Pina’s double was the only hit to go for extra bases.

O’Reilly (W, 1-0) was impressive in his maiden A-Advanced effort, limiting Daytona (3-23) to just three hits over eight.  Both of the tallies given up by the righty were solo home runs.  O’Reilly struck out six with seven ground- and seven fly-ball outs.  He threw 73 of his 100 pitches for strikes.

Ian McKinney recorded two outs but issued two free passes.  Estarlin Arias caught his only batter looking for his sixth save.

Friday’s game:  vs. fifth-place Charlotte (13-13) (TB), 6:30 pm ET, Junior Fernandez (5-3, 3.98)

Peoria 5 at Dayton 6 (13 innings)

Brian O’Keefe (Peoria Chiefs)

An unearned run in the 13th doomed the Chiefs to a 6-5 walk-off loss at Dayton.  Second-place Peoria (15-12) has lost the first two of the three-game series, leaving them trailing Quad Cities (HOU) by three in the West Division.

Max Almonte (L, 2-1) could not work around back-to-back fielding errors by right fielder Dylan Carlson and left fielder Mick Fennell.  The miscues came with two gone in the 13th, the latter allowing the tie-breaking tally to score.

Almonte was the sixth Peoria hurler, beginning with Frederis Parra.  Parra permitted two runs on seven hits in 5 1/3, striking out four.

Then the bullpen took over and they were not particularly effective.  Keaton Siomkin gave up a run on a hit while retiring one.  Bryan Dobzanski (BS, 1) and Yeison Medina (BS, 1) each retired five batters while allowing two hits and multiple walks, the former permitting two tallies.  Siomkin, Dobzanski and Medina all let their only inherited runner score.  Dewin Perez settled the scoring down for three innings before Almonte took over.

Peoria banged out 11 hits, paced by catcher Brian O’Keefe, who went 4-for-6 with a double and two runs scored.  The only other hit to go for extra bases was Nick Plummer’s three-run home run, one of his two hits in five at bats.  Carlson went 2-for-5 as well.

Friday’s game:  at Dayton (10-17) (CIN), 6:00 pm CT, Austin Warner (league debut)

State College 2 at West Virginia 8

Joshua Lopez (Johnson City Cardinals)

The Spikes (17-13) came out on the losing end of the battle between the Pinckney Division co-leaders, falling to the Black Bears, 8-2, in the first of three contests.

Starter Jonathon Mulford (L, 1-3) and State College’s defense put the team into an early hole from which they could not recover.  The right-hander surrendered a five-run first plus a solo shot in the third, only two of the six runs over 4 2/3 earned.  Mulford permitted nine hits and three walks.

Will Latcham struck out three in 2 1/3 but allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits, including a solo bomb.  Leland Tilley tossed a clean eighth.

Designated hitter Joshua Lopez led his squad’s eight-hit effort, going 3-for-4 with a double.  Left fielder Brandon Benson singled and doubled in four at bats with a solo home run that was one of his two RBI.

Friday’s game:  at West Virginia (18-12) (PIT), 7:05 pm ET, Andrew Summerville (1-0, 1.86)

Johnson City 1 at Burlington 8

The JC-Cards were bombed at Burlington, 8-1, preventing them from making a three-game series sweep.  Johnson City (12-16) is tied for third with Kingsport (NYM), six behind Elizabethton (MIN).

Five of the six tallies charged to Franyel Casadilla (L, 0-3) in five were produced by three long balls – a grand slam plus two solo shots.  Casadilla allowed the Royals (10-17) eight hits and three walks in all.  He also hit a batter.

Evan Guillory (2 IP) and Paul Salazar (0.2 IP) were each touched for a run.  Jacob Patterson retired his only batter, leaving two inherited aboard.

The Appy Birds had just five hits generated by five players. Alexis Wilson, Walker Robbins and Wadye Infante all doubled once. Julio Rodriguez drove in Irving Lopez (single) for his team’s only run.

Friday’s game:  vs. Danville (14-14) (ATL), 7:00 pm ET, Jacob Schlesener (1-1, 3.38)

GCL Cardinals 6 at GCL Marlins 6 (suspended, 10 innings)

Andres Luna (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

Thursday’s contest between the second-place GCL Cardinals (11-8) and the fourth-place GCL Marlins (8-11) was suspended due to lightning with the score knotted at six all through 10.

Andres Luna had two hits, a stolen base and two runs scored. Starting pitcher Junior Gonzalez was charged with four runs over the first five innings, but still left with a 6-4 lead.

The game is scheduled to be completed as part of a twin bill on Tuesday, July 25th.

The Gulf Birds trail the GCL Nationals by 1 ½ in the East Division.

Friday’s game:  at third-place GCL Astros (11-9), 12:00 pm ET, TBA

DSL Cardinals 4 at DSL Twins 5 (10 innings)

The Dominican Birds’ bullpen was unable to hold a 10th-inning lead, resulting in a 5-4 walk-off loss to the division-leading Twins (29-11).  The Cardinals (15-25) are in eighth and last place, 14 games behind.

Hector Soto (BS, 2) (L, 3-2) retired just one batter, surrendering two runs, one earned, on an RBI triple, two intentional free passes and a wild pitch.  The first run was due to the runner beginning the extra frame on second base.

Diego Cordero went the first six, giving up three tallies on 10 hits.  Dionis Zamora fanned four over the next three, walking two.

Only one of the Dominican Birds’ 10 hits went for extra bases, a double by center fielder Carlos Soler, who went 2-for-3 with a run scored.  Shortstop Franklin Soto and catcher Ivan Herrera had three hits apiece, Soto crossing home twice in four at bats and Herrera knocking in two in five at bats.

Friday’s game:  at fourth-place DSL Angels (19-21), 10:30 am ET, Francis Ventura (1-2, 3.77)


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