Cardinals Minor League Notebook: 9/3/17

photo: Sanel Rosendo (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

The St. Louis Cardinals system was 1-4 on Saturday, with Springfield being knocked out of the post-season race.  Our Player of the Day is Gulf Coast right fielder Sanel Rosendo, who was 2-for-4 with four RBI and three runs scored the in the Cardinals’ season-ending victory over the Nationals.

Results for games played Saturday, September 2.

Memphis 11 at Colorado Springs 14

Tyler O’Neill (Memphis Redbirds)

The Redbirds came out on the wrong end of a slugfest in Colorado Springs on Saturday night.  The Memphis bats scored 11 runs on 15 hits, yet still lost.  Tyler O’Neill led the way with four RBI, three on a first inning home run.  O’Neill also plated a run on a sixth inning single, and was 3-for-5 with two runs scored.  Jordan Schafer drove in three and was 3-for-4. Wilfredo Tovar was 2-for-5 with two RBI.  Aledmys Diaz was 2-for-5.  Starting pitcher Kevin Herget drove in a run, as did Adolis Garcia.

Herget pitched four innings, giving up six runs on nine hits.  The right hander fanned two and walked one.  Rowan Wick tossed the fifth and surrendered one run on two hits.  Arturo Reyes took the sixth and was tagged with a blown save and the loss.  Reyes relinquished five runs on six hits.  Andrew Morales pitched a scoreless seventh.  Mark Montgomery allowed two runs in the eighth.

On the base paths, Gabriel Lino was picked off second base.  In the field, Garcia had an outfield assist.

The Redbirds are 89-50 on the season and are in first place in the PCL American South by 22 games.

Sunday’s game:  at Colorado Springs, Matt Pearce (4-3, 5.51) 2:30 CT.


Springfield 5 at Tulsa 6

Pedro Echemendia (St. Louis Cardinals)

The Cardinals were the hard luck losers in a one run game at Tulsa on Saturday night.  The Springfield bullpen faltered late in the game, allowing three runs in the eighth and ninth to let the game and the season get away.

With Tulsa holding the second half tie breaker, the Cardinals needed to sweep the Drillers in the three-game set to win the North Division second half title and make the playoffs. Those hopes were extinguished in the ninth inning.

Starter Pedro Echemendia pitched five innings, giving up two runs on four hits.  Echemendia struck out three and issued one free pass.  Corey Littrell surrendered two runs in his 2 1/3 innings of relief.  Landon Beck was tagged with the blown save and the loss.  Beck allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits.  Eric Carter gave up the single that scored an inherited runner for the walk off victory for Tulsa.

Andrew Knizner plated the first Springfield run on a single in the second inning and went 2-for-4.  In the third, one run came home on a throwing error and the second on a fielding error.  Eliezer Alvarez plated a run in the fifth on a single, and Tommy Edman’s ground rule double brought home the second run of the inning.

Anthony Garcia stole his eighth base in 10 attempts, and Oscar Mercado stole his 37th base in 56 attempts.  Randy Arozarena was caught stealing for the third time in 11 attempts. Edman committed a throwing error, and Mercado made a fielding error.

The Cardinals are 76-62 overall, 41-27 in the second half, and two games back of first place in the Texas League North.

Sunday’s game:  at Tulsa, Chris Ellis (5-9, 4.31) 7:05 CT.


Palm Beach 3, St. Lucie 4

Edmundo Sosa (USA TODAY Sports Images)

The Cardinals were edged by the Mets at home on Saturday.  Starter Sam Tewes took the loss, pitching 4 2/3 innings and giving up four runs, three earned, on 12 hits.  Tewes fanned four and walked one.  Winston Nicacio tossed the final 4 1/3 scoreless innings.

The Cardinals scored their first run in the third on Edmundo Sosa’s RBI single.  Sosa plated another run on a sac fly in the seventh.  A run in the fifth came home on Jose Martinez’ single.  Vince Jackson was 2-for-4 and was the only Cardinal with multiple hits.

Casey Grayson stole his second base in two attempts, Blake Drake stole his sixth in nine attempts, and Jackson swiped his first base in two attempts with Palm Beach.  Jackson was also picked off and caught stealing for the first time in two attempts.   Sosa committed a throwing error.

The Cardinals are 74-59 overall and 34-32 in the second half.  They are eight games back of first in the FSL South.

Sunday’s game:  vs. St. Lucie, Evan Guillory (0-0, 0.00) 9:30 a.m. CT.


Peoria 0 at Kane County 3

The Chiefs were shut out on the road by the Kane County Cougars on Saturday night.  The Peoria offense managed only two hits, singles by Dennis Ortega and J.R. Davis.

Starter Austin Warner pitched two innings, giving up one run on three hits.  Warner struck out one and walked none.  Bryan Dobzanski surrendered two runs in 2 2/3 innings of relief. Colton Thomson and Dewin Perez combined for the final 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Warner took the loss, his fourth.

In the field, Evan Mendoza committed a fielding error.

The Chiefs are 67-70 overall on the season, 37-31 in the second half to put them four games back of first place in the Midwest League West. Both clubs have already clinched playoff berths. Kane County will play Cedar Rapids in the first round while the Chiefs take on Quad Cities.

Sunday’s game:  at Kane County, Anthony Shew (4-0, 2.72) 6:30 CT.


State College at Mahoning Valley

This game was cancelled due to rain and will not be made up. The Spikes remain 2 ½ games behind the Scrappers for the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division lead and three games back of the wild card, in third place, with five games remaining in the regular season.

Sunday’s game:  vs. Auburn, Daniel Castano (8-3, 2.82) 5:05 CT


GCL Cardinals 13 at GCL Nationals 9

Sanel Rosendo (St. Louis Cardinals)

The Cardinals prevailed in a slugfest against the Nationals on the road on Saturday.  Home runs by Taylor Bryant and Sanel Rosendo highlighted a big offensive performance. Bryant hit a solo home run in the in the fifth inning, while Rosendo added a three run shot in the ninth.  Bryant was 3-for-5 with three runs scored.  Rosendo was 2-for-4 with four RBI and three runs scored.  In addition to the home run, Rosendo singled in a run in the eighth.

Luis Flores plated two runs on second inning single and Michael Brdar drove in a run on single in the second.  Moises Castilllo drove in a run on double to cap the four run second inning.  Donivan Williams plated two on an eighth inning single, and Brdar drove in the final run in the inning on a ground out.  In the ninth, Robbie Coman added an RBI single.

Starter Junior Gonzalez pitched five innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on five hits.  The right hander struck out three and walked one.  Oneiver Diaz was bombed, surrendering seven runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings of relief.  Patrick Dayton tossed the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing two inherited runners to score to tie the game.  Dayton allowed no runs on his own, was charged with a blown save, but earned the win.

In the field, Williams committed a fielding error and a throwing error.  Rosendo had an outfield assist.

The Cardinals finish 26-29 on the season, 7.5 games back of first place in the GCL East.



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