photo: Adam Kloffenstein (Memphis Redbirds)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-1 on Thursday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day is Memphis starter Adam Kloffenstein, who allowed one run in eight innings with seven strikeouts. Other standouts include Luken Baker, Quinn Mathews, Mike Antico, and Miguel Villarroel.
The Memphis Redbirds defeated the Nashville Sounds 3-1 on Thursday at AutoZone Park. Starter Adam Kloffenstein earned his second win this season, throwing eight innings, and allowing one run on five hits while striking out seven.
The Redbirds struck first in the fourth with César Prieto’s solo bomb to right field.
PRIETO POWER!
HIS NINTH @HueysRestaurant HOMER pic.twitter.com/4oCtp8IF9N
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) May 31, 2024
The Sounds tied the game in the sixth with a solo shot of their own.
Memphis regained the lead in the seventh with Luken Baker’s two-run blast to left-center.
OH BABY A PINCH-HIT BAKER BLAST
ANOTHER @HueysRestaurant pic.twitter.com/1Vr7kNLL3e
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) May 31, 2024
Baker went 1-for-1 as a pinch hitter with a homer, two RBI, and a run scored. Prieto hit 1-for-4 with a home run, an RBI, and scored once. Jared Young hit 1-for-1 with two walks. The Redbirds totaled three runs on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
Chris Roycroft threw one scoreless inning to earn his second save this season, giving up no walks or hits while striking out one. Memphis allowed one run on five hits while walking none and striking out eight.
Friday’s game: vs. Nashville, RHP Sem Robberse (5-2, 3.28) vs. Aaron Ashby LHP (0-3, 8.10) 7:05 CT.
On Thursday, the Springfield Cardinals (27-21) held onto a 7-5 win against the Wichita Wind Surge (19-28, MIN) at the Riverfront Stadium. Starter Tink Hence earned his fourth win this season, throwing six innings, and allowing four runs on six hits while walking one and striking out nine.
Tink Hence struck out nine tonight.
In six of his ten starts this year, Hence has struck out at least six batters.
Final line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, BB, 9 K pic.twitter.com/TxdheRYPgH
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) May 31, 2024
The Cardinals took an early lead in the first with Matt Lloyd’s RBI single and they extended their lead with R.J. Yeager’s two-RBI double and Ramon Mendoza’s RBI single.
Yessir! RJ Yeager rips it off the wall to keep our two-out rally going in the first. pic.twitter.com/FQLSQGtNNu
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) May 31, 2024
Nathan Church’s RBI double in the top of the second extended their lead to 5-0.
Springfield is not slowing down! Nathan Church with a ripper to right! It's 5-0 pic.twitter.com/OTVTH6CcAu
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) May 31, 2024
The Wind Surge earned one run back in the bottom half of the inning with a solo homer to left field.
Springfield extended their lead to six in the top of the fourth with Mike Antico’s RBI single and Church’s RBI groundout.
Mike Antico drops one into the grass and the lead is back to five. pic.twitter.com/GpkZOmYH5y
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) May 31, 2024
Wichita’s RBI single in the bottom of the fourth and a two-RBI single in the fifth brought the Cardinal’s lead down to three.
Leonardo Taveras took over the mound in the seventh, and in the eighth, he allowed a sacrifice fly that made the score 7-5.
Taveras threw 1 2/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit while walking one and striking out two. Matt Svanson earned his eighth save this season, pitching 1 1/3 innings, yielding no runs on three hits while striking out three. The Cardinals gave up five runs on 10 hits while walking two and striking out 14.
Antico was 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Bryan Torres hit 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Lloyd went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Springfield totaled seven runs on 13 hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.
Friday’s game: at Wichita, RHP Edwin Nuñez (0-3, 7.05) vs. Marco Raya RHP (0-0, 4.21) 6:35 CT.
The Peoria Chiefs (15-33) dropped their fourth consecutive game with a 3-2 loss against the Lansing Lugnuts (25-23, OAK) on Thursday at Jackson Field. Starter Quinn Mathews threw six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out six.
The Chiefs struck first in the fourth on Won-Bin Cho’s RBI groundout.
Cho grounds out, but brings home Moore to put the Chiefs on the board!!
PEO 1 | LAN 0
– – –#peoriachiefs pic.twitter.com/LPKD7pDwJY— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) May 30, 2024
Anguel Cuenca took over the mound in the seventh and allowed a two-RBI single and an RBI single to give the Lugnuts a 3-1 lead.
Peoria earned one in the eighth on a Leonardo Bernal RBI single, but it was not enough to catch Lansing.
Bernal with a single that bouncing through to center field sending Moore home to score!!
PEO 2 | LAN 3
– – –#peoriachiefs pic.twitter.com/g1rWTOdaEt— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) May 31, 2024
Brody Moore was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Bernal went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Osvaldo Tovalin hit 3-for-3 with a walk. The Chiefs totaled two runs on five hits with five walks and five strikeouts while going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Cuenca took his first loss this season, pitching 1 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits while walking two and striking out one. Nathanael Heredia threw 2/3 of an inning, yielding no runs and no hits while walking one. Peoria gave up three runs on seven hits while walking three and striking out seven.
Friday’s game: at Lansing, LHP Cooper Hjerpe (0-3, 4.25) vs. Blaze Pontes RHP (0-3, 8.59) 6:05 CT.
Palm Beach 4, Tampa 3On Thursday, the Palm Beach Cardinals (28-20) walked it off in a 4-3 win against the Tampa Tarpons (18-30, NYY) at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Starter Ixan Henderson through five innings, allowing one run, none earned, on one hit while walking one and striking out five.
The Cardinals struck first in the first with Kade Kretzschmar’s two-RBI double that plated Miguel Villarroel and Sammy Hernandez. Palm Beach extended their lead after a wild pitch and a throwing error allowed Kretzschmar to come home.
Tampa earned one back with an RBI forceout in the third.
Ettore Giulianelli replaced Henderson in the sixth and was pulled after walking three batters, bringing in Augusto Calderon to finish the sixth. Calderon allowed an RBI single that made the score 3-2.
Calderon continued pitching in the seventh and gave up an RBI single that tied the game at three apiece.
Palm Beach walked it off in the ninth with Villarroel’s RBI single to extend their winning streak to three games.
Villarroel went 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. JohnFrank Salazar was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Kretzschmar hit 1-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and scored once. The Cardinals totaled four runs on 12 hits with four walks and six strikeouts.
Giulianelli threw 2/3 of an inning, yielding one run on no hits while walking three and striking out one. Calderon pitched three innings, allowing one run on five hits while walking two and striking out two. Luis Gastelum earned his third win this season, throwing 1/3 of an inning, and giving up no runs on no hits while striking out the one batter he faced. Palm Beach allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits while walking six and striking out nine.
Friday’s game: vs. Tampa, TBD vs. Ryan Harvey RHP (2-2, 5.59) 5:30 CT.
Florida Complex League Cardinals – off Thursday
The 10-10 rookie league Cardinals will play their 21st game of the 2024 season on Friday against the FCL Mets (9-9, NYM) at the Rodger Dean Stadium Complex.
Friday’s game: at FCL Mets, TBD vs. TBD 11:00 CT.
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