photo: Yoerny Junco (Francys Romero)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-2 on Friday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, DSL 3B Yoerny Junco, was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Other standouts include Zack Thompson, Brandon Komar, Chase Davis, Luis Gastelum and Cristofer Lebron.
Results for games played Friday, August 2.
The Triple-A Redbirds suffered a heartbreaking walk off loss to the Bulls on Friday night. Memphis led the game until the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t stop Durham at the end.
Zach Thompson started for the Redbirds and threw four scoreless innings with no hits allowed and four punchouts.
Nick Raquet relieved Thompson for the next two innings and gave up three runs on four hits. Andre Granillo surrendered a run in the following 1 2/3 innings of work. Chris Roycroft blew the save in the ninth and took the loss.
Memphis took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Victor Scott led off with a single. Jordan Walker drew a walk but was eliminated on a force out by Matt Koperniak. With Scott on third, Iván Herrera grounded out and Scott scored.
The Redbirds advanced their lead to 2-0 in the second inning. César Prieto led off with a double. José Fermín singled. Nick Dunn plated Prieto on a sac fly.
Memphis added a third run in the third. Jordan Walker and Koperniak walked. Herrera grounded into a force out as Koperniak was out at second. Luken Baker walked. Prieto’s sac fly scored Walker.
The Redbirds increased their lead to 5-0 in the fourth. Scott walked. Walker doubled. Koperniak plated Scott on a single and Walker came home on a throwing error.
Durham began to chip away at the 5-0 lead with one run in the fifth. They added two in the sixth and in the eighth they made it 5-4.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Bulls pushed two runs across to win in a walk off.
Memphis scored five runs on 10 hits. Dunn was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Scott was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Walker doubled, walked twice and scored two runs.
Mike Antico was caught trying to steal. Thomas Saggese made a fielding error.
Memphis is 51-55 on the season, 13-18 in the second half. They are in eighth place in the International League West Division.
Saturday’s game: at Durham, Gordon Graceffo RHP (8-5, 4.27) vs. Ian Seymour LHP (0-1, 2.79) 5:35 CT.
The Double-A Cardinals blanked the Drillers by the score of 3-0 in a Friday night road win. In his second outing since his month-long absence, Tink Hence pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings. The right hander allowed one hit, struck out four and walked one. 28 of his 41 pitchers went for strikes.
https://twittere.com/Sgf_Cardinals/status/1819546048659963929
But Springfield’s mound star Friday was Brandon Komar, who hurled the next 5 1/3 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. Matt Svanson tossed a scoreless ninth.
Brandon Komar was unreal tonight 🔥
5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9k (matches a career-high) pic.twitter.com/DRCBaLnB4E— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) August 3, 2024
The Cardinals plated the first of their three runs in the second inning on a solo home run by Chandler Redmond.
Springfield added run number two in the fourth. Matt Lloyd singled. Redmond drew a walk. Jacob Buchberger drove in Lloyd on a single.
The Cardinals’ final run of the game came in the sixth. Ramon Mendoza walked. Jeremy Rivas reached on a fielder’s choice with a throwing error. Mendoza went to third on a single by Bryan Torres and scored on a force out by Nathan Church.
The offense scored three runs on nine hits. Church was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Lloyd was 2-for-4.
Buchberger was caught stealing. Jimmy Crooks picked a runner off first base.
Springfield is 56-44 on the season, 19-12 in the second half. They remain in first place in the Texas League North.
Saturday’s game: at Tulsa, Max Rajcic RHP (8-8, 4.79) vs. Kendall Williams RHP (4-9, 6.75) 7:00 CT.
The High-A Chiefs were defeated by the River Bandits by a 6-1 score at Dozer Park on Friday. Hancel Rincon was on the bump to start the game for Peoria. Rincon pitched six innings and gave up three runs on seven hits, fanned seven and walked one. Rincon took the loss.
Tyler Bradt surrendered the final three runs in three innings of relief.
The Chiefs scored their only run in the third inning. At the time that was good for the lead, but Quad Cities surged ahead starting two innings later.
Peoria’s third began with a single by Johnfrank Salazar. Miguel Villarroel followed with a double. Brody Moore flied into a double play and Salazar was out at home. Villarroel wound up at third base. Chase Davis brought him home on a single.
Davis singles, Villarroel scores in 👇of 3rd!
PEO 1 | QC 0 pic.twitter.com/5FlNQj5XiI— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) August 3, 2024
In the fifth, the River Bandits put up three runs to take the lead. They added one run in the seventh and two more in the eighth for the final score of 6-1.
The Chiefs were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded six runners. Their hits totaled eight with Davis going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Villarroel was 3-for-3.
Davis had an outfield assist at third base.
Peoria is 42-57 on the season, 16-18 in the second half. They have dropped to fifth place in the Midwest League West, six games back of Wisconsin.
Saturday’s game: vs. Quad Cities, Pete Hansen LHP (4-6, 3.83) vs. Frank Mozzicato LHP (5-8, 3.26) 7:05 CT.
The Low-A Cardinals edged the Marauders by a 5-4 score at Roger Dean Stadium on Friday. Leonel Sequera took the mound for Palm Beach and surrendered three runs on six hits in three innings. The right hander fanned four and walked two.
Luis Gastelum hurled 3 1/3 scoreless innings of relief with just two baserunners allowed. Nolan Sparks yielded one run in the eighth but received his first professional win. Henry Gomez tossed a scoreless ninth for his eighth save.
Bradenton took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Beach Birds quickly tied it in the third. Ryan Campos doubled and later scored on a double by Brayden Jobert.
The Marauders came back to regain the lead with two runs in the top of the fourth. The Cardinals added one run in the home half of the inning to shrink the lead to 3-2. J.J. Wetherholt doubled and later scored on a single by Bryce Madron.
Palm Beach tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth. Christian Martin advanced to second on a throwing error on a strikeout. Jon Jon Gazdar was plunked. Ian Petrutz singled to drive in Martin.
Bradenton put up one run in the top of the eighth to break the tie and lead 4-3. In the bottom of the inning the Cardinals pushed two runs across to take a 5-4 lead. Petrutz singled, and Wetherholt followed with a ground-rule double. Jose Cordoba plated Petrutz on a single. After Josh Kross reached on a fielder’s choice, Wetherholt scored on a force out by Campos.
The offense scored five runs on eight hits. Petrutz was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Wetherholt was 2-for-4, both doubles, with two runs scored.
Cordoba was picked off third base, and also had an outfield assist at third base.
Palm Beach is 59-39 on the season, 22-10 in the second half. They remain in first place in the FSL East by three games over Daytona.
Saturday’s game: vs. Bradenton, TBD vs. Hung-Leng Chang RHP (4-7, 4.56) 5:00 CT.
DSL Cardinals 11, DSL NYY Yankees 9 (seven innings)
Despite collecting just five hits, the Dominican Cardinals defeated the Yankees by an 11-9 score on Friday. Branneli Franco started for the Cardinals and pitched three innings, gave up three runs on four hits, struck out four and walked two.
Bernard Mack hurled two scoreless relief innings to earn the win. Jesus Garcia surrendered six runs in 1 2/3 innings. Guanchi Martinez got the final out of the seventh.
The Yankees put up the first run in the top of the first. The Cardinals tied it in the home half. Yairo Padilla reached on an error. Following successive ground outs that moved Padilla to third, he scored on an error.
The Yankees went up 3-1 in the top of the third. Again, the Cardinals responded to tie the game. Yaxson Lucena took a free pass. Yoerny Junco then slammed a two-run home run to right field.
The Cardinals took the lead 6-3 in the fourth. Christian Saez and Juan Pablo Cabrera each drew a walk. Cristofer Lebron blasted a three run long ball.
The Cardinals posted a five run fifth to lead 11-3. Walks to Facundo Velasquez, Rainiel Rodriguez, and Saez loaded the bases. Cabrera walked to score Velasquez. Rodriguez stole home. Fernando Roquez walked. Saez came home on a wild pitch. Cabrera scored on a wild pitch. Lucena drove in Roquez on a single.
The Yankees came back with one run in the sixth and five in the seventh to shrink the final score to 11-9.
The Cardinals plated 11 runs on just five hits. Junco was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Lebron drove in three.
Rodriguez stole his first base of the season.
The Cardinals are 20-19 on the season and are in fifth place in the DLS Central Division, nine games behind the Giants Black.
Saturday’s games: vs. DSL White Sox, TBD vs. TBD (completion of July 19 game, game one) vs. DSL White Sox, TBD vs. TBD (game two).
Exclusively for members of The Cardinal Nation
Now Available – 2024 Cardinals Prospect Guide
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
Not yet a member?
Join The Cardinal Nation for the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
Follow Marilyn Green on Twitter @Marilyncolor.
© 2024 The Cardinal Nation, thecardinalnation.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.