photo: Juan Yepez (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Juan Yepez’ big night at the plate led Palm Beach to one of two road wins on Thursday. Springfield put one in the win column but Memphis fell on the road while Peoria’s winning streak came to an end.
Results from the games played Thursday, May 17th.
Memphis 5 at Colorado Springs 10
The Redbirds bullpen and defense crumbled in the high-scoring seventh, as Memphis fell to the Sky Sox, 10-5, in the road series opener. Memphis (23-18), which has lost six of its last seven games, has seen its lead over New Orleans (MIA) dwindle to just 1 1/2 games in the American Southern Division.
The visitors were up 5-4 at the seventh’s midpoint but a combination of Edward Mujica’s pitching and two defensive miscues by center fielder Oscar Mercado resulted in six runs for Colorado Springs, four earned. Mujica (L, 2-1) allowed five hits and a walk in 1 2/3.
Kevin Herget went the initial 5 1/3, yielding four runs, three earned, on nine hits and two walks. Ryan Sherriff issued a free pass to his only batter before giving way to Mujica, who stranded two inherited runners. Andrew Morales faced the minimum in the eighth.
Mercado was the only Redbird with more than one hit, going 2-for-3 with a double, two walks and two runs scored. Andrew Knizner doubled once in four at bats while crossing home one time in his Triple-A debut. He was one of seven Memphis players with a hit apiece.
Defensively, the catcher had a rough evening. His first Triple-A miscue led to an unearned score in the fourth. An errant throw on an attempted steal of second allowed the runner to advance to third, putting him in position to score via a sac fly. Against the league’s best basestealing club, Knizner yielded six stolen bases, including three during Mujica’s stint.
Friday’s game: at Colorado Springs (25-13) (MIL), 7:40 pm CT, Daniel Poncedeleon (2-2, 2.41)
The S-Cards scored early and often then held on for an 8-5 road victory over the Drillers (20-19) (LAD). The split of the four-game set leaves Springfield (21-18) a game ahead of second-place Tulsa in the North Division.
It took four Drillers hurlers to navigate the contest’s first four frames during which time Springfield scored all eight of its tallies. The balanced offensive attack featured eight starters with either a hit or run scored, including pitcher Conner Greene, who went 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored. Third baseman Ramon Urias, the only S-Card with a multi-hit performance, singled and doubled in four at bats, touched home once and knocked in two.
Greene (W, 4-2) held the opposition to just one run over the first six innings before tiring in the seventh. The 23-year-old departed after surrendering a three-run home run with two gone, giving way to Estarlin Arias. Arias was touched for a long ball of his own during his 2 1/3 innings on the bump.
Friday’s game: vs. fourth-place Northwest Arkansas (18-21) (KC), 7:10 pm CT, Jake Woodford (2-4, 4.81)
The Beach Birds banged out 13 hits on their way to an 8-3 victory at Clearwater (16-24) (PHI). Second-place Palm Beach (24-15) took three of the four-game road series and trail Jupiter by 1 1/2 games in the South Division.
Eight of nine PB-Cards gathered at least one hit, led by Shane Billings, who went 3-for-5 with a run scored and stolen base. Three players went 2-for-4: Juan Yepez, Jose Martinez and Ryan McCarvel. Yepez, our Player of the Day, accounted for five of his team’s eight scores, going 2-for-4 with a double and three-run bomb comprising three of his four RBI and one of his two runs scored.
Anthony Shew (W, 4-1) went the first five frames, scattering eight hits and a base-on-balls that generated three runs. He fanned four.
John Kilichowski tossed two clean innings, giving up one hit while striking out two in his second Florida State League appearance. Jacob Patterson retired all six faced.
Friday’s game: vs. third-place Bradenton (21-19) (PIT), 6:30 pm ET, Evan Kruczynski (4-1, 3.38)
The Chiefs converted just two of 13 scoring opportunities, resulting in a 7-2 home loss to second-place Clinton. The defeat snapped a seven-game winning streak and drops Peoria (20-17) from first to third in the tight West Division, a game behind Quad Cities (HOU) and only a half of a game ahead of Kane County.
Peoria matched the LumberKings’ 11 hits as its four through six hitters each went 2-for-4: Elehuris Montero, Zach Kirtley and Dennis Ortega. But those three batters accounted for all of their squad’s production, Montero doubling once and joining Ortega in touching home one time while Kirtley knocked in one.
But Ortega had an ususally tough night defensively. The catcher was charged with a fielding error, his second of 2018, and two passed balls, his first of the season.
Starter Zach Prendergast was charged with the loss, his second in six decisions, despite tossing a quality start. Although the righty was touched for five runs on seven hits and a walk over six, only three of the five tallies were earned. Prendergast struck out five. Levi MaVorhis gave up a two-run bomb during his two-inning stint but Bryan Dobzanski pitched a clean ninth.
Friday’s game: vs. fourth-place Kane County (19-17) (ARI), 6:30 pm CT, Jake Walsh (1-1, 3.62)
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