photo: Ryan Helsley (Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports)
St. Louis’ system went 1-1 on a light Memorial Day schedule. Ryan Helsley was outstanding in his start for Memphis, resulting in a low-scoring victory, but Peoria went down to defeat for the fifth time in the last six games.
Results from the games played Monday, May 28th.
Memphis 2 vs. Colorado Springs 1
Ryan Helsley fanned 10 over seven superb frames as the Redbirds edged the Sky Sox, 2-1. Memphis (32-20) has claimed three of the first four contests against the American Northern Division’s second-place team with one game yet to play and lead their own American Southern Division by 4 1/2 games over Nashville (OAK).
Making just his second Triple-A start of 2018, Player of the Day Helsley (W, 2-0) yielded just one first-inning tally. The run was unearned due to a passed ball charged to Andrew Knizner that allowed the game’s lead-off batter to reach. Helsley gave up just three hits and one base-on-balls and threw 70 of his 106 pitches for strikes.
Andrew Morales worked around a hit and free pass for a clean eighth. Closer Preston Guilmet successfully dodged first baseman Luke Voit’s fielding error for his 10th save. Both relievers struck out two.
The Redbirds banged out eight hits, paced by Alex Mejia who went 3-for-4. The shortstop and clean-up hitter garnered the game-winning RBI when he drove in Randy Arozarena, who took one for the team to get on base in the seventh. Adolis Garcia was the only other Memphis player with more than one hit, singling twice in three at bats and collecting his seventh and eighth stolen bases of the season.
Defensively, center fielder Arozarena was credited with an outfield assist at second after the Sky Sox batter tried to stretch his run-scoring single into a double. Helsley later picked the same runner off first after he singled again.
Tuesday’s game: vs. Colorado Springs (27-22) (MIL), 12:05 pm CT, Kevin Herget (2-4, 3.72)
Springfield – off
Coming off a six-game road swing through Texas, Springfield (27-23) heads back home riding a four-game winning streak and with a 2 1/2 game lead over second-place Arkansas (SEA) in the North Division.
Tuesday’s game: vs. Corpus Christi (27-21) (HOU), 6:30 pm CT, Conner Greene (4-3, 4.05)
Palm Beach – off
Palm Beach (26-19), idle since Friday due to rain outs of Saturday’s and Sunday’s games plus Monday’s scheduled day off, gets back into action on Tuesday with the first of three games versus the Stone Crabs. The second-place Beach Birds trail Jupiter (MIA) by three games in the Florida State League’s South Division.
Tuesday’s game: vs. fourth-place Charlotte (23-23) (TB), 6:30 pm ET, Austin Warner (3-1, 2.86)
The Chiefs suffered a walk-off defeat at Quad Cities, falling 5-4 in the road series finale. Fourth-place Peoria (25-24) sits three games in back of the River Bandits, after winning just one of the now-concluded five-game set.
Johan Oviedo tossed five frames of one-run ball, maneuvering around four hits and five walks for the best results the 20-year-old has delivered since his April 20th start. Oviedo fanned four. He was aided by right fielder Scott Hurst, who was credited with an outfield assist at home, one of his two assists for the game, his fifth and sixth of the season.
Fabian Blanco kept Quad Cities (29-22) (HOU) quiet over the next two frames before running into trouble in the eighth. Blanco yielded three runs on four hits over 2 1/3, two of his three runs scoring under Bryan Dobzanski’s watch. Dobzanski (L, 3-2) recorded three outs but gave up a tally of his own in the ninth for the loss.
Peoria’s offense generated 11 hits, led by first baseman Zach Kirtley, who went 3-for-5 with a run scored and RBI. Catcher Julio Rodriguez and designated hitter Bryce Denton each doubled twice in four at bats, Rodriguez adding a walk and two driven in while Denton touched home once.
Tuesday’s games: vs. seventh-place Burlington (22-27) (LAA). Game one – 5:00 pm CT, Alex Fagalde (0-1, 3.27)/TBA
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