photo: Yariel Gonzalez (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 4-5 on Saturday. Four of the losses were by one or two runs, including two defeats suffered in the final inning. Our Player of the Day is third baseman Yariel Gonzalez, who was 3-for-5 including a home run and three RBI in Springfield’s win.
Results for games played Saturday, July 20.
The Redbirds lost a Saturday heartbreaker in a walk off following their comeback from a 5-0 deficit. Memphis was held scoreless until the seventh with the Storm Chasers up by five. The Redbirds began a rally by scoring two runs on RBI singles by Adolis Garcia and Johan Mieses. They continued in the eighth when Ramon Urias crushed a three run home run to left center field to knot the score at 5-5.
Memphis was unable to score again in the ninth, but Omaha’s second baseman Erick Mejia’s solo home run in the bottom of the frame off Mike Mayers ended the game.
Urias went 2-for-3 with three RBI and Mieses was 2-for-4 with one driven in.
Pressed into duty when Ryan Helsley was promoted to St. Louis, bullpen starter Seth Elledge pitched two innings and gave up one run on three hits. The right hander struck out three and walked two. Jesus Cruz surrendered three runs in his 1 1/3 innings of relief. Chris Ellis allowed one run in 2 2/3 relief innings. Chris Beck pitched two scoreless innings, and Mayers took the loss for his work in the ninth.
Garcia stole second and third base in the seventh inning after driving in the first run.
Memphis is 40-60 on the season and in last place in the PCL North, 15 games back of the Iowa Cubs.
Sunday’s game: at Omaha, Jake Woodford (5-6, 3.70) 2:05 CT.
Springfield 5 at Corpus Christi 2
The Cardinals topped the Hooks in Corpus Christi on Saturday behind a 3-for-5 night by third sacker Yariel Gonzalez. After the Hooks took the 1-0 lead in the first inning, Gonzalez tied it up in the third with a solo home run to left field. A sac fly by Alberto Triunfel in the fourth gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.
The Hooks knotted it up with one run in the bottom of the sixth, but Springfield answered in the seventh with Gonzalez’ second RBI of the game via a ground out. Rayder Ascanio followed suit with an RBI groundout in the eighth to increase the lead to 4-2. In the ninth, Gonzalez drove in his third run on a single to right field.
Starter Roel Ramirez pitched 3 1/3 innings and gave up one run on three hits. The right hander fanned four and issued one free pass. Jacob Patterson followed with 3 2/3 innings in which he surrendered one run. Patterson got the win. Connor Jones tossed two scoreless innings to earn his third save.
Gonzalez’ three hit, three RBI performance was slightly marred by a caught stealing.
The Cardinals are 15-14 in the second half, 45-54 overall, and in third place in the Texas League North.
Sunday’s game: at Corpus Christi, Angel Rondon (4-2, 3.23) 4:15 CT.
Palm Beach was no-hit by Jupiter lefty Will Stewart until the offense finally broke through with two outs in the ninth. Bryce Denton doubled to center and Dennis Ortega drove him home on a single to center. It was too little too late for Palm Beach, as they fell, 3-1.
Cardinals starter Michael Baird took the loss, pitching 2 2/3 innings and giving up two unearned runs on four hits. The right hander struck out three. Ben Yokley surrendered one run in 3 1/3 innings and Zack Thompson followed with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Patrick Dayton got the last two outs of the eighth.
A missed catch error by first basement Luken Baker in the third inning led to the two unearned runs.
The Cardinals are 10-21 in the second half, 45-50 overall, and are in last place in the FSL South.
Sunday’s game: at Jupiter, Alvaro Seijas (0-0, 4.30) 12:00 pm CT.
The Chiefs blew past the Lake County Captains on Saturday and gave starter Connor Thomas his first win since he joined Peoria from State College. Thomas pitched five innings and gave up one run three hits while fanning five and walking one. Thomas St. Clair followed with a scoreless sixth. Logan Gragg tossed the final three innings and surrendered one run to earn the save.
The Chiefs offense put up two runs in the first inning on a home run by Ivan Herrera. Two more scores were added in the third on a double by Delvin Perez and a groundout by Brady Whalen that plated Perez.
The Captains finally scored in the fourth to cut the lead to 4-1, but Peoria answered with three runs in the top of the fifth. A line drive double to left field off the bat of Whalen brought the first run across the plate. Herrera then drove in two on a single to right field. Lake County put up one additional run in the eighth.
Brendan Donovan went 3-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Whalen and Herrera each had two knocks.
The Chiefs committed three errors, two throwing errors by Josh Shaw and Perez had a fielding miscue.
The Chiefs are 6-22 in the second half, 36-61 overall, and are in last place in the Midwest League West.
Sunday’s game: at Lake County, Parker Kelly (2-1, 1.69) 12:30 CT.
State College 4, Williamsport 5 (10 innings)
The Spikes were edged by the Williamsport Cross Cutters in extra innings on Saturday. The Spikes took and early lead and maintained the lead until the seventh inning. Terry Fuller hit an RBI single in the first inning to give State College the 1-0 lead. In the second, Shane Benes hit a two-run home run, his first as a professional, to increase the lead to 3-0.
Williamsport began chipping away at the lead with one run in the seventh, one run in the eighth, and the tying run in the ninth. The game went into the 10th, and the Cross Cutters put up two runs to take the 5-3 lead.
The Spikes tried to rally in the bottom half of the 10th by scoring on a ground out by Carlos Soto, but the rally ended there. Dariel Gomez was the only Spike with multiple hits, with two.
State College starter Andre Pallante pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, fanning four and walking one. Jacob Schlesener followed with 2 1/3 scoreless frames. Cameron Dulle surrendered one run in the seventh, Fabian Blanco did the same in the eighth. Leonardo Taveras gave up the tying run in the ninth, then returned for the 10th and surrendered two more runs for a total of three runs allowed in 1 1/3 innings. Jack Ralston came in and got the final two outs of the 10th. Taveras was charged with a blown save and the loss.
Catcher Pedro Pages stole his first base of his career. Andrew Warner and Donivan Williams were both caught stealing. Pages had a passed ball.
The Spikes are 17-18 on the season and are in third place in the New York/Penn League Pinckney Division.
Sunday’s game: vs. Williamsport, Scott Politz (1-2, 7.30) 5:05 CT.
The Cardinals fell to the Danville Braves in a low scoring contest on Saturday. The Johnson City offense put up two runs on six hits, with the first run scoring in the bottom of the first inning on a solo home run by Todd Lott, his first as a pro.
The Cardinals didn’t score again until the eighth, when Carlos Soler cracked an RBI double to right field. In between, Cardinals pitching gave up four runs to the Braves. Lott went 3-for-4 on the evening.
Cardinals starter Julio Puello pitched six innings and gave up two runs on six hits, but still took the hard-luck loss. The right hander struck out five. Alex Gallegos surrendered two insurance runs in the seventh. Wilberto Rivera tossed the final two scoreless relief innings.
Kevin Vargas made a throwing error.
Johnson City is 15-15 on the season and is in second place in the Appalachian League West.
Sunday’s game: vs. Danville, Jake Sommers (1-1, 3.24) 4:00 CT.
The Cardinals blanked the Mets in Port St. Lucie on Saturday. It was a pitcher’s duel until the top of the seventh inning when the Cardinals scored three. Jean Selmo doubled to left field to score two and Tyler Reichenborn’s sac fly drove the third run home. Selmo had two hits.
Making his professional mound debut, Cardinals starter Blake Drake pitched one scoreless inning, allowing no hits, striking out one and walking one. Merandy Gonzalez, on a rehab assignment from Springfield, followed with two scoreless innings. Regular starter Ludwin Jimenez hurled the final six scoreless innings to earn the win.
The Cardinals are 11-12 on the season and are in third place in the GCL East.
Sunday’s game: No game scheduled.
DSL Cardinals Red 4 at DSL Rangers2 8
The Cardinals Red were defeated by the Rangers2 on Saturday. The Rangers took a 3-0 lead in the second inning. The Cardinals answered with one run in the top of the third on an RBI double by Sander Mora. The Rangers scored one in the bottom of the third to increase the lead to 4-1.
In the top of the fourth, Jesus Orrechia plated a run on a sac fly to make the score 4-2. Again, the Rangers responded with one run in the bottom half of the fourth. The Rangers added two runs in the fifth and one run in the sixth for an 8-2 lead.
In the top of the seventh, RBI singles by Albert Inoa and Fernando Brazaban made the score 8-4, which was the eventual final score. Brazaban and Endri Salas each had two hits.
Starter Diorys Guerrero pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on four hits. The left hander struck out one and walked three and took the loss. Hemerson Cordero surrendered one run in 1 1/3 innings of relief. Luis Garcia allowed two runs in the fifth, before Larimel Soriano relinquished one run in the sixth. Hansel Marcelino and Augusto Calderon pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth.
Smith Vargas stole his 12th and 13th bases of the season. Bryan Matute swiped his fifth bag. Cordero and Erick Thomas each made throwing errors.
The Cardinals Red are 17-24 on the season and are in seventh place in the DSL San Pedro Division.
Sunday’s game: No game scheduled
DSL Cardinals Blue 11, DSL Phillies Red 2
The Cardinals Blue gave the Phillies Red a shellacking on Saturday. The Blue offense put up nine runs in the first inning to take a commanding lead after the Phillies had scored one run in the top of the inning.
The Blue burst began with a solo home run off the bat of leadoff hitter Darlin Moquete. Hansel Otamendi walked and Darlyn Del Villar singled. Gustavo Rodriguez drove them both home on a single to left field. Brandon Hernandez and Leudy Pena walked. Luis Rodriguez singled to plate Gustavo Rodriguez. Fernando Diaz drew a bases loaded walk and Hernandez scored. Pena scored on a Carlos Arcia walk. Moquete drove in Luis Rodriguez on a sac fly. The lineup rolled over back to G. Rodriguez and he drew a walk to plate Diaz. Hernandez walked and Arcia scored. The inning finally ended with a Pena strike out as the Cardinals had scored nine runs, mostly on singles and walks.
The score remained 9-1 until the bottom of the eighth, when the Cardinals added two more scores. Arcia drove in a run on a force out and Moquete hit an RBI single. The Phillies added one more run in the ninth.
Moquete and Del Villar each had two hits. The offense drew a total of 16 walks.
Starter Wilmer Ortega pitched six innings, giving up one run on three hits. The right hander struck out two and walked two to earn his fourth win. William Miranda pitched a scoreless seventh. Nelson Prada tossed a scoreless eighth. Victor Villanueva surrendered one run in the ninth.
Pena made a throwing error. Luis Rodriguez picked a runner off first base.
The Cardinals Blue are 24-13 on the season and are in third place in the DSL South.
Sunday’s game: No game scheduled.
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