photo: Randy Arozarena (Memphis Redbirds)
The St. Louis Cardinals system went 5-2 on Friday. Player of the Day, Memphis outfielder Randy Arozarena, hit for the cycle, including a two-run home run and four RBI. Peoria, State College and Johnson City won one-run games, but Springfield fell a tally short.
Results for games played Friday, July 26.
Memphis 13 at Oklahoma City 10
The Redbirds defeated the Dodgers in a slugfest in Oklahoma City on Friday. Memphis scored immediately on an RBI double by Ramon Urias. The Dodgers wasted no time in response, scoring three in the bottom of the first.
The Redbirds tied the game in the top of the third. Edmundo Sosa plated a run on a sac fly and a ground rule double by John Nogowski brought the second run of the inning home. The Dodgers answered with three runs in the bottom of the third for a 6-3 lead.
Randy Arozarena’s two-run home run in the fourth cut the lead to 6-5. In the fifth, Lane Thomas’ double to center with the bases loaded cleared the bases. Max Schrock plated Thomas on a single, then scored on Jake Woodford’s single. Arozarena tripled to left to score two more and the inning ended with the Redbirds leading 12-6.
The Dodgers answered with four in the bottom of the fifth to decrease the lead to 12-10. The Redbirds added an insurance run in the sixth on a solo home run by Thomas.
Arozarena was 4-for-6 with a single, double, triple, and home run for the cycle and is now hitting .367 with the Redbirds. He drove in four runs and scored three. Thomas (four RBI) and Urias each had three hits.
Starter Jake Woodford pitched 4 1/3 innings and gave up 10 runs on eight hits. The right hander struck out five and walked three. Jesus Cruz finished the fifth without further damage. Dominic Leone tossed two scoreless innings of relief. Hunter Cervenka followed with the final two scoreless innings to earn his fourth save. Leone was awarded the win.
Arozarena and Schrock each stole a base.
Memphis is 44-61 on the season and is in third place in the PCL American North, 13 games behind the Iowa Cubs.
Saturday’s game: at Oklahoma City, TBA 7:05 CT.
The Cardinals were edged by Amarillo at Hammons Field on Friday. The pitcher’s duel began with Angel Rondon, who held the Sod Poodles scoreless until the sixth inning. Rondon gave up back to back singles that inning, but one runner was eliminated on a caught stealing. Ronnie Williams replaced with two outs and allowed Rondon’s inherited runner to score. Williams then surrendered a run of his own before getting the third out. Williams returned to pitch a scoreless seventh. Will Latcham and Connor Jones tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively. Rondon was tagged with the hard-luck loss.
Springfield’s run came in the eighth via a solo home run by Brian O’Keefe. O’Keefe had two of the five hits by the offense.
The Cardinals are 18-16 in the second half, 48-56 overall, and are in second place in the Texas League North.
Saturday’s game: at Corpus Christi, Johan Oviedo (4-4, 5.63) 6:10 CT.
Palm Beach vs. Dunedin (postponed)
Friday’s game was postponed due to rain and will be replayed as part of a doubleheader of two seven-inning games at Roger Dean Stadium on Saturday.
Saturday’s games: vs. Dunedin, Alvaro Seijas (0-1, 4.58)/TBA 2:00 CT.
The Chiefs slipped by the River Bandits in Davenport on Friday. Peoria took the 1-0 lead in the first inning, when Delvin Perez singled and scored on a single by Imeldo Diaz. Peoria added four more in the fourth to increase the lead to 5-0. Jonatan Machado and Perez singled to left to plate two each.
Quad Cities finally got on the board with one run in the fourth. The score remained 5-1 until the top of the seventh when Alexis Wilson doubled to center to drive in two more.
Behind 7-1, the River Bandits attempted a comeback with a run in the seventh and a four-run rally brought them to within one run in the ninth.
The Chiefs knocked out 14 hits. Brandon Riley went 3-for-4. Perez, Diaz, Wilson, and Josh Shaw each had two hits.
Starter Logan Gragg pitched four innings, giving up one run on three hits. The right hander fanned four. Left-hander Connor Thomas (the scheduled starter who now appears to be in a tandem arrangement with fellow 2019 draftee Gragg) tossed the next four innings and surrendered one run on five hits to earn the win. Sebastian Tabata allowed the four runs in the ninth before Freddy Pacheco got the last out to earn his second save.
Brandon Riley stole his 11th base of the season but was also picked off first base.
The Chiefs are 8-25 in the second half, 38-64 overall, and are in last place in the Midwest League West
Saturday’s game: vs. Burlington, Parker Kelly (2-1, 1.42) 6:35 CT.
State College 2, West Virginia 1
The Spikes won a squeaker over the West Virginia Black Bears on Friday. The game was a pitcher’s duel through five scoreless innings. In the sixth, West Virginia scored one run. The Spikes tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a bases-loaded walk by Terry Fuller. In the ninth, Fuller’s RBI single walked off the 2-1 win.
Fuller, David Vinsky, and Pedro Pages each had two hits.
Starter Andre Pallante pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, fanning four and walking one. Jeremy Randolph surrendered one run in 1 1/3 innings of relief. Hector Villalobos finished with three scoreless innings to earn the win.
Donivan Williams was caught stealing.
The Spikes are 21-20 and are tied for third place in the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division.
Saturday’s game: vs. West Virginia, Scott Politz (1-2, 6.60) 6:05 CT.
The Cardinals edged the Greeneville Reds at home on Friday. Johnson City drew first blood with two first-inning runs on Todd Lott’s RBI double and Chandler Redmond’s sac fly. Carlos Soler’s solo home run in the second increased the lead to 3-0.
Greeneville began its comeback with a run in each of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to take the 4-3 lead. Brandon Purcell’s two-run home run in the seventh flipped the outcome in the Cardinals’ favor.
No Cardinal had multiple hits.
Starter Julio Puello pitched five innings and gave up three runs on four hits. The right hander struck out three and walked four. Tyler Peck surrendered one run in two innings of relief and was awarded the win. Will Guay tossed the final two scoreless innings to earn his second save.
Lott stole his fourth base of the season. Trejyn Fletcher stole his third, and Malcolm Nunez his second. Soler had an outfield assist.
Johnson City is 19-17 on the season and are in second place in the Appalachian League West.
Saturday’s game: vs. Greeneville, Jake Sommers (1-2, 5.03) 5:30 CT.
GCL Cardinals – Off
The 12-15 Gulf Coast League Cardinals are tied for third place in the five-team East Division, five games behind the Marlins.
Saturday’s game: at GCL Astros, TBA 9:00 am CT.
DSL Cardinals Red 8, DSL D-backs2 10
The Cardinals Red lost a back-and-forth contest to the D-backs2 on Friday. The Red put up a five-run first inning to take the early lead. Luis Andujar hit a two run single before a wild pitch brought a third run home. Claudio Ramirez plated Andujar on a double, and Ramirez scored on a single by Miguel Marcos.
The D-backs cut the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the first. That score remained until the top of the fourth when a Red run scored on a fielding error. However, the D-backs tied the game up in the bottom of the fourth with a four-run burst.
A run scored on a caught stealing play in the fifth to give the Cardinals a 7-6 lead. The D-backs scored one in the bottom half to knot the game up again.
In the sixth, Sander Mora plated a run on a single to retake the lead 8-7. The D-backs continued to fight back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth and added an insurance run in the in eighth for the 10-8 win.
Andujar, Ramirez, Smith Vargas, and Albert Inoa each had two hits.
Starter Diorys Guerrero pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up six runs on six hits. The left hander walked five. Hansel Marcelino allowed one run in his 1 1/3 innings of relief. Miguel Maiz surrendered two runs in the sixth and was tagged with the blown save and the loss. Larimel Soriano relinquished one run in the final two innings.
Andujar stole his seventh base of the season. He was also caught stealing, as was Bryan Matute. Catcher Diego Velasquez had a passed ball.
The Cardinals Red are 17-30 and are in seventh place in the DSL San Pedro Division.
Saturday’s game: at DSL D-backs2 TBA 9:00 am CT.
DSL Cardinals Blue 9, DSL Angels 5
The Cardinals Blue cruised to a win over the Angels on Friday. The Cardinals took the lead early and held on. The first of nine runs scored in the first inning on a single by Darlyn Del Villar. Fernando Diaz hit a solo home run in the second to increase the lead to 2-0.
In the third, three more runs came home on a sac fly by Gustavo Rodriguez, a Brandon Hernandez double, and a Leudy Pena double. The lead increased to 7-0 in the fourth on a two-run double by Elvin De Jesus.
The Angels finally got on the board with one run in the top of the fifth. The Cardinals answered with two additional scores in the bottom of the fifth. Pena plated G. Rodriguez on a single and Hernandez scored on a ground out by Juan Sanchez.
The Angels attempted a comeback from 9-1 deficit with one run in the sixth, two in the eighth, and one more in the ninth to cut the lead to 9-5, but that’s where the rally ended.
Del Villar, Pena, and Diaz each had two hits.
Blue starter Eduar Pimentel pitched three scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out three and walking two. Yordy Richard surrendered two runs in his three innings of relief. Allinson Benitez tossed a scoreless seventh. Benjamin Arias allowed two runs, one earned, in the eighth. Ronald Suarez relinquished one run in the ninth before left hander Cristoffer Zapata got the final out.
De Jesus stole his eighth base of the season but was also picked off second base. Pena made a throwing error. Hansel Otamendi had an outfield assist at home, G. Rodriguez had an outfield assist at third base.
The Cardinals Blue have a record of 27-14 and are in third place in the DSL South.
Saturday’s game: vs. DSL Yankees, TBA 9:00 am CT.
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