Cardinals Minor League Notebook – May 15, 2021

photo: Lars Nootbaar (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

The St. Louis Cardinals system went 2-2 on Friday. Our Player of the Day is Memphis left fielder Lars Nootbaar, who went 3-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored in the Redbirds’ win at Nashville.

Results for games played Friday, May 14.

Memphis 9 at Nashville 2

The Redbirds (3-7) overwhelmed the Nashville Sounds with two four-run innings to soundly defeat Nashville 9-2.

Memphis took a 1-0 lead in the first inning that began with back to back singles by Scott Hurst and Evan Mendoza. Jose Rondon drew a walk to load the bases and Austin Dean grounded into a double play to score Hurst.

The lead was increased to 5-0 in the third inning.  Hurst walked, Rondon singled and John Nogowski walked.  With the bases juiced, Lars Nootbaar cleared the bases with a double to left field.  Dennis Ortega singled to plate Nootbaar.

Memphis starter Bernardo Flores Jr. kept the Sounds off the board for five innings.  In the sixth, Flores allowed a leadoff double and was replaced by Zack Thompson.  Thompson gave up a two-run home run to the first batter he faced to narrow Memphis’ lead to 5-2.

The Redbirds came roaring back in the seventh with another four-run outburst.  Rondon walked, Austin Dean was hit by a pitch, and Nogowski walked.  Once again Nootbaar came through with a single to plate Rondon and Dean.  Kramer Robertson singled and Nogowski scored.  A wild pitch sent Nootbaar home.  Memphis led 9-2 and there the score remained through the final two innings.

Lars Nootbaar

Nootbaar was the star of the show with three hits and five RBI.  Flores earned the win, his first, and Thompson got the save, also his first.  In addition to his prowess with the bat, Nootbaar also threw a runner out at home.  Nogowski and Robertson each had a stolen base.

Saturday’s game:  at Nashville, Tommy Parsons RHP (0-0, 5.19) vs. Alec Bettinger RHP (0-0, 0.00) 6:35 CT.

Springfield 6 at Arkansas 8

The Cardinals (1-9) were the losers in a close contest with the Travelers on Friday night.  Arkansas scored the bulk of their runs early, and put Springfield to playing catch up, which they almost accomplished.

The Cardinals got on the board first with two runs in the first.  Nolan Gorman doubled and Luken Baker drove him home on a single.  Conner Capel singled and Imeldo Diaz singled to plate Baker.

The Travelers responded with a four-run bottom of the first as starter Alvaro Seijas didn’t make it out of the inning.  The right hander surrendered four runs on three hits, and left with two outs in the first, to be replaced by Dalton Roach. Roach surrendered three more Arkansas runs in the second to put the Travelers up, 7-2.

In the third, the Cardinals added a run on a Diaz RBI single.  In the fourth, back to back singles by Nick Raposo and David Vinsky, and a sac fly by Nick Plummer made it 7-4.  Arkansas scored its final run in the fifth off Roach.  Reliever Jake Walsh kept the Travelers scoreless for the final 3 2/3 innings.

David Vinsky

In the top of the sixth, Juan Yepez plated a run on a single to make it 8-5.  Vinsky’s solo home run in the eighth narrowed the lead to 8-6.  That would be the final score as Springfield put up a zero in the ninth.

Yepez, Baker, and Capel each had two hits. Vinsky went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Diaz had two RBI.  Seijas took the loss, his second.  Capel made a fielding error, but also had an outfield assist at third base.

Saturday’s game:  at Arkansas, Domingo Robles LHP (0-0. 0.87) vs. Devin Sweet RHP (0-0, 0.00) 6:10 CT.

Peoria 7, Wisconsin 6

The Chiefs (4-6) walked it off against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers with a five-run rally in the last two innings. It was the third consecutive comeback win for the Chiefs against Wisconsin.  Peoria fell behind in the first inning as Wisconsin got on the board with two runs off Chiefs starter Michael YaSenka.

The Chiefs answered with in the home second via a solo home run by Zade Richardson to decrease the lead to 2-1. YaSenka surrendered one run in the third and another in the fourth to widen the Timber Rattlers lead to 4-1.  YaSenka was relieved with two outs in the fifth by Cole Aker.  Aker kept Wisconsin off the board for his two innings of relief.

Brady Whalen

In the sixth, Brady Whalen thumped a solo home run to cut the lead to 4-2.  The Timber Rattlers responded in the top of the eighth with a two-run long ball off Peoria reliever Freddy Pacheco.

The Chiefs were undeterred and in the bottom of the eighth they put three runs on the board.  It began with singles by Jhon Torres and Malcom Nunez. Pedro Pages reached on a fielding error to load the bases.  A wild pitch sent Torres home.  A walk to Brady Whalen and passed ball scored Nunez.  Brendan Donovan hit into a force out at second. Moises Castillo singled to plate Pages and the Chiefs were within one run of Wisconsin at 6-5.

Reliever Fabian Blanco kept Wisconsin off the board in the top of the ninth.  In the bottom of the ninth, Peoria walked it off with a 7-6 victory on back-to-back singles by Torres and Nunez and a two-run single by Whalen.

Torres and Nunez each had two hits and two runs scored. Whalen was 2-for-4 with three RBI.  Blanco was awarded the win, his second of the season.  The Chiefs stole five bases, three by Donovan and one each by Nunez and Matt Chamberlain.

Saturday’s game:  vs. Wisconsin, Nathanael Heredia (0-1, 5.40) vs. TBA 6:35 CT.

Palm Beach 8 at Jupiter 10

The Cardinals (4-6) were defeated by the Jupiter Hammerheads at Roger Dean Stadium on Friday night.  Palm Beach took a 4-0 lead in the first inning as they sent all nine hitters to the dish.

Masyn Winn led off with a walk and Jordan Walker singled to advance Winn to third base.  The bases became juiced when Carlos Soto drew a walk the next batter up, Todd Lott, was hit by a pitch and Winn scored.  A single by Jacob Buchberger plated Walker and Soto, and Lott came home on Matt Koperniak’s single.

The Beach Birds added to their lead in the top of the second with two runs on a Lott double and a Buchberger single.  The Cardinals’ 6-0 lead was erased quickly in the bottom half of the second.  Starting pitcher Edwin Nunez was rocked for six runs and came out of the game with two outs in the second.  Luis Ortiz relieved but the damage was done, and the score was knotted again, at 6-6.

The Cardinals briefly regained the lead in the top of the third on an RBI single by Walker.  Jupiter added two more runs in the bottom of the third off Ortiz. The Hammerheads increased their lead with one run in the fourth off Palm Beach reliever Jose Moreno, who surrendered another run to Jupiter in the fifth for a Hammerheads lead of 10-7.

The Beach Birds added an eighth and final run in the seventh on a sac fly by Koperniak.  Luis Tena pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for the Cardinals and was the only pitcher to keep the Hammerheads off the board.

Jacob Buchberger

Ortiz was tagged with the loss, his second of the season.  The offense put up eight runs on eight hits.  Buchberger led the effort with three hits, including a triple. Walker was 2-for-4 and scored two runs.  Koperniak contributed two hits, a double and a single.

Throwing errors were made by Winn and Soto.

Saturday’s game:  at Jupiter, Nick Trogrlic-Iverson (0-1, 4.00) vs. Matt Givin RHP (0-0, 6.23) 5:30 CT.


For more

To track the status of the Cardinals’ 40-man roster as well as all players in the system by position and level, check out the Roster Matrix, always free and updated here at The Cardinal Nation. Also included is every player transaction across the full organization all year long.


Exclusively for members of The Cardinal Nation

Memphis Redbirds Notebook – 2021 Week 1


Now Available – 2021 Cardinals Prospect Guide

Now available, The Cardinal Nation 2021 Prospect Guide is back for a fourth year. It includes over 250 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of color photos.

TCN’s 2021 Cardinals Prospect Guide – Now Available!


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.

© 2021 The Cardinal Nation, thecardinalnation.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.