Cardinals Minor League Notebook – July 10, 2021

photo: Ivan Herrera (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

The St. Louis Cardinals system was 4-3 on Friday. Our Player of the Day is Springfield catcher Ivan Herrera, who hit his second grand slam of the season, and had five RBI in the Cardinals win over Tulsa.  Honorable mention goes to Peoria third baseman Jordan Walker who had a 3-for-5 night with three RBI in Peoria’s loss to Cedar Rapids.

Results for games played Friday, July 9.

Memphis 2 at Louisville 4 (Game 1, seven innings)

The Redbirds fell to the Louisville Bats in the first game of a twin bill on Friday night at Louisville Slugger Field.  The extra game made up for Thursday’s rainout.

Starter Tommy Parsons surrendered four runs on seven hits in four innings pitched.  The right hander struck out three and walked two.  Parsons was tagged with his sixth loss of the season.  Austin Warner tossed a scoreless sixth inning.

Memphis immediately scored on a first-inning solo home run by Lane Thomas.  Louisville answered with the tying run in the home half of the first on a bases-empty home run by former Cardinal Max Schrock.

Lane Thomas

The Redbirds briefly regained the lead in the third inning with their second and final run, which scored without a hit.  Kramer Robertson drew a walk and was advanced to second and third on a sac bunt and a ground out.  With Nolan Gorman at the plate, a passed ball enabled Robertson to scamper home.

The 2-1 lead was very brief, as the Bats plated two in the home third, then added a fourth run in the fourth.

The Memphis offense managed only two hits – Thomas’ long ball and a single by Parsons.  Thomas also had an outfield assist at second base.

Memphis 2 at Louisville 1 (Game 2, eight innings)

The Redbirds squeaked by the Bats in extra innings of Game 2 of the twin bill on Friday night.  Louisville scored first but Memphis tied it up 1-1 several innings later.  The score remained knotted up through the seven regulation innings until the Redbirds took the lead in the eighth.

Redbirds starter Angel Rondon pitched four innings and surrendered one run in the third.  Seth Elledge tossed two scoreless relief innings, followed by Connor Jones with one clean frame.  T. J. McFarland pitched the eighth and also kept Louisville off the board.

Conner Capel

The Redbirds tied the game in the fourth inning on a solo home run by Connor Capel.  In the eighth, Irving Lopez started on second base, advanced to third on Lane Thomas’ ground out, and scored on a sac fly by Scott Hurst.

Memphis scored their two runs on four hits.  No Redbird had multiple hits.  The extra base hits were the Capel home run and a double by Kramer Robertson.

Nolan Gorman made a throwing error and Capel had a fielding miscue. Hurst had an outfield assist at third base.

Memphis is 22-36 and sits in last place in the Triple-A East Southeast Division, 17 games back of first place Durham.

Saturday’s game:  at Louisville, Zack Thompson LHP (0-6, 9.16) vs. Ashton Goudeau RHP (1-1, 5.50) 6:00 CT.

Springfield 16, Tulsa 9

The Cardinals were the victors in a slugfest at Hammons Field on Friday night.  The Springfield offense tallied 16 runs on 14 hits against the Drillers.

Starter Kevin McGovern took the mound for the Cardinals and pitched five innings.  The left hander surrendered four runs on five hits, fanned seven and walked five to earn his first win as a Cardinal. St. Louis rehabber Kodi Whitley pitched a scoreless sixth in relief.  Edgar Escobar gave up four runs in the seventh and was followed by Ramon Santos, who yielded one run in the final two innings.

Tulsa got on the board in the top of the first, but the Cardinals answered with four runs scored in their part of the frame.  Delvin Perez singled, Justin Toerner drew a walk and Brendan Donovan was hit by a pitch.  That set up Ivan Herrera’s home run to left field.  It was Herrera’s second grand slam this season.

Iván Herrera

Springfield added two more runs in the second on a double by Donovan.  The Drillers answered with two in the top of the third, but the Cardinals responded with a crooked number of six scores in the home third.  Luken Baker led off with a solo home run.  Nick Dunn doubled and Nick Raposo singled.  Perez followed with a single to plate Dunn. Toerner reached on a fielding error.  Raposo scored on a Donovan single. Herrera hit a sac fly to score Perez.  Finally, Toerner and Donovan came home on single by Nick Plummer.  The Cardinals led 12-3.

The Drillers made it 12-4 in the fifth on a solo home run.  Alec Burleson responded with his own bases-empty home run in the bottom of the fifth.  Tulsa came roaring back with four runs in the top of the seventh on three long balls.  The Cardinals lead shrunk to 13-8.

Springfield was not done.  The offense added three runs to the tally. Donovan reached on an error and went to second on a wild pitch. Burleson singled and Donovan scored on a ground out by Plummer. Baker and Dunn drew back-to-back walks. Raposo singled to score Burleson.  A fielding error brought Baker home.  The score was 16-8 in favor of the Cardinals.

The Drillers made one more effort, scoring one run in the eighth to make it 16-9, the final score of the contest.

Donovan and Burleson each had three hits and two driven in.  Raposo and Perez had two hits each.  Herrera had five RBI.

On the base paths, Perez and Plummer each stole a base.  In the field, Herrera had a passed ball.

The Cardinals are 22-36 and stand in last place in the Double-A Central North Division, 10 games back of first place NW Arkansas.

Saturday’s game:  vs. Tulsa, Tyler Pike LHP (1-2, 5.97) vs. Ryan Pepiot RHP (3-2, 1.73) 1:30 CT.

Peoria 8 at Cedar Rapids 9

The Chiefs lost a heartbreaker against the Kernels at Perfect Game Field on Friday night.  Peoria mounted a comeback from an 8-3 deficit in the ninth inning to tie the game, only to lose on a walkoff.

Cedar Rapids took an early lead, scoring five runs in the first four innings before the Chiefs got on the board.  In the fifth, Cristhian Longa and Jordan Walker both reached base on errors.  Leandro Cedeno doubled on a pop up to second and both Longa and Walker scored to cut the Kernels lead to 5-2.

Cedar Rapids answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth and another in the sixth to make it 7-2. In the seventh, Matt Chamberlain drew a walk and later scored on a Walker single, and the score became 7-3.  The Kernels made it 8-3 in the eighth.

In the ninth, the Chiefs rallied.  Zade Richardson led off with a solo home run. Chamberlain was hit by a pitch.  Jhon Torres singled, and Walker’s double plated Chamberlain and Torres.  Cedeno followed with a two-run home run. Peoria had tied the game at 8-8.

The jubilation was short lived as Cedar Rapids walked off in the bottom of the ninth on a double off reliever Leonardo Taveras.

Jordan Walker

Walker had a good night, going 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Cedeno and Chandler Redmond were both 2-for-5.  Cedeno drove in four.

Chiefs starting pitcher Logan Gragg pitched 3 1/3 innings and surrendered five runs on four hits, struck out three and walked three.  He got a no decision when his offense let him off the hook in the ninth.  Cory Thompson relieved and allowed one run on two hits.  Mac Lardner yielded one run in two innings.  Cole Aker pitched the eighth and gave up one run.  Taveras took the loss, his fourth of the season.

Chamberlain stole his sixth base of the season.  Moises Castillo made a fielding error. Torres had an outfield assist at home plate.

Peoria is 22-36 and sits in last place in the High-A Central West Division, 16 games back of first place Quad Cities.

Saturday’s game:  at Cedar Rapids, Nick Trogrlic-Iverson RHP (3-2, 4.93) vs. Jon Olsen RHP (0-3, 3.65) 6:35 CT.

Palm Beach 6 at Lakeland 2 (Game 1, seven innings)

The Cardinals beat the Flying Tigers at Publix Field on Friday in the first game of a doubleheader.  The Beach Birds took the lead with four runs in the first inning and never gave it up.

Tommy Jew led off the game with a single and stole second.  Jacob Buchberger drew a walk and Matt Koperniak followed with a double that scored Jew. Donivan Williams’ double plated Buchberger and Koperniak and he later scored on a single by Edgardo Rodriguez.

Lakeland took two runs back in the home half of the first, but those were the Flying Tigers’ only scores of the game.

The Beach Birds added a run in the second on a wild pitch.  In the fifth, Darlyn Del Villar plated the sixth and final run on a single.

John Beller made the start for Palm Beach and surrendered two runs on two hits in two innings pitched.  The left hander struck out two and walked five. Edgar Manzo tossed four scoreless relief innings to earn his third win.  Kevin Marnon pitched a scoreless seventh.

Edgar Manzo

Koperniak went 3-for-4 with an RBI.  Jew was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.  Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Jew stole his eighth base of the season.  Franklin Soto made a fielding error.

Palm Beach 3 at Lakeland 6 (Game 2, seven innings)

The Cardinals were defeated by the Flying Tigers in the second game of the doubleheader at Publix Field on Friday night.  This contest was a makeup of the rained-out game from the previous night.

The Beach Birds fell behind early, as Lakeland put up four runs in the first three innings.  In the fourth inning, Palm Beach received a solo home run by Carlos Soto.

Lakeland increased its lead to 6-1 in the fourth.  Palm Beach added one in the sixth on consecutive singles by Matt Koperniak and Patrick Romeri, followed by an RBI single by Jose Zapata. In the seventh, Masyn Winn led off with a double and later scored on a wild pitch to bring the final tally to 6-3 in favor of Lakeland.

Winn had a 4-for-4 game with three doubles, a single, and a run scored. Koperniak was 2-for-3.

Masyn Winn

Starter Gianluca Dalatri pitched only 1 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on three hits, struck out one and walked two. Francisco Justo got the final two outs of the second inning.  Gustavo J. Rodriguez tossed 1 1/3 innings and yielded two runs, three earned on three hits. Sean Kealey pitched the final 2 2/3 scoreless frames.  Dalatri took the loss, his first as a professional.

Franklin Soto made a fielding error.

Palm Beach is 23-34 and sits in last place in the Low-A Southeast East Division, seven games back of first place St. Lucie.

Saturday’s game:  at Lakeland, Levi Prater (1-3, 3.50) vs. TBA 5:00 CT.

FCL Cardinals 5 at FCL Nationals 4

The Cardinals (4-5) edged the Nationals 5-4 in a Friday morning contest.  Starter Reinys Portillo pitched three innings and yielded one run on one hit, struck out two and walked one.  Rehabbing Memphis pitcher Johan Quezada followed with two scoreless innings of relief.  Ettore Giulianelli tossed one inning and surrendered one run.  William Miranda started the seventh but gave up one run while only recording one out.  Omar Sanchez followed with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.  Tink Hence hurled the ninth inning and allowed one unearned run to get his first save of his career.  Quezada was awarded the win.

The Cardinals offense got on the board in the first inning on a two-run long ball by Tre Fletcher.  The Nationals answered with a solo home run in the home half of the first to cut the lead to 2-1.

Trejyn Fletcher

Jake Burns plated a run in the third on an RBI single to widen the deficit to 3-1.  In the sixth the Nationals added a run to their tally, and it was 3-2.

In the seventh a wild pitch run made it 4-2 in favor of the Cardinals.  Once again, the Nationals responded with a run in the bottom of the inning and the score stood at 4-3.

The battle of the two teams continued in the eighth as the Cardinals regained a two-run lead. Luis Montano tripled and scored on a ground out by Hansel Otamendi.  The Nationals rallied in the ninth but fell short of the two runs required to tie and the Cardinals prevailed 5-4.

Fletcher and Ramon Mendoza each had two hits. Fletcher had two RBI.

Otamendi was caught stealing for the first time this season.  Shortstop Jeremy Rivas made a throwing error.  Catcher Roblin Heredia had a passed ball but also picked a runner off first base.

Saturday’s game:  No game scheduled.


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