Cardinals Minor League Notebook – May 5, 2022

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

The St. Louis Cardinals system was 1-3 on Wednesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day is Memphis OF Lars Nootbaar, whose three-run home run cemented Memphis’ win over Jacksonville. Kramer Robertson, Conner Capel and Ben DeLuzio also contributed.

Results from games played Wednesday, May 4.



Memphis 7, Jacksonville 3

The Memphis Redbirds defeated the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Wednesday afternoon at AutoZone Park. In his return to the rotation, Angel Rondon pitched three innings and gave up two runs on one hit, struck out six and walked five.

James Naile relieved and surrendered one run in three innings. Kyle Ryan threw scoreless innings to earn his first win of the season. Junior Fernandez tossed a scoreless ninth.

Jacksonville took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Memphis made it 2-1 in the third on an RBI double by Kramer Robertson.

The Jumbo Shrimp increased their lead to 3-1 in the fifth. A big seventh inning put the Redbirds up 7-3. Alec Burleson led off the inning with a double. Ivan Herrera singled, Conner Capel singled, and Burleson scored. Evan Mendoza drew a walk, and Ben DeLuzio plated Herrera on a single. Capel then scored on a wild pitch. Lars Nootbaar followed with a three-run home run to right field.

Lars Nootbaar

Jacksonville failed to rally, and the Redbirds celebrated their 15th win of the season. Robertson, Herrera and DeLuzio each had two hits. Nootbaar drove in three.

On the base paths, DeLuzio stole his first base of the season.

Memphis is 15-11 on the season and stands in third place in the International League West, 2.5 games back of first place Columbus.

Thursday’s game:  vs. Jacksonville, LHP Matthew Liberatore (3-2, 3.18) vs. Daniel Castano LHP (0-0, 11.57) 6:45 CT.

Springfield 3, NW Arkansas 13

The Springfield Cardinals were walloped by the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in a 13-3 laugher at Hammons Field on Wednesday night. Kyle Leahy initially took the mound for Springfield. The right hander pitched five innings and gave up seven runs on nine hits, struck out two and walked six. Leahy took the loss, his fourth of the season as his ERA grew to 9.53.

Sean Kealey relieved first and threw two scoreless innings. Johan Quezada pitched a scoreless eighth and returned to start the ninth. Quezada yielded five runs before he was replaced by Kevin Marnon with one out. Marnon allowed one more run before getting the final two outs.

NW Arkansas took command of the game with a five-run third inning. The Cardinals scratched out one run in the home half of the third to cut the lead to 5-1. Delvin Perez drew a walk and Matt Koperniak singled. Perez advanced to third on the hit. Perez then scored on a wild pitch.

The Naturals tacked on two more runs in the fifth. The score was 7-1 until the bottom of the eighth when Moises Gomez blasted his MiLB-leading 13th long ball of the season, a two-run shot.

Moisés Gómez

NW Arkansas poured it on in the ninth and ran the score up to 13-3. The Cardinals were unable to respond to the onslaught.

The Springfield offense had six hits, drew just two walks and scored three runs. Todd Lott was 2-for-4. All the hits were singles but the home run from Gomez.

In the field, Perez made a fielding error. Leahy picked a runner off second base.

Springfield has a record of 10-13 and stands in last place in the Texas League North, 4 games back of first place Tulsa and Wichita.

Thursday’s game:  vs. NW Arkansas, Domingo Robles LHP (1-1, 3.38) vs. Dante Biasi LHP (1-0, 4.50) 6:35 CT.

Peoria 3 at South Bend 6

The Peoria Chiefs were defeated by the Cubs in a 6-3 contest on Wednesday at South Bend’s Four Winds Field. Dionys Rodriguez made the start for Peoria. The right hander pitched five innings and gave up three runs on three hits, fanned seven and walked two.

Nathanael Heredia threw scoreless innings in relief. Nick Trogrlic-Iverson surrendered three runs in the eighth and took the loss, his first of the season.

Nathanael Heredia

The Chiefs scored two runs in the top of the second to take a 2-0 lead. L.J. Jones doubled to start the inning and Mack Chambers drew a walk. Aaron Antonini singled to bring home Jones. Chambers scored on a sac fly by Thomas Francisco.

South Bend responded with one run in the second, then added two more in the third to make 3-2. Peoria tied it at 3-3 in the fourth on an RBI double by Masyn Winn.

The score remained knotted until the eighth, when the Cubs posted three runs to go up 6-3. Peoria was unable to respond and suffered their 11th loss of the season.

Antonini went 2-for-4 with an RBI. He was the only Chief with multiple hits. Francisco and Winn each drove in a run.

On the base paths, Mike Antico stole his Midwest League-leading 14th base of the season. Winn was picked off first base. In the field, Noah Mendlinger made a throwing error.

Peoria is 12-11 on the season and sits in third place in the Midwest League West, 3.5 games back of first place Cedar Rapids.

Thursday’s game:  at South Bend, Austin Love RHP (0-2, 10.59) vs. TBA 6:05 CT.

Palm Beach 2, St. Lucie 3

The Palm Beach Cardinals were edged by the St. Lucie Mets in a one run contest on Wednesday night at Roger Dean Stadium. Trent Baker made the start for Palm Beach. The right hander pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up three runs on six hits, fanned eight and walked two. Baker suffered his third loss of the season.

Bryan Pope threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief. Alex Cornwell tossed the final two scoreless innings.

St. Lucie took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, then added a run in the third. The Cardinals answered in the home half of the third with one run to decrease the lead to 3-1. Sander Mora led off the inning with a single and Ramon Mendoza drew a walk. Tyler Reichenborn singled to plate Mora.

Tyler Reichenborn

The score remained 3-1 until the eighth inning. Osvaldo Tovalin tripled and scored on a ground out by Jeremy Rivas to make the score the 3-2 final. Reichenborn was 2-for-3 with an RBI.

In the field, Tovalin had an outfield assist at second base.

Palm Beach is 9-14 and is in last place in the Florida State League East, 7 games back of first place St. Lucie.

Thursday’s game:  vs. St. Lucie, Zane Mills RHP (1-1, 2.96) vs. Luis Moreno RHP (1-0, 6.08) 5:30 CT.


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