Cardinals Minor League Notebook – May 22, 2022

photo: Alec Burleson (Springfield Cardinals FANatic Photos)

The St. Louis Cardinals system went 2-3 on Saturday with wins by Springfield and Palm Beach. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day is Alec Burleson who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored for Memphis. Other standouts include Ben DeLuzio, Freddy Pacheco, Osvaldo Tovalin and Jeremy Rivas.

Results from games played Saturday, May 21st.



Memphis 5 at Gwinnett 6

After a late comeback attempt fell short on Saturday at Coolray Field, the Memphis Redbirds (21-20) fell to the Gwinnett Stripers (ATL, 21-20),  the visitors’ fourth consecutive loss.

Aaron Brooks took the mound for the Redbirds and surrendered five of the six Stripers runs. The right-hander went four innings and yielded six hits, no walks and two strikeouts. Three of the five runs came via a long ball. Brooks took his second loss. Packy Naughton pitched two innings and gave up one run and two hits.

Memphis struck first with one run in the first inning off the bat of Alec Burleson. The Stripers answered with five in the third to make the score 5-1. The Redbirds slowly came back with one run innings.

Alec Burleson

Burleson hit his ninth homer of the season in the fourth and Ben DeLuzio scored in the fifth. Conner Capel plated one in the eighth and DeLuzio hit a solo shot in the ninth to finalize the score at 6-5.

Brandon Waddell and Jake Walsh tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively. Waddell let two on but fanned two and Walsh threw a 1-2-3 frame and struck out one.

The Redbirds recorded 10 hits and three walks but only five scored. Burleson went 3-for-4 with two RBI, Paul DeJong had two hits with two runs scored and DeLuzio had two hits with two RBI. The lineup went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

DeLuzio, DeJong and Scott Hurst each stole a bag.

Sunday’s game: at Gwinnett, RHP Johan Oviedo (3-2, 5.67) vs. TBA 12:05 CT

Springfield 9 at Wichita 7

The Springfield Cardinals (16-22) topped the Wichita Wind Surge (MIN, 22-14) on Saturday at Riverfront Stadium as the home club scored seven unanswered runs to make what looked like a blowout close.

Starter Kyle Leahy gave up three runs on eight hits and four walks in 6 1/3 innings. The right hander fanned six and recorded his second win.

Kyle Leahy

The Cardinals scored four runs in both the second and fourth innings. Todd Lott and Delvin Perez each plated one, Nick Dunn added two more in the second.

Malcom Nunez and Jonah Davis each drove in one in the fourth. Davis scored on a fielding error and Pedro Pages plated one. Matt Koperniak hit his fifth homer of the season in the sixth to increase the lead to 9-0.

Kevin Marnon came in relief for Leahy but could not record an out. He yielded three runs on a hit and three walks. Johan Quezada tossed an inning and surrendered one run on one hit and four walks. The right hander fanned two.

Freddy Pacheco threw a perfect 1 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. The 24-year-old recorded his sixth save.

Along with three errors committed by Wichita, the Cardinals recorded eight hits, drew four walks and scored nine times. Koperniak and Lott had two hit nights. The lineup went 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

The pitching staff was responsible for 10 hits and 11 walks. The Wind Surge left 13 runners on base.

Sunday’s game: at Wichita, LHP Domingo Robles (1-1, 4.54) vs. RHP Matt Canterino (0-1, 2.59) 1:05 CT

Peoria 2 at Beloit 10

The Peoria Chiefs (16-22) were crushed by the Beloit Sky Carp (MIA, 12-26) at ABC Supply Stadium on Saturday.

Starter Dionys Rodriguez tossed 4 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on three hits and two walks. The right hander fanned five and took his fourth loss.

The two Chiefs runs were scored in the fifth and sixth innings. Tommy Jew brought in Mack Chambers and Francisco Hernandez plated Mike Antico.

Every bullpen pitcher used surrendered at least one run. Levi Prater yielded one run on three hits in 1 1/3 innings. Colin Schmid threw one inning and was responsible for a three-run home run.  Enmanuel Solano gave up two runs, one earned, on two hits and two walks.

Antico and Hernandez recorded two hits each. The lineup went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position and both runs came on two outs.

Sunday’s game: at Beloit, RHP Austin Love (1-4, 7.54) vs. RHP Chris Mokma 1:05 CT

Palm Beach 7, Bradenton 3 (7 innings, Game 1)

The Palm Beach Cardinals (14-23) surpassed the Bradenton Marauders (PIT, 17-20) at Roger Dean Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Starter Chris Gerard could only go 3 2/3 innings after he gave up three runs on six hits and three walks.

The Beach Birds struck first with four runs in the first. Brady Whalen and Jeremy Rivas each plated one and Darlin Moquete recorded his first hit of the season to drive in two.

Edgar Manzo tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings but yielded three hits and two walks. The right hander took his first win of the season. Andre Granillo threw the final inning and surrendered one hit and no runs.

With the lead cut down to 4-3 in the fifth, the Cardinals added on three more over the fifth and sixth innings. Osvaldo Tovalin and Rivas both brought in one. Tovalin plated one more in the sixth to increase the lead to 7-3.

Osvaldo Tovalin

Both teams recorded 10 hits, but Palm Beach scored seven times. Tyler Reichenborn, Tovalin and Rivas had two hits each. The top four in the lineup recorded seven hits. Tovalin, Rivas and Moquete each drove in two.

Palm Beach 1, Bradenton 13 (7 innings, Game 2)

The Palm Beach Cardinals (14-24) were squashed by the Bradenton Marauders (PIT, 18-20) in the makeup game from Friday, to split the doubleheader.

All five pitchers used by the Beach Birds were scored upon. Roy Garcia took his fourth loss and only went 2 1/3 innings, yielding two runs on three hits and three walks. Hayes Heinecke’s inning of work included four runs on five hits. Ludwin Jimenez could not make an out and surrendered two runs on a hit and three walks. Gustavo Rodriguez tossed 2 2/3 innings and was responsible for one run on two hits and four strikeouts. Alex Cornwell closed the game with three runs given up on two hits and two walks.

The lone Cardinal run came off the bat of Tyler Reichenborn, who flied into a double play to bring in Adanson Cruz.

The Beach Birds mustered only two hits and two walks. The lineup struck out nine times in seven innings. Brady Whalen and Cruz recorded the only hits.

Sunday’s game: vs. Bradenton, RHP Trent Baker (2-4, 2.72) vs. TBA 11:00 CT


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