Cardinals Minor League Notebook – May 20, 2019

photo: Alex Fagalde (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

Player of the Day Alex Fagalde’s stellar pitching effort led Palm Beach to the St. Louis Cardinals system’s only win on a 1-3 Sunday.  Brady Whalen’s career effort at the plate wasn’t enough to avert a Peoria loss.

Results from games played Sunday, May 19th.


Memphis 3 at San Antonio 9   

Andrew Knizner (Steve Mitchell/Imagn)

The Redbirds absorbed their fourth straight road defeat at San Antonio, 9-3, and will try to prevent a series sweep when they take on the Missions on Monday morning.  Second-place Memphis (21-22) is 4 ½ games in back of Iowa (CHC) in the American Northern standings.

Jake Woodford (L, 3-1) permitted five runs on seven hits, including a solo bomb, and three walks in five innings.  Three of the four tallies allowed by Tommy Layne in two frames resulted from a home run comprising one of the six hits and one walk given up.  Chris Beck worked around two hits and a base-on-balls for a scoreless eighth.

Andrew Knizner was the only Memphis player with more than one of the team’s six hits.  The catcher went 2-for-4 with a bases-empty home run.  Ramon Urias reach baseed twice, doubling once in two at bats with a free pass and RBI.

Monday’s game:  at San Antonio (26-17) (MIL), 11:05 am CT, Ryan Meisinger (0-3, 3.70)


Springfield 3 at Northwest Arkansas 4       

Elehuris Montero (Memphis Redbirds)

The S-Cards fell prey to the long ball in their 4-3 road defeat at Northwest Arkansas (19-23) (KC).  Springfield (18-25) dropped the final three games of their four-game set vs. the Naturals and the skid put them sole possession of last place in the North Division, nine games behind Arkansas (SEA).

Three of the four tallies surrendered by Austin Warner (L, 2-3) in 7 1/3 frames resulted from two home runs.  The bombs were two of the six hits and three walks he yielded.  The lefty struck out nine and picked off a runner at first.  Roel Ramirez worked around a single to strand Warner’s last base runner.

It was a frustrating day for the visitors’ offense which outhit their hosts, 10 to six, but went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base.  No. eight hitter Irving Lopez led the offense, going 3-for-4 with a double and run scored.

Elehuris Montero displayed life in his bat in his return to action after three weeks off.  The third baseman went 2-for-4 with a solo shot that gave his team a very brief 1-0 lead midway through four.  The final Springfield player with more than one hit was Evan Mendoza, who singled and doubled in four at bats. Dylan Carlson added a solo home run, his seventh of the season.

Monday’s game:  vs. second-place Tulsa (21-21) (LAD), 6:30 pm CT, Harold Arauz (0-4, 9.67)


Palm Beach 2 vs. Bradenton 0    

Alex Fagalde (Palm Beach Cardinals)

A trio of Beach Birds pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout as the PB-Cards edged the Marauders, 2-0, in the decisive third game of the series.  Palm Beach (27-15) holds a two game advantage over second-place Fort Myers (MIN) in the South Division standings.

Player of the Day Alex Fagalde (W, 5-2) held third-place Bradenton (23-19) (PIT) to two hits and a walk over seven impressive innings.  The California native struck out six and threw 64 of his 97 pitches for strikes.

Ramon Santos faced the minimum in the eighth before Bryan Dobzanski pitched around a one-out walk for his fourth save.  Each reliever fanned one.

The Beach Cards’ bats were held to just five hits themselves but two of the three free passes issued to them by Bradenton hurlers proved crucial.  Justin Toerner walked to lead off the home half of the first, advanced on Luken Baker’s two-out single and put his team on the scoreboard via a single to right by Yariel Gonzalez.

Baker was the one doing the walking in the bottom of the third.  The designated hitter worked a free pass after Scott Hurst reached on a fielding error by the Marauders’ shortstop.  His base-on-balls put Hurst into position to score on Gonzalez’ line-drive up the middle.  Gonzalez was the only player with a multi-hit performance.

Monday’s game:  at Lakeland (17-25) (DET), 6:30 pm ET, Edgar Gonzalez (3-5, 3.20)


Quad Cities 11 at Peoria 9       

Brady Whalen (Peoria Chiefs)

The Chiefs could not hold a slim lead at the game’s mid-point, falling to Quad Cities, 11-9.  Seventh-place Peoria (18-23) lost three of the four-game home series to the first-place River Bandits (26-13) (HOU), a club they trail by nine games in the Western Division standings.

The home team led 5-4 after five only to watch their visitors score seven times over the final four frames.  Starter Cole Aker battled severe control problems, issuing eight free passes in 4 2/3, hitting a batter, throwing a wild pitch and getting called for a balk.  Aker was tagged for four runs, three earned, and gave up two hits.

Evan Sisk (L, 1-2) allowed one of two inherited runners to score plus two of his own, one earned, on three hits and a base-on-balls with six outs recorded.  Fabian Blanco served up a three-run long ball that scored Sisk’s final runner and broke a 6-6 tie after six.  The righty gave up five hits and two walks in total, exiting with two gone and the bases jammed in the ninth.  Thomas St. Clair allowed two hits that cleared the bases before recording the ninth’s last out.

Peoria banged out 12 hits, led by first baseman Brady Whalen who went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a sac fly and a career-high six driven in.  Eight of nine starters garnered at least one hit as Leandro Cedeño and Nolan Gorman had two hits apiece.  Both went 2-for-4 with a walk and RBI. Cedeño doubled twice with two runs scored plus a stolen base and Gorman had one two-bagger and touched home three times.  Defensively, the Chiefs committed three miscues, two by catcher Alexis Wilson and one by second baseman Brendan Donovan.

Monday’s game: at sixth-place Wisconsin (18-22) (MIL), 6:35 pm CT, Alvaro Seijas (2-4, 2.19)

Note: The Peoria starter is updated from Diego Cordero, who will pitch Tuesday instead.


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