photo: Darlin Saladin(Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
On Thursday, the Glendale Desert Dogs fell to the Salt River Rafters by a score of 16-6. With two hits, Miguel Ugueto raised his batting average to .297. Chen-Wei Lin struggled in his third AFL start. Darlin Saladin threw three scoreless innings of relief with six strikeouts.
Results for the Arizona Fall League Game played on Thursday, October 24.
Glendale Desert Dogs 6 at Salt River Rafters 16
The Glendale Desert Dogs fell to the Salt River Rafters in a road contest on Thursday.
Four St. Louis Cardinals prospects participated. Miguel Ugueto started in right field and batted sixth. Chen-Wei Lin made his third AFL start on the mound. Darlin Saladin and Randel Clemente pitched in relief.
Batting sixth, Ugueto went 2-for-5. In his first at-bat in the top of the second inning, the right-handed hitter struck out. Ugueto lined a single in the third inning but was picked off at first base. In the fifth, he grounded out to the pitcher. The 23-year-old singled in the seventh and flied out to end the game.
Lin started for Glendale. He allowed a lead-off double and a single to put runners at the corners. Following a stolen base to put a second runner in scoring position, Lin induced a lineout to prevent a run from scoring. Lin’s first earned run came home on a passed ball, but a strikeout and a groundout prevented any further damage.
In the second inning, Lin issued a lead-off walk and threw a wild pitch to put a runner at second base with no outs. Lin gave up a double for a second run. The right-hander recorded the first out of the frame via a groundout, with the runner taking third base on the play. The right-hander’s third earned run scored on an RBI-single, and back-to-back stolen bases and an error on the catcher allowed a fourth run to score, the third of the inning.
Continuing in the second, Lin walked his second batter of the frame and threw a wild pitch for another runner to reach scoring position. He struck out the following batter and was removed from the game for a fresh arm after securing the second out of the second inning. A final run charged to Lin scored when a reliever was pitching.
Lin pitched a total of 1 ⅔ innings and allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. He threw 52 pitches, 29 for strikes, plus two wild pitches, and took the loss in his first rough outing of the AFL season.
Saladin’s relief outing began in the fourth inning with his club down 9-5. He retired his first hitter on a flyout and then gave up a single. Saladin induced a flyout and a strikeout for a scoreless frame. The right-hander struck out the side in order in the fifth.
In the sixth, Saladin retired the first batter on a flyout and yielded a single. His third scoreless inning was secured with back-to-back strikeouts to end a dominant relief outing. Saladin threw three scoreless innings on two hits, no walks, and six strikeouts. He threw 44 pitches, 29 for strikes.
With Glendale down 15-6 in the bottom of the eighth, Clemente entered in relief, looking to record the final out of the inning. He allowed a single for the 16th Rafters run to score and struck out a batter in his lone out recorded in the contest. Clemente pitched ⅓ of an inning and allowed no runs on one hit, no walks, and a strikeout. He threw nine pitches, six for strikes.
Cardinals pitchers account for nine of Glendale’s 10 strikeouts in the game.
Glendale is 3-10 on the season. They are off Friday and will play a home contest with the Peoria Javelinas on Saturday.
Saturday’s game: vs. Peoria Javelinas, RHP Luke Sinnard (0-0, 1.80) vs. RHP Rhett Lowder (1-0, 2.25) 5:30 PM CT.
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