photo: Thomas Saggese (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Three Cardinals appeared as the Glendale Desert Dogs fell to the Salt River Rafters on Tuesday. Thomas Saggese reached base in all five plate appearances, drove in one and scored three times. Leonardo Bernal had a hit. Matt Svanson took the loss in relief.
Results from the Arizona Fall League game played Tuesday, October 29.
Glendale Desert Dogs 7 at Salt River Rafters 11
The Desert Dogs were defeated by the Rafters at Salt River on Tuesday. Three Cardinals participated. Thomas Saggese hit fourth in the lineup and played second base. Leonardo Bernal hit eighth and was the starting catcher. Matt Svanson pitched in relief.
Saggese went 3-for-3, all singles, with a hit-by-pitch, a walk, an RBI and three runs scored. In the process, his AFL batting average grew to .412.
In his first at bat in the top of the second, Saggese was hit by a pitch and he later scored on a double by Sean McLain of the Dodgers.
In the third, Saggese singled to right field and scored on a double by Gabriel Rincones Jr of the Phillies. Saggese singled to center field in the fifth but was left stranded at second base.
In the seventh inning, Saggese drew a walk, then stole second base. He advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch. In his final at bat in the ninth, Saggese singled to center field, then was eliminated in a double play.
Bernal was 1-for-4, raising his batting average to .214. In his first at bat in the top of the second, the catcher popped out to the shortstop.
In the fourth, Bernal singled to center field but was erased at second base on a double play. He grounded out to second base in the sixth.
In his final at bat, Bernal popped out to third base for the final out of the seventh inning.
Defensively, Bernal caught a runner stealing for the third out of the third inning.
With the Dogs holding a narrow 7-6 lead to open the seventh, Svanson entered the game. The right-hander had a rough outing, charged with five runs on five hits – a home run and four singles. All three outs Svanson collected were via strikeout. He took the blown save and the loss, his first AFL decision, as his ERA inflated to 10.38.
No other Cardinals saw action.
Glendale is 10-8 in the AFL season.
Wednesday’s game: at Salt River Rafters, Andrew Painter RHP (1-0, 3.86) vs. Jose Fleury RHP (1-0, 3.38) 3:30 CT.
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