photo: Jason Savacool (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals minor league system was 2-2 on Thursday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Palm Beach’s Jason Savacool, pitched five shutout innings on four hits and three strikeouts en route to his first win of the season. Other standouts include Zack Weiss, JJ Wetherholt, Michael Curialle and Jon Jon Gazdar.
Results for games played on Thursday, April 17:
Memphis Redbirds 1, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 4
The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds fell to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at AutoZone Park on Thursday.
Alex Cornwell made his first start of the season for Memphis. The left-hander pitched 2 ⅔ innings and allowed three runs on eight hits, one walk, and two strikeouts. Cornwell took the loss.
Right-hander Zack Weiss tossed 2 ⅓ innings of shutout ball in relief of Cornwell with one hit and four strikeouts. Oddanier Mosqueda followed with two scoreless innings. Nick Anderson pitched the eighth and ninth inning and yielded one run.
The Redbirds fell behind early 3-0 but plated one in the bottom of the sixth inning. Michael Helman doubled and Jose Barrero walked. Helman advanced to third base on a double play and came home on a wild pitch.
Memphis was unable to answer further in the loss.
The Redbirds scored one run on six hits. Mike Antico and Helman doubled. José Fermín singled and walked. Matt Koperniak recorded two singles.
On defense, pitcher Weiss made a pickoff error.
Memphis is 9-7 on the season.
Friday’s game: vs. Jacksonville, RHP Gordon Graceffo (0-0, 11.37) vs. Freddy Tarnok (0-0, 3.86), 3:05 PM CT.
Springfield Cardinals 2, Arkansas Travelers 5
The Double-A Springfield Cardinals lost a close contest to the Arkansas Travelers on Thursday at Hammons Field.
Tekoah Roby started for Springfield. The right-hander threw four innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits, two walks, and four strikeouts in his third start of the year. These were first runs Roby has allowed this season. Roby took the loss.
Zane Mills yielded two runs over three innings in relief. Left-hander Luis Gastelum tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth with three strikeouts.
Springfield fell behind 3-0 early but tallied their first run in the third inning. Chase Davis and JJ Wetherholt lined back-to-back singles, and Leonardo Bernal hit the third-straight single of the frame to score Davis.
The Travelers tacked on two more runs in the seventh to extend their lead, but the Cardinals narrowed the deficit on a Dakota Harris home run, his second in as many games.
Dakota Harris launches his second homer in as many nights, a no-doubter out of the yard. pic.twitter.com/C7nxdOCtNB
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) April 18, 2025
Springfield was unable to respond further in the loss.
The Cardinals scored two runs on six hits. Wetherholt was 2-for-3 with a walk and extended his hitting streak to seven games. Harris homered. Bernal singled and drove in one run. Davis singled and scored a run.
Defensively, pitcher Roby and catcher Bernal each committed a throwing error. Pitcher Mills picked off a runner at first base.
Springfield is 8-4 on the season.
Friday’s game: vs. Arkansas, RHP Max Rajcic (1-1, 6.48) vs. RHP Garrett Hill (0-0, 1.15). 6:35 PM CT.
Peoria Chiefs 9, Cedar Rapids Kernels 4
The High-A Chiefs bested the Kernels at Dozer Park on Thursday.
Zack Showalter started for Peoria. The right-hander threw 1 ⅔ innings of no-hit baseball and struck out three but also walked three.
Right-hander Ricardo Velez made his system debut in relief of Showalter. The 26-year-old pitched 2 ⅔ innings on one hit, one walk, and two strikeouts. Cade Winquest followed with 3 ⅔ innings and five strikeouts. Three runs scored against Winquest, all unearned. Hunter Hayes surrendered one run in the ninth to finish the game. Velez earned the win.
In the third inning, Peoria was first to enter the scoring column. Zach Levenson singled and swiped second base. Chase Adkinson advanced Levenson to third on a single. Levenson crossed the plate on a Johnfrank Salazar groundout.
The Chiefs doubled their lead in the fourth inning. Michael Curialle doubled and advanced to third on a Greyson Tarlow groundout. Curialle scored on a wild pitch to put the Chiefs up 2-0.
The bats heated up in the fifth inning. Salazar and Brayden Jobert took back-to-back walks. Tarlow brought Salazar home on a single for the Chiefs’ third run.
Tarlow singles in the bottom of the 5th, Salazar scores!
PEO 3 | CR 0 pic.twitter.com/tKyGxWqVvk
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) April 18, 2025
Tre Richardson scored Jobert on his first double of 2025.
https://twitter.com/peoriachiefs/status/tre-richardson/
Richardson doubles, Jobert scores!
PEO 4 | CR 0 pic.twitter.com/mN5BzXR5T9
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) April 18, 2025
Jon Jon Gazdar drove in Tarlow and Richardson on a two-run single to stretch the lead to 6-0. All four runs scored with two outs in the inning.
https://twitter.com/peoriachiefs/status/jon-jon-gazdar/
Gazdar singles, 2 runners score to keep the 5th inning going!
PEO 6 | CR 0 pic.twitter.com/h5KqD5DmW2
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) April 18, 2025
Peoria tacked on another run in the sixth. Joshua Baez walked and stole second base. Baez moved to third on a balk and came home on an Adkison sac fly.
Cedar Rapids scored three runs in the seventh, but the Chiefs’ offense was still hot.
In the eighth, Curialle drew a lead-off walk and swiped second base. Tarlow singled and moved Curialle to third base. Tarlow stole second base on a strikeout. Gazdar plated Curialle and Tarlow on his third double of the season.
Gazdar doubles in the bottom of the 7th, 2 runners score!
PEO 9 | CR 3 pic.twitter.com/SrQ5zTWDu5
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) April 18, 2025
Peoria never trailed in the victory.
The Chiefs scored nine runs on 12 hits. Gazdar was 2-for-5, including a double and four RBI. Adkinson recorded one hit and one RBI. Salazar singled and drove in a run. Tarlow tallied two hits and drove in one run. Richardson was 2-for-4, including a double and one RBI. Curialle was 2-for-3, including a double and a walk. Baez hit his first triple of the season.
The Chiefs were busy on the basepaths. Levenson, Curialle, and Tarlow each stole their first base of the season. Richardson snagged his second steal. Baez swiped his sixth bag.
On defense, Curialle made a throwing error. The Chiefs turned two double plays in the game.
Peoria is 4-8 on the season.
Friday’s game: vs. Cedar Rapids, RHP Jose Davila (1-0, 2.79) vs. RHP Alejandro Hidalgo (0-0, 5.63) 7:05 PM CT.
Palm Beach Cardinals 3, Clearwater Threshers 0
The Low-A Cardinals blanked the Threshers at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Thursday.
Jason Savacool made his third start for Palm Beach. The right-hander tossed five shutout innings on four hits, one walk and three strikeouts. Savacool picked up his first win of 2025.
Michael Watson fanned four batters over two scoreless innings in relief of Savacool. Mason Burns earned his first professional save and struck out a pair in two innings of work.
Palm Beach scored the first in the inning. Cade McGee took a two-out walk and stole second base, McGee moved to third on the play. McGee came home on a wild pitch.
The Cardinals plated their second run in the third inning. Nathan Church and McGee singled to start the frame. Church came home on a Christian Martin sacrifice fly.
Palm Beach scored the third run of the game in the seventh. Deniel Ortiz blasted his first professional home run.
Danggg Deniel!
Deniel Ortiz hits his first pro homerun at the bottom of the 7th inning! pic.twitter.com/Jad8RuomyU
— Palm Beach Cardinals (@GoPBCardinals) April 18, 2025
Palm Beach pitching allowed just five hits in the shutout victory.
The Cardinals scored three runs on seven hits. McGee was 2-for-3, including a run scored and a walk. Ortiz homered and collected his fifth professional RBI. McGee swiped two bases.
Palm Beach shined defensively. Church threw out a runner at home plate. Savacool picked off a runner at first base. The Cardinals turned four double plays in the game.
Palm Beach is 8-4 on the season.
Friday’s game: vs. Clearwater. LHP Braden Davis (0-0, 2.25) vs. TBA, 5:30 PM CT.
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