photo: Jose Cordoba (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system had a rough 0-3 Friday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Palm Beach RF Jose Cordoba, tripled, walked, drove in a run, and had an outfield assist. Other standouts include Yordalin Pena, Jonathan Mejia and Anyelo Encarnacion.
Results for games played Friday, April 18.
The Triple-A Redbirds were edged by the Jumbo Shrimp by a 4-3 loss at AutoZone Park on Friday. Starter Gordon Graceffo pitched five innings, gave up four runs, two earned, both on home runs. The right-hander allowed four hits and fanned five on his way to the loss.
Andre Granillo relieved Graceffo and threw two scoreless innings. Riley O’Brien hurled a scoreless inning. Ryan Loutos tossed a scoreless ninth.
Jacksonville went up 1-0 in the first inning. Memphis tied the game in the home first. José Fermín singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Jimmy Crooks plated him with a single.
The Jumbo Shrimp added a run in the second to lead 2-1. The Redbirds knotted the game again with one run in the fourth. Crooks drew a walk. Michael Helman grounded into a force out and Crooks was out at second. Matt Lloyd singled. Ryan Vilade drove in Helman on a single.
Jacksonville took a 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth before Memphis cut the lead to 4-3 in the home fifth on a solo home run by Bryan Torres.
TORRES GOES YARD!@HueysRestaurant home run pulls us within a run! pic.twitter.com/97Q2Xs1Ray
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) April 18, 2025
The Redbirds scored three runs on eight hits. No Redbird had multiple hits. Jose Barrero doubled for the only other extra base hit other than the Torres home run.
On the bases, César Prieto stole his second base of the season. On defense, Helman and St. Louis rehabber Masyn Winn made fielding errors. In his first rehab game, Winn had three plate appearances and struck out each time.
The Redbirds are 9-8 on the season.
Saturday’s game: vs. Jacksonville, Ian Bedell RHP (0-1, 7.71) vs. Adam Mazur RHP (1-1, 1.26)
The Double-A Cardinals fell to the Travelers by the score of 5-3 on Friday at Hammons Field.
Starter Max Rajcic pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up two runs on five hits, struck out three and walked two. The right-hander received a no-decision.
Max Rajcic: airbending 84 MPH slider pic.twitter.com/37iyM8P09S
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) April 19, 2025
Leonardo Taveras relieved Rajcic and threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Jack Ralston surrendered three runs in the eighth and took the loss. Nathanael Heredia tossed a scoreless ninth.
Springfield took a 3-0 lead in the second inning. R.J. Yeager led off with a walk. Dakota Harris reached on a fielder’s choice. Yeager and Harris advanced an extra base on a throwing error. Yeager scored on a ground out by Ramon Mendoza. Bryce Madron reached via an error and Harris came home. Miguel Ugueto singled. Darlin Moquete plated Madron on a single.
The Travelers cut the lead to 3-1 in the third. Arkansas added a run in the sixth to make it 3-2. They took the lead in the eighth with three runs for the final 5-3 edge.
The Cardinals scored three runs on three hits, all singles. No Cardinal had multiples. The offense was 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.
JJ Wetherholt began the game at second base and began what appeared to be a routine 4-3 putout to end the top of the first. However, he was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the frame, ending his night after a half inning. No word yet as to the reason.
On the bases, Moquete stole his third base of the season.
Springfield is 8-5 on the season.
Saturday’s game: vs. Arkansas, Pete Hansen LHP (0-0, 4.05) vs. Adam Seminaris LHP (1-1, 1.13) 1:05 CT (game one). vs. Arkansas, Osvaldo Berrios RHP (1-0, 3.60) vs. TBS (ARK) 6:05 CT (game two).
Peoria vs. Cedar Rapids (suspended)
Friday’s game at Dozer Park was suspended in the top of the fourth inning due to rain. Peoria was losing 8-3 to Cedar Rapids. The game will be completed on Saturday, April 19 prior to the regularly scheduled game.
Peoria is 4-8 on the season.
Saturday’s games: vs. Cedar Rapids, TBA vs. TBA 5:00 CT (completion of suspended game); vs. Cedar Rapids, Hancel Rincon RHP (0-0, 0.00) vs. Tanner Hall RHP (0-0, 9.00) 7:05 CT.
The Beach Birds lost to the Threshers by a 6-4 score on Friday at Roger Dean Stadium. Starter Braden Davis pitched three innings, gave up three runs on two hits, struck out three and walked four.
Sam Brodersen relieved Davis and surrendered three runs in two innings to take the loss. Peoria rehabber Joseph King threw a scoreless sixth. Christian Worley hurled 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Jack Findlay tossed the final 1 1/3 scoreless frames.
Clearwater scored twice in the second inning and added a run in the third to lead 3-0. The Beach Birds tied the game in the fourth. Yordalin Pena doubled and went to third on a wild pitch. Jose Cordoba plated Pena on a triple. Cordoba scored on a double by Anyelo Encarnacion. Encarnacion advanced to third on a wild pitch and came home on another wild pitch.
Jose Cordoba gets the Birds on the board! pic.twitter.com/MTmbKkuTz4
— Palm Beach Cardinals (@GoPBCardinals) April 18, 2025
The Threshers regained the lead at 6-3 with three runs in the top of fifth. Palm Beach shrunk the lead to 6-4 in the home fifth. Travis Honeyman and Sammy Hernandez singled. Jose Cordoba drew a walk. Honeyman scored on a ground out by Encarnacion.
The Cardinals scored four runs on nine hits. Pena and Jonathan Mejia were 2-for-5. Encarnacion had two RBI.
On the bases, Deniel Ortiz stole his third base of the season. On defense, Ortiz and Hernandez each had a missed catch error. Worley made a fielding error. Cordoba and Honeyman each had an outfield assist at second base. Findlay picked a runner off first base.
Palm Beach is 8-5 on the season.
Saturday’s game: vs. Clearwater, RHP Nelfy Ynfante (0-0, 7.11) vs. TBA 3:00 CT.
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