photo: Matt Slater, Chen-Wei Lin (St. Louis Cardinals)
On Saturday, the St. Louis Cardinals system went 1-3. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Palm Beach’s Chen-Wei Lin, threw five innings of two-hit shutout ball with eight strikeouts. Other standouts include Jose Fermin, Nick Dunn, Nathan Church and Jose Cordoba.
Results for the games played on Saturday, April 20.
The Memphis Redbirds (10-10) defeated the Gwinnett Stripers (9-11) 4-2 on Saturday at Coolray Field for their third consecutive win. Starter Victor Santos earned his first win in the organization, throwing 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on seven hits while walking two and striking out three.
José Fermín led off the game with a homer to left field in back-to-back games to put the Redbirds up 1-0.
FERMIN LEADS US OFF WITH ANOTHER LONGBALL pic.twitter.com/GbkWzAl8fk
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) April 20, 2024
The Stripers responded in the third with a single and a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to second. Santos gave up an RBI single to tie the game at one. Gwinnett took the lead in the fifth. Santos allowed a walk and an RBI double to give the Stripers a 2-1 lead.
The Redbirds tied it in the sixth. Luken Baker led off the inning with a solo tape measure shot to center to make the score 2-2. They took the lead in the seventh. Thomas Saggese singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a groundout. Alfonso Rivas III singled to left to drive in Saggese and give the Redbirds a 3-2 lead.
Rivas comes through! pic.twitter.com/xpRGrRX7GU
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) April 21, 2024
Memphis added an insurance run in the eighth with Nick Dunn’s lead-off bomb to make it 4-2.
Like a good neighbor, Nick Dunn is there!
Solo homer for some insurance! pic.twitter.com/NJctBP5r48
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) April 21, 2024
Nick Dunn went 3-for-3 with a home run, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. Fermín was 1-for-5 with a homer, an RBI, and scored once. Baker also hit 1-for-5 with a bomb, an RBI, and scored once. The Redbirds totaled four runs on eleven hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.
John King pitched 1/3 of an inning, allowing no runs on one hit while striking out one. Ryan Loutos threw two innings, yielding no runs, no hits, and one walk while striking out five to earn his third save this season. Memphis gave up two runs, one earned, on eight hits while walking three and striking out nine.
Sunday’s game: at Gwinnett, RHP Michael McGreevy vs. RHP Bryce Elder 12:05 CT.
The Springfield Cardinals (11-3) lost a high-scoring game to the Amarillo Sod Poodles (5-9, ARI) 9-6 on Saturday at Hodgetown. Starter Edwin Nuñez pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits while walking two to take his first loss this season.
The Cardinals struck first in the top of the first. Nathan Church singled and advanced to second on R.J. Yeager’s groundout. Matt Lloyd singled to plate Church.
Springfield added to their lead in the second. Aaron McKeithan tripled to lead off the inning. Chandler Redmond hit a two-run bomb to left field. The Sod Poodles got one back in the bottom of the second to make the score 3-1.
Up the ladder he goes!
Chandler Redmond's first homer of 2024 puts him at 58 in his Springfield career. He's now one away from tying the franchise record (59) held by Xavier Scruggs. pic.twitter.com/cFBYgPhpf7
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) April 21, 2024
Amarillo scored three runs in both the third and fourth innings. The Sod Poodles hit three singles and walked twice with two outs to take the lead in the third. In the fourth, Trent Baker took the mound, giving up a double to the first batter of the inning. With two outs, he walked a batter, and the runner on second scored on a wild pitch. The Sod Poodles then hit three singles to plate two more, making the score 7-3.
In the fifth, Nathan Church’s solo blast to right-center field brought the deficit down to 7-4.
Yeah, everyone knew that one. Nathan Church stays hot with a solo shot to trim the deficit. pic.twitter.com/8wSuW6hiBA
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) April 21, 2024
Andrew Marrero pitched the seventh and gave up a double and a single to put runners on the corners. His wild pitch made the score 8-4. Jack Ralston was brought in for the eighth. He gave up a solo moonshot to center to make the score 9-4.
The visitors tried to make a comeback in the ninth. Chris Rotondo was hit by a pitch and Noah Mendlinger doubled. Church singled to drive in both of them to make the score 9-6, but no further damage was done.
Church went 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBI, and scored twice. McKeithan was 3-for-4 with a triple, a walk, and a run scored. Redmond hit 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBI, and a run scored. The Cardinals totaled 13 hits, two walks, and 10 strikeouts.
Baker threw 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits while walking three and striking out six. Marrero and Ralston each threw one inning, giving up one run on two hits while walking none and striking out one. Springfield yielded nine runs on 14 hits while walking five and striking out eight.
Sunday’s game: at Amarillo, RHP Max Rajcic (1-1, 12.15) vs. Jamison Hill RHP (0-0, 12.91) 1:05 CT.
The Peoria Chiefs (5-9) lost to the Quad Cities River Bandits (11-3, KCR) 3-1 on Saturday at Modern Woodmen Park, their third loss in a row. Starter Pete Hansen took his second loss this season, throwing five innings, yielding three runs on seven hits while walking none and striking out seven.
The River Bandits struck the third with a solo homer against Hansen. In the fifth, Quad Cities led off with four consecutive hits to score two more and increase their lead to 3-0.
The Chiefs got a run back in the seventh. Brody Moore and Joshua Baez singled to put two on with two outs. Luis Rodriguez singled to right field to drive in Moore to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Baez went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored as the only Chief to reach base twice. Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Moore went 1-for-4 and scored once. The Chiefs totaled five hits and three walks while striking out 11 times.
Benito Garcia pitched two innings of relief, giving up no runs on one hit while walking none. Tanner Jacobson closed out the game, throwing one inning, allowing no hits and no walks while striking out one. Peoria yielded three runs on eight hits while walking nobody and striking out eight.
Sunday’s game: at Quad Cities, RHP Inohan Paniagua (1-0, 0.00) vs. Shane Panzini RHP (1-0, 9.64) 1:00 CT
The Palm Beach Cardinals (9-5) bounced back after giving up a late lead in Friday’s game to beat the Lakeland Flying Tigers (9-5, DET) 6-1 on Saturday at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Starter Chen-Wei Lin pitched five innings, allowing no runs on two hits while walking two and striking out eight to earn his first win this season.
The Cardinals started the scoring in the first. Kade Kretzschmar singled, and Jose Cordoba walked. Ross Friedrick singled to center to drive in Kreztschmar. Miguel Villarroel grounded into a forceout, forcing Friedrick out at second while scoring Cordoba to increase the lead to 2-0.
In the second inning, Sammy Hernandez walked and advanced to second on Kretzschmar’s ground out. Cordoba singled to center to drive in Hernandez, giving Palm Beach a 3-0 lead.
Palm Beach added insurance runs in the fifth and sixth. Cordoba doubled to lead off, and Friedrick walked. Chase Davis doubled to plate Cordoba. John Salazar was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Trey Paige’s sacrifice fly brought Friedrick home to conclude the scoring in the fifth.
In the sixth, Kretzschmar tripled. Cordoba’s single to center allowed Kretzschmar to cross the plate, giving the Cardinals a 6-0 lead.
The Flying Tigers hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth versus reliever Gustavo Rodriguez to bring the score to 6-1.
Cordoba went 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, two RBI, and scored twice. Kretzschmar was 2-for-4 with a triple and scored twice. Friedrick hit 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. The Cardinals totaled six runs on 10 hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
In relief, Ettore Gulianelli threw two innings, allowing no runs on no hits while walking two and striking out two. Rodriguez threw two innings, yielding one run on two hits while walking one and striking out five. Palm Beach gave up one run on four hits while walking five and striking out 15.
Sunday’s game: vs. Lakeland, TBD vs. TBD 11:00 CT.
Exclusively for members of The Cardinal Nation
Now Available – 2024 Cardinals Prospect Guide
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its seventh year. It includes 282 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
Not yet a member?
Join The Cardinal Nation for the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
Ben Kinealy can be reached at bkinealy@mail.bradley.edu.
© 2024 The Cardinal Nation, thecardinalnation.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.