photo: Braden Davis, Yordalin Pena (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-2 on Friday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Palm Beach CF Yordalin Pena, was 3-for-6 with four RBI and three runs scored. Other standouts include Gordon Graceffo, Jose Barrero, Jimmy Crooks, Pete Hansen and Jose Suarez.
Results for games played Friday, April 25.
Memphis at Norfolk (seven innings, game one)
The Triple-A Redbirds pummeled the Tides in a 10-1 road win in the first game of Friday’s twin bill. It was the make up of Wednesday’s postponement.
Starter Gordon Graceffo pitched six innings, gave up one run on two hits, struck out one and walked one to earn his first win of 2025.
Graceffo with his first @LeBonheurChild strikeout of the night! pic.twitter.com/RfGw6mqf5f
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) April 25, 2025
Ryan Loutos relieved Graceffo and tossed a scoreless seventh.
Memphis went up 9-0 in the first inning. Michael Siani and José Fermín were hit by pitches. Jose Barrero doubled to plate Fermín. Koperniak and Barrero came home on a single by Jimmy Crooks. Ryan Vilade walked. Bryan Torres singled. Mike Antico walked and Crooks scored. As the lineup turned over, Vilade came home on a ground out by Siani. Fermín walked. Koperniak singled and the bases cleared with a throwing error.
The Redbirds added a 10th run in the top of the fourth. Barrero drew a walk. Crooks hit a ground rule double. Vilade drove in Barrero on a sac fly.
Norfolk scored their only run in the home fourth.
Memphis scored 10 runs on eight hits. Crooks was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Koperniak was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Vilade was 2-for-2 with an RBI.
On defense, Barrero made a throwing error.
Memphis 7 at Norfolk 5 (seven innings, game two)
The Redbirds beat the Tides in the second game of the twin bill on Friday. Starter Ian Bedell pitched four innings, gave up four runs on five hits, struck out two and walked three.
Oddanier Mosqueda relieved Bedell and surrendered one run two innings for the win. Chris Roycroft tossed a scoreless seventh to earn the save.
Norfolk took a 4-0 lead in the second inning. In the fifth, Memphis closed the gap to 4-3. Gavin Collins singled. Bryan Torres walked. Mike Antico plated Collins on a double. César Prieto walked. Jose Barrero walked and Torres scored. Jimmy Crooks singled to drive in Torres.
The Redbirds tied the game in the top of the sixth. Matt Lloyd drew a walk and advanced to second and third on ground outs by Collins and Torres. Lloyd came home on a wild pitch.
The Tides regained the lead 5-4 in the home sixth. In the seventh, Memphis pulled ahead, 7-5. José Fermín drew a walk. Prieto singled. Barrero blasted a three-run home run to left field.
OH MY GOODNESS JOSE BARRERO@HueysRestaurant HOMER FOR THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/wR4E1YWXhD
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) April 26, 2025
Memphis scored seven runs on eight hits. Prieto was 2-for-3. Barrero had four RBI.
The Redbirds are 14-9 on the season.
Saturday’s game: at Norfolk, RHP Curtis Taylor (1-0, 3.68) vs. Cameron Weston RHP (0-1, 4.96) 5:35 CT.
The Double-A Cardinals were edged by the Wind Surge by a 2-1 score on Friday.
Starter Pete Hansen pitched five innings, gave up one run on two hits, struck out three and walked one.
Leonardo Taveras surrendered one run in two innings of relief. Luis Gastelum tossed a scoreless eighth.
Wichita went up 1-0 in the second inning before Springfield tied the game in the fifth. Ramon Mendoza and Miguel Ugueto singled. Darlin Moquete plated Mendoza on a single.
The Wind Surge regained the lead at 2-1 in the seventh. The Cardinals couldn’t answer.
Springfield scored one run on five hits. Moquete was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Springfield is 9-10 on the season.
Saturday’s game: at Wichita, Max Rajcic RHP (1-1, 5.27) vs. Connor Prielipp LHP (0-1, 5.87) 4:05 CT.
The High-A Chiefs fell to the River Bandits by the score of 13-4 on Friday. Starter Jose Davila pitched 3 2/3 innings, gave up eight runs on 13 hits, fanned five and walked one. Davila took the loss.
Angel Gonzalez relieved Davila and threw two scoreless innings. Dionys Rodriguez surrendered five runs in the final 2 1/3 innings.
ANGEL GONZALEZ 🔥🔥🔥
PEO 0 | QC 8
📻 https://t.co/enVGTmsU8i
📷 https://t.co/zVlURkdAgv, @ballylivenow pic.twitter.com/Yj75VYwqs5— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) April 26, 2025
The River Bandits tallied a lot of crooked numbers, scoring two runs in the first inning, four in the third, two in the fourth, two in the seventh, and three in the eighth to lead 13-0.
Peoria failed to score until the ninth inning, when the offense put up four runs. Joshua Baez reached on catcher’s interference. Miguel Villarroel tripled to drive in Baez. Villarroel scored on a sac fly by Johnfrank Salazar. Chase Adkison drew a walk. Bryce Madron singled. Adkison came home on a single by Tre Richardson. Ryan Campos drew a walk. Madron scored on a wild pitch.
The Chiefs scored four runs on six hits. Villarroel was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Richardson was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
On the bases, Zach Levenson stole his third base of the season. Villarroel was caught stealing.
On defense, Richardson made a fielding error. Madron had an outfield assist at first base.
Peoria is 5-13 on the season.
Saturday’s game: at Quad Cities, Hancel Rincon RHP (0-0, 3.97) vs. Frank Mozzicato LHP (1-0, 1.72) 5:30 CT.
The Low-A Cardinals walloped the Hammerheads in a 16-2 blowout on Friday at Roger Dean Stadium.
Starter Nolan Sparks pitched four innings, gave up one run on one hit, fanned four and walked two.
Joseph King relieved Sparks and threw two scoreless innings to earn the win. Nelfy Ynfante surrendered one run in the final three innings for his first save.
Jupiter took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The lead remained until the fifth, when the Beach Birds offense exploded for eight runs. Jose Cordoba doubled. Jonathan Mejia and Christian Martin walked. Josh Kross was hit by a pitch and Cordoba scored. Jose Suarez singled to plate Mejia and Martin. Suarez and Kross advanced on a passed ball. Yordalin Pena drove in Kross and Suarez on a single. Pena stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Luis Pino was hit by a pitch. Sammy Hernandez doubled to score Pena and Pino. Hernandez crossed the plate on a double by Cordoba.
Palm Beach added a run in the seventh. Pino doubled and later came home on a single by Anyelo Encarnacion.
The Cardinals further blew up the score with six runs in the top of the eighth. Kross singled. Suarez doubled. Pena doubled to plate Kross and Suarez. Pino singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Sammy Hernadez walked. Pena scored on a wild pitch. Pino scored on a wild pitch. Cordoba and Encarnacion each walked. Hernandez scored on a wild pitch. Cordoba came home on a ground out by Martin.
The Hammerheads scored their second run in the home eighth. In the ninth, Palm Beach added a final run for the final score of 16-2. Pena doubled and scored on a double by Pino.
The Cardinals offense accumulated 16 runs on 17 hits. Pena was 3-for-6 with four RBI and three runs scored. Suarez was 4-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored. Hernandez was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Pino was 3-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored. Cordoba was 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Encarnacion was 2-fof-4 with an RBI.
On the bases, Martin stole his first base of the season. Pena stole two bases. Martin was picked off and caught stealing.
Palm Beach is 12-7 on the season.
Saturday’s game: at Jupiter RH Brandt Thompson (1-0, 2.08) vs. TBD 5:00 CT.
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