photo: Brandon Komar (Springfield Cardinals)
The St. Louis Cardinals system had four road wins on Wednesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Brandon Komar, pitched seven scoreless, one hit innings in Springfield’s 10-0 drubbing of Wichita. Other standouts include Juan Yepez, Matt Koperniak, and Max Rajcic.
Results for games played on Wednesday, April 26.
Behind four long balls, the Memphis Redbirds defeated the Bulls in a 7-5 road win on Wednesday. Starter Michael McGreevy pitched six innings, gave up three runs on five hits, struck out five and walked two to earn the win in his Triple-A debut.
Wilking Rodriguez, rehabbing from St. Louis, relieved McGreevy and surrendered two unearned runs without recording an out. Jake Walsh threw a scoreless seventh. Kyle Leahy and Guillermo Zuniga tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively. Zuniga earned his third save.
Memphis drew first blood in the second inning on a solo home run by Luken Baker, his eighth of the season. The Redbirds increased the lead to 4-0 in the third on a three-run home run by Juan Yepez.
FAIR BALL! Yepez with a 3-run jack!
(Call stands) pic.twitter.com/7Jj4NUkJov
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) April 26, 2023
In the fourth, a two-run home run by Justin Toerner and a solo long ball by Masyn Winn made it 7-0.
Durham finally scored in the home fourth to make it 7-1. The Bulls continued to chip away at the lead, with two runs in the sixth and two in the seventh. Durham’s scoring ended there however, and Memphis prevailed.
Yepez was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Winn was 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Oscar Mercado was 2-for-4. Toerner drove in two.
In the field, Kramer Robertson made a fielding error.
Memphis is 17-6 on the season and is in first place in the International League East.
Thursday’s game: at Durham, RHP James Naile (3-0, 1.84) vs. RHP Cooper Criswell 5:35 CT.
The Cardinals blanked the home Wind Surge in a 10-0 blowout on Wednesday afternoon. Starter Brandon Komar pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed one hit, struck out four and walked one to earn his first win in the Cardinals organization.
Ryan Shreve and Jack Ralston each tossed a scoreless inning of relief.
The game was scoreless for the first four innings. In the fifth, Springfield put up five runs. Arquimedes Gamboa singled and scored on a home run by Matt Koperniak. Pedro Pages reached on an error. Chandler Redmond and Jacob Buchberger walked. Nick Raposo plated Pages and Redmond on a single. Following a Jose Alvarez walk, Buchberger stole home.
MATT KOPERNIAK, AGAIN 🗣️
2️⃣ – 0️⃣ Cardinals‼️ pic.twitter.com/twSaRJzO6E
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) April 26, 2023
The Cardinals increased their lead to 9-0 in the seventh on RBI doubles by Mike Antico and Gamboa, a single by Koperniak, and a ground out by Pages. The 10th and final run scored in the eighth on a single by Nick Dunn.
Koperniak was 2-for-6 with three RBI. Raposo was 3-for-5 with two driven in. Gamboa was 3-for-6 with an RBI, Pages was 2-for-6 with an RBI and Alvarez was 2-for-4.
On the base paths, Buchberger stole home, his second steal of the season.
Springfield is 6-11 on the season and is in last place in the Texas League North, 5.5 games back of Tulsa.
Thursday’s game: at Wichita, Wilfredo Pereira RHP (0-1, 2.38) vs. Aaron Rozek LHP (0-1, 14.21) 7:05 CT.
The Chiefs edged the Cubs in a ninth inning rally on Wednesday night, reversing the 10-inning outcome in the series opener on Tuesday. Starter Dionys Rodriguez pitched three scoreless innings, allowed two hits, struck out one and walked two.
Ian Bedell surrendered one run in three innings of relief. Gustavo Rodriguez allowed one run in two innings. Chris Roycroft tossed a scoreless ninth. G. Rodriguez received the win and Roycroft earned the save, his first.
The game was scoreless until the fifth inning when South Bend took a 1-0 lead. The Cubs made it 2-0 in the seventh.
In the ninth, Peoria rallied to go up 3-2. Jimmy Crooks led off with a walk. Aaron McKeithan singled. Osvaldo Tovalin singled to score Crooks. Tyler Reichenborn pinch ran for McKeithan. Francisco Hernandez singled to plate Reichenborn and Tovalin continued home with the eventual winning run on an error by the right fielder.
THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
THE CHIEFS. ARE. ALIVE.
TOVALIN + HERNANDEZ RIBBIES PUT US ON TOP 3-2 IN THE T9 ‼️ pic.twitter.com/wObhIzLI2S
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) April 27, 2023
South Bend failed to score in the bottom of the ninth.
Nathan Church was 2-for-4 as the only Chief with multiple hits. Hernandez and Tovalin each had an RBI.
In the field, Bedell picked a runner off first base.
Peoria is 8-9 on the season and is in third place in the Midwest League West, four games back of Beloit.
Thursday’s game: at South Bend, Cooper Hjerpe LHP (1-1, 7.50) vs. Brandon Birdsell RHP (0-0, 0.84) 6:05 CT.
The Cardinals defeated the Flying Tigers in a 4-1 road win on Wednesday. Starter Max Rajcic pitched five scoreless, hitless innings with four punchouts. The first-year right-hander earned his second win of the season while extending his scoreless innings streak to 14 2/3 innings.
Hunter Hayes surrendered one run in four innings of relief, earning his second save.
The Beach Birds took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Adanson Cruz drew a walk and Lizandro Espinoza doubled. Chris Rotondo walked. Michael Curialle was hit by a pitch and Cruz came home. Espinoza scored on a throwing error.
The score remained 2-0 until the seventh when Rotondo singled and later scored on a single by R.J. Yeager.
In the home seventh Lakeland cut the lead to 3-1. In the ninth, the Cardinals scored one more run. Walks by Ezpinoza, Brody Moore and Yeager loaded the bases. Espinoza scored on a wild pitch.
Yeager was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Espinoza was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
On the base paths, Espinoza stole his sixth base of the season. Cruz was picked off first base.
Palm Beach is 9-8 on the season and is in second place in the FSL East, a half game back of Jupiter.
Thursday’s game: at Lakeland, LHP Pete Hansen (1-0, 1.20) vs. TBA 5:30 CT.
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