photo: Sammy Hernandez (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
On Saturday, the St. Louis Cardinals system went 1-3. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Palm Beach catcher Sammy Hernandez, went 4-for-5 and scored twice. Other standouts include Jared Young, R.J. Yeager, Matt Lloyd, Joseph King and Augusto Calderon.
Results for the games played on Saturday, April 28.
The Memphis Redbirds (12-13) dominated the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (15-11, MIA) 10-1 on Saturday at AutoZone Park. In his 2024 Memphis debut, starter Andre Pallante threw three-plus innings, allowing one run on two hits with four walks and two strikeouts.
The Redbirds broke open the scoring in the first. Alfonso Rivas III and Moisés Gómez singled. Jared Young hit a three-run bomb to left-center field to give the Redbirds the lead.
As they say, ball don't lie!
JY with his third @HueysRestaurant home run of the season! pic.twitter.com/EXAr5LDUL8
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) April 27, 2024
To open the fourth, Pallante allowed two walks that ended his day on the mound. Zack Thompson gave up a single to score a run. Matt Koperniak’s solo moonshot to left field added an insurance run to make the score 4-1.
In the fifth, Memphis added to their lead. Nick Dunn walked, Victor Scott II reached first on a force-out, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error. Thomas Saggese’s single to center drove in Scott.
Memphis added five more in the sixth. Koperniak walked, and Young doubled. Nick Raposo singled to right field to drive in Koperniak and Young. Dunn doubled to put two runners in scoring position. César Prieto singled to drive in both runners. Rivas III doubled to increase the lead to 10-1.
Prieto went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Koperniak was 1-for-2 with an RBI, two walks, and two runs scored. Young hit 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, three RBI, and two runs scored. The Redbirds totaled 10 runs on 14 hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
Thompson earned his first win, throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with three walks and three strikeouts. Jacob Bosiokovic pitched 1 1/3 innings, yielding no runs on one hit with one walk and two strikeouts. Josh James threw one hitless inning, giving up no runs and two walks. Memphis pitching allowed one run on four hits with 10 walks and seven strikeouts.
Sunday’s game: vs. Jacksonville, RHP Michael McGreevy (1-3, 5.54) vs. TBD 1:05 CT.
The Springfield Cardinals (14-6) lost to the Arkansas Travelers (12-8, SEA) on Saturday at Hammons Field, their third consecutive defeat. Starter Max Rajcic pitched three innings, allowing six runs, four earned, on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts to take his second loss this season.
The Travelers opened the scoring in the first. A walk and a fielding error put runners on the corners. A balk from Rajcic brought home one. In the second, two two-out singles put two on and a bases-clearing double gave the Travelers a 3-0 lead.
In the fourth, Arkansas had a lead-off homer. A walk and a single put runners on the corners. A fielding error from Jeremy Rivas allowed another runner to cross home. Another free pass ended Rajcic’s day and brought in Nick Raquet. He gave up a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 6-0.
The Cardinals posted their first run in the fifth. Rivas walked, and Bryan Torres singled. R.J. Yeager singled to make the score 6-1.
Arkansas extended the lead in the seventh. Andrew Marrero replaced Raquet and walked his first batter. He walked two more after getting two outs to load the bases. A fourth free pass brought home a run to increase the Travelers’ lead to 7-1.
In the eighth, Springfield mounted a rally. Nathan Church and Yeager singled. Matt Lloyd doubled to clear the bases. Noah Mendlinger singled to drive home Lloyd and make the score 7-4.
….. 👀👀
Matt Lloyd drives home a pair with a double in the bottom of the eighth to trim the deficit. pic.twitter.com/iTiR0cU4cE
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) April 28, 2024
Jack Ralston took over for Marrero in the ninth and walked the leadoff batter. A single and a three-run home run made the score 10-4.
Raquet threw three scoreless innings, allowing three hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Marrero pitched two innings, yielding one run on no hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Ralston threw one inning, giving up three runs on two hits with a walk. The Cardinals allowed 10 runs, eight earned, on 11 hits with 10 walks and 10 strikeouts.
Yeager went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Lloyd went 1-for-4 with two RBI and scored once. Mendlinger was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk. The Cardinals totaled seven hits with four walks and seven strikeouts.
Sunday’s game: vs. Arkansas, LHP Alex Cornwell (2-0, 2.84) vs. Logan Evans RHP (1-1, 1.86) 1:05 CT.
At Dozer Park on Saturday, the Peoria Chiefs (7-13) were defeated by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (14-6, MIL) 5-4, for their fourth consecutive loss. Starter Pete Hansen took his third loss this season, throwing 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
The Chiefs opened the scoring in the second. Anyelo Encarnacion walked, and William Sullivan singled. Brody Moore singled to left field to plate Encarnacion.
The Timber Rattlers took the lead in the top of the third. A single and two walks loaded the bases for a bases-clearing double to give them a 3-1 lead. In the bottom half, Darlin Moquete doubled and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Zach Levenson’s sacrifice fly to center scored Moquete to cut the lead to 3-2.
Peoria retook the lead in the fifth. Levenson singled, and Leonardo Bernal walked. Osvaldo Tovalin singled to bring Levenson home. A passed ball allowed Bernal to cross the plate and give the Chiefs a 4-3 lead.
In the sixth, Fort Myers took the lead and kept it. A single and a double put two runners in scoring position. A groundout scored one and a single brought home the game-winning run to make it 5-4.
Moquete went 2-for-5 with a run scored. Bernal was 1-for-2 with two walks and scored once. Levenson hit 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. The Chiefs totaled four runs on 10 hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.
Out of the pen, Joseph King pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out four. Tyler Bradt threw one hitless inning, striking out one. Peoria yielded five runs on 10 hits while walking two and striking out 10.
Sunday’s game: vs. Wisconsin, RHP Inohan Paniagua (1-1, 4.05) vs. Edwin Jimenez RHP (3-0, 4.50) 2:05 CT.
The Palm Beach Cardinals (13-7) fell to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (8-12, MIN) 8-6 at Lee Health Sports Complex on Saturday. Starter Jose Davila threw 2 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits while walking one and striking out four. The right-hander took his first loss of 2024.
The Mighty Mussels opened the scoring in the first with a single, a walk, and another single to load the bases. A single drove in two, advancing a runner to third. A sacrifice fly drove in another run. Two consecutive RBI doubles made the score 5-0.
The Cardinals cut into the lead in the top of the third. Sammy Hernandez singled and Kade Kretzschmar doubled. Jose Cordoba grounded out to drive in a run. Miguel Villarroel reached on an error to plate another. Chase Davis doubled to bring Villarroel home and cut the lead to 5-3.
In the bottom of the third, Fort Myers added an insurance run. Three singles drove in a run to make the score 6-3 and end Davila’s night on the mound.
In the sixth, the Cardinals took that insurance run back. Hernandez and Kretzschmar singled and a wild pitch moved them to second and third. Cordoba grounded out to score Hernandez and make the score 6-4.
Palm Beach earned another one in the top of the seventh. Brayden Jobert was hit by a pitch, Johnfrank Salazar singled, and Tre Richardson advanced them with a sacrifice bunt. Trey Paige grounded out to allow Jobert to cross the plate and make the score 6-5.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Mighty Mussels added two insurance runs. A walk and a single started the inning. With two outs, a bases-clearing double added two more to the run total.
The visitors’ comeback fell short in the ninth. Jobert walked, and Salazar reached on an error. Ross Friedrick scored Jobert with a groundout.
Hernandez went 4-for-5 with two runs scored. Kretzschmar was 4-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Jobert hit 1-for-3 with a walk and scored twice. Palm Beach totaled six runs on 16 hits with two walks and six strikeouts while going just 2-for-20 with runners in scoring position.
Augusto Calderon threw 3 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on one hit with four strikeouts. Ettore Giulianelli pitched 1 2/3 innings, yielding two runs on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts. The Cardinals gave up eight runs on 13 hits with three walks and 13 strikeouts.
Sunday’s game: at Fort Myers, RH Chen-Wei Lin (1-1, 2.40) vs. Ty Langenberg RHP (0-1, 6.30) 11:05 CT.
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