photo: Alex Iadisernia (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-1 on Friday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, LF Alex ladisernia, hit for the cycle, with four hits, five RBI and two runs scored in Palm Beach’s win. Other standouts include Matt Koperniak, Jacob Buchberger and Jeremy Rivas.
Results for games played on Friday, April 28.
Dodging rain in Durham, the Memphis Redbirds lost to the Bulls Friday night by the score of 6-4. Starter Gordon Graceffo pitched five innings, gave up six runs on seven hits, struck out three and walked two. Graceffo, who did not return after the game’s second rain delay, took the loss, his second of the season.
Ryan Loutos threw two scoreless innings of relief. Grant Black tossed a scoreless eighth.
Memphis took a 2-0 lead in the first on a home run by Juan Yepez. Durham scored one in the second and one in third to tie the score at 2-2.
Yepez does it again! pic.twitter.com/iV0a7DJDCJ
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) April 28, 2023
The Redbirds regained the lead in the fourth on solo home runs by Jordan Walker and Luken Baker. It was Walker’s first at Triple-A and Baker’s fourth consecutive game with a long ball. Durham cut the lead to 4-3 in the home half of the inning.
The Bulls added three in the fifth to go up 6-4. Neither team scored in the final four innings.
Memphis plated four runs on six hits. No Redbird had multiple hits. Yepez had two RBI.
On the base paths, Yepez was caught stealing.
Memphis is 17-8 on the season and is in first place in the International League West.
Saturday’s game: at Durham, LHP Matthew Liberatore (3-1, 2.60) vs. TBA 5:35 CT.
The Cardinals deflated the Wind Surge in a 9-1 road win on Friday. Starter Kenny Hernandez pitched five innings, gave up one run on four hits, struck out eight and walked one. The left-hander earned his second win.
Nick Trogrlic-Iverson relieved and threw three scoreless innings. Jose Martinez tossed a scoreless ninth.
Springfield went up 2-0 in the first inning. Matt Koperniak and Chandler Redmond walked. Jacob Buchberger singled to score Koperniak. Nick Dunn plated Redmond on a single.
In the third, solo home runs by Redmond and Buchberger increased the Cardinal lead to 4-0. Wichita cut the lead to 4-1 in the home half of the third.
Springfield scored two more runs in the fourth on a single by Koperniak and a double from Pedro Pages. They added three in the eighth for the final tally of nine runs. Irving Lopez and Mike Antico each drew a walk. Arquimedes Gamboa reached on a fielder’s choice and Lopez scored. Koperniak singled. Antico scored on a force out by Pages. Gamboa scored on a ground out by Redmond.
Koperniak was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Buchberger was 3-for-5 with two RBI. Dunn was 2-for-5 with an RBI. Pages and Redmond each drove in two.
Springfield is 7-12 on the season and is in last place in the Texas League North, six games back of Arkansas.
Saturday’s game: at Wichita, Logan Gragg RHP (0-0, 3.75) vs. Carlos Luna RHP (0-0, 4.09) 2:05 CT.
The Peoria Chiefs prevailed over the Cubs by the score of 5-2 in rainy South Bend on Friday night. Starter Trent Baker pitched five innings, gave up two runs on six hits and struck out four to earn his first win of the season.
Matt Hickey relieved Baker and threw two scoreless innings. Alfredo Ruiz and Chris Roycroft each tossed a scoreless inning. Roycroft earned his second save.
Peoria took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Victor Scott II opened with a triple. Jeremy Rivas drew a walk, then stole second base. Aaron McKeithan singled to plate Scott and Rivas. McKeithan scored on a single by Luis Rodriguez.
South Bend scored one run in the second to cut the lead to 3-1. The Chiefs made it 4-1 in the top of the third on an RBI single by Thomas Francisco.
The Cubs answered with a run in the home half of the third but Peoria responded in the fourth with an RBI single by Jeremy Rivas to make it 5-2. Neither team scored in the final five innings.
Jeremy Rivas turns on the wheels to extend our lead❕
PC – 4 | SB – 1 pic.twitter.com/67dBchx7ow
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) April 28, 2023
Scott was 2-for-4 as the only Chief with multiple hits. Rivas was on base four times with a single and three walks and scored twice. McKeithan had two RBI. Rivas, Francisco and Rodriguez each drove in a run.
On the base paths, Rivas stole two bases. Noah Mendlinger stole his second base of the season. Nathan Church swiped two bags. Church also was caught stealing, as was Elijah Cabell. Mendlinger was picked off first base.
In the field, Hickey made an error on a pickoff. Rodriguez had a passed ball.
Peoria is 9-10 on the season and is in fourth place in the Midwest League West.
Saturday’s game: at South Bend, Zane Mills RHP (2-0, 5.06) vs. Kohl Franklin RHP (0-1, 4.63) 3:05 CT.
In Lakeland, the Cardinals walloped the Flying Tigers by a 13-5 margin on Friday. Starter Hancel Rincon pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up four runs on six hits, struck out seven and walked one to earn his third win of the season.
Michael Brettell relieved Rincon and surrendered one run in 2/3 of an inning. Roy Garcia tossed the final three scoreless innings.
Lakeland scored one run in each of the second and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. The Beach Birds plated five runs in the fourth to go up 5-2. Leonardo Bernal led off with a single. R.J. Yeager hit a ground-rule double. Chris Rotondo walked. Won-Bin Cho doubled to score Bernal and Yeager. Rotondo came home on a sac fly by Joshua Baez. Alex ladisernia tripled to plate Cho. ladisernia crossed home on a sac fly by Lizandro Espinoza.
In the fifth, the Cardinals added five more runs on a two-run double by Baez and a three-run home run by ladisernia. Another run was added in the sixth on a double by Leonardo Bernal to make it 11-2.
The Flying Tigers cut the lead to 11-4 in the home half of the sixth, then made it 11-5 in the seventh. In the ninth, ladisernia plated a run on a single and a second run scored on an error for the final score of 13-5.
Along with his home run and run-scoring triple and single, ladisernia also hit a double in the third inning as part of his cycle.
ladisernia was 4-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored. Baez was 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Cho was 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored. Bernal was 2-for-5 with an RBI.
On the base paths, Lizandro Espinoza was caught stealing. In the field, ladisernia had an outfield assist at third base. Bernal had a passed ball.
Palm Beach is 10-9 on the season and is in first place in the FSL East, one game back of Jupiter.
Saturday’s game: at Lakeland, RHP Joseph King (0-0, 4.85) vs. TBA 5:00 CT.
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