photo: Thomas Francisco (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 0-4 on Friday including three shutouts. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, first baseman Thomas Francisco, was 2-for-4 with two RBI in Peoria’s extra innings home loss.
Results from games played Friday, April 7.
Another Cardinals’ team suffered a shutout to a Brewers club on Friday night as the Memphis Redbirds fell to the Nashville Sounds 3-0 at AutoZone Park.
Memphis starter Dakota Hudson pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up three runs, two earned on nine hits, struck out four and walked one to suffer his first loss of the season.
Andrew Suarez threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief before Genesis Cabrera tossed the final two scoreless innings.
Nashville scored the first run of the evening in the fourth and two runs in the fifth to go up 3-0.
Memphis scattered just five hits over nine innings. Red-hot Luken Baker was 2-for-4 with the team’s only extra base hit, a double. Tres Barrera, Juniel Querecuto, and Masyn Winn each singled.
The offense was 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.
On the base paths, Scott Hurst stole his fourth base of 2023. Winn swiped his second bag. Querecuto also stole a base, his first of the season. Baker was picked off second base.
In the field, Winn made a throwing error.
Memphis is 3-4 on the season.
Saturday’s game: vs. Nashville, LHP Connor Thomas (0-0, 10.38) vs Pedro Fernandez RHP (0-0, 0.00) 3:05 CT.
Like three other Cardinals teams on Friday, Springfield was blanked, losing 2-0 to Wichita at Hammons Field. Connor Lunn started for the Cardinals and pitched four innings, gave up two runs on five hits, struck out three and walked one. Lunn took the loss, his first of the season.
The pen contributed five scoreless innings. Wilfredo Pereira relieved Lunn and threw three before Andre Granillo closed it out it with two clean frames.
The Wind Surge took a 2-0 lead in the third inning for the game’s only scoring. The Cardinal offense managed only one hit, a single by Matt Koperniak, and took just one walk. The team had no runners in scoring position and left one on base.
In the field, Nick Raposo had a passed ball. The Cardinals had one shift violation.
Springfield is 0-2 on the season.
Saturday’s game: vs. Wichita, Logan Gragg RHP (0-0, 0.00) vs. Travis Adams RHP (0-0, 0.00) 6:05 CT.
Peoria 4, Cedar Rapids 5 (10 innings)
The Peoria Chiefs were edged by the Kernels in a 10-inning contest on Friday at Dozer Park. Cooper Hjerpe started for Peoria. In his professional debut, the left hander pitched 3 1/3 innings, gave up three runs on three hits, struck out six and walked three.
First pro strikeout ✅
Cooper Hjerpe, the @Cardinals' No. 7 prospect and a 2022 first-round Draft pick, finished with 6 K's in his @peoriachiefs debut. pic.twitter.com/EcN3V7ouKR
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 8, 2023
Dionys Rodriguez relieved and threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Matt Hickey surrendered one run in 1 1/3 innings. Andrew Marrero relinquished the winning run in his final two innings and was charged with a blown save and the loss.
Cedar Rapids took a 3-0 lead in the third inning. In the sixth, Peoria tied it on an RBI single by Victor Scott II, a sac fly by Noah Mendlinger, and a single by Thomas Francisco.
In the eighth, the Chiefs took the lead 4-3 on a sac fly by Francisco, but the Kernels tied it up in the ninth.
The game went into extras after Peoria failed to score in the bottom of the ninth. Cedar Rapids made it 5-4 in the top of the 10th, and the Chiefs could not respond.
Francisco went 2-for-4 with two RBI. There were no extra base hits from the Peoria offense.
On the base paths, Scott II stole his second base of the season. In the field, Scott II and Osvaldo Tovalin each made a fielding error. Rodriguez picked a runner off first base.
Peoria is 0-2 on the season.
Saturday’s game: vs. Cedar Rapids, Austin Love RHP (0-0, 0.00) vs. Connor Prielipp LHP (0-0, 0.00) 6:35 CT.
In a familiar Friday theme, the Palm Beach Cardinals were blanked by the Hammerheads in the second game of the opening series in Jupiter on Friday. Starter Max Rajcic pitched five innings, gave up one run on two hits and punched out seven. In his professional debut, the right hander took his first loss.
Chris Gerard relieved Rajcic and tossed a scoreless inning. Hunter Hayes threw the final three innings and surrendered the Hammerheads’ second run.
Jupiter scored in the third and the seventh. The Beach Birds offense scattered four hits over nine innings. The only extra base hit was a double by Darlin Moquete, who was 2-for-4. Leonardo Bernal and R.J. Yeager each singled.
The Palm Beach offense was 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.
On the base paths, Moquete and Lizandro Espinoza each stole a bag. Michael Curialle was caught stealing.
Moquete made a fielding error. Hayes committed an error on a pickoff but also picked a runner off first base.
Palm Beach is 1-1 on the season.
Saturday’s game: vs Jupiter, TBA vs. TBA 5:00 CT.
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