photo: Jose Davila (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 2-2 on Sunday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Palm Beach RHS Jose Davila, spun five perfect innings with nine strikeouts. Other standouts include Sem Robberse, Aaron McKeithan, Trent Baker and Alex Iadisernia.
Results for the games played on Sunday, April 7.
The Memphis Redbirds (4-5) squeaked out a 3-2 win over the Indians (5-4, PIT) on Sunday at Victory Field. Starter Sem Robberse took the win, pitching five innings, allowing one run on six hits and one walk while striking out five.
Memphis got on the board in the opening frame. Rehabber Lars Nootbaar drew a walk, followed by a single from Thomas Saggese. A sacrifice bunt from Alfonso Rivas III advanced the runners to second and third, allowing Luken Baker to hit a sacrifice fly to score Nootbaar. The Indians responded in the bottom of the first with two consecutive singles to put runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly tied the game at one apiece.
Neither team scored again until the sixth, when Saggese led off with a solo homer to left-center field to put the Redbirds up by one. That same part of the lineup scored Memphis’ final run in the top of the eighth. Nootbaar led off with a single, Saggese was hit by a pitch, and Rivas III walked to set up Baker’s second sacrifice fly representing the winning run.
After a catcher’s interference call in the bottom of the eighth loaded the bases, a groundout scored the final Indianapolis run. From there, Chris Roycroft got the third out on a strikeout, stranding runners at second and third. In the bottom of the ninth, the Indians threatened again as Ryan Loutos walked three Indians to load the bases with two outs. But the closer forced a groundout for the save and Memphis’ win.
On the hitting side, Nootbaar went 1-for-3 in what may be his final rehab appearance, drawing two walks and scoring twice. Saggese went 2-for-3, including his homer in the sixth. Baker went hitless in his two at-bats but drove in two crucial runs. The Redbirds totaled six hits and four walks while only striking out five times while going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
On the pitching side, Memphis totaled seven strikeouts and seven walks, including an intentional walk in the bottom of the ninth.
On the basepaths, Jared Young stole second once while also getting caught once. In the field, Nick Raposo committed the only Redbirds error.
Tuesday’s game: vs. Nashville (MIL), TBA vs. TBA 6:45 CT.
The Springfield Cardinals (3-0) topped the Travelers (0-3, SEA) by a score of 8-1 on Sunday at Dickey-Stephens Park. Starter Edwin Nuñez pitched three innings, allowing one run on three hits, one walk, and striking out two.
Springfield scored first in the second. Matt Lloyd drew a leadoff walk, and after Jacob Buchberger grounded into a force out of Matt Lloyd at second, Chandler Redmond walked to put runners at first and second. Aaron McKeithan hit a long ball out to left field to put the Cardinals up by three early.
Aaron McKeithan just CRUSHED this one. First Double-A at-bat, first Double-A BOMB. pic.twitter.com/rOXvjQHXLb
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) April 7, 2024
The Travelers responded in the home second with back-to-back singles that set up their cleanup hitter’s double against Nuñez, scoring their only run. However, R.J. Yeager responded with a home run in the third, crushing the ball to left field to put Springfield up 4-1.
In the fourth, McKeithan, Ramon Mendoza, Jeremy Rivas, and Bryan Torres hit consecutive singles to add another insurance run to make it 5-1. The McKeithan, Mendoza, and Rivas trio did the same thing again in the sixth, bringing Torres up to the plate with the bases loaded, and he drew a walk. Yeager drove in two more runs to bring the score to 8-1, where it remained for the rest of the game.
Trent Baker pitched five innings of relief, earning the win with no runs allowed on four hits and two walks while striking out two. Andrew Marrero added one inning, allowing no hits, no runs, with two strikeouts.
On the hitting side, McKeithan went 3-for-4 including a home run, with three RBI and three runs scored. Yeager went 2-for-4 with three runs driven in, scoring once and drawing one walk. Rivas went 3-for-5 while scoring once and striking out once. The Cardinals had 13 hits and six walks, and they went 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Buchberger had the Cardinals’ lone stolen base in the second inning. Yeager was thrown out while attempting to steal second in the fifth.
Tuesday’s game: vs. Wichita (MIN), Max Rajcic RHP (0-0, 0.00) vs. TBA 6:35 CT.
The Peoria Chiefs (1-2) lost a close one to the Timber Rattlers (2-1, MIL) by a score of 5-4 on Sunday at Fox Cities Stadium. Starter Pete Hansen pitched 4 ⅔ innings, giving up seven hits, three runs, and two walks and one hit by pitch.
The Chiefs opened the scoring in the top of the second after Alex Iadisernia doubled to lead off. He advanced to third on a groundout and was driven in by Anyelo Encarnacion’s single to center field.
However, the lead was short-lived. Wisconsin scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning with a single and a sacrifice fly to make the score 2-1. The Chiefs tied the game as William Sullivan homered to center field in the top of the fourth.
Peoria recaptured the lead in the fifth. Leonardo Bernal drew a two-out walk to bring up Iadisernia, whose second double of the day drove in Bernal and make the game 3-2. Once again, the lead did not last a full inning as the Timber Rattlers had a double and RBI single to drive in the tying run.
Iadisernia with an RBI to give the Chiefs a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth!!
– – –#peoriachiefs #TopDogs pic.twitter.com/UtRo0C9RJJ— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) April 7, 2024
Wisconsin continued to add pressure, as they scored two more in the sixth on four singles and a hit by pitch after Tanner Jacobson replaced Hansen.
The Chiefs tried to rally in the ninth. Darlin Moquete walked and Won Bin-Cho’s one-out double put runners on second and third. Brody Moore’s sacrifice fly brought up Bernal with the tying run on second, but he grounded out to end the game at 5-4.
Iadisernia went 3-for-4 with three doubles, one run driven in, and scoring once. Encarnacion went 1-for-2 with two walks while driving in one. Sullivan went 1-for-2 as well with one walk, one run scored, and one RBI. The Chiefs totaled eight hits, five of which were extra-base hits, six walks, and left eight men on base.
On the pitching side, Jacobson took his first loss of the season, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out one in 1 ⅓ innings. Joseph King and Benito Garcia shut down the Timber Rattlers in the eighth and ninth innings with two combined strikeouts and no runs allowed. The Chiefs gave up 14 hits with seven strikeouts while hitting three different batters .
Tuesday’s game: vs. Beloit (MIA), Inohan Paniagua RHP vs. TBA 6:05 CT.
The Cardinals (2-1) fell to the Hammerheads (1-2, MIA) by a score of 4-3 at Roger Dean on Sunday in the third and final game of the series. Jose Davila dominated the first five innings for the Cardinals, allowing no hits, no runs, and nine strikeouts while retiring all 15 batters he faced.
Jupiter opened the scoring in the sixth without a hit on a walk, a throwing error by relief pitcher Henry Gomez and an infield ground out.
Palm Beach took the lead in the bottom of the sixth without a hit. Chase Davis, Tre Richardson, Jose Cordoba, and Miguel Villarroel all drew walks to tie the game at one. Johnfrank Salazar grounded out to the third baseman, allowing Richardson to score.
The Hammerheads retook the lead when Angel Cuenca, who replaced Gomez, gave up a single and a two-run shot to left field, putting the Cardinals down 3-2.
However, the home team responded in the eighth with singles from Kade Kretzschmar and Cordoba. Villarroel delivered a single to left field, scoring Adari Grant, who pinch-ran for Kretzschmar.
Asked to protect the tie game, Randel Clemente balked in the top of the ninth with a runner on third, allowing the game-winning run to cross the plate for the Hammerheads.
Richardson went 1-for-3 with one walk and scoring once. Cordoba went 2-for-3 including a double and one walk. Villarroel went 1-for-3 with a walk while driving in two runs. The Cardinals totaled six hits and six walks while going just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
On the pitching side, the Cardinals gave up four hits and three walks while striking out 14 Hammerheads. Clemente took his first loss, allowing one run on no hits while walking two.
Tuesday’s game: at Daytona (CIN), RHP Gerardo Salas vs. TBA 5:35 CT.
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