photo: Luken Baker (Memphis Redbirds)
The St. Louis Cardinals system went 1-3 on Sunday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day Luken Baker hit home runs no. 30 and 31 in Memphis’ loss. Other standouts include Juniel Querecuto, Thomas Saggese, Trent Baker and Kade Kretzschmar.
Results from games played on Sunday, August 6th.
The Memphis Redbirds (15-18) fell to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (MIA, 18-15) at AutoZone Park on Sunday afternoon.
Michael McGreevy tossed 4 1/3 innings and gave up seven runs on 10 hits and no walks. TCN’s no. 3 prospect fanned two and took his third Triple-A loss. In relief, Ryan Loutos tossed a scoreless 2/3 of an inning.
The Redbirds put up two runs in the second inning when Luken Baker and Matt Koperniak hit back-to-back solo home runs. Jacksonville made it 7-2 in the fifth.
In two innings, Jacob Barnes threw two frames with two punchouts. Guillermo Zuñiga yielded a run in two innings to finish the game.
The Redbirds attempted a comeback in the final two innings. Baker hit another home run in the eighth, a three-run shot. TCN’s no. 13 prospect leads Minor League Baseball in home runs with 31. In the ninth, César Prieto brought in Nick Dunn via sacrifice fly.
BAKER BLAST NUMBER 30 pic.twitter.com/LTLwRZS2eK
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) August 6, 2023
Luken Baker (AAA) blasts his 2nd HR of the day, his 6th HR in his last 6 games and his @MiLB leading 31st of the season!
His 89 RBI on the season currently rank second among all minor leaguers. pic.twitter.com/TwCW2vqSnn
— Cardinals Player Development (@CardsPlayerDev) August 6, 2023
Baker went 2-for-3 with a walk, two home runs and four RBI. Juniel Querecuto doubled and singled twice. Memphis went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Shortstop Masyn Winn left the game in the sixth inning with a glute strain said to be mild after he crossed first base awkwardly. It is not clear at this time if an IL move will be required.
In the field, Querecuto committed two fielding errors at third base.
Memphis went 2-4 against the Jumbo Shrimp this week. They are 5.5 games out of first in the International League West second half.
Tuesday’s game: at Durham, TBA vs. TBA 5:35 CT (The Redbirds are off Monday)
The Springfield Cardinals (17-16) were edged by the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (KC, 17-15) on Sunday night at Hammons Field.
Starter Logan Gragg gave up four runs in six innings on six hits and one walk. The right-hander struck out eight. In the first appearance of his rehab assignment from St. Louis, Ryan Helsley pitched a scoreless inning with one hit and one strikeout.
After the Naturals scored two in the third, Pedro Pagés doubled in the home half to plate one. Pagés then walked with the bases loaded in the fifth. Arquímedes Gamboa drove in two with a double and L.J. Jones made it 5-2 with a groundout.
Ryan Shreve took his fourth loss after he surrendered four runs in the eighth inning. Andre Granillo yielded a run in the ninth.
In the eighth inning, Mike Antico’s RBI double made it a two-run game, but NW Arkansas responded with a very important run in the top of the ninth. In the home half, Noah Mendlinger and Irving Lopez had RBI singles to bring the Cards to within one. With the tying run on third and two out, Aaron Antonini grounded out.
Newcomer Thomas Saggese went 3-for-4 with three singles and a run scored. Antico, Gamboa and Mendlinger recorded two hits. Gamboa and Pages plated two apiece. The lineup had five extra-base hits and went 7-for-18 with runners in scoring position.
After a 3-3 week, the Cardinals are in second place and sit half a game back in the Texas League North.
Tuesday’s game: vs. San Antonio, TBA vs. TBA 6:35 CT (The Cardinals are off Monday)
The Peoria Chiefs (21-15) topped the Quad Cities River Bandits (KC, 12-24) at Dozer Park for a series sweep and their eighth straight win overall.
Trent Baker pitched five scoreless innings with four strikeouts. TCN’s no. 23 prospect earned his sixth win. Edwin Nunez yielded three unearned runs in 1 2/3 innings.
In the third inning, R.J. Yeager blasted a two-run homer, his sixth for the Chiefs. Tyler Reichenborn and Carlos Linarez both singled in the fourth to make the score 4-0. Osvaldo Tovalin walked with the bases loaded.
MAKING IT RAIN IN THE RAIN ☔️
R.J. YEAGER CRACKS A 2-RUN BOMB TO PUT US ON THE BOARD IN THE B3❕ pic.twitter.com/AFWaynesjJ
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) August 6, 2023
Joseph King struck out one in 1 1/3 scoreless frames. Nathanael Heredia tossed a scoreless ninth inning.
After the River Bandits put up three in the seventh, Peoria made it 7-3 in the bottom half. Jeremy Rivas came across on a wild pitch and Darlin Moquete walked with the bases loaded.
Yeager and Reichenborn recorded two hits and one walk apiece. Tovalin, Rivas, Linarez and Luis Rodriguez walked twice. The lineup left 10 runners on base, but the pitching only allowed six hits.
On the base paths, Rivas took two bags and Tovalin stole one. Rivas was caught stealing. In the field, Rivas committed an error, Baker picked a runner off and Linarez had a passed ball.
The Chiefs swept Quad Cities and are on an eight-game win streak. They moved up to second place in the Midwest League West and sit two games out of first.
Tuesday’s game: at Beloit, TBA vs. TBA 6:35 CT (The Chiefs are off Monday)
The Palm Beach Cardinals (15-19) were edged by the Jupiter Hammerheads (MIA, 17-19) at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
Hancel Rincon surrendered four runs in three innings. The 21-year-old yielded five hits, no walks and three strikeouts. Out of the bullpen, Angel Cuenca gave up two runs, one earned, in 2 1/3 frames.
The Beach Birds scored one run in the second inning. Kade Kretzschmar brought in a run via single. In the fifth, the Cardinals put up four runs to tie the game. Michael Curialle and Leonardo Bernal singled to score a run each. Chase Davis doubled to plate two.
Jason Savacool threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Tyler Bradt took his first professional loss after he surrendered two runs in the eighth inning. In the ninth, Tanner Jacobson walked one.
To tie the game again, Kretzschmar recorded an RBI single. Jupiter hit a two-run home run in the eighth. In the bottom half, Zach Levenson grounded out to bring one across.
Kretzschmar was 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI. Won-Bin Cho and Curialle had two hits. The lineup went 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.
Tre Richardson and Cho took a bag apiece. Curialle committed a fielding error.
Palm Beach went 3-3 versus the Hammerheads this week. They are one game out of first in the Florida State League East.
Tuesday’s game: at St. Lucie, TBA vs. TBA 5:10 CT (The Cardinals are off Monday)
FCL Cardinals – Off
The Florida Complex League Cardinals (16-23) are nine games out of first in the FCL East.
Monday’s game: vs. FCL Nationals, TBA vs. TBA 9:00 CT
DSL Cardinals – Off
In the DSL South, the Dominican Summer League Cardinals (12-30) are in seventh place and are 22 games out of first.
Monday’s game: at DSL Mariners, TBA vs. TBA 10:00 CT
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