photo: Nolan Gorman (Springfield Cardinals)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-4 on Saturday with Springfield and Palm Beach absorbing doubleheader sweeps. TCN’s Player of the Day is second baseman Nolan Gorman, who was 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored in Memphis’ win over Louisville.
Results for games played Saturday, July 24.
The Redbirds blew past the Louisville Bats in a Saturday night contest at Louisville Slugger Field for their 14th consecutive win. St. Louis starting pitcher Miles Mikolas made his first rehab start for Memphis, pitching three solid innings with no runs or hits allowed. All outs were made either on the ground or in the air.
Jesus Cruz took over in the fourth and surrendered one run. Connor Jones followed with two scoreless innings to earn the win, his fifth of the season. Garrett Williams and Tyler Webb each tossed a scoreless frame. Junior Fernandez gave up three runs in the ninth.
The game was scoreless for the first three innings, but both sides scored in the fourth. Lars Nootbaar and Kramer Robertson hit back-to-back home runs, a two-run shot by the former. The Bats got one run back in the home half to cut the lead to 3-1.
https://twitter.com/memphisredbirds/status/1419089846769946625
In the fifth, Memphis added four runs to their tally. Dennis Ortega led off with a double. With two outs, Evan Mendoza drew a walk and Nolan Gorman thumped a two-run double to center. Juan Yepez followed with a two-run home run to left center field.
Juan Yepez…cleared for liftoff 🚀🚀
His third straight night with an @IntlPaperCo 💣 pic.twitter.com/rRlub3bKcq
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) July 25, 2021
The Redbirds tacked on an insurance run in the ninth. Scott Hurst walked, Rayder Ascanio doubled, and Mendoza plated Hurst on a sac fly. Louisville launched a rally in the bottom of the ninth and put three runs on the board, but fell short.
Nolan Gorman went 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Ortega was 2-for-4. Yepez and Nootbaar had two RBI each.
Memphis has a record of 35-36 and are in fifth place in the Triple-A East Southeast Division, 14 games back of first place Durham.
Sunday’s game: at Louisville, Connor Thomas RHP (5-0, 2.28) vs. Bo Takahashi RHP (2-5, 5.55) 12:00 CT.
Springfield 0 at San Antonio 2 (seven innings, Game 1)
The Cardinals were blanked by the Missions 2-0 in the first game of a twin bill at Nelson Wolff Stadium on Saturday night. Domingo Robles got the start for Springfield and gave up two runs, one earned, in the first inning. They were the only runs scored in the game. Robles pitched five innings and allowed four hits, struck out two and walked one. Ramon Santos tossed a scoreless sixth. Robles took the loss, his fourth of the season.
The Springfield offense scattered three hits in the third, fourth, and seventh innings. The hits were all singles off the bats of Alec Burleson, Malcom Nunez, and Irving Lopez.
A passed ball by Aaron Antonini in the first inning was the only error and led to the unearned run.
Springfield 0 at San Antonio 2 (seven innings, Game 2)
The Cardinals lost the second game of the doubleheader to the Missions by the same score as the opener. This was a makeup of a postponed game from July 22.
Cardinals starter Dalton Roach also gave up two runs in five innings pitched, matching his teammate Robles from Game 1. The two runs came in separate innings, one in the second and the other in the fourth. Roach allowed seven hits but also struck out seven hitters and issued no free passes. Roach took his sixth loss of the season. Salvador Justo tossed a scoreless sixth in relief.
In almost a mirror image of Game 1, the offense again scattered three hits, but one went for extra bases, a double by Luken Baker in the sixth. Alec Burleson singled in the first inning, and Nick Raposo singled in the second.
Roach and Justo each picked a runner off base, Roach off second base and Justo off first base.
Springfield is 27-44 and is in last place in the Double-A Central North Division, 14 games back of first place Wichita.
Sunday’s game: at San Antonio, 6:05pm – SPR LHP Kevin McGovern (1-1, 4.78) vs. SA LHP Ethan Elliott (0-0, 3.12)
The Chiefs defeated the River Bandits 6-4 at Modern Woodman Park on Saturday night. Chiefs starter Wilfredo Pereira pitched four innings and yielded two runs on six hits, fanned five and walked three. Jacob Schlesener surrendered an unearned run in 2 1/3 innings in relief and was awarded the win, his third. Leonardo Taveras followed with 1 2/3 innings, in which he also allowed an unearned run. Freddy Pacheco tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his seventh save.
Peoria took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by Moises Castillo. In the third inning Jhon Torres hit a two-run home run to increase Peoria’s lead to 3-0. Three long balls in the fifth, all solo shots, by Imeldo Diaz, Jordan Walker, and Pedro Pages gave the Chiefs a 6-0 lead.
Touch ‘em all @jhontorress22!
His fifth homer of the year extends our advantage to 3-0!#SoundTheAlarm x @CardsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/BQr96u9RUp
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) July 25, 2021
Quad Cities began to chip away at the lead in the home half of the fifth with two runs on the board. A third run was added in the sixth and another in the eighth to cut the lead to 6-4. Quad Cities’ rally stopped there, and the Chiefs took home the victory.
Walker and Diaz were both 2-for-4. Torres had two RBI.
JORDAN JAM!@jwalker0522 hits his first homer as a Chief to make it a 5-0 ballgame!#SoundTheAlarm x @CardsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/bgdQQei46l
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) July 25, 2021
Chandler Redmond made a fielding error and Castillo made a throwing error. Zade Richardson had a passed ball.
Peoria is 28-43 and stands in last place in the High-A Central West Division, 18 games back of first place Quad Cities.
Sunday’s game: at Quad Cities, Michael YaSenka RHP (0-6, 6.55) vs. TBD 1:00 CT.
Palm Beach 4 at Jupiter 5 (seven innings, Game 1)
The Cardinals were edged by the Hammerheads in the first game of a twin bill on Saturday at Roger Dean Stadium. Starter John Beller pitched four innings and yielded two runs on seven hits, struck out four and walked one. Beller was relieved by Sean Kealey who surrendered one run in two innings pitched. Kevin Marnon started the seventh and gave up two runs in 2/3 innings. The lefty was charged with the blown save and took the loss.
The Beach Birds jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Masyn Winn and Carlos Soto singled. Todd Lott alsosingled to score Winn.
The Hammerheads quickly tied it up in the home half of the first. The resilient Cardinals came back in the second and took a 2-1 lead. Matt Koperniak doubled and scored on a double by Tommy Jew.
In the fourth, Palm Beach added to their lead on an RBI single by Winn. Jupiter responded in the bottom of the inning with a run. Once again, the Beach Birds came back in the top frame of the next inning to score a run and increase the tally to 4-2. Jacob Buchberger singled and later came home on a single by Patrick Romeri.
Jupiter scored in the bottom of the fifth and the lead was once again reduced by one run. The Cardinals took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh, but the Hammerheads walked it off with two runs scored.
The Cardinals offense scored four runs on 10 hits. Winn and Lott were each 2-for-4. Extra base hits were doubles by Koperniak, Jew, and Lott.
On the base paths, Buchberger and Franklin Soto each stole a base. In the field, Beller picked a runner off first base.
Palm Beach 1 at Jupiter 3 (eight innings, Game 2)
The Cardinals were swept by Jupiter, losing both games of the twin bill on Saturday at Roger Dean Stadium. The offense of Palm Beach was scarce, as Beach Birds hitters put up only one run on five hits in Game 2.
The Cardinals were held scoreless until the seventh, down 1-0. Patrick Romeri singled and later scored on a single by Donivan Williams to tie the score. The game went into extras, but Palm Beach could not get the run home in their half of the eighth.
A two-run home run by Jupiter in the home the ninth walked it off and sent the Hammerheads home with a Saturday sweep.
Romeri and Williams were each 2-for-3. Williams had the only RBI, and Romeri had the only extra base hit.
Gustavo Rodriguez got the start for the Cardinals, and the young right hander pitched 2 1/3 innings and gave up one run on three hits, struck out two and walked one. Luis Ortiz followed with 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. Gianluca Dalatri tossed the final 1 1/3 innings and surrendered the winning runs in the eighth to take the loss, his third of the season.
In the field, Rodriguez picked a runner off first base.
Palm Beach is 25-45 and is in last place in the Low-A Southeast West Division, 12.5 games back of first place St. Lucie.
Sunday’s game: at Jupiter, Ludwin Jimenez (0-5, 4.95) vs. Matt Givin RHP (2-5, 3.34) 11:00 am CT.
FCL Cardinals 6 at FCL Astros 3
The Cardinals (8-8) beat the Astros 6-3 on Saturday morning at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Starter Reinys Portillo pitched five innings and gave up three runs on three hits, struck out one and walked three to earn his first win of the season.
The Astros took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Cardinals responded with three runs to tie it in the second. Hansel Otamendi and Julio Rodriguez each singled, and Adanson Cruz followed with a three-run home run to left field.
The Cardinals added three more runs in the fifth. Diego Velasquez and Ramon Mendoza singled. Both runners scored on a throwing error on an attempted double steal. Jeremy Rivas drew a walk and advanced to second on a ground out by Roblin Heredia. Otamendi walked, and Rodriguez plated Rivas on a sac fly. The Cardinals led 6-3, which became the final score.
The Cardinals offense scored six runs on six hits. No Cardinal had multiple hits. Cruz had three RBI on the home run.
On the base paths, Velasquez, and Mendoza each stole their first base of the season.
Sunday’s game: The FCL is off Sundays.
DSL Cardinals Blue, DSL Cardinals Red – (suspended)
Saturday’s game between the Cardinals Blue and Cardinals Red was suspended due to rain. The game was in the home half of the fourth inning with Cardinals Blue leading 7-1. The game will resume at a future date to be determined.
Sunday’s games: The DSL is off Sundays.
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