Cardinals Minor League Notebook – July 28, 2024

photo: Max Rajcic (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

The St. Louis Cardinals system went 4-1 on Saturday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Max Rajcic, threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts for Springfield. Other standouts include Jose Fermin, Victor Scott, Trey Paige, Gerardo Salas and Brayan Amoroso.

Results from games played on Saturday, July 27.

Memphis 8 at Columbus 10

The Memphis Redbirds (11-15) fell to the Columbus Clippers (16-9, CLE) 8-10 on Saturday at Huntington Park.  Just off the injured list, starter Zack Thompson threw 1 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits while walking three.

César Prieto’s bases-loaded walk and Matt Koperniak’s RBI single gave the Redbirds a 2-0 lead in the first.

The Clippers took the lead in the second with an RBI groundout, an RBI double, and an RBI single.

Nick Dunn’s RBI single in the third tied the game at three apiece.

Victor Scott II’s solo longball to right-center field gave Memphis a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth.

Victor Scott

Columbus tied the game again with another RBI single in the bottom of the fourth.

José Fermín smashed a homer to left field to make the score 5-4 in the top of the sixth.

José Fermín

The home team regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth with a two-RBI single and a three-run homer to center field.

Memphis attempted to mount a comeback in the top of the seventh with Thomas Saggese’s RBI single, Dunn’s RBI forceout, and Alfonso Rivas III’s RBI double.

A final solo shot in the bottom of the seventh extended the Clippers’ lead to 10-8.

Ryan Shreve pitched 2 2/3 innings, yielding one run on three hits while walking two and striking out one.  Andre Granillo took his first loss with Memphis this season, allowing five runs on three hits while walking two and striking out two.  Nick Robertson pitched two innings, giving up a run on two hits while walking one and striking out two.  Memphis allowed 10 runs on 11 hits while walking eight and striking out five.

Thomas Saggese

Saggese was 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.  Fermín was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.  Scott II went 1-for-2 with a home run, three walks, an RBI, and two runs scored.  The Redbirds totaled eight runs on 11 hits with eight walks and four strikeouts.

Sunday’s game: at Columbus, RHP Gordon Graceffo (8-5, 4.34) vs. Logan Allen LHP (1-0, 4.35) 12:05 CT.

Springfield 4, Corpus Christi 0

The Springfield Cardinals (17-9) shut out the Corpus Christi Hooks (6-19, HOU) 4-0 on Saturday at Hammons Field.  Returning from five weeks out, starter Tink Hence threw 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit while collecting four of his five outs via strikeout. 18 of his 24 pitches thrown went for strikes.

Tink Hence

Jeremy Rivas drilled a homer for the lead in the sixth, followed by Nathan Church’s RBI double and Jimmy Crooks’ RBI double.

The Cardinals added an insurance run on Church’s RBI groundout in the eighth.

Church was 1-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored.  Crooks was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Rivas went 1-for-3 with a home run, an RBI, and a run scored.  Rehabber Tommy Edman, the designated hitter, went 0-for-4, dropping his Springfield average to .250. The Cardinals totaled four runs on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Max Rajcic

Max Rajcic earned his eighth win this season, throwing 6 1/3 scoreless innings, and yielding three hits while walking one and striking out seven.  Jack Ralston pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit while striking out one.  Springfield allowed no runs on five hits while walking one and striking out 12.

Sunday’s game: vs. Corpus Christi, TBD vs. Jose Fleury RHP (0-3, 5.46) 6:05 CT.

Peoria 8 at South Bend 2

The Peoria Chiefs (14-15) destroyed the South Bend Cubs (10-19, CHC) 8-2 on Saturday at Four Winds Field.  Starter Hancel Rincon earned his seventh win this season, pitching seven innings, allowing one run on six hits while walking two and striking out five.

The Chiefs put two on the board in the first with Chris Rotondo’s RBI single and Won-Bin Cho’s RBI single.

Tre Richardson’s RBI double, Leonardo Bernal’s RBI double, and Michael Curialle’s bases-loaded walk made the score 5-0 in the third.

Leonardo Bernal

Peoria added an extra insurance run in the fourth with Bernal’s RBI single.

Bernal continued his strong game with a solo moonshot to right-center in the sixth.

The Cubs put one on the board in the seventh with an RBI single.

Joshua Baez added one more insurance run in the eighth with a solo shot to left-center field to make it 8-1.

South Bend’s RBI double in the ninth cut the deficit to 8-2.

Gustavo Rodriguez threw 1 1/3 innings, yielding one run on two hits.  Tyler Bradt pitched 2/3 of an inning, striking out both batters he faced.  Peoria allowed two runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out seven.

Bernal went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, two RBI, and two runs scored.  Brody Moore was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.  Richardson was 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.  The Chiefs totaled eight runs on nine hits with five walks and nine strikeouts.

Sunday’s game: at South Bend, LHP Pete Hansen (4-6, 3.95) vs. Erian Rodriguez RHP (0-2, 5.40) 1:05 CT.

Palm Beach 12 at St. Lucie 3

On Saturday, the Palm Beach Cardinals (18-9) dominated the St. Lucie Mets (9-20, NYM) 12-3 at Clover Park.  Starter Gerardo Salas earned his sixth win this season, throwing six innings, and allowing three runs on nine hits while walking one and striking out four.

Gerardo Salas

The Cardinals struck first in the second when Anyelo Encarnacion reached on an error that allowed Kade Kretzschmar to score.

Palm Beach broke the game open in the third. Trey Paige’s solo bomb to right field, Jose Cordoba’s RBI single, Jose Suarez reaching on an error that scored Chase Davis and Cordoba, Lizandro Espinoza’s RBI single, Paige’s RBI triple, and a dropped third strike let Paige come home made the score 9-0.

Trey Paige

Espinoza’s RBI single in the top of the fourth increased their lead to 10-0.

The Mets finally put a run on the board in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single.

St. Lucie added two more in the sixth with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to cut the deficit to 10-3.

Davis’ RBI single and Kretzschmar’s RBI double added two more insurance runs to extend Palm Beach’s lead to 12-3.

Davis went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.  Paige was 2-for-6 with a homer, a triple, two RBI, and two runs scored.  Kretzschmar was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored.  The Cardinals totaled 12 runs on 15 hits with four walks and seven strikeouts.

Luis Gastelum threw a scoreless inning, yielding a walk while striking out one.  Newcomer Randel Clemente pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two walks.  Angel Cuenca threw a scoreless inning while striking out two.  Palm Beach allowed three runs on nine hits while walking four and striking out seven.

Sunday’s game: at St. Lucie, TBD vs. TBD 11:10 CT.

DSL Cardinals 14 at DSL Miami 12

The Dominican Summer League Cardinals (19-17) defeated DSL Miami (20-19, MIA) in a 14-12 slugfest to extend their winning streak to four games on Saturday at the Miami Marlins DR Complex.  Starter Oliver Gonzalez threw 2 2/3 innings, allowing six runs, four earned, on seven hits while striking out four.

Miami took an early lead in the first when a wild pitch allowed one run to score and a fielding error by third baseman Daniel Rojas allowed two more to come home.

The Cardinals made it a one-run game in the top of the second with Brayan Amoroso’s RBI double and Andru Arthur’s sacrifice fly.

The home team added two more runs in the bottom of the second on two solo shots to center field.  They added one more insurance run in the third with a sacrifice fly to make the score 6-2.

The Dominican Birds earned one back in the fourth on Yaxson Lucena’s RBI single.  They took the lead in the fifth with RBI singles by Yoerny Junco, Rojas and Juan Pablo Cabrera, Lucena’s RBI forceout, and Yairo Padilla’s RBI forceout.

The visitors continued to capitalize on Miami’s errors in the top of the sixth when Amoroso drew a bases-loaded walk, Junco and Cabrera came home on two wild pitches, and Rainiel Rodriguez’s bases-loaded walk extended their lead to 12-6.

The bullpen failed to shut down the game in the bottom of the sixth as Jose Suriel allowed three of the first four batters he faced to reach safely, allowing Miami to pull off a double steal of second and home.  Guanchi Martinez replaced Suriel, yielding an RBI double, a two-RBI double, and an RBI single.

A sacrifice fly tied the game for Miami in the seventh.

However, Rodriguez’ sacrifice fly in the eighth and Amoroso’s RBI single in the ninth secured the victory for the Cardinals.

Brayan Amoroso

Bernard Mack threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out two.  Suriel allowed three runs on a hit and two walks in 1/3 of an inning.  Martinez earned his second win this season, pitching 2 2/3 innings, and letting in three runs on four hits while striking out four.  Alan Reyes earned his fourth save this season, throwing a scoreless inning, and yielding a hit while striking out one.  The Cardinals allowed 12 runs, 10 earned, on 14 hits while walking three and striking out 11.

Amoroso went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two walks, three RBI, and four runs scored.  Lucena hit 2-for-4 with two walks and two RBI.  Junco was 1-for-4 with two walks, an RBI, and three runs scored.  The Cardinals totaled 14 runs on 10 hits with 16 walks and 12 strikeouts.  Every hitter with at least two at-bats reached safely twice.

The DSL Cardinals are off Sunday.

Monday’s game: vs. DSL Giants Black (28-10, SFG), TBD vs. TBD 10:00 CT.

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