photo: Alex Fagalde (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals farm system went 4-2 on Monday with State College sweeping a pair from Auburn, the Dominican teams splitting, Memphis cleaned out by Las Vegas, and Player of the Day Alex Fagalde leading Springfield to a shutout triumph with eight innings of two-hit ball in a stunning Double-A debut. Peoria was off and Palm Beach rained out.
Results for games played Monday, June 17th.
Memphis (29-42) scored twice in the first inning, but Las Vegas answered with seven unlucky runs in the next half inning against starter Evan Kruczynski, as the Redbirds were shelled at AutoZone Park 15-6 on Monday evening. Ineffectively wild southpaw Kruczynski (1-2, 8.01) was knocked out after issuing five walks in 1 1/3 innings. Fellow lefty Tommy Layne fared even worse as he was clobbered for six runs while retiring just one batter on five hits and a trio of free passes. The bullpen pitching star by far was Dominic Leone with a six up, six down outing that featured a pair of punchouts.
Right fielder Randy Arozarena continued his hot 2019 by homering in the first inning and adding a single later. Since missing a month after suffering a spring training hand fracture on a hit by pitch, Arozarena has logged a .938 OPS while repeating Double-A, and is now batting .333/.367/.630 over his first Triple-A week this time up. Shortstop Kramer Robertson also went deep, and tacked on a walk, to raise his Memphis OPS to a solid .809.
Tuesday’s game: vs. Las Vegas, Alex Reyes (1-2, 6.95), 11:05 a.m. CT.
Springfield raised its record to 30-40 with a Monday night 3-0 blanking of the homestanding Midland RockHounds. Starter, winner, and Player of the Day Alex Fagalde needed just 80 pitches to twirl eight dominant innings, permitting two singles and a free pass while fanning four RockHounds. The 25-year-old righty allowed no one to reach second base and finished strongly, recording all of his strikeouts in the 7th and 8th innings. Junior Fernandez whiffed a pair in his scoreless inning, picking up his fifth AA save and lowering his S-Cards ERA to 1.67 with 39 K’s in 27 innings.
Johan Mieses, Chase Pinder, and Alberto Triunfel each had two hits, with Triunfel and Zach Kirtley logging a double apiece for the sole extra base knocks of the game for either team. Kirtley and Pinder each had a run and RBI, while top prospect Dylan Carlson was limited to a single in four plate appearances.
Tuesday’s game: at Midland, Johan Oviedo (1-3, 6.91) 6:30 CT.
Jupiter at Palm Beach – rained out
In its second half opener, Palm Beach was rained out at home on Monday. The game will be played as part of a pair of Tuesday seven-inning contests at Roger Dean.
Tuesday’s games: vs. Jupiter, Tommy Parsons (3-1, 2.13)/TBA 4:00 CT.
Peoria off for All-Star break
Most of the Chiefs enjoyed day one of three off for the Midwest League All-Star break.
Third baseman Nolan Gorman competed in the league’s Home Run Derby Monday evening. The top prospect hit three home runs in the first round, not good enough to advance. Chris Betts of Bowling Green (TB) was the winner with 24 bombs over three rounds.
Tuesday’s game: MWL East/West All-Star Game, 6:35 CT.
State College 11 at Auburn 9 (suspended game, nine innings)
In a continuation of the weather-suspended home game from the day before, State College erupted for all 11 runs in the first three innings and held on to defeat the Doubledays 11-9, improving their record to 2-1 on the young season. Right fielder Andrew Warner homered, doubled, and drove in five runs to spearhead the Spikes attack. Other multi-hit games came from left fielder Stanley Espinal and backstop Matt Duce, who each chipped in with a single, a double and a walk.
As detailed in Monday’s game write-up, the Spikes pitching struggled early, yielding all nine runs in the first three frames. But righty Rodard Avelino and lefty Hector Villalobos set things right with three scoreless innings to close out the win. Villalobos was particularly adroit, fanning four in his two-inning stint.
State College 7 at Auburn 0 (seven innings)
State College skunked Auburn 7-0 at home in the nightcap of the pseudo-doubleheader to raise their record to 3-1 in a Monday matinee game. Starter Hector Soto went four innings, conceding three hits and a walk while fanning four Doubledays. The 20-year-old Mexican righty need only 60 pitches, and posted a 3-to-1 groundout/flyout ratio. Winner and fellow Mexican righty Martin Cordova allowed a single to the first man he faced, then retired the next nine to complete the combined seven-inning shutout. (The 19-year-old control artist walked only nine men in 47 DSL innings last year.)
Warner topped his big day with another longball, a three-run shot in the second inning to put the game apparently out of reach early. Left fielder Stanley Espinal homered as well, and singled, driving in two runs of his own. Also contributing multi-hit games were teenage second sacker Donivan Williams, first baseman Dariel Gomez, and center fielder and leadoff man Andres Luna, who doubled twice.
Tuesday’s game: at Williamsport, Jacob Schlesener (0-0, 0.00) 6:05 CT.
Johnson City
The 2019 Appalachian League season commences on Tuesday with a Cardinals home game. The Cardinal Nation has the full Opening Day roster and our Johnson City season preview article by local reporter Cole Sams will be posted ASAP after this goes live.
Tuesday’s game: vs. Pulaski, pitcher TBA, 5:30 CT.
DSL Rangers2 11, DSL Cardinals Red 10
On the road, the DSL Cardinals Red squad (6-8) fell behind by seven runs after six innings but climbed all the way back to force extra frames, only to be beaten by the Rangers in the 10th inning by an 11-10 tally. Catcher Jesus Orecchia reached safely five times to lead the crimson offense. The 18-year-old Venezuelan contributed two singles, two walks, and a double for his club’s only extra base hit. Center fielder and leadoff man Smith Vargas snapped a 2-for-28 slump with three hits and three RBI, while 17-year-old second baseman Albert Inoa singled and drew two walks, his ninth and 10th in only 11 games.
Lefty Dionys Guerrero made the start and logged 3 2/3 innings, giving up five runs, three earned, abetted by his balk and wild pitch. He was followed by Hector De Los Santos, who permitted two more runs in just 1 1/3 innings — though he did record all four of his outs via the strikeout. The best bullpen work came from 17-year-old Venezuelan Henry Gomez. The Maracaibo righty went two innings and allowed one run while fanning three and walking none.
Tuesday’s game: vs. DSL Brewers, pitcher TBA, 9:30 a.m. CT.
DSL Cardinals Blue 9, DSL Mets1 3
Jumping to a five-run lead in the second inning, the homestanding DSL Cardinals Blue team whipped the Mets 9-3 on Monday morning, lifting their season ledger to a fine 8-3 mark. Catcher Jose Zapata singled, homered, and walked while scoring twice and driving in a trio. On defense he permitted a stolen base, but also picked a man off first. Second baseman and leadoff hitter Elvin DeJesus also went deep, and plated a pair of his own. Early season team batting leaders and fellow 17-year-olds Hansel Otamendi (CF) and Diego Valasquez (DH) each reached twice, and their batting averages now stand at .394 and .471, respectively. (Velasquez is unlikely to maintain his .667 BABIP however.)
The starter and winner was 18-year-old Reinys Portillo, with five stanzas of one-run ball. The Venezuelan righty fanned five, walked one, and lowered his ERA to 1.93 over his three starts. Solid relief was provided by 17-year-old Benjamin Arias (two innings, one run) and Luis Tena, with two hitless innings, but with three free passes.
Tuesday’s game: at Phillies Red, pitcher TBA, 9:30 a.m. CT.
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