photo: Austin Warner (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 3-1 on Monday, led again by pitching – Player of the Day Austin Warner for Palm Beach and Austin Gomber with Memphis. Edmundo Sosa is heating up for Springfield and Peoria was shut out.
Results from the games played Monday, May 21st.
Austin Gomber threw eight noteworthy frames, leading his team to a 2-1 victory over the Dodgers. It is the first of four games between the two clubs and the fourth consecutive victory for Memphis (27-18), which leads the American Southern Division by 3 1/2 games over New Orleans (MIA).
Gomber (W, 3-3) fanned nine players over eight, scattering six hits and two walks. But the game nearly got away after Gomber ran out of gas in the ninth, as a double and single put runners at the corners with none out for closer Preston Guilmet. Guilmet (S, 8) saved the game, if not Gomber’s scoreless outing, with a sac fly, single, foul tip strike out and 5-3 ground out.
Six Redbirds each had one hit, beginning with Patrick Wisdom. Wisdom went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. His sixth home run of the season got the scoring started in the first then Max Schrock singled him home after he worked a free pass to open the fourth.
Tuesday’s game: vs. first-place (American Northern) Oklahoma City (27-14) (LAD), 11:05 am CT, Ryan Helsley (1-0, 1.29)
Springfield 9 vs. Northwest Arkansas 7
The S-Cards came out on top of a see-saw battle, downing the Naturals, 9-7, in the series finale. Although Springfield (23-21) won only two contests in the five-game home set, this victory, combined with Tulsa’s loss, moves them a half game up on the second-place Drillers (LAD) in the North Division.
The home team built a 4-0 lead after three, thanks to two-run bombs by Victor Roache and Stefan Trosclair, two of four Springfield home runs on the day. Edmundo Sosa added a solo shot in the fifth, one of his three hits.
But Chris Ellis let Northwest Arkansas knot the game up during his six frames on the mound. The Alabama native yielded five runs on seven hits, one of them a two-run long ball. Ellis struck out four and hit a batter.
Tyler Lyons handed the lead over to the Naturals in the seventh. St. Louis’ rehabbing southpaw gave up a double and home run to his first two batters faced, both of them right-handed, putting Springfield into a 7-5 hole. Lyons retired the Naturals’ left-handed hitting top of the order batter on a ground out then exited the game after recording a fly out to right (switch hitter).
Ian McKinney (W, 2-0) took over for Lyons and limited his opponents to one base-on-balls over the last 2 1/3 innings. The lefty fanned one.
But Springfield fought back, re-tying the game at 7-7 after seven on Sosa’s two-run single, scoring Trosclair (walk) and Blake Drake (double). Drake launched a home run with Trosclair (walk) aboard the next inning.
Sosa’s three hits in four at bats led his squad’s 11-hit attack. Drake was one of three S-Cards with a two-hit performance, joined by Evan Mendoza and Granden Goetzman.
Tuesday’s game: at Corpus Christi (25-19) (HOU), 7:05 pm CT, TBA
Austin Warner tossed a complete game gem as the Beach Birds blanked the Tigers, 3-0, in the road series opener. Second-place Palm Beach (25-16) is two games off Jupiter’s (MIA) pace in the South Division.
Player of the Day Warner (W, 3-1) faced just three over the minimum, striking out 10 while permitting three hits and a base-on-balls. One of those base-runners was eliminated on a subsequent double play. The Kentucky native needed just 103 pitches to complete his nine innings, throwing 70 strikes.
His teammates generated seven hits, with Dylan Carlson and Shane Billings each going 2-for-4. Carlson’s first single knocked in Kramer Robertson (walk) to put Palm Beach on the board and his second single drove in Billings after the latter tripled for the first time this season. Danny Hudzina capped the scoring with his second home run since joining the club Friday.
Tuesday’s game: at Lakeland (19-21) (DET), 6:30 pm ET, Ian Oxnevad (3-3, 3.78)
The Chiefs’ series opener at the Snappers resulted in a 2-0 loss. Peoria (22-19) drops into a second-place tie with Quad Cities (HOU), one-half game in back of Clinton (SEA).
Facing a stretch of 14 games in 11 days just ahead, the visitors threw a bullpen start at Beloit. Paul Balestrieri (L, 1-1) tossed the initial 3 2/3, giving up two runs on four hits and a base-on-balls. One of his four hits was a solo shot.
Kodi Whitley struck out four over 3 1/3, yielding two hits. Fabian Blanco tossed a clean eighth.
Peoria matched Beloit’s seven hits but was unable to generate any results. Elehuris Montero and Jose Martinez both singled twice but the four players between them in the batting order went a combined 2-for-16 with four strikeouts and no walks.
Tuesday’s game: at sixth-place Beloit (19-20) (OAK), 11:00 am CT, Alvaro Seijas (1-2, 5.91)
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