photo: Zack Thompson (Memphis Redbirds)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 0-3 on Sunday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day is Memphis starter Zack Thompson who threw five shutout innings while striking out nine. Other standouts include Chris Rotondo, César Prieto, JJ Wetherholt, and Jon Jon Gazdar.
Results for games played Sunday, September 15th.
Memphis 1 at Nashville 2 (10 innings)
The Memphis Redbirds (32-35) lost to the Nashville Sounds (37-28, MIL) 2-1 in 10 innings on Sunday at First Horizon Park. Starter Zack Thompson pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out nine.
César Prieto opened the scoring for the Redbirds in the top of the seventh with his solo moonshot to right field.
Prieto Power!@HueysRestaurant home run for the lead pic.twitter.com/cpewn6G2i3
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) September 16, 2024
The Sounds tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single.
Nashville walked it off on the first pitch they saw in the tenth with an RBI single.
Gordon Graceffo took his eighth loss this season, pitching four innings, and yielding two runs, one earned, on eight hits while walking and striking out one. Memphis allowed two runs, one earned on 10 hits while walking two and striking out 10.
Prieto went 1-for-4 with a home run, an RBI, and a run scored. Arquímedes Gamboa, Nick Dunn, Chance Sisco, and Mike Antico each tallied a hit. The Redbirds totaled one run on five hits with a walk and 17 strikeouts.
The Memphis Redbirds split their series with the Nashville Sounds, winning two games apiece. The Redbirds will begin their final series this season on Tuesday against the Durham Bulls (34-35, TB).
Tuesday’s game: vs. Durham, TBD vs. TBD 6:45 CT.
Springfield 5 at San Antonio 9
The Springfield Cardinals (42-27) were defeated by the San Antonio Missions (31-37, SD) 9-5 on Sunday at Nelson Wolff Stadium. Starter Wilfredo Pereira pitched five innings, allowing three runs on six hits while walking two and striking out three.
The Missions struck first in the second with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.
The Cardinals put a run on the board in the top of the fifth with Carlos Linarez’s RBI single.
San Antonio responded in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double.
Springfield took the lead in the top of the sixth with Jacob Buchberger’s RBI single and Chris Rotondo’s three-run bomb to left-center field.
Chris Rotondo catapults the Cards in front with a three-run shot! pic.twitter.com/JmSmGgaVPk
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) September 15, 2024
The home team regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Edwin Nuñez took the mound and threw a wild pitch that let one run score, giving up a two-RBI double, and another wild pitch let another run score later in the inning.
Leonardo Taveras relieved Nuñez and yielded an RBI single and an RBI groundout in the seventh.
Nuñez took his ninth loss this season, yielding four runs, two earned, on two hits while walking two and striking out one. Taveras pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on three hits while walking three and striking out one. Ryan Shreve pitched a scoreless inning. Springfield allowed nine runs, seven earned, on 11 hits while walking seven and striking out five.
Rotondo went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, three RBI, and a run scored. R.J. Yeager was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. Dakota Harris hit 1-for-3 with an HBP and two runs scored. The Cardinals totaled five runs on 10 hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.
The Springfield Cardinals split their series against the San Antonio Missions, winning three apiece. The Cardinals finished the second half of the season in second place, two games back of the Arkansas Travelers (44-25, SEA).
Springfield will face the Travelers on Tuesday in Game 1 of the best-of-three Texas League North Division Series. Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) will be held at Hammons Field on Thursday and Friday.
Tuesday’s game: at Arkansas, TBD vs. TBD 6:35 CT.
The Palm Beach Cardinals (0-1) fell 7-6 to the Lakeland Flying Tigers (1-0, DET) in Game 1 of the Florida State League Championship Series on Sunday at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.
Starter Gerardo Salas threw three innings, allowing five runs on six hits while walking one and striking out one.
The Cardinals struck first in the first with JJ Wetherholt’s RBI single.
The Flying Tigers responded in the third with two RBI singles and a three-run shot to left-center field.
The Beach Birds brought the game to within two in the fifth with Ian Petrutz’s RBI double and Jon Jon Gazdar’s RBI single.
They continued to take the lead in the sixth on Josh Kross’ two-RBI single and Gazdar’s RBI single.
Lakeland regained the lead in the eighth with an RBI single and an RBI triple.
Leonel Sequera pitched three scoreless innings, yielding a hit and a walk while striking out four. Michael Watson threw 1 1/3 innings, giving up a run on two hits. Luis Gastelum took his first loss this postseason, pitching 2/3 of an inning, and surrendering a run on two hits while striking out two. Palm Beach allowed seven runs on 11 hits while walking two and striking out seven.
Wetherholt hit 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Gazdar was 3-for-4 with two RBI. Petrutz went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. The Cardinals totaled six runs on 13 hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
The Cardinals are off Monday.
Tuesday’s game: Game 2 of the best of three at Roger Dean Stadium, TBD vs. TBD 5:30 CT.
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