Báez Powers Memphis, Springfield Wins Seventh Straight, Peoria Back to .500
THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Farm Report: Báez Powers Memphis, Springfield Wins Seventh Straight, Peoria Climbs Back to .500
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Thursday was a busy night across the Cardinals’ farm system, with Memphis playing a doubleheader and the full-season affiliates combining to go 4-1.
Memphis split its twin bill at Jacksonville, winning the opener behind a big game from Joshua Báez before dropping the nightcap. Springfield kept rolling, winning its seventh straight and staying alone in first place in the Texas League North. Peoria rallied late for its third straight win and moved back to .500 in the second half. Palm Beach handled Fort Myers behind a strong start from Andrew Dutkanych IV.
The top offensive performance belonged to Joshua Báez, while Dutkanych earned Pitcher of the Day honors.
Memphis Redbirds — Triple-A
Overall Record: 59-46
Second Half: 12-18, 9th in the International League West, 7.0 GB
Streak: L1
Game 1: Memphis 11, Jacksonville 4
Game 2: Jacksonville 4, Memphis 3 — 8 innings
Memphis split a doubleheader Thursday at Jacksonville, winning the opener in convincing fashion before dropping the second game in extra innings.
The first game belonged to Joshua Báez.
Báez went 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored in Memphis’ 11-4 win. The homer was his 32nd of the season, and the four-RBI game pushed him to 81 RBIs. That was enough to earn him Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day honors.
Memphis jumped out quickly, scoring four runs in the first and two more in the second. Nolan Gorman hit his sixth home run and drove in two. Thomas Saggese doubled and scored twice. Leo Bernal tripled, drove in a run and scored twice. Chase Davis doubled and drove in a run, while César Prieto and Ramon Mendoza also drove in runs.
On the mound, Brandt Thompson gave Memphis five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Andrew Schultz followed with a scoreless inning and two strikeouts, while Ryan Murphy finished the seventh.
The nightcap went the other direction. Memphis fell 4-3 in eight innings after Jacksonville pushed across the winning run in extras.
Thomas Saggese homered again, his seventh of the season, and finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Noah Mendlinger doubled and drove in two. César Prieto doubled, walked and stole a base. Joshua Báez walked and stole his 16th base, while Colton Ledbetter also stole his 16th.
The bullpen kept Memphis in it. Hancel Rincón worked two scoreless innings, and Victor Santos followed with two scoreless frames and four strikeouts.
Takeaway: Memphis got a loud first game from Báez and enough pitching to win the opener, but the Redbirds could not finish the sweep. The second-half race remains a grind.
Springfield Cardinals — Double-A
Overall Record: 51-47
Second Half: 20-10, 1st in the Texas League North
Streak: W7
Springfield 6, Wichita 1
Springfield continues to look like the best team story in the system.
The Cardinals beat Wichita, 6-1, for their seventh straight win, improving to 20-10 in the second half and staying alone in first place in the Texas League North.
The offensive star was Deniel Ortiz, who hit two home runs and drove in four. Ortiz went 2-for-4 with two homers, four RBIs and two runs scored, pushing his home run total to four and his RBI total to 18.
Miguel Ugueto doubled, drove in a run, scored and stole his 23rd base. Trey Paige doubled, drove in a run and stole his 15th base. Rainiel Rodriguez singled, walked and scored twice. Won-Bin Cho and Zach Levenson also added hits.
On the mound, Springfield did not get a long start, but the staff pieced it together. Cooper Hjerpe allowed one run over three innings, walking four and striking out three. From there, the bullpen took over.
José Davila threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. D.J. Carpenter worked around traffic in a scoreless inning. Tyler Bradt delivered two scoreless innings, and Michael Watson finished it with a clean ninth.
Springfield pitchers held Wichita to one run on five hits.
Takeaway: Springfield has won seven straight and keeps widening the gap. The pitching staff has been steady, and Ortiz supplied all the thump the Cardinals needed.
Peoria Chiefs — High-A
Overall Record: 48-50
Second Half: 16-16, 5th in the Midwest League West, 4.5 GB
Streak: W3
Peoria 5, Cedar Rapids 4
Peoria did not have much offense for six innings.
Then the seventh happened.
Trailing 4-0, the Chiefs erupted for five runs in the top of the seventh and held on for a 5-4 win over Cedar Rapids. The victory was Peoria’s third straight and moved the Chiefs back to .500 in the second half.
Jack Gurevitch delivered the biggest swing, launching a three-run homer, his 17th of the season. He finished 1-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs, a run scored and a walk, raising his OPS to .959.
Josh Kross also homered, his 13th, and drove in a run. Luis Pino added an RBI single. Peoria only had four hits, but the Chiefs made them count.
On the mound, Ty Van Dyke allowed three runs over five innings, but kept the Chiefs close enough for the late rally. Dylan Driessen allowed one run over two innings, and Jawilme Ramírez was excellent over the final two innings, retiring the side without allowing a hit and striking out two.
Takeaway: Peoria did not need a hit parade. The Chiefs needed one big inning, and Gurevitch provided the swing. Peoria has won three straight and is right back to .500 in the second half.
Palm Beach Cardinals — Low-A
Overall Record: 51-47
Second Half: standings not included in supplied table
Streak: W2
Palm Beach 9, Fort Myers 3
Palm Beach took care of Fort Myers, 9-3, behind a strong start from Andrew Dutkanych IV and a balanced offensive attack.
Dutkanych earned Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day honors after throwing five innings, allowing three hits, no earned runs, walking two and striking out seven.
His final line:
5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
That is a strong outing, and it gave Palm Beach control of the game.
The offense kept adding on. Brayden Smith went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Miguel Hernández had another big night, going 3-for-4 with his first home run, an RBI, three runs scored and a walk.
Ryan Weingartner hit his 12th home run, drove in a run, scored twice, walked and stole his 33rd base. Trevor Haskins went 2-for-4 with an RBI, two runs scored and his 18th stolen base. Ryan Mitchell singled, walked twice and stole his 32nd base.
Palm Beach finished with 11 hits, drew seven walks and stole three bases.
The bullpen handled the rest. Nathan Shinn, Hunter Kublick, Justin Militello and Jesús García combined for four innings, allowing two runs, only one earned.
Takeaway: Dutkanych set the tone, and the offense kept pressure on Fort Myers all night. Palm Beach has now won two straight.
Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day
Joshua Báez, OF, Memphis Redbirds
Báez earns the honor after a big night at the plate in Memphis’ doubleheader split.
His final line:
3-for-4, HR, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R
The home run was his 32nd of the season, and he pushed his RBI total to 81. Power, extra-base damage and run production — that is exactly what Memphis needed in an 11-4 win.
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day
Andrew Dutkanych IV, RHP, Palm Beach Cardinals
Dutkanych gets the nod after giving Palm Beach five strong innings in a 9-3 win over Fort Myers.
His final line:
5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
He missed bats, limited damage and kept Fort Myers off the earned-run column.
The Final Word
Thursday’s report had plenty of good news from the farm system.
Memphis split a doubleheader, with Joshua Báez adding another loud game to his season.
Springfield won its seventh straight and continues to lead the Texas League North.
Peoria came from behind with a five-run seventh and won its third straight.
Palm Beach got five strong innings from Dutkanych and another balanced offensive night.
The future in St. Louis may be closer than you think.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Jack Gurevitch, Peoria Chiefs | MLB