Farm Report: 4-1, Multiple Rallies & Two Walk Offs by Springfield
The Cardinal Chronicle
Daily Farm Report
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Farm Report: 4-1, Multiple Rallies & Two Walk Offs by Springfield
The Cardinals’ farm system finished the month of May with a strong Sunday, going 4-1 across completed games. Memphis rallied late to move into a first-place tie in the International League, Springfield walked off Wichita twice, Palm Beach exploded for an eighth-inning comeback, and Peoria dropped its series finale in Wisconsin.
Memphis Redbirds
Record: 35-22, Tied for 1st Place, International League
Result: Memphis 6, Omaha 5
Memphis closed its six-game series and 12-game road trip with a 6-5 win over Omaha, taking five of six from the Storm Chasers and moving back into a first-place tie with Nashville atop the International League standings.
César Prieto delivered the biggest swing of the night, launching a go-ahead solo home run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. It was Prieto’s second homer in as many games since being optioned back to Memphis by St. Louis. That is how a player answers the bell.
The Redbirds also received three-hit games from Bligh Madris, Ramon Mendoza and Colton Ledbetter. Madris scored three runs, Mendoza drove in two, and Ledbetter added an RBI. Brody Moore tied the game with his second RBI of the night in the eighth inning, setting the stage for Prieto’s ninth-inning blast.
On the mound, Memphis used a bullpen game. Matt Svanson was excellent, throwing two perfect innings with four strikeouts, while Luis Gastelum closed it with two scoreless frames to earn his team-leading sixth win of the season.
Springfield Cardinals
Record: 23-27, 3rd Place, 8.5 GB, Texas League North
Results: Springfield 6, Wichita 5; Springfield 6, Wichita 5
Springfield had itself a Sunday to remember, walking off Wichita twice at Hammons Field. The Cardinals first completed Saturday’s suspended game with a walk-off win in the bottom of the eighth, then followed it with another walk-off in the nightcap when Miguel Ugueto launched a dramatic three-run homer.
In the resumed opener, Jurrangelo Cijntje had started the game before Saturday’s suspension and struck out six over five innings, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks. Noah Mendlinger and Ryan Campos both delivered RBI doubles before the game was halted, and Jon Jon Gazdar scored on a throwing error after play resumed Sunday.
The nightcap belonged to Braden Davis and then, late, to Ugueto. Davis struck out nine over 5.1 scoreless innings, giving Springfield a dominant start and continuing an impressive two-start stretch in which he has struck out 19 batters.
Springfield trailed 5-1 in the bottom of the ninth before mounting a five-run rally on five hits. Ugueto finished it with his fourth home run of the season, a three-run shot over the Route 66 Stadium manual scoreboard. That is about as loud as a walk-off gets.
Peoria Chiefs
Record: 24-27, 5th Place, 8.0 GB, Midwest League West
Result: Wisconsin 5, Peoria 3
Peoria could not finish off the series with another win, falling 5-3 to Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon. The Chiefs went just 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 runners, which tells most of the story right there.
Cameron Nickens gave Peoria an early lead with a two-run double in the second inning, but Wisconsin answered quickly with a two-run homer from Luis Castillo. Blake Aita settled in after that and worked out of a major jam in the fourth, retiring three straight batters with runners on second and third and nobody out.
The Chiefs jumped back ahead in the fifth when Tre Richardson III reached on an error and used heads-up baserunning to move around the bases. Jesús Báez cashed him in with an RBI double to give Peoria a 3-2 lead.
The game turned in the sixth. Peoria loaded the bases in the top half but came away empty. Wisconsin answered in the bottom half, tying the game on a bases-loaded walk and taking the lead on a fielder’s choice. Andrew Fischer added insurance with his league-leading 15th home run in the seventh.
Palm Beach Cardinals
Record: 29-22, 1st Place, Florida State League East
Result: Palm Beach 10, Lakeland 6
Palm Beach closed out May with a wild 10-6 comeback win over Lakeland, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and hitting four home runs in the frame. With the win, and Jupiter’s loss, Palm Beach moved into first place in the Florida State League East Division.
Lakeland built a 3-0 lead through three innings, but Palm Beach began to chip away in the seventh. Trevor Haskins singled, Chase Heath scored on a wild pitch, and Brayden Smith followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Flying Tigers pushed the lead to 6-2 in the eighth, but Palm Beach answered with one of the biggest innings of the season. Jonathan Mejia started the fireworks with his eighth home run of the year. After two walks and a single, Facundo Velásquez unloaded a grand slam to put Palm Beach in front 7-6.
The Cardinals were not finished. Ryan Mitchell followed with a two-run homer, and Michael Dattalo added a solo shot. It marked the first time in Palm Beach franchise history that the Cardinals hit four home runs in one inning, and the eight-run frame matched a season high for runs in an inning.
Nelfy Ynfante gave Palm Beach three shutout innings out of the bullpen, and Justin Militello handled the ninth to finish off the win.
Player of the Day
Miguel Ugueto, Springfield Cardinals
Miguel Ugueto is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Player of the Day after launching a three-run walk-off home run to cap Springfield’s second walk-off win of the day.
Palm Beach had a strong argument with Facundo Velásquez, whose grand slam flipped the game in an eight-run eighth inning. César Prieto also delivered a ninth-inning go-ahead homer for Memphis.
But Ugueto’s swing ended the day in Springfield in dramatic fashion. Down 5-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Springfield mounted a five-run rally, and Ugueto finished it with his fourth home run of the season. Two walk-offs in one day is rare enough. Ending the second one with a three-run homer over the manual scoreboard gets the headline.
Pitcher of the Day
Braden Davis, Springfield Cardinals
Braden Davis earns The Cardinal Chronicle’s Pitcher of the Day honors after striking out nine batters over 5.1 scoreless innings in Springfield’s nightcap win over Wichita.
That is the best pitching line of the day in the system.
Davis gave Springfield exactly what it needed, keeping Wichita off the board and giving the Cardinals a chance to stay close before the late comeback. He has now struck out 19 batters across his last two starts, which is the kind of trend worth watching.
Matt Svanson deserves strong mention after throwing two perfect innings with four strikeouts for Memphis, and Nelfy Ynfante gave Palm Beach three shutout innings in relief. But Davis’ 5.1 scoreless with nine strikeouts stands above the rest.
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Photo Credit: Miguel Ugueto, Springfield Cardinals | Springfield Daily Citizen