Farm Report: Balls Flying out of the Parks on Sunday
THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Farm Report: Balls Flying out of the Parks on Sunday St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Sunday’s farm report belonged to Springfield and Peoria.
Springfield hammered four home runs in a 9-2 win over Wichita, with Tre Richardson III, Rainiel Rodriguez, Won-Bin Cho and Jesús Báez all going deep. Peoria kept rolling with a 3-2 win over Cedar Rapids, extending its winning streak to six games.
Memphis had a rough day in Jacksonville, and Palm Beach had one of those games you file away and never speak of again.
The full-season affiliates finished 2-2.
Memphis Redbirds — Triple-A
Overall Record: 60-48
Second Half: 13-20, 9th in the International League West, 8.0 GB
Streak: L1
Jacksonville 10, Memphis 1
This one got away from Memphis early.
Jacksonville scored one in the first, four in the second, two in the fourth and three more in the fifth, building a 10-0 lead before the Redbirds finally got on the board in the sixth.
Memphis managed only three hits on the night.
Joshua Báez doubled for his 21st two-bagger of the season. Leo Bernal singled, walked and drove in the Redbirds’ lone run, giving him 65 RBIs on the year. Chase Davis added the other Memphis hit.
On the mound, it was a tough day from the start. Mason Molina allowed five runs on six hits and two walks over 1.2 innings. Jared Shuster followed with 2.1 innings, allowing two runs, and Brycen Mautz was charged with three runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Takeaway: Memphis never found footing. The offense was quiet, and the pitching staff could not slow Jacksonville early.
Springfield Cardinals — Double-A
Overall Record: 53-48
Second Half: 22-11, 1st in the Texas League North
Streak: W2
Springfield 9, Wichita 2
Springfield bounced all over Wichita with a four-homer night and another strong team pitching performance.
The Cardinals scored one in the first, two in the third, two in the fourth, one in the sixth and three more in the seventh. The offense was loud, balanced and powered by some of the biggest names in the lineup.
Tre Richardson III earned Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day honors after going 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, two RBIs, two runs scored, a walk and a stolen base.
His final line: 2-for-3, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SB
Rainiel Rodriguez also had a big night, going 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. The homer was his 12th of the season.
Jesús Báez reached base four times, going 2-for-2 with a home run, two walks, three runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base. His homer was his 14th. Won-Bin Cho added his 11th homer, walked twice, drove in two and scored twice.
That is a lot of damage from the top half of the Springfield order.
On the mound, Braden Davis earned Pitcher of the Day honors despite not working deep into the game. Davis struck out seven over 3.2 innings, allowing three hits, two earned runs and two walks. Both runs came on solo home runs, but the swing-and-miss was there.
The bullpen was excellent. Tyler Bradt, Hunter Hayes, José Davila, D.J. Carpenter and Michael Watson combined for 5.1 scoreless innings without allowing a hit.
Takeaway: Springfield’s offense flexed, the bullpen slammed the door, and the Cardinals stretched their lead in the Texas League North.
Peoria Chiefs — High-A
Overall Record: 51-50
Second Half: 19-16, 3rd in the Midwest League West, 3.5 GB
Streak: W6
Peoria 3, Cedar Rapids 2
Peoria did not have much offense Sunday, but the Chiefs had just enough.
Despite being outhit 11-3, Peoria beat Cedar Rapids 3-2 and extended its winning streak to six games.
The Chiefs scored all three runs in the fourth inning. Anyelo Encarnación, Chase Heath and Cameron Nickens each drove in a run. Tai Peete stayed hot with one of Peoria’s three hits and drew a walk, raising his average to .300 with a .981 OPS.
This was a pitching-and-survive kind of win.
Nate Dohm started and allowed one run over three innings, striking out three. Patrick Galle followed with two scoreless innings, Trey Pooser added two more scoreless frames, and the Chiefs held on late after Cedar Rapids scored once in the eighth.
Rubén Menes handled the ninth, allowing two hits but keeping the tying run off the board.
Takeaway: It was not pretty, but it counts. Peoria won with only three hits and kept its second-half push alive with a sixth straight victory.
Palm Beach Cardinals — Low-A
Overall Record: 52-49
Second Half: 19-16, 2nd in the Florida State League East, 3.5 GB
Streak: L2
Fort Myers 20, Palm Beach 3
Palm Beach had a rough one.
The Cardinals scored three runs in the second inning, but Fort Myers answered with 10 in the bottom half and never looked back in a 20-3 loss.
Palm Beach committed five errors, and the pitching staff allowed 18 hits and nine walks. That combination will ruin a Sunday in a hurry.
The offensive highlight came from Trevor Haskins, who hit his 10th home run of the season and drove in all three Palm Beach runs. Brayden Smith, Miguel Hernández and Jonathan Mejía added the other hits.
On the mound, Keiverson Ramírez allowed seven runs, six earned, over 1.2 innings. Nathan Shinn gave up five runs, though all were unearned, and Justin Militello was charged with five runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Antoni Cuello did provide a clean finish, striking out three in a scoreless eighth.
Takeaway: Not much to dress up here. Haskins homered, but Palm Beach was buried by walks, errors and one very long second inning.
Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day
Tre Richardson III, LF, Springfield Cardinals
Richardson earns the honor after helping power Springfield’s 9-2 win over Wichita.
His final line: 2-for-3, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SB
That is a complete offensive night. Power, extra bases, run production, a walk and a stolen base.
Springfield had several strong candidates, but Richardson did a little bit of everything.
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day
Braden Davis, LHP, Springfield Cardinals
Davis gets the nod after striking out seven over 3.2 innings for Springfield.
His final line: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
The two solo homers kept the line from being spotless, but the strikeout stuff was loud. Davis missed bats, kept Springfield in front, and the bullpen finished the job from there.
The Final Word
Sunday was another good day for Springfield and Peoria.
Springfield remains in first place and continues to show real thump in the middle of the lineup. Rainiel Rodriguez, Jesús Báez, Won-Bin Cho and Tre Richardson III all homered, and the bullpen did not allow a hit over the final 5.1 innings.
Peoria has quietly turned into one of the hotter teams in the system. Six straight wins, a winning second-half record, and suddenly the Chiefs are back in the race.
Memphis and Palm Beach had days to forget.
But Springfield and Peoria carried the report.
Four home runs in Springfield.
Six straight wins for Peoria.
And a pretty big Sunday from Tre Richardson III.
Photo Credit: Jesús Báez, Springfield Cardinals | MiLB