Farm Report: Holiday Strikes Out 12, Gorman Powers Memphis

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Farm Report: Holiday Strikes Out 12, Gorman Powers Memphis
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Wednesday’s farm report had one of the best pitching performances of the season, but not the kind of team results you want around it.

Brian Holiday was outstanding for Palm Beach, striking out 12 over 5.2 scoreless innings, but the Cardinals still lost a 2-1 game to Jupiter despite allowing no earned runs. Memphis was the only affiliate to land in the win column, beating Nashville 5-4 after giving up three runs in the ninth. Springfield lost at San Antonio, and Peoria dropped its second straight to Quad Cities.

The full-season affiliates finished 1-3.

Memphis Redbirds — Triple-A
Overall Record: 62-48
Second Half: 15-20, 8th in the International League West, 7.0 GB
Streak: W2

Memphis 5, Nashville 4

Memphis let a late lead get away, then answered in the bottom of the ninth to beat Nashville, 5-4, at AutoZone Park.

The Redbirds were scoreless through five innings before Nolan Gorman changed the game with one swing. Gorman hit his 10th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the sixth, helping Memphis put three runs on the board and take control.

Gorman earned Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day honors after going 1-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored.

Joshua Báez stayed hot, going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored. The double was his 22nd of the season. Brody Moore added two hits, including his 11th double, and scored the winning run. Noah Mendlinger went 2-for-3 and drove in a run, while Leo Bernal, Thomas Saggese and Chase Davis also added hits.

On the mound, Cooper Hjerpe gave Memphis four scoreless innings, allowing two hits, walking four and striking out four. Victor Santos allowed one run over two innings, and Brycen Mautz worked a clean seventh.

The ninth got messy when Matt Svanson was charged with three runs, but Hancel Rincón finished the game and Memphis found a way to win it in the bottom half.

Takeaway: Memphis made it interesting, but the Redbirds won their second straight. Gorman supplied the big swing, and Báez continues to add extra-base production.

Springfield Cardinals — Double-A
Overall Record: 54-49
Second Half: 23-12, 1st in the Texas League North, 4.0 games ahead
Streak: L1

San Antonio 5, Springfield 3

Springfield’s winning streak came to an end in a 5-3 loss at San Antonio.

The Cardinals scored twice in the second and once in the eighth, but San Antonio answered with two in the first, two in the fifth and one more in the eighth.

Rainiel Rodriguez hit his 13th home run of the season and drove in his 37th run. Josiah Ragsdale also went deep, hitting his first Springfield home run and finishing 2-for-4. That is a nice early sign from one of the newest bats in the system.

Won-Bin Cho reached base all four times, going 1-for-1 with a double and three walks, raising his OPS to 1.030. Jesús Báez added a hit, and Deniel Ortiz also singled and scored.

On the mound, Yhoiker Fajardo missed bats but could not fully limit the damage. He struck out eight over 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and one walk.

Sandro Santana was excellent in relief, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Michael Watson worked a scoreless seventh, while Randel Clemente allowed a run in the eighth.

Takeaway: Springfield lost, but there were still good signs. Ragsdale hit his first Double-A homer, Cho reached base four times, and Santana continued to look sharp out of the bullpen.

Peoria Chiefs — High-A
Overall Record: 51-52
Second Half: 19-18, 5th in the Midwest League West, 3.5 GB
Streak: L2

Quad Cities 7, Peoria 2

Peoria’s offense stayed quiet in a 7-2 loss to Quad Cities.

The Chiefs scored once in the first and once in the seventh, but they managed only four hits and struck out 11 times. After winning six straight, Peoria has now dropped two in a row.

Michael Dattalo drove in Peoria’s only credited RBI. Yordalin Peña doubled, his second since joining Peoria. José Suárez and Ian Petrutz also singled, while Sammy Hernandez walked and scored.

On the mound, Ty Van Dyke allowed three runs over 4.2 innings, giving up seven hits, two walks and two home runs while striking out four. Dylan Driessen was charged with four runs, three earned, in 1.1 innings.

The bullpen settled things down late. Gerardo Salas struck out four over two hitless, scoreless innings, and Patrick Galle added a clean ninth with one strikeout.

Takeaway: Peoria’s offense has cooled after the winning streak. The late bullpen work was good, but the Chiefs could not overcome the early damage.

Palm Beach Cardinals — Low-A
Overall Record: 52-51
Second Half: standings not included in supplied table
Streak: L4

Jupiter 2, Palm Beach 1

This one hurts.

Palm Beach got a dominant start from Brian Holiday, struck out 19 Jupiter hitters as a staff, allowed no earned runs, and still lost 2-1.

Holiday was outstanding and earned Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day honors after working 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, walking none and striking out 12.

His final line: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K

That is a gem.

Yadiel Batista followed with two innings, allowing one unearned run while striking out four. Justin Militello allowed another unearned run in the ninth, and Jupiter finished with two runs despite Palm Beach pitching allowing only five hits and one walk.

The offense had chances, finishing with nine hits, but scored only once. Trevor Haskins went 2-for-3 with a double, his 20th of the season. Jonathan Mejía had two hits. Alexander Frias went 1-for-4 and stole his first base with Palm Beach. Ryan Mitchell, Miguel Hernández, Yairo Padilla and Cristofer Lebrón also added hits.

Lebrón drove in Palm Beach’s only run in the ninth.

Takeaway: Holiday deserved a win. Palm Beach pitching struck out 19 and did not allow an earned run, but two errors and missed offensive chances were enough to turn a dominant pitching night into a loss.

Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day
Nolan Gorman, DH, Memphis Redbirds

Gorman earns the honor after delivering the big swing in Memphis’ 5-4 win over Nashville.

His final line:

1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R

The homer was his 10th of the season and helped Memphis turn a scoreless game into a late lead.

Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day
Brian Holiday, RHP, Palm Beach Cardinals

Holiday was the easy call on the mound.

His final line: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 12 K

Twelve strikeouts. No walks. No earned runs.

That is one of the best pitching lines we have seen in the system this season, even if Palm Beach could not finish the night with a win.

The Final Word
Wednesday was not pretty in the standings, but Brian Holiday’s start deserves a spotlight of its own.

Palm Beach lost, but Holiday struck out 12 and walked nobody. The Cardinals’ staff struck out 19 and did not allow an earned run. That is almost impossible to lose, but Palm Beach found a way.

Memphis saved the night with a late win. Gorman homered. Báez doubled again. Hjerpe gave them four scoreless innings. Springfield got home runs from Rainiel Rodriguez and Josiah Ragsdale, and Sandro Santana looked strong in relief.

Peoria cooled off after its six-game winning streak.

One win. Three losses.

But Holiday’s line was loud enough to carry the report.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Brian Holiday, Springfield Cardinals | MLB