Farm Report: Lin Throws Six Hitless, Memphis Cuts Magic Number to Two
The Cardinal Chronicle
Daily Farm Report
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Farm Report: Lin Throws Six Hitless, Memphis Cuts Magic Number to Two
The Cardinals’ full-season minor league affiliates went 2-1 on Friday night, with Palm Beach suspended at Jupiter.
Memphis beat Nashville 4-1 at AutoZone Park, cutting its magic number to two in the International League first-half race. Springfield got six hitless innings from Chen-Wei Lin and an 18-hit attack in a 10-4 win at Wichita. Peoria lost 7-3 to Dayton, extending its losing streak to six games. Palm Beach did not finish its game against Jupiter and will resume Saturday.
The headline belongs to pitching.
Chen-Wei Lin gave Springfield six hitless innings.
Brycen Mautz gave Memphis 5.2 innings of one-run baseball.
Luis Gastelum, Ryan Fernandez and Scott Blewett finished the Redbirds’ win.
It was a good night for arms at the top of the system.
Memphis Redbirds
Record: 46-27, International League West
Standings: 1st place, International League West
Result: Memphis 4, Nashville 1
Memphis did exactly what a first-place club is supposed to do Friday night.
The Redbirds beat Nashville 4-1 at AutoZone Park, stayed alone in first place, eliminated the Sounds from first-half contention and cut their magic number to two with two games left in the first half.
That is taking care of business.
Bligh Madris gave Memphis its first lead in the opening inning. César Prieto reached, and Madris brought him home with a two-out RBI single to put the Redbirds ahead 1-0.
Nashville tied the game, but Madris came through again in the sixth. With the game tied 1-1 and the bases loaded, Madris delivered another run-scoring hit to put Memphis back in front.
That was the swing that changed the game.
Leo Bernal gave the Redbirds breathing room in the eighth, driving a two-run home run to right-center field and into the Memphis bullpen. That gave the Redbirds a 4-1 lead and let the pitching staff finish the night with room to work.
Brycen Mautz started for Memphis and gave the Redbirds 5.2 innings of one-run baseball. The left-hander allowed three hits, walked five and struck out three. The walks made him work, but he limited the damage and kept Nashville from getting the big inning.
That has been the key with Mautz.
Even when it is not perfectly clean, he keeps the game in front of him.
Luis Gastelum picked up the win with 1.1 perfect innings, striking out three. Ryan Fernandez, making his first MLB rehab appearance, worked a perfect eighth on just 10 pitches. Scott Blewett handled the ninth and earned his fifth save, getting a double play to end it.
That is a clean finish.
Memphis is now 35-1 when leading after eight innings. That matters this late in a first-half race. The Redbirds have two games left and control what is in front of them.
One more win and a Rochester loss would clinch home-field advantage in the International League Championship Series.
Memphis is not there yet.
But the Redbirds are close.
Springfield Cardinals
Record: 29-37, Texas League North
Standings: 4th place, Texas League North
Result: Springfield 10, Wichita 4
Chen-Wei Lin gave Springfield its best pitching line of the night.
The offense gave him plenty of help.
Lin threw six hitless innings Friday night at Equity Bank Park, and Springfield backed him with 18 hits in a 10-4 win over the Wichita Wind Surge.
That is how you control a game.
Lin struck out six, walked three and worked the longest start of his season. He picked up his second win and gave the Cardinals exactly what they needed after a week that had featured plenty of high-scoring, high-stress baseball.
No hits over six innings will calm things down in a hurry.
Springfield’s offense made sure Lin’s work did not go to waste.
Dakota Harris led the attack, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs. That is the kind of run-production night that stands out even in an 18-hit game.
Jon Jon Gazdar went 4-for-6 out of the leadoff spot, setting the table all night. Ryan Campos extended his hitting streak to 10 games, going 2-for-5 while driving in his team-leading 40th run of the season.
That is a full offense doing its job.
Springfield has had several nights recently where the bats showed up but the pitching could not hold the line. Friday was different. Lin set the tone, the offense stacked hits, and the Cardinals had enough separation to avoid another late-game mess.
This was one of Springfield’s cleaner wins of the week.
Lin gave them the headline.
The lineup gave him the cushion.
That is a good formula.
Peoria Chiefs
Record: 32-35, Midwest League West
Standings: 3rd place, Midwest League West
Result: Dayton 7, Peoria 3
Peoria’s rough stretch continued Friday night.
The Chiefs lost 7-3 to Dayton at Dozer Park, extending their losing streak to a season-high six games and dropping the first game of the second half of the High-A season.
Dayton used the long ball to set the tone.
Kien Vu hit a two-run homer in the first inning, giving the Dragons a 2-0 lead before Peoria had a chance to settle in. Cade McGee answered in the bottom half with an opposite-field home run to right, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
But Dayton kept adding on.
Alfredo Alcantara hit a solo home run in the second, and Jacob Friend added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to make it 4-1.
Peoria tried to fight back. In the fourth, Jalin Flores led off with a triple, and Won-Bin Cho doubled him home to cut the deficit to 4-2. Later, in the seventh, the Chiefs loaded the bases with nobody out and had a chance to make it a different game.
They got one run on a Cho walk that scored Christian Martin.
Then the inning stalled.
Anyelo Encarnación flied out to end the threat, leaving the bases loaded and Peoria still behind 5-3.
That was the inning the Chiefs needed.
They did not get enough out of it.
Leonel Sequera started for Peoria and gave the Chiefs five innings. He allowed four runs on six hits, walked two and struck out six. The strikeouts were there, but Dayton’s early power put Peoria in chase mode.
The Dragons added insurance runs in the eighth and ninth, and Peoria could not answer.
The Chiefs left 10 men on base and went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. That is the story of the game.
There were chances.
There were not enough finishes.
Palm Beach Cardinals
Record: 33-33, Florida State League East
Standings: 2nd place, Florida State League East
Result: Suspended at Jupiter
Palm Beach did not complete its Friday night game against Jupiter.
The Cardinals’ game against the Hammerheads was suspended and is scheduled to be made up Saturday as part of the weekend schedule at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
For the Cardinals, it pauses a series that has already had plenty of action. Palm Beach won the first two games of the set before losing a 9-8 back-and-forth game on Thursday night.
The Cardinals will get back to it Saturday.
Player of the Day
Dakota Harris, Springfield Cardinals
Dakota Harris is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Player of the Day after going 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs in Springfield’s 10-4 win over Wichita.
There were several strong offensive notes across the system.
Bligh Madris drove in the two biggest early runs for Memphis. Leo Bernal hit a two-run homer to give the Redbirds breathing room. Jon Jon Gazdar went 4-for-6 at the top of the Springfield lineup. Ryan Campos extended his hitting streak to 10 games and drove in his team-leading 40th run.
But Harris had the best overall offensive line.
Four hits.
Two doubles.
Four RBIs.
That is run production, and it came in a win.
Springfield had 18 hits as a team, but Harris was the biggest bat in the middle of it.
That earns the honor.
Pitcher of the Day
Chen-Wei Lin, Springfield Cardinals
Chen-Wei Lin is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Pitcher of the Day after throwing six hitless innings in Springfield’s 10-4 win over Wichita.
Lin struck out six, walked three and worked his longest start of the season. He picked up his second win and gave Springfield a dominant start on the road.
That is the kind of outing that stands above the rest.
Brycen Mautz deserves strong mention after throwing 5.2 innings of one-run baseball for Memphis. Luis Gastelum also deserves mention after throwing 1.1 perfect innings with three strikeouts, and Ryan Fernandez worked a perfect eighth in his first MLB rehab appearance.
But six hitless innings is the line that wins the day.
Lin had the best pitching performance in the system Friday night.
Old School Take
This was a pitching night.
Chen-Wei Lin gave Springfield six hitless innings.
Brycen Mautz kept Memphis in control.
Luis Gastelum was sharp.
Ryan Fernandez looked clean in his rehab inning.
Scott Blewett closed the door.
Memphis moved one step closer to the first-half finish line. Springfield got one of its cleaner wins of the week. Peoria kept leaving chances on the table. Palm Beach will have to wait until Saturday.
The scoreboard says 2-1 with one suspended.
The development notebook says the arms carried the night.
That is the Farm Report.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Chen-Wei Lin, Springfield Cardinals | MiLB