Farm Report: Mathews Dominates, Peete is On Fire, Winners 3-of-4

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Farm Report: Mathews Dominates, Peete is On Fire, Winners 3-of-4
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Friday was a strong night across the Cardinals’ farm system, with three of the four full-season affiliates landing in the win column.

Memphis got a dominant start from Quinn Mathews and four home runs in a 7-2 win over Durham. Springfield shut out Northwest Arkansas behind a strong pitching effort and a five-RBI night from Jesús Báez. Peoria stayed hot behind a perfect night from Tai Peete, who homered twice in a 5-3 win over West Michigan.

Palm Beach had plenty of offense but came up one run short against Tampa.

The full-season affiliates finished 3-1 on the night.

Memphis Redbirds — Triple-A
Overall Record: 57-43
Second Half: 10-15
Streak: W2

Memphis 7, Durham 2

Memphis made it two straight wins with a 7-2 victory over Durham at AutoZone Park, and the story started on the mound with Quinn Mathews.

Mathews delivered one of his best outings of the season, throwing seven innings, allowing just three hits, no earned runs, walking three and striking out 10. He threw 93 pitches, 62 for strikes, and held Durham in check all night.

The Redbirds’ offense backed him with plenty of power.

Ramon Mendoza hit two home runs and drove in four runs, giving him eight homers and 40 RBIs on the season. Joshua Báez hit his 30th home run and drove in his 75th run, continuing one of the loudest power seasons in the Cardinals’ system. Leo Bernal also went deep, hitting his 13th home run while going 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.

César Prieto added two hits, while Noah Mendlinger doubled and Colton Ledbetter stole his 15th base.

Out of the bullpen, Andrew Schultz continued to make a strong impression, striking out all three batters he faced in a scoreless eighth. Austin Love finished the ninth, allowing one run.

Takeaway: Mathews was outstanding, the power showed up, and Memphis is starting to steady itself after a rough second-half stretch.

Springfield Cardinals — Double-A
Overall Record: 46-47
Second Half: 15-10
Streak: W2

Springfield 9, Northwest Arkansas 0

Springfield put together one of its cleanest wins of the week, shutting out Northwest Arkansas 9-0.

The Cardinals scored five runs in the third inning, added two more in the fourth, and never looked back.

Jesús Báez drove the offense, going 2-for-3 with a home run and five RBIs. The homer was his 10th of the season, and he pushed his RBI total to 25. Tre Richardson III also had a big night, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a stolen base.

Won-Bin Cho added two hits, Trey Paige had two hits, Miguel Ugueto doubled and drove in two, and Rainiel Rodriguez added an RBI.

The pitching staff was just as impressive.

Cooper Hjerpe started and threw 4.1 hitless innings, allowing one walk and striking out seven. He did not allow a hit and gave Springfield the tone-setting start it needed.

Hunter Hayes followed with 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out two. Darlin Saladin and D.J. Carpenter finished the shutout with scoreless innings of their own.

Springfield pitchers combined to allow only three hits and struck out 10.

Takeaway: This was a complete win. Hjerpe was sharp, the bullpen finished the shutout, and Jesús Báez delivered the big offensive blow.

Peoria Chiefs — High-A
Overall Record: 45-48
Second Half: 13-14
Streak: W4

Peoria 5, West Michigan 3

Peoria stayed hot with a 5-3 win over West Michigan, and Tai Peete was the headline.

Peete went 4-for-4 with two home runs, two RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base. That is a full night’s work and enough to earn Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day honors.

The two-homer game pushed Peete to nine home runs on the season and lifted his line to .300 with a .980 OPS.

Peoria’s power did not stop there. Sammy Hernandez hit his sixth home run of the season, while Cameron Nickens hit his third and drove in two runs. Jack Gurevitch reached twice with a hit and a walk, and also stole his seventh base. Josh Kross doubled.

On the mound, Ty Van Dyke gave Peoria five strong innings, allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out seven. Jack Martinez finished the final four innings, allowing two runs while striking out seven of his own.

Together, Van Dyke and Martinez struck out 14 West Michigan hitters.

Takeaway: Peoria has won four straight, and the bats continue to show real power. Peete was perfect, and the pitching staff missed bats all night.

Palm Beach Cardinals — Low-A
Overall Record: 48-45
Second Half: 15-12
Streak: L1

Tampa 6, Palm Beach 5

Palm Beach had the offense, but not enough pitching, in a 6-5 loss to Tampa.

The Cardinals finished with 10 hits, including two home runs, three doubles and a triple. Yairo Padilla went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored, raising his average to .359 with a 1.020 OPS.

Matthew Miura also had a big night, going 2-for-4 with a triple, a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Yordalin Peña stayed hot, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI, giving him 24 doubles and 54 RBIs on the season.

Johnfrank Salazar doubled, while Jonathan Mejía and J.P. Cabrera added hits.

The difference was the middle innings. Tampa scored three in the fifth, one in the sixth and two in the seventh. Andrew Dutkanych IV allowed three runs over 4.2 innings, Anthony Watts allowed one run in 1.1 innings, and Nelfy Ynfante gave up two runs over the final three innings.

Palm Beach battled back with two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh, but the Cardinals could not find the tying run late.

Takeaway: Padilla, Miura and Peña had strong nights, but the pitching staff issued seven walks, and Tampa made enough of those chances count.

Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day
Tai Peete, CF, Peoria Chiefs

Peete earns the honor after going 4-for-4 with two home runs, two RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base in Peoria’s 5-3 win over West Michigan.

That is about as complete as an offensive night gets. Perfect at the plate, power, speed and impact.

Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day
Quinn Mathews, LHP, Memphis Redbirds

Mathews gets the nod after throwing seven innings, allowing just three hits, no earned runs, walking three and striking out 10 in Memphis’ 7-2 win over Durham.

His final line was excellent:

7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 10 K

Mathews controlled the game and gave Memphis exactly what it needed.

The Final Word

Friday was a good farm report.

Memphis got power and a dominant start from Quinn Mathews. Springfield threw a shutout and got five RBIs from Jesús Báez. Peoria won its fourth straight behind a perfect night from Tai Peete. Palm Beach lost, but Yairo Padilla, Matthew Miura and Yordalin Peña all swung the bat well.

The Cardinals’ affiliates went 3-1, and the top performances were loud.

Mathews looked like the headline arm.

Peete looked like the headline bat.

And Peoria continues to build momentum.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

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Photo Credit: Quinn Mathews, Memphis Redbirds | MLB