Farm Report: Memphis Scores 18, Peoria Ties Home Run Record
The Cardinal Chronicle
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Farm Report: Memphis Scores 18, Peoria Ties Home Run Record, Springfield Falls Late, Palm Beach Hammered
The Cardinals’ minor league system produced plenty of offense Wednesday night, led by a thunderous performance from Triple-A Memphis and a record-tying power show from High-A Peoria.
Memphis routed Louisville 18-4 behind four home runs, 14 walks and a huge day from Bligh Madris, while Lars Nootbaar continued his rehab assignment with a leadoff homer and four RBIs. Joshua Báez stayed hot with his 17th home run of the season, and Blaze Jordan also went deep.
Peoria put on its own fireworks show, tying a franchise record with seven home runs in an 11-4 win over Beloit. José Suárez and Tre Richardson III each homered twice, while Won-Bin Cho, Josh Kross and Cade McGee also left the yard.
Springfield appeared headed for its seventh straight win behind another strong start from Mason Molina, but Frisco rallied late and walked it off in the ninth. Palm Beach had some offensive highlights from Ryan Weingartner, Michael Dattalo and Brayden Smith, but Tampa’s bats were too much in a 14-5 loss.
Memphis Redbirds
Record: 36-23, 1st Place, International League West
Result: Memphis 18, Louisville 4
The Redbirds turned Wednesday afternoon into batting practice at AutoZone Park, pounding Louisville 18-4 in one of their most complete offensive performances of the season.
Lars Nootbaar, continuing his rehab assignment, opened the bottom of the first with a leadoff home run and finished 2-for-5 with four RBIs, two runs scored and a walk. Joshua Báez kept his strong Triple-A season rolling, going 3-for-4 with a double, his 17th home run, three RBIs and four runs scored.
Bligh Madris was the offensive star of the day, reaching base six times and finishing 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run, four RBIs, three runs scored and three walks. Blaze Jordan added his 10th home run of the season, while Yohel Pozo, Ramon Mendoza, Noah Mendlinger and Brody Moore all drove in runs.
Memphis scored three in the first, added single runs in the third and fifth, then broke the game open with seven runs in the seventh and six more in the eighth. The Redbirds finished with 13 hits, four home runs and 14 walks.
Pete Hansen started and allowed two runs on five hits over four innings, striking out two. Jared Shuster picked up the win despite some traffic, while Matt Svanson turned in an encouraging relief appearance, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings with one hit allowed and one strikeout. Cade Winquest struck out three in one inning, and Luis Gastelum closed it with a scoreless ninth.
Springfield Cardinals
Record: 24-28, 3rd Place, 9.5 GB, Texas League North
Result: Frisco 8, Springfield 7
Springfield had its winning streak stopped in painful fashion, falling 8-7 to Frisco on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth.
Mason Molina gave the Cardinals exactly what they needed, working six strong innings and allowing just two runs on five hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out five, leaving with Springfield in position to win. It was another steady outing from the left-hander, who continues to give the club quality innings.
The Cardinals built a 5-2 lead, but the bullpen could not hold it. Frisco scored four runs in the seventh, added one in the eighth and won it in the ninth.
Miguel Villarroel had his best Double-A game, going 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored. Dakota Harris added two hits, a double, a triple, two RBIs and a stolen base. Zach Levenson doubled and drove in two, while Travis Honeyman added two hits and his 20th stolen base of the season.
Rainiel Rodriguez reached base three times with a single and two walks, and also stole his second base of the year.
Peoria Chiefs
Record: 26-27, 3rd Place, 8.0 GB, Midwest League West
Result: Peoria 11, Beloit 4
The Chiefs put on a power display at Dozer Park, blasting seven home runs to tie the franchise single-game record in an 11-4 win over Beloit.
José Suárez led the way, going 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs. Tre Richardson III also homered twice, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Won-Bin Cho continued his strong stretch, going 3-for-4 with a home run, an RBI, two runs scored, a walk and his 19th stolen base.
Josh Kross added his seventh home run of the season, and Cade McGee went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs, a walk and a stolen base. Jalin Flores doubled and scored twice, while Jack Gurevitch reached base twice and stole two bags.
Peoria trailed 3-0 after the top of the first, but Suárez answered immediately with a two-run homer. He struck again in the third with another two-run shot to give the Chiefs the lead. Richardson homered in the fourth and sixth, and Peoria kept adding on from there.
Ty Van Dyke started and struck out a professional career-high seven over 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on three hits and four walks. Nate Dohm was excellent in relief, throwing four scoreless innings with three hits allowed, one walk and two strikeouts to earn the win.
Palm Beach Cardinals
Record: 29-24, 2nd Place, 1.0 GB, Florida State League East
Result: Tampa 14, Palm Beach 5
Palm Beach could not slow down Tampa’s offense Wednesday night, falling 14-5 at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The Tarpons jumped ahead with three runs in the first and kept answering every Palm Beach push. Tampa finished with 17 hits and broke the game open with six runs in the seventh.
Ryan Weingartner was the top offensive performer for Palm Beach, going 3-for-4 with his fifth home run of the season, two RBIs and two runs scored. Michael Dattalo doubled, walked and drove in a run, continuing to produce since joining the club. Brayden Smith added two hits, including a double, scored twice and stole three bases, giving him 14 steals on the season.
Jonathan Mejía drove in two runs, while Ryan Mitchell walked, scored and stole his 13th base.
On the mound, Jake Shelagowski started and allowed four runs over three innings, striking out four. The bullpen struggled from there, as Tampa scored 10 runs across the final five innings.
Player of the Day
Bligh Madris, Memphis Redbirds
Bligh Madris gets the nod after a monster day in Memphis’ 18-4 win over Louisville.
Madris went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run, four RBIs, three runs scored and three walks. That is about as complete a day at the plate as a hitter can have. He reached base every time he came up, drove the baseball with authority and helped turn a close game into a runaway.
Pitcher of the Day
Mason Molina, Springfield Cardinals
Mason Molina earns Pitcher of the Day honors after giving Springfield six strong innings in a tough walk-off loss at Frisco.
Molina allowed two runs on five hits, walked none and struck out five. He left with the Cardinals in position to win, and while the bullpen could not finish it, Molina’s outing was the kind of steady, professional performance that keeps standing out.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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Photo Credit: Peoria Chiefs Fireworks | Peoria Journal Star