Farm Report: Springfield Wins Fifth Straight, Peoria Takes Extras
THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Farm Report: Springfield Wins Fifth Straight, Peoria Takes Extras
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Tuesday’s farm report was split down the middle, with the Cardinals’ full-season affiliates finishing 2-2.
Springfield continued to be the best team story in the system, winning its fifth straight and remaining alone in first place in the Texas League North. Peoria won a 10-inning game at Cedar Rapids behind a strong offensive night from Jalin Flores and a quality start from Jacob Odle.
Memphis lost late in Jacksonville, while Palm Beach ran into a rough fifth inning in Fort Myers.
The top offensive performance belonged to Jalin Flores, while Braden Davis delivered the best pitching line of the night.
Memphis Redbirds — Triple-A
Overall Record: 58-45
Second Half: 11-17, 9th in the International League West, 7.0 GB
Streak: L1
Jacksonville 5, Memphis 3
Memphis battled back late but could not finish the job in a 5-3 loss to Jacksonville.
The Redbirds trailed 2-0 before Thomas Saggese homered in the sixth to get Memphis on the board. In the eighth, Memphis pushed across two more runs to take a 3-2 lead, but Jacksonville answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.
That was the difference.
Saggese reached base three times, going 1-for-3 with a home run, two walks, two runs scored and an RBI. César Prieto went 2-for-5, while Joshua Báez reached three times with two hits and a walk. Colton Ledbetter had two hits and drove in a run, and Ramon Mendoza doubled.
On the mound, Mason Molina allowed two runs over 3.2 innings, walking two and striking out four. The middle relief was strong, with Brycen Mautz, Cade Winquest and Ryan Fernandez combining for 3.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts.
The game got away from Austin Love, who allowed three runs, two earned, in the eighth.
Takeaway: Memphis had the comeback in place, but could not protect the late lead. The Redbirds are still trying to find second-half traction.
Springfield Cardinals — Double-A
Overall Record: 49-47
Second Half: 18-10, 1st in the Texas League North
Streak: W5
Springfield 5, Wichita 1
Springfield keeps rolling.
The Cardinals beat Wichita, 5-1, at Hammons Field, winning their fifth straight and holding their spot atop the Texas League North second-half standings.
The offense only had four hits, but two of them left the yard. Jesús Báez hit his 12th home run of the season and drove in two. Tre Richardson III added his fifth homer and also drove in two. Rainiel Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double, continuing to produce in the middle of the order.
Deniel Ortiz did not have a hit, but he walked three times and scored. Won-Bin Cho also walked and scored.
The story, though, was the pitching.
Braden Davis was wild but difficult to hit. He worked four hitless, scoreless innings, walking four and striking out seven. The command was not clean, but the swing-and-miss was loud.
The bullpen took it from there. Darlin Saladin threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Nolan Sparks added a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Jack Findlay struck out three in a scoreless eighth. Domenic Picone allowed a solo homer in the ninth, but Springfield’s staff still held Wichita to three hits and struck out 16.
Takeaway: Springfield is the hottest full-season affiliate in the system right now. Five straight wins, first place, and another dominant pitching night.
Peoria Chiefs — High-A
Overall Record: 46-50
Second Half: 14-16, 5th in the Midwest League West, 5.5 GB
Streak: W1
Peoria 8, Cedar Rapids 6 — 10 innings
Peoria needed extra innings, but the Chiefs found a way to beat Cedar Rapids, 8-6.
The Chiefs led 4-0 early, saw Cedar Rapids tie the game in the sixth, answered with two runs in the seventh, then had to regroup again after the Kernels tied it in the bottom half. Peoria finally pushed across two runs in the 10th and held on.
Jalin Flores earned Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day honors after going 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. His homer was his 13th of the season, and he now has 64 RBIs.
Ian Petrutz also came through with a big swing, hitting his third home run and driving in three. Tai Peete tripled and drove in two. Josh Kross had two extra-base hits, a double and a triple, and drove in a run. Anyelo Encarnación reached three times with two hits and a walk.
On the mound, Jacob Odle deserved a better final line from the game. He threw five scoreless innings, allowing three hits, walking three and striking out four. The bullpen had some turbulence, as Bobby Olsen allowed four runs and Dominic Freeberger allowed two, but Patrick Galle steadied things with a scoreless inning, and Gerardo Salas finished it with two scoreless frames.
Takeaway: Peoria made it harder than it needed to be after Odle’s strong start, but the Chiefs got the job done in extras. Flores and Petrutz supplied the power.
Palm Beach Cardinals — Low-A
Overall Record: 49-47
Second Half: 16-14, 2nd in the Florida State League East, 1.5 GB
Streak: L1
Fort Myers 9, Palm Beach 3
Palm Beach dropped a 9-3 game to Fort Myers, with one inning doing most of the damage.
The Cardinals trailed 2-1 before Fort Myers broke the game open with five runs in the fifth. Palm Beach later scored twice in the seventh, but the game had already gotten away.
Palm Beach managed only five hits. Yairo Padilla doubled and scored. Brayden Smith also doubled and scored. Sebastian Dos Santos, Jonathan Mejía and Trevor Haskins each added singles. Ryan Weingartner, Yordalin Peña and Haskins drove in runs.
The Cardinals also stole three bases, with Smith, Mejía and Alex Birge each swiping one.
On the mound, Ixan Henderson gave Palm Beach 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on just one hit while walking one and striking out six. The game turned when Nelfy Ynfante allowed five runs on five hits in two-thirds of an inning. Payton Graham finished with three innings, allowing two runs while striking out six.
Palm Beach pitchers struck out 14, but Fort Myers hit three home runs and did enough damage in the middle innings to take control.
Takeaway: Henderson and Graham both missed bats, but the five-run fifth inning was too much to overcome.
Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day
Jalin Flores, 2B, Peoria Chiefs
Flores earns the honor after going 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored in Peoria’s 8-6, 10-inning win over Cedar Rapids.
His final line:
2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Flores now has 13 home runs and 64 RBIs on the season, and his bat was a key part of Peoria’s extra-inning win.
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day
Braden Davis, LHP, Springfield Cardinals
Davis gets the nod after working four hitless, scoreless innings in Springfield’s 5-1 win over Wichita.
His final line: 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K
The four walks show there is still command work to do, but the stuff was difficult to square up. Davis did not allow a hit and struck out seven, helping Springfield set the tone in another win.
The Final Word
Tuesday belonged to Springfield and Peoria.
Springfield has become the story of the system, winning five straight and continuing to separate itself in the Texas League North. The pitching staff struck out 16 and allowed only three hits.
Peoria made things interesting, but still came away with a 10-inning win behind Jalin Flores, Ian Petrutz and a strong start from Jacob Odle.
Memphis let one slip away late, and Palm Beach could not recover from a five-run fifth.
The affiliates finished 2-2, but Springfield’s streak and Peoria’s extra-inning win gave the report plenty to work with.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Springfield Cardinals | PJ Maigi