Heriberto Caraballo Powers Palm Beach’s 18-Run Rout

Cardinal Chronicle
Heriberto Caraballo Powers Palm Beach’s 18-Run Rout
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Heriberto Caraballo did not have to carry the Palm Beach offense by himself Thursday night.

He just made sure he left his fingerprints all over the mess.

Caraballo earns Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day honors after helping spark Palm Beach’s 18-6 runaway win over St. Lucie, a game that went from competitive to completely out of hand once the Cardinals’ lineup started rolling.

Palm Beach trailed 3-2 entering the fifth inning before sending 14 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs. Caraballo was right in the middle of it. With the bases loaded, he hit an infield single that turned into trouble for St. Lucie when the throw got away down the right-field line, clearing the bases and giving Palm Beach a 6-3 lead. Facundo Velásquez followed later in the inning with a two-run double, and the Cardinals never looked back.

Then Caraballo added the exclamation point.

In the seventh inning, he launched a grand slam to left field, bringing home Yordalin Peña, Cameron Nickens and Trevor Haskins and stretching Palm Beach’s lead even further.

That is how you win a Player of the Day honor. You help break the game open, then you come back later and slam the door with authority.

Palm Beach finished with 18 runs on 16 hits, but Caraballo’s work stood out because it came at the key moments. He was part of the turning point in the fifth, then delivered the loudest swing of the night in the seventh.

Some nights, the box score gives you a debate.

This was not one of those nights.

Old School Take

Caraballo’s night was not just about one swing. The grand slam will get the attention, and it should, but the bigger story is that he was involved when the game turned. Good players do damage when the pitcher is already in trouble. Caraballo did that Thursday, and Palm Beach turned a close game into a bus ride home for St. Lucie before the Mets ever really knew what hit them.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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