Levenson's Three Homers, Memphis Power Show, Springfield on Fire
THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Farm Report: Levenson's Three Homers, Memphis Power Show, Springfield on Fire
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Sunday brought plenty of offense across the Cardinals’ farm system, and the loudest swing belonged to Zach Levenson.
Actually, make that three swings.
Levenson blasted three home runs and drove in six as Springfield beat Northwest Arkansas, 9-3, and kept its hold on first place in the Texas League North. Memphis also brought the thunder, hitting five home runs in a 12-4 win over Durham. Palm Beach rallied past Tampa, while Peoria’s pitching staff had a rough afternoon in a 13-6 loss to West Michigan.
The full-season affiliates finished 3-1 on the day.
Memphis Redbirds — Triple-A
Overall Record: 58-44
Second Half: 11-16, tied for eighth in the International League West, 6.0 GB
Streak: W1
Memphis 12, Durham 4
Memphis put this one away early, scoring seven runs in the second inning and rolling to a 12-4 win over Durham at AutoZone Park.
The Redbirds hit five home runs and finished with 14 hits.
Joshua Báez continued his power surge, going 2-for-4 with a double, his 31st home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. He now has 77 RBIs on the season.
Thomas Saggese also went deep, finishing 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs, a run scored and a walk. Victor Scott II had one of his better games at Memphis, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Nolan Gorman added his fifth homer and drove in two, while César Prieto homered, reached three times and scored three runs.
On the mound, Pete Hansen worked four innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts. The best relief work came from Hancel Rincón, who struck out five over two perfect innings. Jared Shuster allowed two runs over two innings, and Victor Santos finished with a scoreless ninth.
Takeaway: Memphis had been searching for consistency in the second half, and this was the kind of offensive day that can settle a lineup. Five home runs and 12 runs will play.
Springfield Cardinals — Double-A
Overall Record: 48-47
Second Half: 17-10, 1st in the Texas League North
Streak: W4
Springfield 9, Northwest Arkansas 3
Springfield won its fourth straight and stayed alone in first place with a 9-3 win over Northwest Arkansas.
The headline was Zach Levenson, and there is no need to dress it up.
He went 3-for-3 with three home runs, six RBIs, four runs scored and a walk.
That is not just Player of the Day material. That is one of the loudest offensive games in the Cardinals’ system this season.
Levenson hit his seventh, eighth and ninth home runs of the season, driving Springfield’s offense almost by himself. Trey Paige added two hits, a double and an RBI. Jon Jon Gazdar had two hits, including a double, and drove in a run. Rainiel Rodriguez doubled twice, while Won-Bin Cho and Deniel Ortiz each added hits.
On the mound, Chen-Wei Lin earned Pitcher of the Day honors after working four innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs while walking one and striking out six. He gave up two solo home runs, but the strikeout-to-walk line was strong and he kept Springfield in position to take control.
The bullpen handled the rest. Michael Watson, Randel Clemente, Tyler Bradt and José Davila combined for four scoreless innings before Domenic Picone allowed a run in the ninth.
Takeaway: Springfield is rolling. The Cardinals have won four straight, sit alone in first place, and Levenson delivered a monster performance.
Peoria Chiefs — High-A
Overall Record: 45-50
Second Half: 13-16, fifth in the Midwest League West, 6.5 GB
Streak: L2
West Michigan 13, Peoria 6
Peoria had enough offense to make noise, but the pitching staff could not keep West Michigan under control in a 13-6 loss.
The Chiefs led 2-0 after four innings, but West Michigan scored three in the fifth, one in the sixth, one in the seventh and then broke it open with an eight-run eighth inning.
Jack Gurevitch stayed hot, going 2-for-5 with a double, his 14th home run, two runs scored and an RBI. Jalin Flores also had a strong game, going 3-for-5 with his 12th home run and three RBIs. Cade McGee added his 12th home run and scored twice.
Peoria’s offense hit three home runs, but West Michigan answered with 16 hits and three home runs of its own.
On the mound, Leonel Sequera allowed two runs over 4.1 innings with three strikeouts. Nate Dohm struck out three over two innings but allowed two runs. The game got away from Dylan Driessen, who was charged with eight runs in the eighth inning.
Christian Worley finished with 1.1 scoreless innings and two strikeouts.
Takeaway: The bats were there, especially from Gurevitch, Flores and McGee, but the eight-run eighth turned a competitive game into a rough finish.
Palm Beach Cardinals — Low-A
Overall Record: 49-46
Second Half: standings not included in supplied table
Streak: W1
Palm Beach 5, Tampa 3
Palm Beach fell behind early but rallied for a 5-3 win over Tampa at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
The Cardinals trailed 3-1 after the second inning, then slowly worked their way back. They scored in the fifth, tied the game in the sixth, and pushed across two runs in the eighth to take control.
Yordalin Peña delivered the biggest swing, hitting his 15th home run of the season and driving in two. He also stole his 20th base. Ryan Weingartner went 2-for-4 with an RBI and his 32nd stolen base, while Ryan Mitchell went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored, a walk and his 30th stolen base.
Johnfrank Salazar doubled and drove in a run, and Trevor Haskins added a hit and scored.
The pitching staff did excellent work after a rough start. Cade Crossland allowed three runs in 1.2 innings, but the bullpen shut Tampa down the rest of the way.
Keiverson Ramírez was outstanding, throwing four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk. Peter Strzelecki, Liam Best and Jesús García each added scoreless work to finish the game.
Takeaway: Palm Beach’s bullpen won this game. After Tampa scored three early, the Cardinals held the Tarpons scoreless over the final seven innings.
Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day
Zach Levenson, LF, Springfield Cardinals
Levenson earns the honor after one of the biggest individual games in the Cardinals’ system this season.
His final line:
3-for-3, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R, BB
Three home runs. Six RBIs. Four runs scored. Reached base all four times.
That is a Sunday worth remembering.
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day
Chen-Wei Lin, RHP, Springfield Cardinals
Lin gets the nod after giving Springfield four solid innings in its 9-3 win over Northwest Arkansas.
His final line:
4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
He allowed a pair of solo home runs, but the strikeout stuff was working, and he gave the Cardinals a chance to build the lead and hand the game to the bullpen.
The Final Word
Sunday’s farm report had plenty of thunder.
Memphis hit five home runs. Springfield got three from Zach Levenson alone. Peoria hit three more in a loss. Palm Beach got another big swing from Yordalin Peña and a strong bullpen effort to finish off Tampa.
The biggest team story remains Springfield.
The Cardinals have won four straight, sit alone in first place, and are getting contributions from all over the roster. On Sunday, Levenson made sure his name sat at the top of the report.
Three home runs will do that.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Springfield Cardinals | MiLB