Mathews Dominates, Springfield Pulls Even, Gurevitch Homers Twice
Cardinals Farm Report: Mathews Dominates, Springfield Pulls Even, Gurevitch Homers Twice
The Cardinal Chronicle
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Thursday was another uneven night across the Cardinals’ full-season affiliates, even with several standout individual performances.
Quinn Mathews gave Memphis seven scoreless innings and still watched the Redbirds lose in walk-off fashion. Jack Gurevitch homered twice for Peoria, but the Chiefs were buried in an 18-run night by Quad Cities. Springfield was the lone winner, unloading for 12 runs at Tulsa and pulling into a tie for first place in the Texas League North second-half race. Palm Beach fell again at Daytona, dropping its third straight.
The full-season affiliates finished 1-3 on the night.
Memphis Redbirds — Triple-A
Overall Record: 54-36
Second Half: 7-8, tied for seventh in the International League West, 2.0 GB
Gwinnett 2, Memphis 1
This one hurts.
Quinn Mathews gave Memphis everything it could have asked for, throwing seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, walking two and striking out seven. He threw 91 pitches, 55 for strikes, and faced only 23 batters.
That should win most nights.
Instead, Memphis carried a 1-0 lead into the ninth before Ryan Fernandez allowed two runs on four hits and a walk while recording just one out. Gwinnett walked it off, handing the Redbirds a frustrating 2-1 loss.
The Memphis offense managed only five hits. César Prieto, Leo Bernal and Bligh Madris each doubled, while Victor Scott II drove in the lone Redbirds run. Nolan Gorman had another rough night, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, and Joshua Báez went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Takeaway: Mathews was excellent. Memphis should have won this game. When a starter gives you seven shutout innings and you lose, that one stings.
Springfield Cardinals — Double-A
Overall Record: 41-42
Second Half: 10-5, tied for first in the Texas League North
Springfield 12, Tulsa 6
Springfield was the lone bright spot in the win column, beating Tulsa 12-6 behind a 15-hit attack and four home runs.
The win was not just a good bounce-back. It pulled Springfield into a tie for first place with Tulsa in the Texas League North second-half standings. That matters. After an uneven first half, the Cardinals are right in the middle of the second-half race.
The Cardinals scored six runs in the second inning, added three more in the third, and never looked back.
Won-Bin Cho had the loudest night, going 2-for-4 with two home runs, two RBIs, three runs scored and a walk. Jesús Báez went 2-for-6 with a double, a home run and two RBIs, while Tre Richardson III homered and drove in three.
Springfield also got multi-hit games from Jon Jon Gazdar, Brody Moore and Dakota Harris. Harris drove in two runs, and Rainiel Rodriguez doubled, walked and drove in a run.
On the mound, Chen-Wei Lin gave Springfield 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts. It was enough support on a night when the offense gave the pitching staff plenty of room.
Takeaway: Springfield did what the rest of the system could not do Thursday — turn offense into a win. More importantly, the Cardinals are now tied for first in the second-half race.
Peoria Chiefs — High-A
Overall Record: 38-45
Second Half: 6-11, fifth in the Midwest League West, 7.0 GB
Quad Cities 18, Peoria 8
Peoria had one of the best offensive performances of the night from Jack Gurevitch, but almost everything else got buried under a 19-hit Quad Cities avalanche.
Gurevitch went 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double, three RBIs and three runs scored. That is a tremendous night under any circumstances. He now has nine home runs on the season and pushed his OPS to .873.
The Chiefs also got two hits and two RBIs from Michael Dattalo, while Jalin Flores doubled and drove in two. Anyelo Encarnación added two hits and stole his ninth base.
But the pitching staff had no answers. Peoria allowed 18 runs, 16 earned, on 19 hits and eight walks. Ty Van Dyke was charged with eight runs in three innings, and the bullpen could not stop the bleeding.
Peoria has now dropped four straight and sits seven games back in the Midwest League West second-half standings.
Takeaway: Gurevitch deserved better than having his night tucked inside an 18-8 loss. Two homers and a double should be the headline. Instead, the pitching line swallowed the game whole.
Palm Beach Cardinals — Low-A
Overall Record: 43-41
Second Half: 10-8, second in the Florida State League East, 1.5 GB
Daytona 9, Palm Beach 1
Palm Beach never got rolling in a 9-1 loss to Daytona.
The Cardinals managed just five hits and did not score until the ninth inning. Ryan Mitchell drove in the lone run with a double. Chase Davis, Sebastian Dos Santos, Brayden Smith and Johnfrank Salazar added singles, while Ryan Weingartner walked twice and stole his 27th base.
The game got away early. Jack Martinez recorded only two outs and was charged with three runs. Justin Militello followed and allowed four runs, three earned, over two innings. By the end of the third, Palm Beach trailed 7-0.
One positive was Liam Best, who worked 3.1 hitless innings with four strikeouts and no walks.
Palm Beach remains in second place in the Florida State League East second-half standings, but the Cardinals have now lost three straight and slipped 1.5 games behind Daytona.
Takeaway: Palm Beach was in a hole almost immediately and never recovered. Best gave them quality relief work, but the offense was too quiet to make it matter.
Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day
Jack Gurevitch, 1B, Peoria Chiefs
Gurevitch earns the honor after going 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double, three RBIs and three runs scored in Peoria’s loss at Quad Cities.
The final score was ugly, but his individual night was not. Two home runs, three extra-base hits and three RBIs are impossible to ignore.
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day
Quinn Mathews, LHP, Memphis Redbirds
Mathews was the clear choice.
He threw seven scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, walking two and striking out seven in Memphis’ 2-1 walk-off loss to Gwinnett.
That is big-league-quality work from a Triple-A starter. He deserved a win. He did not get one. But he absolutely earned Pitcher of the Day honors.
Final Word
This was another 1-3 night across the Cardinals’ farm system, and it came with some cruel baseball math.
Memphis got seven shutout innings from Quinn Mathews and lost. Peoria got two home runs from Jack Gurevitch and lost by 10. Palm Beach fell behind early and never recovered.
Springfield was the exception. The Cardinals put up 12 runs, beat Tulsa, and moved into a tie for first place in the Texas League North second-half standings.
There were individual bright spots. Mathews was outstanding. Gurevitch was terrific. Won-Bin Cho homered twice. Liam Best gave Palm Beach strong relief.
But as a system-wide night, it was not pretty.
Sometimes the box score gives you a few strong names and a bad overall report.
Thursday was one of those nights.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Quinn Mathews, Memphis Redbirds | MiLB