MiLB Pitcher of the Day: Blake Aita

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
MiLB Pitcher of the Day: Blake Aita 
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Blake Aita did not have the cleanest line Wednesday night, but he gave Springfield something every winning team needs.

Innings.

Aita is the Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day after working six innings in Springfield’s 7-4 win over Wichita at Route 66 Stadium.

His final line:6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 8 K 

The four earned runs keep it from being a spotless outing, but the strikeouts mattered. So did the fact that Aita gave Springfield six innings and kept the Cardinals in position to win another ballgame.

And that is exactly what they did.

Springfield won its sixth straight game, improved to 50-47 overall, and moved to 19-10 in the second half, staying alone in first place in the Texas League North.

Aita worked through traffic, struck out eight, and threw 91 pitches, 62 for strikes. He faced 25 batters and gave the Cardinals enough swing-and-miss to keep Wichita from fully taking control, even after the Wind Surge scored once in the fourth and three times in the fifth.

That fifth inning made the line heavier than the outing felt. But Aita settled things enough to finish six, and that gave Springfield’s offense time to answer.

The Cardinals did exactly that in the seventh.

Trailing 4-3, Springfield put up four runs and flipped the game. Rainiel Rodriguez had the biggest offensive night, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs and two runs scored. Deniel Ortiz added a two-run homer, while Dakota Harris doubled and drove in two.

After Aita turned the game over, the bullpen shut the door.

Hunter Hayes threw two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out one. Randel Clemente finished it with a scoreless ninth, walking one and striking out two.

That combination — Aita giving length, the bullpen finishing cleanly, and the offense answering late — is how a club keeps a winning streak alive.

Aita has been one of the more reliable arms for Springfield, and Wednesday was another example of why. It was not dominant from start to finish, but it was competitive, durable and good enough to help the Cardinals win.

Not every good pitching performance is pretty.

Sometimes it is about taking the baseball, getting through six, missing bats, and handing the game to the bullpen with your team still alive.

Aita did that.

And Springfield kept rolling.

Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day:
Blake Aita, RHP, Springfield Cardinals
Final Line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Blake Aita, Springfield  Cardinals | MLB