MiLB Pitcher of the Day: Pete Hansen
Pitcher of the Day: Pete Hansen Gives Memphis the Start It Needed
The Cardinal Chronicle
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
On a night when pitching was hard to come by across the Cardinals’ farm system, Pete Hansen gave Memphis exactly what it needed.
Hansen is the Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day after working 4.2 innings of one-run baseball in the Redbirds’ 7-3 win over Gwinnett on Wednesday night.
His final line:
4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
No, Hansen did not get through the fifth inning and did not qualify for the win. But this was still the best pitching performance in the system on a night when the affiliates had trouble keeping runs off the board.
Hansen gave Memphis swing-and-miss, limited the damage, and kept the Redbirds in control long enough for the offense to take over. That matters, especially when the rest of the system was taking on water.
Springfield allowed seven runs. Peoria gave up 10. Palm Beach scored nine runs and still lost after allowing 10. Memphis was the only full-season affiliate to win, and Hansen helped set that tone.
The left-hander threw 84 pitches, 50 for strikes, and struck out seven of the 20 batters he faced. He allowed a solo home run, but avoided the kind of big inning that hurt other Cardinals affiliates throughout the night.
That was the key.
Hansen did not have to be perfect. He had to compete, miss bats, and give Memphis a real chance to win. He did all three.
The Redbirds eventually got the headline performance from Colton Ledbetter, who went 4-for-4 with two home runs, but Hansen’s outing kept the game from turning into a slugfest early. When a starter limits a lineup to one run through nearly five innings and strikes out seven, that gives the offense room to breathe.
For Hansen, this was an encouraging step. His season numbers still show some rough edges, but starts like this are how a pitcher begins to steady the line. The strikeout total was the biggest positive. Seven strikeouts in 4.2 innings tells you his stuff had life, and Gwinnett had trouble squaring him up consistently.
There were two walks, and the pitch count climbed enough to keep him from finishing the fifth. That is the part to clean up. But the overall result was strong, and on this night, it stood above the rest of the system.
Memphis needed a starter to hold the game together.
Pete Hansen did that.
And in a 1-3 night across the farm, that was enough to earn the nod.
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day:
Pete Hansen, LHP, Memphis Redbirds
Final Line: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Pete Hansen, Memphis Redbirds | MLB