Monday's Daily Farm Report: Two Wins, Four Losses on Sunday
The Cardinal Chronicle
Daily Farm Report
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Farm Report: Memphis Walks It Off, Peoria Sweeps, Springfield Drops Doubleheader
The Cardinals’ farm system went 2-4 on Sunday, with Memphis and Peoria picking up wins, Springfield dropping both ends of a doubleheader in Frisco, and Palm Beach falling in its series finale at Tampa.
Memphis kept pace in the International League first-half race with a 10-inning walk-off win over Louisville. Peoria stayed red-hot, completing a six-game sweep of Beloit with a 3-1 victory at Dozer Park. Springfield’s long Sunday in Frisco ended with two 6-4 losses, despite five home runs across the doubleheader. Palm Beach closed its road series with a loss to Tampa, leaving both clubs even at 30-27 in the Florida State League standings.
Memphis Redbirds
Record: 38-25, 2nd Place, 0.5 GB, International League West
Result: Memphis 4, Louisville 3 — 10 innings
Memphis closed its homestand the right way Sunday afternoon, walking off Louisville 4-3 in 10 innings at AutoZone Park.
The Redbirds had to grind for this one. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, Leonardo Bernal drew a four-pitch walk to bring home the winning run. It was Memphis’ second walk-off win of the season and kept the Redbirds right in the middle of the International League first-half race.
Bernal did not have a hit, finishing 0-for-4, but he still drove in two runs and made an impact behind the plate by throwing out a runner attempting to steal. That is one of those games where the box score does not tell the whole story.
Joshua Báez led the offense, going 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Báez continues to put together strong at-bats at Triple-A and once again gave Memphis production from the middle of the order.
Nathan Church, on a major league rehab assignment, delivered the swing that changed the game. With Memphis down to its final outs in the eighth inning, Church launched a game-tying solo home run, his first hit of the rehab assignment. He finished 1-for-5 with the homer.
On the mound, Tink Hence served as the opener and worked a scoreless first inning with one strikeout. Brandt Thompson followed and gave Memphis 4.0-plus innings, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out five. Hancel Rincón worked 1.1 scoreless innings and earned his first career Triple-A win.
This was not a clean, easy win. It was better than that. Memphis had to stay in the fight, get a clutch rehab swing from Church, and let Bernal win it with patience in the 10th.
That is how contenders steal games.
Springfield Cardinals
Record: 25-31, 4th Place, 11.5 GB, Texas League North
Result Game 1: Frisco 6, Springfield 4
Result Game 2: Frisco 6, Springfield 4
Springfield had a long Sunday in Frisco and came away empty.
After Saturday’s rainout forced a doubleheader at Riders Field, the Cardinals dropped both seven-inning games by identical 6-4 scores to the RoughRiders. Springfield lost the final three games of the series and finished the week 2-4.
The Cardinals did bring the power. Springfield homered five times across the doubleheader, with Travis Honeyman going deep in both games. Graysen Tarlow, Zach Levenson and Jose Cordoba also homered.
But the long ball was not enough.
In Game 1, Springfield fell behind and could not complete the comeback. Chase Adkison had a bright spot with two doubles, his first two hits of the season. Still, Frisco did enough damage early and held on late.
Game 2 followed a similar script. Springfield again put runs on the board and again showed power, but Frisco answered with enough offense to finish the sweep.
There is frustration in losing two games by the same score, especially when the offense leaves the yard five times in one day. But that is baseball. Home runs help, but they do not erase missed chances, pitching traffic, or the little things that decide close games.
Springfield now has to regroup quickly after dropping the final three games of the series.
Peoria Chiefs
Record: 30-27, 3rd Place, 6.0 GB, Midwest League West
Result: Peoria 3, Beloit 1
Peoria stayed hot and finished the job.
The Chiefs beat Beloit 3-1 Sunday afternoon at Dozer Park, completing a six-game sweep of the Sky Carp. It was just the fourth six-game sweep for Peoria since Minor League Baseball moved to the six-game series format in 2021.
That is not a small thing.
Peoria scored twice in the second inning and never trailed. Josh Kross opened the inning with a double, and Won-Bin Cho singled him home to put the Chiefs in front. Cameron Nickens followed with an opposite-field double down the right-field line, scoring Cho and giving Peoria a 2-0 lead.
The Chiefs added their third run in the sixth. Cho singled, stole second, moved to third on a José Suárez single, and then broke for home when Beloit threw through to second on Suárez’s steal attempt. That aggressive read made it 3-0.
That is winning baseball — double, single, stolen base, heads-up baserunning, and pressure on the defense.
Blake Aita was the story on the mound. The right-hander delivered his longest start of the season, working six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out four. He gave Peoria exactly what it needed after Saturday’s shutout: another starter taking control of the game.
Beloit finally scored in the seventh, ending a stretch of 16 consecutive scoreless innings against Chiefs pitching, but the bullpen finished it from there. José Davila worked a scoreless eighth, and Nolan Sparks closed the ninth for his first save of the season.
Peoria is now a season-best 30-27 and heads to South Bend for a six-game series against the first-place Cubs. The Chiefs trail South Bend by six games entering the final full series of the first half.
Palm Beach Cardinals
Record: 30-27, 1st Place Tied, Florida State League East
Result: Tampa defeated Palm Beach 2-1
Palm Beach closed its road series Sunday with a loss to the Tampa Tarpons at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Tampa’s pitching staff kept the Cardinals’ bats quiet enough to secure the win, with Jace Martinez earning the decision and improving to 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA. Palm Beach starter Jonah Echeman took the loss, dropping to 5-3 on the season.
Jose M. Rodriguez handled the final outs for Tampa to earn the save.
The loss left Palm Beach and Tampa even at 30-27 in the Florida State League standings as both teams exited the weekend series. For Palm Beach, that makes the upcoming homestand even more important.
The Cardinals will return home to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Tuesday, June 9, to begin a six-game series against the St. Lucie Mets.
This was not the way Palm Beach wanted to finish the weekend, but the Cardinals remain right in the middle of the Florida State League race. Now they get a chance to reset at home.
Player of the Day
Joshua Báez, Memphis Redbirds
Joshua Báez is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Player of the Day after going 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Memphis’ 4-3 walk-off win over Louisville.
Báez continues to show signs of real progress at Triple-A, and Sunday was another productive day at the plate. He gave Memphis steady traffic, extra-base impact, and a quality offensive performance in a game the Redbirds had to have to keep pace in the first-half standings.
Nathan Church deserves mention for his game-tying solo home run in the eighth, but as an MLB rehab player, the nod goes to Báez for the minor league honor.
Pitcher of the Day
Blake Aita, Peoria Chiefs
Blake Aita is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Pitcher of the Day after delivering six scoreless innings in Peoria’s 3-1 win over Beloit.
Aita allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out four in his longest start of the season. Coming one night after Peoria shut out Beloit, Aita kept the pressure on and gave the Chiefs another starter-led win to finish the sweep.
This was exactly what Peoria needed: length, strikes, and control of the game.
Old School Take
Memphis walked it off. Peoria finished a six-game sweep. Springfield hit five home runs and still lost twice. Palm Beach dropped a key game at Tampa and came home tied in the standings.
That is the farm system in one Sunday.
The loudest message came from Peoria. Six-game sweeps are not common, and the Chiefs did it with pitching, defense, timely hitting, and enough edge on the bases to make Beloit uncomfortable.
That still wins ballgames.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.
Check out The Cardinal Chronicle for more St. Louis Cardinals coverage, daily farm reports, prospect updates and old-school baseball commentary:
www.cardinalchronicle.com
Photo Credit: Joshua Baez, Memphis Redbirds, | MLB