The Farm Report: A Clean Sweep Across the Board
Cardinal Chronicle
Morning Farm Report
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Cardinals Affiliates Sweep the Night Across the Full-Season System
The St. Louis Cardinals’ full-season affiliates had themselves a night Thursday.
Memphis rallied late for an 8-6 win over Charlotte. Springfield jumped out big, then held on to beat Arkansas 10-8. Peoria snapped its three-game skid with a 6-2 win over Wisconsin. Palm Beach played two at Lakeland and won them both, taking the opener 7-6 and rolling in the second game 10-2.
That made it a clean sweep across the full-season system: four affiliates, five games, five wins.
Those are the nights you don’t overcomplicate. You just tip your cap and enjoy the board.
Memphis Redbirds
Memphis 8, Charlotte 6
Memphis: 50-34 overall, 1st, International League West; 3-6, Second Half
Memphis pulled off one of its better comeback wins of the season Thursday night, rallying from multiple three-run deficits to beat the Charlotte Knights 8-6 at AutoZone Park.
The Redbirds trailed 4-1 and later 6-3, but they kept coming. Memphis scored in three straight innings late, putting up two runs in the sixth, two more in the seventh and three in the eighth to complete the comeback. The win tied the Redbirds’ largest comeback victory of the season.
Joshua Báez was the story.
The right-handed slugger broke out of a mini slump in a big way, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double, three RBIs, three runs scored, a walk and a stolen base. His two homers were his 27th and 28th of the season, and it marked his third multi-homer game of the year.
Ramon Mendoza helped finish the rally with his second RBI double of the night in the eighth inning, tying the game. One walk later, pinch hitter Noah Mendlinger delivered the go-ahead triple to put Memphis in front for good.
Starter Pete Hansen allowed four runs on five hits, walked three and struck out three. Cade Winquest earned the win with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief, and Scott Blewett worked a perfect ninth for his team-leading sixth save.
Old School Take: Memphis got punched, got punched again, and still found a way to get off the mat. Báez supplied the thunder, Mendoza tied it, and Mendlinger delivered the finish. That is how a first-place club answers a bad night at the plate from the day before.
Springfield Cardinals
Springfield 10, Arkansas 8
Springfield: 38-39 overall; 7-2, 1st, Texas League North, Second Half
Springfield built a big lead, watched Arkansas make it uncomfortable, then still found a way to close the door.
The Cardinals beat the Arkansas Travelers 10-8 on Thursday night at Route 66 Stadium behind a seven-run second inning and just enough late pitching to hold off a Travelers comeback. Springfield remained in first place in the Texas League North second-half standings at 7-2.
Tre Richardson III delivered the biggest swing of the night, launching a grand slam in the second inning. Rainiel Rodriguez followed with a solo home run as Springfield piled up seven runs in the frame and took control early. Richardson’s grand slam was his third Double-A home run and Springfield’s seventh grand slam of the season.
The Cardinals led 8-0, then pushed the advantage to 10-3 after Won-Bin Cho hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Cho has now hit five home runs in eight games at Double-A, which is a pretty strong way to introduce yourself to a new league.
Arkansas did not go quietly. The Travelers scored five unanswered runs to make it a two-run game, but Randel Clemente shut the door in the ninth for his second save. Chen-Wei Lin started and retired the first 10 batters he faced before finishing with three runs allowed on three hits, five strikeouts and no walks.
Old School Take: Springfield did the hard part early, then had to sweat through the finish. A seven-run inning, a grand slam, another Cho homer and a win over Arkansas? That will do, even if it made the manager age a little in the late innings.
Peoria Chiefs
Peoria 6, Wisconsin 2
Peoria: 37-40 overall; 5-6, 3rd, Midwest League West, Second Half
Peoria needed a clean response, and the Chiefs got one.
After dropping three straight, Peoria beat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 6-2 Thursday night at Dozer Park. The Chiefs allowed two runs in the first inning, then held Wisconsin scoreless the rest of the way. Peoria moved to 5-6 in the second half and sits third in the Midwest League West.
Wisconsin struck first on a two-run double by Tayden Hall, but Peoria answered immediately. José Suárez led off the bottom of the first with a double, moved to third and scored on Jalin Flores’ sacrifice fly. Josh Kross followed with a double, and Sammy Hernandez blooped a single into shallow right to tie the game 2-2.
Hernandez helped spark the go-ahead run in the fourth, singling, stealing second and advancing to third on an error before Anyelo Encarnación drove him in with a sacrifice fly. Encarnación added an RBI double in the sixth, Flores drove in another run in the seventh, and Jack Gurevitch added an RBI single in the eighth.
Suárez finished with three hits, and Flores drove in two runs. That was enough support for the pitching staff.
Ty Van Dyke earned the win after allowing two runs on three hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out three. Nate Dohm followed with 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out two. Bobby Olsen recorded the final two outs in the ninth, both by strikeout, to earn his fourth save.
Old School Take: Peoria fell behind early, but the Chiefs did not let the game get away. Van Dyke settled in, Dohm bridged it, and Olsen slammed the door. That is how you snap a skid without needing fireworks.
Palm Beach Cardinals
Palm Beach 7, Lakeland 6 — Game 1
Palm Beach 10, Lakeland 2 — Game 2
Palm Beach: 42-36 overall; 9-3, 1st, Florida State League East, Second Half
Palm Beach had to work overtime after Wednesday’s postponement, and the Cardinals made the most of it.
The Cardinals swept Thursday’s doubleheader at Lakeland, beating the Flying Tigers 7-6 in Game 1 and 10-2 in Game 2. The sweep moved Palm Beach to 42-36 overall and 9-3 in the second half, good for first place in the Florida State League East.
In Game 1, Palm Beach fell behind 3-0 before taking control with a four-run fourth inning. Ryan Weingartner singled, stole second and scored on a Matthew Miura single. Jonathan Mejía then smashed a two-run homer, and Yordalin Peña followed with a solo shot for back-to-back home runs that gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead.
Palm Beach added two more in the sixth, with Miura reaching on an error to score Brayden Smith before Peña lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home Weingartner. The Cardinals tacked on another run in the seventh when Ryan Mitchell scored on a throwing error. Lakeland made it close in the bottom half, but Palm Beach held on 7-6. Nelfy Ynfante earned the win, allowing three runs on four hits over 2.1 innings.
Game 2 belonged to Palm Beach after another early deficit. Lakeland scored twice in the first, but the Cardinals answered with seven runs in the third inning. Trevor Haskins doubled, Johnfrank Salazar singled, Sebastian Dos Santos drove in a run, Yairo Padilla added a two-run double, and Palm Beach kept the line moving until the game had turned completely.
The Cardinals added three more runs in the fourth. Smith delivered an RBI single, and Peña capped the scoring with a two-run double to make it 10-2.
Jack Martinez took care of the rest. The right-hander earned the win with a career-high six innings, allowing two runs on four hits while tying a career high with nine strikeouts and walking just one.
Old School Take: Palm Beach trailed in both games and swept the doubleheader anyway. That is a first-place club taking a long day and turning it into two wins. Not glamorous. Just tough, useful baseball.
Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day
Joshua Báez, OF, Memphis
Joshua Báez earns Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day honors after one of the loudest box-score lines in the system this season.
Báez went 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double, three RBIs, three runs scored, a walk and a stolen base in Memphis’ 8-6 comeback win over Charlotte. His two homers gave him 28 on the season, keeping him atop the International League home run leaderboard.
That is a full night’s work.
The Redbirds needed every bit of it. Memphis trailed by three runs multiple times, and Báez helped keep the offense alive long enough for Mendoza and Mendlinger to finish the comeback late.
When a hitter homers twice, reaches four times, drives in three, scores three and steals a base, there is not much debate.
That is your Player of the Day.
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day
Jack Martinez, RHP, Palm Beach
Jack Martinez gets the nod as Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day after leading Palm Beach to a 10-2 win in the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader.
Martinez worked a career-high six innings, allowing two runs on four hits while tying a career high with nine strikeouts. He walked just one and gave Palm Beach exactly what it needed after the Cardinals had already played a tight opener.
That matters in a doubleheader.
Palm Beach needed length. Martinez gave them length. Palm Beach needed strike-throwing. Martinez gave them that, too. The offense exploded for 10 runs, but Martinez made sure the game never tilted back toward Lakeland after the Cardinals took control.
On a night full of winning baseball, his outing stood out as the best mound performance in the Cardinals’ full-season system.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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 Image: Joshua Báez, Memphis Redbirds | MiLB