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On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates went 3-5 with wins from Peoria, the GCL Cards, and the DSL Cards. Alex Reyes had a bumpy start but was still able to strikeout 9, while Anthony Garcia had a couple of extra base hits in just his second game for Memphis. Also, Edmundo Sosa is swinging a hot bat. Nick Plummer and Bryce Denton also continued their upswing.
The Memphis Redbirds allowed two runs in the 7th and 8th innings and a single run in the 9th, while scoring three in the bottom of the 9th to fall short against El Paso. In just his second AAA game, Anthony Garcia had a double and a triple for Memphis, while Dean Anna collected three hits. Arturo Reyes made his second AAA start and allowed 2 runs over 5 innings while walking 4 and striking out 5.
Cardinals' #1 prospect Alex Reyes was on the mound for Springfield on Thursday and had his ups and downs. Over 5 innings, Reyes allowed 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 3 walks, and struck out 9. The moment he can harness his command, he will become a dominating pitcher. He's not far away. The S-Cards only managed four hits in the game, with Bruce Caldwell picking up half of them. Robby Rowland tossed a scoreless inning in his ascent through the system.
C.J. McElroy was a one man show for Palm Beach out of the leadoff spot. McElroy hit his third home run and recorded his 11th double, accounting for 3 of the Cards' 8 hits. Luke Voit added his 16th double of the season as well. Jhonny Polanco was roughed up in his first start for Palm Beach. Polanco went 2 2/3 innings and allowed 4 hits, 5 runs, 4 walks, and struck out 1. Cody Schumacher, Tyler Melling, and Lee Stoppelman combined to throw 6 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Paul DeJong and Darren Seferina had big nights as the Chiefs came from behind to beat the Snappers on Thursday night. DeJong blasted his 3rd homer for Peoria (7th overall) and drove in three runs. Seferina had two doubles and scored two runs out of the leadoff spot. Ian McKinney scattered 10 hits while allowing just 2 earned runs over 6 2/3 innings. He walked none and struck out 5 to pick up his second win. Kyle Grana saved his 19th game for Peoria with a scoreless ninth. Grana's ERA diipped to 0.91
Williamsport 9, State College 4
Thanks to a Lowell loss, the State College Spikes did not lose a game on the 1.5 game lead in the wild card race in the New York-Penn League. Cole Lankford had three hits, including 2 doubles, and a run batted in. Jorge Rodriguez started for the Spikes and went 5 1/3 innings and allowed 8 hits, 5 runs, 1 walk, and struck out 1. Kender Villegas allowed 3 runs in relief for the Spikes.
Johnson City fell into a deep hole after allowing four runs in the first two innings and could not climb all the way out. Edmundo Sosa continued hitting the cover off the ball, collecting two hits, including his fourth triple. He is hitting .349 with 5 home runs over his last 10 games. Allen Staton also tripled and drove in three runs. Brennan Leitao started and went 5 innings while allowing 7 hits, 3 earned runs, and struck out 1.
GCL Marlins 1, GCL Cardinals 7
The Gulf Coast Cardinals defeated their Roger Dean Stadium roommates on Thursday as four Redbirds had multi hit games, including second round pick Bryce Denton. Denton has hit safely in 5 of his last 7 games, while Nick Plummer also recorded a hit and is hitting .324 over his last 10 games. Dylan Tice hit his 4th home run and drove in two, while catcher Joshua Lopez also drove in a pair. Junior Fernandez went 7 strong innings on the mound and struck out 6.
DSL Nationals 1, DSL Cardinals 5
Hector Linares had two hits while Elehuris Montero drove in two while walking twice as the DSL Cardinals improved to 33-37 on the season. Junior Gonzalez was strong on the mound for the Dominican Cards as he went 6 innings and allowed a run while striking out 8. Fabian Blanco pitched two scoreless innings in relief. The Cards are 16 games back and have been eliminated from playoff contention.