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Need relief from Friday and Saturday's big league bullpen blowups? Catch up with action down on the farm. Anthony Garcia continues his good run in Memphis. Aledmys Diaz hit one out. Carson Kelly wakes up, both with power and multi-hit games. Oscar Mercado does it all (good and bad).
The scores...
Memphis Redbirds
Friday: Memphis 7, El Paso 0
Saturday: Memphis 3, El Paso 9
Sunday: Memphis 8, Tacoma 2
To start the weekend, Marco Gonzales shut down the Chihuahuas of El Paso. He went 5 innings, giving up 6 hits, walking 3, and striking out 5. It's progress. Some efficiency would be nice. Anthony Garcia hit his first home run for the Redbirds, adding a single. Xavier Scruggs doubled and singled.
Scruggs homered on Saturday, one of the few bright spots, as Zach Petrick got hit often and hard. Petrick, undrafted and now 26 years old, is having a strange season at Memphis. He's adequate and dependable for a quality start most days, but when he is off, he gets shelled. Hard to see how or where he might fit in St. Louis's future plans, but you can't complain about the return on investment.
Sunday's big day at the plate featured Rafael Ortega (2 doubles, a single and a steal), Alex Mejia (4 hits, including 2 doubles), and Jacob Wilson (2 singles). John Gast had a nice start, going 7, K'ing 6. I've missed compelling John Gast, so this was good to see.
Springfield Cardinals
Friday: Springfield 7, Frisco 3
Saturday: Springfield 2, Frisco 4
Sunday: Springfield 4, Frisco 7
Friday started off with a bang. Aledmys Diaz singled and homered. David Washington also hit one out of Hammons Field. Mike Ohlman added a double. Charlie Tilson had a couple singles and a stolen base.
Saturday saw Tilson add a double, which was erased on a caught stealing at 3rd base shortly thereafter. Diaz didn't get a hit, but did walk twice, something he's doing at about a 7% clip this year, much better than his brief 2014 in Springfield. The S-Cards pitchers were gopher-ball prone, giving up three on the night. I was at this game, and I am thankful that beer exists.
A return to the bullpen blowup leitmotif Sunday in Springfield. Two relievers gave up 6 runs in the top of the ninth to ruin the night. 2B Bryce Caldwell had a couple hits, including a double.
Palm Beach Cardinals
Friday: Palm Beach 3, St. Lucie 2
Saturday: Palm Beach 4, St. Lucie 6
Sunday: Palm Beach 5, Bradenton 2
Very encouraging Friday night for Carson Kelly, who had three hits, including his 6th home run. This brought his average above .200 for the season. Nick Petree got the win and is doing fine at Palm Beach after a bad trip through Springfield.
Saturday saw Wildwood and Missouri State product Louis Linwood (Luke) Voit, get 3 hits, including a double. Breyvic Valera added a couple walks and a triple. At 23, and after a poor start to the year in Springfield, it's hard to understand why they're keeping him in Palm Beach. There isn't anyone overly compelling ahead of him in Springfield, and it's clear that he can hit high-A pitching. Luis Perdomo got the loss, pitching into the 6th inning and giving up 5 runs, 4 earned. He hasn't been striking out hitters in Palm Beach after K'ing 1 per inning in Peoria.
Carson Kelly had 3 more hits Sunday, including a double. He also nabbed a base stealer. He's hitting .210 at the end of the weekend. Luke Weaver had an effective, if not jaw-dropping start, giving up 2 runs in 6 IP.
Peoria Chiefs
Friday: Peoria 1, Wisconsin 2
Saturday: Peoria 4, Wisconsin 2
Sunday: Peoria 5, Wisconsin 9
Oscar Mercado started the weekend with 3 hits, including a double. 20-year-old Colombian lefty Dewin Perez had his best start of a rough year, with 9 strikeouts in 7 innings.
All of Peoria's 10 hits Saturday were singles. Paul DeJong had two of them and added a stolen base. Austin Gomber struck out 10 in 6 scoreless innings. The 4th-rounder lefty from the 2014 draft is having a great year. There was a nice write up on Gomber in Minor League Ball.
Mercado continued his trend of having a hot stick, hot feet, and cold hands, with two doubles, two steals, and two errors (finishing with 22, 49, and 37 of each, respectively). DeJong doubled. Landon Beck had a rough start.
State College Spikes
Friday: State College 1, Batavia 5
Saturday: State College 5, Batavia 3
Sunday: State College 8, Batavia 2
1B Casey Grayson had a good weekend, but he's not getting any younger. State College needs Daniel Poncedeleon to lead its roster to the fountain of youth.
Johnson City Cardinals
Friday: JC 5, Burlington 1
Saturday: JC 9, Burlington 3
Sunday: JC 4, Danville 6
Edmundo Sosa, Magneuris Sierra, and Eliezer Alvarez keep on hitting. 3B Allen Staton had hits in bunches this weekend, as well.
GCL Cardinals
Friday: GCL Cards 0, GCL Marlins 2
Saturday: GCL Cards 2, GCL Marlins 8
Nick Plummer had a hit each game, including a triple. Bladimil Franco keeps up his hot hitting.
DSL Cardinals
Friday: DSL Cards 3, DSL Rangers 6
Saturday: DSL Cards 3, DSL Rangers 1
Not too much to say here.
I hope this helps your weekend settle more or less amicably. Have a good week, unless you are the Pirates.