Daily Farm Report: Palm Beach Rallies Late

It is with a heavy heart that I write this recap, with the passing of Hall of Famer and legend Red Schoendienst. Wonderful ballplayer, even better human being. Rest in peace, Red.

Memphis Redbirds 2, Tacoma Rainiers 1

Daniel Poncedeleon (SP): 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 6 BB, 3 K’s

Alex Mejia (3B): 1-2, 2 RBI, BB

Tyler O’Neill (LF): 1-2, 2 BB

Adolis Garcia (RF): 1-4, 2B, R

Patrick Wisdom (1B): 1-4, 2B, R

The Memphis Redbirds repped the Memphis Música jerseys for the first time as a part of this MiLB season’s Copa de la Diversión. Poncedeleon worked a solid start, going into the sixth inning while holding the Mariner’s affiliate to only one run. This was Poncedeleon’s seventh start of the season where he went at least five innings and allowed only one run.

Third baseman Alex Mejia drove in the runs that provided the difference for Poncedeleion and the Redbirds. Mejia picked up the RBI’s on a first inning sac fly and a fifth inning single. Outfielder Tyler O’Neill had a productive day against his former team, drawing two (two!) walks in the game for only the second time this season. Adolis Garcia and Patrick wisdom provided the only extra base pop for the Redbirds.

The win moves the Memphis Redbirds to 36-24 on the season. They’ll take on Tacoma again later today at 7:05 PM CST.

Northwest Arkansas Naturals 8, Springfield Cardinals 6

Mike O’Reilly (SP): 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 2 K’s

Tommy Edman (2B): 3-5, RBI, R

Evan Mendoza (3B): 1-4, 3B, RBI, BB

Chris Chinea (1B): 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R

Springfield jumped out to an early lead but saw the game slip away in the late innings. The Cardinals struck first in the second, scoring on a Tommy Edman RBI single and a wild pitch. The Naturals tied the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame. In the third, Springfield responded with a Chris Chinea three-run blast. Evan Mendoza piled on another in the top of the fourth with an RBI triple. 6-2 Springfield.

The Naturals began to claw their way back in the bottom of the fourth, scoring two off of starter Mike O’Reilly in his final frame. The bullpen ultimately failed Springfield. Ramon Santos took over for the fifth and six innings, allowing two runs and drawing the game to a tie. Lefty Jacob Evans took over for Santos, allowing two runs of his own and picking up the his third loss of the season.

The loss drops Springfield to an even 29-29 on the year. They continue the series later today, taking on the Naturals at 7:05 PM CST.

Palm Beach Cardinals 9 at Fort Myers Miracle 5

Austin Warner (SP): 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 5 K’s

J.B. Woodman (DH): 4-5, 2B, RBI

Dylan Carlson (RF): 2-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R

Taylor Bryant (3B): 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI

Palm Beach earned the win with a four run outburst in extra innings. Starter Austin Warner went five frames, giving up four runs, before the Cardinals bullpen cobbled together four innings of one run relief to send the game into extras. Outfielder Dylan Carlson homered in the tenth inning, his second ball over the fence at Palm Beach.

The Palm Beach offense collected seven extra base hits on Wednesday, including three home runs. Outfielder Johan Mieses launched his 10th home run of the season in the fourth inning off of Miracle starter Clark Beeker. Ten home runs and a .199 ISO is nothing to sneeze at, experience in the brutal hitting environment that is the Florida State League. To highlight another recent outfield acquisition, J.B. Woodman continues to produce despite a bizarre stat line. The former Blue Jay is slashing .295/.357/.495, but is also striking out 41.9% (yes, you read that right) amount of the time and riding a .510 BABIP (again, yes that’s the real number). It all combines for a 144 wRC+. Will he come back to earth? Yeah, but he’s fun to follow for the time being.

The win improves Palm Beach’s record to 33-21 on the season. They’ll get Fort Myers again today, with the game scheduled to start at 6:00 PM CST.

Kane County Cougars 7, Peoria Chiefs 1

Jesus Cruz (SP): 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K’s

Alvaro Seijas (RP): 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K’s

Scott Hurst (RF): 3-5, 2B, RBI

Zach Kirtley (1B): 2-4

Peoria never got off the ground against Kane County on Wednesday. Starter Jesus Cruz worked only two frames, getting beat up for three runs in the process. Alvaro Seijas took over in the third and tossed one of his better outing of the season. The five inning, two run performance lowers Seijas’s season ERA to 4.88.

Scott Hurst provided the only offensive performance of real note on Wednesday. The outfielder tallied three hits, with one of them going for extra bases. Hurst has hit for AVG and OBP since getting a late start to the season, but the power hasn’t shown up yet. His season slash line sits at .296/.359/.388. Infielder Zach Kirtley has been hot as of late, hitting .405/.476/.541 over his last 10 games.

The loss puts the Peoria Chiefs at 33-26 on the year. The series against the Kane County Cougars will continue today at 6:30 PM CST.

DSL Cardinals Blue 13 at DSL Phillies Red 10

Yesterday’s DSL contest was an explosion of offense. Five DSL Cardinals had multiple hit games, with three of the five recording three-hit games. No balls were put over the fence, but the lineup combined for five doubles in the contest. Among the top performers were shortstop Darlyn Del Villar, outfielder Carlos Soler (DH’ing yesterday), second baseman Pablo Gomez and third baseman Yowelfy Rosario. The Blue squad will play the DSL Angels today at 9:30 AM CST.

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MEM: Dakota Hudson

SPR: Connor Jones

PMB: Ian Oxnevad

PEO: Paul Balestrieri

DSL Blue: TBD