Daily Farm Report: Balestrieri tosses no-hitter

Paul Balestrieri of Peoria was the man of the night last night. He tossed a no-hitter and led Peoria to one of many victories in the Cardinals farm system.

Memphis Redbirds 6, Tacoma Rainiers 0

Max Schrock (2B): 2-5, RBI, R

Tyler O’Neill (CF): 2-3, RBI, BB

Alex Mejia (1B): 2-4, RBI

Dakota Hudson (SP): 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K’s

Matt Bowman (RP): 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H

Greg Holland (RP): 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB

The offense produced some runs, Dakota Hudson had a great outing, and two rehabbing Cardinals helped hold down the fort in an overall good win.

Memphis started scoring in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Alex Mejia. Two more came in the fifth on an RBI single from Tyler O’Neill and Patrick Wisdom scoring on a throwing error.

Memphis capped it off with three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Oscar Mercado hit a two-RBI double and was driven in by a Max Schrock single.

Dakota Hudson (7-2) put in solid work going six innings without allowing a run. The next two innings were owned by rehabbing Cardinals. Matt Bowman pitched a perfect seventh and Greg Holland pitched a hitless eighth with two walks.

Andrew Morales rounded out the bullpen with a hitless ninth with two walks and two strikeouts.

Memphis takes two of three over Tacoma. They start a four-game set with the Reno Aces tonight at 7:05.

Springfield Cardinals 5 at Northwest Arkansas Naturals 3

Evan Mendoza (3B): 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, R

Chris Chinea (C): 2-4, 2B, R

Thomas Spitz (RF): 2-4, 3B, RBI, R

Tommy Edman (SS): 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R

Connor Jones (SP): 6 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 K’s

Springfield hopped out to a lead, let Northwest Arkansas tie it, but ultimately won it with two late runs.

Springfield grabbed a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Thomas Spitz in the top of the third and made it 2-0 on a solo shot by Evan Mendoza in the top of the fourth.

NW Arkansas made it a one run game with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Springfield took the run back with a solo homer from Tommy Edman in the top of the sixth. NW Arkansas tied it up with two runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Spitz led the top of the eighth off with a triple and the inning ultimately led to two runs that helped cap the victory. Edman drove in Spitz with a sac fly and Mendoza later drove in a run with a double.

Mendoza has now recorded a hit in nine of the last ten games and has brought his batting average from .233 to .299 in that time.

Connor Jones turned in a quality start pitching six innings and giving up three runs, six hits, and three walks with four strikeouts.

Chris Ellis (4-0) pitched a perfect seventh with a strikeout. Colton Thomson pitched the final two innings and earned his second save of the season.

Springfield has won two of three over Northwest Arkansas. The series finale is tonight at 7:05.

Palm Beach Cardinals 3 at Fort Myers Miracle 3 (Suspended due to rain)

Andy Young (2B): 2-3, HR, RBI, 2 R

Ian Oxnevad (SP): 5.2 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 3 BB, 3 K’s

Palm Beach and Fort Myers will have to wait until next week to find out the winner of this one after the game was suspended in the seventh due to rain.

Palm Beach came out of the gate scoring two runs in the top of the first behind an RBI double from Johan Mieses and RBI single from J.B. Woodman.

Fort Myers got a run back in the bottom of the second and tied it up in the bottom of the fifth. Palm Beach regained the lead with a solo home run from Andy Young in the top of the sixth. Fort Myers brought it back to a tie with a run in the bottom half.

Ian Oxnevad got the start and pitched 5 2/3 giving up three runs, seven hits, and three walks with three strikeouts. Eric Carter, until the game got suspended, had pitched ²⁄₃ of an inning and allowed one hit.

Resuming the game won’t take long. Palm Beach and Fort Myers start another four-game series on Monday and this game will resume prior to the first game. Fort Myers will have a runner on second with one out in the bottom of the seventh.

Before that, Palm Beach starts a three-game weekend series with the Dayton Tortugas tonight. First pitch is set for 5:30.

Peoria Chiefs 8 at Kane County Cougars 0

Paul Balestrieri (SP): 9 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 6 K’s

Angel Moreno (RF): 2-4, HR, 3 RBI’s, 2 R

Nick Plummer (LF): 2-4, 2B, 4 RBI’s, BB

Yariel Gonzalez (1B): 2-4, BB, R

Yariel Gonzalez committed a fielding error in the first inning. Nobody knew at the time that would become the difference between a no-hitter and a perfect game. Paul Balestrieri had the outing of his career and Peoria offered plenty of runs behind him.

The scoring started as early as it could, Scott Hurst led off the game with a home run. Peoria added three in the top of the third behind an RBI single by Angel Moreno and two-RBI double by Nick Plummer.

Plummer drove two more in on a single in the top of the seventh. The final scoring was a two-run homer by Moreno in the top of the ninth.

Balestrieri (2-2) couldn’t have pitched any better, with the error being the only blemish on the outing. He was demoted after struggling in the Palm Beach bullpen earlier this year. Since trying out the starter role in Peoria four starts ago, he’s given up two runs or less in three of four starts.

Peoria wins two of three over Kane County. They start a four-game series with the Quad Cities River Bandits tonight at 7.

DSL Cardinals Blue 10 at DSL Angels 6

The DSL Blue team had a monster seven run sixth inning and it helped them take the lead for good. They’ve now won four of their first five games on the early season. Pablo Gomez, Carlos Soler, Yowelfy Rosario, and Diomedes Del Rio all had multi-hit games. Del Rio and Freddy De Jesus had home runs with De Jesus finishing the game with four RBI’s. Hector Soto pitched five innings and gave up three runs, Dionis Zamora gave up three runs in 3 1/3, and Luis Tena went perfect in ²⁄₃ of an inning.

DSL Cardinals Red 10, DSL Mets2 5

The DSL Red team turned an early four run deficit into a five run win. Franklin Soto was the only hitter that turned in a multi-hit game. Claudio Ramirez had a home run. Wilfredo Pereira started and gave up four runs, two earned, in four innings. Hector De Los Santos pitched five innings of relief and gave up one run. The Red team is now 3-2 on the season.

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Friday’s Probables

MEM: Kevin Herget

SPR: Anthony Shew

PMB: TBD

PEO: Johan Oviedo

DSL Blue: Julio Puello

DSL Red: Jose Moreno