Daily Farm Report: Woodford K’s Seven

What a game last night, and I’m not talking about the mishaps in Philly. I’m talking about the Blues, of course, and their sweet sweet overtime victory in Boston. Play Gloria.

I tuned into the first three innings of the Cardinals game, mostly to catch Genesis Cabrera’s first major league start. While the command and results weren’t there, the pure stuff was undeniably good, and it was nice to see some energy out there for a change.

Down in the minors, three of the four affiliates were in play. Peoria picked up a win, while both Memphis and Palm Beach dropped their contests. Springfield was postponed due to inclement weather.

San Antonio Missions 3 @ Memphis Redbirds 2

Jake Woodford (SP) - 7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Max Schrock (3B) - 2-4, 2B, RBI, K

Rangel Ravelo (LF) - 1-3, BB

Tommy Edman (CF) - 0-2, 2 BB, 2 K

Starter Jake Woodford got through the first two frames via double play balls before running into trouble in the third. Journeyman catcher and 70-grade name Tuffy Gosewich opened the inning with an innocent enough single up the middle. Things began to snowball when the rehabbing Jimmy Nelson reached first on a misplayed sac bunt, putting two on with no outs. Mauricio Dubon capitalized, singling to left and driving in Gosewich. Two more runs scored in the frame thanks to a Tyler Saladino double and a Cory Spangenberg sac fly.

Woodford settled down after the rocky third, allowing no runs and striking out seven over four more innings of work.

Memphis struggled offensively, striking out ten times while mustering only five hits. The Redbirds only runs came off a Jimmy Nelson wild pitch in the fifth and a Max Schrock RBI single in the sixth.

The loss drops Memphis to a disappointing 23-31. They open a series against Oklahoma City tonight at 7:05pm CDT.

Daytona Tortugas 5 @ Palm Beach Cardinals 0

Tommy Parson (SP) - 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Yariel Gonzalez (DH) - 2-4, 2B

Michael Perri (SS) - 1-3, BB

Luken Baker (1B) - 1-4

A shaky bullpen and a impotent offense combined to sink Palm Beach.

Starter Tommy Parsons continued his stellar 2019 with another scoreless start. Parsons, who went undrafted out of Division III Adrian College, has pitched to a 1.16 ERA in 10 starts between Peoria and Palm Beach. He’s been a command artist thus far, walking just 1.59 batters per nine. I went back to watch two of his starts at Peoria, and there’s at least enough here to say the performance isn’t a complete mirage. He works with a sinker in the 90-92 range that gets good plane thanks to his high ³⁄₄ arm slot, and he generally spots the pitch where he wants to. Most surprising were his secondary pitches, both of which flashed above-average at times. The first is a 12-6 curve, which featured excellent drop and sharp bite when located to his glove side. He worked primarily with the sinker-curve combo in the early innings, before mixing in a changeup when he turned the lineup over. It’s more of a split-change really, one of the John Gant variety, with more drop than armside run. My favorite moment was when he flummoxed Mariner’s first-rounder Kyle Lewis on three straight changeups, drawing empty swings on each. It’s not all rosy, however, as Parson’s velocity dropped into the high-80’s as got deeper into the game. It’s possible that with more pro coaching and conditioning, as opposed to Division III work, under his belt the problem will be remedied.

The loss moves Palm Beach to 31-20. They take on Daytona again tonight at 5:30pm CDT.

Peoria Chiefs 5, Kane County Cougars 2

Colin Schmid (SP) - 6 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

Jhon Torres (RF) - 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, K

Josh Shaw (DH) - 1-3, RBI, BB, K

Brendan Donovan (2B) - 1-4, 2B, K

Starter Colin Schmid was nails on Wednesday, allowing his only earned run via a solo home run in the first. The bullpen picked up his quality start, with Edgar Escobar and Evan Sisk combining for four strikeouts in three innings of scoreless work. The save was Sisk’s first of the year.

Offensively, the Chiefs were held largely in check until the sixth inning. Peoria entered the frame trailing 2-1, with Nolan Gorman stepping in to lead off. Gorman got things started with a line drive single to center on a 1-1 count. Both Ivan Herrera and Brady Whalen followed suit by getting on, loading the bases with nobody out. Leandro Cedeno failed to capitalize and struckout, but Josh Shaw worked quick five pitch walk to bring in Gorman. Jhon Torres then broke the tie with a bases clearing double to left, his second since being aggressively promoted to Peoria.

The win improves Peoria’s record to 22-29. The series against Kane County continues tonight at 6:35pm CDT.

~

Thursday’s Probables

MEM: Anthony Shew

SPR (GM 1): TBD

SPR (GM 2): TBD

PMB: Alex Fagalde

PEO: Michael Brettell