Following are the highlights from the 14th day of St. Louis Cardinals minor league games in spring 2011, on Wednesday, March 30. Memphis and Springfield faced the Mets’ Triple-A and Double-A clubs at Port St. Lucie, while Palm Beach and Quad Cities took on their New York counterparts at home in Jupiter.
The 0-2-2 day was the Cardinals’ worst of the spring – their first winless day. The Cardinals system is a combined 27-23-8 this spring. That includes a 17-13-4 mark against external competition.
Today’s photo is of the Player of the Day, Quad Cities starting pitcher Zack Russell. The 21-year-old right-hander and former 49th round draft pick (not a typo) tossed five scoreless innings on three hits, walked no one and punched out six. Quad Cities third baseman Jonathan Rodriguez receives an honorable mention.
On Thursday, the Cardinals minor leaguers, all five rosters worth, will have their final games with their Marlins neighbors. Florida will be the home team, so the games will be on their side of the complex. For the full state of minor league spring training schedules, The Cardinal Nation subscribers can click here.
As he has been doing the last few seasons, Cardinals farm director John Vuch is sharing game highlights with this site and several others with interest in Cardinals prospects. As always, the raw data is his, with the comments mine.
Memphis (4-5-4) 6, Buffalo 6
Buffalo outfielder Jason Pridie connected for a first-inning grand slam and the Bisons’ starter, Josh Stinson, shut out the Redbirds through five on just two hits. Memphis mounted a nice comeback in the later innings to pull even.
Memphis pitching
To get work and stay in routine for his Monday start for St. Louis, major leaguer Kyle Lohse remained behind in Florida and took the mound for the Redbirds. The right-hander did not have a good day to say the least, as he was gored by 11 Bison hits and a walk. All six runs Lohse allowed were earned. He fanned four in his five-inning appearance.
Jason Buursma yielded just one hit in two scoreless frames. He fanned one.
Blake King had a King-like outing. He was touched for two hits and walked a pair in two innings, but kept the opponent off the scoreboard. The 40-man roster reliever struck out one.
Memphis hitting
Andrew Brown singled and homered in four at-bats. The versatile corner infielder-outfielder collected three RBI.
Daryl Jones tripled and drove in a pair.
Adron Chambers, Freddie Bynum and Shane Robinson were each on base twice with a single and walk. They all scored one run.
Binghamton 3, Springfield (5-5-3) 1
Binghamton left-hander Robert Carson threw five shutout innings as the Cardinals scored their lone run in the sixth against reliever Ricky Brooks.
Springfield pitching
Nick Additon went 4 2/3 innings, yielding all three Binghamton runs on six hits and a walk. He fanned two.
Brett Zawacki had a nice two-inning stint, with no baserunners and a pair of punchouts.
Lefty Sam Freeman, returning from Tommy John surgery, walked one and struck out one in his scoreless inning.
Matt Frevert also tossed a shutout frame on one hit. He collected two strikeouts.
Springfield hitting
First baseman Matt Adams, fresh from some MLB face time Tuesday, singled and doubled in four at-bats. He is bidding to jump from Quad Cities.
Back from his own Tommy John surgery, outfielder Tyler Henley doubled. Look for our interview to be posted for The Cardinal Nation subscribers later this week.
Tommy Pham was on base twice, having drawn a walk each time. The outfielder is The Cardinal Nation’s 19th-ranked prospect for 2011.
Jermaine Curtis walked and scored the lone Springfield tally.
St. Lucie 7, Palm Beach (9-5) 3
Palm Beach pitching
Major league camp invitee Joe Kelly was touched for four runs, three earned, in his four-inning start. Kelly allowed five hits and three walks. He also struck out four.
Jesse Simpson allowed a lone hit in his two shutout innings and fanned a pair.
Justin Wright gave up a walk in his scoreless frame.
Aaron Terry had a perfect inning of relief.
Jose Rada had a rough day at the office, giving up four hits and three earned runs while collecting just one out.
Palm Beach hitting
Alan Ahmady had two singles and double in four at-bats. He scored one and drove in one.
Ryde Rodriguez had a pair of singles in four at-bats and scored.
Jarred Bogany drew a pair of walks, scored one and drove in a run via a sacrifice fly.
Quad Cities (6-7-1) 4, Savannah 4
Quad Cities pitching
Zack Russell was sharp, tossing five scoreless innings on three hits. He walked no one and punched out six.
Chris Corrigan and Keith Butler each gave up a pair of hits and a run in their respective one inning stints. Corrigan’s run was unearned.
Cale Johnson allowed a harmless walk in his scoreless frame. He struck out two.
Hector Corpas yielded the final two Savannah runs on three ninth-inning hits.
Quad Cities hitting
Jonathan Rodriguez had a double, triple and walk in four plate appearances. He scored twice.
Packy Elkins homered. The infielder had just two in 169 plate appearances with Johnson City in 2010.
Oscar Taveras was on base twice in three appearances with a single and walk. Our #11 Cardinals prospect scored one run.
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The game starts in 45 minutes. Where is everybody?
Game Plan;
Obviously SD will attempt to elevate Carpenters pitch count, in an attempt to get at Cardinal bull pen.. And it goes without say that Carpenter will try to keep it down by being aggressive.
The game is this……….. Molina must discover those hitters tipping the green light in the early count. Those get the outside and inside cutters/sinkers…..down hopefully……….. Carpenter must throw the curve for a first pitch strike often against the early lookers setting up positive combinations late.
SD will fully expect this………. its about sticking to a game plan.
SD pitching will be avoiding Pujols…..baiting all the way……they will go after Berkman with a complete and realistic assessment of his ” swing health”……… Advantage Colby/Freese/Holiday
covering their “holes”………….
Reds have Volquez up……..in the Cold……… stupid……… the Reds are looking for someone to believe in them……….Brewers don’t……….
Are we it Westy?
Good start for Carp.
As expected…………Carp is staying on top of his curve ball…….. its a little squirrelly at this point.. he won’t show the arching curve till the 3rd or later.
Colby, Matt + ; Theriot, Albert, Berkman -
There are watchers Crd………..
the breaking pitch to AP should have went where the breaking pitch to Holiday went…..with one out…….that was his RBI………..Matt never had a doubt…….did his job.
I am lurking. Just not much to say yet.
I’m here – biting my tongue
4 and 5 hitters see 12 pitches………thank you number 6…….. Carp/Yadi aren’t being to aggressive…………… as of yet. His control isn’t sharp though either…….we need 5 runs.
Are you warning me about something Westy?
I’m just the peanut gallery.
Berkman, Freese, Molina +
Dammit Skip.
Molina muscles the single……thats good………… of all people …..he should have been the sac. they likely walk Shu at that point……….loading the bases……….you can make that happen……Molina’s bloop was luck……I didn’t like that.
Albert has the bear on his back…….get used to it………….. Colby is doing it……….they have the pen ………so we are actually losing at this point.
Carp going to 7 will be the telling point……..he’s in the high 80′s……he’s tiring. We need a hero. It’s going to take 5 runs………..
Not good to start the baserunning mistakes again Matt.
Carp is finished……….I hope we get him a run here so that he can relax. Gregerson coming in.
I actually look for Pujols to pick up that scrap of meat the Holiday dropped. Berkman got dentures it looks like………….thats a good thing
You have to love Colby…………money is down………needs a single……….full swing every time….
Its their advantage now……………. I looking for Pujols to double or more as Colby drops another scrap…. to nourish him……..
It’s beginning to look a lot like 2010………
Bautista show good calm and control there……..too many pitches though. He has skills. Thats a good thing………………………. St Louis karma is being tested……..the Reds feed late……better start something going………
Gergerson will be tough on Albert………lets hope they take him out………… this is it for Pujols….
right center gap is where he needs to go…….up and out..or to the wall.
Apparently Albert wasn’t hungry enough.
But Matt was.
Matt reaches over and says”””””’ leave the scrap there ….I’m still hungry………..
Franky has to pitch to Luddy………we need more runs……….
Okay Franklin, don’t p*** me off.
Don’t say that CRD……………………. I’m knocking on wood……….he looks nervous…..lets hope he got some sleep.
4 pitches…………. 3 crushed……….
EFF!
Franklin panicked on the way in……………he was just centering that crap…..no set up pitches, no finesse……….. I’m hoping that Tony isn’t forced to send him out…….. we do a pitch hit opportunity so it won’t come to that……….
If Franklin goes out we’re finished.
Okay somebody better be really hungry. I hate extra inning games.
As tired as Albert’s legs obviously are, Tony should have given him the day off. We’d have won by now without the 3 GIDPs.
Just in case some of you missed that very significant play……………. Tony took the bat out of AP hands with the hit and run……………and he didn’t bother to hustle it out on the miss hit….he is pissed…………. you’ll hear a little more about that me thinks……..
here is the issue………guy walks Colby…….is showing no control……and Tony sees fit to intervene
by moving the runner………………. thats how Tony stands with AP………. trouble on the way.
Isn’t Tony burning both long men early?
Could use McClellan, don’t need a fifth starter the first go round.
Smart…….Lohse needed work too……….
Crap.
And then he makes a bad throw………………incredible…………
UG………….LY!
Cinci came back ti win in the 9th………lets see if we have hero’s…………
itll be tough against Bell
Middle infield………… Shumacher gave up a run with the Luddy drop………. Theriot gave up a run with Cubs Flub…………..
Colby was great today RC………….. he really pressured AP……….. Tony cut his own throat here. Now the Chemistry problems starts……….. AP is a zero sum ball player…..if he is feeding, no one else eats……….if the young bring down a kill……..he won’t touch it………. Franklin choked, just about as much as you might…….. that will be amplified by the AP swoon…….tough situation for him……… and I predict the first problem for Mo……will they support this team.
This is all based on the assumption that Franklin had a crisis his first look…….and that is revealing. Those were bad locations.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/article_b382c837-e8dd-531e-b469-a29a7648e919.html
This didn’t take long……………and there’s nothing out there……….. they won’t support this team any further.
Looks like Lohse got sloppy in a minor league game……..careless move by everyone there. Self doubt is just what the doctor ordered………..
This game sucked. Not watching the post game, going out for dinner. Bleh.
Berkman was a surprise. He looked pretty good. Ran good too.
Colby did everything a top of the order hitter should do.
Freese looks like the Brendan Ryan of 3rd basemen. Middle infield sucks, like Westy mentioned.
Tony really needs to address the home to first mosey issue. On opening day, jeesh.
Jay needs to work on the defensive replacement thing. It includes paying attention on routine plays. Tony won’t be happy about that throw.
Nothing wrong with that throw BB……….in cool weather, ball off the grass….thats exactly the throw you want.
If you want to enjoy something………..watch Axlford give it up to the Reds……….. All off a Brandon Phillips trickster play…………. Thats actually a good win for us….we can beat the Reds.
I checked out the different feeds……..the St Louey feed doesn’t show Colby leave………SD camera was right on him expecting another throw over…………….
Neyshak threw one strike….3/0 to Colby……after being two feet wide on his first pitch to AP……
Tony figures he will at least touch the outside corner………….he calls the hit and run…….Colby takes the second baseman with him…….. and AP…way out in front……pulls the ball to the shortstop 2 steps from the bag……………. Tony called that play to avoid the obvious……you can’t have AP bunt………..and you don’t trust him to avoid that third double play…………. give that some thought…………………. Cinci won because Roland hustled to first on a double play ball……………… this is just starting……………. Pujols had no intension of hitting behind the runner……the pitch was outer third……he wasn’t giving himself up….. deal with it….
Where to start? Schumaker says Ludwick knocked the ball out of his glove. Okay, I might buy that. Franklin says that first pitch curve ball was a good pitch? Yeah, it was for Maybin, sucker. Franklin is lucky to have gotten the first two outs with those batting practice pitches he was throwing up there. Hey mang, get to add 3 GIDPs in one game to that ole resume. Don’t get me started about Theriot.
My patience is thinner this year and it was pretty thin last year.
Skip was in a bad position to make the tag. You want to be in front of the bag to allow for a sweep tag. Skip was behind the bag/in line with it, and looked awkward trying to tag Luddy,
Who would have guessed a young kid would be sitting on a CB first pitch of the count. That get me over CB was smoked.
Get a grip gloom and doomers.All your fancy BS and inside mumbo jumbo means absolutely nothing.Simple fact is Cards made mistakes and lost.Guess what………………..it happens and will probably happen again.Jeeez it must be hell being as perfect as some of you think you are.
BW, it seems most everyone is angry. They just choose different ways to express it…
Agreed BW, Just one of those days. It happens.
I will say I did enjoy the game…..its opening day….hard to have a bad opening day. It would have been nice to get a win but the season starting was exciting.
The Skip drop, Theriot misplay, Holliday pickoff are just baseball mistakes that happen sometimes. The team that makes the fewest mistakes in a baseball game usually wins. Yesterday the Padres made fewer mistakes than did the Cardinals. And the Pads won.
Saturday may very well bring fewer Cardinal mistakes.
I don’t think I would be near as upset about the game if the mistakes made weren’t the same mistakes they made last year. I’m not going to validate them by explaining it away as just a bad day. When they learn from their mistakes and stop repeating them, then I will let up.
I read where Franky’s swing and miss rate is 7%.
He pretty much is what he is. Never much margin for error.
All the more reason why he shouldn’t be the closer.