On Tuesday, with the MLB club
taking a scheduled day off, their only one of the spring, the St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers owned the spotlight. They went 3-2 on the afternoon
against their co-habitants of the Roger Dean Stadium complex in Jupiter,
Florida, the Florida Marlins, who took the short walk over from their side.
Wednesday’s opponents will be
these same Marlins teams on the “road” side of the Jupiter complex.
Scout.com Cardinals Pitcher of the
Day – Tuesday
In three scoreless innings to get
the win, Palm
Beach’s David Kopp allowed just three
baserunners on a hit and two walks. The Cardinals’ second-round pick last year
from Clemson struck out five. Good to see the right-hander on the mound after
pitching in limited action last season.
Scout.com Cardinals Hitter of the
Day – Tuesday
In the same game that Kopp
excelled on the mound, outfielder Daryl Jones put his club on top during a six-run first inning as he blasted a
three-run home run. That is coming off this performance on Monday: triple, walk,
hit by a pitch, two runs and an RBI. Maybe the Cards’ third-rounder in 2005 is
getting it all together. Remember that Jones is still just 20 years
old!
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Memphis defeated
Albuquerque,
11-3
Lefty Jaime Garcia started and did fine in
his three innings. He allowed three hits and two walks, but only one of the two
runs that scored against him was earned. Our number three prospect in the system
struck out a pair. Cory Rauschenberger picked up the win with a solid performance over four innings:
three hits and no walks, five Ks and one run allowed. Mark Worrell finished off the day with
a scoreless frame.
With all the focus on the new
outfielders coming down from the big club to play starting Wednesday, Colby Rasmus and Joe Mather, the guys who have been
there used their last day without them to shine, both going 3-for-5. Amaury Marti may not be sent off to
Mexico this summer as he smacked two
doubles off the centerfield fence. The former Blue Jay (briefly) Cody Haerther added a double and an
RBI.
Josh Phelps, who was asked to get some
outfield time in the crowded position, hit a home run, while steady Rico Washington was on base three times
with a pair of hits and a walk. Infielder Jose Martinez, maybe the quietest top
prospect in the system, made the most of his one at-bat by doubling. The 2008
Redbirds are going to have some offense!
Springfield lost to
Carolina,
3-2
P.J. Walters could have earned the Pitcher of
the Day nod with four shutout innings; though he did allow five hits and a walk,
he also fanned five. Mark McCormick
followed with two plus innings of one-run ball. The former Baylor star’s control
was not great, with four walks, but just two hits allowed. McCormick fanned one.
Reliever Luke Gregerson continues to
impress, logging 1 1/3 spotless innings with a couple of strikeouts.
Catcher Bryan Anderson looks as if he is going
to repeat Double-A, at least to start. He went 2-for-4 on the day and another
player who has the promise to stand out for Springfield, third baseman Allen Craig,
doubled.
Palm
Beach defeated Jupiter, 11-3
In addition to Kopp’s performance
above, Eddie Degerman pitched in two
scoreless innings, which is nice to see. His last time out, I watched Eddie walk
the bases full. Marco Gonzalez also
contributed, allowing just one run in his two innings on a single hit.
Along with the Daryl Jones home
run noted above, Nick Derba had a
two-run shot and Steven Hill also
went deep. Tommy Pham continued his
hot hitting with a single, double and an RBI. Brandon Buckman registered two hits for
the second consecutive day. The Cards’ sixth-rounder in 2007, Oliver Marmol, tripled, walked and
collected a pair of RBIs.
Quad Cites #1 lost to
Greensboro,
2-1
Plenty of good pitching in this
game. Thomas Eager allowed a pair of
hits and a pair of walks over 3.1 innings. He fanned three and was touched for a
single run. Chuckie Fick and Eduardo Sanchez teamed up to follow
with 4.2 scoreless, scattering three hits and four walks between them. Fick
struck out one and Sanchez whiffed three. Jose Mateo was the hard-luck loser,
allowing just one run on one hit and no walks in his single inning on the mound.
There wasn’t too much offense in
this contest, but a regular in this report, Charlie Kingrey, tripled. Andrew Brown and D’Marcus Ingram were both on base
twice with a single and a walk each and Ingram had the lone
RBI.
Quad Cities #2 defeated the
Marlins’ 5th team, 6-5
Brandon Garner spun three very solid innings,
allowing a single baserunner on a walk. He fanned three, but an unearned run
reached the plate. Coming off surgery last season, it is great to see Josh Wilson back on the mound. He also
went three innings, allowing two runs, but only one was earned on three hits and
a walk. Wilson, 21, fanned two.
Will Groff, Matt Arburr
and Mateo Marquez each contributed two
hits. Arburr doubled, scored twice and knocked in two. Marquez was on base a
third time with a walk.
Basic player stats provided
through the courtesy of Cardinals Director of Minor League Operations John Vuch.
Brian Walton can be reached via
email at brwalton@earthlink.net.
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