Recap April 15-23:
April 15 Springfield Official Site Post Game: Springfield opened a three-game series with Midland, on the road. The Cardinals got the first run on the board in the first inning as Oscar Taveras drove in Jose Garcia, who lead off with a double. But after that it was all Rockhounds for the next three innings. Tyler Lyons, Scott Schneider, and Kevin Thomas were slammed with 16 hits, 14 runs, one home run, and three walks in the first five frames. Midland racked up extra base hits with Anthony Aliotti doubling, Jeremy Barfield doubling and homering, Josh Horton doubling twice, and Ryan Ortiz tripling in the first five innings. Former Springfield Cardinal Gary Daley had another amazing performance against his former team going six and a third and allowing eight hits, three earned runs, two walks, and struck two out. Daley was knocked out when Niko Vasquez pinch hit for Xavier Scruggs and drove in Greg Garcia and Kolten Wong with two outs in the seventh. Eric Fornataro was the only Springfield pitcher to get in and out without being hit as he struck two batters and induced a fly out in the sixth. The Rockhounds didn't let up either, adding another four runs on over the seventh and eighth to beat the Cardinals 18-4.
April 16 Springfield Official Site Post Game: Game two between Springfield and Midland was highlighted by starting pitching. Scott Gorgen and A.J. Griffin both tossed scoreless innings through the fourth. In the fifth, Gorgen got a strike out and ground out to lead off the inning but Jeremy Barfield doubled to right field. Ryan Ortiz walked and Dusty Coleman doubled to clear the bases making it 2-0 Midland. Gorgen gave up two more consecutive walks and finally got out of the inning on a strike out. The Cardinals tied the game up in the top of the sixth as Adam Melker singled to right to drive in Oscar Taveras and Tommy Pham, on two outs. Springfield struck again in the seventh with Nick Derba singling to right and moving to second on a bunt by Greg Garcia. Jose Garcia reached on a fielder's choice and Derba moved to third on a throwing error. Kolten Wong knocked in Derba on a ground out and Oscar Taveras tripled in Garcia to make it 4-2 Springfield. The Cardinals added another in the eighth and Jorge Rondon struggled to close out the game, making way for Keith Butler who earned his first save as Springfield won 5-3 over Midland.
April 17 Springfield Official Site Post Game: Springfield sent John Gast to the hill for the rubber match against Midland. Gast threw six and a third innings allowing three hits, one earned run (homer to former Springfield Cardinal Shane Peterson), two walks, and struck six out for his third winning decision. The Cardinals struck in the third inning as Greg Garcia walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error with one out. Kolten Wong walked after Jose Garcia flew out and Oscar Taveras followed with a two-run double and error on the throw. Both teams bullpens shut things down as we saw six scoreless to end the game as Springfield held on to win 2-1 over Midland and take the series two out of three games.
April 18: Springfield Cardinals had day off.
April 19 Springfield Official Site Post Game: Springfield welcomed in Tulsa for a four-game set and looked to Trevor Rosenthal to bounce back from pour previous start. Rosenthal not only rebounded but threw his best game of the season. He tossed six scoreless innings only allowing three hits (no extra bases), three walks, and struck out six for his first winning decision of the season. The Cardinals touched home in the first inning with Xavier Scruggs driving in Kolten Wong on a double to right. With two outs, Greg Garcia and Trevor Rosenthal on base, Jose Garcia singled to drive in Greg Garcia for a second run. Adam Melker took Tommy Pham's spot on first after Pham singled in the fourth and Greg Garcia followed with a homer to make the game 4-0 Springfield. Kolten Wong opened the seventh up with being by a pitch, Oscar Taveras followed with a single to center. Xavier Scruggs was walked to load up the bases and Jake Shaffer scored Wong with a single to right. Greg Garcia punched another run through as he grounded into a double play. Eric Fornataro and Justin Wright combined for three scoreless relief innings that saw just two hits and no runs as Springfield shut out Tulsa 6-0.
April 20 Springfield Official Site Post Game: Springfield got another combination of a pitching performance from Mike Blazek and Jesse Simpson, who took care of the first six innings of the game. Blazek and Simpson put together six scoreless frames allowing four hits, three walks, and eight strikeouts. Jose Garcia doubled to lead of the first , moved over to third on a Greg Garcia ground out, and scored on a Oscar Taveras single to center. In the third, Tulsa got two consecutive ground outs and Taveras hit a solo homer to right. Adam Melker lead off the sixth with a triple and Audry Perez drove him in on a sacrifice fly to right, making it Springfield 3-0. The Drillers got on the board in the ninth as Lars Davis drove in Mike Zuanich with a double to right, but Tulsa still lost to Springfield 3-1.
April 21 Springfield Official Site Post Game: Tulsa faced another tough Springfield starter in Tyler Lyons in game three of the series. Lyons came through with six strong innings in which four hits, no runs, and two walks were allowed and he struck six out. Xavier Scruggs hit a two-out solo home run in the fourth for the first run of the game. Scruggs returned in the sixth inning to hit another two-out solo home run, making it 2-0 Springfield. Kevin Thomas entered the game in the seventh and the Drillers bats came to life. With one out, Mike Zuanich singled to center and Jose Gonzalez followed with a base clearing home run to tie the game. Tulsa went on to take the lead in the eighth as Nolan Arenado doubled in Michael Mitchell and held on to beat Springfield 3-2.
April 22 Springfield Official Site Post Game: Springfield got things started in game four of the series with Greg Garcia singling and Kolten Wong doubling to open the bottom of the first. Oscar Taveras grounded out to score Garcia to put the Cardinals up 1-0. Springfield returned in the third to score a couple more runs. Garcia and Wong struck again with singles each and Taveras doubled to score Garcia. Wong would score on a passed ball and Springfield went up 3-0. Things turned around for Tulsa in the sixth but not before Scott Gorgen could make a quick pick off out. Nolan Arenado and Ben Paulson each singled to right and Kent Matthes loaded up the bases as he walked. Gorgen gave Tulsa a freebee run walking Tim Torres and Kevin Thomas entered the game. Angelys Nina welcomed Thomas' arrival emptying the bases with a grand slam to make the game Tulsa 5-3. Springfield tied the game up in the bottom half as they loaded up the bases with as Kyle Conley, Audry Perez, and Niko Vasquez single. With one out, Jose Garcia grounded out to first base scoring Conley and Perez. Nina came back to bite the Cardinals in the eighth as he hit a ground rule double and scored the go ahead run on a fly out to center. The Tulsa bullpen came though to hold Springfield in check for the final three frames and went on to win 6-5.
April 23 Springfield Official Site Post Game: NW Arkansas put Jake Odorizzi on the hill to face Springfield in the opening match up between to two teams. Odorizzi held the Cardinals to four hits, no runs, one walk, and struck 11 out over seven innings and Patrick Keating followed him up with two scoreless innings. John Gast had another real good start as he went six innings but gave up eight hits and two runs. The two runs came in the third innings for the Naturals as John Whittleman doubled in Christian Colon and Wil Myers. NW Arkansas struck again in the eighth as Sharlon Schoop lead off with a home run and Julio Rodriguez doubled in Kurt Mertins and Paulo Orlando to give them the 5-0 over Springfield.
Who's Hot:
Oscar Taveras has a two-game hit streak and collected three multi-hit and two multi-RBI games during the period. The 19-year old left-handed hitter went 12-for-35 (.343) with three doubles, one triple, one home run, seven RBIs (three w/two-outs), three runs, one stolen base, and four strikeouts. He played two games in centerfield, three in right field, two as designated hitter, and split a game in center and left field.
Jose Garcia picked up three multi-hit games. The 24-year old right-handed hitter went 10-for-33 (.303) with three doubles, three RBIs (one w/two-outs), three runs, and nine strikeouts. He played four games at third base, two at shortstop, split one game at third base and centerfield, and split another at second and third base.
John Gast continued his strong opening to the season making it another two consecutive quality starts. The 23-year old left-hander started on April 17 going six and a third innings and allowing three hits, one earned run, one home run, tow walks, and struck six out for the winning decision (3-0). His second start came on April 23, as he gave up eight hits, two earned runs, two walks, hit on batter, and struck five out for the losing decision (3-1). The 2010 6th round (199th overall) selection made 181 pitches with 119 for strikes and had a ground out-to-fly out ratio of 11-to-12.
Trevor Rosenthal rebounded to make his best start of the season on April 19. The 21-year old right-hander pitched six innings allowing three hits, no runs, three walks, and striking out six for the winning decision (1-2). He made 90 pitches with 60 going for strikes and had a ground out-to-fly out ratio of 5-to-2.
Jesse Simpson came out of the bullpen to make two scoreless appearances during this period. He tossed two scoreless innings allowing two hits and struck three out for the winning decision (1-0) on April 20. Then on April 22 he pitched one inning and gave up one hit, no runs, and threw one wild pitch. The 2009 40th round (1209th overall) selection made 55 pitches with 36 registering as strikes and had a ground out-to-fly out ratio of 3-to-2.
Who's Not:
Rainel Rosario will look to end a two-game hitless streak in the next week. The 23-year old right-handed hitter went 3-for-23 (.130) with on double, three walks, and five strikeouts. He played four games in right field (one outfield assist) and came off the bench as a pinch hitter in three games.
Niko Vasquez continues to struggle at the plate this season. The 23-year old right-handed hitter went 2-for-13 (.154) with two two-out RBIs and two strikeouts. He played three games at third base and assisted in two double plays.
Scott Gorgen ran into trouble in his second start for this report. The 25-year old right-hander started on April 16 and allowed four hits, two earned runs, three walks, struck four out, and picked one runner off. Then on April 22, he gave up five hits, four earned runs, three walks, struck four out, and picked one runner off. The 2008 4th round (125th overall) selection made 160 pitches with 95 hitting strikes and had a ground out-to-fly out ratio of 16-to-3.
Kevin Thomas was hit hard in three out of four appearances he made this period. The 25-year old right-hander gave up four earned runs over two innings on April 15, no runs over one innings on April 17, two earned runs over one inning on April 21, and one earned run over two-thirds of an inning on April 22. He coughed up three home runs, blew two saves (2), but did earn a hold (1). The 2008 33rd round (995th overall) selection made 70 pitches with 46 hitting strikes, had a ground out-to-fly out ratio of 9-to-2, and let five of six inherited runners score.
Scott Schneider was pounded in his first appearance of this period but calmed down in his second. The 23-year old right-hander coughed up seven hits, seven earned runs, one walk, and struck one out over one and a third inning on April 15. On April 21, he pitched just two-thirds of an inning allowing no hits or runs. The 2009 20th round (609th overall) selection made a combined 36 pitches with 25 hitting strikes, had a ground out-to-fly out ratio of 3-to-1, and didn't let any of the five inherited runners score.
Notes:
Tommy Pham was officially placed on the disabled list on April 21 and Kyle Conley was called up from A-Advanced Palm Beach. Pham could be headed for surgery as an MRI showed multiple tears according to the Springfield News-Leader.
Eric Fornataro and Keith Butler are enjoying their new roles as relief pitchers in the system per Springfield News-Leader.
Cardinals coaches and scouts are very excited about what they call a toolsy and raw talented Rainel Rosario per Springfield News-Leader.
John Gast sat down for an interview with Ozark First.
Xavier Scruggs talks about getting his season started at The Cardinal Nation.
2012 Texas League Stats:
The Springfield Cardinals are hitting .255 (3rd) with a .321 OBP (4th), .396 SLG (4th), and .718 OPS (4th). The team ranks tied for first in hits; second in strikeouts; third in doubles (tied), triples, and walk; fourth in runs, home runs (tied), and RBIs (tied); and sixth in stolen bases and caught stealing (tied) in the eight-team division.
The Cardinals have a 4.46 ERA (7th) and 1.39 WHIP (7th). The team ranks first in hit batters; second in losses (tied), runs allowed, and earned runs allowed; third in hits allowed, walks, and strikeouts; fourth in saves; fifth in home runs allowed; and sixth in wins (tied) and shut outs in the eight-team division.
Kolten Wong ranks fourth in AVG, tied for fourth in runs, ninth in hits, tied for second in triples, eighth in total bases, tied for eighth in stolen bases, tied for fifth in OBP, ninth in SLG, and fifth in OPS.
Jeff Shaffer ranks sixth in AVG and tied for tenth in doubles.
Oscar Taveras ranks tenth in AVG, tied for second in hits, fourth in doubles, tied for fifth in triples, tied for fifth in home runs, second in RBIs, second in total bases, and eighth in SLG.
Jose Garcia ranks tied for eighth in runs, tied for seventh in hits, tied for tenth in doubles, and tied for eighth in strikeouts.
Greg Garcia ranks tied for ninth in triples and tied for tenth in walks.
Adam Melker ranks tied for ninth in triples and tied for fourth in caught stealing.
Xavier Scruggs ranks tied for tied for ninth in home runs and tied for second in strikeouts.
Tommy Pham ranks tied for eighth in strikeouts.
John Gast ranks fourth in ERA, tied for second in wins, first in inning pitched, tied for ninth in hits allowed, tied for fourth in strikeouts, and fifth in WHIP.
Mike Blazek ranks tied for fourth in losses, fifth in hits allowed, first in runs allowed, first in earned runs, tied for third in home runs allowed, tied for fourth in hit batters, and tied for second in walks.
Sam Freeman ranks tied for fourth in losses, tied for ninth in saves, tied for first in holds, and tied for sixth in game finishes.
Tyler Lyons ranks tied for fourth in losses.
Trevor Rosenthal ranks tied for fourth in losses, tied for fifth in walks, and tied for ninth in strikeouts.
Jorge Rondon ranks tied for fourth in saves and tied for sixth in game finishes.
Keith Butler ranks tied for ninth in saves and tied for sixth in holds.
Scott Schneider ranks tied for tenth in earned runs and tied for fourth in hit batters.
Kevin Thomas ranks tied for eighth in home runs allowed.
Scott Gorgen ranks tied for fourth in hit batters, tied for ninth in strikeouts, and tenth in WHIP.
(Note: Does Include Stats Through April 25)
Up Next:
April 23-26: @ NW Arkansas (8-11)
April 27-30: @ Tulsa (13-6)
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