An 0-3 day for the affiliates with late losses for both Omaha and Wilmington.
HR Roll Call: Brett Eibner (3), Corey Toups (2)
BP KC Hitter of the Day: Corey Toups 2-4, HR, 3b, BB, 2R, RBI
BP KC Pitcher of the Day: Jake Junis 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Memphis Cardinals 7 – Omaha Storm Chasers 6
Starter Miguel Almonte had his worst outing since opening day, struggling with his control and unable to wiggle out of jams that his defense put him in during the first inning. It has been a constant throughout his career that when defense fails him he tends to get wound up and is unable to control the outcome. That was the case once again when a pair of errors in the 1st led to three runs and marred the outing for Almonte who got knocked around in the 3rd inning, which lead to his exit. Relievers David Huff and Clayton Mortensen settled things after Almonte’s exit which allowed the offense to get back into the game with a two-run homer from Brett Eibner in the 4th and tying the game in the 8th with a pair of RBI singles. The game would remain tied until the bottom of the ninth when Peter Moylan loaded the bases with a pair of intentional walks prior to plunking Carlos Peguero for the walkoff win.
Miguel Almonte 2.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
Brett Eibner 1-2, HR, 2R, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Tony Cruz 3-4, R, 2b, 2 RBI
Springfield Cardinals 5 NW Arkansas Naturals 1
The Naturals bullpen let a pitching duel and a win streak get away from them on Tuesday. Starter Jake Junis gave NW Arkansas his best performance of the year to date with six innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits and matching his season-high eight strikeouts. Reliever Yender Caramo took over for Junis after 87 pitches and didn’t fair quite so well, victimized by three ground ball singles and a line drive single in the 8th that plated three Springfield runs and gave the Cards a 2.5 game advantage in the division. The top two teams in the division will square away again Wednesday with Eric Skoglund on the hill for the Naturals.
Orlando Calixte 2-3, 2b, BB
Ramon Torres 1-4, 2b, 11 game hitting streak, 14 game on base streak
Frank Schwindel 1-4, R
Frederick Keys 8 Wilmington Blue Rocks 7
The bullpen let one slip away after the offense packed the most punch they have in more than two weeks. The Rocks scored multiple runs in three different innings with a pair in the 1st after Corey Toups got the night started with a leadoff triple. It was more Toups in the 5th with a solo home run followed by an Elier Hernandez double that brought in Alfredo Escalera, who broke out of a big slump with a three hit night. A group of Keys errors combined with a pair of Rocks singles gave the good guys a 7-5 advantage, but the bullpen couldn’t close the door in leading to the team’s 11th consecutive loss. Relievers Ian Tompkins and Mark McCoy continued their difficult seasons with each giving up runs in the 8th and 9th innings. Tomkins walked six hitters in just one and two-third innings of work.
Alfredo Escalera 3-4, BB, 2R, RBI
Matt Tenuta 4.2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
Chad Johnson 1-2, R, 2 BB