RF David Washington drove in four runs to help lead the Springfield Cardinals to the 9-4 win against the San Antonio Missions before 3,950 fans at Hammons Field on Saturday evening. With the victory, the Cardinals wrapped up their third straight series win to start the season, improving their North Division leading record to 6-3.
After a quick six-pitch first inning from Springfield RHP Andrew Morales (W, 2-0), the Cardinals bats broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the first. Rehabbing St. Louis Cardinals SS Ruben Tejada started the stanza with a single, before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from LF Collin Radack. A base hit from 2B Bruce Caldwell and a walk by RF David Washington loaded the bases for 3B Paul DeJong. DeJong came through with an RBI sacrifice fly to right field, plating Tejada for the 1-0 lead.
Morales made quick work of the Missions (4-5) in the top of the second, and then the Cardinals went right back to work in the bottom of the inning. CF C.J. McElroy, Jr. laid down a perfect drag bunt for a single to start the frame. He took third base on a groundout, before charging home on an RBI single from Morales, the pitcher's first-career RBI. Tejada moved Morales to second with another single, putting two on with one down. Radack then ripped an RBI double to left field, plating Morales and moving Tejada to third base. After a strikeout, both runners raced home on a two-out, two-run double to right-center from Washington, his sixth and seventh RBIs of the year, opening the lead to 5-0.
Morales kept rolling with his third straight 1-2-3 inning in the third, before getting the first out to start the fourth, retiring the first 10 batters that he faced. However, with one down in the fourth, CF Auston Bousfield worked a walk to become the first Mission to reach base. LF Nick Torres then pulled an RBI double to left field, bringing in Bousfield all the way from first base. Following a 1B Mike Olt single, Morales got 3B Gabriel Quintana on a strikeout for the frame's second out. Morales then induced a grounder to short from RF Alberth Martinez, but the ball skipped away from Tejada at short, allowing everyone to be safe and Torres to come in, cutting the Cardinals lead to 5-2.
The Cardinals got the two runs right back against Diaz in the bottom of the fourth. With one away, Radack rifled a base hit to center field. Diaz responded with a strikeout, but Washington sent a two-out, two-run blast over the left field fence, his third homer of the year, swinging Springfield into the 7-2 lead.
After two more scoreless stanzas from Morales, the Cardinals padded the lead with a pair of tallies in the bottom of the sixth against LHP Kyle Bartsch. With one away, Radack reached base for the third time, this time with a walk. Following a fly out, Washington kept the inning alive with a walk of his own, putting two men on. A wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, before both came home on a two-run single from 3B Paul DeJong, making it 9-2.
The Missions chipped the deficit back down to five runs in the top of the seventh. With two down, C Ryan Miller extended the inning with a base hit. 2B Taylor Lindsey then entered as a pinch hitter and promptly drove a two-run home run to left field, slicing the Cardinals lead down to 9-4.
However, Morales escaped the seventh with no further damage being done, before RHP John Brebbia dealt a 1-2-3 top of the eighth. LHP Corey Littrell took over for the final three outs in the ninth and retired the Missions in order, closing the decisive 9-4 win for the Cardinals.
