Springfield, MO – The Springfield Cardinals struck for four runs in a fifth-inning rally to race past the Tulsa Drillers for the 5-3 win before 2,782 fans at Hammons Field on Tuesday night.
The Cardinals (21-16) have now won five of their last six games, opening their lead for 1st place in the North Division First Half Standings to 3.0 games over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
The Drillers (16-20) came out swinging against RHP Daniel Poncedeleon (W, 2-3), striking for one run in the top of the first. RF Andrew Toles led off the game with a triple, before darting home on an RBI sacrifice fly from 2B Willie Calhoun for the 1-0 lead.
Poncedeleon, though, dug in and kept the Cardinals only down by the one run until the bats broke through in the bottom of the fifth. After four scoreless innings from Tulsa RHP Carlos Frias, the Cardinals struck against RHP Ralston Cash (L, 2-2). Consecutive walks from SS Alex Mejia and C Carson Kelly started the fifth with two men on. LF C.J. McElroy, Jr. followed with an RBI single up the middle that brought in Mejia and led to a pair of errors on CF Alex Verdugo, enabling Kelly to get to third and McElroy, Jr. to scoot to second. Poncedeleon then helped his own cause with a go-ahead RBI sacrifice fly to right field for his first career RBI, bringing in Kelly and moving McElroy, Jr. to third. CF Harrison Bader added to the rally with a walk, before swiping his way to second base. After a fly out, 2B Bruce Caldwell scored both McElroy, Jr. and Bader with a two-out, two-run single to extend the new advantage to 4-1.
After four straight scoreless innings from Poncedeleon, who at one point retired 10 in a row, the Drillers got one of the runs back in the top of the sixth. C Kyle Farmer and CF Alex Verdugo sparked the bats with consecutive one-out singles to put runners at first and third. LF Jacob Scavuzzo then skied an RBI sacrifice fly to left field, plating Farmer to slice the deficit to 4-2.
Tulsa continued to chip into the Cardinals lead in the top of the seventh against RHP Pedro Echemendia, making his Double-A debut for Springfield. Maggi and 3B Brandon Trinkwon started the stanza with back-to-back singles, beginning the inning with runners at the corners and no outs. Toles promptly plated Maggi from third base with an RBI sacrifice fly to center field, making it just a one-run Springfield lead, 4-3.
The Cardinals, however, padded the lead against LHP Michael Johnson in the bottom of the seventh. McElroy, Jr. led off with his second single of the night, but was retired in a fielder's choice that enabled pinch-hitting OF Collin Radack to reach first base. With Bader at bat, Radack stole second and kept motoring to third when the pitch got past C Kyle Farmer on a passed ball. Bader wound up with his second walk of the night, setting up men at the corners for 2B Breyvic Valera. Valera came through with an RBI single ripped right through the middle, stretching the lead back to 5-3.
RHP John Brebbia (S, 1) then took over and slammed the door with a pair of scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth, closing the 5-3 win for the Cardinals.
Click here for the complete box score from Tuesday's game.
