Springfield, MO – RHP Matt Pearce struck out a career-high 11 batters through eight dominant innings to help lead the 1st-Half North Division Champion Springfield Cardinals to the 9-5 win against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals before 3,957 fans at Hammons Field on Tuesday night. The Cardinals backed their hurler with five home runs to power the attack.
After two scoreless innings from Springfield RHP Matt Pearce (W, 1-2) to start, the Cardinals (26-30, 67-59) broke through against Naturals LHP Eric Skoglund (L, 6-10) in the bottom of the second. Leading off the inning, 1B Luke Voit hammered a solo shot to left field, his 19th home run and 68th RBI of the season, lifting the Cardinals in front. One out later, LF Jonathan Rodriguez worked a walk, before racing around to third on a double from RF Allen Staton. C Luis Cruz followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to right field, enabling Rodriguez to tag and score for the 2-0 lead.
After a third scoreless stanza from Pearce, in which he struck out the side, Springfield stretched the lead in the bottom of the third. With one away and the bases clear, 3B Jacob Wilson, who just returned from AAA-Memphis today, belted a solo blast to left field for his fifth Double-A home run this year and a 3-0 Springfield lead.
Springfield kept swinging away in the bottom of the fifth. With two down and the bases empty, 2B Bruce Caldwell crushed a solo home run to left field, his 10th blast and 50th RBI of the season, increasing the lead to 4-0.
Pearce started the top of the sixth with a pop out, retiring his 11th straight batter. However, with one down in the sixth, RF Logan Moon broke that consecutive outs streak with a solo home run to left field, getting the Naturals on the board, 4-1.
The Cardinals got that run right back in the bottom of the sixth inning. Leading off the inning, DH Paul DeJong joined the home run parade, belting a solo shot to left field for his 21st long-ball and 68th RBI to make it a 5-1 Cardinals lead. One out after the home run, RF Allen Staton worked a walk that led to RHP Miguel Almonte taking over on the mound. Almonte got Cruz on a lineout, but lost CF Blake Drake to a two-out walk that moved Staton to second. SS Alex Mejia came through with a two-out RBI single through the left side, plating Staton from second to open the lead to 6-1. Wilson followed with his second home run of the night, a towering three-run bomb to left-center field, propelling the Cardinals into an eight-run lead, 9-1.
Pearce retired the first two batters of the eighth, before SS Humberto Arteaga extended the inning with a double. Moon struck again with an RBI single, bringing in Arteaga to shave the Naturals deficit to seven runs. Pearce battled back with his career-high 11th strikeout to close the eighth with the Cards leading, 9-2.
RHP Robby Rowland took over for the top of the ninth, but the Naturals refused to go down without a fight. With one down, LF Ryan O'Hearn and 1B Frank Schwindel knocked back-to-back base hits. One out later, DH Samir Duenez drove a two-run double to bring in both runners. After a C Cam Gallagher single moved Duenez to third, he came home on an RBI single from Arteaga to bring the Naturals within four runs. With two on and two down, RHP Kevin Herget took over on the mound and slammed the door with a three-pitch strikeout, closing the 9-5 win for the Cardinals.
Click here for the complete box score from Tuesday's game.
