Andrew Buchbinder (Springfield Cardinals Media Relations) Midland, TX – The Springfield Cardinals won their second straight series with a 2-1 victory in the rubber match against the Midland RockHounds before 3,133 fans at Security Bank Ballpark on Tuesday night.
Springfield closes the opening road trip with back-to-back series wins and a 4-2 record, good for an early hold on 1st place in the North Division as they come home for Opening Day at Hammons Field on Thursday, April 13.
In a battle of 1st-rounders, Cardinals RHP Jack Flaherty (W, 2-0) and Midland RHP Grant Holmes (L, 0-1) alternated three straight scoreless innings apiece, before Springfield broke through in the top of the fourth. With one away, RF Blake Drake rifled a single to center field. C Gabriel Lino then tattooed an RBI triple to right-center field, scoring Drake all the way from first base. With 2B Dickie Joe Thon up, Holmes uncorked a wild pitch that bounced away from C Argenis Raga and allowed Lino to score, lifting the Cardinals into the 2-0 lead.
After Flaherty had baffled the RockHounds (3-3) with 10 straight outs to start his outing, Midland responded to the Cardinals runs with one of their own in the bottom of the fourth. With one away, CF J.P. Sportman and 2B Max Schrock collected back-to-back base hits, putting runners at the corners. LF Tyler Marincov then skied an RBI sacrifice fly to right field, enabling Sportman the chance to tag and score, slicing the Cardinals lead in half, 2-1.
Flaherty got himself right back on track with a perfect fifth and faced the minimum nine batters through his final three innings, finishing with just the one run allowed on four hits while striking out four in seven innings. Through his first two Double-A starts, the 21-year-old Flaherty is 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA.
RHP Kevin Herget (S, 1) took over in the bottom of the eighth and picked up right where Flaherty left off, dealing a pair of scoreless innings to slam the door and close the 2-1 win for Springfield.
