SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — After six nearly spotless relief appearances to open 2018, Chris Ellis took the mound in the first inning for the first time this season.
And brought more of the same results.
With 2,265 in attendance, Ellis (1-0) allowed just a single run on a solo shot in the first, giving up four hits without a walk and striking out three over six innings in a 6-5 Cardinals win over the Naturals on Monday at Hammons Field.
Northwest Arkansas (6-10) trailed by five in the seventh but got one back on an Estarlin Arias wild pitch that allowed Jecksson Flores to score from third. Two pitches later, a two-run homer by Erick Mejia stayed just inside the foul pole in right and cut Springfield’s lead to 6-4.
The Naturals drew within a run of the Cardinals (8-8) in the ninth on a two-out RBI single by Nicky Lopez off Andrew Morales that scored Corey Toups. Hector Mendoza replaced Morales with Naturals on the corners and immediately got Mejia to groundout to second, securing his first save of the season.
A two-run homer by John Nogowski in the top of the seventh ended up producing the game-winning RBI.
Thanks to Ramon Urias, Northwest Arkansas’ 1-0 lead on a Samir Duenez solo homer didn’t last long.
After opening his Minor League career in Memphis, Urias’ impressive arrival in Springfield continued when he deposited a solo shot into Homers Landing that tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the first.
After a double by Lane Thomas and a single from Andrew Knizner, Nogowski gave Springfield a 2-1 lead with a ground ball to shortstop that scored Thomas.
Victor Roache extended Springfield’s lead to 3-1 in the fourth with his fourth dinger of the season.
IT WAS OVER WHEN
Nogowski deposited his fourth homer of the year over the hill in left. The bomb scored Urias and put the Cardinals up 6-1 in the seventh.
The two-run shot gave Nogowski three RBIs on the night and a team-high 16 on the season, putting him second in the Texas League.
NOT COOLING DOWN
Knizner’s 2-for-4 night and Nogowski’s 3-for-4 night now have both in the top five of the Texas League in batting. Knizner is hitting a league-best .435 and Nogowski is fourth at .382.
Knizner extended his hit streak to six in the win. He’s 13-24 over that stretch with two-plus hits in each of those games and in seven of his last eight. Nogowski now has hits in five straight.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Urias started his Double-A career with five consecutive hits after a 4-for-4 performance with two doubles on Sunday. He finished Monday 2-for-4. Mendoza has now pitched an even six scoreless relief innings this season.
UP NEXT
The Naturals and Cardinals are scheduled to play the second game of their four-game series Tuesday night at Hammons Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
