Springfield, MO – The Springfield Cardinals reclaimed sole possession of 1st place in the North Division with a 4-3 win against the Tulsa Drillers before 3,383 fans at Hammons Field on Sunday.
The Cardinals and Drillers continue to battle for the 1st Half Championship with only eight games left in the half. Since Tulsa will only play 69 games in the half due to a rain out, winning percentage will determine the 1st Half Winner. The Cardinals are currently 35-27 with a .565 winning percentage, just ahead of the Drillers who are 34-27 with a .557 winning percentage.
Cardinals RHP Daniel Poncedeleon and Drillers RHP Scott Barlow exchanged a pair of scoreless innings to start the game, before Tulsa swung in front in the top of the third. With two down and the bases clear, 2B Willie Calhoun drove a solo shot to right-center field, lifting the Drillers into the 1-0 lead.
The Cardinals, though, came right back in the bottom of the third. With one down, CF Harrison Bader line a single to left field to reach base. RF Jonathan Rodriguez then laced a two-run home run into Homers Landing beyond the right field fence, swinging Springfield ahead, 2-1, with his third homer in Double-A this year.
Poncedeleon authored a quick 1-2-3 top of the fourth, before the Cardinals kept swinging away in the bottom of the fourth. With one away, 2B Bruce Caldwell and C Carson Kelly crushed back-to-back solo home runs, opening the advantage to 4-1. One out after the solo shots, Poncedeleon, Bader and Rodriguez each worked walks, loading the bases with two away for rehabbing St. Louis Cardinals C Brayan Pena. However, in a 1-2 count, the rain started to pour down and the umpires called for the tarp, sending the game into a rain delay with the bases full. After a delay of two hours and 38 minutes, LHP Michael Johnson took over on the mound and 1B Michael Ohlman entered as a pinch hitter for Pena. Johnson was able to complete the strikeout and close the extended fourth inning with the Cardinals lead at 4-1.
Rehabbing St. Louis Cardinals RHP Seth Maness took over on the mound for the top of the fifth. After a quick groundout to open the inning, SS Jordan Tarsovich got a hold of one for a solo shot to left field, bringing Tulsa within two runs. Maness, though, rebounded with two more quick groundouts, closing the fifth with the Cardinals ahead, 4-2.
RHP Pedro Echemendia (W, 1-0) ensured that the two-run lead remained through his two scoreless relief innings, before RHP John Brebbia followed with a perfect frame in the eighth.
RHP Josh Lucas (S, 7) took over to try to slam the door in top of the ninth, but the Drillers refused to go down easily. LF Jacob Scavuzzo led off with a single up the middle, before taking second on a groundout. 1B Cody Bellinger then pulled an RBI single through the right side, plating Scavuzzo to bring Tulsa within one run. After a walk from RF Kyle Garlick advanced Bellinger, the potential tying run, to second base, Lucas induced a game-ending 4-6-3 double play off the bat of C Paul Hoenecke, and the Cardinals hung on for the 4-3 win.
