FSL1 Palm Beach Cardinals

Cardinals Rally for 3-1 Win

Published on August 11, 2011 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Palm Beach Cardinals News Release


JUPITER, Fla. - The Palm Beach Cardinals (26-22, 55-62) rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat the Charlotte Stone Crabs (26-21, 56-60) by a final of 3-1 Thursday night in the finale of a three-game series at Roger Dean Stadium.

Justin Smith (3-7, 5.73 ERA) allowed the only Stone Crabs' tally in the fifth but still pitched three solid innings of relief to earn his third win of the season for the Cardinals, the second since moving from the starting rotation back in early July. Smith, a third-year righty out of Utah Valley University, is now 2-1 with a 3.48 ERA in 10 relief appearances after going 1-6 with a 6.49 ERA in 14 starts.

Right-hander Deryk Hooker made his 2011 Palm Beach debut with four scoreless innings in the start, not issuing a walk while striking out five. Hooker, who spent eight games with Palm Beach last season, began the year with Class-AA Springfield and was most recently on a rehab assignment in the Gulf Coast League. The 6-foot-4-inch 22-year-old was selected by the Cardinals in the 7th round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of Mira Mesa (Calif.) High School.

Hooker and Charlotte starter Jake Thompson dueled through the first four innings and the Stone Crabs' right-hander continued to dazzle until the end of the sixth, when he was removed after allowing just one single and striking out four. Thompson left with a 1-0 lead obtained in the fifth on a RBI-double from Reid Fronk.

The Cardinals had managed just three baserunners through six innings until Xavier Scruggs met new Charlotte pitcher Adam Liberatore (5-4, 2.99 ERA) with a sharp single to leadoff the frame and was pushed to second on a well-placed sacrifice bunt from Robert Stock. Rainel Rosario tied the game with a blast that bounced off the warning track and over the wall for a ground-rule double and, after a strikeout, came home to score the eventual game-winning tally on a big one-out RBI-single from Niko Vasquez. Starlin Rodriguez followed later in the frame with a single through the hole at shortstop to give Palm Beach the 3-1 advantage.

Jesse Simpson pitched a scoreless eighth inning, lowering his ERA to 2.08 in the process, and Jordan Swagerty made quick work of the Stone Crabs hitters in the ninth to record his fifth save and secure the 3-1 win. Palm Beach ends up taking 2-of-3 from the Stone Crabs, wins the season-series 9-8 and moves to within 3.5 games of first place in the FSL South division behind the Bradenton Marauders.

Right-hander Eric Fornataro (6-11, 3.75 ERA) will look to make it three in a row tomorrow night as the Cardinals begin a five-game road trip with game one of a three-gamer against lefty Edgar Ibarra (3-8, 6.08 ERA) and the Fort Myers Miracle. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Hammond Stadium.

For more information on the Palm Beach Cardinals, Class-A Advanced affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, please call (561) 775-1818 or visit www.palmbeachcardinals.com . For tickets and more information regarding Roger Dean Stadium, please visit www.rogerdeanstadium.com .

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Florida State League Stories from August 11, 2011


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