TL1 Springfield Cardinals

Cardinals Beat Travs 3-1

Published on May 10, 2011 under Texas League (TL1)
Springfield Cardinals News Release


Springfield, MO - Three games into a four game set, the Cardinals and the Arkansas Travelers had provided plenty of late inning drama to Hammons Field attendees. Strong pitching made sure this wouldn't be the case for a fourth straight contest.

Looking for a split of the four game series, the Cardinals sent right-hander Michael Blazek (2-1, 4.96 ERA) to the rubber. The Travs countered with the Angels organization's 2009 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, lefty Trevor Reckling (0-4, 3.58 ERA).

Coming in to the game, Reckling owned a 1.76 ERA against Springfield in eight career starts. The first four innings of this contest was more of the same. Reckling came out blazing, striking out four of the first seven batters he faced. The left-hander worked efficiently, using only 44 pitches to get through four innings of work.

Travelers superstar prospect Mike Trout led off the game with an extra base hit for the second consecutive game. The young center fielder's double off the left field wall raised his series average to .384. Trout would come around to score on Luis Jimenez's double to left-center, giving the Travs a 1-0 lead. With his 19th RBI of the season, Jimenez took over the Arkansas team lead.

The early run would be the only scoring for either team until the fifth inning. A base running gaffe by Arkansas right fielder Roberto Lopez in the third inning robbed Jimenez of a second RBI and kept the score at 1-0.

After the Jimenez double, Blazek matched Reckling pitch for pitch, keeping the Travelers off of the scoreboard for the rest of his day. Blazek finished with a quality start, going six innings and allowing only one run on seven hits.

Cardinals' third baseman Niko Vasquez finally got to Reckling in the bottom of the fifth. Ending a streak of seven straight retired batters, Vasquez hit a two-out home run over the right field wall to tie the game at 1-1. The homer was Vasquez's fourth of the year and second of the series.

Reckling retired Springfield catcher Charlie Cutler to get out of the inning, but the problems continued into the sixth. Tommy Pham led off with an infield single deep into the hole at short and advanced on a Ryan Jackson sacrifice bunt. Team RBI leader Matt Adams drove in his 30th of the year, scoring Pham with a double down the right field line. The run gave the Cardinals their first lead of the ballgame, 2-1.

The funky, left-handed release of Reckling can give some batters trouble. Cardinals' left fielder Jose Garcia is not one of those players. Garcia went 2-for-2 with a walk against Reckling on the day. His second hit was a home run that cleared the visitor's bullpen in left field, extending the Birds lead to 3-1. The blast was Garcia's first of the year.

Garcia's home run was more than enough insurance for Blazek and the Birds. The Cardinals bullpen took care of business despite a leadoff single by Travelers second baseman Adam Younger in the top of the ninth. With the tension at the ballpark at a palpable level, Jesse Simpson got Lopez to ground into a double play. Trout followed with his third hit of the day on a single to left, but that was as close as the Travs would get. On the very first pitch of the next at-bat, Darwin Perez tried to bunt his way on base only to be easily forced out by Adams, giving the Birds the win.

Michael Blazek was the winning pitcher on the day, bringing his record to 3-1 on the season and lowering his ERA to 4.38. Jesse Simpson recorded his first save of the season.

Despite his strong start, Reckling was saddled with the loss. He pitched seven innings, gave up three runs on six hits and struck out a season high eight.

The win earned the Cardinals a series split with the Travelers. The Birds improved to 14-17 overall and 8-9 at Hammons Field this season.

Springfield will enjoy a day off Wednesday before they begin a four-game series with the NW Arkansas Naturals in Springfield Thursday night at 7:07pm at Hammons Field. The Cardinals will send right hander Scott Schneider to the mound against lefty Edgar Osuna of the Naturals in the series opener.

Thursday, as always, it will be Johnsonville's "Buck a Brat" Night featuring $1 Johnsonville Bratwurst. It is also "Pack & Fly" Vacation Ticket Giveaway presented by Allegiant Air where they will give away 20 ticket vouchers from Springfield to Tampa, Las Vegas, Los Angeles or Phoenix throughout the night for fans 21 or older. Tickets are available by visiting the Hammons Field Ticket Office, online at springfieldcardinals.com or by calling (417) 863-2143.

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Texas League Stories from May 10, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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