Monday, July 3, 2017

Dominican Summer League Cardinals Notebook 7-3-17



The Dominican Summer League Cardinals won their first game of this period, lost the next two, and and end the week on a two-game winning streak for a 3-2 record.  The Redbirds are 10-14 with a .417 PCT and are nine games out of first place in the South Division.  They are 6-5 at home and 4-9 on the road.

Week In Review:

June 26, 2017: The Cardinals went on the road to face the Yankees in the second game of the two-game series.  The Redbirds starter Jose Moreno came strong with four innings and allowed three hits, one earned run, and struck four out.  Hector Soto kept things rolling with three scoreless of his own.  The Cardinals offense struck first and gradually added to the lead until the sixth when they exploded for 15 runs in the final four frames.  Carlos Soler lead the way hitting for the cycle and driving in six runs, Cristhian Longa connected for one single, one double,one home run, and three RBIs, and Franklin Soto, Joyser Garcia, and Alexander Samuel each drove in two runs.  This marked the Cardinals second series sweep of the season.

June 27, 2017: The Cardinals looked to extend their two-game winning streak against the Mets, as visitors.  The Redbirds offense did not transition from the Yankees game to Mets and only put up four hits and one run.  Enmanuel Solano, in his first career start, was solid with five scoreless innings and four strikeouts.  The Cardinals bullpen just couldn't hold the shutout and lost 3-1 to the Mets.

June 28, 2017: The Cardinals hosted the Mets in the second game of the series and things went roughly the same as the first contest.  Both teams pitching were almost unhittable.  Wilfredo Pereira struck out three over five scoreless for the Cardinals to start.  Dionis Zamora followed with two scoreless.  The Redbirds were the first to plate a run, in the eight, on a Diomedes Del Rio RBI triple.  The Mets came through with two runs in the top of the ninth and closed the door in the bottom half for the two-game sweep.

June 29, 2017: The Cardinals returned to the road to face the Phillies Red in the next series.  Strong pitching, again, marked another game as Diego Cordero logged a career-high eight innings and struck out three and induced 15 ground outs.  The Phils lead the game in the fourth but the Redbirds took the over with Ivan Herrera and Pablo Gomez each driving in runs.  Each team exchanged runs in the ninth and the Cardinals held on for the victory.

June 30, 2017: The Cardinals welcomed in the Phillies Red for the second game.  Francis Ventura started for the Redbirds and pitched five innings only allowing two hits, one unearned run, and striking out two.  The Cardinals offense opened up the first inning with four runs and tacked on another in the fourth, but went silent for the remaining four frames.  Freddy DeJesus singles twice, doubled, and drove in two runs and Franklin Soto added three singles, one walk, and one RBI in the win.

July 1, 2017: The Cardinals were scheduled for a doubleheader against the Twins on Saturday but the weather played a role.  The Twins tacked on three runs in the top of the second and the contest was suspended and following game was postponed.

Who's Hot:

William Jimenez extended his hitting streak to six games this period.  The 21-year old right-handed hitter went 6-for-14 (.428) with one triple, four runs, six walks, three stolen bases, three strikeouts, and one caught stealing/pickoff.  He played two games in right field, one as designated hitter, and one split between centerfield and left.  The December 1, 2015 free agent signing leads the team in hits, total bases, walks, stolen bases, OBP, SLG, AVG, and OPS.

Franklin Soto collected two multi-hit games and ended the week on a two-game hit streak.  The 17-year old right-handed hitter went 9-for-24 (.375) with one double, three RBIs (two w/two-outs), one run, one walk, one stolen base, two strikeouts, one caught stealing, and grounded into two double plays.  He played two games at second base (assisted in two double plays), two at shortstop (committed one missed catcher error), and one as designated hitter.  The July 2, 2016 free agent signing is tied for the team lead in doubles.

Cristhian Longa picked up two multi-hit and one multi-RBI games.  The 17-year old right-handed hitter went 5-for-15 (.333) with two doubles, one home run, four RBIs (three w/two-outs), four runs, one hit by pitch, and two strikeouts.  He played four games at first base and assisted in three double plays.  The February 3, 2017 free agent signing leads the team in RBIs and tied in home runs.

Pablo Gomez is looking to extended his eight-game hitting streak into the next week.  The 17-year old right-handed hitter went 4-for-11 (.364) with one double, one triple, one RBI, one stolen base, and two strikeouts.  He played two games at third base (assisted in one double play) and one at second base (committed two throwing errors).

Freddy DeJesus collected two multi-hit and one multi-RBI games.  The 17-year old right-handed hitter went 5-for-14 (.357) with one double, one home run, three RBIs (one w/two-outs), three runs, three walks, and five strikeouts.  He played two as designated hitter and two games at first base (assisted in two double plays).

Diego Cordero has struck out three or more in four of his five of his appearances this season.  The 19-year old left-hander started on June 29th and allowed five hits, one unearned run, and struck three out over a career-high eight innings for the win (1-2).  He had a ground out-to-fly out ratio of 15-to-3.  The July 8, 2014 free agent signing leads all current starters in ERA and the team in innings pitched.

Francis Ventura bounced back from two sub par starts.  The 17-year old right-hander started on June 30th and gave up two hits, one unearned run, two walks, hit one batter, and struck two out for the winning decision (1-2).  He had a ground out-to-fly out ratio of 11-to-2.  The August 3, 205 free agent signing leads all current starters in WHIP.

Wilfredo Pereira three his first scoreless appearance of the season.  The 18-year old right-hander made his start on June 28th and tossed five scoreless frames allowing three hits, one walk, and struck three out.  He had a ground out-to-fly out ratio of 4-to-5.

Hector Soto has not allowed a run in four of five relief appearances this season.  The 18-year old right-hander was called on for relief on June 26th and threw three scoreless innings and giving up three hits and striking out two for the winning decision (2-0).  He had a ground out-to-fly out ratio of 3-to-1.

Enmanuel Solano moved into the starting rotation as Brian Pirela was promoted.  The 18-year old right-hander made his first career start on June 27th and tossed five scoreless innings while allowing five hits, striking out one, and picking one runner off.  He had a ground out-to-fly out ratio of 6-to-3.

Notes:

The St. Louis Cardinals signed 11 international free agents that could end up playing in the DSL at some point this season: Baseball America

Brian Pirela was promoted to short-season rookie-level Gulf Coast League on June 26th.  The 19-year right-handed made three appearances (two starts) posting a 1-0 record, 2.08 ERA, and 1.15 WHIP.  He allowed ten hits, four runs (three earned), five walks, and struck 13 over 13 innings.

Hector Mendoza was promoted to A-Advanced Palm Beach on June 28th.  The 23-year old right-hander made three relief appearances posting a 0-0 record, 2.57 ERA, and 1.00 WHIP.  He allowed two hits, three runs (two earned), five walks, and struck ten out over seven innings.

Victor Garcia has been out of action since June 23rd.

Dominican Summer League Stats:

The clubs is hitting .234 (23rd, 180-for-769) with 33 doubles, nine triples, seven home runs, 82 RBIs (t-9th worst), 252 total bases, 104 runs, 93 walks, 21 stolen bases (6th worst), 237 strikeouts (worst), ten caught stealing, .325 OBP (31st), .328 SLG (17th), and .653 OPS (26th).

The team is 10-13 with a 4.36 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, three holds, and five saves.  They have allowed 205 hits, 120 runs, 98 earned runs, seven home runs, 100 walks, hit 15 batters, and struck out 168 over 202.1 innings.

William Jimenez ranks tied for fifth in AVG, tied for first in OBP, and tied for fifth in OPS.

Raffy Ozuna ranks fifth in strikeouts.

Luis Montano is tied for eighth in strikeouts.

Wilfredo Pereira ranks tied for fifth in losses.

Dionis Zamora ranks tied for seventh in saves.

Diego Cordero ranks eighth in hits allowed.

Up Next (2017 Record, Record Vs. Cardinals):

July 3: @ Twins (18-5)(0-1)
July 4: @ Angels (11-13)(2-0)
July 5: Angels
July 6: Nationals (9-16)(2-2)
July 7: @ Nationals
July 8: @ Rockies (11-12)(2-2)
July 9: Off Day

Past Notebooks:

June 12, 2017: Roy Garcia, Ivan Herrera, William Jimenez, Luis Montano, and Brian Pirela.
June 19, 2017: Cristhian Longa, Jose Moreno, Raffy Ozuna, Erik Pena, and Hector Soto.
June 26, 2017: Oneiver Diaz, Jose Geronimo, William Jimenez, Cristhian Longa, Cristoffer Zapata.

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