Much like the St. Louis Cardinals, who have won four straight games, the Palm Beach Cardinals (A-Advanced) entered Monday’s series against Daytona with three wins in their first four games, including two straight, against the Charlotte Stone Crabs.
Matt Pearce got the start on the mound for Palm Beach, as they faced off against the Daytona Tortugas in game one of a four game-series at Roger Dean Stadium. The 22-year old threw six innings of one-run baseball, with the one run being unearned. But not only was Pearce’s pitching a strong point for Palm Beach on Monday: the bats once again performed well, getting help along the way.
Palm Beach scored first, in the second inning. It began when Casey Grayson reached first on a leadoff walk, advancing to second base following an Allen Staton groundout. Orlando Olivera singled following the groundout to put runners at the corners with only one out and Steve Bean at the plate. While he grounded into an inning-ending double play, Palm Beach still scored on the play as the first baseman touched first then threw to second with a tag out at second base allowing Grayson to score before the tag was applied.
In the fifth inning, Daytona got on the board. The inning began with Jeff Gelaligh singling to right field. An error by third basemen Danny Diekreoger allowed Chad Tromp to reach base safely. Blake Butler advanced both of the runners with a successful sacrifice bunt. Jonathan Reynoso grounded out next, but Gelaligh beat the throw to home plate, tying the game at 1-1. Palm Beach failed to score in the fifth inning, even with the bases loaded and only one out.
But it was ok in the end, as the following inning was when the Cardinals really took off. Diekroeger led off with a double to right-center field. Not too long afterwards, he advanced to third on a ground out by Grayson and later scored on a groundout by Staton. And throughout the duration of the game, the Tortugas walked Cardinals’ batters a total of eight times, helping them cruise to a 7-3 victory.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol commented later on what he thought was very impressive plate patience by his team: “I thought those guys did a good job. They have been working on it quite a bit during their early work. I thought Bean did a good job, especially against that lefty. He worked the count and drew a walk. We are trying to get better at it.”
The Cardinals will play the Daytona Tortugas again on Tuesday night as they will put Ian McKinney to the mound in his season debut for Palm Beach. As for the vistors, the Tortugas will counter with Jake Paulson. The first pitch is set for 6:30 PM.
