Redbirds Walk Off as Winners in the 11th Inning
Box Score MEMPHIS, Tennessee – One night after their 15-game winning streak came to an end, the Memphis Redbirds got right back to it on Wednesday night, outlasting the Gwinnett Stripers (Triple-A affiliate, Atlanta Braves) for an 8-7 win in 11 innings at AutoZone Park. For the second straight night,
MEMPHIS, Tennessee – One night after their 15-game winning streak came to an end, the Memphis Redbirds got right back to it on Wednesday night, outlasting the Gwinnett Stripers (Triple-A affiliate, Atlanta Braves) for an 8-7 win in 11 innings at AutoZone Park.
For the second straight night, Memphis (37-37) received excellent starting pitching from a rehabbing St. Louis Cardinal. One day after Jack Flaherty dazzled with three strikeouts in two scoreless innings, Daniel Ponce de Leon did even better on Wednesday night. The righthander tossed three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit (a double on the first pitch of the game) with one walk and four strikeouts. Ponce de Leon retired the final eight batters he faced in order.
After three consecutive scoreless frames to start the game for Jasseel De La Cruz, the Redbirds got to the starter for Gwinnett (38-36) in the bottom of the fourth. After Juan Yepez walked and Lars Nootbaar singled to start the inning, Ali Sánchez doubled to bring home Yepez and Conner Capel brought home Nootbaar via an RBI groundout. Later on in the inning, Sánchez scored via a wild pitch. In their last seven games, the Redbirds have scored three or more runs in an inning seven different times.
Memphis added more insurance in the bottom of the fifth, when Yepez launched a two-run homer to dead centerfield and made it a 5-0 game. The righthander slugger hit another dinger in the bottom of the eighth – he now has 11 home runs on the season with the Redbirds, including five in his last six games.
From there, the game got interesting. The Stripers tagged Matthew Liberatore for three runs combined between the sixth and seventh. Cristian Pache hit a solo home run in the sixth and Alex Jackson hit a two-run shot in the seventh. After Yepez’s home run in the eighth made it 6-3, Gwinnett completed their rally in the top of the ninth. They scored three runs via two home runs in the frame – Jackson hit his second of the game leading off the inning (his seventh in six games against Memphis this season), and Yolmer Sanchez tied the game via a two-run blast later in the inning.
The game went into extras, with each team trading runs in the top of the 10th. Gwinnett plated one on a two-out RBI single from Travis Demeritte, while the Redbirds knotted the game at 7 on a two-out RBI double from Kramer Robertson. After Seth Elledge worked a scoreless top of the 11th on the mound for Memphis, they finished the job in the bottom of the 11th. A one-out single into center field by Evan Mendoza scored Scott Hurst from third and sent the crowd home happy. It was Mendoza’s second walk-off hit at AutoZone park this season.
The Memphis Redbirds are the proud Triple-A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Memphis has claimed four League Championships and one Triple-A National Championship since their affiliation with St. Louis began in 1998. For the latest team news, follow the Redbirds on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Ticket information can be found at memphisredbirds.com/tickets.
Next Game
Thursday, July 29 vs. Gwinnett (7:10 p.m. CT)
- Redbirds Probable Starter: RHP Miles Mikolas
- Stripers Probable Starter: RHP Jose Rodriguez
Watch: MiLB.tv
Listen: MiLB First Pitch App
THE RALLYBIRDS ARE BACK!
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) July 29, 2021
Evan Mendoza walks it off‼️ pic.twitter.com/oP6GzT6DZJ