Cardinals Hang On for 9-8 Victory over Hammerheads Wednesday Night
JUPITER, FL – The Palm Beach Cardinals (16-13) held on to defeat the Jupiter Hammerheads (13-16) by a final score of 9-8 on Wednesday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Palm Beach leads the “Dual of the Dean” season series 6-2 over Jupiter and sit just one game back of
JUPITER, FL – The Palm Beach Cardinals (16-13) held on to defeat the Jupiter Hammerheads (13-16) by a final score of 9-8 on Wednesday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Palm Beach leads the “Dual of the Dean” season series 6-2 over Jupiter and sit just one game back of St. Lucie in the FSL East Division standings.
The Hammerheads wasted no time against Palm Beach starting pitcher Nolan Sparks in the top of the first inning. With runners at first and second base, Andres Valor smoked an RBI single to left field to score Andrew Salas and Jupiter took the early 1-0 lead. Sparks ran into more trouble in the very next inning when Jesus Hernandez hit an RBI double to score Carlos Sanchez and gave the Hammerheads a 2-0 lead.
The Cardinals got on the scoreboard in a big way in the bottom of the second inning off of Jupiter starting pitcher Nick Brink. Yordalin Peña led off the frame with his third home run of the season, a solo home run to left field, to make the deficit 2-1. Later with two outs and the bases loaded, Josh Kross hit a two-RBI single for his 31st RBI of the season to give the Cardinals their first lead. Brink committed a balk to allow another run to score and the Cardinals took a 4-2 lead.
Sparks finished his second career start with three innings pitched and two runs allowed in a no-decision. Brink also finished with three innings allowed but allowed four runs also earned a no-decision.
Palm Beach went to the bullpen after Sparks. After a scoreless fourth inning from Angel Cuenca (W, 1-0), Cuenca ran into trouble in the top of the fifth. With two outs and a runner at second base, Jacob Jenkins-Cowart hit his first home run of the season, a two-run home run to right field, to tie the ballgame at 4-4.
However, the Cardinals responded immediately in the bottom of the frame off of Jupiter relief pitcher Natanael Polanco (L, 1-2). Aided by three walks, Jonathan Mejia hit an RBI single to give Palm Beach the lead back. A passed ball allowed Anyelo Encarnacion to score and then Travis Honeyman hit an RBI single of his own which made it 7-4 in favor of the Beach Birds after five innings.
Palm Beach added two more runs on a two-RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning off the bat of Encarnacion which added insurance runs to make it a 9-4 Cardinals lead.
Jupiter got a run back in the top of the seventh inning off of Palm Beach relief pitcher Randel Clemente as Jenkins-Cowart hit his second home run of the game, a solo shot to right field, to cut the Palm Beach lead to 9-5. Christian Worley came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning for the Cardinals and allowed a run on an RBI fielder’s choice to Abrahan Ramirez to make it a 9-6 ballgame.
The Hammerheads continued to chip away at the Cardinals’ lead in the top of the ninth inning. With two outs, Mejia committed an error to allow Jupiter to stay alive. Later in the frame, Sanchez and Hernandez each had RBI singles to make it 9-8 and put the tying and go-ahead runners on base. But, Worley locked in and held on to preserve the Palm Beach win by the final score of 9-8.
Every Cardinal in the starting lineup reached base safely at least once with seven of the nine hitters having at least one hit.
Game three of the “Dual of the Dean” takes place on Thursday, May 8th with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Click here to purchase tickets.
Every Thursday is a “Thirsty Thursday” at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium and all fans 21 and older can become a member by clicking here. For $100, members get a ticket to every Thursday game (except July 3rd) and a special drink koozie which gets members access to drink specials every Thursday.
About Jupiter Stadium, LTD:
Opening in 1998, the 110-acre complex/stadium is specially designed to house two Major League and two Minor League Baseball Teams. The stadium is home to the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals for Spring Training. The Florida State League’s Jupiter Hammerheads (Class A Affiliate of the Miami Marlins) and Palm Beach Cardinals (Class A Affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) make their home at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium from April through September. This year-round facility can accommodate the smallest birthday party to the largest corporate outing, while never forgetting that each and every fan is our most important product.