Pitching Powers Palm Beach Past Clearwater in 4-2 Victory Saturday Afternoon

JUPITER, FL – The Palm Beach Cardinals (9-5) outlasted the Clearwater Theshers (8-6) for a 4-2 win on Saturday afternoon at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Travis Honeyman went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI. Nelfy Ynfante had his strongest start of the season, allowing just one run over 4.2 innings with three strikeouts in a no-decision. The Cardinals stole a season-high four bases in Saturday's victory.

Aroon Escobar started the game with a leadoff home run off of Ynfante, his third home run of the season which gave Clearwater a 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning.

However, the Cardinals found a quick response in the bottom of the first. Nathan Church reached on an Escobar error, then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Korey Shojinaga. That allowed Josh Kross to bring him in on an RBI single on a groundball into center field and tied the score at 1-1 after the first inning.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the fourth inning. A pair of wild pitches from Clearwater relief pitcher Eli Trop (L, 0-1) allowed Cade McGee to score, making it 2-1 Cardinals. Palm Beach added another run in the bottom of the fifth as Honeyman hit a ground ball back up the middle for an RBI single, giving the Beach Birds a 3-1 lead. Palm Beach added one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI double by Christian Martin to give the Cardinals a 4-1 lead after six innings.

Relief pitcher Yordy Herrera (W, 2-0) had one of his best outings of the season for Palm Beach as he retired four of the five hitters that he faced between innings five and six, striking out two while only allowing one base runner after hitting Shojinaga with a pitch.

Clearwater got back on the board in the top of the eighth inning. With runners on first and second, relief pitcher Nolan Sparks (S, 1) got a ground ball back to the mound with a chance to turn two, but a wide throw to second base only allowed one out to be recorded. That allowed Shojinaga to hit an RBI groundout which plated his fifth RBI of the series as the Threshers cut the Cardinals lead to 4-2 after the top of the eighth.

After the Cardinals couldn't add any insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Sparks stayed on for the ninth inning and worked around two hits in the inning to secure a three-inning save.

The Palm Beach Cardinals go for the series victory against the Clearwater Threshers on Sunday, April 20 with first pitch at 12:30 p.m. Click here to purchase your tickets.

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.