The Springfield Cardinals and San Antonio Missions put their bullpens to work on Monday and the battle was won by the Cardinals 7-5.
Springfield starter Josh Cool allowed two runs in the first inning and two more in the third and was chased out of the game. After that, Josh Axelson, Anthony Ferrari, Mark Nussbeck and Josh Kinney combined for 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Axelson lasted 1 1/3 to get the win and Kinney worked the eighth and ninth innings for his ninth save.
In the fourth inning, Springfield exploded for five runs to take a 6-5 lead and never trailed again. Reid Gorecki drove in two runs for Springfield and Kevin Estrada hit he first lead-off home run in franchise history.
