The trickle down effect is hitting the Cardinals organization. The big league Cardinals have lost six of seven in June. Springfield is following the example of its big brother. The AA Springfield Cardinals have lost five of six this month. They dropped their third straight Wednesday to Wichita 5-4.
Wranglers Mitch Maier continued to torment Cardinals pitching. He struck twice in the seventh inning, once as a hitter and once as a runner. Maier’s RBI double in the seventh gave Wichita a 4-3 lead. He scored on the same play after a throwing error by Mike McCoy.
Wichita wasted little time putting runs on the board. RBI singles by Billy Butler and Dee Brown gave the Wranglers a 2-0 lead in the first. Matt Tupman’s sacrifice fly in the second made it 3-0 before Springfield even settled in.
Former Royals ace Zach Greinke was on the mound continuing his rehab assignment. The one time Royals Pitcher of the Year left the big league team in spring training to deal with psychological issues. He seemed to be plenty sane giving up three runs on four hits in six innings. Devon Lowery relieved Greinke with the game tied 3-3. Lowery pitched 1 1/3 innings to get the win. The save went to Ryan Braun (7) who struck out four of the final six batters.
Justin Garza came in the game to replace Springfield starter Stuart Pomeranz. Garza pitched two innings allowing two runs – one earned – and two hits. He was hit with the loss.
Juan Richardson’s RBI single in the eighth was almost enough to bring the Cardinals back, but Iker Franco struck out to end the inning. Richardson also homered in the game.
Springfield is 32-25 and two games behind first place Tulsa.