Cardinals breakout prospect Quinn Mathews was perfect for 6 1/3 innings on Friday night at Hammons Field. Mathews retired the first 19 Tulsa batters he faced in his start for Class AA Springfield and secured 12 strikeouts in that stretch.
But with one out in the seventh inning, Mathews’ perfect game bid came to an end when Tulsa’s Damon Keith hit a solo home run to left field. Mathews left Springfield’s 3-2 win with 12 strikeouts — the most he’s totaled in nine Class AA starts — and one run allowed on two hits over 7 1/3 innings. Mathews, 23, walked one batter in the start.
Mathews responded to Keith’s home run by retiring the next three batters he faced. His start ended after he allowed a two-out single in the eighth to Bubba Alleyne on his 99th pitch of the night.
The performance raised the 2023 fourth-round pick’s MiLB-leading strikeout total to 180 across 126 2/3 innings. He lowered his Class AA ERA to 2.41 with the 7 1/3 innings of one-run baseball. Mathews, who has silenced hitters in Class Low-A and High-A before arriving in Class AA, lowered his season ERA to 2.27
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The outing was Mathews’ fourth quality start in his last six Class AA starts. Since giving up a season-high six runs on July 19, Mathews has sported a 1.26 ERA over his previous six outings. The 23-year-old has logged 35 2/3 innings in that stretch and totaled 54 strikeouts while issuing eight walks. Mathews’ double-digit strikeout performance was his seventh double-digit strikeout game in 2024 and his second since debuting for Springfield.
Here are other performances from across the Cardinals farm system:
Second baseman Nolan Gorman, Class AAA Memphis: In his second minor league game following his demotion from the majors on Wednesday, Gorman went two-for-four with a single and a 349-foot solo home run. Gorman’s home run sailed over the right field wall at AutoZone Park and had a 104.3 mph exit velocity on it, per Statcast. Gorman’s two-hit game in Memphis’s 4-1 win over Charlotte came a night after he went hitless and struck out three times in four at-bats. Gorman struck out swinging and lined out in his other two at-bats on Friday.
Right-handed pitcher Michael McGreevy, Class AAA Memphis: The former first-round pick notched his third quality start of August with six scoreless innings against Charlotte. McGreevy began his outing by striking out the side in the first. He recorded a pair of groundouts to open the second inning before striking out Colson Montgomery, looking, on three pitches. The first batter McGreevy allowed to reach base was Carlos Perez, who singled to open the third inning. McGreevy responded by inducing three consecutive groundouts. On the night, McGreevy allowed four hits — all of which were singles — and induced seven groundouts. He walked two batters in the start. Including his MLB debut on July 31, McGreevy has maintained a 2.72 ERA in his 14 starts since the beginning of June.
Outfielder Chase Davis, Class High-A Peoria: Back in Peoria’s lineup after a three-game absence, Davis went hitless in four at-bats in the Chiefs 6-4 win over the TinCaps. He drove in a run, scored a run, and was credited with an outfield assist. In the sixth inning with Fort Wayne’s Devin Ortiz on second base, Nerwilian Cedeño hit a fly ball to the left-center field gap that Davis fielded after it hopped off the outfield grass. Davis’s throw to the infield was cut off by shortstop Brody Moore. Moore then threw across to second baseman Tre Richardson, who tagged Cedeño out as he tried to extend his single into a double. The outfield assist was Davis’s second in 16 games since debuting for Peoria. Davis reached base on a fielding error during his at-bat in the seventh inning. He scored later that inning on a sacrifice fly. The hitless performance dropped Davis’s average in Class High-A to .286.
Outfielder Matt Koperniak, Class AAA: Koperniak provided Memphis with two of its four runs with his two-for-four performance from the leadoff spot of the Redbirds’ lineup. Koperniak began his offensive showing by belting a solo home run — his 17th of the season — to left field to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Koperniak added to his night with a two-out RBI single on a live drive to right field that scored Thomas Saggese after Saggese was hit by a pitch to begin the fifth inning. The two-hit game was Koperniak’s third consecutive two-hit performance. The 26-year-old former undrafted free agent is batting .333 in 75 at-bats since the start of August. He owns a .313/.374/.515 slash line in 104 Class AAA games this season.
Right-handed pitcher Chen-Wei Lin, Class Low-A Palm Beach: The 6-foot-7 right-hander twirled six scoreless innings and recorded seven strikeouts to aid Palm Beach to a 5-0 win over St. Lucie. Lin, 22, improved to a 9-5 record and lowered his ERA to 2.89 with his ninth quality start of the season. Following a three-game stretch in July during which he went 1-1 with a 6.43 ERA in three starts, Lin has gone 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA in four starts in August. He’s collected 27 strikeouts, walked six batters, and kept his opposition to a .173 batting average across his previous 24 innings.Â
Center fielder Bryan Torres, Class AA Springfield: The S-Cards’ leadoff hitter provided his club with a game-deciding hit in his last trip to the plate on Friday night. Torres, who served as Springfield’s designated hitter vs. Tulsa, connected on a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to break a 2-2 tie and lift Springfield to a walk-off win. The win was Springfield’s sixth consecutive win. Three of Springfield’s four wins to begin its current six-game series vs. Tulsa have come in walk-off fashion. For Torres, the clutch home run capped a three-for-five night. The 27-year-old outfielder has batted .326 with a .415 on-base percentage in 104 games as the S-Cards' primary leadoff hitter.