Cardinals prospect Quinn Mathews continued his strong start in his introduction to Class High-A by securing his second scoreless outing of six innings or more since he joined Peoria’s rotation in early May.
In his latest performance, Mathews completed six scoreless innings and struck out eight batters on 90 pitches. He walked one batter, hit a batter, and scattered three hits in Peoria’s 5-2 win over South Bend at Dozer Park.
The outing was the 23-year-old lefty’s eighth consecutive start during which he completed at least six innings and collected six or more strikeouts. He’s collected 67 strikeouts and walked eight batters in 49 2/3 innings over that stretch.
Mathews owns a 2.61 ERA in five starts since reaching High-A at the start of May. He is 5-2 with a 2.04 ERA in 11 starts including his six starts in Low-A before his promotion. The former fourth-round pick from the 2023 draft has 92 strikeouts across the two levels and has issued 17 walks while keeping opposing hitters to a .142 batting average.
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Right fielder Jordan Walker, Class AAA Memphis: The 22-year-old clubbed his second home run of the 2024 season and collected two singles during his three-for-five, one-RBI performance in Memphis’s 4-1 win over Norfolk. Walker began his night by jumping on a first-pitch curveball hung over the inner half of the plate in his at-bat in the first inning. Walker sent the breaking pitch 406 feet to left-center field for his second home run of 2024. He singled to right field in the fifth inning and singled to center field in the ninth to give him his first three-hit game of the year. In 34 at-bats since the beginning of June, Walker has batted .294 with two home runs and slugged .559.
Right-handed pitcher Adam Kloffenstein, Class AAA Memphis: Back on the mound after his previous outing was cut short because of an ejection with no outs in the fourth inning, Kloffenstein threw five scoreless innings and struck out six Norfolk batters. The righty’s five scoreless frames lowered his ERA to 4.18 over 71 innings. Eight of the 11 swings-and-misses Kloffenstein induced vs. Norfolk hitters came on his sweeper. The 23-year-old’s sweeper accounted for 26 of the 77 pitches he threw in the Redbirds’ road win and produced a 57% whiff rate, per Statcast.
Outfielder Joshua Baez, Class High-A Peoria: Baez connected on a two-run home run in the second inning of Peoria’s home win over South Bend to give the Chiefs their first two runs of the night and to match his career-high in home runs with seven. The former second-round pick from the 2021 draft hit seven home runs in 91 games in Class Low-A a year ago and has matched that total in his first 45 games in High-A. Five of his home runs have come in his last 14 games. He entered Tuesday with a .524 slugging percentage and 13 RBIs in 13 games before Peoria’s series opener against South Bend.
Right-handed pitcher Edwin Nunez, Class AA Springfield: Moved into a relief role with rehabbing big leaguers Steven Matz and Giovanny Gallegos slated for appearances on Tuesday in Springfield, Nunez completed four innings and allowed two runs on three hits while striking out five batters. He did not walk a batter and had 38 of his 61 pitches go for strikes. The 22-year-old struck out the side in order when he entered at the top of the fifth. He induced six swings-and-misses to the first three batters he faced. After he gave up a single to begin the sixth, Nunez surrendered a two-run home run with one out in the frame. The home run was the third Nunez has allowed in 35 innings. The righty allowed a single after the home run but kept Northwest Arkansas to two runs by collecting back-to-back swinging strikeouts to end the frame. He retired the final six batters he faced in Springfield’s 7-4 loss to the Royals’ Class AA affiliate. Nunez’s two runs allowed over four innings lowered his ERA to 5.91 and marked his first outing of the year without issuing a walk. He came into Tuesday with 25 walks allowed in 31 innings.