Minor-league report: Liberatore throws seven scoreless innings; Gomez, Pages combine for five RBIs in Springfield win

While quality pitching was delivered for Class AAA Memphis on Friday, the same could not be said for the Class High-A and Low-A Cardinals affiliates.

These are some of Friday’s notable performances by Cardinals minor-leaguers:

Left-handed pitcher Matthew Liberatore, Class AAA Memphis: For the second consecutive outing, the Cardinals’ top pitching prospect threw seven scoreless innings in a start. Liberatore limited Durham to four hits and no runs over seven innings on Friday. He walked three batters and struck out seven on 86 pitches (57 strikes) in the Redbirds’ 2-1 win. The lefty sports a 3.18 ERA across five starts to begin 2022. In his last 24 2/3 innings, Liberatore possesses a 2.19 ERA.

Outfielder Moises Gomez, Class AA Springfield: With a 2-for-4 night that included two doubles and two RBIs, Gomez raised his average to a .441 mark. He doubled home a run to open the scoring in the third inning, and added to his night with a one out double in the eighth inning that tied the ballgame. The 23-year-old continues to lead the Texas league in average, slugging percentage (1.051), OPS (1.536), and is tied for the lead in RBIs (21).

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Catcher Pedro Pages, Class AA Springfield: Pages contributed three runs of his own as he went 2-for-3 with a walk in Springfield’s 7-6 win over San Antonio. He singled home Jordan Walker with one out in the third inning, and gave the S-Cards’ their 7-6 lead with a sacrifice fly in the eighth after Gomez’s double. Pages is slashing .342/.458/.579 in his first 38 at-bats to begin the season.

Second baseman Mack Chambers, Class High-A Peoria: Chambers drove in four runs — three of which came on a three-run homer that tied the ballgame with two outs in the seventh inning. He was credited with his fourth RBI on a groundout to shortstop in the eighth inning that allowed outfielder L.J. Jones to come across to score. The home run was Chambers’ second of the season. The 22-year-old is batting .311 with an .871 OPS.

Outfielder L.J. Jones, Class High-A Peoria: Jones went two-for-four with three RBIs and a double in the Chiefs’ 13-10 win over the Timber Rattlers. He brought home a run apiece with sacrifice fly in the third innings, a double in the seventh, and a single in the eighth. The two-hit games was the third such performance in Jones’ last four games.

Right-handed pitcher Austin Love, Class High-A Peoria: Love surrendered six runs on seven hits in three innings of work during his start for the Chiefs on Friday. He gave up five of the six earned runs in his second inning of work. Love allowed three singles and a two-run homer before he was able to record the first out in the second frame. He returned to pitch the third inning and gave up a solo homer with two outs in the inning. Love’s ERA jumped to a 10.59 mark after the loss.

Right-handed pitcher Zane Mills, Class Low-A Palm Beach: Mills kept the Hammerheads scoreless and limited his first six innings, but could not escape trouble in the seventh. The righty gave up two singles and two doubles forcing him to exit after 6 1/3 innings and 86 pitches. Mills came into the start having given up just two earned runs in 18 innings. On the year, the 21-year-old has a 2.96 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP.

Outfielder Adanson Cruz, Class Low-A Palm Beach: Cruz went 0-for-3 and struck out three times in the PB-Cards’ 11-0 loss to the Hammerheads. The quiet showing at the plate dropped Cruz’s average to .146 on the season. He is 3-for-43 and struck out 19 times in his last 12 games.

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