A rough night all around as weather and poor pitching doomed every team playing in the US. Both Memphis and Palm Beach were rained out, setting up doubleheaders today. Springfield may have wanted a do-over, as the ninth inning rally couldn’t overcome a rough start for Richard Castillo. His good outings for Memphis have not transferred back to the Texas League, and Castillo will be counted on as the veteran of the staff the next month and a half.
Thursday, July 18th
White smoke — Jake Stone, GCL Cards 3-3, 2B, RBI (6-game hitting streak, .444 last 10 contests)
Gray smoke — Castillo, Springfield, 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 6 K, L
Black smoke — Luis Perdomo, Johnson City, 2.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 1 ER, HR, L
Stone is currently blocked by a wealth of first-base talent and curious to see how he would do with a promotion. As for another move up, Chris Carpenter’s Saturday start is definitely going to be watched closely now that the two games tonight will leave the Redbirds’ bullpen in flux.