Rosenthal delivers in Cards' win - Springfield News-Leader

Springfield Cardinals prospect right-hander Trevor Rosenthal was all smiles Thursday night, especially about a pep talk from his veteran catcher, who apparently fire-hosed a quickly deteriorating fourth inning.

“I said, ‘Look, you throw the ... out of the ball. There’s no reason try to throw harder,’ ” catcher Nick Derba said.

Already having allowed a leadoff single and having fallen behind 3-0 in the count to the next batter in a 2-0 game, Rosenthal and Derba quickly rallied for a strikeout-caught stealing, a signature moment of â€" drumroll, please â€" the right-hander’s first Double-A Texas League victory.

Rosenthal fired a season-high six innings, allowing four hits, and struggling cleanup hitter Xavier Scruggs supplied an early RBI double in a 6-0 win against the first-place Tulsa Drillers, all before 6,540 at Hammons Field.

It was Springfield’s third consecutive win since getting clobbered 18-4 on Sunday in Midland, Texas.

“I’m not here to just throw strikes or just throw every fifth day,” Rosenthal said. “I want to win, and we want to be a winning organization. And I take a lot of pride in that.”

Rosenthal (1-2), a 21-year-old who is making a considerable jump from the low Class A Midwest League this season, got worked over last Friday in Frisco, Texas, for six runs, all earned, on six hits in 42/3 innings.

This time, he was more assertive with his mid-90 mph fastball, getting six strikeouts against three walks.

But Derba, now in his sixth pro season, sensed in the fourth Rosenthal was trying too hard. The two rallied to a full count against Ben Paulsen and then came the bang-bang play.

The next batter lined out to left field on the next pitch, preserving a 2-0 lead.

“Derba saw me slipping a little bit with my focus and we sharpened it back up,” Rosenthal said. “I got a lot of momentum out of that.”

Said Springfield manager Mike Shildt, “He was just crisper with everything â€" his actions, his location, his secondary pitches.”

Rosenthal also worked out of a bases-loaded mess in the fifth inning, thus avoiding Colorado Rockies prospect Nolan Arenado, who was a red-hot, 17-for-47 entering the at-bat.

Arenado did single leading off the sixth. Didn’t matter. Rosenthal got three quick outs, the last two by strikeouts â€" on three pitches to each batter.

Scruggs, mired in a 7-for-47 start to the season, followed Wong’s one-out single in the first with a run-scoring double off Dan Houston (1-2), who in the fourth served up a two-run home run to Greg Garcia â€" only his seventh career home run.

It was 4-0 at that point.

“(Rosenthal) goes out there every day and competes. His stuff is electric,” Greg Garcia said. “It’s fun to play defense behind him.”