Team effort for Cardinals - Springfield News-Leader

With a cold wind blowing in from the north of Hammons Field and a first-pitch temperature of 48 degrees and falling, the pitchers in the Springfield Cardinals bullpen had to put in extra work Friday just to stay warm.

“Once you know it’s about time for somebody to come into the game, even if you don’t know who, you run around and jump around just trying to get warm,” reliever Keith Butler said. “And preparation to get ready for the game takes a little longer. You don’t want to go in like 100 percent on that first pitch. You don’t want your arm to be thrown out.”

And despite having to battle the chill as well as the Tulsa Drillers, the Cardinals’ bullpen was more than up to the task. Four relievers combined to give up one run in five innings as Springfield defeated Tulsa 3-1 in front of 4,339 fans.

Working with a pitch count of about 90, Springfield starter Michael Blazek was able to get through four innings with two hits, three walks and five strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 8.03. But he had several protracted battles, including a 13-pitch at-bat against Ben Paulsen in the third with two on and two out.

Blazek eventually forced Paulsen to foul out, and Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said he was pleased with how his starter was able to slow the game down.

“Blazek is a good competitor, and he wants to do well,” Shildt said. “He does work at a quick tempo, which generally speaking, we like. But occasionally, he starts to work too fast, especially when he gets into a little bit of trouble, and the game can speed up a little bit. He did a nice job of slowing it down and executing pitches.”

When Blazek reached his pitch count after four innings, the Cardinals bullpen stepped in and continued to keep the Drillers off-balance.

Jesse Simpson earned his first victory of the season after allowing two hits and striking out three in scoreless fifth and sixth innings, including working around a leadoff single in the sixth. He was followed by Butler, Sam Freeman and Jorge Rondon, who picked up his third save of the season by getting the final two outs with a man on second.

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The only run against the bullpen came when Freeman allowed a leadoff walk and one-out double in the ninth.

Butler said the bullpen as a whole was effective because they were able to play off what had made Blazek successful early in the game.

“I came in and threw inside, and guys were backing off the plate,” Butler said. “That’s what we’ve been trying to do the last little bit because pitching inside opens everything else up including offspeed pitches.”

The Cardinals picked up all the offense they would need from outfielder Oscar Taveras, who singled home Jose Garcia in the first and added a solo home run in the third when he caught up with a fastball from Parker Frazier.

Taveras finished the night 2-for-4 and raised his batting average to .351, and he continued to demonstrate an aggressive approach at the plate even when down in the count.

“I always am aggressive,” Taveras said through translator Kleininger Teran. “It’s something natural with me. I like to play that way, pretty aggressive.”

An Audry Perez sacrifice fly brought home Adam Melker in the sixth for Springfield’s other run.

It was the fourth consecutive win for Springfield (8-6), which moved within one game of the Drillers (9-5) at the top of the Texas League North.