St. Louis Cardinals: Memphis Redbirds championship round update

The St. Louis Cardinals’ AAA-affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds, advanced in their bid for the AAA championship only to be greeted by rain and a cancellation but didn’t let this bump in the road slow them down.

The St. Louis Cardinals are chasing the postseason while their AAA counterpart, the Memphis Redbirds, are enjoying every moment of their own postseason. Having gone head-to-head against the Brewers’ farm team, the Redbirds won the first series three games to two after facing elimination after dropping one at home and the first on the road.

Having secured their spot in the championship series, the Redbirds returned home to familiar AutoZone Park in Memphis– the very park that is owned by the St. Louis Cardinals and leased to the City of Memphis. But just as they were arriving home and preparing for game one, hurricane Irma made her appearance in the midsouth.

Game one of the championship series was to take place on Tuesday night, September 12. That was until the rains came. And boy did they come. While not nearly as bad as the wallop she packed in Florida, Irma drenched Memphis from late Tuesday until late Wednesday.

The rains, something Memphis doesn’t handle well, prompted numerous flood warnings and several road closures. It also forced the hand of the Memphis Redbirds and they ultimately postponed game one of the championship series.

With the rain finally departing late in the afternoon on Wednesday, the St. Louis Cardinals AAA team was ready to take on the AAA-affiliate of the San Diego Padres, the El Paso Chihuahuas. Yes, the Chihuahuas. In other words, the AAA championship is a battle of birds vs. “yo quiero Taco Bell.”

Wednesday night saw clearing skies and a successful game for the Memphis Redbirds. After leading the game 4-0, the Redbirds staved off the small, squeaky dogs to win behind a 6-4 final score.

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This win in game one of the championship series means the St. Louis Cardinals farm system is now only two wins away from another Pacific Coast League championship title. The last time this happened was back in 2009.

Redbirds stars from game one included trade bait Tyler O’Neill who smashed his fourth home run of the 2017 AAA postseason; two-RBI-doubles machine Patrick Wisdom; and the outstanding young arm of Dakota Hudson on the mound (eat your heart out, Trevor Hooth!).

Game two of the championship series continues today at AutoZone Park. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05pm CT. This game, not only standing as a linchpin to the championship (a win today puts the Redbirds only one win away from the title), will be the final home game of the 2017 Memphis Redbirds.

I, for one, am very sad to see the AAA season come to an end but I am overjoyed that it is doing so with our Memphis Redbirds firmly on top. I look for Memphis to finish off the season and to carry home the PCL title for 2017.

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Fans interested in attending today’s game (albeit a quick start time from the time of publishing this piece) can get tickets at http://www.memphisredbirds.com/playoffs, via telephone at (901)-721-6000, or at the AutoZone Park ticket booth. Thanks for reading and GO REDBIRDS!