Cardinals' minor leaguers run wild in amazing accomplishment

The major league St. Louis Cardinals were off on Thursday, but it was a busy day for the rest of the organization as the minor league teams were all in session. There were plenty of memorable moments from the day, with Jimmy Crooks again showing off his skills at the plate, and pitchers using their newly unlocked stuff to dominate hitters. However, the Springfield Cardinals completed a feat that may never be seen again.

The Springfield Cardinals stole home twice... in one inning... on consecutive pitches

Facing off against the Tulsa Drillers, the game was full of action from the beginning. Switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje made his home debut and struggled, allowing six runs on six hits with five walks, but the Springfield offense had his back by at least giving him four runs before his departure to keep the game close. Then came the fifth inning.

Trailing 5-4 going into the frame, the Cardinals took advantage of some spotty command at best by Drillers pitcher Maddux Bruns. The Tulsa pitcher hit three batters, walked three more, and gave up four runs while allowing just one hit in two innings of work, but his fifth inning will be one that he and the Los Angeles Dodgers organization would love to forget. The inning started with Bruns walking the first two hitters and then plunking Dakota Harris, despite Harris stepping out before the pitch was thrown. There was a mini scuffle as benches were on high alert, but nothing progressed passed some jawing between the two teams.

After another walk and hit batter, the Cardinals took a 7-6 lead with the bases still loaded and two outs in the inning. Then, Harris got his revenge. Taking advantage of a clearly rattled Bruns, Harris took off and stole home easily before Bruns was able to deliver the ball to the catcher, celebrating the accomplishment with plenty of emotion towards the Drillers pitcher. But, the Cardinals knew they would need some insurance if they wanted to keep the lead for another four innings. The very next pitch, chaos struck again. Third baseman Trey Paige kept the pressure on the Tulsa lefty and took advantage of the struggling pitcher, also taking off before the pitch and stealing home to give the Cardinals a two-run lead. Neither pitch was even close to the strike zone, preventing the catcher from having a chance at making a tag to prevent the run.

Despite the Harris Heroics, Springfield was unable to preserve the lead, giving up three runs in the ninth inning to send the game into extras. Tulsa took care of business in the extended frames, scoring another trio of runs against reliever Domenic Picone. The loss dropped Springfield to 4-2 on the season, dropping two in a row after winning the first four games of the season. The Cardinals will host the Drillers again this weekend, with Braden Davis and Brandt Thompson currently scheduled to start the first and last game, respectively. Games can be watched on MiLB TV and is able to be accessed for users with a paid MLB TV membership.