Minor-league report: Gomez hits MiLB-leading 14th homer; Cruz's struggles at the plate continue

These are some of Thursday’s notable performances by Cardinals minor-leaguers:

Hits

Outfielder Moises Gomez, Class AA Springfield: Gomez continued his scorching start to the season with a 2-for-4 night that included a double and a solo homer. Gomez’s home run in the fifth inning of Springfield’s 9-6 loss against Northwest Arkansas was his 14th of season, and his performance was his 13th multi-hit game of 2022. The 23-year-old, who on Wednesday was named the Texas League Player of the Month for April, is batting .413 and has a 1.480 OPS in 21 games.

Right-handed pitcher Freddy Pacheco, Class AA Springfield: For the third consecutive appearance, Pacheco pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Pacheco allowed one hit and struck out two batters in his relief outing for Springfield on Thursday. He lowered his ERA to a 1.86 mark in the process.

The 24-year-old has made nine appearances this season and pitched a total of 9 2/3 innings. He has a 0.72 WHIP and allowed a .129 average to hitters. The only outing in which Pacheco was scored on was came on April 24 when he gave up two runs in 1 2/3 innings against Tulsa.

Right-handed pitcher Zane Mills, Class Low-A Palm Beach: Mills threw seven innings and allowed three runs, marking his third outing this season where he has pitched six or more innings and allowed three or fewer runs in a start. He also notched a season-high seven strikeouts in the PB-Cards’ 4-3 loss to the St. Lucie Mets.

The 21-year-old limited St. Lucie to three hits and one run through his first six innings of work, but surrendered a homer, double and single to the first three batters he faced in the seventh inning. He managed to limit the damage to two runs in the frame by striking out two of the last four batters faced. Mills ranks first among qualified Florida State League pitchers in innings with 31 1/3, while he is sixth in WHIP with a 1.02 mark.

Misses

Outfielder Adanson Cruz, Low-A Palm Beach: Cruz’s recent struggles continued on Thursday as he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in Palm Beach’s loss to St. Lucie. Cruz also had the chance to be the walk-off hero when he stepped up to the plate with two outs and the potential game-winning run standing on second base in the ninth inning. The 21-year-old got ahead 3-0 in the count, but struck out looking on the next three pitches he saw.

Cruz, a career .249 hitters across 453 at-bats in the minor-leagues, is batting .108 through his first 74 at-bats of the 2022 season. Over his last 15 games, Cruz is 3-for-54 (.056) with 24 strikeouts.