De Jong does his part in Travs’ sweep of Cardinals

TRAVELERS 2-4, CARDINALS 1-3

The Arkansas Travelers (17-16) outlasted the Springfield Cardinals (18-15) for a 2-1 victory in the first game Friday night at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, then capped the doubleheader sweep in the nightcap, 4-3, on a walk-off single by catcher Joseph Odom.

Both starting pitchers commanded the first seven-inning game, but a couple of flaws turned the game in favor of the Travs.

Travs right-hander Chase De Jong (3-2, 4.38 ERA) earned the victory, pitching 5 innings and allowing 6 hits, an earned run and 3 walks to go with 5 strikeouts.

Cardinals right-hander Ryan Helsley (2-2, 5.40) pitched a complete game, but took the loss after walking Travs second

baseman Zach Shank in the fifth inning and moving him home for the go-ahead run with two wild pitches.

The Travs and Cardinals both scored one run in the second inning — shortstop

Edmundo Sosa hit a sacrifice fly for Springfield, then third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean hit an RBI double for Arkansas — and De Jong and Helsley controlled the rest of the game.

De Jong surrendered two singles in the top of the third, then struck out designated hitter Victor Roache to end the scoreless inning.

Left fielder Chuck Taylor led off the bottom of the third with a double, but Helsley dispatched the next three batters with two groundouts and a strikeout.

The Cardinals started the fifth with a walk and a single, but De Jong struck out Roache again to end another scoreless inning.

De Jong didn’t surrender a home run in a start for the first time this season. He had given up at least one home run in each of his six starts, and those seven home runs accounted for nine of his 18 total earned runs

“Yeah, that’s huge,” said De Jong, who turned and caught the attention of fellow pitcher Andrew Moore. “Andrew, I didn’t give up a home run today. That’s great. I kept the ball in the yard. That’s something [that’s] kinda plagued me a little bit.”

Five of the home runs off De Jong have been solo shots. Those can come as a result of aggressive pitching against individual batters, and 62.2 percent of De Jong’s pitches this season have been strikes.

“I go after guys,” he said. “I’m walking a little bit more guys than I usually do, but the opposing lineup knows that I’m going to throw the ball over the plate. I’m going to throw pitches for strikes most of the time. They can get in there and take some pretty good swings.

“The way I combat that is I need to throw inside effectively. I need to make sure I mix it back and forth so they’re not taking really comfortable swings.”