Switch-pitcher Cijntje's 11-K night (pitching exclusively righty!) ends with apparent injury
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Jurrangelo Cijntje came out firing, but the switch-pitcher fell short of completing one of the most dominant starts of his professional career.
The Cardinals' No. 12 prospect attacked exclusively from the right side Thursday, striking out a career-high 11 batters through 6 1/3 innings for Triple-A Memphis. The Redbirds dropped the 10-inning contest, 3-2, to Durham at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
But in the bottom of the seventh with one out, Cijntje issued his first free pass: a four-pitch walk to Oliver Dunn (Rays). On the final pitch, the 23-year-old showed obvious discomfort near his right hamstring. Memphis manager Ben Johnson, athletic trainer Riku Shibata and the infielders gathered around with the hurler on the mound. Cijntje left under his own power with Shibata.
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Still, the Mississippi State product exited with an impressive ledger. Cijntje struck out the side in the first inning before notching three punchouts in the second, third and fourth frames. With his final two strikeouts in the fifth and sixth, besting the previous career high of 10 he set on Aug. 2, 2025 with High-A Everett and matched on May 16 for Double-A Springfield.
Cijntje ended his 22nd start of the season after throwing 72 pitches (53 for strikes). He gave up two hits and a walk, then was tagged with a run when reliever Ryan Murphy yielded an RBI single.
The 2024 15th overall pick tied with Juaron Watts-Brown (Orioles) for the most swings-and-misses (17) on Thursday at Triple-A. He threw the five-fastest pitches in his bout with the Bulls, maxing out at 97.9 mph on his four-seam fastball. His slider-fastball mix generated 16 whiffs.
Acquired from the Mariners in the Brendan Donovan deal in February, Cijntje lowered his Triple-A ERA to 6.29 after struggling in his past four appearances (16 ER/18 IP) following his July 15 promotion from Springfield.
Cijntje grew up wanting to throw right-handed like his father, Mechangelo, who pitched in the Netherlands. Even though Jurrangelo was a southpaw, he used his dad's glove and learned how to pitch righty. And despite his natural inclination, Cijntje has excelled more as a right-hander, throwing mainly from the left side this season in bullpens.
He has notched 132 strikeouts over 104 2/3 innings across two levels this season. Cijntje sports a 5.33 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP in his second pro campaign.