JUPITER, Fla. — One of the tricky things about reading box scores from spring training back there in the northern tundra is the inability to see the defensive side of the game. It’s impossible to know how Skip Schumaker is adjusting to second base this late in the camp or how he and Khalil Greene are clicking as a double-play combo without the benefit of something beyond the box score.

Ditto with the minors — only that reality extends into the season.

We can all scan the box scores for how Brett Wallace is hitting at any given time this summer, but how will we know how he played at third that day. How about how Daryl jones did in center field? Or, if Niko Vasquez is doing enough defensively to, you know, stay at shortstop for awhile. Today’s Vuch Report goes beyond the box score by offering some anecdotal evidence of the defensive play Wednesday with the St. Louis Cardinals minor-league affiliates. Yunior Castillo had a “big league” play at shortstop. St. Louis native Travis Mitchell snared a sinking liner. There are just snapshots of defense, but they had some flavor beyond the batting numbers, and it reminds us that as great as they are not everything can be found in the box scores. That is especially true in spring, and in the minors.

On with the Vuch Report:

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Memphis 7, New Orleans 5

– Memphis faced ML pitcher Andrew Miller for the first four innings and led 3-1 when he left the game. … Adam Ottavino pitched four innings, allowed two hits, one earned run and struck out four against one walk. … Lefty Charlie Manning had a line 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. … Righthander pitcher Matt Scherer had a line of 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 Ks. … Tyler Norrick threw one inning, walked on and struck out one. … Marco Gonzalez pitched a line of 1IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1K.

– As for as hitters, Shane Peterson went 2-for-3 with a run scored and RBI. … Outfielder/first baseman Nick Stavinoha had a 2-for-4 day with a run and RBI. … Mark Shorey 2-for-4 with an RBI and made a diving catch in right field. … Casey Rowlett had an RBI double in his only at-bat. … Catcher Justin Knoedler tripled and scored. … Shortstop Tyler Greene continued with his momentum from major-league camp and was 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored. He made what Vuch called “a tremendous play deep in the hole with strong throw to retire the runner by plenty.”

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Springfield 3, Jacksonville 0

– Justin Fiske had a line 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 Ks. … Kyle Mura threw two perfect innings with a strikeout. … Elvis Hernandez had an inning and allowed one hit. … Jon Mikrut had a line of 1 IP, 2 H, 1 B. … A candidate for closer at some level, Ken Maiques pitched an inning, did not allow a hit or a walk and struck out one.

– First-round pick Brett Wallace went 2-for-4 in his return to the lineup. Wallace did not play in the camp games Tuesday to rest from some soreness he felt during warmups. … Tony Cruz was 2-for-3 with a run. … Daniel Descalso hit a solo home run, and then he came over and watched an inning or so of the major-league camp from a platform that allows you to look over the right-center wall, ala The Knothole Gang. … Shortstop Pete Kozma, apparently playing up a level, had a 2-run single in the eighth inning to snap a scoreless tie. … Antonio DeJesus singled, walked and made a nice running catch in right field. … Donovan Solano was 1-for-2.

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Jupiter 9, Palm Beach 5

– The PB Cardinals led 5-1 after four innings, bolstered by recent draft pick Lance Lynn. The hulking Ole Miss righthander pitched three innings and scattered four hits and one earned run. He did not walk a batter, and he struck out three. … Blogger and righthander David Kopp pitched a couple innings, and things started to go south. He allowed five earned runs on seven hits and struck out one. … Davis Bilardello, had one walk in his one scoreless inning. … Casey Mulligan had a line of 1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K, and Matt Spade had a line of 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. … Eduardo Sanchez followed with 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.

– Pride of UCLA Jermaine Curtis was 2-for-4 with a walk and run scored. … Curt Smith continues to hit and hit and hit. He went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. … Saw Oliver Marmol get some one-on-one work on fielding grounders the other day on the half field that is tucked between the nearest fields to the clubhouse and the four pack of fields where minor-league games are played. He and Jon Edwards both went 2-for-4. … Charlie Kingrey was 2-for-5. … Outfielder Tommy Pham had a two-run single and scored in his only AB. … Aaron Luna, an outfielder who is pulling a Skip Schumaker by moving back to second base where he played a little college, and Francisco Rivera both singled.

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Quad Cities #1 6, Greensboro 5

– Team Panama pick Arquimedes Nieto had a line of 2.2 IP, 3 H ,3 ER, 2 BB and 4 Ks. … Pitcher Gary Daley pitched a couple scoreless innings and allowed one hit. He walked two and struck out three. … Adam Veres had a line of 2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 Ks. … Zachary Pitts pitched an inning, allowed hit, allowed one earned run, walked one and struck out one. Ones all across. … Matt Frevert pitched an inning with two Ks.

– Osvaldo Morales was 2-for-4 with a double and a couple RBIs. … Domnit Bolivar 2-for-4 with an RBI. … Xavier Scruggs 2-for-3 with a double and run scored. … Alex Castellanos had a two-run single and scored a run. … Chris Swauger doubled.

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Quad Cities #2 4, Marlins 5th team 3

– Miguel Tapia pitched two perfect innings, and four of his six outs were strikeouts. … Michael Blazek and Kevin Siegrist had identical lines of 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. … Randy Santos 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K and then Jose Mateo 1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER.

– Beau Riportella had a 2-for-4 day. … Shortstop Yunior Castillo, who has been mentioned before as one of the more athletic players in camp, was  2-for-4, and he had a strong play in the hole that one observer described as “big league.” … Ivan Castro 1-for-3 with an RBI, and he caught a basestealer. … Brett Lilley doubled. … Travis Mitchell singled, walked and he made a nice play on a sinking liner to avert a potential rally in the seventh inning. … Edgar Lara doubled and had two RBIs.

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