The dog days of August arrived with mild weather forecast, and after a scorching July for lefty Pete Hansen and Springfield’s pitching staff, cooler temperatures are the best hope Texas League opponents have for some relief. Hansen went 3-0 and struck out 29 batters against only three walks over 30 innings, and he helped Springfield post a league-best 2.37 ERA and 1.13 WHIP while yielding 3 runs or fewer in 16 of 24 games in July.
On Wednesday night at Hammons Field, Hansen avenged his shortest outing this season by frustrating the Arkansas Travelers with a new weapon.
“I started throwing a new breaking ball – I had a lot of success with that…it’s a gyro breaking ball, more of a tighter slider, a little harder,” Hansen said after tossing a quality start in Springfield’s 6-4 win.
“Last time I faced them, I didn’t get out of the first inning due to pitch count reasons,” Hansen said of the May 8 start at Arkansas when he threw 33 pitches and recorded two outs. “So, this was a “get-back” outing against these guys.”
The Cards’ third round pick in 2022 commands the strike zone with a low 90’s fastball and arsenal of off-speed pitches, and he credits the Cardinals pitching development staff for helping him unlock the gyro.
“We’re always evolving, we’re always trying to add new things,” Hansen said. “(The pitching coaches) see a value in that pitch with me and my repertoire, so they encouraged me – and gave me grips. They give you a grip and ask you what you feel with it and go from there. It’s been pretty great.”
Pete Hansen recorded his fourth quality start in his last five outings, striking out nine tonight across six innings in Corpus Christi. pic.twitter.com/cQM5vomnBu
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) July 11, 2025
No. 18 used his new pitch in critical moments on Wednesday. The Travelers scored first on Jared Sundstrom’s solo homer to lead off the second inning, but Hansen threw the gyro to punchout Sundstrom in the fourth.
“He was seeing my slider pretty well, I threw him (the slider) a couple of times, so we thought it was the perfect opportunity to mix in the gyro, and it worked,” Hansen said.
Nolan Gorman and Leonardo Bernal smashed homers to give Springfield the lead, but Arkansas had Hansen on the ropes in the sixth. Freuddy Batista’s RBI double put two runners in scoring position with one out, and after Hansen induced a groundout to third base that held both runners, Josh Hood stepped into the box with the game on the line. Hansen jumped ahead 0-2 in the count but Hood spoiled two pitches and worked the count back even.
“He’s a tricky hitter to pitch to – he’s not going to expand the zone.” Hansen said. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Hansen’s gyro did the trick and a groundout to shortstop Brody Moore ended the Arkansas threat.
“Yeah, that was just another instance of me going to the gyro, and them not really seeing it on the scouting report,” Hansen said. “Just mixing that in with my other stuff I think just amplifies everything I have in total.”
Springfield (62-37) sits atop the Texas League and the Cards are 14-5 in Hansen’s starts. With the MiLB playoffs and September roster shuffle looming, the former Texas Longhorn might not be around when Springfield chases its first title since 2012.
“This team is something special. We’ve obviously got a ton of new people coming through at this point, it’s an interesting time with a lot of moves being made,” he said. “Obviously we want to win the championship here but every single guy in this locker room is working to get to the big leagues. I love playing September baseball – I eat a ton of innings every year – I definitely want to get to that later stage and be able to give a good outing in the playoffs. There’s nothing better than that.”
