Cards' Chinea plates career-high seven

Chris Chinea has seen close friends from college make it to the big leagues. He's going at a different pace, but he wants a memorable experience as well.
"Everybody's journey is different," he said.
Chinea's path appears headed in the right direction after the Cardinals prospect drove in a career-high seven runs Saturday night to lead Class A Advanced Palm Beach to a 12-3 romp over Bradenton at LECOM Park.

Chinea's freshman roommates at Louisiana State were outfielder Andrew Stevenson, who made his big league debut last weekend with the Nationals, and third baseman Alex Bregman, who reached the Majors a year ago with the Astros.
So for Chinea, there's a need for patience.
"I just keep working," he said. "That's what I need to do."

Chinea said he isn't dwelling on the successes or shortcomings he's encountered since the Cardinals selected him in the 17th round of the 2015 Draft. He checked in with batting averages over .300 in each of his first two seasons as a professional.
"Don't worry about what you've done before," he said. "You come to the yard every day and you kind of forget what happened in the past. Just like with this game, I'll come in [Sunday] and won't think about that."
Chinea said he's had a good experience in the Cardinals system, moving up at a steady clip since breaking in with rookie-level Johnson City.

"It has been great so far," he said. "It has been outstanding. This has been great for me."
With a few swings Saturday, his production more than doubled for the month. He had three RBIs in 25 games in July entering the weekend but said there was nothing unusual about the day.
"Nothing weird, just went about my business," he said.
Chinea drove in a run in the first inning with a groundout. He wasn't thinking about a big night when he returned to the plate in the third with the bases loaded, falling into an 0-2 hole before drilling a slider from Pedro Vasquez for his fourth homer of the season and first career grand slam.
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"I think it was being aggressive," Chinea said. "With the bases loaded, just hit the ball hard. … Kind of caught up in the moment. We were down, 3-1, and I knew I had a chance to get us closer. I was kind of pumped to get the team into the lead and to have my first grand slam ever. It was pretty neat."
He wasn't finished. In the sixth, it was his turn again with the bases loaded. This time, the 23-year-old from Miami delivered a two-out single, with another run scoring on an error. The RBI total eclipsed his previous best of four, set last Aug. 16 with Class A Peoria. He has 38 on the season, three off the team lead. 
Chinea often occupies the cleanup spot in Palm Beach's lineup and said he knows he needs to produce.
"It's a good feeling," he added. "It's pressure, but it's good pressure. That's a good thing about being in the middle of the lineup."
Luke Dykstra homered and doubled for the Cardinals, who won for the second time in eight games. Palm Beach starter Connor Jones improved to 7-4 after allowing three runs on six hits with five strikeouts over seven innings.