Cardinals Minor League Notebook – April 27, 2025

photo: Brandt Thompson (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

The St. Louis Cardinals minor league system was 3-1 on Saturday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Palm Beach’s Brandt Thompson, continued his impressive professional debut season with five strikeouts in 4 ⅓ shutout innings. Other standouts include Anyelo Encarnacion, Hancel Rincon, Mike Antico and Osvaldo Berrios.

Results from games played on Saturday, April 26.

Memphis Redbirds 5 at Norfolk Tides 4 (7 innings)

The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds edged the Norfolk Tides in a rain-shortened contest on Saturday.

Curtis Taylor made his first start for Memphis. The 29-year-old right-hander pitched four innings and allowed two unearned runs on three hits, with no walks or strikeouts. Taylor lowered his season ERA to 2.98.

Curtis Taylor

Ryan Shreve yielded two runs in 1 ⅓ innings in relief of Taylor but received his first win of the season. Zack Weiss tossed 1 ⅔ innings of scoreless ball with three strikeouts to pick up his first save of 2025.

The Redbirds plated the first run of the game in the second inning.

Jose Barrero reached on a fielding error, and moved to second base on the play. Barrero advanced to third on a César Prieto flyout. Matt Lloyd lined a single to right field to score Barrero for a 1-0 Redbirds lead.

Matt Lloyd

Norfolk took the lead with a two-run third inning. Memphis responded immediately in the fourth. Barrero led off the inning with a bang for his fourth home run of the season to tie the game at two. In the process, he extended his hitting streak to seven games and on-base streak to 16 contests.

Jose Barrero

Brody Moore hit a two-out single and swiped second base. Mike Antico scored Moore with a single to put Memphis in front 3-2.

Mike Antico

The Tides regained the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Memphis answered in the top of the sixth frame as Prieto hit his third home run of 2025.

César Prieto

Lloyd followed with a single and stole second base. Lloyd crossed home plate on Antico’s second RBI-single of the game to give Memphis a 5-4 lead.

The Redbirds held the lead through the sixth and seventh innings in the rain-shortened victory.

Memphis scored five runs on eight hits. Lloyd was 2-for-3, including a run scored and one RBI. Antico was 2-for-3, with two runs driven in. Barrero and Prieto hit a home run. José Fermín tallied his sixth double of the season.

On the bases, Moore swiped his first bag of 2025. Antico stole his fourth base. Fermín snagged his seventh steal.

Defensively, third baseman Prieto made a throwing error. Pitcher Taylor committed a pickoff error.

Memphis is 15-9 on the season. They look to secure the series sweep on Sunday.

Sunday’s game: at Norfolk, RHP Michael McGreevy (3-1, 3.60) vs. TBD. 12:05 PM CT.

Springfield Cardinals 0 at Wichita Wind Surge 7

The Double-A Springfield Cardinals were shut out by the Wind Surge in Wichita on Saturday.

Max Rajcic started for the Cardinals. The right-hander tossed 2 ⅓ innings and allowed six runs on six hits, four walks, and one strikeout. Rajcic took the loss.

Osvaldo Berrios pitched 2 ⅓ innings of scoreless ball with four strikeouts in relief of Racjic. Nathanael Heredia followed with a pair of strikeouts in 2 ⅓ innings, surrendering one unearned run. Edwin Nuñez fanned one in one inning.

The Cardinals were down 6-0 after three innings but threatened in the sixth inning. Ramon Mendoza and Carlos Linarez singled but were unable to cross home plate.

Ramon Mendoza

Springfield loaded the bases in the top of the eighth inning. R.J. Yeager walked, and Noah Mendlinger singled and Mendoza drew a walk, but the Cardinals were unable to respond further.

Springfield scored no runs on three hits. Mendlinger, Mendoza and Linarez singled. Yeager and Mendoza each drew two walks.

On the basepaths, Mendoza was caught stealing.

Defensively, catcher Leonardo Bernal tallied a passed ball.

Springfield is 9-11 on the season.

Sunday’s game: at Wichita, LHP Brycen Mautz (0-0, 3.00) vs. RHP Ricky Castro (0-1, 5.56) 1:05 PM CT.

Peoria Chiefs 2 at Quad Cities River Bandits 1 (10 innings)

The High-A Peoria Chiefs edged the Quad Cities River Bandits in 10 innings on Saturday.

Hancel Rincon made his third start of the season for the Chiefs. The right-hander threw 4 ⅔ innings and allowed one run over two hits, no walks, and seven strikeouts.

Hancel Rincón

Tyler Bradt struck out two in 1 ⅓ innings in relief of Rincon. D.J. Carpenter followed with a scoreless frame. The right-hander has begun his Chiefs career with 6 ⅔ scoreless innings. Ricardo Velez tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth inning. Michael Watson pitched a scoreless 10th inning to pick up his first career save at the High-A level. Velez earned his first win with the Chiefs.

The River Bandits took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning and carried the lead into the top of the ninth inning, when the Chiefs answered. Joshua Baez led off the inning with a double. Baez advanced to third base on a Won-Bin Cho groundout, and came home on a forceout play, with Brayden Jobert putting the ball in play to tie the game at one.

Brayden Jobert

The Chiefs took their first and only lead of the game in the 10th inning.

Johnfrank Salazar lined a double to score Michael Curialle, who began the inning at second base, to put Peoria up 2-1.

Johnfrank Salazar

The Chiefs kept the River Bandits off the board in the home 10th for the extra-inning victory.

Peoria scored two runs on five hits. Salazar recorded the go-ahead double and collected one RBI. Baez doubled and drew a walk. Jobert had the other RBI.

On the basepaths, Cho swiped his first two bases of the season. Jobert stole his third.

The Chiefs did not commit any errors defensively.

Peoria is 6-13 on the season.

Sunday’s game: at Quad Cities, RHP Darlin Saladin (0-1, 7.84) vs. RHP Felix Arronde (1-0, 2.20) 1:00 PM CT.

Palm Beach Cardinals 9 at Jupiter Hammerheads 0

The Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals thumped the Jupiter Hammerheads at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Saturday.

Brandt Thompson started for Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched 4 ⅓ shutout innings on four hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. Thompson sports an impressive 1.56 ERA through his first four professional starts.

Brandt Thompson

Mason Burns tossed 1 ⅓ scoreless innings in relief of Thompson and fanned two. Left-hander Jack Findlay followed with 2 ⅓ innings of shutout ball with a pair of strikeouts. Sam Brodersen finished the game with a scoreless ninth inning. Burns earned his second professional win.

The game was scoreless through the first three innings. Palm Beach broke the game open with a seven-run fourth.

Cade McGee began the frame with a walk and swiped second base. Luis Pino scored McGee on a single, with Pino to second via error on the play. Pino advanced to third base on a wild pitch and came home on a Deniel Ortiz single. Anyelo Encarnacion scorched his first triple of 2025 to plate Ortiz and give Palm Beach a 3-0 lead.

Heriberto Carabello walked and stole second base. Christian Martin drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Encarnacion came home on a Josh Kross hit-by-pitch. McGee smacked a three-run double to extend the Cardinals’ lead to 7-0 in his second trip to the plate in the inning.

Cade McGee

Palm Beach added a run in the fifth inning without a hit. Jose Cordoba and Ortiz took back-to-back walks with one out. Carabello drew a two-out walk. Martin followed with another free pass to score Cordoba for the eighth run.

The Cardinals padded the lead in the sixth inning.  Yordalin Pena singled and moved up to second base on a fielding error. Pino followed with a line drive single to score Pena and stretch the lead to 9-0.

The Cardinals scored nine runs on nine hits. Encarnacion was 2-for-5, including a double, a triple, a run scored, and one RBI. Ortiz was 2-for-3, plus two walks, a run scored, and one RBI. McGee walked and hit a three-run double.

Seven of the nine Cardinals runs were scored with two outs.

Martin stole his second base of the season. Ortiz and McGee swiped their sixth. Carabello stole his first base.

Defensively, Palm Beach turned three double plays and did not commit an error.

Palm Beach is 13-7 on the season. They look to take five of six from Jupiter in Sunday’s series finale.

Sunday’s game: at Jupiter, RHP Leonel Sequera (0-1, 2.20) vs TBD. 11:30 AM CT.

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Memphis Redbirds Notebook – 2025 Week 4

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