photo: Nathan Church (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals minor league system was 1-2 on Thursday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Springfield center fielder Nathan Church, was 2-for-5, including a home run, a run scored, and three RBI. Other standouts include Bryan Torres, Nolan Sparks, and Pete Hansen.
Results for games played Thursday, May 1:
Memphis Redbirds 4, Louisville Bats 13
The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds fell to the Louisville Bats on Thursday at AutoZone Park.
Ian Bedell made his sixth start of the season for Memphis. The right-hander pitched four innings and allowed six runs on five hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. Bedell took the loss.
Michael Gomez surrendered four runs in one inning in relief. Zack Weiss followed with 2 ⅔ shutout frames with five strikeouts to lower his ERA to 1.32. Roddery Muñoz finished the eighth inning via strikeout. Nick Anderson yielded one run in the ninth inning.
The Redbirds faced a 10-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning when Andy Yerzy’s solo home run put Memphis in the scoring column.
Yerzy!@HueysRestaurant home run pic.twitter.com/qZNPnt80yS
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) May 1, 2025
The Bats scored a pair to make it 12-1 entering the bottom of the eighth inning. Memphis brought three runs across the plate to narrow the gap a bit.
Mike Antico began the frame on a hit-by-pitch, and moved to second base on a Bryan Torres single. Ivan Herrera crushed the first pitch he saw for a three-run home run, the first hit of his rehab assignment from St. Louis.
HERRERA HITS @HueysRestaurant HOMERS pic.twitter.com/GQOW90wcLm
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) May 1, 2025
Memphis was unable to respond further in the lop-sided loss.
The Redbirds scored four runs on nine hits. Torres was 3-for-5 with a run scored. Yerzy tallied his second home run of the season. Herrera drove in three runs on a home run. Memphis’ lineup did not draw any walks and were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
Defensively, third baseman Ryan Vilade committed a fielding error. Second baseman Brody Moore made a throwing error.
Memphis is 17-11 on the season.
Friday’s game: vs. Louisville, RHP Curtis Taylor (1-0, 2.89) vs. TBD. 12:45 PM CT.
Springfield Cardinals 3, Northwest Arkansas Naturals 2
The Double-A Springfield Cardinals collected their first walk-off win of 2025 on Thursday against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
Pete Hansen started for the Cardinals. The left-hander tossed 5 ⅔ innings and allowed two runs on six hits, one walk, and a pair of strikeouts. Hansen lowered his season ERA to 2.45.
Sean Harney struck out two across 2 ⅓ scoreless frames in relief. Left-hander Nick Raquet pitched a scoreless ninth inning to set up the walk-off win. Raquet earned his first win of the season.
Springfield plated the first two runs of the game in the second inning. Carlos Linarez walked, and Nathan Church brought him home on his first home run of the year, a two-run blast.
Cardinals number 21 prospect Nathan Church just hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot. pic.twitter.com/yZIC3gKS1K
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) May 2, 2025
The Travelers scored one run in both the third and fourth innings to tie the game at two.
No further scoring occurred until the Cardinals came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning. Dakota Harris led off with a single, then he swiped second and third base. Linarez and Darlin Moquete drew back-to-back two out walks to load the bases.
Church delivered a single to win the game in walk-off fashion, with Harris touching the plate with the winning run.
THAT'S A WINNER FOR YOUR CASHEW CHICKENS! Nathan Church comes through with a base hit to win it 3-2. pic.twitter.com/wCbzpYobKE
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) May 2, 2025
Springfield scored three runs on six hits. Church was 3-for-5, including a two-run home run, a run scored, and three RBI. Linarez singled and walked twice. Top prospect JJ Wetherholt tallied a single for his first hit since returning to the lineup. He played his first game in the field, at shortstop, after two starts as the designated hitter.
On the bases, Chase Davis swiped his third base of the season. Harris tallied his second and third steals.
Defensively, The Cardinals did not commit an error. Left fielder Davis made a highlight-reel catch in the ninth inning.
Cardinals number 9 prospect Chase Davis lays out superman style for the clutch late-inning grab! pic.twitter.com/qAsiDOsDJs
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) May 2, 2025
Springfield is 11-12 on the season. They will play a doubleheader on Friday, with game two serving as the makeup for the Tuesday, April 29th postponement.
Friday’s games:
Game 1: vs. NW Arkansas, RHP Max Rajcic (1-2, 7.88) vs. RHP Henry Williams (3-0, 2.35) 5:05 PM CT.
Game 2: Pitching probables have not yet been announced.
Peoria Chiefs vs. Beloit Sky Carp (postponed)
The High-A Peoria Chiefs’ contest with the Beloit Sky Carp was postponed on Thursday due to wet grounds at Dozer Park. The Chiefs announced the game will be made up on Friday as part of a doubleheader.
Tonight's Game has been POSTPONED!
Doubleheader tomorrow with first pitch @ 5:00pm!
Tickets are good for both games! pic.twitter.com/vdF5zigvyc
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) May 2, 2025
Peoria is 6-16 on the season.
Friday’s games:
Game 1: vs. Beloit, RHP Jose Davila vs. TBA, 5:05 PM CT.
Game 2: RHP Hancel Rincon (0-0, 3.38) vs. LHP Thomas White (1-1, 3.31)
Palm Beach Cardinals 2, St. Lucie Mets 5
The Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals fell to the St. Lucie Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Thursday.
Drew Rom started for Palm Beach in his first game of his rehab assignment from Memphis. The left-hander pitched two hitless innings and struck out four.
Right-hander Nolan Sparks relieved Rom. The 22-year-old threw four innings and allowed two runs on four hits, one walk, and two strikeouts. Sam Brodersen surrendered three runs in two innings of work. Angel Cuenca tossed a scoreless ninth. Brodersen took the loss.
Palm Beach was down 2-0 heading into the home sixth but split the lead in half then. Josh Kross lined a one-out single, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Christian Martin moved Kross to third base with an infield single. Kross touched home plate on a balk.
Palm Beach tied the game in the seventh.Jose Cordoba reached base via a fielding error. Jonathan Mejia singled to move Cordoba up to second base. Both runners advanced a base on a balk. Cordoba came home on a wild pitch.
The Mets scored three runs in the eighth inning and Palm Beach failed to respond.
The Cardinals scored two runs on nine hits, all singles. Mejia, Martin, and Travis Honeyman each recorded two.
Palm Beach had plenty of opportunities, leaving 10 on base and going 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
On the basepaths, Martin swiped his fourth bag of the season.
Defensively, shortstop Mejia made a throwing error.
Palm Beach is 14-10 on the season.
Friday’s game: vs. St. Lucie, RHP Brandt Thompson (1-0, 1.56) vs. TBD. 5:30 PM CT.
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