Cardinals Minor League Notebook – May 30, 2025

photo: Trey Paige (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

The St. Louis Cardinals minor league system was 2-2 on Thursday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Peoria third baseman Trey Paige, had two hits and five RBI, including a grand slam. Other standouts include Jimmy Crooks, Mike Antico, Tekoah Roby and Joshua Baez.

Results from games played on Thursday, May 29.

Memphis Redbirds 8 at Durham Bulls 11 (7 innings)

The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds fell to the Bulls in Durham in a rain-shortened contest on Thursday.

Looking for his second win, Alex Cornwell started his eighth game for Memphis. The left-hander pitched four innings and allowed seven runs on 11 hits, two walks, and three strikeouts.

Michael Gomez surrendered three runs in the fifth inning and took the loss. Chris Roycroft yielded an unearned run in the sixth and seventh innings.

The Redbirds took the lead with a two-run top of the first. Michael Siani and Thomas Saggese had back-to-back singles. Jimmy Crooks hit a third straight single to plate Siani.

Saggese crossed home plate on a Luken Baker sacrifice fly for a 2-0 edge.

Durham immediately responded with five runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead.

Memphis scored a pair of runs in the second inning to trim the deficit to one run. César Prieto singled and moved to second base on a Bryan Torres walk. Mike Antico doubled home Prieto for the Redbirds’ third run.

Mike Antico

Siani brought Torres home via a sacrifice fly to inch closer at 5-4.

The Bulls extended their lead with two runs in the third.

The Redbirds responded with two in the fourth. Ryan Vilade singled and advanced to third on an Antico single. Vilade scored on Siani’s second sacrifice fly of the night.  Crooks brought Antico home on his third single in four innings to bring the game within a run at 7-6.

Jimmy Crooks

Memphis regained the lead in the fifth inning. Matt Koperniak blasted a solo home run to tie the game at seven.

Matt Koperniak

Vilade reached on a throwing error and stole second base. Antico singled in Vilade to put the Redbirds ahead 8-7.

Durham scored three runs in the home fifth and added one more in the seventh to retake the lead. Memphis was unable to respond.

The Redbirds scored eight runs on 12 hits. Antico went a perfect 3-for-3, including a double, a run scored, and two RBI. Crooks was 3-for-4 with two RBI. Koperniak tallied two hits, including a game-tying solo home run. Siani singled and drove in two runs, both on sacrifice flies.

On the bases, Vilade stole his fifth on the season. Antico swiped his seventh bag.

Defensively, pitchers Gomez and Roycroft each made a throwing error. Catcher Crooks was charged with a passed ball.

Memphis is 29-23 on the season.

Friday’s game: at Durham, LHP Drew Rom (0-1, 1.10) vs. LHP Joe Rock (1-4, 4.71) 5:35 PM CT.

Springfield Cardinals 6, Northwest Arkansas Naturals 0

The Double-A Springfield Cardinals blanked the Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Hammons Field on Thursday.

Tekoah Roby made his ninth start for Springfield. The right-hander fired 5 ⅓ innings of scoreless baseball on four hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts. Roby lowered his ERA to 2.68.

Tekoah Roby

Austin Love pitched 1 ⅔ scoreless frames in relief of Roby. Luis Gastelum tossed two scoreless innings with a strikeout to finish the win.

Springfield plated three runs in the second inning to break the scoreless tie.

Joshua Baez, promoted from Peoria prior to the game, singled in his first Double-A at-bat. Baez swiped second base and came home on a R.J. Yeager single.

Joshua Baez

Ramon Mendoza launched his fifth home run of 2025, a two-run blast, to put Springfield in front 3-0.

Ramon Mendoza

The Cardinals scored a second trio of runs in the fourth. Noah Mendlinger singled and stole second base. Yeager lined a single, with Mendlinger home on the play due to a fielding error. Mendoza was hit by a pitch and JJ Wetherholt walked to load the bases. Leonardo Bernal singled in Yeager and Mendoza to stretch the lead to 6-0.

Springfield’s pitching stranded nine Naturals on base in the dominant win.

The Cardinals scored six runs on nine hits. Baez was 2-for-4 with a run scored in his Double-A debut. Yeager was 2-for-3, including a walk, a run scored, and one RBI. Mendoza drove in two on a home run and scored twice.

On the bases, Baez swiped his first two bags for Springfield. Wetherholt stole his seventh. Mendlinger snagged his fifth.

On defense, shortstop Wetherholt made a throwing error. Chase Davis added to his defensive highlight reel with a diving catch in center field.

Springfield is 25-22 on the season and moved into first place in the Texas League North Division by a half-game with the victory. The Cardinals will play a doubleheader with the Naturals on Friday.

Friday’s games: vs. Northwest Arkansas. Game 1: LHP Ixan Henderson (3-2, 2.63) vs. TBA, 5:05 PM CT.

Game 2: LHP Brycen Mautz (0-0, 3.81) vs. TBA. First pitch is TBA.

Peoria Chiefs 10 at Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 1

The High-A Peoria Chiefs crushed the Timber Rattlers in Wisconsin on Thursday.

Gerardo Salas started for Peoria. The right-hander pitched a season-high six innings and allowed one run on four hits, one walk, and four strikeouts. Salas earned his second win of 2025.

Gerardo Salas

Darlin Saladin tossed three scoreless innings in his first relief outing of the season and picked up a three-inning save, his first save since 2021.

Peoria scored the first run of the game in the second inning. Won-Bin Cho, Zach Levenson and Michael Curialle singled to load the bases. Cho crossed home plate on a Johnfrank Salazar double play for a 1-0 Chiefs lead.

Wisconsin tied the game at one apiece in the fifth inning.

Peoria surged ahead with a seven-run sixth. Miguel Villarroel singled and stole second base. Ryan Campos moved Villarroel to third base on a single. Campos advanced to second base via a passed ball. Cho walked to load the bases. Levenson drew a bases-loaded walk to score Villarroel and put the Chiefs in front 2-1.

Curialle singled in Campos for the Chiefs’ third run.

Petrutz took the second bases-loaded walk of the frame to bring Cho home.

Trey Paige belted a grand slam to clear the bags and extend the Chiefs’ lead to 8-1.

Trey Paige

Peoria added two more runs in the eighth inning. Salazar reached via a hit-by-pitch and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Tre Richardson walked. Richardson and Salazar advanced on a wild pitch. Salazar touched home plate on the third wild pitch of the inning.

Paige followed with a single to plate Richardson and extend the lead to 10-1.

Peoria won by nine runs, their largest margin of victory to date in 2025.

The Chiefs scored 10 runs on 10 hits. Paige was 2-for-5, including a walk, a grand slam, and five RBI. Curialle singled twice, scored a run, and drove in a run. Levenson singled, walked, and tallied one RBI. Petrutz singled, walked, and drove in a run. Six Peoria hitters tallied at least one hit and one walk.

On the basepaths, Villarroel swiped his 17th base of the year. Petrutz was picked off first base.

On defense, shortstop Villarroel showcased his quick reflexes and agility with a jumping catch in the eighth inning.

Peoria is 19-28 on the season.

Friday’s game: at Wisconsin, RHP Cade Winquest (1-2, 3.38) vs. RHP Tanner Gillis (1-2, 1.83) 6:40 PM CT.

Palm Beach Cardinals 0 at St. Lucie Mets 3

The Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals were shut out in dropping their third straight contest to the St. Lucie Mets on Thursday.

Leonel Sequera started his 10th game for Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched six innings and allowed three runs on six hits, one walk, and two strikeouts. Sequera took the loss.

Leonel Sequera

Ernie Day tossed a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Sequera. Angel Cuenca retired the side in the eighth with a strikeout.

The Cardinals fell behind 3-0 early but mounted their best threat in the fifth inning. Jose Suarez and Sammy Hernandez hit back-to-back one-out singles but were stranded. That was the only time Palm Beach had multiple runners on base in the shutout loss.

The Cardinals scored no runs on five hits, all singles from Suarez, Hernandez, Deniel Ortiz, Cade McGee and Josh Kross.

On the bases, Ortiz was caught stealing second base. The Cardinals did not commit an error.

Palm Beach is 22-26 on the season. They will head home to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium to continue the series with the Mets on Friday.

Friday’s game: vs. St. Lucie, RHP Jason Savacool (4-1, 1.00) vs. RHP Edgar Moreta (2-2, 4.05) 5:30 PM CT.

FCL Cardinals (off-day)

The Florida Complex League Cardinals were off Thursday and will take on the FCL Mets at Roger Dean Stadium Complex on Friday.

The FCL Cardinals are 8-8 on the season.

Friday’s game: Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 AM CT.

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