photo: Nelson Velazquez (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals went 3-3-1 for the week and are 12-8-2 in spring training overall. Non-roster invitee Nelson Velazquez is making a bid to be the interim starter in left field. Our history section highlights key events this past week in team annals.
Spring Training Game recaps
Monday, March 9, 2026 – Cardinals 3 at Astros 10
The St. Louis Cardinals were pounded by the Houston Astros, 10-3, at Cacti Park of the Palm Beaches on Monday. Richard Fitts started and pitched 2 2/3 innings, gave up four runs on six hits and struck out three.
Fitts was followed by Michael Watson, Hunter Hayes, Jawilme Ramírez, Max Rajcic, Skylar Hales, Bruce Zimmerman and Jose Davila. Hayes relinquished a run. Zimmerman surrendered five runs to turn it into a blowout.
Nelson Velázquez was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Nathan Church drove in one. The offense was 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 – Cardinals 1 at Mets 6
The Cardinals fell to the Mets by a 6-1 score at Clover Park on Tuesday. Up from minor league camp, Jared Shuster took the mound and pitched three innings, gave up four runs on seven hits and fanned four. Shuster’s line included two home runs allowed.
Relief pitchers were Riley O’Brien, Edwin Nuñez, Packy Naughton, Matt Pushard, Scott Blewett and Austin Love. O’Brien and Pushard each allowed a run.
Nelson Velázquez drove in the only Cardinal run. The offense was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left six men on.
Victor Scott was caught stealing.
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 – Cardinals 1 at Nationals 3
The Cardinals lost their third consecutive game, with Wednesday’s score 3-1 in favor of the Nationals. Dustin May pitched the first 3 2/3 innings, gave up one run on two hits, walked two and struck out three.
Ian Bedell, Justin Bruihl, Matt Svanson, Ryan Fernandez and Gerson Moreno followed May. Moreno allowed the other two runs.
Nolan Gorman drove in the Cardinals only score. The only extra base hit was a double by Andy Yerzy.
JJ Wetherholt and Nathan Church each stole a base.
Thursday, March 12, 2026 – Cardinals 3, Mets 1
The Cardinals won their first game of the week, by a 3-1 margin over the Mets at Roger Dean Stadium. Starter Michael McGreevy pitched five innings, gave up one run on four hits, walked one and struck out three.
Relief pitchers were Chris Roycroft, George Soriano, Matt Pushard, Darlin Saladin and Skylar Hales.
Nolan Gorman was 2-for-2, a double and a triple. Nelson Velázquez hit a two-run home run.
The offense was 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.
Friday, March 13, 2026 – Cardinals 5, Astros 4
The Cardinals edged the Astros by a 5-4 score at Roger Dean Stadium on Thursday. Kyle Leahy pitched four innings and gave up four runs on six hits, walked one and fanned five.
Leahy was followed by Austin Love, Ryne Stanek, JoJo Romero, Riley O’Brien and Justin Bruihl.
From minor league camp, Colton Ledbetter was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Blaze Jordan and Ramon Mendoza each hit a home run.
Ledbetter also had an outfield assist at second base.
Saturday, March 14, 2026 – Cardinals 7 at Marlins 7
The Cardinals and the Marlins played to a 7-7 tie on Saturday at Roger Dean Stadium. Andre Pallante started. The right-hander pitched five innings, gave up one run on three hits, walked three and fanned four.
Matt Svanson, Ryan Fernandez, Ian Bedell and Packy Naughton relieved. Fernandez surrendered four runs. Bedell and Naughton each allowed a run.
Nolan Gorman was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Nathan Church was 2-for-3 with an RBI. José Fermín was 2-for-3. Jeremy Rivas and Tai Peete each plated two.
Jonathan Mejia stole a base. Fermín had an outfield assist at third. Pallante picked a runner off first.
Sunday, March 15, 2026 – Cardinals 6, Nationals 3
The Cardinals beat the Nationals by a 6-3 score at Roger Dean Stadium on Sunday. Starter Richard Fitts pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up two runs on one hit, walked three and fanned five.
Relief pitchers were Hunter Hayes, Ryne Stanek, JoJo Romero, Riley O’Brien and Matt Pushard. Hayes allowed the other Nationals run.
Nelson Velázquez went 2-for-3 including a three-run home run and four RBI. Alec Burleson was 2-for-2.
Victor Scott stole his fourth base of spring. José Suárez also stole a base.
Jeremy Rivas made a fielding error.
News and Notes for Spring Training
This section contains information and snippets of news that don’t require extensive coverage but are of interest to Cardinal fans.
- The Cardinals are promoting “Coca-Cola Unlimited” tickets for the upcoming season. These tickets are now on sale and are for seating in Big Mac Land, specifically sections 271 and 272. Fans purchasing these tickets get access to food and drink at a designated “unlimited concession stand”. More information on these tickets can be found here .
- Cardinals all-inclusive tickets, Opening Day tickets, Cardinals Theme tickets, and single game tickets are now on sale. Information on purchasing any of these tickets and more can be found here. Spring Training tickets are also available to be purchased here.
- “Banana Ball” will return to Busch Stadium in 2026. The Savannah Bananas popular entertainment baseball team will come to Busch Stadium on Friday, August 21 and Saturday, August 22 as part of their world tour. More information about the event and how to get tickets can be found here.
The Big Picture
Spring training will soon be winding down and Opening Day is just around the corner. The final week of spring training begins on Monday. The Cardinals have a spring record of 12-8-2. The final game of spring will be on Monday, March 23, an exhibition game in Springfield MO, against a team composed of mostly Memphis Redbirds players. The Memphis Redbirds begin their regular season the day after opening day at Busch Stadium. The Springfield Cardinals players begin their regular season a week later.
Four minor league players were optioned out this past week – RF Joshua Baez, LHP Nick Raquet, LHP Brycen Mautz and LHP Cooper Hjerpe. Joshua Baez had an exceptional spring at the plate. There was some speculation that Baez could make the major league roster without having played a day in Triple-A, but the Cardinals did the right thing by optioning Baez and quelling that speculation. Baez could still be called up to the majors later in the season if conditions were such that he would be useful, but he should play some time in Memphis before that happens.
Additional players were trimmed from spring camp on Sunday. RHP Ryan Fernandez was optioned to Memphis. Luis Gastelum, Packy Naughton, Gerson Moreno, Matt Koperniak, Blaze Jordan, and Jeremy Rivas were assigned to minor league camp.
These moves signal that LHP Justin Bruihl will likely be the second lefty on the major league roster along with JoJo Romero. Bruihl has no minor league options remaining, which may be one reason he was selected. LHP Packy Naughton pitched well this spring, better than Bruihl in fact, but Naughton does not hold a 40-man roster spot. Decisions are often made for reasons other than performance, as this move demonstrates.
The Cardinals have reduced their spring training roster to 36 players which includes 29 40-man players and seven NRIs.
The Cardinals have an off day Monday and then begin their final week of spring training. The picture of who will be on the Opening Day roster will begin to take shape soon. The team will announce that roster near or on the last day of camp most likely.
The World Baseball Classic is also winding down. The Team USA beat Albert Pujols’ Team Dominican Republic on Sunday night 2-1 on a controversial third strike call with the tying run on third base. There is no ABS in the WBC, though there may be in the next one. Team USA will play the winner of Monday’s semifinal between Team Italy (Thomas Saggese and Gordon Graceffo) and Team Venezuela. The final will be played on Tuesday, March 17.
Stay tuned as Spring Training continues.
Trade and Acquisition Rumors
There are no trade or acquisition rumors to report.
Transactions
- 3/9 The Cardinals optioned RF Joshua Baez, and LHPs Brycen Mautz, Nick Raquet, and Cooper Hjerpe to the Memphis Redbirds.
- 3/15 The Cardinals optioned RHP Ryan Fernandez to the Memphis Redbirds.
Injury Report
- OF Lars Nootbaar (heel surgery) is continuing his rehab at the spring training facility. Nootbaar will begin the season on the injured list. No timetable for returning to play has been reported.
- RHP Hunter Dobbins will begin the season on the injured list. He can pitch but is being held out of agility drills as part of his recovery from off-season knee surgery.
- LHP Zack Thompson missed all the 2025 season with a torn lat muscle and underwent surgery in August to clean up his left shoulder. Thompson is on a throwing program and he won’t be cleared to pitch until sometime after the regular season starts. He is off the 40-man roster and assigned to Memphis.
- C Iván Herrera has still not returned to the lineup after he was scratched from the game on Saturday, March 7th with knee soreness. Herrera has been hitting on the back fields and is expected to catch in a game before camp ends. However, he will likely serve as the designated hitter to start the season.
- IF Ramon Urias has been out for a week due to right elbow soreness felt while swinging. His timetable is unclear.
Looking Ahead
Spring Training continues into its final week. The Cardinals have a record of 12-8-2 and begin the final week with a Tuesday game with the Nationals. They play two more games with the Astros, one each with the Mets and Marlins and a split day on Thursday that begins with the Nationals at noon, and the Spring Breakout Game between Cardinals prospects and Nationals prospects at 3:30 p.m. CT.
The World Baseball Classic is coming to a close. The final will be played on Tuesday. In the final four are the USA, the Dominican Republic, Italy and Venezuela.
Spring training concludes on Monday, March 23 with a game against the Springfield Cardinals at Hammons Field in Springfield. (The Springfield squad will be made up of mostly the 2026 Memphis Redbirds roster, who end their spring training at the same time as the major league team).
St. Louis’ regular season begins on Thursday, March 26, with the opening series at home with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Blast from the Past
This week’s Blast from the Past continues with the series highlighting notable events that occurred in the history of the franchise during a relevant period.
In this installment, we look at events that occurred during the period March 9 through March 15. For each event, its date, individual(s) involved, a description of the event, and any other relevant details are provided.
March 9, 1922 – 2B Rogers Hornsby signed a three-year contract with Cardinals owner Sam Breadon. The 25-year-old agreed to $18,500 per season.
March 10, 1970 – On this date, synthetic turf (astro-turf) was installed at Busch Stadium.
March 10, 2022 – On this date, MLB players and owners ended a 99-day lockout and agreed on a new contract.
March 12, 1973 – Former Cardinal second baseman and manager Frankie Frisch, “The Fordham Flash”, passed away at the age of 75 from injuries suffered in a car accident near Elkton, Maryland.
March 15, 1961 – After he was released from the Milwaukee Braves at the end of the 1960 season, second baseman Red Schoendienst was signed to a free agent contract to allow him to finish his career as a Cardinal.
March 15, 2011 – Former Cardinals shortstop and manager Marty Marion passed away from a heart attack at the age of 93 and was buried in Valhalla Cemetery in St. Louis, MO.
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