photo: Jack Gurevitch (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals system was 2-3 on Friday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Peoria 1B Jack Gurevitch, was 2-for-4 including a three-run home run. Other standouts include Brody Moore, Colton Ledbetter, Blaze Jordan, Matt Koperniak, Jesús Báez and Jonathan Mejía.
Results for games played on Friday, May 22, 2026.
The Triple-A Redbirds beat the Cubs by an 8-4 score on Friday. Starter Quinn Mathews pitched 4 2/3 innings, gave up four runs on four hits, walked four and fanned four.
Luis Gastelum relieved Mathews and threw 1/3 of a scoreless inning. Chris Roycroft hurled a scoreless sixth. Ryan Murphy pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win. Scott Blewett tossed a scoreless ninth.
Memphis went up 5-0 in the top of the first inning. Colton Ledbetter, Ramon Mendoza and Jimmy Crooks singled. Blaze Jordan singled to score Ledbetter. Mendoza came home on a walk by Bligh Madris. Crooks scored on a ground out by Matt Koperniak. Brody Moore doubled to plate Jordan and Madris.
Brody for ✌️ Moore! pic.twitter.com/VorW8hi8uM
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) May 23, 2026
Iowa answered with two runs in the bottom of the first and two more in the second to shrink the lead to 5-4.
The Redbirds increased the lead to 6-4 in the fourth. Andy Yerzy doubled and scored on a double by Ledbetter.
In the fifth, Memphis extended their lead to 8-4. Jordan doubled. Nelson Velázquez walked. Koperniak doubled to score Jordan and Velázquez.
Koperniak smacks in a pair! pic.twitter.com/V12uWEhpHL
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) May 23, 2026
The Redbirds scored eight runs on 14 hits. Moore was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Jordan was 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Ledbetter was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Mendoza was 2-for-5. Yerzy was 2-for-4. Koperniak had three RBI.
Madris was picked off first base.
Memphis is 30-19 on the season and is in first place in the International League.
Saturday’s game: at Iowa, LHP Bruce Zimmermann (4-2, 4.76) vs. Paul Campbell RHP (0-4, 8.5) 6:08 CT.
The Cardinals were massacred by the Travelers by a 14-0 score on Friday. Starter Liam Doyle pitched four innings, gave up four runs on three hits, walked six and fanned seven. Doyle took the loss.
Darlin Saladin relieved Doyle and surrendered four runs in two innings. Edwin Nuñez relinquished six runs in just 1/3 of an inning. Dominic Picone tossed the final 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Arkansas began scoring in the third inning and kept on going, feasting on Cardinal pitching. They put up two runs in the third, five in the fifth, one in the sixth, and six in the seventh.
The Cardinals offense was held to three hits, singles by Noah Mendlinger, Rainiel Rodriguez and Graysen Tarlow. The offense was 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.
Mendlinger was caught stealing. Ryan Campos and Jon Jon Gazdar each made throwing errors. Saladin picked a runner off first base.
Springfield is 17-26 on the season. They are in last place in the Texas League North.
Saturday’s game: at Arkansas, Jurrangelo Cijntje SHP (2-2, 6.06) vs. RHP Ryan Sloan (0-1, 4.94) 7:05 CT.
The High-A Chiefs edged the Kernels by a 5-4 score at Dozer Park on Friday.
Starter Tanner Franklin pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up two runs on two hits, both solo home runs, walked one and fanned four to earn his first professional win.
Tanner Franklin's final line tonight:
A career-high 5.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 Ks 🎯 pic.twitter.com/ysTck24jZS
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) May 23, 2026
Gerardo Salas relieved Franklin and surrendered one run in 1 2/3 innings. Aaron Holiday threw a scoreless eighth. Patrick Galle yielded one run in the ninth but held on for his first save.
Grand Rapids took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Peoria tied the game in the second. Christian Martin singled and advanced to second on an error. Jose Cordoba singled to score Martin.
The Chiefs added three runs in the fifth to take the 4-1 lead. Sammy Hernandez was hit by a pitch. Jesús Báez singled. Jack Gurevitch followed with a three-run home run.
Gurevitch goes deep to hand the Chiefs the lead in the fifth!
Third 💣 as a Chief for Jack. pic.twitter.com/FKgqbsK0X2
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) May 23, 2026
The Kernels scored single runs in the sixth and seventh to cut the lead to 4-3. Peoria answered with a solo home run by red-hot Jesus Baez in the home seventh to extend the lead to 5-3.
Jesús Báez goes deep for his fourth straight game!!!!🔥
PEO 5 | CR 3 pic.twitter.com/HB5j3PVXSb
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) May 23, 2026
Grand Rapids added a fourth run in the ninth.
The Chiefs scored five runs on 10 hits. Gurevitch was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Báez was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Cordoba was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Tre Richardson was 2-for-4.
Gurevitch stole his first base of the season. Won-Bin Cho and Cordoba swiped two bags each. Sammy Hernandez stole his second base. Richardson swiped his fifth base.
Cordoba had an outfield assist at home plate.
Peoria is 18-24 on the season. They are in last place in the Midwest League West.
Saturday’s game: vs. Grand Rapids, Leonel Sequera RHP (1-4, 10.06) vs. Ivran Romero RHP (2-1, 7.97) 6:35 CT
The Class-A Cardinals were walked off by the Mets, 7-6, in Port St. Lucie on Friday. Starter Cade Crossland pitched 4 1/3 innings, gave up four runs on five hits, walked one and fanned seven.
Yadiel Batista relieved Crossland and threw 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Jose Davila surrendered two runs in 1 2/3 innings. Jovi Gálvez tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Dylan Driessen relinquished the winning run in the ninth and took the loss.
The Beach Birds took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning. New Beach Bird Daniel Rojas singled and advanced to second on an error. Yordalin Peña plated Rojas on a single. Peña stole second base and he scored on Jonathan Mejiá single.
The Mets answered with a run in the home third to cut the lead to 2-1.
Palm Beach added a run in the top of the fourth to increase the lead to 3-1. Heriberto Caraballo, Facundo Velásquez and Rojas singled. Brayden Smith walked and Caraballo scored.
St. Lucie tied the game in the home fourth. They added a run in the fifth, then made it 6-3 in the seventh.
The Cardinals rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 6-6. Ryan Mitchell walked and advanced to second on defensive indifference. Brayden Smith walked. Peña was hit by a pitch. Mejía singled to score Mitchell. Smith came home on a balk. Chase Heath plated Peña on a single.
The Mets walked it off in the bottom of the ninth to win 7-6.
The Cardinals scored six runs on nine hits. Mejía was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Rojas was 2-for-4.
Peña stole his eighth base of the season. Rojas had an outfield assist at second base. Peña had an outfield assist at second base.
The Cardinals are 24-19 on the season. They are in second place in the Florida State League East.
Saturday’s game: at St. Lucie, TBD vs. TBD 5:10 CT.
FCL Cardinals 4, FCL Astros 7 (seven innings)
The rookie Cardinals lost to the Astros in a completion of the suspended game from May 18. Before the delay, starter Andrew Bolívar pitched one scoreless inning with no hits allowed and three strikeouts.
Brian Holiday took over on Friday and surrendered three runs in three innings. Xavier Cruz yielded three runs in 2 1/3 innings and took the loss. Giovanni Vargas relinquished one run in the final 2/3 of an inning.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
The Cardinals put up three runs in the third to take the lead. Cristofer Lebrón singled, stole second, and advanced to third on an error. Sebastian Dos Santos was hit by a pitch. Lebrón scored on a throwing error on a stolen base by Dos Santos. Miguel Hernández plated Dos Santos on a double. Hernández came home on a single by Yaxson Lucena.
The Astros tied the score in the fourth then went ahead 4-3 in the top of the fifth. The Cardinals retied the game with one run in the home fifth. Lucena walked, then advanced to second and third on wild pitches. Hunter and Royelny Strop walked. Juan Rujano was hit by a pitch and Lucena scored.
The Astros regained the lead in the sixth, then added two more runs in the seventh to win 7-4.
The Cardinals scored four runs on eight hits. Lucena was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Lebrón was 2-for-4. Kenly Hunter was 2-for-3.
Lebrón stole his third base of the season. Dos Santos stole two bases. Bracewell Taveras stole his first base. Hunter swiped his fifth bag. Dos Santos and Lebrón were both caught stealing.
Lucena had an outfield assist at home plate.
The Cardinals are 5-8 on the season. They are in fourth place in the FCL East.
Saturday’s game: vs. FCL Mets, TBD vs. TBD 9:00 am CT.
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