Cardinals Minor League Notebook – April 26, 2026

photo: Jalin Flores (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, Peoria 3B Jalin Flores, blasted a go-ahead three-run home run for a career-high five RBI. Other standouts: Blaze Jordan, Bligh Madris, Ryan Murphy, Mason Burns, Jesús Báez, D.J. Carpenter, Ty Van Dyke and Jonathan Mejía.

Results for games played on Saturday, April 25, 2026.

Memphis Redbirds 8 at Norfolk Tides 7

The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds rallied late to edge the Tides in Norfolk on Saturday.

Hunter Dobbins made his fifth start for Memphis. The rehabbing right-hander pitched four innings and allowed three runs on four hits, five walks, and three strikeouts.

Hancel Rincon struck out two across two shutout frames in relief of Dobbins. Cade Winquest yielded two runs over one inning but held on to collect his first win of 2026. Lefty Jared Shuster was tagged with two runs over 1 ⅔ innings. Chris Roycroft secured the final out of the game via strikeout and picked up his second save of the season.

Memphis scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning. Joshua Báez belted his sixth home run of the season, a solo shot.

Joshua Baez

Norfolk answered in the home first to grab a 3-1 lead.

Memphis moved within one with a run in the second. Colton Ledbetter began the frame with a single and a steal of second base. Brody Moore roped a double to bring Ledbetter home.

Brody Moore

The Redbirds tied the game in the third. Blaze Jordan rocketed a solo home run, his fifth of 2026.

Blaze Jordan

The Tides scored twice in the home half of the seventh to move ahead 5-3.

Memphis responded with a five-run eighth inning. Jordan drew a leadoff walk. César Prieto singled and Nelson Velázquez took a free pass to load the bags with no outs. Ramon Mendoza grounded a single into center field to bring Jordan home as the runners moved station to station for a 5-4 score.

Colton Ledbetter grounded out, with Prieto scoring to tie the game at five. Pinch-hitting for Moore, Bligh Madris delivered a double to plate Velázquez and Mendoza.

Bligh Madris

With two outs, Bryan Torres doubled home Madris to tack on an insurance run and extend the lead to 8-5.

Bryan Torres

Memphis held off a late Norfolk rally to win.

The Redbirds scored eight runs on 10 hits. The lineup recorded seven extra-base hits as seven different Redbirds recorded an RBI.

Jordan was 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and a home run. Báez hit a solo home run. Madris doubled and drove in two. Moore walked, doubled, and notched an RBI. Torres doubled and drove in a run. Mendoza singled, scored a run, and tallied an RBI. Prieto was 2-for-5 with a double. Ledbetter singled and drove in a run.

On the bases, Moore swiped his third. Torres stole third base for his fifth steal.

Defensively, shortstop Prieto committed a fielding error. The Redbirds turned two double plays.

Memphis is 17-9 on the season. They will look to clinch the series win on Sunday.

Sunday’s game: at Norfolk. LHP Quinn Mathews (0-2, 5.17) vs. TBD. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 PM CT.

Springfield Cardinals 4, Midland RockHounds 6 (10 innings)

The Double-A Springfield Cardinals lost a close contest in extra innings to the Midland RockHounds at Hammons Field on Saturday.

Liam Doyle made his fourth start for the Cardinals. The left-hander threw four innings and allowed four runs on four hits, three walks and four strikeouts. The big blow was a three-run home run in the first and the other run came on a solo shot.

Ryan Murphy threw two scoreless, hitless innings with a pair of strikeouts in relief of Doyle. Mason Burns followed with another pair of shutout frames with two strikeouts.

Ryan Murphy

Mason Burns

Austin Love yielded two runs, one earned, across the ninth and 10th innings and took the loss.

Midland surged ahead early with a three-run top of the first inning.

Springfield tied the game with three runs in the second. Travis Honeyman singled and stole second. Dakota Harris grounded out to move Honeyman to third. Graysen Tarlow reached on a throwing error as Honeyman scored put the Cardinals on the board at 3-1. Jeremy Rivas was hit by a pitch. Carlos Linarez scorched a double to plate Tarlow and Rivas and tie the game at three.

Carlos Linarez

The RockHounds plated a run in the third to reclaim the lead at 4-3.

The Cardinals immediately answered with a run in the home third. Miguel Ugueto was hit by a pitch and Zach Levenson walked. Honeyman singled to bring Ugueto home and tie the game once more.

The game stayed knotted at four apiece through nine innings to force extras. The RockHounds scored twice in the 10th to move ahead 6-4. Springfield was unable to answer.

The Cardinals scored four runs on just three hits. Honeyman was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Linarez doubled for the team’s only extra-base hit and tallied two RBI. Harris and Noah Mendlinger each drew two walks.

On the bases, Honeyman swiped his eighth bag of 2026. Mendlinger and Harris were caught stealing second base.

On defense, the Cardinals turned two double plays in an errorless performance.

Springfield is 7-13 on the season. They will look to win the series finale for a series split on Sunday.

Sunday’s game: vs. Midland. SHP Jurrangelo Cijntje (1-1, 5.50) vs. LHP Jamie Arnold (0-0, 2.25) 1:15 PM CT.

Peoria Chiefs 7, Cedar Rapids Kernels 5

The High-A Peoria Chiefs won a tight contest over the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Dozer Park on Saturday.

Yhoiker Fajardo started his second game, his fourth appearance overall, for the Chiefs. The right-hander tossed 3 ⅓ innings and allowed one run on four hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Fajardo holds a 1.69 ERA through 16 innings.

Bobby Olsen surrendered three runs across 1 ⅔ innings in relief of Fajardo. Aaron Holiday followed with a scoreless inning. Left-hander Jack Findlay gave up a run in the seventh but received his second win of the season. D.J. Carpenter finished with two shutout frames and three strikeouts as he collected his first save in 2026.

Cedar Rapids struck first with a run in the top of the second.

Peoria grabbed the lead with a two-run third. Ian Petrutz legged out a leadoff infield single. Won-Bin Cho lined a one out single. With two outs, Jalin Flores doubled to score Petrutz and Cho for a 2-1 Peoria lead.

Jalin Flores

The Kernels regained the lead with three runs in the fifth to move ahead 4-2.

The Chiefs inched back within a run in the home fifth. Petrutz began the frame with a bunt single. Anyelo Encarnación hit a second consecutive infield single, with Encarnación and Petrutz to second and third via a throwing error. Cho walked to load the bases with no outs. Following a strikeout, Flores grounded into a forceout, with Petrutz coming home for a 4-3 score.

The Chiefs tied the game at four apiece in the sixth. Jesús Báez hit his third home run of the year, a solo blast.

Jesus Baez

Cedar Rapids took a 5-4 lead, scoring on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh.

The Chiefs stormed back ahead with three runs in the home seventh. Cho drew his second walk. Rainiel Rodriguez followed with a single as Cho took third on an error. Flores cleared the bases with a three-run home run, his second of the season, to give the Chiefs a 7-5 lead.

Peoria’s pitching staff left 11 Kernels on base in the win.

The Chiefs scored seven runs on nine hits. Flores was 2-for-5, a double, a home run, and a career-high five RBI. Báez went 2-for-5 with a solo home run. Cho singled, walked twice, and scored twice. Petrutz was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

On the bases, Flores stole his first bag of the season, the second of his career.

The Chiefs did not commit an error.

Peoria is 9-10 on the season. They will look to take five of six from the Kernels with a win on Sunday.

Sunday’s game: vs. Cedar Rapids. RHP Nate Dohm (0-0, 4.50) vs. RHP Michael Ross (1-0, 4.00) 2:05 PM CT.

Palm Beach Cardinals 8 at St. Lucie Mets 7

The Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals staged a ninth-inning comeback to steal a win from the St. Lucie Mets on Saturday, the team’s third consecutive win.

Ty Van Dyke made his fourth start of the season for Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched five shutout innings on three hits, one walk and five strikeouts. Van Dyke has begun his 2026 season with 19 ⅓ consecutive scoreless frames.

Ty Van Dyke

Alex Breckheimer allowed seven runs, six earned, across 2 ⅔ innings in relief of Van Dyke. Jovi Gálvez tossed 1 ⅓ scoreless frames to earn his first win with Palm Beach, the second in his career.

The Cardinals’ bats were hot early in a three-run top of the first inning. Jack Gurevitch scorched a one-out double and scored on a Ryan Mitchell single. Jonathan Mejía tripled Mitchell home. Mejía scored on a Chase Heath groundout to extend the Cardinals lead to 3-0.

The Mets scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to leap ahead 5-3.

Palm Beach moved within a run at 5-4 in the eighth as Mejía launched his third home run of the season.

Jonathan Mejia

St. Lucie plated a pair of runs in the home eighth to carry a 7-4 lead into the ninth inning.

Down to their final three outs, the Cardinals looked to rally. Brayden Smith drew a lead-off walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Yordalin Peña walked. Alex Birge lined a single to bring Smith home for a 7-5 game. Trevor Haskins followed with a double to score Peña and move Palm Beach within one at 7-6. Birge crossed home plate on a wild pitch to tie the game at seven. Ryan Weingartner came through with a single to plate Haskins and put Palm Beach ahead 8-7.

Ryan Weingartner

Palm Beach stranded St. Lucie’s potential tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth to hold on for the win.

The Cardinals scored eight runs on 10 hits. Mejía was 2-for-5, including a triple, a home run, two runs scored, and two RBI. Haskins doubled and drove in a run. Birge went 2-for-3 with a walk, a run scored, and an RBI. Mitchell singled, scored a run, and drove in a run. Weingartner singled and drove in the go-ahead run. Heath recorded an RBI. Gurevitch doubled and scored a run in a two-hit day.

On the basepaths, Weingartner swiped his seventh bag of the campaign.

On defense, first baseman Heath committed a fielding error. Catcher Birge was charged with a catcher’s interference error. Center fielder Mitchell and second baseman Haskins each made a throwing error.

Palm Beach is 15-5 on the season. They will look to take five of six on the road on Sunday.

Sunday’s game: at St. Lucie. RHP Ethan Young (0-0, 5.14) vs. LHP Nicolas Carreno (0-0, 3.00) 11:10 AM CT.

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