Cardinals Minor League Notebook – April 6, 2025

photo: Tekoah Roby (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

The St. Louis Cardinals system was 1-3 on Saturday as Memphis’ game was postponed. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Springfield’s Tekoah Roby, dominated, pitching four shutout innings on two hits and five strikeouts. Other standouts include Cade McGee, RJ Yeager, Johnfrank Salazar and Edwin Nuñez.

Results for games played Saturday, April 5:

Memphis vs. Buffalo (postponed)

The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds will play a doubleheader on Sunday against the Buffalo Bisons at AutoZone Park, after Saturday’s matchup was postponed due to inclement weather.

Sunday’s games: RHP Ian Bedell (0-0, 27.00) vs. RHP Jake Bloss (0-1, 6.75) 1:05 CT (game one); LHP Alex Cornwell (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Andrew Bash (1-0, 3.00) (game two)

Springfield Cardinals 6, Wichita Wind Surge 2

The Cardinals blew past the Wichita Wind Surge by a score of 6-2 at Hammons Field in their first game of the Double-A season.

Starter Tekoah Roby dazzled. The right-hander tossed four shutout innings and struck out five, allowing just two hits and walking one. His curveball was an excellent weapon, as he used it right away to collect his first strikeout of 2025.

Tekoah Roby

Right-handers Luis Gastelum, Edwin Nuñez, and Osvaldo Berrios were lights out from the bullpen. Gastelum tossed a scoreless fifth. Nuñez followed with two shutout innings, and Berrios threw a scoreless eighth. They allowed just one hit and struck out five as a group. Sean Harney allowed two runs in the ninth in his system debut. Nuñez picked up the win.

Springfield strung together a two-out bottom of the first. With two outs, Leonardo Bernal singled, R.J. Yeager walked, and Jeremy Rivas was hit by a pitch to bring up Dakota Harris with the bases loaded. Harris legged out an infield single to score Bernal for the Cardinals’ first run of the season.

The Cardinals plated three more in the third inning. JJ Wetherholt was hit by a pitch and Bernal doubled to right field to put two in scoring position. Yeager brought Wetherholt home on a sacrifice fly. Harris doubled home Bernal. Noah Mendlinger singled home Harris to make it 5-0.

Two more runs came home for Springfield in the fifth. Yeager singled and swiped second base. Rivas then lifted a ball into the Wichita bullpen in left field for Springfield’s first home run of the season, extending the lead to 6-0.

Jeremy Rivas

Springfield plated six runs on eight hits, with six of their nine hitters tallying at least one hit.

The organization’s top prospect, shortstop JJ Wetherholt, made his Double-A debut. He was hit by a pitch and scored one run. Harris went 2-for-4 including a double and two RBI. Rivas drove in two on a home run. Bernal was 2-for-4, including a double. Mendlinger drove in a run on his only hit of the game. Yeager was a perfect 1-for-1, also drawing a walk and hitting a sacrifice fly. Darlin Moquete singled.

The Cardinals were 4-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Springfield moves to 1-0 on the season.

Springfield will play a doubleheader on Sunday, due to Friday’s postponement due to inclement weather.

Sunday’s games: vs. Wind Surge, RHP Max Rajcic (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Aaron Rozek (0-0, 0.00) 1:05 CT (game one); vs. Wind Surge, RHP Zane Mills (bullpen game) vs. RHP Trent Baker (0-0, 0.00) (game two).

Peoria Chiefs 2, Quad Cities River Bandits 6 (seven innings, Game 1)

The High-A Peoria Chiefs fell to the Quad Cities River Bandits in game one of a Saturday doubleheader, and their first game of the 2025 season.

In his High-A debut, Gerardo Salas started for the Chiefs. The right-hander went 3 ⅓ innings, allowing two runs on three hits, walking one and striking out three. Salas took the loss.

Right-hander Hunter Hayes recorded five outs in relief, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out a pair. Jawilme Ramirez made his system debut, allowing one run on one hit, walking two and fanning one in his one inning of work. Last year’s Rule 5 pick in the Triple-A phase, right-hander Angel Gonzalez, made his system debut and tossed a scoreless seventh, striking out two.

The Chiefs fell behind 1-0 early on a lead-off home run, but they evened the score in the bottom of the first. Miguel Villarroel doubled for the first hit of the season for the Chiefs and came around to score after a River Bandits error.

Miguel Villarroel

Quad Cities took the run back in the second and added three more in the fifth and one in the sixth to make it a 6-1 game.

The Chiefs plated one in the bottom of the seventh, as Ryan Campos and Trey Paige walked, and groundouts from Johnfrank Salazar and Jon Jon Gazdar brought Campos home.

The Chiefs scored two runs on just two hits. Villarroel doubled and Joshua Baez singled. Brayden Jobert and Gazdar drove in the runs.

Defensively, catcher Ryan Campos made a throwing error, his first of the season. Outfielder Ian Petrutz threw out a runner at third base.

Peoria Chiefs 6, Quad Cities River Bandits 8 (eight innings, Game 2)

The Chiefs lost a tight extra inning contest in game two of their Saturday doubleheader against the River Bandits at Dozer Park.

Cade Winquest started. The right-hander allowed two runs, three walks, and struck out three in two innings. Dionys Rodriguez allowed a single to the only batter he faced, leaving the game early due to an injury. Inohan Paniagua came in for Rodriguez, allowing three runs in 1 ⅔ innings. Right-hander Tanner Jacobson retired the four batters he faced, striking out one. Fellow righty Benjamin Arias followed with two scoreless innings.

Tyler Bradt allowed two River Bandits to cross home plate in the eighth, and took the loss.

The River Bandits took a 6-0 lead, scoring pairs of runs in the first, third, and fourth innings. The Chiefs responded in a big way in the home fourth.

Peoria loaded the bases with nobody out courtesy of an Ian Petrutz single, a Brayden Jobert double, and a Joshua Baez walk.

Miguel Ugueto

Miguel Ugueto stepped up to the plate in his Chiefs’ debut and cashed in with a two-run single, scoring Petrutz and Jobert. Johnfrank Salazar followed with an RBI single, plating Baez. Ugueto came home on a River Bandits error, allowing Graysen Tarlow to reach base. Miguel Villarroel smacked a two-run double with one out in the inning to bring in Salazar and Tarlow, tying the game at six and erasing the early deficit.

The score stayed deadlocked at six, forcing extra innings in the doubleheader finale, but Peoria fell in eight innings.

The Chiefs scored six runs on 11 hits. Seven hitters in the lineup recorded at least one hit.

Jobert collected two doubles. Salazar notched one RBI, along with three singles. Catcher Graysen Tarlow singled twice in his first game of the season, driving in one. Jobert had two singles from the DH slot. Petrutz, Ugueto, and Michael Curialle singled.

On the bases, Salazar swiped his first of the season. Defensively, Tarlow had a passed ball from behind the plate.

Villarroel doubled in each game of the doubleheader.

The Chiefs are 0-2 this season.

Sunday’s game: RHP Jose Davila (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Hunter Patteson (0-0, 0.00) 2:05 PM CT.

Palm Beach Cardinals 4, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 6

The Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals fell to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels in game two of the season on Saturday at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

Jason Savacool started for the Cardinals. The right-hander worked four innings, allowed three unearned runs, walking just one batter and striking out two.

Relievers Mason Burns and Jack Findlay made their professional debuts in relief. Burns, the right-hander, went 1 ⅔ innings following Savacool, allowing one run on a single hit, striking out three with no walks. The lefty Findlay followed and did not allow a Mighty Mussel to touch home, walked three and struck out two.

Right-handers Randel Clemente and Ernie Day made their season debuts. Clemente surrendered two runs in 2/3 of an inning. In his first game as a Cardinal. Day pitched the remaining 1 ⅓ frames, striking out two while not allowing any runs.

Palm Beach fell behind after a three-run Fort Myers second inning, but Cade McGee brought Palm Beach within two on his first home run of the young season.

Cade McGee

McGee displayed his speed on the basepaths in the bottom of the fifth inning. He walked to lead off, stole second base and advanced to third on a Fort Myers throwing error. McGee scored via a Bryce Madron groundout to trim the deficit to just one.

Jose Suarez singled and stole his first base of the season in the sixth inning. McGee took his second walk and swiped his second base of the game in the seventh.

Fort Myers added two more runs in the eighth to make it 6-2, and Palm Beach responded with two of their own in the home eighth.

The Cardinals rally began on back-to-back singles by Anyelo Encarnacion and Christian Martin, followed by a Jonathan Mejia walk to load the bases with nobody out. Encarnacion scored via a Suarez groundout, and Martin touched home with two outs in the inning, courtesy of a wild pitch.

In the loss, the Cardinals scored four runs on four hits. McGee slugged his first home run of the year, scored two runs, walked twice, and stole second base twice. Suarez collected a single, a walk, and a stolen base. Martin and Encarnacion also singled and scored.

Defensively, the Cardinals committed three errors. Second baseman Christian Martin and catcher Sammy Hernandez each made a throwing error, and Bryce Madron committed a fielding error at first base.

Palm Beach stole four bases. Two came from McGee, the third by Deniel Ortiz, and the fourth was swiped by Suarez.

Palm Beach is 1-1 on the season.

Sunday’s game: vs. Fort Myers, LHP Braden Davis (professional debut) vs. RHP Michael Ross (0-0, 0.00) 11:30 AM CT.

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