Cardinals Minor League Notebook – July 27, 2026

photo: Zach Levenson (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

The St. Louis Cardinals minor league system was 3-1 on Sunday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Springfield’s Zach Levenson, slugged three home runs, including a grand slam, in a six-RBI game. Other standouts: Thomas Saggese, Victor Scott II, Joshua Báez, Hancel Rincon, Jalin Flores and Keiverson Ramírez.

Results for games played on Sunday, July 26, 2026.

Memphis Redbirds 12, Durham Bulls 4

Behind five home runs, the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds crushed the Durham Bulls in the series finale at AutoZone Park on Sunday.

Pete Hansen made his 16th start for Memphis. The left-hander threw four innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits, two walks, and four strikeouts.

Hancel Rincón

Hancel Rincon struck out five across two scoreless no-hit innings in relief of Hansen and earned his fourth win. Jared Shuster followed and yielded two runs over two innings. Victor Santos tossed a scoreless ninth.

Memphis opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning. César Prieto walked, Ramón Urías was hit by a pitch, and Joshua Báez walked. Thomas Saggese drew a bases-loaded walk to force Prieto home.

Durham tied the game in the top of the second.

The Redbirds erupted for seven runs in the home half of the frame. Andy Yerzy began the inning with a double and advanced to third base on a balk. Brody Moore walked. Victor Scott II launched his first home run of 2026 with Memphis, a three-run shot, to move the team ahead 4-1.

Victor Scott

Prieto followed with a single and a steal of second base. Báez deposited his International League-best 31st home run, a two-run blast, beyond the left field wall for a 6-1 lead.

Joshua Baez

Nolan Gorman took a walk. Saggese belted the third home run of the inning, a two-run long ball, to pull the Redbirds ahead 8-1.

Thomas Saggese

Durham scored a run in the third to dent the score to 8-2.

Memphis added three runs in the sixth. Scott II doubled and moved to third on a groundout. Noah Mendlinger brought Scott II home via a sacrifice fly. Báez doubled and scored on a two-run home run from Nolan Gorman, his fifth with Memphis, to put the Redbirds in double digits at 11-2.

Nolan Gorman

The Bulls plated a run in the seventh for an 11-3 score.

Memphis took the run back in the home seventh. Prieto launched the Redbirds’ fifth home run of the game, a solo shot, for a 12-3 lead.

César Prieto

 The Redbirds flexed their muscles with nine extra-base hits in the game, including five home runs. Memphis scored 12 runs on 14 hits.

Saggese was 2-for-4, including a walk, a home run, and three RBI. Scott II went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI. Gorman walked, scored twice, hit a home run, and drove in two. Báez was 2-for-4, including a double, a home run, a walk, two runs scored, and two RBI. Prieto was 2-for-4 with a walk, a solo home run, and three runs scored. Mendlinger singled and notched an RBI. Yerzy and Moore each walked, doubled, and scored

On the bases, Prieto swiped his fifth bag of the year with Memphis.

On defense, Prieto committed a fielding error at third base. Pitcher Shuster was tagged with a fielding error.

Memphis is 11-16 in the second half and 58-44 overall after the series split with Durham. They reside in eighth place in the International League West Division.

The Redbirds are off Monday and will travel to Vystar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Florida, for a six-game series with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, starting Tuesday.

Tuesday’s game: at Jacksonville (MIA). Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM CT.

Springfield Cardinals 9 at Northwest Arkansas Naturals 3

The Double-A Springfield Cardinals clinched a road series victory over the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Sunday.

Chen-Wei Lin made his 16th start in his 19th game for Springfield. The right-hander pitched four innings and allowed two runs on three hits, one walk and six strikeouts.

Michael Watson threw a shutout fifth in relief of Lin and collected his fourth win. Randel Clemente and Tyler Bradt both logged a scoreless inning. José Davila made his Double-A debut and threw a scoreless eighth inning with a strikeout. Domenic Picone gave up a run in the ninth but finished the game.

The Cardinals struck first with a run in the top of the second inning. Zach Levenson hit his seventh home run of the year, a solo blast.

Zach Levenson

The Naturals scored single runs in the third and fourth innings to move ahead 2-1.

Springfield tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth as Levenson launched his second solo home run of the game.

The Cardinals charged ahead with a five-run sixth. Rainiel Rodriguez was hit by a pitch. Won-Bin Cho and Deniel Ortiz hit back-to-back singles to load the bases. Ryan Campos took a bases loaded walk. Levenson crushed his third home run of the day, a grand slam, to pull the Cardinals in front 7-2.

Springfield added two insurance runs in the eighth. Levenson walked and scored on a Trey Paige double. Jon Jon Gazdar lined a second consecutive double to score Paige and stretch the lead to 9-3.

Springfield held the Naturals to 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position in the win.

The Cardinals scored nine runs on 11 hits. Levenson was 3-for-3, with three home runs, a walk, four runs scored, and six RBI. Paige was 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI. Gazdar went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Rodriguez doubled twice and scored. Campos walked, scored, and notched an RBI.

The Cardinals did not steal a base.

On defense, pitcher Watson picked a runner off first base to highlight an errorless team performance.

Springfield is 17-10 in the second half and 48-47 overall after taking four of six at Northwest Arkansas. The Cardinals hold a two-game lead in the Texas League North Division. They are off Monday as they head home to Route 66 Stadium for a six-game series with the Wichita Wind Surge, starting Tuesday.

Tuesday’s game: vs. Wichita (MIN). Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM CT.

Peoria Chiefs 6, West Michigan Whitecaps 13

The High-A Peoria Chiefs fell to the West Michigan Whitecaps in the series finale at Dozer Park on Sunday.

Leonel Sequera started his 18th game for Peoria. The right-hander tossed 4 ⅓ innings and allowed two runs on four hits, two walks and three strikeouts.

Jawilme Ramírez yielded a run and recorded the final two outs of the fifth, taking the loss. Nate Dohm followed and gave up two runs in two innings. Dylan Driessen surrendered eight runs and recorded just two outs. Christian Worley struck out two over the final 1 ⅓ scoreless frames.

The Chiefs struck first with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Cade McGee, José Suárez, and Chase Heath walked. Anyelo Encarnación was hit by a pitch to force McGee home.

Peoria doubled the lead to 2-0 in the fourth as McGee crushed his 12th home run of the year, a solo shot.

Cade McGee

The Whitecaps scored three runs in the fifth and a run apiece in the sixth and seventh to take a 5-2 lead.

Peoria moved within one at 5-4 in the home seventh. Jack Gurevitch hit a two-out solo home run, his 14th with Peoria. Jalin Flores went back-to-back.

Jack Gurevitch

Jalin Flores

West Michigan responded with eight runs in the eighth to pull ahead 13-4.

The Chiefs looked to make a big comeback in the bottom of the ninth but fell short. Luis Pino legged out an infield single and Gurevitch doubled. Flores singled both runners home but the Chiefs were unable to rally further.

Peoria scored six runs on eight hits. Flores was 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Gurevitch doubled, scored twice, and hit a home run. McGee walked twice, scored twice, and hit a home run. Encarnación logged an RBI.

The Chiefs did not steal a base.

On defense, shortstop Flores committed a fielding error. Center fielder Tai Peete robbed a home run on a stellar defensive play.

Peoria is 13-16 in the second half and 45-50 overall after winning four of six over the Whitecaps. The Chiefs reside in fifth place in the Midwest League West Division. They are off Monday and will travel to Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a six-game set with the Cedar Rapids Kernels, starting Tuesday.

Tuesday’s game: at Cedar Rapids (MIN). Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM CT.

Palm Beach Cardinals 5, Tampa Tarpons 3

The Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals edged the Tampa Tarpons at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Sunday’s series finale.

Cade Crossland made his 17th start in his 18th game for Palm Beach. The left-hander pitched 1 ⅔ innings and allowed three runs on one hit, three walks, and four strikeouts.

Keiverson Ramirez

Hunter Kublick secured the final out of the second inning in relief of Crossland. Returning from the FCL, Keiverson Ramírez made his season debut with Palm Beach and threw four shutout innings on just one hit, one walk, and one strikeout. Peter Strzelecki made his organizational debut and pitched a scoreless seventh. Liam Best struck out two in a scoreless eighth and picked up his third win.  Jesús García picked up his second save with Palm Beach as he threw a shutout ninth.

Tampa took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning.

Palm Beach answered with one run in the home half of the frame as Yordalin Peña launched his 15th home run of the year, a solo shot.

Yordalin Peña

Following the home run, the game entered a rain delay. No scoring occurred again until Palm Beach added a run in the fifth. Trevor Haskins hit an infield single and moved to third on a pickoff error. Johnfrank Salazar ripped a double to bring Haskins home and move Palm Beach closer at 3-2.

The Cardinals tied the game in the sixth. Ryan Mitchell walked and stole second base. Ryan Weingartner lined a single to score Mitchell.

Palm Beach completed the comeback and took the lead with a pair of runs in the eighth. Mitchell led-off the inning with a double. Weingartner legged out an infield single and moved into scoring position on a groundout. Mitchell crossed home plate on a groundout by Peña. J.P. Cabrera reached on a fielding error with Weingartner home on the play for an insurance run and a 5-3 Palm Beach lead.

The Cardinals bullpen was lights-out as they combined for 7 ⅓ scoreless innings and allowed just three hits.

Palm Beach scored five runs on seven hits. Peña walked, hit a home run, and tallied two RBI. Weingartner was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Salazar doubled and drove in a run. Mitchell was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.

On the bases, Mitchell stole his 30th bag. Weingartner swiped his 32nd base. Peña recorded his 20th steal. Sebastian Dos Santos snagged his 14th bag. Yairo Padilla was caught stealing second base.

The Cardinals did not commit an error.

Palm Beach is 16-13 on the season and 49-46 overall after the series split with Tampa. They are a half-game behind Daytona for first place in the Florida State League East Division. The Cardinals are off Monday and will travel to Lee Health Sports Complex for a six-game series with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, beginning Tuesday.

Tuesday’s game: at Fort Myers (MIN). Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM CT.

DSL Cardinals (off-day)

The Dominican Summer League Cardinals were off Sunday as they prepared for a doubleheader with DSL Colorado on Monday. The Cardinals will serve as the home team for game one and the away team for game two.

The Cardinals enter the week following a 9-6 win over DSL Colorado at home on Saturday.

The DSL Cardinals are 15-12 on the season.

Monday’s games: vs. DSL Colorado. Pitching probables have not yet been announced for either game. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 9:00 AM CT. Game two is slated to begin shortly after the conclusion of game one.

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