photo: Miguel Villarroel (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The St. Louis Cardinals minor league system was 6-1 on Thursday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Peoria shortstop Miguel Villarroel, was 3-for-5, including a stolen base, a run scored, two RBI, and the walk-off single in game one of the Chiefs’ doubleheader. Other standouts include Thomas Saggese, Ryan Shreve, JJ Wetherholt, R.J. Yeager, Jack Findlay, and Jan Cabrera.
Results for games played on Thursday, June 5:
Memphis Redbirds 9, Indianapolis Indians 10
The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds lost a high-scoring contest to the Indianapolis Indians at AutoZone Park on Thursday.
Drew Rom started for the Redbirds. The left-hander pitched 2 ⅔ innings and allowed six runs on six hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.
Ryan Shreve struck out three across 2 ⅓ innings of scoreless baseball in relief of Rom. Andre Granillo yielded two runs over two innings. Left-hander Oddanier Mosqueda surrendered two runs across the final two innings of the game, and took the loss.
Memphis scored the first three runs of the game in the bottom of the first inning. Nathan Church and Thomas Saggese hit back-to-back singles. César Prieto lined a double to score Church and Saggese to put Memphis ahead 2-0.
Prieto plates a pair!
📺: https://t.co/CMkUlo0dwD pic.twitter.com/ygSAkpdq3b
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) June 6, 2025
Luken Baker reached base on a fielder’s choice, with Prieto to third base on the play. Matt Koperniak reached on the second consecutive fielder’s choice, with Prieto home, and Baker to second base on the play.
The Indians scored a run in the second and five in the third to take a 6-3 lead. The Redbirds scored a pair in the bottom of the third to narrow the gap.
Prieto walked and crossed home plate on a Baker double.
Baker plates Prieto!
📺: https://t.co/CMkUlo0dwD pic.twitter.com/Tm0nxCIlBb
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) June 6, 2025
Baker advanced to third base on a Koperniak groundout. Baker touched home plate via a wild pitch to move within one run at 6-5.
The Redbirds regained the lead in the fifth inning and plated four runs, all with two outs.
Brody Moore was hit by a pitch and stole second base. Antico walked to put two runners on base. Michael Siani doubled home Moore to tie the game at six.
Siani gets in on the action!
📺: https://t.co/CMkUlo0dwD pic.twitter.com/ot2c8IQK5Y
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) June 6, 2025
Anitco came home on a wild pitch for a 7-6 Memphis lead, with Siani advancing to third base on the play. Church drew a walk and swiped second base. Saggese hit the second double of the frame to bring Siani and Church home to extend the lead to 9-6.
Saggese hits!
📺: https://t.co/CMkUlo0dwD pic.twitter.com/CfVqIdhyoX
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) June 6, 2025
Indianapolis scored one run in the sixth and three in the eighth to take a late 10-9 lead. Memphis failed to respond.
The Redbirds scored nine runs on 10 hits. Saggese was 2-for-5, including a walk, a run scored, a double, and two RBI. Prieto was 1-for-2, including two walks, two runs scored, a double, and two RBI. Siani drew three walks, scored a run, and tallied a double with one RBI. Baker walked, scored a run, doubled, and recorded one RBI. Church went 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
On the bases, Moore stole his fifth bag. Church swiped his second with Memphis. Siani and Church were each caught stealing second base. Siani was picked off at first base.
Defensively, the Redbirds did not commit an error.
Memphis is 32-26 on the season.
Friday’s game: vs. Indianapolis, LHP Quinn Mathews (0-2, 4.50) vs. LHP Hunter Barco (1-0, 0.81) 7:05 PM CT.
Springfield Cardinals 6 at Frisco RoughRiders 2
The Double-A Springfield Cardinals bested the RoughRiders in Frisco on Thursday.
Brycen Mautz started his ninth game for Springfield. The left-hander threw four innings and allowed one run on four hits, two walks, and five strikeouts.
Austin Love fanned three across two scoreless frames in relief of Mautz to improve to a 2-0 record. Luis Gastelum followed and recorded five outs, all via strikeouts. Osvaldo Berrios struck out two and recorded the final four outs of the game.
Frisco plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning. Springfield took the lead with a pair of runs in the third.
With two outs, Noah Mendlinger lined a double and scored on JJ Wetherholt’s fourth home run of the year, a two-run shot to put Springfield in front 2-1.
We have liftoff! JJ Wetherholt drives a two-run blast the other way to give Springfield the lead! pic.twitter.com/UfMPpEt6vo
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) June 6, 2025
Springfield padded the lead with a trio of runs in the fourth. Dakota Harris singled and scored on Trey Paige’s first Double-A triple. R.J. Yeager launched a two-run home run to bring Paige home and extend the lead to 5-1.
Yeager Bombs for everyone 💣
RJ Yeager extends the lead with a blast. pic.twitter.com/KqF7m6BcM7
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) June 6, 2025
Springfield stretched the lead further in the eighth. Harris walked and swiped second base. Ramon Mendoza was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base. Mendoza and Harris advanced to second base and third base, respectively, on a wild pitch. Harris scored on the second consecutive wild pitch for a 6-1 Springfield lead, with Mendoza to third base on the play.
The Cardinals’ pitchers stranded 11 RoughRiders on base in the win.
The Cardinals scored six runs on 10 hits. Wetherholt was 2-for-4, including a walk and a two-run home run. Yeager was 2-for-4, including a two-run blast. Paige tripled, scored a run, and tallied one RBI. Mendlinger doubled and scored a run.
On the basepaths, Harris stole his sixth bag. On defense, pitcher Mautz picked off a runner at first base. The Cardinals did not commit an error.
Springfield is 30-24 on the season.
Friday’s game: at Frisco, LHP Ixan Henderson (3-3, 2.27) vs. RHP Ben Anderson (3-3, 4.20) 7:05 PM CT.
Peoria Chiefs 9, Quad Cities River Bandits 8 (game one, 8 innings)
The High-A Peoria Chiefs won an extra-innings thriller over the Quad Cities River Bandits at Dozer Park in game one of Thursday’s doubleheader.
Gerardo Salas made his 11th start for Peoria. The right-hander pitched 2 ⅔ innings and allowed six runs on eight hits, one walk, and one strikeout.
Michael Watson tossed 1 ⅓ scoreless frames in relief of Salas and lowered his ERA to 1.17. Tyler Bradt struck out three across three scoreless frames. Angel Gonzalez allowed two runs, one earned, in one inning of work, and collected his first win of 2025.
The River Bandits took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Chiefs trimmed the lead in half in the bottom of the frame. Tre Richardson doubled and scored on an Ian Petrutz single.
Quad Cities scored four runs in the third to take a 6-1 lead. Peoria made it a two-run game with three in the bottom of the third inning.
Petrutz drew a walk and moved to second base on a Josh Kross hit-by-pitch. Miguel Villarroel singled to score Petrutz, with Kross to third base on the play. Villarroel swiped second base, and a throwing error on the play allowed Kross and Villarroel to move within two runs at 6-4.
The Chiefs plated a run in the fourth. Zach Levenson hit a lead-off single and scored on a Won-Bin Cho double for a 6-5 game.
Peoria tied the game in the sixth inning. Cho and Richardson hit back-to-back singles to begin the frame. Jon Jon Gazdar loaded the bases on the third consecutive single. Petrutz lined the fourth single in a row to score Cho and tie the game at six.
The score stayed tied through the seven-inning game, forcing extra innings.
The River Bandits plated two runs in the eighth to take an 8-6 lead. The Chiefs responded immediately.
Cho started the inning at second base and advanced to third base on a Richardson single. Cho touched home plate on a Gazdar sacrifice fly to inch a run closer at 8-7. Petrutz hit his third single of the game to move Richardson to third base, with Petrutz to second base on the play. Brayden Jobert reached on a fielder’s choice play, with Richardson home as the tying run, and Petrutz to third base on the play. Villarroel lined a single to bring Petrutz home for a 9-8 walk-off win.
Miguel Villarroel WALK-OFF!! 😍😍#peoriachiefs pic.twitter.com/pzOuFF8qVj
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) June 6, 2025
The Chiefs’ timely hitting throughout the game propelled the team to the walk-off win.
Peoria scored nine runs on 15 hits. Petrutz was 3-for-4, including a walk, two runs scored, and two RBI. Villarroel went 3-for-5, with a run scored and two RBI. Richardson tallied three hits, including a double, and scored twice. Cho doubled, drove in a run, and scored twice.
On the bases, Villarroel stole his 18th bag of the season.
On defense, pitcher Watson picked off a runner at first base.
Peoria Chiefs 4, Quad Cities River Bandits 1 (game two, 7 innings)
The Peoria Chiefs won a close contest over the Quad Cities River Bandits to secure the doubleheader sweep at Dozer Park on Thursday. This was the makeup from Wednesday’s postponement due to rain.
Darlin Saladin made his ninth start for the Chiefs. The right-hander pitched four innings on four hits, no walks, and three strikeouts.
Dionys Rodriguez tossed a scoreless fifth inning to collect his second win of the season. Jawilme Ramirez fanned three across the sixth and seventh innings to collect his second save.
Peoria rode the momentum from game one of the doubleheader into a two-run bottom of the first inning.
Tre Richardson hit a lead-off single. Richardson stole second base and advanced to third base via a throwing error on the play. Jon Jon Gazdar singled and stole second base to put two runners in scoring position. Josh Kross lined the third single of the inning to score Richardson and Gazdar to put the Chiefs in front 2-0.
Kross singles in the bottom of the 1st, Richardson AND Gazdar score!
PEO 2 | QC 0 pic.twitter.com/3RZ8EjptJW
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) June 6, 2025
The River Bandits split the lead in half with a run in the second. The Chiefs added a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Gazdar was hit by a pitch and advanced to second base on a Graysen Tarlow single. Zach Levenson hit his second triple of the season to plate Gazdar and Tarlow to extend the lead to 4-1.
Levenson triples, 2 runners score in the 3rd!
PEO 4 | QC 1 pic.twitter.com/ZuM9cqRpzS
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) June 6, 2025
Chiefs’ relievers fanned three and allowed just two hits across three innings in the win.
The Chiefs scored four runs on seven hits. Levenson recorded the only extra-base hit for the Chiefs, a triple, and drove in two runs. Kross singled and drove in two runs. Tarlow tallied two singles and scored a run.
On the bases, Richardson recorded two steals to increase his season total to four. Gazdar swiped his 12th bag.
On defense, catcher Tarlow and pitcher Saladin each made a throwing error. Third baseman Michael Curialle committed a fielding error. The Chiefs turned three double plays in the game.
Peoria is 21-32 after winning both games of Thursday’s twin bill.
Friday’s game: vs. Quad Cities, RHP Cade Winquest (1-3, 3.97) vs. LHP Hunter Patteson (4-1, 1.89) 7:05 PM CT.
Palm Beach Cardinals 2 at Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 1
The Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals edged the Mighty Mussels in Fort Myers on Thursday.
Leonel Sequera started for Palm Beach. The right-hander fired five innings, yielding a run on six hits, three walks, and three strikeouts to collect his first win of the season.
Left-hander Jack Findlay fanned five across three scoreless innings in relief of Sequera. Randel Clemente pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his third save of 2025.
Fort Myers broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth inning. Palm Beach answered with a pair of runs in the sixth.
Heriberto Carabello singled and advanced to second base on the play via a throwing error. Cade McGee was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Raniel Rodriguez hit his first double at the Low-A level to score Carabello and McGee to put Palm Beach in front 2-1, with Rodriguez out at third base on the play.
Palm Beach’s pitching staff allowed just one hit with a runner in scoring position in the victory.
The Cardinals scored two runs on six hits. Rodriguez doubled and drove in both Palm Beach runs. Deniel Ortiz collected two hits, including a double. McGee singled and scored a run.
On the bases, Anyelo Encarnacion stole his 10th base of the season. Ortiz was caught stealing second base. Defensively, right fielder Luis Pino committed a fielding error.
Palm Beach is 25-28 on the season.
Friday’s game: at Fort Myers, TBA vs. Michael Ross (1-1, 3.68) 6:05 PM CT.
FCL Cardinals 7, FCL Nationals 6
The Florida Complex Cardinals won a tight contest over the Nationals on Thursday.
Andrew Bolivar made his first start of the season in his fourth game for the Cardinals. The right-hander pitched just ⅔ of an inning and allowed five runs on three hits, three walks, and one strikeout.
Giovanni Vargas tossed 1 ⅓ scoreless frames in relief of Bolivar and picked up his second win of 2025. Bernard Mack followed and fired three shutout innings with four strikeouts. Samuel Fabian surrendered one run across three innings. Antoni Cuello pitched a scoreless ninth inning to collect his first save of the season.
The Nationals jumped ahead early with a five-run top of the first. The Cardinals stormed back with six runs in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead.
Yancel Guerrero led off the inning with a double and scored on a Paulo Asprilla single. Daniel Rojas legged out an infield single to put two runners on. Asprilla advanced to third base, and Alejandro Loaiza reached first on a forceout play, with Rojas out at second base. Asprilla scored on a Yaisel Ramos single to narrow the gap to 5-2. Facundo Velasquez hit a single to bring Loaiza home for a 5-3 game, with Ramos to third base on the play. Yairo Padilla hit the third consecutive single to plate Ramos, with Padilla and Velasquez to second base and third base, respectively, on a throwing error. Bracewell Taveras lined a double to score Velasquez and Padilla to put the Cardinals in front 6-5.
The Cardinals added a run in the fourth inning. Velasquez hit a two-out triple. Padilla walked and stole second base. Taveras drew a walk to load the bases. Guerrero was hit by a pitch to bring Velasquez home and extend the lead to 7-5.
The Cardinals’ pitching stranded 12 Nationals on base en route to the win.
The Cardinals scored seven runs on 12 hits. Taveras was 2-for-3, including a double, a walk, and two RBI. Guerrero went 2-for-3, including a double, a run scored, and one RBI. Asprilla was 2-for-4, with a double, a run scored, and one RBI. Velasquez tripled, singled, scored twice, and drove in a run.
On the bases, Padilla swiped his 15th bag and was also picked off at first base. Ramos was caught stealing second base. The Cardinals did not commit an error on defense.
The FCL Cardinals are 13-10 on the season. They will travel to CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches Complex in West Palm Beach, Florida, for a road contest with the Nationals on Friday.
Friday’s game: at FCL Nationals. Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 AM CT.
DSL Cardinals 7 at DSL Marlins 1
The Dominican Summer League Cardinals bested the Marlins to collect their first win of the 2025 season on Thursday.
Jan Cabrera made his first professional start for the Cardinals. The right-hander pitched five innings and allowed one run on one hit, no walks, and seven strikeouts. Cabrera earned the win.
Juan Garcia tossed a scoreless inning in his professional debut in relief of Cabrera. Guanchi Martinez fanned three across two scoreless frames. Ricardo Fernandez struck out a pair of batters in a scoreless ninth inning to finish the game.
The Cardinals scored the first run of the game in the top of the second inning. Yaxson Lucena walked and advanced to second base on a Cristofer Lebron groundout. Brayan Amoroso singled to score Lucena for a 1-0 Cardinals lead.
The Cardinals doubled the lead in the third. Kenly Hunter singled and swiped second base to begin the inning. Juan Rujano singled in Hunter for a 2-0 lead.
The Marlins split the lead in half with a run in the fourth. The Cardinals answered with a three-run fifth.
Rujano reached base on a throwing error and advanced to second base via a wild pitch. Lucena drew a two-out walk to extend the frame. Lebron launched his first home run of the year, a three-run blast, to clear the bases and extend the lead to 5-1.
The Cardinals added a pair of runs in the sixth. Juan Pablo Cabrera hit a lead-off single. Sebastian Dos Santos reached on a throwing error, with Cabrera to third base on the play. Miguel Hernandez walked to load the bags. Pablo Cabrera came home on a wild pitch, with Hernandez and Dos Santos to second base and third base, respectively, on the play. Edward Guribe reached on the second throwing error of the inning, with Dos Santos home on the play to stretch the Cardinals’ lead to 7-1.
The Cardinals’ pitching allowed just two hits in the victory.
The Cardinals scored seven runs on five hits. Lebron hit a three-run home run, the second home run of his career. Rujano singled, scored a run, and tallied one RBI. Amoroso singled and drove in one run.
On the bases, Hunter stole his second bag of the season. Pablo Cabrera recorded his first professional steal.
On defense, first baseman Amoroso committed a fielding error.
The DSL Cardinals are 1-2 on the season. They will head home to the St. Louis Cardinals DR Complex for a contest with the DSL Rangers Blue on Friday.
Friday’s game: vs. DSL Rangers Blue. Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 AM CT.
Now Available – 2025 Cardinals Prospect Guide
The Cardinal Nation Prospect Guide is back for its eighth year. It includes 256 pages of in-depth commentary about the very best St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, including dozens of all-new player scouting reports. Order your PDF or printed book copy today!
All paid members can purchase our Prospect Guide PDF at 50% off. Thank you for your support of The Cardinal Nation!
Order The Cardinal Nation’s 2025 St. Louis Cardinals Prospect Guide
Exclusively for members of The Cardinal Nation
Not yet a member?
Join The Cardinal Nation for the most comprehensive coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals from the majors through the entire minor league system.
Contact Michael Goff at mgoff@mail.bradley.edu.
© 2025 The Cardinal Nation, thecardinalnation.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.