photo: Josh Kross (Palm Beach Cardinals)
The St. Louis Cardinals minor league system was 4-1 on Sunday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Peoria first baseman Josh Kross, blasted a home run and tallied two RBI. Other standouts include Michael Siani, Leonardo Bernal, Max Rajcic, Nelfy Ynfante, and Ryan Campos.
Results for games played on Sunday, June 8:
Memphis Redbirds 2, Indianapolis Indians 6
The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds fell to the Indianapolis Indians at AutoZone Park in the series finale on Sunday.
Zach Plesac, who has pitched in the major leagues in each of the previous six seasons, started for Memphis in his organizational debut. The right-hander pitched four innings and allowed four runs on six hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Plesac took the loss.
Ryan Fernandez surrendered two runs in one inning in relief of Plesac. Left-hander Oddanier Mosqueda fanned two across two scoreless innings. Leonardo Taveras followed with a scoreless eighth and ninth inning.
The Redbirds looked to break through down 6-0 in the seventh. Matt Koperniak led off the frame with a single and advanced to second base on a José Fermín groundout. Gavin Collins singled to move Koperniak to third base and put runners on the corners. Both runners were left on base.
Looking to rally, Memphis entered the scoring column in the bottom of the ninth inning. Fermín and César Prieto drew back-to-back walks. Collins reached base on a forceout play, with Fermín to third base and Prieto out at second base on the play. Nathan Church brought Fermín home with a single for his first Triple-A RBI.
Church breaks up the shutout with his first Triple-A RBI! pic.twitter.com/kjPEpuqAuS
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) June 8, 2025
Michael Siani followed with a double to score Collins and move within four runs at 6-2, with Church to third base on the play.
Siani stays hot with an RBI double! pic.twitter.com/qBooFVxhDg
— Memphis Redbirds (@memphisredbirds) June 8, 2025
Memphis was unable to rally further in the loss.
The Redbirds scored two runs on six hits. Siani was 2-for-3, including two walks, a double, and one RBI. Church singled and drove in a run. Collins tallied two singles. The lineup recorded six walks while striking out just four times.
On the bases, Siani was caught stealing second base. The Redbirds did not commit an error on defense.
Memphis is 34-27 on the season following the series split with Indianapolis. They are tied for second place in the International League West Division and 3.5 games back of first place. The Redbirds are off on Monday and will travel to Lawrenceville, Georgia, to begin a six-game set with the Gwinnett Stripers on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s game: at Gwinnett (ATL). Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM CT.
Springfield Cardinals 9 at Frisco RoughRiders 2 (10 innings)
The Double-A Springfield Cardinals took the series finale over the Frisco RoughRiders in extra innings on Sunday.
Max Rajcic made his 11th start of the season. The right-hander threw a season-high six innings and allowed two runs on five hits, no walks, and five strikeouts.
Right-handers Jack Ralston and Luis Gastelum combined for two shutout frames with four strikeouts in relief of Rajcic. Lefty Nick Raquet tossed a scoreless ninth inning. Osvaldo Berrios fanned two in the 10th to finish the game. Racquet collected his fourth win of 2025.
The Cardinals broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning. JJ Wetherholt was hit by a pitch. Leonardo Bernal doubled, with Wetherholt to third base on the play. Chase Davis brought Wetherholt home on a groundout to put Springfield in front 1-0.
The Cardinals doubled the lead in the sixth. Dakota Harris led off the frame with a single and moved to third base on a Wetherholt single, with Wetherholt to second base on the play. Bernal walked to load the bases. Harris crossed home plate on a Joshua Baez sacrifice fly for a 2-0 Cardinals lead.
Frisco responded with two runs in the sixth inning to tie the game. The game remained tied at two to force extra innings.
Springfield erupted with seven runs in the top of the 10th inning.
Trey Paige began the inning at second base and advanced to third base on an R.J. Yeager single. Darlin Moquete followed with a single to score Paige to put Springfield in front 3-2. Harris legged out a bunt single to load the bases. Wetherholt took a bases-loaded walk to bring Yeager home. Bernal singled home Moquete for the Cardinals’ fifth run of the game. Jeremy Rivas lined the fifth single of the inning to plate Harris, Wetherholt, and Bernal, with Rivas to second base on a throwing error. Rivas moved to third base via a wild pitch and scored on a balk to extend the Springfield lead to 9-2.
Springfield scores SEVEN RUNS in the top of the tenth! pic.twitter.com/4EEO2r3aoC
— Springfield Cardinals (@Sgf_Cardinals) June 9, 2025
Springfield tallied five hits with runners in scoring position in the extra-inning victory.
The Cardinals scored nine runs on 11 hits. Bernal was 3-for-4, including a double, a walk, a run scored, and one RBI. Rivas was 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI. Wetherholt was 2-for-3, including a walk, two runs scored, and one RBI. Harris tallied two singles and two runs scored.
On the bases, Rivas was caught stealing second base, and Wetherholt was caught stealing third base. Rivas and Moquete were picked off at first base and second base, respectively.
Defensively, Springfield did not commit an error.
Springfield is 32-25 on the season after taking five of six on the road from Frisco. They hold a three-game lead in the Texas League North Division with 12 games to play in the first half of the season. The Cardinals are off on Monday and will head home to Hammons Field to begin a six-game set with the Tulsa Drillers on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s game: vs. Tulsa (LAD). RHP Tekoah Roby (4-2, 2.49) vs. TBA. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM CT.
Peoria Chiefs 9, Quad Cities River Bandits 5 (Game one, 7 innings)
The High-A Peoria Chiefs emerged winners over the Quad Cities River Bandits at Dozer Park in game one of Sunday’s doubleheader.
Chen-Wei Lin started for the Chiefs. The right-hander pitched 2 ⅓ innings and allowed three runs on three hits, three walks, and three strikeouts.
D.J. Carpenter struck out three across 1 ⅔ scoreless innings in relief of Lin and picked up his second career win. Hunter Hayes yielded two runs and fanned four over three innings to collect his second save of 2025.
The River Bandits scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning. The Chiefs answered with six runs in the bottom of the first.
Ian Petrutz walked and advanced to second base on a Brayden Jobert single. Graysen Tarlow was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ryan Campos singled home Petrutz and Jobert to put Peoria in front 2-1, with Tarlow to third base on the play. Zach Levenson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Tarlow touched home plate on a wild pitch, with Levenson and Campos to second base and third base, respectively, on the play. Curialle blooped a single to score Campos and Levenson for a 5-1 Chiefs lead. Won-Bin Cho walked to put two runners on. Tre Richardson doubled home Curialle to extend the lead to 6-1.
The River Bandits scored a pair of runs in the third inning to trim the Chiefs’ lead. Peoria took one run back in the fourth.
Richardson hit his second double of the game and moved to third base on a Petrutz flyout. Richardson scored on a Jobert groundout for a 7-1 lead.
The Chiefs added a run in the fifth. Campos walked and advanced to second base with a Levenson single. Curialle grounded into a forceout, with Levenson also out at second base. Campos scored on the play via a throwing error to move further ahead at 8-1.
Peoria padded the lead with a run in the sixth. Petrutz walked and moved to third base on a throwing error in a pickoff attempt. Petrutz crossed home plate on a Jobert groundout to stretch the lead to 9-1.
The Chiefs held off a late River Bandits rally to secure the win in game one.
The Chiefs scored nine runs on seven hits. Richardson was 2-for-4, including two doubles, a run scored, and one RBI. Jobert singled, scored a run, and drove in two runs. Campos was 1-for-2, with a walk, two runs scored, and two RBI. Curialle singled, scored a run, and drove in two runs.
The Chiefs did not steal a base in the game.
On defense, third baseman Curialle committed a fielding error.
Peoria Chiefs 9, Quad Cities River Bandits 4 (Game two, 7 innings)
The Peoria Chiefs bested the Quad Cities River Bandits to secure the doubleheader sweep at Dozer Park on Sunday. This was the makeup game of Saturday’s postponement.
Jose Davila started his 11th game for the Chiefs. The right-hander tossed four innings and allowed four runs on six hits, five walks, and one strikeout.
Jawilme Ramirez fired two scoreless frames with two strikeouts to pick up his third win of the season, and the 20th of his professional career. Left-hander Michael Watson threw a scoreless ninth inning to finish the game.
The River Bandits jumped ahead 3-0 with a run in the first, and two in the second inning. The Chiefs answered with a six-run bottom of the second.
Josh Kross launched his first career High-A home run, a solo shot, to lead off the inning.
Josh Kross with his first High-A Homer of the year! 💣
PEO 1 | QC 3 pic.twitter.com/xYRXyGr8fL
— Peoria Chiefs (@peoriachiefs) June 8, 2025
Chase Adkison and Brayden Jobert followed with back-to-back singles. Jobert and Adkison advanced to second base and third base, respectively, on a Miguel Villarroel sacrifice bunt. Ryan Campos walked to load the bases. Won-Bin Cho took a bases-loaded walk to score Adkison and move within one run at 3-2. Tre Richardson singled home Jobert to tie the game at three. Jon Jon Gazdar drove in Campos with a single to put the Chiefs ahead 4-3. Cho touched home plate on an Ian Petrutz sacrifice fly. Kross tallied his second hit of the inning, a single, to plate Richardson to extend the lead to 6-3.
The River Bandits moved within two runs at 6-4 in the fourth inning. The Chiefs scored three insurance runs in the fifth.
Jobert and Villarroel hit back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners. Campos hit a third consecutive single to score Jobert for the Chiefs’ seventh run of the game. Cho reached base on a fielding error, with Villarroel and Campos home on the play to stretch the lead to 9-4, with Cho out at third base on the play.
Peoria was 4-for-6 with runners in scoring position in the victory.
The Chiefs scored nine runs on 12 hits. Kross was 2-for-3, including a solo home run, a run scored, and two RBI. Richardson was 2-for-4, with one run scored and one RBI. Campos was a perfect 2-for-2, including a walk, two runs scored, and one RBI.
On the bases, Richardson was caught stealing second base.
Defensively, Petrutz nailed a runner at home plate from right field. Pitcher Davila picked off a runner at first base. The Chiefs did not commit an error.
Peoria is 24-32 on the season following Sunday’s doubleheader sweep, and taking five of six from Quad Cities overall. They reside in fifth place in the Midwest League West Division. The Chiefs are off on Monday and will travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to begin a six-game series with the Cedar Rapids Kernels on 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 4 at Fort Myers Mighty Mussels 0
The Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals shut out the Mighty Mussels in Fort Myers in the series finale on Sunday.
Nolan Sparks made his sixth start for the Cardinals. The right-hander pitched five innings of scoreless baseball on two hits, two walks, and four strikeouts.
Nelfy Ynfante fired four shutout frames in relief of Sparks to finish the game and earn his second win of the season.
Palm Beach broke the scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning.
Yordalin Pena began the frame with a single. Anyelo Encarnacion reached base on a forceout play, with Pena out at second base. Romtres Cabrera singled to move Encarnacion to third base. Cabrera stole second base, and Encarnacion crossed home plate on the play via a passed ball for the first run of the game. Cade McGee doubled to bring Cabrera home to extend the lead to 2-0.
The Cardinals doubled the lead in the top of the ninth.
Jose Suarez tripled and scored on an Encarnacion triple for a 3-0 lead. Encarnacion came home on a Cabrera sacrifice fly to move ahead 4-0.
Palm Beach held Fort Myers to just two hits in the shutout win.
The Cardinals scored four runs on eight hits. McGee was 1-for-3, including two walks, a double, and one RBI. Encarnacion tallied a triple, a walk, two runs scored, and one RBI. Suarez tripled and scored a run. Cabrera singled, scored a run, and drove in a run.
On the bases, McGee stole his 12th bag. Cabrera and Johnfrank Salazar each swiped their second. Pena was caught stealing second base. The Cardinals did not commit an error on defense.
Palm Beach is 26-30 on the season following the series split with Fort Myers. They reside in second place in the Florida State League East Division, four games back of the St. Lucie Mets. The Cardinals are off on Monday and will head home to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium to begin a six-game set with the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s game: vs. Lakeland (DET). Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 PM CT.
FCL Cardinals (off-day)
The Florida Complex League Cardinals were off on Sunday and will travel to the St. Lucie Sports Complex for a road contest with the FCL Mets on Tuesday.
The FCL Cardinals are 11-11 on the season.
Tuesday’s game: at FCL Mets. Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 AM CT.
DSL Cardinals (off-day)
The Dominican Summer League Cardinals were off on Sunday and will play a road contest with the DSL Mets Blue on Monday.
The DSL Cardinals are 3-2 on the season.
Monday’s game: at DSL Mets Blue. Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 AM CT.
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