Cardinals Minor League Notebook – May 16, 2026

photo: Rainiel Rodriguez (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

The St. Louis Cardinals minor league system was 3-2 on Friday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Springfield’s Rainiel Rodriguez, belted a two-run home run in the 12th inning, his first at Double-A. Other standouts include Bligh Madris, Ramon Mendoza, Liam Doyle, Randel Clemente, Jalin Flores, Won-Bin Cho, Yordalin Peña and Miguel Hernández.

Results for games played on Friday, May 15, 2026.

Memphis Redbirds 7, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 5

The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds edged the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at AutoZone Park on Friday.

Pete Hansen made his seventh start for the Redbirds. The left-hander threw 4 ⅓ innings and allowed three runs on four hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.

Ryan Murphy yielded two runs and fanned four across 2 ⅔ innings in relief of Hansen. Skylar Hales threw a scoreless eighth inning and picked up his first win of 2026. Ryan Fernandez fired a shutout ninth frame to collect his first save of the season.

Jacksonville plated two in the top of the second to move ahead.

Memphis tied the game in the home half of the frame. Jimmy Crooks lined a leadoff single and Ramon Mendoza followed with a walk. They advanced on a passed ball. Crooks crossed home plate on a sacrifice fly from Bligh Madris. Mendoza came home on a wild pitch to tie the game at two.

The Redbirds grabbed a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning. Crooks opened with a single. Mendoza scorched his 10th double of the year to bring Crooks home.

Ramon Mendoza

Madris crushed his fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot, to score Mendoza and extend the lead to 5-2.

Bligh Madris

The Jumbo Shrimp tallied three runs in the fifth to knot the game up at five apiece.

Memphis regained the 6-5 lead in the bottom of the eighth as Mendoza demolished his fourth home run of the year.

Pinch-hitting for Madris, Joshua Báez rocketed his 10th home run of the campaign to go back-to-back with Mendoza and add an insurance run for Memphis at 7-5.

Joshua Baez

The Redbirds flexed their muscles with three home runs in the win.

Memphis scored seven runs on nine hits. Mendoza was 2-for-3, including a walk, a double, a home run, three runs scored, and two RBI. Madris hit a home run and notched three RBI. Báez scorched a pinch-hit home run. Crooks was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Miguel Villarroel doubled.

On the bases, Bryan Torres stole his ninth bag of the season. Leo Bernal swiped his fourth base.

On defense, catcher Crooks made a throwing error. Third baseman Mendoza committed a fielding error and a throwing error.

Memphis is 26-17 on the season. They are tied with Gwinnett for first place in the International League West Division.

Saturday’s game: vs. Jacksonville. LHP Quinn Mathews (1-3, 5.54) vs. RHP Ryan Gusto (4-2, 5.16) 6:35 PM CT.

Springfield Cardinals 7 at Tulsa Drillers 4 (12 innings)

The Double-A Springfield Cardinals won an extra-innings marathon over the Drillers in Tulsa on Friday, their sixth consecutive victory.

Liam Doyle started his seventh game for Springfield. The left-hander pitched 4 ⅓ innings and allowed two runs on four hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts.

Liam Doyle

Austin Love threw 1 ⅔ scoreless innings in relief of Doyle. Domenic Picone surrendered two runs in one inning and was tagged with a blown save. Mason Burns followed with two shutout frames and three strikeouts as he lowered his ERA to 1.40. Randel Clemente fired the final three scoreless innings on no hits as he tied his career-high in strikeouts with seven. Clemente earned his first Double-A win.

Randel Clemente

Tulsa broke the scoreless tie with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Springfield grabbed the lead with a three-run top of the fifth. Ryan Campos walked and stole second. Travis Honeyman reached on a fielding error, with Campos to third base. Campos crossed home plate on a wild pitch. Trey Paige walked. Zach Levenson lined a single to load the bases. Graysen Tarlow drew a bases-loaded walk to force Honeyman home. Paige touched home plate on a Noah Mendlinger sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 3-1.

Tulsa moved within one with a run in the fifth and plated two in the seventh to move ahead 4-3.

The Cardinals tied the game in the top of the eighth. Jon Jon Gazdar roped a single and advanced to second on a balk. Chase Davis legged out an infield single to put runners on the corners. Davis swiped second base to move into scoring position. Campos reached first base on a fielder’s choice, with Gazdar home on the play to tie the game at four apiece.

The game remained deadlocked at four to bring extra innings.

The Cardinals broke through with a three-run 12th inning. Levenson began the inning at second base. Tarlow ripped a double to move Levenson to third base and put two Cardinals in scoring position. Mendlinger grounded into a double play. Gazdar walked to put runners on the corners. Levenson scored on a wild pitch for a 5-4 Springfield lead.

Rainiel Rodriguez crushed his first home run at the Double-A level to bring Gazdar home and extend the lead to 7-4.

Rainiel Rodriguez

Springfield pitching stranded 14 Drillers on base in the victory.

The Cardinals scored seven runs on 11 hits. Rodriguez hit a go-ahead home run for two RBI. Campos walked, singled, scored, and drove in a run. Tarlow was 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and an RBI. Mendlinger walked and notched an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Gazdar singled twice and scored twice. Levenson notched two singles and scored a run.

The Cardinals were busy on the basepaths. Campos stole two bags to double his season total to four. Davis snagged two bases to increase his season total to eight. Tarlow swiped his third base of 2026. Honeyman stole his 13th base, was caught stealing second base, and was picked off first base.

The Cardinals did not commit an error on defense.

Springfield is 16-21 on the season.

Saturday’s game: at Tulsa. SHP Jurrangelo Cijntje (2-2, 6.03) vs. LHP Adam Serwinowski (1-2, 9.49) 7:00 PM CT.

Peoria Chiefs 5 at Beloit Sky Carp 2

The High-A Peoria Chiefs defeated the Sky Carp in Beloit on Friday night.

Tanner Franklin made his eighth start for the Chiefs. The right-hander threw 4 ⅓ scoreless innings on three hits, two walks, and five strikeouts.

Tanner Franklin

D.J. Carpenter recorded the final two outs of the fifth inning and picked up his first win of 2026. Jawilme Ramírez tossed a shutout sixth inning with a pair of strikeouts. Rubén Menes gave up two runs across two innings. Bobby Olsen fired a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts to collect his second career save.

The Chiefs pounced early with a two-run top of the first inning. Won-Bin Cho drove the first pitch out of the park for a lead-off home run, the outfielder’s sixth home run of the season.

Won-Bin Cho

With one out, Jalin Flores crushed a solo shot, his fourth long ball of the year, to double the lead to 2-0.

Jalin Flores

The Chiefs added a run in the third. Tre Richardson III crushed his second home run in as many days for a 3-0 Peoria lead.

Tre Richardson

Peoria scored an insurance run in the top of the eighth. Cho walked and stole second base. Flores grounded a single into right field to bring Cho home for a 4-0 lead.

The Sky Carp moved within two runs with a pair of runs in the home eighth.

Peoria plated another insurance run in the top of the ninth. In his third game with the Chiefs, Jack Gurevitch blasted a solo home run, his first with the team and his seventh overall on the season to further the Peoria lead to 5-2.

Jack Gurevitch

Peoria scored four of their five runs via the home run ball in the win.

The Chiefs plated five runs on eight hits. Flores was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Cho went 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored, and a home run for an RBI. Gurevitch walked and hit a solo home run. Richardson III powered a solo home run.

On the basepaths, Cho stole his 14th bag of the season and was caught stealing second base. Flores swiped his fifth base of the year. Jose Cordoba was caught stealing second base. Sammy Hernandez was picked off first base and caught stealing second base.

The Chiefs turned two double plays in an errorless performance.

Saturday’s game: at Beloit. RHP Leonel Sequera (1-3, 7.55) vs. TBA. 1:05 PM CT.

Palm Beach Cardinals 5, Daytona Tortugas 6 (10 innings)

The Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals lost in extra innings to the Daytona Tortugas at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Friday, snapping their three-game win streak.

Jake Shelagowski made his first career start in his eighth game with Palm Beach. The right-hander pitched 3 ⅔ innings and allowed three runs on three hits, one walk, and four strikeouts.

Yordy Herrera surrendered two runs and did not record an out in relief of Shelagowski. Hunter Kublick followed and struck out three over 1 ⅓ innings. José Davila followed and recorded two outs as he began his rehab assignment to rejoin the Peoria Chiefs. Dylan Driessen fired 2 ⅓ scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Liam Best fanned two and yielded an unearned run across the final two innings and took the tough-luck loss.

Daytona took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

Palm Beach immediately tied the game in the home half of the frame. In his first at-bat of his rehab assignment, St. Louis’ Lars Nootbaar crushed a solo home run.

Lars Nootbaar

The Tortugas plated four runs in the fourth inning to take a 5-1 lead.

The Cardinals moved within a run in the home fourth. Chase Heath reached on a fielding error. Yordalin Peña followed with a single. Alex Birge ripped a double to bring Heath and Peña home to bring the Cardinals closer at 5-3.

Alex Birge

Birge advanced to third base via a wild pitch and scored on a Trevor Haskins sacrifice fly to move Palm Beach within one at 5-4.

The Cardinals tied the game at 5-5 in the eighth inning a Peña belted a solo home run.

Yordalin Peña

The game remained tied at five to force extra innings. Daytona plated the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th. Palm Beach stranded the tying and winning runs on base in the home 10th.

The Cardinals scored five runs on six hits. Nootbaar walked and hit a solo home run in the first game of his rehab assignment. Peña was 2-for-4, including a walk, two runs scored, and a solo home run. Birge doubled, scored a run, and tallied two RBI. Haskins drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.

On the bases, Peña stole his sixth bag of the season.

On defense, Facundo Velásquez entered the game in the fifth inning for Nootbaar and nailed runners at both second base and third base for two outfield assists in right field to highlight an errorless performance by the Cardinals.

Palm Beach is 20-17 on the season. They reside in second place in the Florida State League East Division, three games back of first place Jupiter.

Saturday’s game: vs. Daytona. Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 PM CT.

FCL Cardinals 3, FCL Nationals 4 (8 innings)

The Florida Complex League Cardinals fell in eight innings to the FCL Nationals on Friday.

Payton Graham made his third career start for the Cardinals. The right-hander threw 3 ⅔ innings and allowed one run on two hits, one walk, and five strikeouts.

Payton Graham

Alejandro Lóaiza yielded a run and recorded the final out of the fourth inning in relief of Graham. Xavier Cruz struck out six and allowed just one hit in three dominant innings. Giovanni Vargas allowed two runs, one earned, in the eighth inning and took the loss.

Xavier Cruz

The Nationals struck first with a run in the top of the first.

The Cardinals immediately answered and tied the game in the home first. Sebastian Dos Santos walked and stole second base. Dos Santos took third on a wild pitch and scored on a single from Miguel Hernández.

The Nationals plated a run in the fourth and took the 2-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh.

Down to their last three outs, the Cardinals looked to rally. Hernández crushed his first home run of the season to knot the game up at two.

Miguel Hernandez

The game remained tied to move into extra innings. The Nationals scored twice in the eighth to move ahead 4-2.

The Cardinals sought a rally for a second consecutive frame. Royelny Strop began the inning at second base. Andru Arthur knocked a single to bring Strop home and bring the Cardinals within one at 4-3. Cristofer Lebrón singled and Dos Santos walked to load the bags. Arthur was picked off third base to end the game and cut the rally short.

The FCL Cardinals scored three runs on seven hits. Hernández went 2-for-3, including a game-tying home run and two RBI. Arthur singled and drove in a run. Lebrón was 2-for-4 with a double. Dos Santos walked twice, scored a run, and doubled.

On the bases, Dos Santos swiped his second bag of the season. Hernández and Strop were caught stealing second base. Arthur was picked off third base.

On defense, second baseman Hernández committed a fielding error. Yaxson Lucena nailed a runner at third base from center field.

The FCL Cardinals are 3-5 on the season. They will play a road contest with the FCL Astros on Saturday.

Saturday’s game: at FCL Astros. Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 9:00 AM CT.

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