Cardinals Minor League Notebook – May 4, 2026

photo: Cade Crossland (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)

The St. Louis Cardinals minor league system was 3-1 on Sunday. The Cardinal Nation’s Players of the Day, Palm Beach’s Cade Crossland and Jake Shelagowski, each threw four scoreless innings, allowing just four baserunners in total and striking out nine. Other standouts include Blaze Jordan, Nelson Velázquez, Jeremy Rivas, Rainiel Rodriguez, Jesús Báez, Jalin Flores, Jack Gurevitch and Jonathan Mejía.

Results for games played on Sunday, May 3, 2026.

Memphis Redbirds 5, Indianapolis Indians 9

The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds dropped Sunday’s series finale to the Indianapolis Indians at AutoZone Park.

Hancel Rincon made his third start for Memphis. The right-hander pitched 1 ⅔ innings and allowed four runs on four hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Rincon took the loss.

Ryan Murphy allowed two runs across 1 ⅓ frames in relief of Rincon. Rehabbing right-hander Matt Pushard followed with a scoreless frame. Jason Savacool made his Triple-A debut and yielded one run across two innings. Scott Blewett threw 1 ⅔ innings following Savacool. Luis Gastelum recorded the final out of the eighth. Skylar Hales yielded two runs in the ninth.

Indianapolis took a 6-0 lead with a run in the top of the first and five runs in the second.

Memphis entered the run column in the home second. Leo Bernal drew a leadoff walk. With two outs, Colton Ledbetter singled. Bligh Madris followed with a single to bring Bernal home and put the Redbirds on the board.

Bligh Madris

Memphis trimmed the gap to three with a two-run fourth. César Prieto lined his first triple of 2026 and scored on a two-run blast from Nelson Velázquez, his third long ball of the year, for a 6-3 score.

Nelson Velázquez

In the fifth, Jimmy Crooks crushed his 10th home run of the season, a solo shot, to bring Memphis closer at 6-4.

Jimmy Crooks

Indianapolis scored a run in the sixth and two in the ninth to move ahead 9-4.

Down to their final outs, the Redbirds looked for a big rally. With two outs, Blaze Jordan belted his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot, to move the Redbirds closer at 9-5.

Blaze Jordan

Memphis was unable to rally further.

The Redbirds scored five runs on 10 hits. Velázquez tallied two RBI on a home run. Jordan was 2-for-4 with a walk and a home run. Crooks walked and blasted a home run. Madris walked, singled, and drove in a run. Prieto was 2-for-4 with a double and a triple.

The Redbirds did not steal a base.

Defensively, left fielder Velázquez and pitcher Blewett each committed a fielding error.

Memphis is 22-11 on the season after taking four of six from Indianapolis. They are two games in the lead in the International League West. The Redbirds are off Monday as they travel to Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio, for a six-game set with the Toledo Mud Hens, starting Tuesday.

Tuesday’s game: at Toledo (DET). Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is slated for 5:05 PM CT.

Springfield Cardinals 7 at Northwest Arkansas Naturals 6

The Double-A Springfield Cardinals edged the Naturals in Northwest Arkansas in Sunday’s series finale to avoid being swept. In the process, the S-Cards broke their seven-game losing skid.

Jurrangelo Cijntje made his sixth start for Springfield. The switch-pitcher faced 19 batters right-handed and two hitters left-handed. The 22-year-old pitched five innings and allowed three runs on five hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Cijntje earned his second win of the season.

Jurrangelo Cijntje

Left-hander Michael Watson struck out three across two innings of scoreless work in relief of Cijntje. Mason Burns followed and yielded three unearned runs over 1 ⅓ frames. Lefty Jack Findlay secured the final two outs of the game and collected his first Double-A save, the second of his career.

The Naturals scored once in the home first and twice in the second to take a 3-0 lead.

Springfield grabbed the lead with four runs in the top of the third. Carlos Linarez doubled and scored on a Chase Davis single. Jeremy Rivas followed with a two-run home run, his second long ball of 2026, to tie the game at three.

Jeremy Rivas

With two outs, Ryan Campos hit a groundball single. Zach Levenson ripped a double to plate Campos and put Springfield ahead 4-3.

Zach Levenson

The Cardinals added a run in the fourth. Graysen Tarlow drew a two-out walk. Chase Davis followed with a single. On a pickoff attempt, Tarlow crossed home plate to extend Springfield’s lead to 5-3, as the Northwest Arkansas catcher unleashed a wild throw.

Springfield widened the lead with a run in the fifth. Campos launched a solo home run, his second of the year, for a 6-3 Cardinals lead.

Ryan Campos

The Cardinals scored an insurance run in the top of the eighth. Dakota Harris walked and scored on a two-out double from Tarlow to stretch the lead to 7-3.

Graysen Tarlow

Northwest Arkansas scored three runs in the home eighth, though Springfield’s bullpen held strong to secure the victory.

The Cardinals scored seven runs on 10 hits. Rivas went 2-for-3, including two walks, a double, a home run, and two RBI. Campos went 2-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored. Davis singled twice, walked, scored a run, and notched an RBI. Levenson doubled and drove in a run. Tarlow walked, doubled, scored a run, and tallied an RBI. Linarez was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

On the bases, Rivas swiped his seventh bag of the campaign. Linarez stole his second base of the season.

Defensively, first baseman Linarez and left fielder Levenson each committed a fielding error. Pitcher Cijntje picked a runner off first base.

Springfield is 8-19 on the season after taking one of six from the Naturals. They are in last place in the Texas League North, 10 games out of first place. The Cardinals are off Monday as they head home to Route 66 Stadium for a six-game series with the Corpus Christi Hooks, beginning Tuesday.

Tuesday’s game: vs. Corpus Christi (HOU). Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM CT.

Peoria Chiefs 11 at Great Lakes Loons 1

The High-A Peoria Chiefs crushed the Great Lakes Loons in Sunday’s road series finale.

Tanner Franklin started his sixth game for Peoria. The right-hander threw 2 ⅓ scoreless innings on one hit with three strikeouts. Franklin dodged trouble as he issued four walks. He has fanned 30 hitters across 19 ⅓ frames on the year.

Bobby Olsen allowed one run across 2 ⅔ innings in relief but picked up his first High-A win. D.J. Carpenter followed with a shutout sixth frame. Zack Showalter tossed a scoreless seventh inning.  Rubén Menes pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts to finish the game.

The Chiefs opened the scoring in the top of the first inning.  Tai Peete extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a leadoff double. Peete moved to third on a Rainiel Rodriguez groundout and scored on a Jalin Flores groundout for the first run of the contest.

The Chiefs extended the lead with a three-run third inning. Rodriguez and Flores hit back-to-back singles. With two outs, Cade McGee doubled home Rodriguez and Flores for a 3-0 lead.

Cade McGee

José Suárez lined a single to plate McGee and extend the lead to 4-0.

Peoria added a pair of runs in the fourth. Peete began the frame with his second double of the day. Rodriguez singled to move Peete to third. Flores followed with a single to bring Peete home and move Rodriguez to third base.

Jalin Flores

Flores swiped second and advanced to third as a wild pitch allowed Rodriguez to score for a 6-0 Peoria lead.

Great Lakes entered the run column with a run in the home fifth.

The Chiefs stretched the lead further with a two-run sixth. Ian Petrutz drew a leadoff walk. With one away, Rodriguez smashed his third home run of the season, a two-run shot, for an 8-1 Chiefs lead.

Rainiel Rodriguez

Peoria cushioned the lead with a three-run eighth inning. Petrutz hit his first double of the season to start the frame. With two down, Flores struck out but made it to first on a throwing error by the catcher, with Petrutz taking third. Jesús Báez cleared the bags with a three-run home run, his fourth of 2026, to widen the lead to 11-1.

Jesus Baez

The Chiefs recorded five hits with runners in scoring position.

Peoria scored 11 runs on 14 hits. Rodriguez was 3-for-4, including a home run, three runs scored, and two RBI. Flores went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Báez crushed a home run for three RBI. McGee drew two walks, doubled, and drove in two runs. Peete hit two doubles and scored twice. Petrutz went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, and two runs scored.

On the bases, Flores stole two bags to increase his season total to four.

On defense, pitcher Olsen picked a runner off first base. Second baseman Báez showcased his range on a highlight-reel play to highlight an errorless team performance.

Peoria is 12-14 on the season after taking two of six in Great Lakes. They are tied for fifth place in the Midwest League West Division, four games back of first. Peoria is off Monday as they head home to Dozer Park for a six-game set with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, beginning Tuesday.

Tuesday’s game: vs. Wisconsin (MIL). TBA vs. RHP Chandler Welch (3-0, 4.09) 11:05 AM CT.

Palm Beach Cardinals 11, Clearwater Threshers 0

The Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals thrashed the Clearwater Threshers in Sunday’s series finale at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

Cade Crossland started his sixth game for the Cardinals and it was his best yet. The left-hander threw four scoreless, no-hit innings with two walks and five strikeouts.

Cade Crossland

Jake Shelagowski struck out four over four shutout frames in relief of Crossland and collected his second career win. Hunter Kublick finished the game with a shutout ninth in his season debut.

Jake Shelagowski

Palm Beach struck first with a two-run bottom of the first. Ryan Weingartner drew a leadoff walk, stole second and took third on the play via a throwing error. With two outs, Jonathan Mejía hit a two-run home run, his fifth of the season, to put Palm Beach in front 2-0.

Jonathan Mejia

The Cardinals added a run in the sixth. Jack Gurevitch and Chase Heath walked and advanced a base on a balk. Gurevitch crossed home plate on a Brayden Smith groundout.

The Cardinals doubled their lead with three runs in the home seventh. Alex Birge took a leadoff free pass. After a rain delay, Christian Martin walked. Birge moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Weingartner sacrifice fly, with Martin to second. Ryan Mitchell moved Martin to third base via a groundout. Gurevitch belted his fifth home run of 2026, a two-run shot, to score Martin and extend the lead to 6-0.

Jack Gurevitch

Palm Beach put the game out of reach with a five-run eighth. Smith was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a Yordalin Peña single. Martin ripped a double to bring Smith home, with Peña to third base. Weingartner walked. Peña crossed home plate on a wild pitch. Mitchell walked to load the bags. Gurevitch drew a bases-loaded walk to bring Martin home for a 9-0 lead. Following a pitching change, Mejía took a bases-loaded walk to force Weingartner home and put Palm Beach in triple digits at 10-0. Smith hit a two-out single to plate Mitchell for an 11-0 lead.

Brayden Smith

Palm Beach did not allow a hit with runners in scoring position in the dominant win.

The Cardinals scored 11 runs on six hits. Gurevitch was 2-for-3, including two walks, a double, a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI. Mejía walked twice and hit a home run for three RBI. Martin drew two walks, scored twice, doubled, and drove in two runs. Smith singled, scored a run, and tallied two RBI. Weingartner walked twice, scored twice, and notched an RBI. The lineup drew 11 walks and struck out just eight times.

On the basepaths, Weingartner swiped his eighth bag of the season. Birge recorded his first professional stolen base.

On defense, pitcher Shelagowski showcased quick reflexes to highlight an errorless team performance.

Palm Beach is 16-11 after taking just one of six from Clearwater. They hold a two-game lead in the Florida State League East Division. The Cardinals are off Monday and will stay at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium for a six-game series as the away team with the Jupiter Hammerheads, starting Tuesday.

Tuesday’s game: at Jupiter (MIA). 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 Sunday, as they prepare for a road contest with the FCL Nationals on Tuesday.

The rookie-level Cardinals are 0-1 on the season.

Tuesday’s game: at FCL Nationals. Pitching probables have not yet been announced. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 AM CT.

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