The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Cardinal Chronicle
The Farm Report: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Saturday was a split night across the Cardinals’ full-season affiliates, with Memphis and Peoria dropping games while Springfield and Palm Beach picked up wins.

The system finished 2-2, but there were several strong individual performances worth noting.

Quinn Mathews gave Memphis another quality start, Brayden Smith powered Palm Beach with a three-hit night, and Springfield stayed on top of the Texas League North second-half standings with a one-run win.

Memphis Redbirds — Triple-A
Overall Record: 55-40
Second Half: 8-12, tied for ninth in the International League West, 5.0 GB
Streak: L1

Iowa 5, Memphis 4 — 10 innings

Memphis had a chance to steal this one late, but Iowa scored four runs in the top of the 10th and held off a three-run answer from the Redbirds in the bottom half.

The frustrating part is that Quinn Mathews gave Memphis every chance to win.

Mathews worked six innings, allowing just one run on three hits, walking one and striking out four. He threw 86 pitches, 56 for strikes, and lowered his ERA to 3.39 with a 1.16 WHIP.

Brycen Mautz followed with two scoreless innings, but things unraveled in extras. Victor Santos was charged with three runs, two earned, while walking four in 1.1 innings. Durbin Feltman allowed two hits and a run while recording the final two outs of the 10th.

Offensively, Memphis managed only six hits. Leo Bernal went 2-for-5, while Ramon Mendoza tripled, walked twice and scored. Colton Ledbetter drove in two runs, and Nolan Gorman and Brody Moore each added an RBI. Joshua Báez did not record a hit but walked twice and stole his 15th base.

Takeaway: Mathews was strong again, and Memphis had a late response, but the four-run 10th was too much to overcome. The Redbirds remain in a rough second-half stretch despite still owning a strong overall record.

Springfield Cardinals — Double-A
Overall Record: 44-44
Second Half: 13-7, first in the Texas League North, 1.0 game ahead of Tulsa
Streak: W1

Springfield 4, Amarillo 3

Springfield stayed in first place with a tight 4-3 win over Amarillo.

The Cardinals finished with 13 hits, but only pushed across four runs. That was enough because the pitching staff delivered a strong night, striking out 14 while walking just one.

Cooper Hjerpe opened with three innings, allowing one run on two hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Domenic Picone worked a scoreless inning, and Brandt Thompson handled the bulk of the night from there, giving Springfield 4.2 innings, allowing two runs, one earned, with six strikeouts. Jack Findlay came in for the final out and struck out the only batter he faced.

At the plate, Rainiel Rodriguez had one of the best nights in the lineup, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Travis Honeyman went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, while Miguel Ugueto, Tre Richardson III and Dakota Harris each had two hits.

Deniel Ortiz drove in a run and walked twice, and Richardson added an RBI double.

Takeaway: Springfield did not blow the doors off offensively, but the pitching staff carried the night. The Cardinals are now 13-7 in the second half and remain alone in first place.

Peoria Chiefs — High-A
Overall Record: 41-47
Second Half: 9-13, fifth in the Midwest League West, 5.0 GB
Streak: L1

South Bend 10, Peoria 4

Peoria fell behind early and could not recover in a 10-4 loss to South Bend.

The Chiefs were shut out through seven innings before scoring all four of their runs in the eighth. By then, the deficit was already too large.

Ian Petrutz continues to swing a hot bat, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. He raised his average to .361 and his OPS to .948, continuing one of the better offensive stretches in the Peoria lineup.

Michael Dattalo also had a productive night, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Jalin Flores doubled, walked twice and drove in a run. Jack Gurevitch added his eighth double, and Luis Pino singled and stole his fifth base.

The pitching staff had trouble keeping South Bend off the board. Jack Martinez allowed six runs, three earned, over four innings. Ty Van Dyke followed with four innings but gave up four more runs on six hits.

Peoria allowed 10 runs on 12 hits.

Takeaway: Petrutz continues to stand out, but Peoria was playing uphill all night. The Chiefs did make some noise late, but the early damage decided the game.

Palm Beach Cardinals — Low-A
Overall Record: 46-42
Second Half: 13-9, second in the Florida State League East, 0.5 GB
Streak: W1

Palm Beach 7, St. Lucie 4

Palm Beach stayed right in the Florida State League East race with a 7-4 win over St. Lucie.

Brayden Smith led the way and earned Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day honors, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. His homer was his eighth of the season, and it was the centerpiece of a strong offensive night for Palm Beach.

Sebastian Dos Santos also homered, driving in two runs and scoring twice. Ryan Weingartner singled, walked and stole his 28th base. Yordalin Peña doubled, and Alex Birge reached base twice with a hit and a walk.

The Cardinals jumped out with three runs in the first, added another in the third, and then pushed three more across in the fourth. That early offense gave the pitching staff enough room to work.

Andrew Dutkanych IV was excellent in relief, throwing five innings and allowing just one run on five hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Nathan Shinn finished the final two innings, allowing one run and striking out two.

Takeaway: Palm Beach did what it needed to do. Smith powered the offense, Dutkanych gave the Cardinals strong length, and Palm Beach stayed just a half-game behind Daytona in the second-half race.

Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day
Brayden Smith, DH, Palm Beach Cardinals

Smith earns the honor after going 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored in Palm Beach’s 7-4 win over St. Lucie.

It was the best offensive line of the day in the system. Smith reached base, drove the baseball, scored twice and helped keep Palm Beach within striking distance of first place in the Florida State League East.

Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day
Quinn Mathews, LHP, Memphis Redbirds

Mathews gets the nod after giving Memphis six innings of one-run baseball, allowing only three hits, walking one and striking out four.

He did not get the win, but the outing was strong, efficient and exactly what Memphis needed from a starter.

Honorable mention: Andrew Dutkanych IV, Palm Beach — 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.

The Final Word

Saturday was not a perfect night, but it was not a bad one either.

Memphis lost in extras despite another strong start from Quinn Mathews. Peoria fell behind early and could not dig out. Springfield stayed in first place with a strong pitching effort, and Palm Beach kept pressure on Daytona behind Brayden Smith’s big night.

The standings matter now.

Springfield remains in first place. Palm Beach is only a half-game out. Memphis is still strong overall but has work to do in the second half. Peoria remains five games back and needs to start stacking wins.

The best signs from Saturday were clear: Mathews continues to look steady at Triple-A, Smith gave Palm Beach a needed spark, Rainiel Rodriguez stayed hot for Springfield, and Ian Petrutz continues to make noise in Peoria.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

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Photo Credit: Quinn Mathews, Memphis Redbirds | MiLB