Farm Report: Davis Deals, Springfield Homers Four Times
The Cardinal Chronicle
Daily Farm Report
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Farm Report: Davis Deals, Springfield Homers Four Times; Palm Beach Scores 15
The Cardinals’ full-season affiliates went 2-1 in completed games Wednesday, with Peoria still tied at Beloit after nine innings when this report was written.
Springfield had the cleanest win of the night, beating Northwest Arkansas 7-1 behind Braden Davis and four home runs. Palm Beach kept swinging, putting up 15 runs one night after scoring 16. Memphis lost 13-5 at Jacksonville despite another home run from Joshua Báez.
Peoria’s game was still pending at publication, but the Chiefs had forced extras after a three-run seventh before Beloit tied it in the ninth.
Memphis Redbirds
Record: 48-29 overall, International League West
Second Half: 1-1
Standings: 2026 International League First Half Champions
Result: Jacksonville 13, Memphis 5
Memphis had a rough afternoon in Jacksonville.
The Redbirds fell 13-5 to the Jumbo Shrimp on Wednesday at VyStar Ballpark, dropping their first game after opening the second half with an extra-inning win Tuesday night.
Jacksonville built a 6-0 lead by the third inning, putting Memphis in a hole early. The Redbirds started to climb back in the fourth when Jeremy Rivas delivered an RBI single to get Memphis on the board.
In the fifth, Joshua Báez walked, Yohel Pozo singled and Noah Mendlinger drew a walk to load the bases. Báez and Pozo came home on a Jacksonville error, and Matt Koperniak added an RBI single to cut the deficit to 6-4.
Báez kept the comeback push alive in the seventh with another home run, launching his International League-leading 26th of the season. The solo shot made it 7-5 and gave Memphis a chance to make it a game.
That was as close as the Redbirds would get.
Jacksonville answered with five runs in the bottom of the seventh, highlighted by Kemp Alderman’s three-run home run, and added another run in the eighth to put the game away.
Báez finished 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and two runs scored. Koperniak and Rivas each drove in a run. Mendlinger walked four times and scored twice.
Hunter Dobbins took his first Triple-A loss, allowing six runs, four earned, over four innings. He walked three and struck out three.
It was not Memphis’ day.
But Báez’s power continues to travel, and that remains one of the biggest stories in the Cardinals’ minor league system.
Springfield Cardinals
Record: 32-38 overall, Texas League North
Second Half: 1-1
Standings: Texas League North
Result: Springfield 7, Northwest Arkansas 1
Springfield got power, pitching and one of its cleanest wins of the season.
The Cardinals beat the Northwest Arkansas Naturals 7-1 Wednesday night at Hammons Field, using four home runs and a strong start from Braden Davis to even their second-half record.
Davis gave Springfield exactly what it needed.
The left-hander worked a season-high six innings, allowing one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out six, earning his first win of the season.
That is the kind of start the Cardinals needed.
Davis gave the offense time to settle in, and Springfield rewarded him with a power show.
Tre Richardson III, Jesús Báez and Won-Bin Cho each hit their first Double-A home runs. Rainiel Rodriguez delivered the biggest swing of the night, breaking a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning with a three-run homer.
That changed the game.
Springfield went from a tight contest to playing with breathing room, and Davis made sure Northwest Arkansas never found its way back.
The Cardinals also received another good note from Brody Moore, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
This was Springfield’s shortest game of the season at 2 hours, 12 minutes, and it came with the kind of formula every manager wants.
Six strong innings from the starter.
Four home runs.
A clean win.
That plays.
Peoria Chiefs
Record: 34-36 overall, Midwest League West
Second Half: 2-2
Standings: Midwest League West
Result: Peoria 8, Beloit 5 — 12 innings
Peoria waited out the weather, then waited out the Sky Carp.
The Chiefs beat Beloit 8-5 in 12 innings Wednesday night at ABC Supply Stadium, winning a long, rain-delayed game that turned into one of the better grind-it-out wins of the week.
Yhoiker Fajardo gave Peoria a strong start, working five innings and allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits. He walked one and struck out a career-high nine.
That is the headline from a development standpoint.
Fajardo had swing-and-miss stuff working, and even though Beloit pushed across single runs in the third and fifth innings, he gave the Chiefs enough to stay within reach.
The problem was that Peoria’s offense did not have a hit through six innings.
Then the Chiefs finally broke through in the seventh.
Josh Kross walked, Jalin Flores was hit by a pitch, and José Suárez singled to load the bases. Michael Dattalo followed with a two-run single for his first High-A hit, cutting the deficit and giving Peoria life. Suárez later scored on an error to tie the game.
From there, the game turned into a late-inning fight.
Beloit tied it in the ninth, and neither team scored in the 10th. Peoria moved back in front in the 11th when Dattalo delivered again, singling home Christian Martin. Cade McGee later scored on a fielder’s choice from Cameron Nickens to make it 5-3.
Beloit answered with two runs in the bottom of the 11th to tie it again.
Peoria finally finished it in the 12th.
Jose Cordoba started the inning at second, and Kross singled him home to put the Chiefs back in front. Martin followed with a single, and Suárez delivered the big swing, driving in Kross and Martin with a two-run double to stretch the lead to 8-5.
This time, Beloit had no answer.
Dattalo finished 2-for-6 with three RBIs, giving Peoria a major lift in his High-A debut stretch. Suárez went 2-for-6 with a double and two RBIs. Kross and Martin each scored twice.
It was not clean.
It was not quick.
But Peoria got the win, and Fajardo’s career-high nine strikeouts gave the Chiefs one of the strongest pitching notes in the system.
Palm Beach Cardinals
Record: 37-34 overall, Florida State League East
Second Half: 4-1
Standings: Florida State League East
Result: Palm Beach 15, Bradenton 7
Palm Beach kept swinging.
One night after scoring 16 runs against Bradenton, the Cardinals came back with 15 more Wednesday in a 15-7 win over the Marauders.
That is 31 runs in two games.
Palm Beach did not just win the game. The Cardinals kept pressure on Bradenton all night, again using extra-base damage and steady traffic to turn the game into another high-scoring win.
Ryan Weingartner delivered one of the big swings, hitting his eighth home run of the season to left-center field with Ryan Mitchell aboard.
Yordalin Peña added another major blow, launching his eighth home run of the season to left field with Weingartner and Matthew Miura on base.
Sebastian Dos Santos added an RBI double, scoring Alex Birge. Brayden Smith singled home Dos Santos, and Jeter Martinez also drove in Mitchell.
The Cardinals’ offense has looked locked in to open this series.
Palm Beach scored 16 runs Tuesday.
Then it came right back with 15 on Wednesday.
That is not just one good night.
That is a lineup putting together pressure from top to bottom.
Player of the Day
Rainiel Rodriguez, Springfield Cardinals
Rainiel Rodriguez is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Player of the Day after delivering the biggest swing in Springfield’s 7-1 win over Northwest Arkansas.
With the game tied 1-1 in the fifth inning, Rodriguez launched a three-run home run to put the Cardinals in front for good.
That swing turned the game.
Springfield had plenty of power Wednesday. Tre Richardson III, Jesús Báez and Won-Bin Cho each hit their first Double-A home runs, giving the Cardinals four long balls on the night.
Palm Beach also had another huge offensive game, with Ryan Weingartner and Yordalin Peña both homering in a 15-7 win over Bradenton. Joshua Báez deserves mention after hitting his International League-leading 26th home run for Memphis.
But Rodriguez gets the nod because his swing broke the tie and changed the game in Springfield’s cleanest win of the night.
A three-run homer.
A tie game flipped.
A 7-1 Cardinals win.
That earns the honor.
Pitcher of the Day
Braden Davis, Springfield Cardinals
Braden Davis is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Pitcher of the Day after giving Springfield six strong innings in a 7-1 win over Northwest Arkansas.
Davis allowed one run on five hits, walked one and struck out six. It was his longest start of the season, and it earned him his first win.
That is the kind of line that matters.
He did not just survive six innings. He controlled the game, limited traffic and gave Springfield the length it needed.
The Cardinals’ rotation has started to show better signs lately, and Davis added to that trend Wednesday. His six-inning start gave Springfield three consecutive starts of at least six innings for the first time this season.
That matters.
For a club trying to build consistency on the mound, starts like this are worth noting.
Davis gave Springfield length.
He gave them strikes.
He gave them a win.
That gets the nod.
Old School Take
There is still no better formula than a starter who throws strikes and an offense that drives the baseball.
Springfield had both Wednesday.
Braden Davis gave the Cardinals six strong innings, and the lineup backed him with four home runs. Rainiel Rodriguez had the biggest swing, but the whole Springfield night had the feel of a club playing clean, direct baseball.
Palm Beach kept pounding Bradenton, scoring 15 runs one night after scoring 16.
Joshua Báez kept doing what he has done all season, hitting another home run for Memphis.
Peoria was still unfinished when this report was pulled.
That is the Farm Report.
A clean win in Springfield.
A loud offensive night in Palm Beach.
Another Báez homer in Memphis.
And one game still waiting for the final line.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Rainiel Rodriguez, Springfield Cardinals | Sara Crosley