Farm Report: Smith Powers Palm Beach Comeback, Memphis Wins in Extras
The Cardinal Chronicle
Daily Farm Report
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Farm Report: Smith Powers Palm Beach Comeback, Memphis Wins in Extras
The Cardinals’ full-season minor league affiliates went 2-2 on Tuesday, with Memphis and Palm Beach picking up wins while Springfield and Peoria dropped close games.
Memphis opened the second half like a first-half champion, scoring five runs in the 10th inning to beat Jacksonville 8-3. Palm Beach erased a five-run deficit and rolled past Bradenton 16-6 behind a huge night from Brayden Smith and strong relief from Cade Crossland. Springfield lost 6-3 to Northwest Arkansas despite a strong start from Jurrangelo Cijntje and a two-hit Double-A debut from Jesús Báez. Peoria lost 2-1 in 10 innings at Beloit despite another strong start from Blake Aita.
It was a split night across the system.
Memphis looked like a club that knows how to finish.
Palm Beach showed some fight after a rough first inning.
Springfield and Peoria both had pitching lines worth keeping, even in losses.
Memphis Redbirds
Record: 48-28 overall, International League West
Second Half: 1-0
Standings: 2026 International League First Half Champions
Result: Memphis 8, Jacksonville 3 — 10 innings
Memphis opened the second half with the kind of win good teams find a way to steal.
The Redbirds beat Jacksonville 8-3 in 10 innings Tuesday night, scoring five runs in the top of the 10th to break open a tie game and start the second half with another road win.
This one was tied 3-3 after nine innings.
Then Memphis took over.
Matt Koperniak delivered the biggest swing of the extra inning, coming through with a two-run single that helped seal the win. He finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs, giving the Redbirds the kind of late-game production that turns a tight game into a comfortable final score.
Leo Bernal and Ramón Mendoza each had three hits and drove in a run. Bernal reached safely four times, continuing to give Memphis steady production behind the plate. Nolan Gorman, in his first game with Memphis this season, went 1-for-5 with an RBI.
Bruce Zimmermann gave Memphis a solid start, working five innings and allowing one run on four hits. He walked three and struck out three. It was not overpowering, but it was steady enough to keep the Redbirds in the game.
Hancel Rincón picked up the win with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
That combination worked.
Zimmermann kept the game close.
Rincón held the line.
The offense finished it late.
Memphis just clinched the International League First Half Championship over the weekend, but there was no hangover Tuesday. The Redbirds opened the second half by doing what they have done most of the season.
They found a way to win.
Springfield Cardinals
Record: 31-38 overall, Texas League North
Second Half: 0-1
Standings: Texas League North
Result: Northwest Arkansas 6, Springfield 3
Springfield opened the second half with a loss, but there were still development notes worth keeping.
The Cardinals fell 6-3 to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals on Tuesday night, snapping a four-game winning streak.
Jurrangelo Cijntje gave Springfield a strong start and deserved a better result. The switch-pitcher worked six innings, allowing one earned run on three hits while walking two and striking out six.
That is a quality Double-A line.
The problem was the offense did not arrive until late.
Springfield was held scoreless through eight innings before pushing across three runs in the ninth. By then, the hole was too deep.
Jesús Báez made his Double-A debut and wasted no time getting comfortable. Báez singled on the first pitch he saw in his first Double-A at-bat and finished 2-for-4. That is a good first impression, especially for a player coming off a strong stretch at Peoria.
There is a difference between winning the game and having something useful to take from it.
Springfield did not win.
But Cijntje gave the Cardinals six strong innings, and Báez gave them a promising first look at the next level.
Those are the notes that matter in a second-half opener.
Peoria Chiefs
Record: 33-36 overall, Midwest League West
Second Half: 1-2
Standings: Midwest League West
Result: Beloit 2, Peoria 1 — 10 innings
Peoria wasted a strong start Tuesday night.
The Chiefs lost 2-1 in 10 innings at Beloit, falling in walk-off fashion after struggling to generate offense late.
Blake Aita gave Peoria exactly what it needed on the mound. The right-hander worked 5.2 innings and allowed one run, keeping Beloit quiet most of the night. Through four innings, he had struck out six and had faced only one batter over the minimum.
That was a strong start.
Peoria grabbed the early lead in the first inning. Jack Gurevitch led off with a double, and Jalin Flores drove him in with a hit down the left-field line to make it 1-0.
For a while, that looked like it might hold.
Beloit tied the game in the fifth, using a bunt single, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI hit from Dillon Head to even the score.
From there, the Chiefs’ offense went quiet.
Peoria managed only one hit over the final five innings against the Beloit bullpen. The Chiefs had a chance in the 10th with the placed runner at third, but could not push him across.
That opened the door for Beloit.
The Sky Carp won it in the bottom of the 10th on a pinch-hit single from Abrahan Ramirez.
Peoria’s bullpen did its job for most of the night, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings before the 10th-inning run. But the offense did not give the pitching staff enough room.
Aita deserved better.
Palm Beach Cardinals
Record: 36-34 overall, Florida State League East
Second Half: 3-1
Standings: Florida State League East
Result: Palm Beach 16, Bradenton 6
Palm Beach had every reason to let Tuesday’s game get away early.
The Cardinals did the opposite.
Palm Beach fell behind 5-0 in the top of the first inning, then stormed back for a 16-6 win over Bradenton. It was one of the stronger offensive responses of the season for the Cardinals.
Cooper Hjerpe made his third rehab start, but the outing did not go as planned. Hjerpe was lifted after two-thirds of an inning, allowing four runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout.
Palm Beach needed someone to stabilize the game.
Cade Crossland did that.
Crossland came out of the bullpen and gave the Cardinals 4.1 hitless innings, giving Palm Beach time to climb all the way back and then run away with the game.
The offense did the rest.
Brayden Smith started the comeback in the first inning with a two-run homer, cutting the deficit to 5-2. In the fourth, Smith led off with another home run, his second of the game and sixth of the season.
That was only the start of the inning.
Matthew Miura walked, and Ian Petrutz followed with a two-run homer to tie the game 5-5. Yordalin Peña then tripled, and Alex Birge doubled him in to give Palm Beach its first lead.
The Cardinals blew the game open in the fifth with an eight-run inning.
Ryan Weingartner hit a solo home run. Peña added an RBI double. Birge drove in more runs. Sebastian Dos Santos added an RBI double. Weingartner came back around with an RBI single, and Smith capped the inning with a sacrifice fly.
By the time the inning ended, Palm Beach had turned a 5-0 deficit into a 14-5 lead.
Smith finished 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs. It was the first time he had hit two home runs and driven in five runs in the same game.
That is a night.
Palm Beach had several strong offensive performances, but Smith was the center of the comeback. Crossland gave the Cardinals the pitching bridge they needed, and the lineup took full advantage.
That is how you turn a bad first inning into a blowout win.
Player of the Day
Brayden Smith, Palm Beach Cardinals
Brayden Smith is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Player of the Day after going 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs in Palm Beach’s 16-6 win over Bradenton.
Smith started the comeback with a two-run homer in the first inning after Palm Beach had fallen behind 5-0. He led off the fourth with another home run, then added a sacrifice fly in the fifth as part of an eight-run inning.
That is run production.
That is also timing.
Palm Beach needed someone to change the tone of the game after the first inning, and Smith did exactly that.
Matt Koperniak deserves strong mention after driving in three runs for Memphis, including a two-run single in the 10th inning. Leo Bernal and Ramón Mendoza each had three-hit games for the Redbirds. Jesús Báez deserves mention after going 2-for-4 in his Double-A debut for Springfield.
But Smith had the biggest offensive line of the day.
Two home runs.
Five RBIs.
A comeback win.
That earns the honor.
Pitcher of the Day
Cade Crossland, Palm Beach Cardinals
Cade Crossland is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Pitcher of the Day after giving Palm Beach 4.1 hitless innings of relief in the Cardinals’ 16-6 win over Bradenton.
The game could have gotten away quickly.
Palm Beach fell behind 5-0 in the first inning, and Cooper Hjerpe’s rehab start ended after just two outs. The Cardinals needed length and stability from the bullpen.
Crossland gave them both.
He kept Bradenton hitless over 4.1 innings, giving the offense time to erase the deficit and then take control of the game.
Blake Aita deserves strong mention after throwing 5.2 innings of one-run baseball for Peoria in a 2-1 extra-inning loss at Beloit. Jurrangelo Cijntje also deserves mention after allowing one earned run on three hits with six strikeouts over six innings for Springfield. Bruce Zimmermann gave Memphis five innings of one-run ball, and Hancel Rincón added two scoreless innings in the Redbirds’ extra-inning win.
But Crossland changed the game.
He came in when Palm Beach needed someone to stop the damage.
Then he gave the Cardinals 4.1 hitless innings.
That gets the nod.
Old School Take
This was a split night, but Palm Beach had the best answer.
Falling behind 5-0 in the first inning can turn into a long night in a hurry.
Instead, Brayden Smith started swinging, Cade Crossland stopped the game from getting away, and Palm Beach turned it into a 16-6 win.
Memphis also did what champions do. The Redbirds got to extra innings, scored five in the 10th, and opened the second half with a win.
Springfield lost, but Jurrangelo Cijntje pitched well and Jesús Báez had two hits in his Double-A debut.
Peoria lost a tough one, but Blake Aita gave the Chiefs a good start.
That is the Farm Report.
Some wins.
Some frustration.
A lot to track.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Nolan Gorman, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB