Farm Report: Springfield Sweeps Two, Palm Beach Wins Wild One

The Cardinal Chronicle
Daily Farm Report
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Farm Report: Springfield Sweeps Doubleheader, Palm Beach Wins Wild One

The Cardinals’ full-season minor league affiliates went 3-2 in completed games Friday, with Springfield sweeping a doubleheader, Palm Beach winning another high-scoring game over Bradenton, and Memphis and Peoria both dropping low-offense games.

Springfield had the best overall night, beating Northwest Arkansas 7-5 in game one and 14-2 in game two. Palm Beach kept its second-half surge going with a 12-10 comeback win over Bradenton. Memphis wasted a strong start from Pete Hansen in a 1-0 loss at Jacksonville, while Peoria fell 6-1 at Beloit after a late Sky Carp rally.

It was a night of contrasts.

Memphis had the pitching, but not the offense.

Springfield had offense everywhere.

Peoria stayed scoreless with Beloit for six innings, then let the game get away.

Palm Beach just kept swinging.

Memphis Redbirds
Record: 48-31 overall, International League West
Second Half: 1-3
Standings: International League West; 2026 International League First Half Champions
Result: Jacksonville 1, Memphis 0

Memphis wasted a gem Friday night.

The Redbirds lost 1-0 to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at VyStar Ballpark, dropping their third straight game and tying their longest losing streak of the season.

This one was all about missed opportunity.

Memphis out-hit Jacksonville 3-2, but never found the one swing it needed. Colton Ledbetter had the only extra-base hit of the game with a double in the seventh inning. Noah Mendlinger and Leo Bernal had the other two hits for the Redbirds.

That was it.

Pete Hansen deserved better.

The left-hander worked six innings and allowed one unearned run on one hit. He walked one and struck out three, taking the tough-luck loss despite giving Memphis everything it needed from a starting pitcher.

That is a brutal way to lose a ballgame.

Hansen kept Jacksonville off balance, limited traffic and gave the Redbirds six strong innings. Tink Hence followed with a perfect inning out of the bullpen, and Brandt Thompson added a scoreless frame with two strikeouts.

The pitching staff allowed two hits all night.

Memphis still lost.

The difference came down to one unearned run and an offense that could not break through. The Redbirds have now dropped three straight and will need to win both weekend games to avoid losing just their second series of the season.

For a club that already clinched the International League First Half Championship, this is not a panic point.

But it is a reminder.

Pitching can keep you in a game.

Someone still has to drive in a run.

Springfield Cardinals
Record: 34-38 overall, Texas League North
Second Half: 3-1
Standings: Texas League North
Results: Springfield 7, Northwest Arkansas 5; Springfield 14, Northwest Arkansas 2

Springfield made up for lost time.

After Thursday’s game was postponed because of weather, the Cardinals swept a Friday doubleheader from the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, winning 7-5 in the opener and 14-2 in the nightcap at Route 66 Stadium.

The first game was the tighter one.

Springfield held off Northwest Arkansas 7-5, getting enough offense and surviving the late push from the Naturals. It was the kind of doubleheader opener that matters because it keeps the day from turning into a bullpen grind with pressure carried into game two.

The Cardinals took care of that.

Then they ran away with the second game.

Springfield scored two runs in the first inning, five more in the second and seven in the fifth to turn the nightcap into a 14-2 rout.

That is how you finish a doubleheader.

Deniel Ortiz provided one of the biggest swings of the night, launching a three-run homer with Travis Honeyman and Rainiel Rodriguez aboard. Rainiel Rodriguez also had an RBI double, continuing to show why his bat remains one of the most important in the system.

The Cardinals had traffic all night in the second game. Brody Moore, Ryan Campos and Jesús Báez were all part of run-scoring rallies, and Springfield kept constant pressure on Northwest Arkansas.

Liam Doyle gave Springfield one of the best pitching notes of the night in game two.

The left-hander struck out seven over 3.2 innings of one-run baseball, giving the Cardinals swing-and-miss stuff in a game that quickly tilted in their direction.

That is a good sign.

Doyle did not need to be perfect with the lineup pounding away behind him, but the strikeouts still matter. Seven strikeouts in 3.2 innings tells you the stuff was playing.

Springfield’s offense was the headline, but this was a complete doubleheader response.

A close win in game one.

A blowout in game two.

A sweep after a rainout.

That is a good day.

Peoria Chiefs
Record: 35-37 overall, Midwest League West
Second Half: 3-3
Standings: Midwest League West
Result: Beloit 6, Peoria 1

Peoria was locked in a scoreless game for six innings.

Then the seventh inning changed everything.

The Chiefs lost 6-1 to the Beloit Sky Carp on Friday night at ABC Supply Stadium, falling back to .500 in the second half.

Tanner Franklin had to work through trouble early, but he did not break.

Franklin walked three batters in the first inning and still stranded the bases loaded. He finished with 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while working around four walks.

That was not the cleanest line, but it was effective.

Peoria’s offense could not do anything early against Beloit starter Nate Payne, who threw six shutout innings, allowed two hits and struck out seven.

The Chiefs had their chance in Payne’s final inning.

Anyelo Encarnación singled, Jose Cordoba walked, and Peoria had two runners on with one out. Payne struck out the next two hitters and kept the game scoreless.

That missed chance mattered.

Beloit finally broke through in the seventh against the Peoria bullpen. Nolan Sparks entered with seven consecutive scoreless innings behind him, but the Sky Carp got to him for five runs on three hits. Abrahan Ramirez and Chase Jaworsky each delivered two-run singles in the inning.

That was the game.

Peoria avoided the shutout in the eighth when José Suárez doubled home a run, but the Chiefs stranded two runners in scoring position to end the inning.

That summed up the night.

Some chances.

Not enough finish.

Peoria’s pitching held Beloit down for six innings, but the offense never gave the staff a lead to protect.

Palm Beach Cardinals
Record: 39-34 overall, Florida State League East
Second Half: 6-1
Standings: 1st place, Florida State League East
Result: Palm Beach 12, Bradenton 10

Palm Beach keeps finding ways to beat Bradenton.

The Cardinals came from behind again Friday night, beating the Marauders 12-10 at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium to clinch the series and improve to 10-0 against Bradenton this season.

This one was not clean.

It was not comfortable.

But it was another Palm Beach win.

The Cardinals scored first in the bottom of the first inning when Ryan Weingartner singled home Brayden Smith to make it 1-0.

Then the game turned hard in Bradenton’s direction.

The Marauders scored six runs in the second inning against Andrew Dutkanych IV, who lasted just 1.2 innings and was charged with six earned runs. Bradenton pushed the lead to 7-2 in the third.

Palm Beach had a long climb.

The Cardinals started with a Heriberto Caraballo solo home run in the second inning, his fourth of the season. Then, with Palm Beach still down 7-2 in the sixth, Trevor Haskins delivered again.

Haskins hit a two-run home run to left field, his third homer in two nights, cutting the deficit to 7-4.

That swing mattered.

It did not finish the comeback, but it changed the inning and brought Palm Beach back into the game.

The Cardinals kept coming in the seventh.

Yairo Padilla and Ryan Mitchell opened the inning with back-to-back doubles. Ian Petrutz added an RBI single. Alex Birge tied the game with an RBI double down the right-field line.

Then Haskins came through again.

With the game tied, he delivered a broken-bat, two-run single to center field to give Palm Beach a 9-7 lead.

That was the biggest hit of the night.

Bradenton got back within one run in the eighth, but Palm Beach answered again. Weingartner hit an opposite-field, two-run home run to right field, his ninth of the season. Yordalin Peña later doubled, advanced on a groundout and scored on a balk to give the Cardinals a 12-8 lead.

Antoni Cuello gave up two runs in the ninth, but finished the game and secured his fourth save.

The offense was everywhere.

All nine Palm Beach hitters had at least one hit and one run scored. Seven Cardinals had at least two hits. The Beach Birds have scored 51 runs through the first four games of the series, their most in any four-game stretch this season.

That is not just a hot lineup.

That is a lineup taking over a series.

Player of the Day
Trevor Haskins, Palm Beach Cardinals

Trevor Haskins is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Player of the Day after helping drive Palm Beach’s 12-10 comeback win over Bradenton.

Haskins hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 7-4, then came back in the seventh with a broken-bat, two-run single to give Palm Beach a 9-7 lead.

That is four RBIs in the middle of a comeback.

That is impact.

Haskins has now hit three home runs over the last two nights and continues to deliver in big spots for Palm Beach.

Ryan Weingartner deserves strong mention after driving in the first run of the game and later adding a two-run homer in the eighth. Heriberto Caraballo also homered, and Alex Birge delivered the game-tying double in the seventh.

Springfield had several strong offensive performances in its doubleheader sweep, including Deniel Ortiz’s three-run homer, Rainiel Rodriguez’s RBI double and production from Brody Moore, Ryan Campos and Jesús Báez.

But Haskins had the biggest run-producing night in the biggest comeback.

A two-run homer.

A go-ahead two-run single.

A 12-10 win.

That earns the honor.

Pitcher of the Day
Pete Hansen, Memphis Redbirds

Pete Hansen is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Pitcher of the Day after throwing six innings of one-hit baseball in Memphis’ 1-0 loss at Jacksonville.

Hansen took the loss, but that does not tell the story.

He allowed one unearned run on one hit, walked one and struck out three. That is a winning pitching line on almost any night. Memphis just could not give him a run.

Hansen did his job.

He gave the Redbirds length. He kept Jacksonville from putting together rallies. He made one unearned run the difference in the game.

That is tough-luck pitching.

Liam Doyle deserves strong mention after striking out seven over 3.2 innings of one-run baseball in Springfield’s 14-2 win over Northwest Arkansas. Tanner Franklin also deserves mention after throwing 3.2 scoreless innings for Peoria, even while working around four walks.

But Hansen had the best overall line.

Six innings.

One hit.

One unearned run.

One walk.

A loss that should have been a win.

That gets the nod.

Old School Take

There are nights when the box score does not tell the whole truth.

Pete Hansen took a loss Friday night, but he pitched like a winner.

Memphis lost 1-0 because the offense gave him nothing. That happens. It is still a hard way to waste six innings of one-hit baseball.

Springfield had the best team night, sweeping a doubleheader and pouring on 14 runs in the second game. Palm Beach had the wildest win, coming back again and staying perfect against Bradenton this season.

Peoria had a game get away late.

That is the farm.

Some nights are clean.

Some nights are messy.

Some nights one unearned run beats six strong innings.

Baseball does not always care what you deserve.

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: Deniel Ortiz, Springfield Cardinals | MiLB

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