Palm Beach Arms Lead the Way, Memphis Grinds Out Road Win
The Cardinal Chronicle
Palm Beach Arms Lead the Way, Memphis Grinds Out Road Win
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals’ minor league system had one of those split-result nights Tuesday, with Memphis and Palm Beach taking care of business, Peoria’s offense unable to keep pace in a slugfest, and Springfield washed out by rain.
Palm Beach delivered the cleanest performance of the night, riding strong pitching and early power to a 4-1 win over St. Lucie. Memphis worked through a long night in Iowa and pulled away late for a 6-3 victory over the Cubs. Peoria collected 12 hits but fell 10-5 to Cedar Rapids, while Springfield’s road game at Arkansas was postponed because of rain and scheduled to be made up Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
Hitter of the Day
Brayden Smith, Palm Beach Cardinals
Smith gave Palm Beach the swing it needed, going 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs, one run scored and a walk. His three-run homer helped give the Cardinals early breathing room in what became a strong road win at St. Lucie.
Pitcher of the Day
Jacob Odle, Palm Beach Cardinals
Odle set the tone on the mound, working 5 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing three hits, walking one and striking out eight. That is the kind of outing that travels well: strikes, swing-and-miss and no free damage.
Memphis Redbirds
Record: 28-18, 1st, International League West
Memphis 6, Iowa 3
Memphis did not overpower Iowa, but the Redbirds kept adding pressure and eventually pulled away with single runs in the fifth, seventh and eighth before tacking on two more in the ninth.
Jimmy Crooks led the offense with three hits, going 3-for-5 with an RBI and a walk. Nelson Velázquez and Colton Ledbetter each had two hits, while Ledbetter, Joshua Báez, Leo Bernal, Crooks and Brody Moore each drove in a run.
Brycen Mautz gave Memphis four solid innings, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Ryan Fernandez delivered one of the sharper relief lines of the night, striking out four over two innings. Max Rajcic closed it with a scoreless ninth, walking one and striking out one.
It was not a tidy offensive night in the traditional sense — Memphis walked 13 times, struck out often and left some traffic on the bases — but the Redbirds kept forcing Iowa to pitch under stress. That usually pays off somewhere along the way, and it did Tuesday night.
Springfield Cardinals
Record: 16-23, 5th, Texas League North
Postponed — Rain
Makeup date: May 20, 2026
Springfield’s Tuesday night game against Arkansas was postponed because of rain and is scheduled to be made up Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
The rainout leaves Springfield at 16-23 as the Cardinals continue their road series against Arkansas. With the game pushed back a day, the Double-A club will look to get back on the field Wednesday and continue what has become one of the more important developmental stops in the system.
Peoria Chiefs
Record: 16-23, 6th, Midwest League West
Cedar Rapids 10, Peoria 5
Peoria had plenty of offense Tuesday, but not enough pitching to hold down Cedar Rapids in a 10-5 loss at Dozer Park.
The Chiefs finished with 12 hits, including home runs from Jesús Báez and Tre Richardson III. Báez went 1-for-5 with a solo homer, while Richardson reached three times, going 1-for-2 with a home run, two walks, an RBI and two runs scored. Jalin Flores added two hits, including a double, and Josh Kross continued to swing the bat well with two hits, a double, an RBI and a walk.
The problem was run prevention. Yhoiker Fajardo struck out five over four innings, but he allowed five runs, three earned, on four hits. Two home runs hurt him. Patrick Galle steadied things with two scoreless innings and three strikeouts, but the bullpen gave up five runs over the seventh and eighth innings as Cedar Rapids put the game out of reach.
For Peoria, the offensive signs were encouraging. The pitching line was not. That is the simple old-school read: 12 hits should keep a club in most games, but giving up 10 runs leaves too steep a hill to climb.
Palm Beach Cardinals
Record: 23-17, 2nd, Florida State League East, 1 GB
Palm Beach 4, St. Lucie 1
Palm Beach played the cleanest all-around game in the system Tuesday, beating St. Lucie 4-1 behind early power and strong pitching.
Brayden Smith did the biggest damage, going 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, a walk and three RBIs. Chase Heath also homered, giving Palm Beach all four of its runs on two swings. Ryan Mitchell added two hits and a walk, while Ryan Weingartner singled and scored.
Jacob Odle was the story on the mound. The right-hander worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. Dylan Driessen, José Davila and Antoni Cuello handled the final 3 2/3 innings, with Cuello finishing the game by allowing one hit over two scoreless frames.
Palm Beach remains one game back in the Florida State League East, and the Cardinals continue to get strong work from a Low-A club that has quietly become one of the more interesting watches in the system.
Old School Take
Palm Beach gets the headline because pitching still runs the game. Smith’s home run supplied the thunder, but Odle’s outing gave the Cardinals control of the night.
Memphis deserves credit, too. The Redbirds won without a big power show, leaning instead on walks, pressure and late scoring. That is not always pretty baseball, but it is winning baseball.
Peoria had the kind of box score that makes a manager rub his forehead. Twelve hits, five runs, two homers — and still a five-run loss. Sometimes baseball is complicated. Sometimes it is brutally simple.
Springfield, meanwhile, gets the old baseball standby: try again tomorrow. Rain has been part of the game since Abner Doubleday was still getting blamed for everything.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports