Saturday 0-4 Across the System, Jesús Báez Sets Peoria Mark
The Cardinal Chronicle
Daily Farm Report
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Farm Report: Rough Saturday Across the System, Jesús Báez Sets Peoria Mark
The Cardinals’ full-season minor league affiliates went 0-4 on Saturday night, with Memphis, Springfield, Peoria and Palm Beach all landing on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
Memphis lost a tight 2-1 game at Norfolk after being held scoreless after the first inning. Springfield fell 6-2 to Amarillo one night after scoring 18 runs. Peoria dug out of an early five-run hole but lost 6-4 at South Bend, where the Cubs clinched the Midwest League West first-half title. Palm Beach was beaten 10-1 by St. Lucie, continuing a rough offensive week against the Mets.
The record across the system was not pretty.
But there were still individual performances worth noting, led by Jesús Báez setting Peoria’s High-A era single-season home run record and Dominic Picone delivering a dominant relief outing for Springfield.
Memphis Redbirds
Record: 42-26, International League West
Standings: 1st place, International League West; 0.5 game behind Rochester in the overall International League first-half race
Result: Norfolk 2, Memphis 1
Memphis could not keep the bats going Saturday night.
After a week of big innings and first-place momentum, the Redbirds were held quiet in a 2-1 loss to Norfolk at Harbor Park. Memphis jumped in front in the top of the first inning, but that was the only run the Redbirds would get.
Leo Bernal drove in Thomas Saggese with an RBI double in the first, giving Memphis an early 1-0 lead. From there, the offense stalled. Jeremy Rivas led the Redbirds with a 2-for-3 night, while Matt Koperniak reached twice with two walks. Colton Ledbetter also reached twice with a hit and a walk.
But Memphis could not find the extra swing.
Brandt Thompson made his first Triple-A start and gave the Redbirds four innings. He allowed two runs on six hits, walked one and struck out three. It was not a dominant line, but it kept Memphis within reach.
The bullpen was the bright spot.
Jared Shuster, Max Rajcic and Scott Blewett combined to cover the final four innings without allowing a hit. The three relievers allowed just one total baserunner and gave Memphis every chance to climb back into the game.
The offense simply could not answer.
The loss ended Memphis’ five-game winning streak and dropped the Redbirds to 42-26. Memphis still holds first place in the International League West, but Rochester moved a half-game ahead in the overall International League first-half race.
The Redbirds now head back home for a major series against Nashville to close out the first half. That one is going to carry some weight.
Springfield Cardinals
Record: 27-34, Texas League North
Standings: 4th place, Texas League North; 13.5 games back
Result: Amarillo 6, Springfield 2
Springfield followed Friday night’s 18-run outburst with a quieter night at the plate.
The Cardinals, playing as the Ozarks Snipe Hunters, fell 6-2 to Amarillo at Route 66 Stadium. The loss means Springfield will need to win Sunday’s series finale to split the six-game set.
Amarillo jumped on Chen-Wei Lin in the first inning, taking a 3-0 lead before Springfield could settle into the game. The Sod Poodles added another run in the third and two more in the fifth, giving their pitching staff enough room to control the night.
Springfield got on the board in the second inning when Trey Paige hit a solo home run. Paige has now hit four home runs in his last seven home games at Route 66 Stadium, continuing a strong stretch of power at home.
Jon Jon Gazdar added another solo home run in the seventh, marking back-to-back games with a homer for the Springfield infielder.
That was the offense.
The best Springfield performance of the night came from the bullpen. Dominic Picone tossed a season-high 2.2 innings and did not allow a base runner while striking out five. On a night when the game got away early, Picone gave Springfield exactly the kind of relief appearance a club wants to see.
The Cardinals had eight hits, the same total as Amarillo, but the difference came in how the Sod Poodles cashed in their opportunities. Amarillo drew nine walks, including two with the bases loaded, and that was too much for Springfield to overcome.
Peoria Chiefs
Record: 32-30, Midwest League West
Standings: 3rd place, Midwest League West; 7 games back
Result: South Bend 6, Peoria 4
Peoria showed some fight Saturday night, but the Chiefs could not overcome a rough first inning.
South Bend jumped on Jacob Odle for three home runs in the opening frame, scored five runs in the first inning, and went on to beat Peoria 6-4 at Four Winds Field. The win clinched the Midwest League West first-half title for South Bend.
It was a rare rough inning for Odle, who had been one of the better pitching stories in the Cardinals’ system this season. He entered the game having allowed only two home runs in 2026, then gave up three in the first inning alone.
The Chiefs did not fold.
Tre Richardson III got Peoria on the board in the second inning with a solo home run to left-center, his 11th of the season. One inning later, Jesús Báez unloaded on a line-drive solo shot to center for his 14th home run of the year.
That home run mattered.
Báez became the Chiefs’ High-A era single-season home run record holder with the blast. It was also his third straight game with a home run and extended his season-long hitting streak to 12 games.
That is the kind of development headline that matters even on a loss.
South Bend added a run in the fifth, but Peoria’s bullpen did solid work after the first-inning damage. Rubén Menes, Christian Worley and Dominic Freeberger all delivered scoreless outings, and the Chiefs’ bullpen allowed just one run over 7.1 innings.
Peoria made one final push in the ninth. Richardson added an RBI double, and Sammy Hernandez followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 6-4. But South Bend’s Jackson Brockett struck out Christian Martin to end the game.
The Chiefs lost, and South Bend celebrated.
But Peoria did not go quietly.
Palm Beach Cardinals
Record: 31-31, Florida State League East
Standings: 2nd place, Florida State League East; 4 games back
Result: St. Lucie 10, Palm Beach 1
Palm Beach’s rough week against St. Lucie continued Saturday night.
The Cardinals, playing under their Palm Beach Frozen Iguanas identity, fell 10-1 to the Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The loss dropped Palm Beach to .500 and gave St. Lucie the series win.
For four innings, this looked like a pitchers’ duel.
Jack Martinez kept St. Lucie off the board early, and Mets starter Jonathan Jimenez held Palm Beach in check. But the game turned in the fifth inning after Martinez was pulled with two outs to get in the frame.
St. Lucie broke through with a two-run double from Trey Snyder, then added two more runs on bases-loaded walks to take a 4-0 lead. From there, the Mets kept adding on. St. Lucie scored in each of the final five innings and finished with 15 hits.
Palm Beach’s only run came in the bottom of the fifth. Yordalin Peña led off with a double and scored on an RBI groundout by Heriberto Caraballo.
That was all the Cardinals could manage.
Palm Beach finished with just four hits and could not build any kind of sustained pressure. After being no-hit earlier in the week, then scoring 17 runs, then getting shut out, then losing a tight one, the Cardinals’ offense continued to swing between extremes.
Saturday was another tough one.
Palm Beach is now 8-12 against St. Lucie this season.
Player of the Day
Jesús Báez, Peoria Chiefs
Jesús Báez is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Player of the Day after making Peoria history Saturday night.
Báez hit his 14th home run of the season in the third inning of Peoria’s 6-4 loss to South Bend, becoming the Chiefs’ High-A era single-season home run record holder.
That alone would be enough to put him in the conversation.
But there is more.
The home run was his third straight game with a long ball, and it extended his season-long hitting streak to 12 games. Báez has been one of the hottest hitters in the Cardinals’ system, and Saturday’s swing gave Peoria something worth remembering on a night when South Bend clinched the division.
Tre Richardson III deserves strong mention after homering, adding an RBI double and helping fuel Peoria’s ninth-inning push. Trey Paige also deserves mention for another home run at Route 66 Stadium, while Jeremy Rivas had two hits for Memphis.
But Báez gets the honor.
A record-setting home run wins the day.
Pitcher of the Day
Dominic Picone, Springfield Cardinals
Dominic Picone is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Pitcher of the Day after giving Springfield 2.2 perfect innings in relief Saturday night.
Picone did not allow a base runner and struck out five against Amarillo. In a game where Springfield fell behind early and never fully recovered, Picone gave the Cardinals a clean, powerful relief appearance.
That matters.
The box score says Springfield lost 6-2. Picone’s line says he did his job.
Memphis’ bullpen also deserves mention. Jared Shuster, Max Rajcic and Scott Blewett combined for four hitless innings and allowed just one total baserunner in the Redbirds’ 2-1 loss at Norfolk.
Peoria’s bullpen deserves mention as well. Rubén Menes, Christian Worley and Dominic Freeberger helped stabilize the game after South Bend’s five-run first inning.
But Picone had the cleanest individual pitching line of the night.
Season-high 2.2 innings.
No base runners.
Five strikeouts.
That gets the nod.
Old School Take
There is no need to dress this one up.
Saturday was a rough night.
The Cardinals’ full-season affiliates went 0-4. Memphis could not find the offense. Springfield gave up too much early. Peoria fell into a five-run hole before the game really got settled. Palm Beach’s offense continued to search for traction.
But even on a bad night, there were development wins.
Jesús Báez set Peoria’s High-A era single-season home run record.
Dominic Picone struck out five without allowing a base runner.
Memphis’ bullpen threw four hitless innings.
Peoria’s bullpen gave the Chiefs a chance to make it interesting.
That is what the farm report is supposed to do. Tell the whole story.
Saturday was not a good night in the standings.
But it was not empty.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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