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The Cardinal Chronicle Liberatore Gets the Ball as Cardinals Look to Take Series From Rockies St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurThe Cardinals got back to even Friday night.Now they need to keep moving.St. Louis hosts the Colorado Rockies tonight at Busch Stadium in the second game of a three-game series, looking to build on Friday’s 3-2 win and move above .500 for the first time in this homestand.First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CT, with left-hander Matthew Liberatore getting the ball for the Cardinals against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland.The Cardinals enter the game at 58-58 after winning four of their last five. Colorado comes in at 45-71, holding the worst record in the National League. On paper, this is still a series the Cardinals should control.But Friday was a good reminder that “should” does not win anything.The Rockies outhit the Cardinals 10-4 in the opener, had traffic most of the night, and still left Busch Stadium with a loss because St. Louis played cleaner baseball in the bigger spots. Colorado went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-20 with men on base.That was the difference.Kyle Leahy gave the Cardinals five effective innings, allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out eight and walking none. It was another strong outing in what has become a very steady run for him. The bullpen took it from there, with four scoreless innings and Riley O’Brien closing it out for his 28th save.That is exactly the kind of formula the Cardinals need more often.Get a competitive start. Keep the game under control. Let the bullpen protect a lead instead of trying to survive a mess.Iván Herrera supplied the biggest swing, launching a solo home run in the third inning to give St. Louis a 3-1 lead. It was his 13th homer of the season and just his third in his last 40 games, but the timing mattered more than the drought. The Cardinals did not have many hits, so Herrera’s swing carried extra weight.St. Louis also scored twice in the second inning on back-to-back sacrifice flies from Nathan Church and Bryan Torres. Masyn Winn’s baserunning helped make the inning work, as he tagged from second to third on Church’s fly ball before scoring on Torres’ sacrifice fly one pitch later.That is winning baseball when the bats are not overwhelming anyone.Not flashy.Useful.Now Liberatore gets the chance to keep the series moving in the right direction.Liberatore has had an uneven season, and the Cardinals need more stability from him as August starts to narrow the runway. The left-hander has shown flashes of being exactly what St. Louis needs, but the difference between his good stretches and rough innings has been too wide too often.Against Colorado, the assignment is clear.Throw strikes. Get ahead. Keep the ball in the yard. Do not give a struggling Rockies club free baserunners and extra chances to hang around.That last part matters because even a bad team can make a game uncomfortable if a pitcher helps it. Colorado may be buried in the standings, but the Rockies still had 10 hits Friday night. They did not lose because they were harmless. They lost because they failed to finish innings.Liberatore cannot count on that happening again.Hunter Goodman remains the biggest power threat in the Colorado lineup. Mickey Moniak has enough pop to change a game. Jake McCarthy brings speed and contact. TJ Rumfield has been one of the Rockies’ better bats. Troy Johnston drove in both Colorado runs Friday, even if both came on groundouts.The Cardinals should expect the Rockies to keep competing.Freeland gives Colorado a veteran left-handed starter in Game 2. He enters after a strong recent outing and brings the kind of experience that can frustrate hitters if they get impatient. Freeland is not overpowering, but he knows how to pitch, change speeds and work through a lineup when opponents help him with early-count outs.The Cardinals cannot do that tonight.They need traffic early. They need to make Freeland work from the stretch. They need to force Colorado’s defense to handle the baseball. And when they get runners in scoring position, they need to finish the inning with more than just threats.Friday’s win was important, but the offense cannot make a habit of winning with four hits.The Cardinals need more from the lineup tonight.JJ Wetherholt has to set the table. Herrera needs to keep giving the lineup quality at-bats. Jordan Walker returned to the lineup Friday after missing two games with a sore knee and singled in his return. Alec Burleson remains one of the club’s steadier bats. Winn’s glove, legs and baserunning continue to matter even when he does not fill up the box score.Church, Torres, Blaze Jordan, Jimmy Crooks and the rest of the order also have to help make this lineup longer.The Cardinals are at their best when the offense is not waiting around for one player to rescue the night.That is especially true in a series like this. Colorado is a team St. Louis needs to beat at home. The Cardinals took two of three from the Yankees, came home, won the opener against the Rockies and got back to .500. That is progress.Now the test is whether they can do something with it.Getting back to even is not the goal.Moving past even is.The Cardinals are still outside the postseason picture, but they are close enough to make these games matter. That means the games against struggling teams become even more important. You cannot give away the winnable ones and then hope to make them up later against better clubs.Tonight is about taking care of business.A win gives the Cardinals the series and moves them back above .500. It would also put them in position to sweep Sunday and make this homestand feel like something more than just a brief recovery.A loss would make Friday feel like a missed chance to build.The formula does not need to be complicated.Get a real start from Liberatore.Put pressure on Freeland.Play clean defense.Win the series.Game Info Matchup: Colorado Rockies at St. Louis Cardinals When: Saturday, August 8, 2026 First Pitch: 6:15 p.m. CT Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis Probable Pitchers: LHP Kyle Freeland vs. LHP Matthew Liberatore Freeland: 3-10, 6.81 ERA Liberatore: 5-8, 4.97 ERA Records: Rockies 45-71; Cardinals 58-58 Broadcast: Cardinals.TV / KMOX The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports &amp; MiLB Today Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.Check out The Cardinal Chronicle for more St. Louis Cardinals coverage, daily farm reports, prospect updates and old-school baseball commentary: www.cardinalchronicle.comPhoto Credit: Matthew Liberatore, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB

Liberatore Gets the Ball as Cardinals Look to Take Series From Rockies

The Arms Race: Five Young Cardinals Pitchers Building a New Pipeline The Cardinal Chronicle St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurYesterday, we looked at the bats.Now it is time for the arms.For years, one of the recurring questions surrounding the Cardinals' farm system was simple: Where is the pitching?Not merely the next starter capable of filling a rotation spot, but real organizational depth — enough young arms that the Cardinals would not have to depend upon every prospect developing exactly according to plan.That picture is beginning to change.Quinn Mathews, Jacob Odle, Yhoiker Fajardo, Blake Aita and Tanner Franklin have combined for 415 2/3 innings and 531 strikeouts this season. Four have reached Double-A or higher, and Mathews has already made his major league debut.Welcome to The Arms Race.This isn't our ranking of the five best pitching prospects in the organization. Liam Doyle, Jurrangelo Cijntje and others obviously belong in that discussion. This is about 2026 production to date — five young starters whose performances have put them at the front of the Cardinals' season-long pitching board.And there is something different about each one.Quinn Mathews — Triple-A Memphis 20 GS | 95 IP | 115 K | 58 BB | 3.32 ERA | 1.21 WHIPMathews is the veteran of this group, if you can call a 25-year-old prospect a veteran.The left-hander has struck out 115 hitters in 95 innings, allowing only 57 hits. That works out to roughly 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings and just 5.4 hits per nine.The 58 walks remain impossible to ignore. Command has been the issue separating Mathews from becoming a finished major league starter, and a 5.5 BB/9 rate leaves considerable work to do.But there is another side to those numbers.Opponents aren't hitting him.Mathews closed July with some of his best pitching of the season, including seven scoreless innings on July 9 and a season-high 10 strikeouts over seven innings on July 25. That run earned him his first opportunity in St. Louis, where he made his major league debut Aug. 1 against Toronto. (MLB.com)A fourth-round pick from Stanford in 2023, Mathews has already demonstrated an ability to reinvent himself. His velocity increased after entering professional baseball, and he struck out 202 hitters while climbing four levels during his first full professional season. (MLB.com)Now the assignment is simpler to identify, though perhaps harder to accomplish:Throw more strikes.The rest of the package is already knocking on the door.Jacob Odle — High-A Peoria 17 GS | 75 IP | 110 K | 47 BB | 3.00 ERA | 1.36 WHIPIf Mathews represents proximity, Odle represents emergence.Few Cardinals pitching prospects have changed their standing more dramatically this season.Odle has struck out 110 hitters in only 75 innings, an eye-popping 13.2 K/9. He has surrendered only 55 hits, and his 3.00 ERA has remained strong despite a walk total that needs improvement.This did not come completely out of nowhere, but it came pretty darn close.The Cardinals selected Odle in the 14th round of the 2023 draft. Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2024 season, delaying his development and leaving him well outside most prospect discussions entering this year.Then the stuff jumped.His fastball has been sitting 96-98 mph and has touched 99.5, complemented by a plus curveball and hard slider. MLB Pipeline now grades both his fastball and curveball as 60 offerings. (MLB.com)May provided the first big warning that something had changed.Odle struck out 34 hitters in 21 2/3 innings with a 1.25 ERA during the month, earning Pitcher of the Month recognition. Baseball America subsequently included him among the pitching prospects who stood out across the minors. (The Cardinal Nation)The 47 walks in 75 innings tell us Odle is not ready for the majors tomorrow.The 110 strikeouts tell us why nobody should care that he was once a 14th-round pick.That draft round has become ancient history.Yhoiker Fajardo — Double-A Springfield 17 GS | 81 IP | 114 K | 27 BB | 4.22 ERA | 1.36 WHIPHere is the name where the ERA can lead you astray.Fajardo's 4.22 mark is the highest among these five pitchers.Look deeper.He has 114 strikeouts against only 27 walks in 81 innings.That is roughly 12.7 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9, easily the best strikeout-to-walk combination among this group.And there is one more number that matters.Nineteen.Fajardo is doing this at 19 years old and has now reached Double-A.The right-hander came to St. Louis along with Hunter Dobbins and Blake Aita in the December trade that sent Willson Contreras to Boston. Before his 20th birthday, Fajardo had already been traded twice and established himself as one of the more intriguing young pitchers in the Cardinals' system. (MLB.com)His mid-80s slider is regarded as his best offering, with a fading changeup giving him another legitimate weapon. His fastball has climbed into the 93-95 mph range and has touched 96 as he has added strength. (MLB.com)Earlier this season, Fajardo opened with a 1.46 ERA through his first six starts, including consecutive seven-strikeout outings. By late July, he was again missing bats at an extraordinary rate. (MLB.com)This is exactly why age and level matter when discussing prospects.There are pitchers with prettier ERAs.There aren't many teenagers striking out hitters like this against advanced competition.Blake Aita — Double-A Springfield 18 GS | 87.1 IP | 94 K | 32 BB | 3.71 ERA | 1.31 WHIPAita might be the least talked-about pitcher in this group.That probably needs to change.The 23-year-old right-hander has quietly provided one of the steadier starting-pitching seasons in the organization: 87 1/3 innings, 94 strikeouts, 32 walks and a 3.71 ERA.Nothing there requires an exclamation point.Everything there works.Aita was the other pitching prospect included with Fajardo and Dobbins in the Contreras trade, and he has done nothing since arriving to diminish the value of that return. The Cardinals promoted him from Peoria to Double-A Springfield on July 7. (MLB.com)His May was particularly strong. Aita posted a 2.05 ERA with 23 strikeouts against seven walks over 22 innings.Unlike some of the higher-ceiling pitchers in the organization, Aita's appeal isn't built around one spectacular number.It is the whole line.He takes the baseball. He throws innings. He misses enough bats. He limits walks. And he has continued advancing.Not every successful major league starter begins his minor league career near the top of a prospect ranking.Sometimes the guy who keeps getting outs becomes awfully difficult to overlook.Aita is approaching that territory.Tanner Franklin — Double-A Springfield 20 GS | 77.1 IP | 98 K | 34 BB | 4.07 ERA | 1.27 WHIPIf you are shopping for pure electricity, Franklin may be your guy.The 6-foot-5 right-hander has struck out 98 hitters in 77 1/3 innings, allowing only 64 hits.The Cardinals selected Franklin 72nd overall in the 2025 draft after he pitched primarily in relief at Tennessee, then immediately began stretching him out as a starter.There was a pretty good reason.His fastball can reach 102 mph.It generally works in the 94-98 range with exceptional carry, and the Cardinals have been developing a cutter, slider and changeup behind it. MLB Pipeline gives the fastball a 70 grade. (MLB.com)Franklin announced himself quickly this spring. Through his first two starts, he struck out 16 of the 28 hitters he faced. The Cardinals have continued developing him as a starter despite the limited workload he accumulated in college. (MLB.com)The 4.07 ERA is secondary to the larger developmental question.Can that arsenal hold up over a starter's workload?So far, Franklin has answered well enough to reach Double-A during his first full professional season.There is considerable reliever risk here. A fastball like this could eventually make Franklin a late-inning weapon even if starting does not work.But you don't move a pitcher with this kind of arm to the bullpen until he gives you a reason.For now, keep handing him the baseball every fifth day.More Than Five Arms The encouraging part isn't simply these five pitchers.The Cardinals still have Liam Doyle, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Mason Molina, Cooper Hjerpe, Cade Crossland, Braden Davis and others scattered throughout the system. Brandon Clarke is working his way back. The organization added Tegan Kuhns with the No. 32 pick in this summer's draft.Not all of them will make it.That is baseball.Pitching prospects get hurt. Command disappears. Velocity changes. Starters become relievers. Top prospects stall while somebody barely mentioned in March suddenly looks like a major leaguer in August.That is precisely why depth matters.For too long, the Cardinals seemed to need nearly every pitching-development decision to work because there weren't enough alternatives behind it.Now they are beginning to accumulate options.The Takeaway Mathews is closest.Odle may be the breakout.Fajardo may have the most remarkable age-to-level performance.Aita may be the overlooked one.Franklin may possess the loudest raw arm.Five pitchers. Five different development paths.And 531 strikeouts in 415 2/3 innings between them.The Cardinals haven't won the arms race yet. That will be determined years from now, when we see which of these pitchers can consistently get major league hitters out.But for the first time in quite a while, they have enough young arms to actually have a race.That's a pretty good place to start. The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports &amp; MiLB Today Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.Check out The Cardinal Chronicle for more St. Louis Cardinals coverage, daily farm reports, prospect updates and old-school baseball commentary: www.cardinalchronicle.comPhoto Credit: Blake Aita, Springfield Cardinals| MLB

The Arms Race: Five Young Cardinals Pitchers Building a New Pipeline

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day: Sammy Hernandez Walks It Off for Peoria St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurSammy Hernandez did not have the biggest stat line in the system Friday night, but he had the biggest swing.Hernandez is the Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day after hitting a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Peoria an 8-6 win over Quad Cities at Dozer Park.His final line:1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SBThat is how you own the moment.Peoria had carried a 6-2 lead into the ninth before Quad Cities scored four runs to tie the game. The Chiefs could have let the night slip away. Instead, Hernandez came to the plate in the bottom half and ended it with one swing.The home run was his ninth of the season, and the two RBIs pushed him to 28. He also scored twice, drew a walk and stole his 15th base, giving Peoria power, patience and speed in the same game.It was a big answer for a Chiefs team that had dropped three straight after a six-game winning streak. Peoria needed something to stop the skid, and Hernandez delivered it in the loudest way possible.The Chiefs had more offense around him. Jalin Flores hit his 14th home run of the season and drove in his 68th run. Tristan Bissetta hit his first home run with Peoria and drove in his first run. Ian Petrutz went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Michael Dattalo added two hits, including a double, and scored twice.But Friday night belonged to Hernandez.He gave Peoria the lead early enough to matter, then gave them the win when it mattered most.Memphis lost. Springfield lost. Palm Beach lost.Peoria was the only full-season affiliate to win, and Sammy Hernandez made sure of it.A walk-off homer. Two RBIs. Two runs scored. A stolen base. And the only win in the system.That earns the spotlight.Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day: Sammy Hernandez, 1B/C, Peoria Chiefs Final Line: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SB The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports &amp; MiLB Today Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.Check out The Cardinal Chronicle for more St. Louis Cardinals coverage, daily farm reports, prospect updates and old-school baseball commentary: www.cardinalchronicle.comPhoto Credit: Sammy Hernandez, Peoria Chiefs | MLB

MiLB Player of the Day: Sammy Hernndez

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day: Tanner Franklin Gives Springfield a Strong Start in San Antonio St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurTanner Franklin deserved a better ending Friday night.Franklin is the Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day after working 4.2 strong innings in Springfield’s 6-2 loss to San Antonio.His final line: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 KThat is a solid Double-A outing.Franklin allowed five hits and two runs, but only one was earned. He walked two, struck out seven and kept Springfield in the game before handing it over to the bullpen.The strikeouts were the headline.Seven punchouts in 4.2 innings shows the stuff was playing, and Franklin did a good job limiting damage despite traffic. He threw 85 pitches, 56 for strikes, and San Antonio had to work for everything it got against him.The Missions scored once in the first and once in the third, but Franklin kept the game within reach. Springfield’s offense eventually tied it with single runs in the sixth and seventh before San Antonio broke the game open with four runs in the eighth.That late inning changed the final score, but it should not erase Franklin’s work.Springfield’s offense was quiet overall, finishing with five hits. Rainiel Rodriguez hit his 14th home run of the season and drove in his 38th run. Jack Gurevitch singled and scored, while Zach Levenson drove in the Cardinals’ other run. Tai Peete, Deniel Ortiz and Tre Richardson III also added hits.But the pitching spotlight belonged to Franklin.He gave Springfield a chance. He missed bats. He allowed only one earned run.Sometimes the line is better than the final score.This was one of those nights.Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day: Tanner Franklin, RHP, Springfield Cardinals Final Line: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports &amp; MiLB Today Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.Check out The Cardinal Chronicle for more St. Louis Cardinals coverage, daily farm reports, prospect updates and old-school baseball commentary: www.cardinalchronicle.comPhoto Credit: Tanner Franklin, Springfield Cardinals | MLB

MiLB Player of the Day: Tanner Franklin

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE Farm Report: Sammy Hernandez Walks It Off, Tanner Franklin Deals, Báez Goes Deep Again St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurFriday night on the farm came down to one affiliate finding a way.Peoria was the only full-season Cardinals affiliate to land in the win column, beating Quad Cities 8-6 on a walk-off home run from Sammy Hernandez. Memphis rallied late but fell short against Nashville, Springfield lost after a late San Antonio rally, and Palm Beach dropped its sixth straight.The full-season affiliates finished 1-3.Memphis Redbirds — Triple-A Overall Record: 62-50 Second Half: 15-22, 8.0 GB in the International League West Streak: L2Nashville 5, Memphis 3Memphis fell behind early and could not quite climb all the way back in a 5-3 loss to Nashville at AutoZone Park.Nashville scored four runs in the first inning and added another in the sixth. Memphis stayed quiet until the eighth, when Joshua Báez launched a three-run homer to make it a game.Báez finished 1-for-4 with his 33rd home run and three RBIs, pushing his season total to 87 RBIs. The homer also lifted his OPS back to .900.Colton Ledbetter had a strong night at the top of the order, going 3-for-4 with a stolen base, his 18th of the season. Andy Yerzy singled and walked, while Chase Davis, Ramon Mendoza and Thomas Saggese added hits.On the mound, Quinn Mathews had a difficult first inning and finished with three innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on four hits and six walks while striking out four. Pete Hansen helped stabilize the game with four innings of relief, allowing one unearned run on three hits. Cade Winquest and Brycen Mautz each worked scoreless frames.Takeaway: Memphis had a late swing from Báez and a three-hit night from Ledbetter, but the early hole was too much.Springfield Cardinals — Double-A Overall Record: 55-50 Second Half: 24-13, 1st in the Texas League North Streak: L1San Antonio 6, Springfield 2Springfield was tied late, but San Antonio broke the game open with four runs in the eighth inning and beat the Cardinals 6-2.Tanner Franklin earned Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day honors despite the loss. Franklin worked 4.2 innings, allowing five hits, two runs, one earned, two walks and striking out seven.His final line: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 KThat was a strong Double-A outing.The offense was limited to five hits. Rainiel Rodriguez hit his 14th home run of the season and drove in his 38th run. Jack Gurevitch singled and scored, while Zach Levenson drove in Springfield’s other run. Tai Peete, Deniel Ortiz and Tre Richardson III also had hits.Won-Bin Cho walked, but his hot bat was held hitless after a four-hit night Thursday.After Franklin exited, Chen-Wei Lin covered the final 3.1 innings but was charged with four runs in the eighth.Takeaway: Franklin gave Springfield a chance, but the offense never fully broke through and San Antonio’s eighth inning decided it.Peoria Chiefs — High-A Overall Record: 52-53 Second Half: 20-19, 5th in the Midwest League West, 3.5 GB Streak: W1Peoria 8, Quad Cities 6Peoria was the system’s lone winner Friday night, and the Chiefs did it in dramatic fashion.Quad Cities scored four runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game, but Sammy Hernandez answered in the bottom half with a walk-off two-run homer to give Peoria an 8-6 win.Hernandez earned Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day honors after going 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs, two runs scored, a walk and a stolen base.His final line:1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SBThe homer was his ninth of the season, and it could not have come at a better time.Peoria also got home runs from Jalin Flores and Tristan Bissetta. Flores hit his 14th homer and drove in his 68th run. Bissetta hit his first home run with Peoria and drove in his first run. Ian Petrutz went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Michael Dattalo had two hits, including a double, and scored twice. Yordalin Peña drove in a run, and Brayden Smith doubled and stole a base.On the mound, Cade Crossland gave Peoria four innings, allowing one run on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Rubén Menes was excellent in relief, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. The ninth got messy for Patrick Galle, but Bobby Olsen came in to get the final out before Hernandez ended it.Takeaway: Peoria nearly let it slip away, but Hernandez saved the night. A walk-off homer is a pretty good way to stop a short losing streak.Palm Beach Cardinals — Low-A Overall Record: 52-53 Second Half: 19-20, 2nd in the Florida State League East, 5.5 GB Streak: L6Jupiter 10, Palm Beach 2Palm Beach’s losing streak reached six games with a 10-2 loss to Jupiter.The Cardinals trailed 5-0 before scoring twice in the eighth, and Jupiter answered with five more in the ninth to put the game away.Alexander Frias had one of the better nights for Palm Beach, going 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a run scored and a stolen base. Miguel Hernández doubled, drove in a run and walked twice. Cristofer Lebrón singled and walked, while Ryan Mitchell and Yairo Padilla added hits.On the mound, Gabriel Chinchilla allowed four runs over 2.2 innings. Liam Best gave up one run in 1.1 innings. Jacob Haley and JR Fordham gave Palm Beach some clean middle relief, combining for four scoreless innings, but the game got away again in the ninth when Jesús García allowed five runs, three earned.Palm Beach also committed four errors.Takeaway: Frias reached base three times, but Palm Beach was hurt by early runs, late runs and four more errors. The skid is now at six.Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day Sammy Hernandez, 1B/C, Peoria ChiefsHernandez earns the honor after delivering the biggest swing of the night.His final line:1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SBThe homer was a walk-off two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth, his ninth of the season, and it gave Peoria the only win in the system.That will get the spotlight.Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day Tanner Franklin, RHP, Springfield CardinalsFranklin gets the nod after giving Springfield 4.2 strong innings in a loss at San Antonio.His final line: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 KThe pitch count kept him from working deeper, but the strikeout stuff played, and he kept Springfield in the game.The Final Word Friday was not a strong night across the system, but Peoria made sure the report had a finish worth talking about.Memphis got a three-run homer from Joshua Báez, now up to 33 home runs and 87 RBIs. Springfield got a solid start from Tanner Franklin and another Rainiel Rodriguez homer. Palm Beach continued to struggle, losing its sixth straight.But the night belonged to Sammy Hernandez.Quad Cities tied it in the ninth. Peoria needed an answer. Hernandez sent everyone home.That is how you own the headline. The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports &amp; MiLB Today Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.Check out The Cardinal Chronicle for more St. Louis Cardinals coverage, daily farm reports, prospect updates and old-school baseball commentary: www.cardinalchronicle.comPhoto Credit: Joshua Báez, Memphis Redbirds | MLB

Sammy Hernandez Walks It Off, Tanner Franklin Deals, Báez Goes Deep Again

The Fab Five: Five Cardinals Prospects Driving the Farm System’s Offense

The St. Louis Cardinal Chronicle 

The St. Louis Cardinal Chronicle is dedicated to preserving Cardinals history, covering today’s game, and following the next generation through the minor leagues. Written in the tradition of the old beat writers, it’s baseball with perspective — steady, faithful, and rooted in a lifelong love for the game.

The St. Louis Cardinal Chronicle, Ray Mileur

The Cardinal Notebook

Liberatore Gets the Ball as Cardinals Look to Take Series...

The Arms Race: Five Young Cardinals Pitchers Building a N...

MiLB Player of the Day: Sammy Hernndez

MiLB Player of the Day: Tanner Franklin

Sammy Hernandez Walks It Off, Tanner Franklin Deals, Báez...

The Fab Five: Five Cardinals Prospects Driving the Farm S...