Tai Peete had a five-hit game and a towering 440-foot homer, and Tanner Franklin was dominant over 6 1/3 innings as the Springfield Cardinals beat Amarillo 7-2 and pulled within one victory of a second straight Texas League title.
Huge performances from Tai Peete and Tanner Franklin on Sunday night have the St. Louis Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate, the Springfield Cardinals, one win away from a second straight Texas League title.
Peete, who was acquired by the Cardinals in February as part of the trade that sent All-Star infielder Brendan Donovan to the Mariners, had a five-hit night and crushed a towering 440-foot, three-run home run to pace Springfield to a 7-2 win over Amarillo (Dbacks) in Game 1 of the Texas League championship series.
The Cardinals also got 6 2/3 innings of solid work from the hard-throwing Franklin to move within one victory of winning their second straight Texas League crown. The best-of-three series shifts to Springfield on Tuesday night where the Double-A Cards can potentially lock up another crown.
Game 3, if necessary, would be played Wednesday in Springfield.
Springfield, 78-59 in the regular season, got off to a sluggish 31-37 start prior to the arrivals of Rainiel Rodriguez, Jesus Baez, Peete and Franklin, but dominated the second half with a 47-22 record. Springfield swept Tulsa (Dodgers) 2-0 for the North Division crown and needs one win to repeat what the 2025 club did with current Cardinals Leo Bernal, Joshua Baez and Brycen Mautz leading the way.
Peete, 21, is the No. 17-ranked prospect in the Cardinals’ Minor League system. He singled in the first and scored along with top prospect Rainiel Rodriguez in the first inning on a two-RBI single by Won-Bin Cho. Peete then followed an RBI single by Josiah Ragsdale with an RBI single of his own to give Springfield a 4-0 lead.
That’s all the run support that the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Franklin – the No. 7-ranked prospect in the system – would need. He kept Amarillo scoreless over the first five innings before allowing solo homers in the sixth and seven innings. Over 6 1/3 innings of work, the former University of Tennessee standout limited Amarillo to seven hits and two earned runs while striking out nine and walking none.
Peete, who intrigues scouts with his rare combination of power and speed, put the game out of reach in the top of the sixth inning with a 440-foot homer that not only cleared the wall in right field, but also flew over the grass berm and out into the parking lot.
Peete went 5 for 5 with four RBI and two runs scored. Peete, who was selected No. 30 overall in the 2023 MLB Draft out of high school in Georgia, hit for the cycle twice this season with High-A Peoria before being promoted to Springfield. In 66 games, he slashed .296/.359/.549/.908 with 19 doubles, seven triples, 13 homers, 56 RBI and 16 stolen bases.
Ragsdale, who was acquired from the Brewers in the July traded centered around Dustin May and JoJo Romero heading to Milwaukee, went 1 for 2 with two walks and an RBI. Ragsdale, 22 and the No. 11-ranked prospect in the system, slashed .295/.418/.536/.954 with 25 doubles, three triples, 24 homers, 65 RBI and 37 stolen bases in 116 games at High-A and Double-A this season.
