ST. LOUIS – In an attempt to give No. 2 organizational prospect Liam Doyle a taste of playoff baseball last September, the Cardinals promoted the prized lefty to Double-A Springfield where he pitched two scoreless innings.

Doyle’s experience from his second stint with Double-A Springfield likely left a much different taste in his mouth on Wednesday night.

Doyle, the No. 5 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft by the Cards, saw his first start of the 2026 season go sideways early on as Tulsa battered him for eight hits, six runs (four earned) and a long home run over three innings of work at Hammons Field on Wednesday night. He struck out three, while walking one.

Springfield, which entered the game 4-0, fell 10-4 to Tulsa on Wednesday night.

It was hardly the outing the Cardinals had hoped for from the pitcher soon to be ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the organization (after the "graduation" of Cards second baseman JJ Wetherholt) and No. 31 overall in baseball by MLB Pipeline. Springfield, the Texas League champions in 2025, strategically waited until Wednesday for Doyle’s first start of the season and the crowd on hand had to be somewhat dismayed by what they saw from the hard-throwing left-hander.

Doyle, 21, surrendered two hits, a stolen base and a run in the first inning before getting a swinging strikeout and a grounder to end the opening frame.

In the second inning, Doyle needed 26 pitches to record three outs. He allowed the first two to reach on singles before striking out Tulsa’s Joe Vetrano. Then, came another stolen base and a walk before Kendall George and Josue De Paula greeted Doyle with consecutive two-run singles to put Springfield into a 5-0 hole.

Springfield responded with four runs in the bottom of the second inning with Trey Paige, Graysen Tarlow, Jeremy Rivas and Jon Jon Gazdar driving in runs.

Whatever momentum the Cardinals had disappeared one batter into the third inning. Tulsa shortstop Elijah Hainline turned on an inside fastball from Doyle and hit it on top of the grassy berm beyond the left field fence for a solo homer. Doyle’s 65th pitch – a fastball that he pumped past Tulsa’s Sean McLain for a strikeout – would be his final one of the abbreviated start.

Of his 65 pitches, Doyle threw 42 strikes. Doyle did register 15 swings and misses from a Tulsa team that was clearly ready to see Doyle’s mid-to-upper 90s fastball and came out aggressively swinging early in counts. 

Doyle’s draft stock shot up in 2025 after he led the SEC in strikeouts (164 in 95 2/3 innings of work) and led the University of Tennessee to an NCAA Super Regional.

In his first professional start last September, he surrendered a homer and two walks and fanned three in a game with Class-A Palm Beach. A week later, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder from New Hampshire worked two scoreless innings for playoff-bound Springfield and struck out three hitters, while surrendering two hits.

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