Jesús Báez hit his 40th home run of the season in walk-off fashion to put Double-A Springfield within one victory of a Texas League North Division playoff series win. Springfield hit three homers and beat Tulsa 9-7 in Game 1 of the best-of-three playoff series.
Continuing to smash baseballs in what has been a breakout season for him, Jesús Báez hit his 40th home run of the season in walk-off fashion to put the Double-A Springfield Cardinals within one victory of a Texas League North Division playoff series win.
In a game where Springfield had to rally back three times, the 21-year-old Baez crushed a 430-foot homer as the Cardinals beat the Tulsa Drillers 9-7 in Game 1 of the best-of-three Minor League playoff series.
Springfield rallied from 3-0, 5-4 and 7-5 deficits and won it when Báez drilled a slider from Tulsa’s Carson Hobbs long over the wall in left field.
Báez, who the Cardinals acquired in late July of 2025 in a deal centered around veteran closer Ryan Helsley, hit 14 homers earlier in the season with High-A Peoria. Then, following his promotion, Báez smacked 25 regular-season homers in just 59 games with Springfield.
Upon the ball leaving Báez’s bat, the infielder stood and watched the ball fly out of the ballpark before flipping his bat and celebrating with teammates as he danced down the first base line. Báez, who went 3 for 4, with three RBI and two runs scored, is ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the Cardinals’ Minor League system, per MLB Pipeline.
Right-handed pitcher Randel Clemente fired two innings and struck out six after surrendering a home run. There were a combined seven home runs in game, three from Springfield.
Jack Gurevitch hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth. Across three levels in 2026, Gurevictch has hit 32 homers. The third-round pick from the 2025 MLB Draft, who was signed to a $879,000 signing bonus, slashed .283/.360/.542/,902 in 119 games and nine of his homers came after reaching Double-A Springfield.
Cade McGee, who was chosen by the Cardinals to play in the prospect-rich Arizona Fall League in October and November, tied the game with a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth.
Rainiel Rodriguez, the top prospect in the Cardinals’ system, went 2 for 5 with a strikeout. No. 2 prospect Liam Doyle (7-7) will start Game 2 against Tulsa on Thursday.
Yhoiker Fajardo, 19 and the No.13-ranked prospect in the Cards’ system, induced a game-high 16 swings and misses. He pitched four innings and allowed five hits and three earned runs in four innings of work, while striking out seven and walking two.
