TheCardinalChronicle.com | Ray Mileur By Ray Mileur There are big nights… and then there are tone-setting nights. Jimmy Crooks delivered one of those Friday. The Memphis catcher launched a pair of solo home runs, accounting for two of the Redbirds’ five runs in a 5–3 win over Gwinnett. It marked his first multi-homer game of the season, and with it, Crooks moved into the upper tier of power hitters in the International League. But the home runs are only part of the story. Me

By Ray Mileur The St. Louis Cardinals have taken a significant hit to their pitching depth. Right-hander Richard Fitts will undergo season-ending surgery to repair the lat strain that recently landed him on the injured list, according to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. The expectation is that Fitts will make a full recovery, but his 2026 season is over before it ever truly got started. This one stings—not just because of the loss, but because of what Fitts repre

https://t.co/rxjbCqPKIa The Cardinals (10-8) open a 6-game road trip tonight in Houston (8-12). First pitch: 7:10 PM CDTRHP Kyle Leahy (1-2, 5.14)  gets the ball for St. Louis vs RHP Peter Lambert  (2026 season debut) 📺 http://Cards.TV 📻 KMOX https://t.co/uNoAZAASx0 Meanwhile… a wild night on the farm: 🔴 Memphis falls in extras🔴 Springfield bats break out🔴 Peoria drops 24 runs  — Peete hits for the cycle 🔥🔴 Palm Beach streak snapped Development isn’t linear — nights l

By Ray Mileur  There are no box scores today. No lineup cards. No late-inning drama to dissect. Just a day off in Houston. And in a 162-game season, that’s not nothing—that’s a gift. For the St. Louis Cardinals, this is one of those built-in pauses where a club can finally come up for air, take stock of where it’s been, and—more importantly—where it’s headed. Because whether you admit it or not, the season has already started to take shape   Taking the Temperature We’re far e

St. Louis, MO By Ray Mileur After three consecutive losses, the St. Louis Cardinals didn’t just win Tuesday night. They responded. A gritty 6–5 extra-inning victory over the Cleveland Guardians at Busch Stadium was far from polished—but it revealed something far more important: Resilience. A Game That Slipped—Then Shifted For much of the night, St. Louis looked in command. That changed quickly in the eighth inning. What had been a 2–2 contest unraveled into a 5–2 deficit as C