SAN ANTONIO (Aug. 9, 2026) — A seesaw battle between the San Antonio Missions (18-21) and the Springfield Cardinals (24-15) that included home runs from each squad swung in favor of the Missions after a pivotal four-run sixth inning saw San Antonio take a commanding lead en route to a 7-4 win. For the Missions, the victory secured their first series win over the Cardinals since July of 2021.
Springfield’s leadoff order of Tai Peete, Rainiel Rodriguez and Jesus Baez attacked Missions starter Matthew Watson in the opening frame with three consecutive singles to earn the initial advantage of the ballgame.
San Antonio responded in the second inning after Albert Fabian drew a walk and a monster two-run home run over the right field wall from Brendan Durfee, swinging the momentum back in San Antonio’s direction.
The Cardinals’ ranked prospect duo of Peete and Rodriguez remained determined to knot things up in the third frame after Peete sent a frozen rope into deep center field for a leadoff triple. Rodriguez followed with a base hit to bring in Peete for a run, sending the contest into a 2-2 deadlock.
Springfield’s Deniel Ortiz blasted a ball into the left field berm in the top of the fourth, but the Missions punched back in their next turn. Luis Verdugo placed himself in prime scoring position after a free pass and a Kai Roberts base hit. After a wild pitch from Andrew Schultz, Verdugo scrambled across the plate to even the odds 3-3.
Ryan Campos stole second base after being plunked by an Igor Gil pitch in the sixth stanza. Dakota Harris and Won-Bin Chom, who entered the game for an injured Peete, then teamed up for back-to-back base hits to drive in Campos for a score and retake the 4-3 lead.
The Missions’ crucial and final offensive blow started with Ryan Jackson reaching after a throwing error from Jack Gurevitch. Fabian shot off a line drive to make it two runners on with no outs. Fabian and Jackson capitalized on a double steal after a Verdugo strikeout, and Roberts loaded the bases after looking at four straight balls from José Davila. Carson Tucker came through for his teammates, sending a hard-hit ground ball into left field to score Jackson and Fabian while advancing Roberts to third base, giving the Missions a 5-4 lead. Ornelas drew another walk in the inning for the Missions to fill the house on Davila again. Jake Cunningham scored another two runs to inflate the Missions’ lead to 7-4 before the end of the sixth inning.
Bernard Jose took over for Francis Peña in the next frame and walked into a loaded bases situation with one away. Jose successfully got out of the jam with a flyout and a strikeout to keep the Missions’ lead alive. Jose then retired the Cardinals in order in his next turn to set up Tucker Musgrove for an easy close in the ninth to send the Cardinals packing in the 7-4 Mission win.
Up Next:
The Missions take a day off before hitting the road to begin a six-game series against the Frisco RoughRiders Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Catch all the action on Country Legends KKYX, 680 AM, 104.9 FM and kkyx.com. Tickets are available at samissions.com or by calling 210-675-7275.
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The San Antonio Missions are the Double-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The Missions were established in 1888 and have brought affordable family fun to the Alamo City for more than 120 seasons. The 13-time Texas League champions play their home games at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. For more information and tickets, call 210-675-7275 or visit samissions.com.