Blaze Jordan sets career high as Redbirds rout Storm Chasers 13-1

Blaze Jordan kept forcing the issue at the plate, and the Memphis Redbirds kept Omaha from answering. Jordan went 5-for-6 at Werner Park, set a new professional career high in hits and helped drive a 13-1 win over the Storm Chasers that sealed Memphis’s first series victory over Omaha in a four-game set.

The five-hit night was the clearest sign yet that Jordan is doing more than collecting noise in the box score. The 23-year-old Southaven, Mississippi, native doubled, drove in a run, scored twice and added to his team lead in hits while turning in his second four-plus-hit game of the series. MiLB listed the Cardinals’ No. 25 prospect at .332 with 64 hits, nine home runs and 30 RBI in 48 games entering the night, and his career line already stood at .287/.346/.463 with 71 homers across 536 games.

Memphis spread the damage across the order. All nine starters reached base safely, eight different Redbirds scored and the lineup kept pressure on Omaha from the first inning through the final outs. Leo Bernal added a three-hit day, César Prieto made an immediate impact in his first game back after being optioned by St. Louis earlier in the week, and Bligh Madris drove in three runs as part of the avalanche.

Prieto’s return gave the middle of the order another live bat, and he made it count, finishing 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. The Redbirds had already stacked wins of 19-5, 5-2 and 5-4 before dropping Friday’s extra-inning game 7-6, so Saturday’s blowout served as the decisive clincher after a week-long back-and-forth with the Storm Chasers.

Brycen Mautz supplied the kind of start that lets a lineup breathe. He allowed one unearned run on two hits, walked three and struck out seven over 4.0-plus innings. Max Rajcic followed with a scoreless inning and trimmed his team-best ERA to 1.60, then Cade Winquest and Ryan Murphy finished the last four innings without allowing a run.

The win kept Memphis 0.5 games behind Rochester and tied with Nashville for second place in the International League. It also capped a six-game series and a 12-game road trip, sending the Redbirds back to AutoZone Park with real momentum before a June 2 meeting with Louisville.