Memphis Redbirds Open 29th Season at AutoZone Park, Host Norfolk March 31

Ramon Mendoza stepped into the box for his first plate appearance of 2026, and the answer came immediately: a solo home run to left-center at Gwinnett Field that put the Memphis Redbirds on the board before most fans had finished finding their seats. Mendoza wasn't done. He came back in the fourth with an RBI double that pushed the lead to two, finished the night 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and set the tone for a 3-0 shutout of the Gwinnett Stripers that opened the Redbirds' season the way a team coming off its first winning record since 2018 probably should.

Memphis returns home tonight for its 29th season opener at AutoZone Park, a 7:05 p.m. first pitch against the Norfolk Tides, Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The Redbirds went 2-1 at Gwinnett before making the trip back to the Bluff City, following an 80-68 finish in 2025 that marked the franchise's first winning season since 2018.

Jimmy Crooks supplied the third run at Gwinnett, belting a solo homer in the fifth inning to cap the scoring. Starting pitcher Richard Fitts made his St. Louis Cardinals organizational debut as the Opening Day starter.

The roster Memphis brings home is one of the deeper the Cardinals have assembled at the Triple-A level in years. Eight of the Cardinals' top 30 prospects open the campaign with Memphis. Outfielder Joshua Baez, the No. 4 prospect in the St. Louis system, is the highest-ranked player on the roster, followed by catcher Leo Bernal at No. 6 and left-hander Quinn Mathews at No. 7. Baez and Bernal also represent the Redbirds on MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospect list to start the season, ranked No. 87 and No. 98 overall, respectively. Eleven Redbirds find themselves on the Cardinals' 40-man roster.

The 28-man Opening Day roster includes 16 returners from the 2025 season and a total of 18 players who have previously appeared in a Redbirds uniform.

Off the field, the Redbirds leaned into the home opener with a full weeklong slate of programming. Opening Week is presented by Charbroil, with the rest of the homestand highlighted by Bluey and Bingo Day, the return of To Infinity and The Ballpark, and an Easter Sunday celebration featuring a postgame egg hunt for kids 12 and under. With tickets starting as low as $10 all season, the Redbirds are positioned to welcome as large a crowd as possible for the 2026 debut.

The 150-game slate features 75 home games, with the season running from March 27 through September 20. For a franchise trying to convert last year's on-field turnaround into sustained gate momentum, the combination of a prospect-rich roster and a weeklong promotional push gives AutoZone Park its best opening-weekend argument in years. Mendoza already gave Memphis fans the perfect preview on Friday night. Tonight, they get to see it in person.