DOWNTOWN – Not too often the Cardinals wake up on the last day of April with a chance to make a little franchise history. But that’s the case today.

The Cardinals won their 17th game of April last night against the Reds. It came in a 7-2 victory that saw manager Tony La Russa tinker just enough with his lineup to add depth of power and watch it work. That win tied a franchise record for…

HOUSTON — Earlier this afternoon on the outskirts of New Orleans, Cardinals’ minor leaguer Nick Stavinoha — a familiar name in those parts because of his turn as a slugger at LSU — put two bits of news on the Zephyr Field scoreboard. First, he drove in Triple-A Memphis first run in a 2-0 victory. And then a short time later …

Well, here’s how the official release from the New Orleans Zephyrs put it:

Stavinoha,…

DOWNTOWN — The Cardinals four highest minor-league affiliates will open their regular seasons today, and already there was a move of some consequence.

Trey Hearne, who became something of an Internet darling in 2006 with his performance at Low-A Quad Cities, will pitch this season in the Mexican League. The righthander reported to Minatitlan, the same club outfielder Amaury Marti started with last summer. The Cardinals were lacking innings to give the starter, so they…

The final Vuch Report of spring comes with a sting. But it could have been worse.

The Cardinals minor leaguers concluded their spring training Sunday with scrimmages – one of which featured two major-league pitchers opposing each other — and a full, frontal assault by some of the locals. In the eighth inning of the Memphis-Palm Beach game, the benches cleared and players raced for cover. That is where John Vuch, an eyewitness, takes up the story:

A swarm…

FORT MYERS, Fla. — After Brad Thompson has had a particularly difficult inning or just returned from a disastrous at-bat, Aaron Miles will eye the righthander from down the bench. Thompson knows he’s watching, waiting … for the fume.

It just hasn’t been there this spring.

“OK, I like it,” Miles tells him. “I like it.”

Thompson admits he’s been known to be a bit hotheaded on the mound or in the dugout. His body…

JUPITER, Fla. — The Cardinals raced the rain by rescheduling their minor league games for early Saturday morning. They had more than quick games, they made quick work of the Marlins’ affiliates and swept all five games.

Nobody worked quicker or more effectively than Mitchell Boggs. The righthander came to spring training as one of the young pitchers the organization wanted to get a look at in a big-league setting. He was also one of…

JUPITER, Fla. — Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan did an early round of sprint batting practice with the Triple-A club. Duncan led off every inning and went 3-for-9 with a double and a home run. Yet his was not the only show of force on the Memphis’ ball club.

Strikeouts and homers abound for the Redbirds, and that starts today’s Vuch Report.

** Memphis 7, Albuquerque 1 **

– Finally up on the mound (a few weeks after his…

JUPITER, Fla. — And so Colby Rasmus and Joe Mather leap from the frying pan of the major-league camp into the fire, a free-for-all in the Memphis outfield.

When the two outfielders join the Triple-A team Wednesday for the first time this spring, they will see a scrum already underway for playing time at the Cardinals’ highest affiliate. As mentioned earlier today, Rasmus and Mather are locks for starting jobs with the Redbirds. That leaves…

JUPITER, Fla. — The Cardinals top prospect and one of the top impact surprises of spring training were among six players sent to Triple-A on the eve of the club’s only off day this spring, a sure sign of a roster taking shape with less than two weeks to play.

Colby Rasmus and Joe Mather will report to the Memphis Redbirds camp on Wednesday, where they will be joined by pitcher Mike Parisi, catcher Mark…

JUPITER, Fla. — How radically the RPMs of the Cardinals’ offense could increase with a couple new additions is indicated by an uncanny statistic noticed in the press box this afternoon.

With four more triples this spring the Cardinals will match their total of last season.

Cesar Izturis’ RBI triple against Atlanta on Sunday was his second of the spring and the Cardinals’ ninth as a team. As of this afternoon, that was the most in…