Leo Bernal lined a two-run single to center in his major league debut Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, part of a six-run third inning that carried St. Louis to a 13-8 win over the Dodgers.

The 22-year-old catcher from Panama finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. He struck out on a foul tip in his first plate appearance, then got a 90.7-mph fastball from Eric Lauer in the third and hit it 107.6 mph to center, scoring Iván Herrera and Jordan Walker. He came around to score on a Nathan Church single.

He was on this stage ten years ago

Bernal caught for Panama at the 2016 Little League World Series. He was twelve. Panama reached the international championship at Lamade Stadium and lost to South Korea 7-2.

He was back in March, catching for Panama at the World Baseball Classic.

The at-bat

Lauer opened with an 86.1-mph changeup for a ball. Bernal hit the next one on a line, 280 feet at a 14-degree launch angle, and two runs scored.

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Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (13) looks on as St. Louis Cardinals' Leo Bernal scores a run during the third inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. — (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Why he was catching

Bernal batted sixth and caught, with Iván Herrera at designated hitter — the arrangement St. Louis has used for much of the season while managing how often Herrera works behind the plate.

The Cardinals selected his contract from Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday as rosters expanded from 26 to 28.

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St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Cade Winquest (63) shakes hands with Cardinals' catcher Leo Bernal after the final out of the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. — (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Who he is

Leonardo Abdiel Bernal is a switch-hitter, 6-foot-0, 245 pounds, born Feb. 13, 2004 in Panama City. Known as "El Manotas," he wears No. 13. St. Louis signed him as an international free agent in January 2021, and he started in the Dominican Summer League at 17.

At Memphis this season he hit .278/.363/.468 with 16 home runs and 77 RBIs in 101 games, with a 115 wRC+, 67 runs and nine stolen bases. He walked in 11.8% of his plate appearances and struck out in 19.9%.

He won the Gold Glove among minor league catchers in 2025.

FanGraphs ranks him ninth in the Cardinals system with a 2027 ETA, grading his defense a 40 now and projecting it to 50.

The game

Ramón Urías and Thomas Saggese homered in the second off Lauer. Saggese hit another in the fifth, giving him three on the season — two of them at Dodger Stadium in one night. He played for Italy at the World Baseball Classic, and power has never been the calling card.

The third produced six runs: a José Fermín single and stolen base, an Iván Herrera RBI single, a Jordan Walker single, a Joshua Báez hit-by-pitch, Bernal's two-run single, a Saggese sacrifice fly, and a Nathan Church single that scored Bernal.

Walker hit his 28th home run in the fourth. Báez hit his sixth in the seventh. St. Louis added two in the eighth on a wild pitch and a Fermín sacrifice fly.

Mookie Betts doubled home three in the third and two more in the fifth. Will Smith doubled in a run in the seventh, and the Dodgers scored three in the ninth off Cade Winquest, who was making only the second appearance of his career — he debuted Aug. 29 against Pittsburgh with two scoreless innings.

Michael McGreevy went five innings for the win, allowing five hits and four runs. He's 6-9 with a 3.97 ERA. Lauer fell to 8-7.

Hancel Rincón, a right-hander from the Dominican Republic, also had his contract selected from Memphis on Tuesday.

Statistics via FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. Play-by-play via MLB.