2031 St. Louis River Walkers: The ring is the thing

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Record: 17-12, 1st, 0.5 GA Kansas City
Down 2-1, St. Louis scored five times in the top of the third inning, and held on for a 6-5 win over Milwaukee at Milwaukee County Stadium (1976).
The win allowed the River Walkers to avoid being swept in the three-game series.
Jose Ramirez got things rolling in the top of the third for St. Louis with a lead-off single off Crushers starter George McCardel.
Two batters later, after a bunt and ground out, Ramirez was at third, and he scored on a Jordan Groshans double.
That's when the fun really began.
Rick Scott, who had homered for the Walkers' first run, moved Gorshans to third with a single.
Thairo Estrada then moved everyone up a base, scoring Groshans, with another single.
Heston Kjerstad followed that by clearing the bags with his first home run of the season, putting St. Louis up 6-2.
The Crushers did make it interesting, a two-run homer from Erik Rivera with two outs in the seventh off starter Kaneo Kawamoto made it 6-5.
But the St. Louis bullpen didn't allow anything after that.
Despite earning the win, Kawamoto's struggles continued as he allowed five runs on eight hits in 6.2 innings.
He improved to 1-2 on the season.
Yeison Santos got the final out of the seventh and pitched scoreless eighth.
Ernesto Barbosa kept Milwaukee off the scoreboard in the ninth to earn his sixth save.

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Record: 18-12, 1st, 0.5 GA Kansas City
St. Louis scored five times in the top of the first inning to set the tone, and the River Walkers rolled to a 13-2 win over Fort Wayne at Ebbets Field (1948).
St. Louis opened the game with three straight singles off Mad Men starting pitcher Chandler Champlain, with Jose Segura driving in Jose Ramirez with the first run of the game.
Rick Scott later scored a pair of runs with a double.
Pitcher Lenyn Crisp plated the final two with another double.
Thanks to a two-run homer from Jose Segura in the second inning off reliever Pablo Ocha, the Walkers stretched their lead to 8-1.
Segura added a second homer -- this one a two-run shot off Nick Stell in the fourth -- to make it 10-1.
The Walkers were not done in that inning, as Jordan Groshans connected on an RBI double, and relief pitcher Ricky Cisneros plated one with a single to make it 12-1.
On the mound, Crisp only lasted 1.1 innings even though his team was up 8-1.
Crisp walked five batters in that short span that he was on the mound, and the Walkers decided to get him out of there before the Mad Men got back into it.
Cisneros (3-1) cleaned up the mess in the bottom of the second and got the game to the sixth.
Andres Hernandez and Argenis Batista both pitched two innings to finish off the game.

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After a third straight sub-par outing, the St. Louis River Walkers have sent right-handed starting pitcher Lenyn Crisp to AAA Memphis, and called up right-hander Jesse McNaboe.
Crisp, who went 4-1 after being moved into the rotation late in the 2030 season, just didn't have it this season going 2-1 with a 7.77 ERA in six starts.
The 23-year-old had allowed six homers in 24 innings, and posted a 1.93 WHIP.
He also had failed to get out of the fourth inning of his last three starts.
McNaboe, a 22-year-old right-hander taken in the second round of the 2027 draft, has gone 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA in six starts for the Redbirds.
This will be his third shot at the majors, the first two have not gone well.
In two starts, McNaboe is 0-1 with a 14.14 ERA.

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Record: 18-13, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 3-3, Josh Bell opened the bottom of the ninth inning reaching on an error by St. Louis third baseman Jordan Groshans, three batters later he scored on an Adrian Arnesen sacrifice fly and Fort Worth downed the River Walkers 4-3 at Ebbets Field (1948).
Elian Acosta was on the mound to begin the bottom of the ninth for St. Louis, and after Bell reached on an error he walked Tony Urbalejo.
Jordan Martinez then got down a bunt, putting the runners at second and third.
Cory Tiller got the call to the mound for St. Louis, but Arnesen drove his second pitch deep enough to allow Bell to score.
The Mad Men scored single runs off Walkers starter Angel Tiburcio in the first and fourth innings, and added another in the eighth off reliever Yeison Santos.
But St. Louis erupted for three runs in the top of the ninth to stay in the game.
Steve Rossi had an RBI double off reliever Arnesen, while Groshan drove in another with a ground out.
Jose Segura scored the tying run on a wild pitch.
Fort Wayne starting pitcher Isaiah Dunlap tossed six shutout innings, allowing five hits.
Victor Vodnik handled the seventh and eighth innings.
Arnesen (2-0) blew the save, but got the win.

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Record: 19-13, 1st, 1.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Izzy San Juan pitched six shutout innings and Jose Ramirez homered twice as St. Louis downed Fort Wayne 3-1 at Ebbets Field (1948).
San Juan (2-4) turned in probably his best outing of the season, allowing just thee hits in his time on the mound. He struck out two and walked the same.
Ramirez actually scored all of the St. Louis' runs.
He drew a walk from Mad Men starting pitcher Terry Lesnau to open the game.
A bunt from Joshua Rivera moved him to second.
A ground out by Jose Segura planted Ramirez on third, and he scored when Lesnau uncorked a wild pitch with Jordan Groshans at the plate.
Ramirez hit his solo homers in the third (a lead-off sot off Lesnau to make it 2-0) and seventh (a two-out job off Jonathan Webb to make it 3-0).
Elian Acosta gave up the lone Fort Wayne run in the seventh. He also got the first out of the eighth.
Cory Tiller finished off the eighth without an issue.
Ernesto Barbosa set the Mad Men down in order in the ninth for his seventh save.

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Record: 19-14, 1st, 1.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Ramon Diaz pitched seven shutout innings -- allowing just one -- and Darlin Guzman homered twice as Fort Wayne downed St. Louis 8-3 at Ebbets Field (1948).
The win gave the Mad Men a split of the four-game series.
The lone hit Diaz allowed was a lead-off single by Ricky Liriano in the top of the sixth.
Diaz (4-1) struck out 10 and walked two.
Glenn Dunn pitched a scoreless eighth inning, but the Walkers roughed up Pablo Ochoa in the ninth.
Jose Segura did the bulk of the damage, with a three-run homer, but already trailing 8-0 it didn't mean much.
The first of Guzman's homers, a three-run shot of Walkers starter Zack Hunsicker, made it 3-0 after three innings.
Guzman struck again in the fifth, again off Hunsicker, this time a two-run blow to make it 5-0.
Castrioti Rrustemi hit a solo homer off Argenis Batista in the sixth, as Fort Wayne went up 6-0.
Diaz later contributed to his own cause in the same inning, with a run-scoring double.
Jonathan India capped the scoring for the Mad Men with an RBI double in the seventh, also off Batista.

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MBL news: Week 5 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 19-15, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Rudolfo Cervantez shut out St. Louis over the first seven innings and Cedar Rapids breezed to a 6-0 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Cervantez (2-2) allowed just two hits in his time on the mound. He struck out 10 and walked one.
Ian Goshe finished off the shutout, allowing just one base runner over the final two innings.
At the plate, the Grapplers got all five of its runs in a three-inning span against Walkers starter Kaneo Kawamoto.
They scored once in the second -- Jerrion Ealy singled with one out and scored on a Steven Williams double.
Cedar Rapids plated a pair in the third -- thanks to a two-run homer from Jose Morillo.
In the fourth, the Grapplers opened the inning with three singles in a span of four batters -- the non-single being a sacrifice bunt -- Matt McLain's single scored a run.
Cervantez also plated a run with a one-out fly ball.

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Record: 20-15, 1st, 1.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Rookie pitcher Jesse McNaboe gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, but he was good enough after that to help lead St. Louis to a 5-2 win over Cedar Rapids at Busch Stadium (1997).
Moved into the River Walkers rotation following the early-season struggles of Lenyn Crisp, McNaboe was greeted by a 408-feet homer from David Henderson to open the game.
But he allowed just one more run after that -- Arnold Hammond with an RBI double in the top of the fifth to make it 2-0 -- to set himself up for the win after the River Walkers busted loose for five runs in the sixth.
For the game, McNaboe (1-0) allowed two runs on eight hits. He struck out two and walked three.
That big sixth inning for St. Louis got started by a lead-off single from Jared Thomas off Grapplers starter Devin Eyre, followed by a Jordan Gorshans triple which made it 2-1.
Nick Mocarski took over for Cedar Rapids and retired the next two batters.
But he could not close out the inning.
After an intentional walk to Thairo Estrada, Steve Rossi, pinch-hitting for McNaboe, singled to tie the game.
Nathaniel Dixon followed with another single to put St. Louis in front.
Joshua Rivera then delivered the inning's biggest hit with a two-run double.
After St. Louis took the lead, Cory Tiller worked a scoreless seventh and got the first out of the eighth.
Yeison Santos finished off the eighth.
The ninth belonged to closer Ernesto Barbosa, who allowed a pair of singles to open the inning but retired the next three for his eighth save.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have called up second baseman Daniel Becerra from AAA Memphis, where he was on an injury rehab.
25-year-old infielder Armondo Morales will replace him on the Redbirds roster.
Acquired in the offseason from Springfield in hopes he could be the Walkers every-day second baseman, Becerra suffered an obilque injury in spring training which knocked him out for six weeks.
Becerra, 30, has spent the last week playing at Memphis where he hit .308 with five games with one homer and two RBIs.
He is dealing with an ankle injury, which might keep him out of the lineup for another day.
Morales played in 20 games for the Walkers, batting just .184 with one RBI.

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Record: 20-16, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Down 2-1, Cedar Rapids beat up on the St. Louis bullpen for four runs in the top of the eighth inning, on its way to a 5-2 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win gave the Grapplers victories in two of the three games in the series.
Cedar Rapids actually began its comeback in the top of the fifth, when while trailing 2-0 Steven Williams led off the inning with a homer off Walkers ace Angel Tiburcio.
Tiburcio was gone after the seventh inning, and the Grapplers quickly went to work against St. Louis' relievers in the eighth.
Pinch-hitter David Henderson led off with a single off Andres Hernandez , and two batters later a walk to Josiah Miller put two runners aboard.
Hernandez struck out Jose Morillo for the second out.
But pinch-hitter Jesus Barrios changed the game with a two-run double as Cedar Rapids moved in front.
Yeison Santos replaced Hernandez but his third pitch to Josh Friedman traveled over the wall in center field as the Grapplers went up 5-2.
Cedar Rapids starter Joey Ross lasted 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits.
Nick Mocarski (2-2) finished the sixth and worked a silent seventh, and would earn the win.
Evan Palmer and Matt Wailzer both pitched an inning apiece.
Wailzer now has nine saves.

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Record: 21-16, 1st, 2 GA Cedar Rapids
Jordan Groshans homered twice, including one to lead off the top of the 11th inning to snap a 4-4 tie, and lift St. Louis to a 5-4 win over Cedar Rapids at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
Groshans was facing reliever Evan Steele to open the 11th.
His homer came on a 1-1 pitch, and traveled 380 feet over the fence in left field.
St. Louis had tied the game in the top of the ninth when Daniel Becerra doubled with two outs off Matt Wailzer to score Nathaniel Dixon.
Dixon was pinch-running for Rick Scott, who had singled with two outs.
Becerra was playing his first game with the Walkers, after being acquired from Springfield in the offseason.
An oblique injury suffered in spring training had kept Becerra from starting the season with the River Walkers.
At one point, St. Louis had led 3-1 only to have the Grapplers snag the lead with three runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Pinch-hitter Jose Morillo led off that inning with a homer off Cory Tiller.
Zach Evers later came on and allowed four straight batters to reach -- a single, a hit by pitch and two walks -- helping Cedar Rapids score its other two runs.
St. Louis starter Izzy San Juan allowed one run on five hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked one.
Tiller had his first bad outing of the season, allowing two runs in 1.1 innings.
Evers was probably worse, failing to record a out.
Ricky Cisneros was able to close out the eighth inning.
Closer Ernesto Barbosa (1-0) pitched a pair of silent innings, and would earn the win.
Elian Acosta set the Grapplers down in order in the bottom of the 11th, earning his first save.

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Record: 21-17, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids
Pinch-hitter Jesus Barrios hit a two-run homer off Ricky Cisneros to cap a three-run bottom of the ninth inning for Cedar Rapids, as the Grapplers rallied for a 4-3 win over St. Louis at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
Elian Acosta started the bottom of the ninth on the mound for the River Walkers.
He sandwiched a pair of outs around a Miguel Mena double before issuing an intentional walk to Mark Hill.
Ricky Cisneros was summoned to close it out, but all he did was lose it.
His third pitch was wild, allowing Mena to score to make it 3-2.
Than on a 2-2 count, Berrios blasted it 418 feet over the fence in left center.
St. Louis had gone up 3-1 in the top of the fourth, when Steve Rossi hit a two-run homer off Grapplers starter Rodolfo Cervartez.
Cervantez pitched six innings, allowing three runs on four hits. He did strike out eight and walk one.
Mike Boone tossed a scoreless seventh for the Grapplers.
Billy Weiner (1-1) did the same in the eighth and ninth to earn the win.

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Record: 22-17, 1st, 1.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Kaneo Kawamoto allowed one run over 6.1 innings, and St. Louis held on for a 4-2 win over Cedar Rapids at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
With the win, the River Walkers took two of the three games in the series.
Kawamoto (2-3) allowed one run on three hits in his time on the mound. He struck out four and walked one.
The left-hander exited the game with nobody on base and St. Louis leading 4-1.
Zach Evers allowed a single to Phillip Dull, but got Ryan Rickard to hit into the a double play to end the inning.
The Walkers got single runs in the second -- Steve Rossi led off with a double and later scored on a wild pitch by Grapplers starter Devin Eyre -- third innings -- Nathaniel Dixon singled, moved to second on a Eyre balk and scored on a Jose Segura double -- to go up 2-0.
An RBI double from David Henderson off Kawamoto in the bottom of the third made it 2-0.
But Jordan Groshans hit his eighth homer of the season in the sixth off reliever Evan Steele to make it 4-1.
Zach Evers got the final two outs of the seventh for the Walkers, but gave up a lead-off homer to Brandon Martorano in the eighth to make it 4-2.
Yeison Santos (0.1 IP), Andres Hernandez (0.2) and Argenis Batista (0.1) combined to get the final four outs.
Batista struck out Steven Williams with one runner aboard to end it, and earn his first save of 2031.

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MBL news: Week 6 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 23-17, 1st, 2.5 GA Kansas City
Jose Ramirez snapped a 2-2 tie with a two-out homer in the top of the 10th inning, and St. Louis rookie Jesse McNaboe took a no-hitter into the eighth of a game the River Walkers won 3-2 at Dodger Stadium.
Louisville.
McNoebe, making just his second start of the season, didn't allow a hit until Vinny Figueroa doubled with one out in the eighth.
The next hitter, pinch-hitter, Kevin Vanwinkle, followed with a single to move Figueroa to third.
That ended McNoebe's outing, and by the time the inning was over the game was tied at 2-2.
Cory Tiller retired the first batter he faced, but allowed consecutive singles to Jonathan Vaughns and Matt Bryant to tie it.
Elian Acosta replaced Tiller, and got Kellum Clark to fly out to keep it tied.
It remained deadlocked until the 10th, when Ramirez launched a 3-2 pitch from Josh Forgy 399 feet over the fence in left-center.
Jared Thomas had an RBI single off Sluggers starter Zachary Fuller in the second, and in the seventh doubled off Jose Hernandez and scored on a Daniel Becerra single for the two Walkers' runs.
McNaboe allowed two runs on two hits in 7.1 innings. He struck out three and walked one.
After getting the final out of the eighth, Acosta retired two in the ninth.
Closer Ernesto Barbosa faced just one batter to keep it tied in the ninth..
That earnedf Barbosa (2-0) the win.
Yeison Santos sent Louisville down in order in the ninth for his first save.

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Record: 23-18, 1st, 1.5 GA Kansas City
Jacob Campbell hit a one-out home run off St. Louis reliever Cory Tiller in the bottom of the 13th inning, lifting Louisville to a 5-4 win at Dodger Stadium.
Campbell's third homer of the season came on a 2-2 pitch and exited over the wall in right-center, some 407 feet from home plate.
The River Walkers hit three homers in the first two innings - a two-run homer from Jose Ramirez in the first and solo shots by Ricky Liriano and pitcher Angel Tiburcio -- off Sluggers starter Joe Wahl to go up 4-0.
But the Sluggers fought their way back into it.
Jonathan Vaughns hit a solo homer off Tiburcio in the fourth.
Pinch-hitter De'Shaun Noack doubled off Tiburcio in the seventh , stole third base and scored on a Jokim Osuna ground out to make it 4-2.
St. Louis closer Ernesto Barbosa blew his first save of the season in the ninth.
Pinch-hitter Kevin VanWinkle led off with a home run, and Hisanori Yasuda followed with a double.
Barbosa struck out Vaughns, but Matt Bryant tied it with a double to set the stage for extra innings.
Wahl pitched four innings for the Sluggers, allowing the four runs on five hits.
Six relievers followed him to the mound -- Matt Ray (1.2 IP), Joe Jimenez (1.0), Brian Baker (1.0), Owen White (1.0), Cody Deason (1.1), Jose Hernandez (0.2) and Josh Forgy (2.0) -- they combined to work 8.2 scoreless innings.
Forgy (1-1) came out with the win.

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Record: 24-18, 1st, 1.5 GA Kansas City
It took just two innings for St. Louis to jump out to a 7-0 lead over Louisville, and the River Walkers rolled from there routing the Sluggers 15-1 at Dodger Stadium.
The win gave St. Louis victories in two of the series' three games.
Jose Ramirez opened things on a good note for the Walkers, leading off th game with a homer off Sluggers starting pitcher Jim Martin.
The second was a mess for Louisville, as St. Louis scored six runs on just three hits.
The inning featured three walks and a hit by pitch.
One run scored on a hit by pitch, another on a walk.
Steve Rossi hit a three-run homer off Martin.
Jose Segura drove in another with a sacrifice fly.
It's lead at 8-1, the Walkers added four more in the eighth on two-run homers from Segura and Daniel Becerra, both off Josh Forgy.
St. Louis score three more times in the ninth as the Sluggers put position player Vinny Figueroa on the mound.
He walked in one run and balked in another.,
Izzy San Juan lasted just five innings because of a pitch count of 102, but still earned the win.
San Juan (3-4) allowed one run on five hits.
Argenis Batista took care of the sixth through eighth innings.
Elian Acosta struck out the side in the ninth.

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Record: 25-18, 1st, 2 GA Kansas City
Tied 2-2, St. Louis scored three times in the top of the ninth inning and went on to defeat Peoria 5-2 at Globe Life Field.
The River Walkers got a strong starter from Zack Hunsicker, who threw seven shutout innings before exiting after he opened the bottom of the eighth with a hit by pitch.
Cory Tiller replaced Hunsicker, and facing a 3-2 count he gave up a two-run homer tom Anthony Volpe.
St. Louis, however, bounced right back in the top of the ninth against Rivermen reliever James Bowman.
Daniel Becerra got it going with a one-out single.
Bowman followed that with a walk to pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad.
Jose Ramirez drove them both home with a double.
Steve Rossi later scored Ramirez with a two-out single.
The Walkers got their first two runs in the fourth, Jared Thomas driving them both in with a double off Peoria starter Luke Madden.
Hunsicker pitched just over seven innings, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
Tiller (2-1) blew the save but got the win after the Walkers' big top of the ninth.
Elian Acosta earned his second save of the season with a perfect ninth.

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Record: 26-18, 1st, 2.5 GA Kansas City
Jordan Groshans staked St. Louis to an early 3-0 lead with a first-inning home run and the River Walkers rolled from there, downing Peoria 9-4 at Globe Life Field.
After the Rivermen got their first run in the bottom of the first off St. Louis starter Kaneo Kawamoto, the Walkers answered back with a run in the top of the second, Jose Ramirez driving in the run with a double.
Rick Scott hit a one-out homer off Enrique Castillo in the fourth, making it 5-1.
Peoria got back into it in the bottom of the fourth, climbing to within 5-3, Jeremiah Jackson hitting his second homer of the the, a two-run shot also off Kawamoto.
But St. Louis tallied twice in both the seventh -- Jordan Groshans with an RBI double while Jared Thomas plated one with a single -- and eighth -- pinch-hitter Nathaniel Dixon with a two-run homer -- to regain a comfortable lead.
Kawamoto (3-3) allowed three runs on five hits over six innings.
Five relievers -- Zach Evers (0.2 IP), Elian Acosta (0.1), Andres Hernandez (1.0), Ricky Cisneros and Ernesto Barbosa (0.2) -- followed him to the mound.