[rink23]

Record: 25-19, 2nd, 5 GB Des Moines
Springfield poured across six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to erase a 3-2 deficit and open the door for an 8-3 win over the St. Louis River Walkers at Olympic Stadium.
The loss was the fourth in a row for St.Louis.
Max Schrock opened the inning by reaching on an error by shortstop Brock Holt.
That should have been an harbinger.
Mookie Betts followed with a double, scoring Schrock to tie it at 3-3.
Bobby Poyner then replaced starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks.
He didn't retire anyone.
Freddie Freeman had an RBI double. Travis Shaw walked and Michael Brantley loaded the bases with another single.

Jake Diekman then got the ball.
Winner of the award as the top reliever in the NL in 2019, he has been nothing close to that this season.
And that continued.
First, catcher Tucker Barnhart allowed a pitch to get past him allowing a run to score.

6-3.
He walked Jason Castro, but then struck out Abiatal Avelino for the second out.
A Ryan Mountcastle sacrifice fly scored a run.
7-3.

Delino DeShields Jr. drew a walk, loading the bases.
(Pissed off, at this point, with an exhausted bullpen, I was leaving Diekman out there to climb out of his own grave).
Max Schrock, a lefty hitting against a supposed lefty specialist, drove in two more runs with a single.

8-3.
The Walkers did little else over the final three innings, as they bowed out with a whimper.
Springfield starter Alex Reyes went four innings, allowing a pair of runs on two hits.

Sam Freeman, who recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning earned the win, as the Prairie Fighters used four relievers to close out the game.