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Record: 79-54, 1st, 7.5 GA Springfield
Carlos Vidal homered twice and drove in five runs while Argenis Batista made an impressive return from the disabled list as St. Louis downed Springfield 7-2 at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win gave the River Walkers a three-game sweep of the Prairie Fighters and also expanded their lead over them to 7.5 games in the National League South Division.
A pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning off Fighters starter Keegan Thompson staked St. Louis to a 2-0 lead.
Bo Bichette had led off the inning with a single and stole second.
A Rhys Hoskins single moved Bichette to third.
Andrew Benintendi drove him in with a sacrifice fly.
Hoskins then scored on a Tanner Kohlhepp double.
Vidal led off the fifth with his first homer of the game, this one off reliever Mark McConnell.
His second came after Springfield had pulled within 3-2.
It was a grand slam off Juan Then and put the Walkers up a much more comfortable 7-2.
Making his first start since July 13 because of an oblique strain, Batista tossed six innings of shutout ball. He allowed five hits while striking out seven and walked none.
It took four relievers for the Walkers to get through the seventh as Luis Palomo and Williams Jerez both failed to get an out.
Rookie Adam Wegner did record the first two, before giving way to Tim Hill who registered the third.
Hill then worked a scoreless eighth inning.
John Curtiss did the same in the ninth.