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The St. Louis River Walkers scored five times in the bottom of the fifth inning to take control en route to a 9-5 win over the Springfield Prairie Fighters in their home opener at Busch Stadium.
Down 3-1, the Walkers broke loose against Springfield starting pitcher Gerrit Cole. Tucker Barnhart and pitcher Jacob deGrom both had RBI singles before Albert Almora added a two-run double.
Rhys Hoskins drove in the final run of the outburst with a single.
The Fighters scored twice in the top of the sixth, pulling to within 6-5.
But St. Louis put it away with three homers in the eighth. Hoskins hit the first off Carl Edwards Jr. Chung also took Edwards deep. Nicky Delmonico made it a back-to-back with Chung, hitting his off Carter Capps.
Andrew Benintendi also homered for the Walkers, with a solo shot in the bottom of the first to make it 1-0.
After two rough outings to start the season, deGrom wasn't dominating but was better lasting into the sixth inning and allowing five runs (four earned). Four relievers combined to shutout Springfield the rest of the way.
The game was the opener of a doubleheader, as the scheduled home opener on the previous day had been rained out.