2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 18-13, 3rd, 5.5 GB Springfield
Cesar Gamez limited St. Louis to one run over 6.1 innings and Columbus defeated the River Walkers 3-1 at Forbes Field (1959).
Gamez (2-4) allowed one run on five hits in his time on the mound.
He struck out six and walked one.
The only run he allowed came on a Mark Waterson homer in the second inning which put St. Louis ahead 1-0.
With the score now 2-1 in favor of the Golden Bears, Gamez exited the game after striking out Waterson to lead off the top of the seventh.
Gamez had thrown 100 pitches.
Pat Borgen took over and recorded the next two to wrap up the seventh for the Golden Bears.
Borgen remained on the mound to start the eighth and got the first two outs.
Jorge Ariza, with a runner on first, got Manuel Coke to ground out to end the eighth.
Former Walkers reliever NIck Ruffalo held his former team scoreless in the ninth for his fifth save.
Columbus did not tie the game until the bottom of the fifth against Walkers starter Ming Xiang.
Matt Crawl singled with two outs and scored on a Neil Assenjberg triple.
The Bears took the lead during the next inning when Juan Vela led off with a homer off Xiang.
Columbus added an insurance run ni the eighth.
Vela singled off Jose Tapia with one out.
A two-out single by Brett McVey moved Vela to third.
A passed ball by catcher Jackson Miller on a called third strike allowed him to score.

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Record: 18-14, 3rd, 5.5 GB Springfield
Columbus' Justin Schneider hit a three-run home run off St. Louis starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka in the bottom of the first to give the Golden Bears a 3-0 lead, and they never trailed in a 5-4 win at Forbes Field (1959).
The victory gave Columbus its third win of the four-game series.
It's been a nightmare of a season for Hrdlicka who has given up at least four runs in five of seven starts this season.
And like many of his previous starts, he played into his own misery.
Kerry Facklemen singled with one out in the bottom of the first for the Bears.
With two outs, Hrdlicka hit Neil Assenjberg with a pitch to bring Schneider to the plate.
Schneider jumped on the first pitch cranking it 372 feet over the left-field walk for his fourth homer of the season.
Its lead at 3-1, Columbus added another run in the fourth.
Felipe Castillo led off with a double.
Castillo then stole third and scored on a Mark LaBonville single.
The lead reached 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Matt Crawl led off with a homer off Hrdlicka.
St. Louis would draw close.
It scored twice in the sixth.
A solo homer from Jackson Miller in the eighth made it 5-4.
Evan Palmer gave up two since in the ninth, but Nick Shaw, who had led off the inning with a single was thrown out at the plate from center field by Crawl to end the game.
Columbus starting pitcher Agustin Perdomo (4-1) went five innings, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out eight and walked three.
After that, it was one inning each from Nate Lane, Scott Rissler, Jorge Ariza and Palmer.
Palmer earned his first save of the season.

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MBL news: May 10 -- Week 5 - Awards and standings

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Record: 18-15, 3rd/(Tied/with Louisville), 7 GB Springfield
Tied 3-3, Kansas City scored three runs off St. Louis starting pitcher Brad Monroe in the bottom of the fourth inning and the Monarchs went on for a 6-5 win at Kauffman Stadium.
Monroe got lead-off batter Jose Sotelo to fly out to open the inning.
But the next three of the next four KC hitters reached base,
T.J. Latham singled.
A bunt by pitcher Tyler Martin moved Latham to second.
Nick Kline put the Monarchs in front with a single.
Alejandro Crespo followed with a triple to make it 5-3.
Crespo then scored on a Monroe wild pitch.
A two-run homer from Manuel Coke off Martin in the top of the first staked the River Walkers to a 2-0 lead.
St. Louis later led 3-1 when the Monarchs tied it in the bottom of the third.
Crespo doubled off Monroe with one out and scored on a Josh Shuler single.
Gerado Bernal later connected on a two-out single to score Shuler.
Nick Shaw hit a two-out homer off KC reliever Nate Wilson in the eighth to pull the Walkers within 6-5.
But Jose Patricio set St. Louis down in order in the ninth to seal the win.
Martin got 4.2 innings in the books before being relieved.
He allowed three runs on six hits. He struck out three and walked one.
Willie Mendoza (1-1) got the win for finishing the fifth inning and working a scoreless sixth.
Wilson (1.2 IP) and Patricio (1.1) combined to finish the game.
The save was Patricio's fifth of the season.

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Record: 18-16, 3rd/(Tied/w. Louisville), 8 GB Springfield
Jordan Grullon hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of St. Louis' Brett McVey to give Kansas City an 8-6 win over Kauffman Stadium.
Nick Jernigan had opened the bottom of the ninth with a single off McVey, who had just entered the game.
McVey got Gerardo Bernal to fly out for the first out.
Grullon, however, powered a 1-1 pitch 424 feet over the wall in right center to give the Monarchs the victory.
The River Walkers had tied it 6-6 in the top of the eighth on a two-run homer from Mark Herman off KC reliever Omar Moreno.
A three-run bottom of the sixth off St. Louis starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall had put the Monarchs ahead 4-2.
Jim Moorman hit a pinch-hit homer off Willie Mendoza in the top of the seventh for St. Louis to even it at 4-4.
The Monarchs answered with two runs in the bottom of the seventh to regain the lead.
Josh Shuler had an RBI single off Keith Kirby, who allowed three straight singles to begin the inning after entering the game.
Grullon drove in the second run with a single to make it 6-4.
KC starter Andy Carruthers went 5.1 innings allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out three and didn't walk a batter.
Jeremy Bangs finished the sixth for the Monarchs.
Willie Mendoza, Moreno and Jose Patricio all pitched an inning to finish the game for KC.
Patricio (1-2) earned his first win of the season.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have recalled left-handed relief pitcher Greg Sones from AAA Memphis and placed left-hander Jose Tapia on waives.
Sones got off to a rough start to the season with the Walkers, going 0-2 with a 17.36 ERA in his first nine games of the season.
The 29-year-old didn't fare much better at Memphis, where he pitched in six games going 0-1 with two saves and a 11.57 ERA.
The 34-year-old Tapia pitched in 10 games for the Walkers. He had no record or saves and a 6.97 ERA.

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Record: 19-16, 3rd, 7.5 GB Springfield
Manuel Coke broke a 1-1 tie with a one-out solo homer off Kansas City starting pitcher Daniel Reid to give St. Louis the lead -- the River Walkers added two more runs in the eighth-- as it went on for a 4-3 win at Kauffman Stadium.
The victory ended a four-game losing streak for St. Louis and allowed it to salvage the end of the three-game series with the Monarchs.
Coke connected for an RBI double off Reid in the top of the first to stake St. Louis to a 1-0 lead.
KC tied it in the bottom of the inning when Nick Kline led off with a homer off Walkers starting pitcher Miguel Cisneros.
In the eighth, St. Louis put its first four batters on base against Monarchs reliever Jeremy Bangs.
Nick Shaw led off with a single before Mark Waterson was hit by a pitch.
Bob Saavedra drove in the inning's first run with a single.
Jackson Miller added another single to make it 4-1
KC drew within 4-3 when Gerardo Bernal hit a two-run homer off Bobby Westerman in the bottom of the eighth.
Cisneros (4-0) went six innings, allowing one run on six hits. He struck out only one while walking four.
Greg Sones, just recalled from AAA Memphis, got the first two outs of the seventh.
Jesse Gaither finished off the seventh without allowing a run.
Westerman gave up the two-run homer while pitching the eighth.
Craig Fritzler walked a batter but struck out three in the ninth for his ninth save.

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Record: 20-16, 2nd, 7.5 GB Springfield
Rookie pinch-hitter Wen He doubled with one out in the bottom of the seventh off Twin Cities relief pitcher Corey Wood, he scored two batters later on a Bob Saavedra double to help give St. Louis a 4-3 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Snow Cats had tied it 3-3 with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning against River Walkers starting pitcher Ming Xiang.
Twin Cities put its first three batters on to begin the inning.
Mike Sartain drew a lead-off walk and Jonathan Knapp and Victor Machado both singled to load the bases.
Mike Wardlaw hit a deep fly ball to right to score Sartain.
Jesse Leming followed with single, scoring Knapp, to tie it.
Xiang got Bill Walter to hit into a double play to keep the score tied.
Xiang pitched 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Ron Cox finished the seventh and got the first out of the eighth.
Cox (3-0) would be awarded the win.
Jesse Gaither got the final two outs of the eighth.
Craig Fritzler converted his 10th save of the year in the ninth.
Walkers second baseman Ryan Wibbenmeyer had to leave the game after he was injured while running the bases.
No determination has been made on the extent of the injury.

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Record: 21-16, 2nd, 6.5 GB Springfield
Manuel Coke snapped a 1-1 tie with a one-out home run off Twin Cities starting pitcher Brian Dowdy in the bottom of the fifth inning and St. Louis held on for a 2-1 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Coke's 10th homer of the season came on a 2-2 pitch and landed 387 feet over the wall in right field.
Walkers starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka wasn't particular good, he walked six batters in 5.2 innings, but he didn't give up much contact either allowing one run on three hits.
The lone run the Snow Cats scored came in the top of the third, when Dowdy led off with a single and moved to second on a Shane King bunt.
A passed ball by catcher Jackson Miller moved Dowd to third.
He scored on a wild pitch.
Hrdlicka (2-5) still earned the win. He struck out eight batters.
Five relievers -- Ron Cox (0.1 IP), Greg Sones (0.2), Brett McVey (1.0), Bobby Westerman (0.1) and Frank Jimenez (1.0) -- combined to shut out Twin Cities the rest of the way.
Jimenez earned his first career save.

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Record: 22-16, 2nd, 5.5 GB Springfield
Brad Monroe shut out Twin Cities into the seventh inning and St. Louis completed a three-game sweep of the Snow Cats with a 2-1 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Monroe (2-1) allowed five hits -- all singles in his 6.2 innings. He struck out 11 and didn't walk a batter.
He left the game after Forrest Nance reached with two outs on an error by third baseman Bob Saavedra.
Monroe had thrown 108 pitches.
Jesse Gaither took over and got pinch-hitter Mike Wardlaw to fly out to end the inning.
The River Walkers had gone up 1-0 in the bottom of the first on Mark Herman's eighth homer of the season.
Monroe scored the second St. Louis' run in the fifth after led off with a single off Twin Cities starting pitcher Vern De san Miguel.
He scored on a two-out double by Manuel Coke.
The Cats got their lone run in the top of the eighth when Shane King led off with a triple off Greg Sones.
He later scored on a passed ball by catcher Zach Wenman.
Twin Cities later put two runners on against closer Craig Fritzler --pinch-hitter Andy Muir singled and Victor Machado reached on Saavedra's second error of the game -- but he struck out Jesse Leming to end the inning.
Fritzler struck out Bill Walter to open the top of the ninth before exiting the game.
Keith Kirby took over and allowed a single to pinch-hitter Jonathan Knapp.
But Kirby retired the next two for his first save since joining St. Louis.

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MBL news: May 17 -- Week 6 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 22-17, 2nd, 6.5 GB Springfield
Tied 2-2, Springfield rocked St. Louis starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall for five runs in the top of the fourth inning and the Railers went on for a 7-5 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Two-run homers accounted for the 2-2 tie.
Springfield's Joseph Hughes hit a two-run shot off Wigfall in the top of the first.
Mark Herman banged a two-run homer off Railers starter Carlos Sanchez in the bottom of the third to square matters.
It didn't stay tied long as Wigfall allowed three consecutive singles -- from Hughes, Jorge Goto and Hideaki Taguchi -- to open the top of the fourth.
Hughes scored on Taguchi's single.
After getting Matt Beagle to fly out, Tobias Rocha collected the fourth single of the inning to make it 5-2.
Sanchez got down a bunt with Rocha being forced at second for the second out.
Carlos Randall then belted a 2-0 pitch 425 feet over the center-field wall to push the Springfield advantage to 7-2.
St. Louis did make it close thanks to a three-run fifth against Sanchez.
But the Railers bullpen would throw four shut-out innings to end it.
Sanchez lasted 4.2 innings allowing five runs on six hits. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter
Roger Cresswell got the final out of the fifth.
Mike LaFramboise (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings, including the sixth to earn the win.
Jon Santiago and Bobby Mitchell handled the eighth and ninth.
The save was Mitchell's 11th of the season.

























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Record: 22-18, 2nd, 7.5 GB Springfield
Tobias Rocha connected on an RBI single with two outs in the top of the 11th inning of St. Louis relief pitcher Bobby Westerman to score Jared Poland with what would be the game-winning run in a 5-4 Springfield victory at Busch Stadium (2006).
Poland got things rolling with a one-out single off Westerman.
Billy Salas followed with a double putting runners on second and third.
Joseph Hughes was given an intentional walk to bring Rocha to the plate.
He jumped on the first pitch from Westerman driving it up the middle to score Poland.
The River Walkers had tied it 4-4 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Railers closer Bobby Mitchell retired the inning's first two batters before walking Bob Saavedra and allowing a double to Ryan Wibbenmeyer.
Mitchell then left the game with a back injury.
Ricardo Rosario took over and on his first pitch Manuel Coke single to score both runners and tie it.
Springfield had taken a 4-2 with a pair of homers off St. Louis reliever Greg Sones in the top of the seventh.
Pinch-hitter Jose Chavez struck first with a two-run shot off Sones, who had just entered the game.
Ruben Villaneuva delivered the other, a solo shot with one out.
Railers starting pitcher Marcos Zaragoza went 5.1 shutout innings, allowing five hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Alan Albanese finished the sixth inning and worked the seventh allowing the first two St. Louis runs.
Jon Santiago worked a scoreless eighth.
Mitchell (0.2 IP) and Rosario (0.1) combined in the ninth.
Ozzie Soto (2-0) handled the 10th and 11th to earn his second win of the season.

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Record: 23-19, 2nd, 6.5 GB Springfield
Trailing 2-1, St. Louis scored three times in the bottom of the fourth inning to take the lead and the River Walkers went on to defeat Springfield 9-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win allowed St. Louis to avoid getting swept in the three-game series.
The Walkers actually trailed 2-0 before getting their first run in the bottom of the third on an RBI single from Mark Herman off Railers starting pitcher Alejandro Moto.
St. Louis continued to work on Moto fifth.
Alex Nunez led off with a single and moved to second when Moto hit rookie Guillermo Sanchez with a pitch.
Zach Wenman followed with a double, scoring Nunez to tie the game.
After a ground out by Jordan Quinto, St. Louis pitcher Ming Xiang connected on his second single of the game, this time scoring Sanchez to put his team up 3-2.
Ryan Wibbenmeyer then reached on an error by second baseman Jared Poland with Wenman scoring to make it 4-2.
The Walkers would later break the game open against the Railers bullpen by scoring four times in the sixth.
Wibbenmeyer collected a pair of RBIs with a single off Manuel Santiago.
Bob Saavedra scored Wibbenmeyer with a double.
Saavedra, who had advanced to third on a throw home, scored on a Mark Herman fly ball to center.
Xiang (5-2) earned his fifth win by going six innings, during which he allowed two runs on three hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
Brett McVey (1.1 IP) and Ron Cox (1.2) combined to shutout Springfield the rest of the way.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have traded 2B/3B Jim Moorman to the Toledo Mud Hens in exchange for outfielder Danny Diaz and LHP Kyle Smarr.
The Walkers acquired Moorman, 29, in the offseason expecting him to be their starting second baseman.
But when free agent Ryan Wibbenmeyer went through the bulk of the off-season without being signed, St. Louis jumped at the chance to bring him into the fold.
So far, it has paid off with Wibbenmeyer batting .325 with 17 RBIs through his first 37 games of the season.
Wibbenmeyer's play has restricted Moorman's playing time, as he's only played in 19 games (seven starts) during which he's hit .211 with one homer and six RBIs.
In Diaz, the Walkers hope to have gotten the backup corner outfielder they had in Eddie Estrella the past few seasons.
Diaz, 32, has played in 23 games for the Mud Hens this season with two starts.
He is hitting .296 with two homers and three RBIs.
Smarr is a left-handed starter/reliever on a team in desperate need in help from the left-side of the bullpen.
The 31-year-old has pitched in three games for Toledo, posting no record and a 7.36 ERA over 3.2 innings.
At AAA Charlotte, he is 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA in four starts.
Smarr will join the Walkers bullpen while the struggling Greg Sones returns to Memphis to try and get his game back in shape.

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Record: 24-19, 2nd, 6 GB Springfield
St. Louis spotted Cleveland a three-run lead in the top of the first inning, but thanks to a six-run bottom of the fourth the River Walkers rallied for an 8-7 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
As usual, Walkers starter Kevin Hrdlicka had a rough first inning.
He got burned by an error in center field by Alex Nunez. He also threw a wild pitch.
But the big blow was a three-run homer by Javy Gutierrez which gave the Juke Box Heroes a 3-0 lead.
St. Louis got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third.
Nunez opened the inning by reaching on an error by left fielder Zachary Puckeridge.
He later scored on a two-out single by Ryan Wibbenmeyer.
That was nothing compared to the bottom of the fourth.
Nick Shaw got it started with a bang hitting a homer off Cleveland starter Devin Rogers to leadoff the inning.
After a fly out, Zach Wenman doubled and that was followed by a ground out.
Then the onslaught began.
Beginning with a single by Nunez, the next four St. Louis batters reached base.
Hrdlicka connected on an RBI single.
So did Saavedra who hit another single.
Wibbenmeyer then hit his first homer of the season, a three-run shot to make it 7-3.
After the Heroes drew to within 8-4, St. Louis answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth.
Saavedra doubled off Jose Medina with one out and scored on a Wibbenmeyer single.
Wibbenmeyer went 4 for 5 at the plate with a double, a homer, and five RBIs.
Cleveland did make it close score three runs in the top of the eighth.
Howard connected on a triple to score Puckeridge to make it 8-7.
Closer Craig Fritzler stranded Howard at third by getting the final out of the inning.
He then pitched around a two-out walk in the bottom of the ninth for his 11th save.
Hrdlicka (3-5) was pretty good after the rough first inning.
He pitched seven innings, allowing four runs on six hits. He struck out nine and walked one.
Jesse Gaither failed to retire a batter to start the seventh, allowing three runs on two hits.
Frank Jimenez got the first two outs of the inning to get the ball to Fritzler.

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Record: 25-19, 2nd, 6 GB Springfield
Tied 4-4, Manuel Coke hit a two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and St. Louis held on for a 6-5 win over Cleveland at Busch Stadium (2006).
Ryan Wibbenmeyer got on base in front of Coke with a two-out single off Juke Box Heroes relief pitcher Josh Paul.
Wibbenmeyer went 3 for 4 in the game with a double, his second home run of the season, three runs scored and two RBIs.
Coke then turned on a 3-1 pitch and drove it 379 feet over the right-field wall for his 11th homer of the season.
Cleveland came close to tying it in the top of the ninth.
Keith Kirby opened the inning on the mound for the River Wallkers and allowed singles to Dylan Crews and Javy Gutierrez before getting Jon Howard to fly out.
Bobby Westerman then got the ball and proceeded hit Edgar Bustillos with a pitch to load the bases.
Ben Moorhead hit into a fielder's choice, with Bustillos being forced at second while Crews scored to make it 6-5.
Westerman then struck out long-time Walkers catcher Jared Thomas to end it.
St. Louis jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against Cleveland starting pitcher Anton Alguezes.
The Walkers later led 4-2 after Wibbenmeyer homered off Alguezes to lead off the bottom of the third.
Cleveland tied it with single runs in the top of the fifth.
Justin Kuenzel led off with a single off St. Louis starting pitcher and scored on a Dylan Crews ground out.
The Heroes tied it in the bottom of the seventh.
Crews scored the run after he singled with one out off Brett McVey.
He scored on a Bustillos single off Ron Cox.
Monroe went six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. He struck out eight and walked one.
McVey got the first out of the seventh and was followed by Cox.
Cox finished the seventh and got the first two outs of the eighth.
Jesse Gaither finished the eighth.
Kirby (0.1 IP) and Westerman (0.2) finished off the inning.
Westerman earned his second save despite allowing a run.

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Record: 26-18, 2nd, 5 GB Springfield
Xavier Wigfall shutout Cleveland on two hits over the first seven innings and St. Louis defeated the Juke Box Heroes 3-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Wigfall (3-3) allowed just a pair of singles during his time on the mound.
He struck out 10 and walked two and left the game with a 3-0 lead.
The River Walkers went up 1-0 i the bottom of the second inning against Cleveland staring pitcher Jesse Mucci.
Alex Nunez scored the run after he walked with one out and scored on a two-out triple by Zach Wenman.
St. Louis picked up its other two runs in the next inning.
Bob Saavedra singled with one out off Mucci.
He scored on a two-out double by Mark Herman.
A wild pitch moved Herman to second, and he scored on a Manuel Coke single.
The Heroes did pick up a run against the St. Louis bullpen in the eighth.
With rookie lefty Frank Jimenez on the mound, Ben Moorhead reached on a two-out error by third baseman Bob Saavedra.'
Moorehead, who had moved to second on the throwing error, scored on a single by Franklin Ramirez.
Walkers closer Craig Fritzler did allow a one-out double to Jon Howard in the ninth but he retired the other three batters for his 12th save.

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Record: 26-19, 2nd, 5 GB Springfield
Keegan Jensen pitched five shutout innings and the Cleveland bullpen kept St. Louis from scoring until the bottom of the eighth as the Juke Box Heroes avoided a four-game sweep at Busch Stadium (2006).
Jensen (3-4) allowed five hits (three singles, two doubles) during his time on the mound. He struck out two and walked none.
Cleveland jumped in front in the top of the second inning against River Walkers starting pitcher Miguel Cisneros.
Jon Howard led off the inning with a single and scored on a two-out double by Luis Ruiz.
Ben Moorehead's homer off Cisneros in the fourth made it 2-0.
The River Walkers got their lone run in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out homer by Miguel Coke off reliever Joe McClain.
The Heroes got that run back in the top of the ninth, Dylan Crews with a solo shot off reliever Ron Cox.
Nate Green pitched a scoreless sixth for the Heroes.
McClain pitched two innings, allowing the lone run scored by the Walkers.
Jose Munoz allowed two hits but no runs in the ninth for his eighth save.

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MBL news: May 24 -- Week 7 - Awards and standings