2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 26-20, 2nd, 5 GB Springfield
Daniel Sanabria doubled off St. Louis reliever Keith Kirby with one out in the bottom of the 15th inning to score Mike Wardlaw and give Twin Cities a 10-9 win at Target Field (2010).
Wardlaw had led off the inning with a double off Kirby, who was nearing his fourth inning on the mound.
The win ruined a game where the Walkers' Mark Herman went 5 for 7 with two homers, two runs scored and three RBIs.
Mark Waterson also homered twice for St. Louis in the loss.
The game featured a lot of action late before getting bogged down through scoreless innings in the 10th through 14th.
Already leading 6-4, the River Walkers expanded their lead by two runs in the top of the eighth on back-to-back homers from Herman and Waterson off Danny Patino.
The Snow Cats sliced the deficit to three runs in the bottom of the inning, getting a lead-off homer from Jonathan Knapp off Kyle Smarr, who was making his St. Louis debut.
The Walkers got that run back in the top of the ninth.
Bob Saavedra reached on an error by shortstop Forrest Nance to open the inning.
He later scored on a two-out single by Herman off Mike Fowler.
But the Cats stormed back in the bottom of the ninth to force Free Baseball.
Closer Craig Fritzler, who had gotten the final two outs of the eighth, was still on the mound to open the ninth.
Mike Sartain opened the inning with a single and moved to second on an error in center fielder by Waterson.
Juan Yanez scored Sartain with a triple.
Ron Cox took over.
Jordan Martinez greeted him with his first homer of the season to make it 9-8.
Cox struck out the next two.
But Nance reached on an error by Abdul-Nasser bin Amr at shortstop.
Jesse Gaither replaced Cox.
He gave up consecutive singles to Wardlaw and the pitcher, Fowler, to allow Twin Cities to tie the game.
The Cats used eight pitchers in the game beginning with Brent Autin, who lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing five runs on five hits.
After that, here is the list Andres Alavez (2.1 IP), Brandon Jollay (1.0), Corey Wood (1.0), Danny Patino (1.0), Fowler (1.0), Nate Wilson (1.0), Mike Harney (2.0) and Ruben Lopez (3.0).
Lopez (2-2) came out of the marathon as the winning pitcher.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed 24-year-old left-handed relief pitcher Frank Jimenez on the 14-day injured list with a tired arm.
They have recalled left-hander Greg Sones from AAA Memphis.
Jimenez left the Walkers' 10-9 15-inning loss to Twin Cities on May 25 citing a problem with his arm.
He has been very effective in his first call-up to the majors, having not allowed an earned run in his first 11 games compiling a total of 10 innings.
It's been a rough season for Sones.
He's pitched in 13 games for St. Louis, going 0-2 with 14.73 ERA.
At Memphis, he's not been much better going 0-1 with two saves in seven games with a 10.12 ERA.

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Record: 26-21, 2nd/(Tied/w. Cedar Rapids, 5 GB Springfield
Brian Dowdy limited St. Louis to one run over 6.1 innings to help Twin Cities defeat the River Walkers 4-2 at Target Field (2010).
Dowdy (5-2) allowed one run on six hits during his time on the mound. He struck out one and walked one.
He exited the game with a 4-0 lead and after allowing a one-out double to Abdul-Nasser bin Amr in the top of the seventh.
Corey Wood took over and allowed an RBI single to Manuel Coke.
But Wood retired the next two to keep the score 4-1.
The Snow Cats put two runs on the board against St. Louis starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka.
Bill Walter hit a two-run homer in the second inning to make it 2-0.
Shane King and Daniel Sanabria led off the third with back-to-back singles.
King scored on a sacrifice fly by Jonathan Knapp.
Victor Machado plated Sanabria with a two-out single.
Wood finished up the seventh for the Snow Cats.
Danny Patino worked a scoreless eighth.
Mike Fowler gave up two hits, including an RBI single to Bob Saavedra in the ninth, but still came out of it with his first save.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed right-handed relief pitcher Brett McVey on the 14-day injured list after he left their 4-2 loss to Twin Cities with what appears to be an oblique strain.
It has been a rough season for the 33-year-old McVey, who has pitched in 27 games this season and gone 0-3 with a 5.48 ERA.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis is 25-year-old right-hander Maximilliano Minelli.
Minelli, who spent part of the 2037 season in St. Louis, has pitched very well for the Redbirds this season.
In 18 games, he is 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA and 12 saves.

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Record: 26-22, 3rd, 6 GB Springfield
Daniel Sanabria connected for a two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning of St. Louis closer Craig Fritzler to help lift Twin Cities to a 9-8 win and a three-game sweep of the River Walkers at Target Field (2010).
Leading 8-7 going into the bottom of the eighth, Shane King got things rolling with a lead-off double off Walkers reliever Greg Sones.
Mike Wardlow was then given an intentional walk.
Mike Sartain followed with a fly out to left.
Fritzler, who had not blown a save all season, then entered the game and got pinch-hitter Bill Walter to hit into a fielder's choice Sartain being eliminated at second.
Sanabria followed with a hard shot down the right-field line to score both runners as the Snow Cats moved in front.
St. Louis appeared to take control of the game when it scored six times in the top of the third against Cats starting pitcher Vern De san miguel.
Zach Wenman and Abdul-Nasser bin Amr had the big hits, driving in two runs each. Wenman with a double and bin Amr a single.
The Cats struck right back with three runs in the bottom of the third against Walkers starter Brad Monroe.
Sanabria drove in the inning's first run with a double. Jesse Lemming made it 7-4 with a two-run triple.
An RBI single from Nick Shaw in the top of the fourth off Andres Alvares put the Walkers in front 8-4.
Twin Cities clawed back with a solo homer from Victor Machado off Monroe in the fifth.
Pinch-hitter Andy Muir plated a pair with a sixth-inning double off Jesse Gaither to make it 8-7.
De san Miguel lasted just three innings, allowing three runs o six hits.
After that, it was Alvares who allowed a run in the fourth.
Ed Saddler worked a scoreless fifth and recorded the first out of the sixth.
Mike Harney held St. Louis scoreless to finish the sixth and kept it off the board in the seventh.
Nate Wilson and Danny Patino wrapped up the game by retiring all three batters they faced in the eighth and ninth.
Wilson (3-1) got the win. Patino notched his sixth save.

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Record: 26-23, 3rd, 7 GB Springfield
Ruben Ruiz shut out St. Louis into the seventh inning and the Springfield defense did the rest as the Railers downed the River Walkers 3-0 at Oracle Park.
Ruiz (4-3) worked 6.1 innings, allowing no runs on four hits (two singles, two doubles) while striking out three and not walking a batter.
He left the game after allowing a single to Manuel Coke and double to Mark Herman, which put runners at second and third with two outs.
Jesse Edwards took over and struck out Mark Waterson before walking Nick Shaw to load the bases.
Jackson Miller, however, struck out to keep the Railers lead at 3-0.
Springfield jumped in front in the bottom of the second against Walkers starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall.
Joseph Hughes drew a lead-off walk and moved to third on a double by Hideaki Taguchi.
Jason Nolan made it 1-0 with a fly ball to center.
The Railers got their other two runs in the third.
Springfield put its first three batters on against Wigfall -- Carlton Randall doubled, Jared Poland with a walk and a Billy Salas single to load the bases -- Hughes scored Randall with a single.
A Taguchi fly ball to right made it 3-0.
Edwards stayed on the mound for the eighth inning.
Jon Santiago handled the ninth for his fourth save.

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Record: 27-23, 3rd, 6 GB Springfield
St. Louis did all its scoring in the top of the first inning -- thanks to a three-run double by Nick Shaw -- and Miguel Cisneros followed it up by allowing Springfield one run over the next eight innings as the River Walkers won 3-1 at Oracle Park (2020).
Ryan Wibbenmeyer got St. Louis going against Railers starting pitcher Marcos Zaragoza in the top of the first inning with a one-out single.
Manuel Coke hit into a force play, with Wibbenmeyer being out at second, but Mark Herman followed with a single.
When Mark Waterson got hit by a Zaragoza pitch, the bases were loaded.
Shaw quickly unloaded them driving a 0-1 pitch into left field to clear the bases and put St. Louis ahead 3-0.
Outside of a solo homer from Billy Salas with two outs in the bottom of the third, Cisneros (5-1) kept Springfield in check.
Over his eight innings, he allowed the one run on four hits (two singles, a double and the homer) while striking out three and walking none.
Craig Fritzler pitched around a lead-off walk in the ninth for his 13th save.

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MBL news: May 30 -- All-Star game fan voting update

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Record: 28-23, 3rd, 5 GB Springfield
St. Louis jumped out to a six-run advantage before Springfield got onto the scoreboard, and the River Walkers went on for an 8-2 win over the Railers at Oracle Park (2020).
The victory was the second in a row for St. Louis to complete the three-game series.
Mark Herman put the Walkers in front when he led off the top of the second inning with a home run off Railers starter Carlos Sanchez.
Jordan Quinto duplicated that lead-off homer with one of his own in the third.
St. Louis added another run later in the inning.
Herman with an RBI single to score pitcher Ming Xiang, who had followed Quinto's homer with a single.
The Walkers busted the game open in the fifth when Mark Waterson connected on his 14h homer of the season, a three-run shot off Sanchez.
Springfield did score twice against Xiang in the fifth, but it would not score again.
Ryan Wibbenmeyer plated two insurance runs for the Walkers in the eighth with a single off Mike Framboise.
Xiang (6-2) allowed two runs on eight hits over 6.2 innings. He struck out eight and didn't issue a walk.
Maxilliano Minelli got the final out of the seventh.
Jesse Gaither worked two scoreless innings to wrap the game up.

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MBL news: May 31 -- Week 8 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 29-23, 3rd, 5 GB Springfield
Tied 5-5, St. Louis scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and went on to defeat Rockford 7-6 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Lightning tied it in the top of the fourth when Ernesto Ferreras led off with a homer off River Walkers starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka.
It remained that way until the bottom of the sixth.
Mark Waterson, who had hit a two-run homer earlier in the game, got it going with a lead-off double off reliever Adam Wenger.
Zach Wenman made it back-to-back doubles, with Waterson crossing the plate.
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr got down a bunt to move Wenman to third.
Jordan Quinto made it 7-5 with a deep fly ball to center.
The Lightning got a run in the top of the eighth, David Blanton with an RBI single off St. Louis reliever Greg Sones.
But with the bases loaded, Sones got Ethan Long to fly out and keep his team in front.
Craig Fritzler hit Alex Horta to open the bottom of the ninth.
He retired the next three for his 14th save.
Hrdlicka wasn't good, he allowed five runs on nine hits in the first four innings. He also walked four while striking out five,
Jesse Gaither and Ron Cox both pitched scoreless innings to get the game to the seventh.
Maximilliano Minelli worked a scoreless seventh and got the first two outs of the eighth before giving way to Sones.
The win went to Cox (4-0)

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MBL news: June 1 -- Players and Pitchers of the Month for May

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MBL news: June 1 -- Rookies of the Month and standings (standings are after June 1 games)

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MLB news: June 1 -- American League leaders (after games of June 1)

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MLB news: June 1 -- National League leaders (after games of June 1)

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Walkers news: June 1 -- Team statistics for May (from games of June 1)

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Walkers news: June 1 -- Team statistics for 2038 (included games of June 1)

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Player of the Month: Manuel Coke -- The 25-year-old outfielder hit .352 with eight homers, 23 RBIs and 17 runs scored in 27 games. He got on base at a .425 clip and had a .648 slugging percentage.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Miguel Cisneros -- The 35-year-old right-hander went 3-1 in six starts with a 1.85 ERA. He pitched a total of 39.0 innings, during which he struck out 25 and had a 0.92 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Craig Fritzler -- The team's 31-year-old closer got into 12 games and posted eight saves. He pitched 11 innings, during which he had a 1.59 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP.

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Walkers news: June 1 -- Player Development Report

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Record: 30-23, 2nd, 4 GB Springfield
Down 2-0, St. Louis put up five runs in the bottom of the second inning against Rockford starting pitcher Francisco Carlos and the River Walkers held on for a 5-4 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
A two-run home run from Joel Petrucci in the top of the second off St. Louis starting pitcher Brad Monroe had staked the Lightning to that 2-0 lead.
The Walkers rebounded in a big way in the bottom of the inning, beginning with three consecutive singles from Alex Nunez, Jackson Miller and Abdul-Nasser bin Amr which loaded the bases.
Monroe tried to get down a bunt only to have Nunez thrown out at the plate,
But Carlos walked Bob Saavedra with the bases still loaded to score Milelr with the inning's first run.
That got things really rolling, as Ryan Wibbenmeyer followed with a two-run single.
Manuel Coke then plated two more with a double.
Rockford pulled to within 5-4 in the top of the third when Alex Horta hit a two-run homer off Monroe.
But Monroe, who would go six innings, and the Walkers' bullpen kept the Lightning silent the remainder of the game.
Monroe (4-1) allowed four runs on four hits over the first six innings. He struck out six and walked three.
Bobby Westerman got the first two outs of the seventh.
Ron Cox handled the third.
Closer Craig Fritzler handled the final two innings for his 15th save.