2031 St. Louis River Walkers: The ring is the thing

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Record: 62-43, 1st, 2.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Des Moines' Juan Amezquia threw six shutout innings and the Harvesters' survived a late two-run homer from Steve Rossi to defeat St. Louis 3-2 at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win allowed Des Moines from getting swept in the three-game series.
Amezquita (9-8) allowed just two hits -- the first coming on a two-out single in the sixth by Daniel Becerra -- while striking out seven and walking three.
Steve Stoutenbough and Jeremy Bouchard kept the shutout going with a scoreless inning apiece into the ninth.
Mike Goodkin did allow a two-run homer to Steve Rossi, but did not surrender the lead to earn his second save since joining the Harvesters via a trade with Milwaukee on July 25.
Des Moines scored single runs in the third, fifth and eighth innings.
Justin Oates scored the game's first run after he doubled with one out off Walkers starter Jesse McNaboe in the third inning.
McNaboe lost track of the plate after that issuing three straight walks -- the first one was intentional to Rafael Devers -- with the free pass to Jared Poland sending Oates across the plate.
Devers launched his 27th homer of the season with two outs in the fifth off McNaboe.
Kellum Clark opened the eighth with a double off reliever Elian Acosta.
He scored when Glenn Santiago doubled with two outs off Cory Tiller, making it 3-0.

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Record: 63-43, 1st, 3.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Angel Tiburcio took a shutout into the ninth inning, and St. Louis took over the game with eight runs in the top of the fourth, as the River Walkers downed Columbus 8-1 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Tiburcio (8-5) kept the Golden Bears off the scoreboard until Mike Stone led off the top of the ninth inning with a home run.
That spelled the end of Tiburcio's outing.
Overall, he allowed just four hits over eight innings while striking out 12 and walking one.
Cory Tiller retired three straight to end the game.
The Walkers blew the game open by scoring all of their runs in the bottom of the fourth off Columbus starter Chris D'Alessandio and reliever Alex Lange.
Home runs provided the bulk of the damage.
Rookie Ben Thompson hit a grand slam, if D'Alessandio while Jordan Groshans greeted Lange with a three-run homer.
Steve Rossi also had an RBI single, it coming off D'Allessandrio.

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Record: 64-43, 1st, 4.5 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis built a 4-0 lead over the first four innings, and the River Walkers went on to defeat Columbus 5-2 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Ben Thompson got things going for St. Louis in the bottom of the first when he led off with a single off Golden Bears starting pitcher Benjamin Wiegman.
Ground balls from Daniel Becerra and Jose Ramirez moved him from second and then to third.
After a walk to Steve Rossi, Jordan Groshans drove in Thompson with a single.
The Walkers extended their advantage to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth.
Groshans and Rick Scott opened the inning with singles off Wiegman.
The runners moved to second and third on a Ricky Liriano ground out.
Thairo Estrada then received an intentional walk to fill the bases.
Izzy San Juan made it 2-0 by getting down a bunt good enough to score Groshans.
Thompson scored Scott with a deep fly ball.
Estrada made it 4-0 when Wiegman uncorked a wild pitch.
Columbus did get a pair of runs off San Juan in the fifth.
Noah Smith with an RBI single, and Michael Brooks scoring the other with a double.
But that's all the scoring the Bears would manage.
St. Louis would get an additional run in the eighth on a homer from Jose Ramirez.
San Juan (7-8) allowed two runs on five hits over six innings.
Yeison Santos, Josh Grissom and Elian Acosta all recorded two outs apiece to get the game to the ninth.
Ricky Cisneros earned his fourth save by striking out two of the three batters Columbus sent to the plate in the ninth.

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Record: 65-43, 1st, 5.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 1-1, Jared Thomas hit a two-run homer off Columbus reliever Jose Lopez in the bottom of the sixth inning, to help lift St. Louis to a 3-1 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Daniel Becerra had led off the sixth with a single.
After Jose Ramirez flew out, Thomas followed with a 435-foot bomb over the wall in right center on a 2-0 count.
The Golden Bears got their run first, Chris Hery, who had drawn a one-out walk and moved to second on a wild pitch, scored on a two-out single by Raymond Torres off River Walkers starter Zack Hunsicker in the top of the second.
St. Louis tied it in the fourth when Becerra led off with a double off Columbus starter Jorge Guzman and scored when Ramirez singled.
Hunsicker (11-4) allowed one run on five hits in 6.2 innings.
Elian Acosta got the final out of the seventh with a runner on second base.
Ricky Cisneros struck out the side in the eighth.
Ernesto Barbosa worked around a one-out triple by Kevin Kendall in the ninth for his 17th save.

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Record: 66-43, 1st, 5.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Kaneo Kawamoto allowed one run over seven innings while St. Louis was building a 7-0 lead, and the River Walkers held on to defeat Columbus 7-4 to complete a four-game sweep at Busch Stadium (1997).
Kawamoto (11-6) allowed one run -- in the top of the fourth to make the score 4-1 -- on six hits. He struck out eight and didn't walk a batter.
Jose Ramirez put St. Louis ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first with a two-out homer off Golden Bears starting pitcher Casey Mize.
The River Walkers made it 4-0 two innings later, when Steve Rossi cracked a three-run two-out jack off Mize.
St. Louis later added a single run in the fifth -- Ramirez with an RBI double off Mize -- and two more in the seventh -- Ramirez with another RBI, this one with a single off reliever Fernando Fernando while Fernando hit Rossi with a pitch with the bases loaded -- to go up 7-0.
But that almost was not enough as the Bears busted loose for four runs in the top of the eighth against the St. Louis bullpen.
It started with back-to-back homers from Kevin Kendall and pinch-hitter Carlos Callado off Argenis Batista.
After Noah Smith followed the homers with a single, Batista was done for the day.
Andres Hernandez took over and was not much better.
Maibook Calzado got down a bunt where both he and Smith were save.
Pat McNeil followed with a single to load the bases.
Chad Woolf singled, scoring Smith to make it 7-4.
Yeison Santos and bailed out the Walkers by striking out the next three.
Santos stuck around to get the first out of the ninth before giving up a single to Javy Gutierrez.
Cory Tiller took over and allowed a single to Noah Smith.
But with two runners aboard, Tiller got pinch-hitter Jonathon Boyle to hit into a double play.
That earned Tiller his second save.

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MBL news: Week 18 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 67-43, 1st, 6.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Jean Carmona snapped a 6-6 tie when he led off the top of the sixth inning with a homer off Des Moines relief pitcher Brenan Hanifee, and St. Louis went on for an 11-7 win at Green Canyon Park.
A three-run top of the second inning -- Carmona drove in his first of four RBIs in the game with a double, while Nathaniel Dixon plated two with a single -- put St. Louis in front early.
But the Harvesters lambasted River Walkers starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe for six runs in the bottom half of the inning to seize command.
Des Moines put its first six batters on base -- three of them via walk, one of which scored a run -- pitcher Juan Amezquita also plated a pair with a bases-loaded double.
But St. Louis clung its way back.
Jose Ramirez led off the third with homer off Amezquita.
Daniel Becerra then connected on a two-run double off Amezquita in the fourth to tie it at 6.
Two innings later, Carmona put the Walkers in front when he connected on an 0-2 and drove it over the fence in right.
But there was more scoring to come for St. Louis.
Carmona drove in two runs in the seventh with a double off Sam Stoutenborough to make it 9-6.
In the ninth, Steve Rossi hit a lead off homer off Mike Goodkin.
Jared Thomas later drew a walk.
Carmona doubled, sending Thomas to third.
An intentional walk to Heston Kjerstad loaded the bases.
Dixon then drew another walk, bringing home Thomas.
McNaboe (9-4) had the one really bad inning, but was able to last until the sixth before exiting after allowing a one-out double to Jared Poland.
The rookie ended up allowing six runs on five hits over 5.1 innings.
Yeison Santos finished off the sixth and got the first two outs of the seventh.
Josh Grissom got the game to the ninth without allowing a run.
Ricky Cisneros did allow a run in the ninth, but with the Walkers up by five, it didn't really matter.

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Record: 67-44, 1st, 6.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Marshall Lacombe allowed one run over 5.1 innings, and combined with four relievers to help Des Moines down St. Louis 2-1 at Green Canyon Park.
The loss ended a five-game win streak for the River Walkers.
Jackson Miller hit a two-out homer off Walkers starting pitcher Angel Tiburcio in the bottom of the fifth, giving Des Moines the early lead.
Steve Rossi answered with a solo homer of his home off Lacombe to open the sixth to even things.
Des Moines got the only other run in the game in the bottom of the sixth.
Chad Springston led off with a double off Tiburcio.
He scored on a one-out single by Chad Oates.
Lacombe didn't get a decision, but did allow one run on three hits over the first 5.1 innings.
Dalvin Rosario (1-3) finished off the sixth, and would get his first win of the season.
Freddy Tarnok, Jeremy Bouchard and Mike Goodkin all pitched scoreless innings to close out the game.
Goodkin earned hjis fourth save since joining the Harvesters just before the trade deadline.

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Record: 68-44, 1st, 7.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 3-3, St. Louis exploded for five runs in the top of the sixth inning -- highlighted by a Ben Thompson grand slam -- and went on for an 8-4 win over Des Moines at Green Canyon Park.
The River Walkers had gone up 3-0 in the top of the first inning -- Jean Carmona drove in two of the runs with a single off Harvesters starter Liam Henry -- only to have Des Moines tie it powered by a pair of home runs -- a solo shot from Jared Poland and two-run homer by Fernando Tatis Jr. off starter Izzy San Juan -- in the bottom of the third.
Steve Rossi got St. Louis rolling in the top of the sixth when he drove a lead-off walk from Brenan Hanifee.
Jean Carmona then reached on a throwing error by Hanifee, with the runners ending up at second and third.
Jared Thomas was then given an intentional walk to load the bases.
Thairo Estrada drove in the inning's first run with a single.
After a ground out where Carmona was thrown out at the plate.
Thompson connected on a 0-1 pitch from Hanifee, driving it 382 feet over the right-field wall.
It was the second home run of Thompson's rookie season, two of those homers have been grand slams.
San Juan (8-8) lasted five innings, allowing three runs on six hits.
Andres Hernandez pitched two innings of relief, allowing a solo homer to Kellum Clark in the seventh.
Ricky Cisneros retired all six batters he faced to end the game.

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Record: 69-44, 1st, 8.5 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis exploded for 10 runs in the top of the first, and it was never a question after that as the River Walkers won 17-3 at Comiskey Park (1991).
The inning was built on eight hits, a walk and a hit by pitch.
Muskies starting pitcher Jonathan Stiever lasted 10 batters and recorded two outs, and was charged with eight of the 10 runs.
Lead-off hitter, rookie Ben Thompson, had two doubles and drove in two with the second one.
Daniel Becerra singled twice and drove in two runs.
Jose Ramirez had an RBI single his first time at the plate, driving in the game's first run, and hit a two-run homer his second to cap the scoring.
Steve Rossi drove in two runs with a double.
Pitcher Zack Hunsicker was hit by a pitch to drive in a run.
The Walkers took a 13-2 lead in the fourth, highlighted by a two-run homer from Thairo Estrada off Jeff Munn.
Rossi hit a three-run homer in the fourth off Bruno Stephens in the fifth.
Pinch-hitter Nathaniel Dixon connected for a run-scoring double poff Jhon Vergara in the seventh to wrap up the St. Louis' 17-run output.
Hunsicker (12-4) pitched 6.1 innings, allowing three runs eight hits.
Argenis Batista carried the rest of the load, allowing a homer Nick Senzel in the seventh for the final Muskies' run.

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Record: 70-44, 1st, 9.5 GA Cedar Rapids
It wasn't 10 runs like the previous game, but St. Louis did score four times in the top of the first inning and that was enough to propel the River Walkers to a 12-2 rout of Madison at Comiskey Park (1991).
A one-out walk to Daniel Becerra, from Muskies starting pitcher Danny Munos, got things rolling for the Walkers in the top of the first.
The rest all came with two outs.
Steve Rossi singled to move Becerra to second.
Jordan Groshans plated them both with a double.
Jared Thomas followed with a single, scoring Groshans, to make it 4-0.
The lead grew to 6-0 in the second, Jose Ramirez doing the damage with a two-run homer which sent Munos to the shower.
Those runs were plenty enough for St. Louis starting pitcher Kaneo Kawamoto (12-6), who went eight innings.
The left-hander allowed one run on four hits. He struck out seven and walked none.
The St. Louis lead grew to 9-1 with a four-run fourth.
Thomas hit a three-run homer off Nick Lewis in that inning.
It became 10-0 in the eighth, thanks to a lead-off homer from Ben Thompson off Alex Tapia.
Rick Scott hit a homer in the ninth off Elijah Louis in the top of the ninth.
Becerra drove in the Walkers' final run with a two-out single in the top of the ninth.
Ricky Cisneros pitched the ninth for St. Louis, allowing a meaningless run.

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Record: 71-44, 1st, 9.5 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis didn't score in the first inning, but the River Walkers again piled up plenty of runs rolling to a 14-0 rout of Madison at Comiskey Park (1991).
In the Walkers' three victories, they outscored the Muskies 43-5.
St. Louis got the only run it turned out it would need in the top of the second, when Jordan Groshans hit a solo home run off Madison starter Efrain Garcia.
That lead grew to 2-0 in the fourth, as Groshans went deep again off Garcia.
It officially got ugly in the sixth, when the Walkers scored nine times.
Four walks, one intentional, and two hit by pitches played into the outburst.
Daniel Becerra hit a grand slam while Jose Ramirez launched a solo homer.
All the offense overshadowed a strong outing from Walkers rookie starter Jesse McNaboe (10-4).
The right-hander allowed just three hits over six innings. He struck out six and walked two.
Andres Hernandez pitched the seventh and eighth.
Cory TIller took care of the ninth.

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MBL news: Week 19 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 71-45, 1st, 8.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Milwaukee jumped on St. Louis starter Angel Tiburcio for four runs in the top of the fourth inning, and the Crushers rode that to a 5-2 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the River Walkers.
Much of the outburst was of Tiburcio's undoing as he hit a batter, walked a batter, threw two wild pitches and made a throwing error on a ball hit back to the mound.
The big hit was a two-out, two-run double by Erik Rivera to make it 4-0.
The River Walkers got on the board in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a solo homer from Daniel Becerra off Milwaukee starter George McCardel.
But Brett Baty got that run back when he led off the top of the seventh
with a solo homer of his own of Ricky Cisneros.
Jean Carmona led off the seventh for the Walkers with a homer off Konnor Pilkington.
McCardel (7-11) allowed one run on four hits over six innings.
Pilkington worked the seventh, allowing the one run, and got the first two outs of the eighth.
The rest belonged to Bill Webb, who increased his save total to 26.

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Record: 72-45, 1st, 9.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 4-4, St. Louis got back-to-back home runs from Jared Thomas (two-run shot) and Rick Scott to open the door for a four runs innings, as the River Walkers went on to defeat Milwaukee 9-6 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Both homers came off Crushers reliever Scott Mueller.
Jose Ramirez drew a lead-off walk to open the inning, but was thrown out when Steve Rossi swung-and-miss on a hit-and-run.
But Rossi did single putting him on base when Thomas connected with two outs in his second homer of the game.
Thomas had gone deep off Milwaukee starter Adam George in the second inning to open scoring. It also was worth two runs.
Scott followed Thomas' second homer with his 25th homer of the season to make it 7-4.
The Walkers added two more runs later in the inning off Allan Stephany, all of it coming, like the homers, with two outs.
Jean Carmona doubled and scored when pinch-hitter Ben Thompson tripled.
Nathaniel Dixon drove home Thompson with another double, one of his four hits in the game.
After Thomas' two-run homer in the second, St. Louis added another run later in the inning.
Jean Carmona singled with one out and moved to third when pitcher Izzy San Juan doubled.
Dixon scored Carmona with a single.
Milwaukee charged back to go up 4-3 with a pair of homers off San Juan in the fourth.
They also were back-to-back.
Cayden Wallace struck first with a three-run bomb.
Erik Rivera quickly broke the 3-3 tie with a 420-foot shot to right field.
St. Louis tied it at 4-4 in the fifth on an RBI single from Dixon, who finished with three RBIs.
It scored Carmona, who had singled off reliever Daniel Martinez with one out.
A single from pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad moved him to third, in position for Dixon to drive him home.
San Juan pitched 5.2 innings, allowing four runsin six hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Elian Acosta got the final out of the fifth inning, striking out Rivera with a runner on second.
Yeison Santos (0.2 IP), and Josh Grissom (0.1) combined on a scoreless seventh.
That put Grissom (2-0) in position to earn the win.
Andres Hernandez worked a scoreless eighth but gave up a couple of runs in the ninth, and was eventually forced to leave in favor of closer Ernesto Barbosa.
With runners on first and second, Barbosa struck out pinch-hitter Bret Baty to earn his 18th save.

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Record: 72-46, 1st 8.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Jesse Mucci limited St. Louis to one run over seven innings and Milwaukee avoided a three-game sweep with a 7-1 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Mucci (9-4) allowed just three hits in his seven innings -- one of them a solo homer from Jordan Groshans in the fourth inning) -- while striking out six and walking none.
David McLoughlin pitched two scoreless innings to close out the win.
The Crushers roughed up River Walkers starting pitcher Zack Hunsicker for five runs on eight hits over five innings.
A three-run top of the third inning put Milwaukee in front for good.
Milwaukee had four hits in the inning and benefited from a throwing error by center fielder Nathaniel Dixon.
The first run scored on Dixon's error.
Noah Naylor later drove in a run with a ground out. An RBI single from Corey Seager made it 3-0.
The Crushers struck again for single runs in each of the next two innings.
In the fourth, Andres Gimenez singled with one out.
He later stole second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on a Hunsicker wild pitch.
Rivera homered off Hunsicker in the fifth to make it 5-1.
The Crushers tallied twice off St, Louis reliever Yeison Santos in the ninth to close out the scoring.
Nomar Mazara homered to lead off the inning.
Andrew Foley followed with a double, and two ground outs later it was 7-1.

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Record: 73-46, 1st, 9.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Trailing 4-3, St. Louis scored once in the seventh and eighth innings and three in the ninth to defeat Cleveland in the opener of a three-game series which rematches the teams which met in the 2030 World Series at Cleveland Stadium (1980).
The Juke Box Heroes defeated St. Louis in seven games to claim the 2030 MBL championship.
Jordan Groshans hit a two-run homer off Heroes starting pitcher Eric Pardinho in the top of the first to help the River Walkers go up 3-0.
Cleveland tied it with a trio of runs off St. Louis starter Kaneo Kawamoto in the bottom of the second.
Tony Jackson and Pardinho both had RBI doubles.
Tyler McKenzie drove in the third run with a single, as Cleveland strung together four hits in a five-batter span.
Cleveland snapped the tie in the bottom of the sixth when Kevin Maitan singled off Kawamoto with one out, and scored when Marco Zurita followed with a double.
The Walkers tied it in the top of the seventh.
Pinch-hitter Nathaniel Dixon led off with a single off former Walkers starter Adonis Medina, and moved to second on a wild pitch.
Jean Carmona drove Dixon home with a single.
An inning later, St. Louis took the lead.
Steve Sullivan doubled with two outs off Hideki Ono and scored when pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad doubled.
The Walkers then broke it open with three in the top of the ninth.
Jean Carmona led off with a homer off Luis Vasquez.
Jared Thomas plated the other two with another homer.
Kawamoto worked six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. He struck out five and didn't issue a walk.
Josh Grissom (3-0) earned his third win since joining St. Louis with a 1-2-3 seventh.
Cory Tiller got through the eighth without incident, but put a pair of runners aboard in the ninth.
Closer Ernesto Barbosa got the call and on his second pitch, got Mike Perkins to hit into a double play, earning him his 19th save.

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Record: 74-46, 1st, 10.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Daniel Becerra hit a three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to help list St. Louis to an 11-9 win over Cleveland at Cleveland Stadium (1980).
Trailing 9-8, Rick Scott drew a lead-off walk from Juke Box Heroes reliever Luis Vasquez to start the ninth.
Nathaniel Dixon followed with a single.
Four pitches later, with a 3-1 count, the River Walkers had the lead as Becerra drove a Vasquez pitch 439 feet over the fence in left-center field.
Cleveland had rallied from an 8-4 deficit to take that 9-8 lead.
With the St. Louis bullpen running on fumes, starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe had left in the third inning with an injury, the Heroes scored three runs in the sixth.
Randolph Thorne and Judson Fabian with RBI singles off reliever Andres Hernandez, while the third run scored on a wild pitch.
Cleveland tied it in the seventh on a Silverstein two-out homer off Josh Grissom.
It took the lead in the bottom of the eighth, when Fabian and Will Holland connected for back-to-back doubles off Grissom,
McNaboe lasted just the 2.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits, before exiting with a back injury which could keep him out for up to two weeks.
Ricky Cisneros finished the third and got the game into the fifth, before allowing a pair of runs.
Elian Ascota finished the fifth inning.
Hernandez recorded just one out, being charged with three runs, before having to be lifted.
Grissom was decent in his two innings, but still gave up two runs.
Closer Ernesto Barbosa (4-0) had to do some heavy lifting getting the final two outs of the eighth, he entered the game with one out and a runner on second, before retiring the Heroes in order in the bottom of the ninth to earn his fourth win of the season.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed right-handed starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe on the injured list after he had to exit their August 22 game at Cleveland with back spasms.
McNaboe, 22, had pitched into the third inning when the injury occurred. St. Louis won the game 11-9.
He is expected to miss from 1-2 weeks.
In 17 starts for St. Louis, McNaboe has gone 10-4 with a 4.15 ERA.
With their bullpen dealing with fatigue issues, St. Louis has called up 24-year-old right-hander Kevin Baker from Memphis.
The closer for the Redbirds, Baker has pitched in 47 games this season with a 6-2 record, 29 saves and a 2.45 ERA.
St. Louis will likely call up a starting pitcher the next time McNaboe's spot in the rotation comes around.

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Record: 75-46, 1st, 11 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 2-2, St. Louis scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning and defeated Cleveland 4-2 at Cleveland Stadium.
Rookie Ben Thompson led off the inning with a single off former River Walkers ace and now Juke Box Heroes reliever Adonis Medina.
A one-out double by Jose Ramirez moved Thompson to third, and Jordan Groshans drove in the inning's first run with a single.
Jared Thomas drove in the second with a fly ball off Juan Munoz.
Cleveland had tied it at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth.
Judson Fabian reached on an error by Groshans at third base to lead off the inning batting against St. Louis starter Angel Tiburcio.
Tony Jackson followed with a single to advance Fabian to third.
Robert Perez scored Fabian with a fly ball.
The Heroes had gone up 1-0 in the bottom of the first on a Randolph Thorne homer.
The Walkers took a 2-1 lead with a pair of runs in the sixth, Groshans driving both in with a single off Hideki Ono, who had just entered the game for starting pitcher Bob Granillo.
Tiburcio allowed two runs on nine hits over 6.1 innings.
Cory Tiller (4-2) finished off the seventh inning, and earned the win.
Yeison Santos and Elian Acosta closed the game out with scoreless innings.
Acosta collected his third save.