2028 St. Louis River Walkers: Starting our second decade

[rink23]

Record: 96-58, 1st, 4.5 GA Kansas City, Magic No.: 4
Keegan Fish hit a three-run home run to highlight a five-run top of the sixth inning as St. Louis wiped out a 4-3 deficit and went on to defeat Indianapolis 8-4 at the Astrodome (1995).
Carlos Vidal and Edward Olivares got things rolling in the sixth with a consecutive singles to lead off the inning against Racers relief pitchrer Mike Fowler.
Fish then struck his big blow, driving a 1-1 pitch 400 feet over the tall wall in right field.
Pitcher Cory Tiller kept things rolling with the third single of the inning.
That also spelled the end for Fowler, who was replaced by Hector Manuel Garcia.
Garcia got Alek Thomas to ground out.
But Thairo Estrada followed with a two-run homer to complete the five-run onslaught.
St. Louis actually jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but rookie starter Robby Albarran could not maintain it.
He allowed three runs in the bottom of the second to tie it.
Racers pitcher Seigi Tanaka then connected for his second RBI single of the game in the fourth, to put Indy ahead 4-3.
Albarran lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits.
Jose Alvarado bailed him out of a fourth-inning jam and recorded the first out of the fifth.
Tiller (4-0) finished the fifth and recorded a scoreless sixth.
Travis Krogman worked overtime, with three scoreless innings, for his sixth save of the season.

[rink23]

Record: 96-59, 1st, 4.5 GA Kansas City, Magic No.: 3
Indianapolis bludgeoned the St. Louis bullpen for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to turn a 5-3 deficit into an 8-5 win at the Astrodome (1995).
The victory gave the Racers a split of the four-game series.
Indianapolis had actually trailed 5-2 before Adrian Penucci led off the bottom of the seventh with a homer off River Walkers reliever Ernesto Barbosa.
But the bulk of the damage came an inning later.
With Barbosa still on the mound, Khalil Lee got things moving with a one-out single.
Lee scored when Logan Davidson followed with a double.
That spelled the end for Barbosa and brought rookie Brock Helverson.
That's when the fun really began.
Greg Colvin greeted Helverson with a single, which moved Davidson to third.
Cesar Salazar followed with a double to tie it.

Penucci then followed up his homer from the previous inning with a run--scoring single to put the Racers in front.

The Walkers turned to closer Jake Brentz, but after getting a ground out, pinch-hitter Joe McCarthy connected on a two-run single to make it 8-5.
Indy starter Trevor Stephan allowed two runs on four hits over four innings.
He was followed to the mound by four relievers -- Mike Reeves (1.1 IP), Mike Fowler (1.2), John Holmes (2.1) and Nate Green (1.0) -- Holmes (2-1) came out of it with the win.
Green collected his AL-leading 32nd save.

[rink23]

MBL news: Week 24 Awards and standings

[rink23]

Record: 97-59, 1st, 5 GA Kansas City, Magic No.: 2
Angel Tiburico pitched into the seventh inning to help himself earn his 17th win and also hit a three-run home run to help St. Louis down Madison 9-3 at Comiskey Park (1991).
Down 1-0, the River Walkers grabbed the lead in the top of the third on a two-run single from Andrew Benintendi off Muskies starting pitcher Jhon Vergara.
An inning later, Tiburucio unleashed his three-run homer, his fourth of the season, to make it 5-1.
St. Louis added three more runs in the fifth, Ozzie Albies driving in the first with a double off reliever Michael Santos.
The other two scored when Madison catcher Ricardo A. Rodriguez unleashed a wild throw on a short chopper his by Jean Carmona.
The two runs allowed by Tiburico were a solo homers from Jon Gray Jr. in the second to open the scoring and solo shot by Kevin Maitan with two outs in the seventh which ended his day on the mound.
Overall, Tiburico (17-4) allowed two runs on eight hits over 6.2 innings. He struck out six and walked three.
Tony Ramirez went the rest of the way, allowing a run in the eighth but not much else.

[rink23]

David Peterson allowed one run over five innings to help himself earn his 14th win, and his Columbus Golden Bears sew up the American League East Division title with an 8-4 win at Evansville.
With the win, the Bears improved to 93-63 and owned a seven-game over Akron with six games left in the season.
Columbus had already sewn up home-field advantage in the American League playoffs, sitting 10 games in front of AL West leader Evansville.
The Big Bossemen own just a one-game lead over Fort Wayne in its division.
Both teams have six games left to play.

[rink23]

Record: 97-60, 1st, 4 GA Kansas City, Magic No. 2
Bill Lima's two-out single in the bottom of the ninth off River Walkers reliever Jose Alvarado scored Emmanul Feron from second base and gave Madison a 4-3 win at Comiskey Park (1991).
Feron had led off the bottom of the ninth with a double off Alvarado.
But the left-hander struck out the next two, bringing the .238 hitting, left-handed batting Lima to the plate.
But Lima defied the odds, lining a 0-2 pitch into center field deep enough to score Feron.
St. Louis took an early lead with two runs in the top of the first.
Madison tied it in the second, when he banged out five singles to score three runs.
The Walkers tied it in the third on a RBI single from Carlos Vidal off Muskies starting pitcher Nick Lewis.
Lewis lasted just three innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.
Ian Mejia handled the next three innings, before Dylan Cease pitched the seventh.
Max Fried (2-3) worked two scoreless frames and earned the win.

[rink23]

Record: 97-61, 1st, 3 GA Kansas City, Magic No. 1
The Madison Muskies downed St. Louis 4-1 at Comiskey Park, to keep the River Walkers magic number to clinch the National League South Division at two games.

The win gave Madison' victories in the final two games of the series.
After a day off, St. Louis will resume play on Sept. 22 when it hosts Des Moines at Busch Stadium.
The Walkers magic number to clinch the NL South title sits at two with six games to play. The Pit Masters have five games left on their schedule.
Madison took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning against Walkers starting pitcher Kaneo Kawamoto.
Bill Lima scored the run after reaching on an one-out error by first baseman Cris Rosario.
He scored when pinch-hitter Josh Smith followed with a double.
St. Louis did tie it a half-inning later.
With Johnny Kuhn Jr. on the mound, Thairo Estrada reached on an one-out error by Lima at second base.
A wild pitch moved Estrada to secpond and he would scored on a Rosario single.
But three batters into the bottom of the sixth, Madison would be back in front, and it would be for good.
Francisco Lindor singled off Kawamoto with one out.
Kevin Maitan then smoked the first pitch he saw 425 feet over the wall in left-center for his 37th homer of the season.
Madison added an insurance run in the seventh off reliever Zac Lowther.
Ricardo A. Rodriguez scored after he doubled with one out and scored on a Davin Lane single.
Madison starter Brian Rose was impressive with one hit over four shutout innings.
Kuhn Jr. pitched a scoreless fifth.
Hector Acuna (1-1) would come out of it with the win, after taking care of the sixth and seventh.
Dylan Cease kept St. Louis scoreless in the eighth.
David McLoughlin set the side down in order in the ninth for his 14th save.

[rink23]

Record: 97-62, 1st, 2.5 GA Kansas City, Magic No.: 2
Rookie Chris Rybicki threw eight shutout innings and Des Moines held off a ninth-inning St. Louis-rally for a 4-2 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
The loss was the third in a row for the River Walkers, and kept their magic number for clinching the National League South Division at two.
Making his second major league start, and just third game overall, Rybicki (1-0) allowed three hits over his eight innings. He struck out two and walked one.
The Harvesters took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Garrett Frechette hit a solo homer off Walkers starter Ricky Cisneros.
That lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth, Carlos David Rodriguez connecting on a two-out, two-run double off Cisneros.
Wayne McHaney greeted St. Louiis reliever Cory Tiller with a homer to lead off the seventh to make it 4-0.
Rybicki actually batted in the eighth, grounding out to end the inning, but didn't take the mound for the ninth after having thrown 105 pitches.
The Walkers most made them pay.
Pinch-hitter Matt Olson led off the inning with a homer off Joe Jimenez, making it 4-1.
Alek Thomas followed with a single and took second when Jimenez was called for a balk.
Jimenez did get Vidal Brujan to fly out for the first out before exiting.
Omar Benitez took over and struck out Omar Albies for the second out.
But Cris Rosario made it 4-2 with a double.
The walk to Jean Carmona then put the tying run aboard.
But Benitez struck out Andrew Benintendi to end it, earning his 34th save.

[rink23]

Record: 97-63, 1st, 2.5 GA Kansas City, NL South clinched
Des Moines jumped on St. Louis rookie starting pitcher Robby Albarran for four runs in the top of the first inning to pave the way for a 6-3 win at Busch Stadium.
Despite losing their fourth straight game, the River Walkers wrapped up the National League South Division title as Kansas City fell 7-3 to Springfield. The loss kept the Pit Masters 2.5 games behind St. Louis with just one game left on their schedule.
Albarrran seemed overwhelmed by the circumstance allowing four of the first five batters he faced to reach base.
Carlos David Rodirguez got it rolling with a lead-off double.
David Lewis later belted a two-run double. A run-scoring ground out by Glenn Santiago later made it 3-0.
A two-out double from Jarron Silva later made it 4-0.
It's lead at 4-1, Des Moines chased Albarran in the fourth.
Lewis led off with a single, stole second and scored on a Silva single.
Silva would be the final batter Albarran would face.
Fernando Tatis Jr. made it 6-1 with a solo homer off Lowther in the fourth.
The Walkers would make it somewhat interesting.
Cris Rosario led off the bottom of the fifth with a homer off Harvesters starter Cole Duensing.
Four-straight one-out singles in the eighth against Joe Jimenez, helped St. Louis pull within 6-3.
But the Walkers would lead the bases loaded for the second time in the game.
Des Moines closer Omar Benitez allowed a lead-off single to Alek Thomas in the ninth, but struck out the next three for his 35th save.
Duensing (8-4) allowed two runs on four hits over five innings.
Yelin Rodriguez worked two innings and Jimenez one to get the game to Benitez.

[rink23]

Daniel Guzman hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to snap a 1-1 tie, and help lift Fort Wayne to a 4-2 victory over Evansville and help the Mad Men clinch the American League West Division championship.
With the victory, Fort Wayne improved to 86-75, two games better than the second-place Big Bossemen.
Fort Wayne will open the five-game AL championship series at Columbus, winner of the AL East, as the Golden Bears own a 97-74 record.

[rink23]

Record: 98-63, 1st, 2.5 GA Kansas City, NL South clinched
Making his first start since August 31, Adonis Medina pitched seven scoreless innings and Steve Ruland homered twice to lead St. Louis to a 3-0 win over Des Moines at Busch Stadium (1997).
The victory allowed St. Louis to salvage the final game of the three-game series. It also allowed them to clinch home-field advantage throughout the postseason, as their 98-63 record is a half-game better than AL East champion Columbus
(I don't know, if St. Louis will have to play a makeup game against Detroit since it has no bearing).
Medina, who had missed almost a month with a sore wrist, scattered four hits over his seven innings. He struck out five and walked two.
All of the River Walkers runs came via the long ball.
Ruland opened the scoring when he led off the third with a homer off Harvesters starting pitcher Steven Gingery.
Rosario continued his impressive rookie season by hitting his 44th of the season in the fourth, also off Gingery.
Ruland's second homer came off reliever Vladimir Gutierrez to lead off the eighth.
Ernesto Barbosa pitched a scoreless eighth inning for St. Louis.
Jake Brentz sent the Harvesters down in order in the ninth for his 29th save.

[rink23]

A sacrifice fly by Mitch Bernier scored Roc Riggio in the bottom of the eighth inning to help lift Twin Cities to a 3-2 win over Louisville, and clinch the National League North Division title for the Snow Cats.
The win gave Twin Cities a 91-71 record, 1.5 games ahead of second-place Chicago.
The Snow Cats will open the NL championship series at St. Louis.
The River Walkers are 98-63 with one game left to play.

[rink23]

MBL news: Week 24 Power rankings and standings

[rink23]

Record: 98-64, 1st, 2 GA Kansas City
Down 6-1, Detroit ravaged the St. Louis bullpen for six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to a 9-6 win at Tiger Stadium (1980).
In my opinion, this game should not have been played. St. Louis had already clinched the National League South Division and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Detroit had nothing to gain by winning this game. (So I played reserves and back of the bullpen relievers as much as possible).
A four-run top of third inning, highlighted by a three-run homer from Keegan Fish, had helped the River Walkers forge a 6-0 lead.
The Wheelmen got on the board for the first time in the fourth, when Ronald Acuna Jr. led off with a triple off Jason Froelich and scored on a Bryce Harper single.
Froelich seemed to run out of gas in the sixth.
He struck out two of the three batters -- sandwiched around a Jimmy Gorman single -- but when Connor Walsh homered it was 6-3.
Izzac Pacheco folowed with a walk, and when Austin Allen single, Froelich's day was done.
Brock Heverson took over, and he was awful.
Franmil Reyes greeted him with an RBI single.
Baek-ho Kang followed with a three-run homer, making it 7-6.
Acuna kept it going with a double, sending Helverson to the shower.
It was now Nick Lodolo's turn, and he gave up the inning's final run when Bryce Harper singled.
A former Walkers prospect, Jesse Franklin provided the game's final run, leading off the eighth with a homer off Lodolo.
Wheelmen starting pitcher Jeff Hoffman lasted just 2.2 innings, during which he allowed six runs on eight hits.
Four pitchers followed Hoffman to the mound -- Juan Arroyo (3.1 IP), Adrian Arnesen (1.2), Randy Scott (0.1) and Jared Miller (1.0) -- combined to finish the game without allowing a run.
Arroyo (1-0) earned his first win of the season.
Miller got his 23rd save.

[rink23]

MBL news: 2028 final regular-season standings

[rink23]

MBL news: 2028 final American League leaders

[rink23]

MBL news: 2028 Final National League leaders

[rink23]

Walkers news: Team statistics for September 2028

[rink23]

Player of the Month: Cris Rosario -- The 27-year-old rookie first baseman wrapped up a stellar season by hitting .284 with seven homers, 19 RBIs and 13 runs scored in 22 games. He got on base at a .352 clip and slugged .580.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Angel Tiburcio -- The 28-year-old established himself as the River Walkers No. 1 starter for the postseason by winning all four of his starts while posting a 1.40 ERA. He struck out 31 batters over 25.2 innings and had a 1.01 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Travis Krogman -- The 28-year-old righty got into six games during which he earned a save. He worked a total of 10.2 innings, striking out 16 and posting a 0.75 WHIP.

[rink23]

Walkers news: 2028 final team batting and pitching statistics