2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 71-45, 1st, 4 GA Cedar Rapids
Jesse McNaboe allowed one run over seven innings to help secure his 13th win, and St. Louis wiped out a 1-0 deficit with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as the River Walkers defeated Louisville 2-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory gave St. Louis wins in two of the three games of the series.
McNaboe (13-2) allowed one run on just two hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked one.
The lone run he allowed came on a solo homer from Caleb Kinney in the fifth inning.
The home run put Louisville in front 1-0.
St. Louis wiped out that deficit and provided all the rest of the scoring in the bottom of the fifth
Hector Taverez opened the inning with a single off Louisville starter Victor Melendez.
Aaron Nixon quickly drove Tavarez home with a double.
Izaac Pacheco moved Nixon to third with a sacrifice bunt.
McNaboe picked up the RBI, with his second hit of the day a single into right field as the Walkers took the lead for good.
Nick Ruffalo got the first two outs of the eighth for St. Louis.
Bobby Westerman retired four batters for his third save since joining St. Louis.

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MBL news: August 13 -- Week 19 - Awards and standings

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The St. Louis River Walkers have sent 26-year-old outfielder Hector Tavarez back to AAA Memphis, and called up 22-year-old outfielder Mark Waterson from the Redbirds.
Once the top prospect in all of the minor leagues, Tavarez has continually struggled when given the opportunity to start in the major leagues.
Called up after the All-Star break, Tavarez, the 12th overall pick in the 2030 MBL draft, rarely showed the kind of ability as he did as a minor-league standout.
In 48 games with the Walkers, Tavarez is batting .198 with eight homers and 17 RBIs.
Waterson will be getting his first chance to play in the majors.
A first-round pick in the 2031 draft, taken 20th overall, Waterson has hit .270 with 15 homers and 40 RBIs in 55 games in AAA.
He spent the early part of the season at AA Springfield, where in 54 games he hit .296 with 15 homers and 37 RBIs.

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Record: 72-45, 1st, 4 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis jumped out to a 7-1 lead over the first 3.5 innings, and held on for a 7-4 win over Green Bay at PNC Park.
The River Walkers scored two runs in the top of the first inning off Mallards starting pitcher Alex Duarte.
Zach Wenman drove in the first run with a single. The second scored on a wild pitch.
Leading 2-1, they tallied three more times in the top of the second.
Bob Saavedra drove in one run with a double.
Aaron Nixon plated two with a double.
Manuel Coke cranked a two-run homer off reliever Ernesto Tello in the fourth to make it 7-1.
Green Bay scored three times off St. Louis starter Josh McDonald in the bottom of the fourth.
Blaze Jordan hit his second solo homer of the game to start the scoring.
However, that would be the end of the scoring for the night.
McDonald (11-8) wasn't great, allowing four runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out five and walked one.
But thanks to his offense, McDonald did earn his 11th win.
Nick Ruffalo pitched two innings of scoreless relief.
Bobby Westerman handled the ninth for his fourth save since coming to St. Louis.

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Record: 73-45, 1st, 4 GA Cedar Rapids
Down 7-2, St. Louis exploded for six runs in the top of the sixth inning and went on to defeat Green Bay 9-8 at PNC Park.
Zach Wenman, who didn't start the game coming on to replace an injured Jackson Miller at catcher, led off the inning with a double off Mallards relief pitcher Ramon Puente.
A balk moved Wenman to second.
A walk to Manuel Coke put two runners on base.
Nick Shaw followed with a single, scoring Wenman.
After a strike out of Jose Segura, rookie Mark Waterson followed with a double, scoring Coke.
Aaron Nixon connected on the fourth hit of the inning, scoring Shaw, and ending Puente's time on the mound.
Elji Konno took over.
He didn't fare any better.
After retiring Izaac Pacheco, pinch-hitter Jose Gonzalez singled to score Waterson.
The hits kept on coming.
Bob Saavedra singled, scoring Nixon and it was tied.
Wenman, batting for the second time, reached on an error by Kerry Fackelman as Gonzalez scored to put St. Louis in front 8-7.
Green Bay would tie it, and it didn't take much time, pinch-hitter Jim Moorman leading off the bottom of the sixth with a homer off reliever Scott Rissler.
The Walkers took the lead for good in the top of the eighth, pinch-hitter Nathaniel Dixon connecting on a lead-off homer off former St. Louis closer Ernesto Barbosa.
Nick Shaw put St. Louis in front with a two-run homer off Mallards starting pitcher Tyler Parker.
Green Bay would put up seven runs before the Walkers would score again.
Austin Clayton hit a solo homer off St. Louis starter Xavier Wigfall in the bottom of the first.
The Mallards took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third.
Sal Valdez drove in two of them with a double.
Green Bay added three more runs in the fifth.
Jordan and Ronald Acuna Jr. both had RBI doubles, off Wigfall and Oscar Martinez, respectively.
It was a rough outing or Wigfall, who allowed six runs on eight hits in just 4.1 innings.
Martinez finished off the fifth inning, giving up a run.
Rissler (6-3) handled a pair of innings, and be awarded the win..
Once St. Louis had the lead, the relief pitchers settled down.
Angel Tiburcio set the Traders down in order in the eighth.
Greg Sones struck out the side in the ninth for his third save.

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Record: 73-46, 1st, 3 GA Cedar Rapids
Green Bay connected for three consecutive singles to open then bottom of the 11th inning -- the third from Devon Reyna driving in Alex Boychuk with the winning run -- as the Mallards down St. Louis 4-3 at PNC Park.
The win gave Green Bay wins in the first and third games of the three-game series.
Boychuk led off the bottom of the 11th with a single off River Walkers relief pitcher Angel Tiburcio.
RJ Teijeiro followed with another single.
And when, Devon Reyes drove a 1-1 pitch past the shortstop, the Mallards had a win as Boychuk crossed the plate.
Green Bay had tied it at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth.
Kerry Fackelman drew a lead-off walk from St. Louis reliever Greg Sones.
He went to third when Austin Clayton followed with a double.
Nick Strother took over for the Walkers, but Blaze Jordan greeted him with a fly ball deep enough to score Fackelman and tie the game
Both teams hit solo homers in the 10th to keep the game going,
Manuel Coke went deep with two outs off the Mallards' Matt Rodriguez,
In the bottom of the inning, Clayton hit a lead-off shot off Zachary Stella.
Green Bay starting pitcher Jason Garrett went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits
Mike O'Donnell pitched a scoreless eighth inning for Green Bay.
Matt Rodriguez worked both the ninth and 10th, giving up the Coke homer in the 10th.
Former St. Louis closer Ernesto Barbosa (2-4) earned the win, after pitching the top of the 11th.

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Record: 73-47, 1st, 2 GA Cedar Rapids
Mike Goldblatt pitched eight scoreless innings and Jared Kelley did the same in the ninth, as Cincinnati shutout St. Louis 1-0 at Riverfront Stadium (1984).
Goldblatt (7-4) scattered five hits -- all singles -- during his time on the mound. He struck out six and didn't issue a walk.
Kelley allowed a pair of hits in the ninth, but with runners at first and third got Zach Wenman to ground into a double play to register his 20th save.
Anthony Ward provided the game's lone run with a homer off River Walkers starting pitcher Shane Drogo with two outs in the bottom of the second.
St. Louis outhit the River Sharks 7-2, but still lost the game.

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Record: 73-48, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids
Cincinnati roughed up St. Louis No. 1 starter Jesse McNaboe for seven runs in a little over four innings, and the River Sharks went on to rout the River Walkers 13-1 at Riverfront Stadium (1984).
St. Louis actually led 1-0 when the Sharks finally broke loose against McNaboe in the bottom of the fourth.
In that frame, they scored three runs on three hits, along with drawing a pair of walks, Carlos Longoria drove in the first two runs with a two-out single.
Troy Heller plated the third with a double.
McNaboe issued a pair of walks to open the fifth, before giving up a single to Shaun Young.
After getting an out, Bradley Mondesir then connected on an RBI double.
Former Walker star shortstop Jean Carmona followed with a two-run single, which finally chased McNaboe.
Cincinnati continued to pile on the runs over the late innings.
It scored one in the sixth. Young collected another RBI with a double off Tiburcio.
The Sharks made it really ugly with a five-run eighth.
St. Louis issued three walks in the inning, and doled out nine for the game.
Onfredo Hernandez had an RBI single.
Mondesir plated a pair with a double.
The final two runs were driven in by Carmona (ground out) and Longoria (single).
Sharks starting pitcher Lenyn LaMouraux lasted just 3.2 innings, before exiting with an abdominal injury.
He gave up one run on two hits.
Four relievers -- Antonio Gonzalez (1.1 IP), Josh Grissom (2.0), Chris Novotny (1.0) and Braxton Ashcraft (1.0) -- combined to shut out St. Louis the rest of the way,
Gonzalez (6-5) earned the win.

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Record: 73-49, 1st/(Tied/w. Cedar Rapids), 11 GA Quad City
Jack Darling limited St. Louis to one run in just over six innings, and Cincinnati took its third straight from the River Walkers with a 3-1 win at Riverfront Stadium (1984).
The loss was the fourth in a row for St. Louis, and dropped it into a first-place tie with Cedar Rapids in the National League South Division. Nathaniel Dixon tripled off and eventually scored off Darling in the top of the second as St. Louis took a brief lead.
The River Sharks tied it in the bottom of the third on a two-out home run from former St. Louis prospect Laurence Curvelo off Walkers starting pitcher Josh McDonald.
Sean Nettles helped give Cincinnati the lead in the fifth, when he led off with a double.
He scored when Curvelo singled with two outs, and right fielder Manuel Coke booted the ball.
The Sharks added their third run in the sixth, when they strung together three straight hits off McDonald to open the inning.
Shaun Young and Onofredo Hernandez both singled.
Bradley Mondesir followed with double, scoring Young.
Darling (4-11) allowed one run on two hits in his 6.1 innings. He struck out six and walked two.
Valentin Pino finished off the seventh for the Sharks.
The eighth belonged to Raul Rivas and the ninth to Jared Kelley.
Both allowed singles, but neither allowed a run.
Kelley upped his save total to 21.
Cincinnati has outscored St. Louis 17-2 over the first three games of the four-game series.

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Record: 73-50, 1st/(Tied/w. Cedar Rapids), 11 GA Springfield and Quad City
Down 2-0, Cincinnati scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and again in the eighth as the River Sharks completed a four-game sweep of St. Louis with an 8-3 win at Riverfront Stadium (1984).
The loss was the fifth in a row for St. Louis.
Making his second start since undergoing Tommy John surgery, the River Walkers shut out the Sharks for four innings before unraveling in the fifth.
Sean Nettles got things rolling with a one-out single.
Former Walker Jean Carmona followed with another single.
After a strikeout of John Hardeman, pinch-hitter Brandon Clement tied it with a two-run double.
The next batter, former St. Louis prospect, Laurence Curvelo then put Cincinnati in front with a two-run homer.
The Sharks then posted four more runs against the Walkers' bullpen in the eighth.
Joe Neyer drew a lead-off walk from Zachary Stella.
Oscar Martinez then replaced Stella, and he was not good.
He was greeted by back-to-back RBI doubles to Shaun Young and Onofredo Hernandz.
Bradley Mondesir was given an intentional walk.
Scott Rissler then took the hill for the Walkers.
He also was greeted by a pair of hits, this time singles from Nettles and Carmona.
Carmona's hit drove in the Sharks' final two runs of the game.
Cincinnati starting pitcher Rich Haas went 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits.
Antonio Gonzalez finished off the fifth for the Sharks.
Chris Novotny handled the sixth and sixth without allowing a run.
The eighth belonged to Raul Rivas.
Josh Grissom allowed a meaningless run in the ninth.

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MBL news: August 20 -- Week 20 - Awards and standings

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Record: 74-50, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis starting pitcher Edward Kunselman ended a no-hit bid by Quad City's Pascal Marcovicci with a lead-off double in the top of the sixth inning, he later scored the game's first run to help the River Walkers end a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 win at Fenway Park (1976).
Manuel Coke drove in Kunselman with a one-out double off Marcovicci.
The Walkers added two more runs in the seventh -- Jose Gonzalez driving them both in with a single Mason Montgomery -- to go up 3-0.
The Thunder would pull to within a run, scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh.
Hector Lucero hit a solo homer off Nick Ruffalo.
Angel Solis followed that with a single.
A double by J.P. DiPero off Nick Strother moved Lucero to third.
Alex Richards scored Solis with a fly ball.
Kunselman (9-6) pitched six shut-out innings, allowing five hits
Ruffalo and Strother combined to pitch the seventh, when QC pulled to within 3-2.
Greg Sones (0.2 IP) and Scott Rissler (0.1) divided up the eighth.
Bobby Westerman allowed a pair of base runners, but no runs in the ninth for his fifth save.

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Record: 74-51, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 2-2, Quad City scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Thunder went on to defeat St. Louis 5-3 at Fenway Park (1975).
The River Walkers' sent Shane Drogo back out for the seven inning -- he had been allowed to hit for himself in the top of the inning, he struck out -- and it turned out to be a mistake.
Phillip Clarke opened the inning with a single, and moved to second when Drogo through a wild pitch while Tanner Kohlhepp.
Kohlhepp struck out for the first out.
Collin Allen then connected for a double, scoring Clarke to put the Thunder in front.
Jordan Quinto followed with a single, putting runners at the corners.
Drogo got Gabriel Hagan to ground out for the second out.
Scott Rissler then took the mound for the Walkers.
J.P. DiPietro smacked a 1-1 pitch for a double, scoring both runners and making it 5-3.
Quad City starting pitcher Mike Koontz worked the first six innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out 10 and walked one.
Mason Montgomery (4-2) finished the seventh. He would earn the win.
Edwin Cervantes pitched the eighth, allowing a run as St. Louis pulled to within 5-3.
Craig Fritzler held the Walkers scoreless in the ninth for his 28th save.

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Record: 75-51, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Jesse McNaboe pitched seven shut-out innings and Manuel Coke went 5 for 5 at the plate as St. Louis downed Quad City 7-0 at Fenway Park (1976).
McNaboe (14-3) became the first Midwest Baseball League's first 14-game winner.
The right-hander went seven innings, allowing four hits while striking out seven and walking two.
Angel Tiburcio pitched the final two innings for the River Walkers.
Coke's 5 for 5 included a double, a homer, two runs scored and two RBIs.
The Walkers went up 1-0 in the top of the first against Thunder starting pitcher Antonio Ceja.
Jackson Miller singled with one out, and moved to third when Coke singled.
Miller scored on a Nick Shaw ground out.
St. Louis went up 2-0 in the second, with McNaboe driving in the run with a double.
His hit plated Jose Ramirez, who had doubled off Ceja to lead off the inning.
Coke's homer came in the third inning, pushing the St. Louis' lead to 3-0.
Jackson Miller scored the run that made it 4-0 in the fifth, when he tripled to lead off the inning. He scored when Coke followed with a single.
McNaboe scored a run in the sixth when he hit his second double of the game.
He scored on a Bob Saavedra sigle.
The Walkers tallied twice in the ninth.
Jackson Miller hit a lead-off homer off Juan Sandoval.
Coke followed that with a double. He scored on a Nathaniel Dixon sacrifice fly.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have sent 22-year-old Mark Waterson back to AAA Memphis, after he struggled in his first chance to play in the majors
Getting the callup from the Redbirds is 33-year-old outfielder Wayne McHaney.
In his 10 games with the Walkers, Waterson batted .200 with two RBIs.
McHaney has played in 92 games for the Redbirds, hitting .357 with 10 homers and 54 RBIs.

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Record: 75-52, 2nd, 0.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Kansas City pummeled St. Louis starting pitcher Josh McDonald for six runs in the first three innings, and the Monarchs rode that to a 7-3 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
It was 4-0 before the River Walkers even got to swing the bat.
The Monarchs put their first four batters of the game aboard against McDonald.
Nick Jernigan drew a walk to open the game.
He went to third when T.J. Latham singled, and an error by right fielder Manuel Coke allowed Jernigan to reach third.
Josh Shuler drove in the game's first run with a single.
Future Hall of Famer Rafael Devers then crushed a three-run homer, as KC went in front 4-0.
The Monarchs chased McDonald with two runs in the third.
Latham and Shuler opened the inning with consecutive single.
Devers drove in the inning's first run with a single.
Shuler scored on a fly ball by Gerardo Bernal.
KC's lead grew to 7-0 in the fourth.
Jason Gillem scored the run, after leading off with a single off Oscar Martinez.
He later scored on a two-out single by Shuler.
Starting pitcher Mike Tucker (7-6) worked seven innings for the Monarchs, allowing two runs on six hits.
Seth Halvorsen worked the eighth and got the first out of the ninth.
Anderson Parra and Leo Hermosillo both recorded one out each.
Hermosillo earned his 18th save.

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Record: 75-53, 2nd, 0.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Kansas City's Nick Jernigan went 4 for 4 with a homer, three runs scored and three RBIs, to power the Monarchs to a 5-3 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Jernigan got the Monarchs rolling with the get-go leading off the game with a single off River Walkers starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall.
He later stole second, and scored on a two-out double by Gerardo Bernal.
An inning later, Jernigan hit a three-run homer off Wigfall, as the KC advantage grew to 4-0.
Jernigan scored his team's final run in the fifth.
This time, he reached on a one-out single off Wigfall.
A two-out walk to Rafael Devers moved him to second, and Jernigan scored on a Bernal single.
The Walkers would climb back into it, drawing as close as 5-3 when Chris Duncan open the bottom of the ninth with a homer off Leo Hermosillo.
St. Louis would put two more players on base before the inning ended, but Hermisillo struck out Manuel Coke and Jose Ramirez with runners on first and second to end it.
Monarchs starting pitcher Travis Rinker (11-4) went six innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Garo Abe pitched a scoreless seventh, before allowing a run in the eighth. Abe recorded two outs in the eighth.
Anderson Parra got the final out of the eighth.
Hermosillo allowed the Duncan homer, but still earned his 19th save.

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Record: 76-53, 2nd, 0.5 GB Cedar Rapids
After spotting Kansas City leads of 3-0 and 8-3, St. Louis roared back for a 10-8 win over the Monarchs at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win gave the River Walkers a series win, having taken two of three games.
The Monarchs pummeled St. Louis starter Edward Kunselman for eight runs -- three in the first and five in the second -- in 1.1 innings to seize control.
Only a three-run bottom of the first by the Walkers kept the game competitive.
St. Louis started its comeback with a run in the bottom of the third off KC starter Alexis Yanez.
Nathaniel Dixon led off the inning with a single, and scored when Aaron Nixon reached on a two-out error by Monarchs center fielder Alex Nunez.
The Walkers then tied it in the fourth, chasing Yanez in the process.
Manuel Coke drove in the first run with a double, which ended Yanez's outing.
Seth Halverson took over and walked Nick Shaw.
Two batters later, Jose Ramirez hit a three-run homer to even matters.
After five innings, the lead belonged to St. Louis/
Nixon led off with a single off Halvorsen and later stole second after Jose Patricio had taken the mound.
Jackson Miller drove in Nixon with a two-out single.
Chris Duncan added an insurance run in the seventh with a lead-off homer off Zachary Landis.
Kunselman saw his string of four straight quality starts end in an ugly matter, allowing eight runs on eight hits in just 1.1 innings.
Five relievers combined to shutout the Monarchs the rest of the way, beginning with Oscar Martinez.
He finished the second inning and worked a scoreless third.
After that it was Zachary Stella (2.0 IP), Scott Rissler (1.0), Nick Ruffalo (1.0) and Bobby Westerman (2.0).
Stella earned the win (4-3), while Westerman notched a rare two-inning save.
His sixthsave since joining the Walkers.

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MBL news: August 27 -- Week 21 - Awards and standings

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Record: 76-54, 2nd, 0.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Joel Glenn limited St. Louis to one run over the first six innings, and Arnold Hammond homered twice as Cedar Rapids took the opener of a key National League South Division series with a 4-2 win at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
Tied 1-1, the Grapplers took the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning with a pair of runs off River Walkers starting pitcher Shane Drogo.
Glenn and Mark Hill led off the inning with back-to-back singles.
Glenn then scored when David Henderson hit into a double play.
Hammond then hit his first homer, a 396-foot drive over the wall in right field.
Two innings later, Hammond hit his second homer, this time going to left-center on an 0-2 pitch off Drogo.
St. Louis did get a run in the top of the ninth, Jackson Miller doubled off Keith Kirby and scored on a Zach Wenman fly ball, but Kirby was able to get Nathaniel Dixon to fly out to end it.
The Walkers had runners at first and second when the game ended.
Glenn (11-7) allowed the one run on five hits. He struck out six and walked two.
After that, it was an inning apiece from Antonio Echevaria, Matt Ray and Kirby.
Kirby now has 29 saves for the season.