2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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MBL news: April 21 -- Week 2 - Awards and standings

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Record: 10-4, 1st, 0.5 GA Quad City
St. Louis used a five-run bottom of the fourth inning, to turn a 1-0 lead into a 6-0 lead, and the River Walkers went onto defeat Des Moines 7-3 at Busch Stadium.
After scoring an unearned run off Harvesters starting pitcher Hugh Fisher in the bottom of the first inning, St. Louis busted it open in the fourth.
The Walkers put four of their first five batters of the inning on base against Fisher.
Fisher also committed, scoring Nathaniel Dixon with the inning's first run, and hit a batter during that span.
Bob Saavedra plated the inning's second run with a fly ball to right.
Yan C. Dixon did the rest with his first home run of the season, a three-run shot to left which traveled 404 feet.
St. Louis starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall took a shutout into the sixth inning, when Des Moines finally got on the board.
Leo Cerna led off the inning with a double and scored on a Kyle Roberts ground out.
Wigfall returned to the mound in the seventh, but allowed the Harvesters to load the bases -- on two singles and an error by Saavedra at third base -- with one out before exiting the game.
Scott Rissler took over and gave up a two-run single to Jared Poland, making it 6-3.
But Rissler got out of the inning without allowing another run.
The Walkers made it 7-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Nick Shaw with an RBI single off reliever Josh Crespo.
Rissler pitched a scoreless eighth for St. Louis.
Despite it not being a save situation, closer Nick Strother handled the ninth setting Des Moines down in order.
Wigfall (1-0) allowed three runs on seven hits. He struck out three and walked one.

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Record: 11-4, 1st, 1.5 GA Quad City and Springfield
Manuel Coke went 3 for 4 with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBIs, as St. Louis routed Des Moines 12-5 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Coke's first homer came in the bottom of the first off Harvesters starting pitcher Dave Vacarri.
It drove in the first two runs of what would turn out to be a five-run inning for St. Louis.
Marcos Francis also drove in two runs in the inning, with a two-out single.
Coke went deep again, his fifth homer of the season, in the sixth.
Another two-run shot, this one off reliever Bill Brooks, to make the score 10-3.
In between the Coke homers, St. Louis had scored a pair of runs in the fourth.
Jackson Miller drove in a run with a triple off Jeremy Sudbury.
Miller later scored when Nick Shaw reached on an error by first baseman Leo Cerna while Brooks was on the mound.
Those runs made it 7-3, in favor of the Walkers.
After Des Moines drew within 10-5 with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, the Walkers added single runs in the seventh -- Bob Saavedra with a sacrifice fly off Lawrence Caulfield -- and eighth -- Abdul-Nasser bin Amr with a run-scoring single off Josh Crespo -- to cap the scoring.
Walkers starter Edward Kunselman (1-0) allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits in six innings. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter.
Ryan Marzella pitched two innings, allowing a pair of runs in the seventh.
Ron Cox struck out the side in the top of the ninth.

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Record: 11-5, 1st, 0.5 GA Quad City
Des Moines put together a pair of three-run innings against St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe, and the Harvesters went on to defeat the River Walkers 7-3 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win allowed the Harvesters to avoid being swept in the three-game series.
Des Moines put up its first three-spot in the top of the third.
Zigza Mukuru led off the inning with a single off McNaboe.
He later scored on a two-out double by Jared Poland.
Leo Cerna then plated pinch-runner Corey Jordan, who had replaced Poland who was injured running the bases, with a triple.
Cerna scored when Joe Allen reached on an error by second baseman Marcos Francis.
A two-run single in the bottom of the third by Nick Shaw off Harvesters starting pitcher Keith Talley, drew the Walkers to within 3-2.
The Harvesters tallied three more times in the fifth.
Justin Oates drew a lead-off walk from McNaboe.
A Jordan bunt moved Oates to second, and he scored on an Cerna single.
McNaboe continued to struggle to find the strike zone, as he walked the next hitter, Allen, and then hit Kyle Roberts to load the bases.
Willie Martinez scored Cerna with a fly ball to center.
Raul Esrrada made it 6-2 with an RBI single.
Both team's would score one more run.
The Walkers got their in the fifth, when Mark Waterson drew a bases-loaded walk from Talley.
Des Moines made it 7-3 in the top of the seventh.
Cerna led off the inning with a double off Chris Eason.
He scored on a Willie Martinez fly ball to center.
Talley (2-1) worked the first five innings, and took the mound to start the sixth, allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out three but walked five.
Mario Reyes and Mark Polzin both pitched two innings of scoreless relief.

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Record: 12-5, 1st, 1 GA Quad City and Springfield
Tied 1-1, Nathaniel Dixon connected on a two-out single to score Bob Saavedra to put St Louis in front, and the River Walkers went on to defeat Twin Cities 2-1 at Target Field.
Saavedra had led off the inning with a single off Snow Cats starting pitcher Brent Autin.
Autin retired the next two batters, but with Nick Shaw at the plate he made a wild pick-of throw to first advancing Saavedra to second.
Shaw was then given an intentional walk.
Dixon then stepped to the plate and lined a 2-1 pitch into right field to score Saavedra.
Both teams scored single runs in the first inning.
A solo homer from Jackson Miller off Autin accounted for the Walkers' run.
In the bottom of the inning, Shane King led off with a triple off St. Louis starter Josh McDonald.
He scored on a Mike Sartain ground out.
McDonald (2-1) went 6.1 innings, allowing one run on nine hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Scott Rissler finished the seventh and got the first out of the eighth.
Nick Ruffalo wrapped up the eighth for St. Louis.
Nick Strother set the Snow Cats down in order in the ninth for his first save.

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Record: 13-5, 1st, 1 GA Quad City
Down 4-3, Bob Saavedra hit a two-out, two-run home run off Twin Cities starting pitcher Vince Loyd to help lift St. Louis to a 5-4 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Saavedra's home run was the third of game for the River Walkers.
Down 3-0 after Juan Yanez hit a three-run homer off St. Louis starting pitcher Shane Drogo in the bottom of the first, Mark Waterson hit St. Louis' first homer with a solo shot off Loyd in the top of the second, making it 3-1.
The Snow Cats got their fourth run in the bottom of the second, Mike Sartain with a sacrifice fly to score Loyd, who had led off the inning with a single.
In the third, Drogo led off with his first homer since the 2032 season to make it 4-2.
St. Louis added another run in the third, after Saavedra followed Drogo's homer with a double.
He scored on a Nick Shaw single.
Drogo (2-1) went five innings, allowing four runs on six hits. He struck out three but walked four.
Chris Eason worked a scoreless sixth and got the first out of the seventh.
Nick Ruffalo finished the seventh and got the first out of the eighth.
Scott Rissler finished the eighth, striking out Jeff Friedman with runners on first and second.
Nick Strother set the Snow Cats down in order in the ninth for his second save.

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Record: 14-5, 1st, 1 GA Quad City
Hector Tavarez hit a two-run homer off Twin Cities relief pitcher Jorge Aristzabal with one out in the top of the 10th inning to help lift St. Louis to a 9-7 win at Target Field.
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr had gotten on base in front of Tavarez with a one-out single.
Tavarez, who has been regulated to the bench and his hitting close to .100 for the season, then blasted a 1-0 pitch from Aristzabal 389 feet over the wall in right center to give the River Walkers the lead for good.
Down 1-0, a three-run homer from Mike Sartain off St. Louis starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall had put Twin Cities in front.
That set the stage for a wild eighth and ninth innings.
The River Walkers got a three-run homer from Nick Shaw in the top of the eighth, off Cats reliever, Cai-fei Liu, to go up 4-3.
Twin Cities responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Eddie Blunck drove both in with a two-out triple off Ryan Marzella.
The Walkers regained the lead with three runs in the top of the ninth.
Bob Saavedra, Yan C. Dixon and Manuel Coke all connected for consecutive RBI singles off Jim Messina, as the Walkers went in front 7-5.
But Twin Cities tied it again.
Jeff Waddell and Shane King opened the bottom of the ninth with consecutive singles off reliever Armando Cintron.
A ground out by Jorge Avila moved both runners up a base.
Sartain collected his fourth and fifth RBIs of the game with a one-out single, evening the score at 7-7.
Wigfall was great for six innings, before giving up Sartain's three-run blast in the seventh.
His line, six innings, three runs on eight hits. He struck out seven and didn't issue a walk.
Ryan Marzella pitched two innings, allowing two runs in the eighth.
Cintron (2-0) had a rough ninth, allowing two runs but he would earn the win.
Greg Sones pitched around a two-out single by Jesse Leming for his third save of the season.

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MBL news: April 28 -- Week 3 - Awards and standings

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The St. Louis River Walkers have called up 28-year-old reliever Brennan Weldon from AAA Memphis, and sent 30-year-old reliever Ryan Mazarra down to the Redbirds.
A free-agent signing after the start of the season, April 17, Weldon has spent the last week pitching at Memphis.
He got into five games, going 0-1 with two saves and a 4.50 ERA. He pitched a total of four innings, during which he struck out three and had a WHIP of 2.75.
Mazarra got into six games while in St. Louis, with no record and a 5.40 ERA.
He pitched 8.1 innings, during which he struck out six and had a 2.40 WHIP.

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Record: 15-5, 1st, 2 GA Quad City
Edward Kunselman threw six shut-out innings and the St. Louis bullpen did the rest, as the River Walkers downed Rockford 3-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Kunselman (2-0) allowed just two hits -- an Ernesto Ferreras single to open the game and a fifth-inning double by Matt Weaver -- during his time on the mound. He struck out seven and walked three.
Greg Sones (0.2 IP) and Scott Rissler (0.2) both recorded two outs.
Nick Ruffalo finished off the eighth and also handled the ninth for his first save.
The Walkers got the only run they would need in the bottom of the second.
Nick Shaw led off with a double off Lighting starting pitcher Gregg Krawczyk.
He scored on a one-out single by Marcos Francis.
The other two St. Louis' runs came in the sixth.
With Krawczyk still on the mound, Manuel Coke reached on an error by first baseman David Blanton to open the inning.
He scored when Shaw followed with a triple.
Mark Waterson followed with a single, scoring Shaw to make it 3-0.

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Record: 16-5, 1st, 3 GA Quad City
Tied 1-1, St. Louis got RBI singles from Jackson Miller and Manuel Coke in the bottom of the eighth inning to help lift the River Walkers to a 3-1 win over Rockford at Busch Stadium (2006).
Things got rolling for the Walkers when Yan C. Dixon reached on an error by Lightning second baseman Ernesto Ferreras with one out.
St. Louis followed that with three straight singles off Rockford reliever Kurt Halter.
Bob Savavedra contributed the first single.
The other two came from Miller and Coke, both scoring runs.
Both teams got their first run in the fourth inning.
Wade Martin led off the fourth with a triple off Walkers starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe.
He scored when center fielder Nathaniel Dixon dropped a fly ball hit by Bill Morris.
Coke led off the bottom of the inning with his sixth homer of the season.
Lightning starting pitcher Melvin Chavez surrendered the homer.
McNaboe went 6.2 innings, allowing one run on six hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
Ron Cox got the final out of the seventh.
Making his St. Louis debut, Brennan Weldon (1.0) got all three of the outs in the eighth. He also earned the win.
Nick Strother earned his third save with a scoreless ninth.

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Record: 16-6, 1st, 3 GA Quad City and Springfield
Pinch-hitter Ethan Long connected on a bases-loaded triple to snap a 5-5 tie and spur Rockford to an 11-5 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win allowed Rockford to avoid being swept in the three-game series by the River Walkers.
The Lighting put their first three batters on base to begin the fourth.
Matt Weaver got things rolling with a single off reliever Chris Eason.
Eason then walked the next two batters, before getting Joel Petrucci for the inning's first out.
Left-hander Ron Cox then took the mound to face left-handed hitter Erik Stowe.
But Rockford crossed the Walkers up and sent Long to the plate.
He belted a 2-2 pitch from Cox over center fielder Nathaniel Dixon's head to clear the bases.
The Lightning added their ninth run of the game an inning later, when Adrian Penucci homered off Cox with one out.
Rockford got its final two runs in the top of the ninth.
Ernestos Ferreras drove in the first run with a single off Brennan Weldon.
Bill Morris plated the other with a sacrifice fly.
St. Louis wiped out a 2-1 deficit with four runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Marcos Francis supplied the big blow with a three-run home run off reliever Andres Garcia.
Rockford got a three-run homer of its own in the top of the fifth, David Blanton taking Walkers starter Josh McDonald deep with one out.
McDonald had stayed in the game despite a 69-minute rain delay before the start of the bottom of the fourth.
Bill Singer made the start for the Lightning.
He pitched three innings, allowing one run on five hits. He left after the rain delay.
Andres Garcia took the mound to start the fourth and failed to retire any of the three batters he faced.
Braxton Ashcraft (2-0) finished off the fourth and worked a scoreless fifth.
He would earn he win.
After that, three relievers -- Travis Gettemy (1.0 IP), Marco Valladares (1.0) and Ferrie Stolk (2.0) -- combined to close out the game.

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Walkers news: May 1 -- Player Development Report

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

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MBL news: May 1 -- Rookies of the Month for April and standings

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MBL news: May 1 -- American League leaders

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MBL news: May 1 -- National League leaders

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Walkers news: May 1 -- Team statistics for April

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Player of the Month: Manuel Coke -- The 23-year-old outfielder batted .378 with six homers, 15 RBIs and 12 runs scored in 21 games. He got on base at a .452 clip and slugged .671. Coke was named NL Player of the Month.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Edward Kunzelman -- The 32- year-old right-hander went 2-0 with a 1.12 ERA in four starts. He pitched a total of 24.0 innings, striking out 18 and posting a 0.88 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Nick Ruffalo -- The 28-year-old left-hander got into nine games with one save. He didn't give up a run, for a 0.00 ERA, and struck out 13 in 11.2 innings. He had a 0.77 WHIP.

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Once the top prospect in the MBL, St. Louis' Hector Tavarez continued to struggle at the major league level leading to another demotion to the minors.
Tavarez, 26, got into 20 games the first month of the season and batted just .105 with two homers and seven RBIs.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis, where Tavarez is headed, is 28-year-old outfielder Matthew Harker.
It is Harker's first chance in the majors.
This season at Memphis, Harker has batted .327 with two homers and 10 RBis in 15 games.