2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 42-29, 2nd, 1.5 GB Springfield
Bolstered by a three-run bottom of the fifth inning, Milwaukee scored five runs over the first five innings against St. Louis starter Xavier Wigfall, and the Crushers went on to defeat the River Walkers 5-4 at Miller Park (2020).
The win gave Milwaukee wins in two of three games in the series. The Crushers took four of six games in the back-to-back three-game series.
Milwaukee got to Wigfall for single runs in the first and second.
Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the bottom of the first with a double and scored on a Nicolas Thibault ground out.
An inning later, Jose Flores led off with a double and scored on a two-out single by Jose Nieto.
Their lead still sitting at 2-0, the Crushers pushed across three runs in the fifth against Wigfall.
Tyler Carter drove in the first run with a double.
Brett Baty did the rest with a two-out, two-run homer.
One swing of the bat got the Walkers back into the game, as Nathaniel Dixon hit a grand slam off Crushers reliever Ed Sutherland in the sixth.
But that would be the end of the scoring.
Milwaukee starting pitcher Justin Buck (4-4) lasted just five innings. He didn't allow a run while giving up four hits. He struck out six and walked three.
Sutherland retired just one batter in the top of the sixth.
Curt Donaldson came on to finish off the sixth and worked a scoreless seventh.
Dave Araya shouldered two innings of scoreless relief, retiring all six batters he faced, for his first save.

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MBL news: June 23 -- Week 12 - Awards and standings

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The St. Louis River Walkers have recalled first baseman Nick Shaw from AAA Memphis where was on an injury rehab after missing four weeks with a rib injury.
Shaw, 28, suffered a broken rib after being hit by a pitch during a 7-4 win over Grand Rapids on May 22.
At the time of the injury, Shaw was batting .333 with five homers and 28 RBIs over the seasons first 28 games.
During his injury time at Memphis, Shaw played in two games and also batted .333 with two homers and two RBIs.
The Walkers were 29-14 and owned a six-game lead over Quad City in the National League South Division.
Since that time, St. Louis has gone 13-15 and trails Springfield by 1.5 games in the standings.
Outfielder Matt Harker will be sent back down to Memphis.
In 21 games with the Walkers, Thacker hit .205 with three RBIs.

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Record: 42-30, 2nd, 1.5 GB Springfield
David Kinney connected on a three-run pinch-hit double with two outs in the bottom of the seven to highlight a four-run inning, as Madison rallied to defeat St. Louis 9-5 at Comiskey Park (1969).
Reliever Scott Rissler took the mound to start the bottom of the seventh, with the game tied 4-4.
Rissler retired the first two Muskie hitters, but then hit went south.
Adam Macklin singled and Miguel Ortiz followed with a double, putting runners at second and third.
After a walk to Dan Hillard, the bases were loaded and Rissler was done.
Nick Ruffalo took over, and saw hit 1-1 pitch to Kinney lined down the right-field line to clear the bases.
Madison wasn't done either
Kevin Militello followed with a triple, scoring Kinney and making it 8-4.
The Muskies added an insurance run in the eighth, banging out four singles against reliever Bobby Westerman.
The fourth single, by Ortiz, scored Cayden Wallace.
Muskies starting pitcher Alex Ochoa lasted 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits.
Tyler Phillips got the final out of the fifth.
Dakota Franc (1-5) pitched a scoreless seventh and earned his first victory of the season.
Oscar Martinez handled the eighth and got the first out of the ninth.
Luis Bahena finished off the win.

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Record: 43-20, 2nd, 1.5 GB Springfield
Josh McDonald lasted just 5.2 innings, but that was long enough for the St. Louis starting pitcher to become the Midwest Baseball League first nine-game winner of the 2036 season as the River Walkers won 7-4 over Madison at Comiskey Park (1969(.
McDonald (9-2) went into the sixth inning with a 6-0 lead, only to see the Muskies put five batters on base in a stretch of seven batters, that amounted to three runs and the right-handers exit.
Brennan Weldon came on with batters on first an second and got Jon Solis to ground out to end the treat.
For the game. McDonald was charged with three runs on five hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out nine and walked three.
The Walkers built their 6-0 lead with single runs in the top of the first inning (an RBI single from Nick Shaw), fourth inning (an RBI single by Abdul-Nasser bin Amr) and sixth inning (McDonald with an RBI single).
The rest came in a three-run fifth which featured back-to-back homers from Jackson Miller (a two-run homer) and Manuel Coke (a solo shot).
Muskies starting pitcher Lee Twersky lasted 4.2 innings, allowing five runs runs on eight hits. He exited after the consecutive homers in the fifth.
Marshall Hornby gave up St. Louis' run in the sixth.
The Walkers added a final run in the seventh, Marcos Francis connecting on an RBI double off Tyler Phillips.
After finishing the sixth, Weldon got the first two outs of the seventh for St. Louis.
Aramando Cintron finished the seventh.
Scott Rissler worked a scoreless eight for the Walkers.
Nick Strother set Madison down in order in the ninth for his 12th save.

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Record: 44-30, 1st, 1.5 GB Springfield
Manuel Coke homered twice and Shane Drogo joined teammate Josh McDonald as the Midwest Baseball League's only nine-game winner thus far in 2036, as St. Louis defeated Madison 5-2 at Comiskey Park (1969).
The win was the second straight for the River Walkers to complete the three-game series.
Coke's solo home runs in the first and third innings, both off Muskies starting pitcher Jim O'Brien, gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead. He has 19 home runs for the season.
Drogo joined McDonald at 9-2 by allowing two runs on six hits over the first six innings. He struck out three and walked three.
The Muskies two runs came in the bottom of the fourth and tied the game.
St. Louis moved back in front by scoring the game's remaining runs in the sixth.
They all came via the home run, Nick Shaw with a two-run homer followed by a Marcos Francis solo shot.
O'Brien allowed the Shaw homer. Francis hit his off Edwin Cervantes.
After Drogo's exit after the sixth inning, Bobby Westerman pitched two innings of relief for St. Louis.
Nick Strother took care of the ninth for his 13th save.

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Record: 45-30, 1st/(Tied/w. Springfield), 2 GA Quad City
St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and the River Walkers rode that and a strong start from Edward Kunselman to a 3-1 win over Madison at Busch Stadium (2006).
Both of the first-inning runs scored with two outs against Muskies starting pitcher Jim Martin.
Jackson Miller had singled with one out.
Two batters later, Nick Shaw singled to move Miller to third.
He scored when Martin threw a wild pitch.
Marcos Francis plated Shaw with a double.
The Walkers went up 3-0 in the third.
Miller scored his second run of the game.
This time, he led off the inning with a single, and went to second on a one-out single by Shaw.
Rookie Mark Herman drove Miller in with a two-out single.
Kunselman (6-0) went seven innings, allowing one run -- Dan Hillard led off the fifth with a double an scored on a Brady House fly ball-- on three hits. He struck out eight and didn't issue a walk.
Bobby Westerman pitched the eighth and ninth.
Madison did load the bases in the ninth, but Westerman got out of it without allowing a run for his third save.

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Record:46-30, 1st/(Tied/w. Springfield), 3 GA Quad City
Xavier Wigfall recorded 26 of 26 outs before exiting after having thrown 120 pitches to help lead St. Louis to a 6-0 win over Madison at Busch Stadium (2006).
Wigfall (4-6) scattered eight hits over the first 8.2 innings. He struck out six and walked two.
Wigfall left the game after issuing a two-out walk to Brady House in the top of the ninth.
Ron Cox took over and struck out Jon Solis to end the game.
The River Walkers opened their scoring with a three-run bottom of the fourth against Muskies rookie starting pitcher Jared Darch.
Marcos Francis led off the inning with a double.
Mark Herman followed with a walk, and they both scored on a Nathaniel Dixon triple.
Wigfall later drove in Herman with a successful squeeze play.
St. Louis added two more runs against Darch in the fifth.
Manuel Coke led off the inning with a double, and scored on a single by Herman.
Dixon collected his third RBI of the game with a double.
Francis doubled off Ben Johnson with one-out in the seventh.
He scored on a single by Abdul-Nasser bin Amr.

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MBL news: June 29 -- All-Star game fan voting update

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Record: 46-31, 2nd, 1 GB Springfield
Dan Hillard doubled to score Alex Greene with the game-winning run in the top of the 13th inning, as Madison downed St. Louis 7-6 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win allowed the Muskies to avoid a three-game sweep. The teams split the six games in their home-and-home series.
Hillard and Greene are both former Walkers.
Adam Macklin had reached on a one-out single off St. Louis relief pitcher Nick Ruffalo.
Greene replaced Macklin on the bases when he hit into a fielder's choice.
Hillard then lined a 1-2 pitch into right field to score Greene.
The Muskies battered Walkers rookie starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka for six runs over the first five innings while building a 6-2 lead.
Macklin had drove in their fifth run in the top of the fifth with a double.
An RBI single by Hillard later in that inning had made it 6-2.
A big chunk of the St. Louis comeback came in the bottom of the fifth when it scored three times.
Zach Wenman had an RBI single and Manuel Coke a run-scoring double off Muskies starter Alex Ochoa to make it 6-4.
Nick Shaw then made it 6-5 with a sac fly, also off Ochoa.
An inning later, the Walkers tied it.
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr led off with a double off reliever Tyler Phillips.
Yan C. Dixon later drove in bin Amr with a squeeze bunt.
Ochoa lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits.
Ben Johnson completed the fifth for the Muskies.
After that, six more relievers (Tyler Phillips (1.0 IP), Dakota Franc (1.0), Oscar Martinez (1.0), Marshall Lacombe (1.0), Edwin Cervantes (1.1) and Luis Bahena (2.0), combined to pitch the final eight innings for Madison.
Bahena (1-2) earned his first win of the season.
St. Louis reliever Nick Strother left the game after facing just one batter in the ninth inning.
His injury was not made available.

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MBL news: Week 13 -- Awards and standings

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MBL news: July 1 -- Cleveland's Vasquez no-hits Indy

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

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MBL news: July 1 -- Rookies of the Month for June and standings

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MBL news: July 1 -- American League leaders

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MBL news: July 1 -- National League leaders

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Walkers news: July 1 -- Team statistics for June

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Walkers news: July 1 -- Team statistics for 2036 season

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Player of the Month: Mark Herman -- The 23-year-old rookie had quite a first month hitting .291 with two homers, 15 RBIs, and 13 runs scored in 25 games. He got on base at a .386 clip and slugged .407.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Shane Drogo -- The 30-year-old left-hander went 5-0 in five starts with a 3.14 ERA. He pitched a total of 28.2 innings, during which he struck out 20 and had a 1.26 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Brennan Weldon -- The 28-year-old right-hander got into 12 games and went 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA. He pitched 13.0 innings, during which he struck out 12 and had a 0.92 WHIP.

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Walkers news: July 1 -- Player Development Report