2027 St. Louis River Walkers: Looking at another postseason run

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Record: 39-25, 2nd, 1.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Alek Thomas broke up a scoreless game with a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and Jason Froelich and a trio of relievers combined on a shutout as St. Louis downed Des Moines 3-0 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Vidal Brujan got things rolling in the eighth by drawing a one-out walk from Harvesters reliever Albert Hernandez.
Hernandez struck Fernando Tatis Jr., but pinch-hitter Lewis Brinson followed with a single.
Thomas then crushed 2-2 pitch 447 foot blast over the wall in right-center to finally open the scoring.
Although he didn't last long enough to get the decision, Jason Froelich turned in another impressive outing going seven innings, during which he allowed five hits, struck out eight and walked just one.
Luis Angel Medina (5-2) worked a quiet eighth inning, and would come out of it with his fifth win of the season after the Thomas homer.

Williams Jerez got the ball to start the ninth, but allowed a walk and a hit.
Danny Grigg stepped in and retired the only two batters he faced for his seventh save.

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Record: 39-26, 2nd, 2.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Garrett Frechette led off the top of the eighth inning with a triple off St. Louis reliever Zac Lowther, he later scored on a David Lewis one-out single off Luis Angel Medina to snap a 3-3 tie and help give Des Moines a 4-3 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
The victory allowed the Harvesters to split the two-game series. The loss also ended a four-game winning streak for the River Walkers.
An RBI single by Jackson Miller in the fourth and a two-run homer from Austin Meadows in the fifth, both off St. Louis starter Robby Albarran who was making his MBL debut, helped stake Des Moines to a 3-0 lead.
But Vidal Brujan wiped that out with one swiing in the bottom of the fiifth, hittiing a three-run homer off Harvesters starter Kellan Tulio.
Tulio pitched five innings, allowing three runs on hour hits. He struck out eight and walked two.
Steven Gingery, Cole Duensing, Ronny Carvajal and Omar Benitez all worked an inning apiece for Des Moines.
Duensing (4-3) came out of it with the victory. Benitez added to his MBL save total, now sitting at 19.

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Record: 40-26, 2nd, 2 GB Cedar Rapids
St. Louis hit four home runs and Tanner Bibee allowed two runs over seven innings as the River Walkers won 9-3 over Rockford at RFK Stadium (1995).
Vidal Brujan, Andrew Beintendi, Jared Thomas and Jean Carmona all went deep for the Walkers.
Benintendi contributed the first with a two-run shot off Lightning starter Luis Severino in the third inning to make it 3-1.
In the fifth, St. Louis went back-to-back, Carmona with a two-run homer off Severino and Brujan with a solo jack off his replacement Jaden Foster.
Leading off the eighth against Tommy Kahnle, Thomas hit his sixth homer of the season to make it 7-2.
Bibee (3-2) allowed two runs on seven hits over his seven innings. He struck out seven and walked none.
Tony Ramirez gave up a pair of runs in the eighth, but worked a scoreless ninth.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed outfielder Alek Thomas on the 10-day disabled list with a strained oblique.
Thomas, who returned on May 31 after being on a 10-day disabled list with a back injury, is expected to be hindered for up to four weeks.
The 28-year-old Thomas is enjoying a good season, batting .313 with seven homers, 23 RBIs and 39 runs scored in 54 games.
Getting called up from AAA Memphis is first baseman Cris Rosario.
Acquired inthe offseason from Milwaukee, Rosario is making his first appearance in the majors.
At AAA, he is batting .318 this season with 11 homers and 52 RBIs.

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Record: 41-26, 2nd, 1 GB Cedar Rapids

JT Schwartz and Vidal Brujan hit back-to-back doubles with two outs in the eighth inning off Rockford reliever Travis Krogman to score the winning run, as St. Louis won 8-7 at RFK Stadium (2005).
It was a wild game which saw the Lightning jump out to a 7-0 when it hit four homers over the first three innings off River Walkers starter Brendan McKay.
But the Walkers roared back.

They got their first run in the fourth when Jean Carmona drew a lead-off walk from Rockford starting pitcher Konnor Pilkington.
Carmona came around to score on a two-out double by Jared Thomas.
St. Louis came all the way to tie it by scoring six times in the fifth.
Lewis Brinson landed the big blow with a grand slam off reliever Rick Sessions.
Just prior to that, facing his final hitter, Pilkington had walked Andrew Benintendi with the bases loaded.
Thomas followed Brinson's homer with a solo shot, also off Sessions, to square it at 7-7.
McKay lasted just 2.1 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits.
But his bullpen picked him up.
Nick Lodolo finished the third inning and got things into the sixth.
Zac Lowther worked a scoreless sixth and got the first two outs of the seventh.
Louis Angel Medina struck out the only batter he faced in the seventh.
Closer Jake Brentz worked two innings, recording his 12th save, striking out four of the seven batters he faced.

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Record: 41-27, 2nd, 2 GB Cedar Rapids

Tied 5-5, Rockford scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and the Lightning went on to defeat St. Louis 9-5 at RFK Stadium (2005).
On the heels of an 8-7 River Walkers win, this one was another wild one.
St. Louis jumped out to a 4-0 lead after an inning-and-a-half, only to have the Lightning go up 5-4 with a big bottom of the second.
The Walkers tied it in the top of the fourth, only to have Rockford have big bottom of the inning.
In that fourth, Glenallen Hill Jr. led off with a single off Walkers starter Angel Tiburcio.
A bunt by Jaden Foster moved hill to second and he scored on a Kristian Robinson single.
Looking to for Tiburcio to get through one more batter, it blew up in the Walkers face as Rece Hinds hit a two-run homer to make it 8-5.
After all that early offense, only one more run would be scored.
It came in the eighth, when Hill led off with a double off Walkers reliever Tony Ramirez.
Mike Courtney moved Hill to third wiht a single.
Hill scored when Robinson hit a sacrifice fly.
Alex Faedo made the start for Rockford, only to get roughed up by his former team allowing five runs on six hits in just three innings.
Jaden Foster did get through the fourth and fifth innings without allowing a run.
That was enough to earn Foster (1-0) the win.
Tommy Kahnle, Rick Sessions, Travis Krogman and Josh Fleming all pitched an inning the close the game out.

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MBL news: All-Star fan voting for June 12

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Record: 41-28, 2nd, 2 GB Cedar Rapids
Rockford pounded St. Louis starting pitcher Adonis Medina for four runs in the second and four more in the fifth as the Lightning routed the River Walkers 8-3 at RFK Stadium (2005).
With the win, Rockford took the final two games of the four-game series.
The Lightning loaded the bases without an out to open the second inning.
Gage Canning drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly.
Medina then retired Glenallen Hill Jr for the second out.
But pitcher Yeo-San Park provided the big hit with a two-run single.
Jose Ramirez drove in the inning's fourth run with a double.
In the fifth, the Lightning once again saw its first three hitters reach base against Medina to load the bases.
Javy Monjaraz then hit into a fielder's choice, scoring Jose Ramirez with the inning's first run.
Jake Holland followed with a three-run homer, suddenly it was 8-0.
St. Louis scored once in each of the final three innings.
Park (6-3) worked a dominating 61 innings, allowing one run on two hits. He struck out 10 and walked none.
Tommy Kahnle finished the seventh inning and got the first out of the eighth.
Travis Krogman (0.2 IP), Jaden Foster (0.2) and Josh Fleming (0.1) combined to finish the game.

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MBL news: Week 9 Awards and standings

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Record: 42-28, 2nd, 1 GB Cedar Rapids
JT Schwarz two-out single in the top of the ninth inning scored Jesse Franklin to snap a 6-6 tie, and held St. Louis get past Madison 7-6 at Comiskey Park (1991).
It was quite a day for Franklin, who went 4 for 4 with four runs scored and an RBI.
Franklin drew a walk from Jorge Guzman to open the inning.

A one-out walk to Andrew Benintendi moved him to second.
Jared Thomas struck out for the second out.
But Schwartz didn't lining a 2-1 pitch up the middle to score Franklin.
The River Walkers actually trailed 5-0 after three innings, as Madison pounded their starting pitcher Jason Froelich for four runs in the first inning and an additional run in the third.
But they fought their way back into it.

An RBI double from Benintendi in the third and run-scoring single from Thomas in the fourth made it 5-2.
An inning later, Franklin drove in a run with a double off Muskies starter Tyrion Pacheco and scored on a Benintendi single.
Aramis Ademan did hit a solo homer off J.B. Wendelken in the sixth to put Madison ahead 6-4.
But the Walkers tied it in the seventh.
Vidal Brujan led off with a homer off Danny Munos.
Franklin followed with a single and scored on a two-out single by Myles Austin, evening it at 6-6.
Froelich recovered from his rough start to go five innings, allowing gur runs on eight hits.
He was followed to the mound by Wendelken (0.1 IP), Nick Lodolo (0.1), Luis Angel Medina (1.1) and Jake Brentz (1.2).
Brentz (1-2) came out of it with his first win of the season.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have sent 25-year-old first baseman Cris Rosario back to AAA Memphis and called up veteran outfielder Monte Harrison.
Rosario, 25, played in just two games for St. Louis, both as a pinch hitter and had gone 0 for 2.
The Walkers signed Harrison to a minor-league contract last week.
The 31-year-old got into two games with the Redbirds, hitting .167 with a homer and two RBIs.

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Record: 42-29, 2nd, 2 GB Cedar Rapids
Kevin Maitan homered twice and Madison pounded St. Louis starting pitcher Tanner Bibee for six runs in four innings on the way to a 7-2 win at Comiskey Park (1991).
The Muskies took Bibee deep four times altogether, twice in a pair of three-run innings.
The first two came in third, where Nick Senzel hit a solo shot, and Maitan followed with a two-run blast.
Then, after the River Walkers had pulled to within 3-2, Maitan hit a two-run homer in the fifth and Taylor Trmmell followed with a homer to make it 6-2.
Muskies starting pitcher Dylan Cease (3-2) worked the first five innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Four relievers -- Luiz Gohard, Andrew Ryan, Justin Burris and Brennan Malone -- all worked an inning apiece.

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Record: 42-30, 2nd, 2 GB Cedar Rapids
Aramis Ademan swung at the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the 11th inning from St. Louis relief pitcher Danny Grigg and drove it 442 feet over the wall in right-center field to give Madison a 4-3 win at Comiskey Park (1991).
At one point, the Muskies led 3-1 only to have the River Walkers tie it on a two-run pinch-hit homer from Myles Austin off reliever David McLoughlin in the top of the seventh inning.
Muskies starting pitcher Jhon Vergara allowed one run on three hits over five innings. He struck out nine and walked two.
Nick Lewis,McLoughlin and Danny Munos all pitched one inning to get itto the ninth.
Closer Jorge Guzman kept the Walkers off the board in the ninth and 10th.
Justin Burris (1-2) did the same in the 11th and came out of it with the win.

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Record: 42-31, 2nd. 2 GB Cedar Rapids
Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Madison got solo homers from Aramis Ademan and Nomar Mazara off St. Louis starter Angel Tibrucio to take the lead in a game the Muskies would go on to win 4-2 at Comiskey Park (1991).
The win meant that Madison took three of the four games in their series against the River Walkers.

Ademan's homer off Tiburcio came with one out and tied it a 2-2.
Nick Senzal struck out for the second out.,
But Mazara hit a 1-1 pitch 433 feet over the fence in right-center to put Madison in front.
The Muskies added an insurance run in the eighth, Senzel led off with a double off Jake Brentz and scored on a Kevin Maitan single to go up 4-2.
Madison starting pitcher Juan Jose Texieria (9-3) allowed two runs on five hits over six innings. He struck out six and walked none.
Henry Torres, Luiz Gohara and Brennan Malone all worked a scoreless inning.
For Malone., he came out of it with his first save.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have called up rght-handed pitcher Jimmy Lambert from AAA Memphis, where he was on an injury rehab.
Lambert, 32. went on the disabled list with an obilque strain on May 7.
After his IL stint, Lambert pitched at AAA where he 1-1 with a 4.75 ERA in five starts.
Lambert is expected to pitch out of the bullpen, although there is a chance he could find his way into the rotation.
Or possibly be used as a trade chip.
To open up a spot for Lambert, the Walkers sent 23-year-old right-hander Tony Ramirez back to AAA.
In two stints with St. Louis this season, Ramirez has gotten into eight games and posted a 6.55 ERA.

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Record: 42-32, 2nd, 3 GB Cedar Rapids
Anderson Parra and four relievers combined on a five-hit shutout and three Evansville hitters blasted homers off St. Louis starter Adonis Medina, as the Big Bossemen downed the River Walkers 5-0 at Yankee Stadium (1988).
Seth Beer hit a two-out solo shot off Medina in the bottom of the first to make it 1-0.
Nolan Arendo launched a two-run homer in the fourth to make it 3-0.
The final two runs came courtesy of Luke Leto, whose two-run homer off Medina in the sixth made it 5-0.
Parra (9-3) handled the first five innings, scattering four hits while striking out seven and walking four.
Brian Clark and Zach Schellenger both worked an inning apiece.
David Amador (1.1 IP) and Matthew Allen combined to finish it out for the Bossemen.

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Record: 42-32, 2nd, 3 GB Cedar Rapids

Anderson Parra tossed five shutout innings and a quartet of relievers followed suit as Evansville shutout St. Louis 5-0 at Yankee Stadium (1988).
Parra (9-3) allowed four hits in his time on the mound, while striking out seven and walking four.
Brian Clark and Zach Schellenger both pitched an inning apiece.
David Amador worked a scoreless eighth and recorded the first out of the ninth.
The final two were handled by Matthew Allan.
Home runs played a role in all of the runs scored by the Big Bossemen.
Seth Beer hit a solo homer off River Walkers starter Adonis Medina in the first inning.
Nolan Arenado smacked a two-run blast off Medina in the fourth.
Luke Leto got to Medina for a two-run job in the sixth.

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Record: 43-32, 2nd, 2 GB Cedar Rapids

Tied 4-4, St. Louis scored twice in both the top of the seventh and eighth inning and then held on for an 8-6 win over Evansville at Yankee Stadium (1988).
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the River Walkers.
St. Louis jumped out to leads of 1-0 and 4-2 only to see Evansville respond with the long ball.
A two-run homer from Rudy Rott off Walkers starter Jason Froelich in the fourth made it 2-1 Big Bossemen.
A two-run shot from Luke Leto in the fifth tied it at 4-4.
St. Louis took the lead for good in the seventh with a pair of runs.
Two walks and a hit by pitch played into the outburst.
Rhys Hoskins even drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk from reliever Matthew Allan.
Andrew Benintendi plated the other with a sacrifice fly.
An inning later, St. Louis received two more walks and Hoskins made them pay with a two-run double off Gerson Moreno.
The Bossemen did have one more homer up their sleeve -- Henry Gargus launched a two-run homer off reliever Zac Lowther -- to draw within 8-6.
But that was all Evansville could muster.
Froelich lasted five innings, allowing four runs on five hits.
Williams Jerez (4-1) would pitch the sixth and got the first out of the seventh, and earn himself the win.
Luis Angel Medina finished up the seventh inning.
Zac Lowther got the first out of the eighth before allowing two hitters to reach.
That brought Jake Brentz into the fray, and while he allowed three baserunners, he didn't give up a run to earn his 13th save.
The River Walkers lost third baseman Fernando Tatis Jr. to an undisclosed injury during the game.
With the highly touted Tatis batting just .192 with 10 homers and 30 RBIs, the loss may not be that big.
Except he may have been looked upon as a valuable trade chip as the trade deadline approached.

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MBL news: All-Star game fan voting update for June 20

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Record: 44-32, 2nd, 1 GB Cedar Rapids
St. Louis roared back from a 5-0 deficit scoring eight runs over the final three innings to defeat Evansville 10-8 at Yankee Stadium (1988).
The victory gave the River Walkers wins in the final two games of the three-game series.
The Big Bossemen pounded St. Louis starter Tanner Bibee for five runs over the first three innings to build their lead.
A two-run triple from Jean Carmona in the fifth off Evansville starter Wyatt Beddow finally got the Walkers going.
The Bossemen, however, answered with a run off reliever Nick Lodolo -- Casey Hart, who would go 3 for 5 with two homers and five RBIs -- pushed their lead back to 6-2.
St. Louis roared back to tie it in the sixth.
Once again walks, which haunted Evansville throughout its two losses played a role as the Bossemen handed out three free passes.
The big hits were provided by Jesse Franklin and Jared Thomas, who both had two-run singles off Matthew Allan.
The Walkers went in front with two runs in the eighth, which again included a pair of walks. One, to Thomas, came with the bases loaded from Gerson Moreno.
Catcher Rudy Rott later allowed a passed ball to make it 8-6.
A two-run ninth for St. Louis featured two more walks.

Andrew Benintendi received one with the bases loaded. Franklin had an RBI single.
Evansville did make it interesting in the ninth, when Hart hit his second homer of the game -- this one off J.B. Wendelken to make it 10-6.
Danny Gigg, however, came on to get Victor Robles to ground to end it and earn his eighth save.
The win went to Luis Angel Medina (7-2), who finished the seventh inning and worked a scoreless eighth.
Bibee gave up five runs on seven hits in just four innings.
Nick Lodolo handled the fifth and sixth.
Zac Lowther got the first two outs of the seventh.