2023 St. Louis River Walkers -- Postseason or bust

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MBL news: National League leaders on July 1

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Walkers news: Statistical report for June

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Player of the Month: Michael Toglia: The National League Rookie of the Month, Toglia batted .342 in 29 games with five homers and 14 RBIs. He scored 17 runs, while boasting an on-base percentage of .397 and a slugging percentage of .568.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Argenis Batista: In six starts, he went 3-1 with a 2.02 ERA. He worked a total of 35.2 innings, striking out 34 batters while posting a 1.15 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Jake Brentz: The left-hander went 1-2 with a 3.14 ERA in 15 games. He pitched a total of 14.1 innings, during which he struck out 18 batters and had a WHIP of 0.77.

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The game between the St. Louis River Walkers and Dayton Fighter Pilots was postponed by rain.
It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on July 2.

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MBL news: All-Star fan voting update for July 2

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Record: 41-35, 3rd, 5.5 GB Des Moines
Dylan Carlson cranked the first pitch thrown by St. Louis reliever Thad Ward 379 feet over the right-field wall for a three-run homer which gave Dayton a 6-3 win in the first game of a doubleheader at Memorial Stadium (Baltimore, 1986).
Jeremy Eirman had got things going for the Fighter Pilots with a one-out single off River Walkers reliever Bobby Poyner in the bottom of the ninth of a 3-3 game.
After a ground out move Eirman to second, Kameron Misner reached on an error by third baseman Jean Carmona to bring Carlson to the plate.
Ware was brought in to face Carlson, and the first pitch he threw went over the wall.
Michael Toglia hit a two-run homer off Dayton starting pitcher Dovydas Neverauskas in the top of the first, staking the Walkers to a 2-0 lead.
RBI singles from Eirman and Rowdy Tellez off St.Louis starter Aaron Nola in the fifth evened the game.
A run-scoring double from J.T. Realmuto off reliever David Amador put the Walkers back in front in the eighth.
The Pilots anwswered right back in the bottom of the inning, Misner and Jesse Winker spanking doubles off reliever Brad Hand to score a run.
Neverauskas worked five innings, giving up two runs on four hits.
Five relievers took the ball for the Pilots -- Matt Sarullo (0.1 IP), Xavier Cedeno (0.2)., David Amador (1.0),Akeel Morris (1.0) and Drew Smith (1.0) -- to close out the game for Dayton.
Smith earned his third win of the season.

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Record: 41-36, 3rd, 6 GB Des Moines
Jeremy Eierman hit a two-run, two-out homer off St. Louis starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks in the bottom of the fifth inning to wipe out a 1-0 deficit and send Dayton to a 4-1 in at Memorial Stadium (Baltimore, 1986).
With the win, the Fighter Pilots swept a doubleheader and took the final two games of a three-game series.
Bryson Scott singled with two outs ahead of Eirman.
The right-handed hitter hit the second pitch he saw from Hendricks 434 feet over the left-field wall to put the Pilots up 2-1.
Dylan Carlson hit a solo homer off Hendricks in the sixth, making it 3-1.
Another solo homer, this one from Rowdy Tellez off reliever Jake Brentz, in the eighth made it 4-1.
Dayton starting pitcher Lenny Torres lasted five innings, allowing one run on four hits.
Kevin Gausman, Ivan Nova and Matt Sarullo all worked an inning apiece before Drew Smith (0.2 IP) and David Amador (0.1) took care of the ninth to seal the win.

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MBL news: Week 11 awards and standings

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Record: 41-37, 3rd, 7 GB Des Moines
Akron scored twice in the top of the sixth inning to overcome a 4-3 deficit and went on for a 6-4 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
It was the River Walkers who trailed early, but they utilized a three-run bottom of the fifth -- Larry Ernesto driving in two of the runs with a double to take that one-run lead.
But the Flying Feet went back in front in the top of the sixth.
Much of the damage came after Brad Hand replaced starting pitcher Alex Faedo with runners at second and third with one out.
Brandon Shewmake greeted Hand with an RBI single.
After Shewmake stole second, pinch-hitter Lewis Brinson was granted an intentional walk to load the bases.
Hand struck out Taylor Trammell for the second out.
With Nick Schnell at the plate, Hand then unleashed a wild pitch, scoring Matt Chapman with the go-ahead run.
Akron added an insurance run in the eighth after Nick Fortes doubled with one-out off reliever John Curtiss.
Fortes scored on a Trammell single.
Feet starting pitcher Matthew Libertore worked five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits.
Four relievers -- Corey Knebel, Victor Vidnik, Riley Ferrell and A.J. Minter -- all worked a scoreless inning apiece to close it out.
Liberatore (3-0) earned the win. The save was the 13th of the season for Minter.

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Record: 41-37, 3rd, 7 GB Des Moines
Akron scored twice in the top of the sixth inning to overcome a 4-3 deficit and went on for a 6-4 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
It was the River Walkers who trailed early, but they utilized a three-run bottom of the fifth -- Larry Ernesto driving in two of the runs with a double to take that one-run lead.
But the Flying Feet went back in front in the top of the sixth.
Much of the damage came after Brad Hand replaced starting pitcher Alex Faedo with runners at second and third with one out.
Brandon Shewmake greeted Hand with an RBI single.
After Shewmake stole second, pinch-hitter Lewis Brinson was granted an intentional walk to load the bases.
Hand struck out Taylor Trammell for the second out.
With Nick Schnell at the plate, Hand then unleashed a wild pitch, scoring Matt Chapman with the go-ahead run.
Akron added an insurance run in the eighth after Nick Fortes doubled with one-out off reliever John Curtiss.
Fortes scored on a Trammell single.
Feet starting pitcher Matthew Libertore worked five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits.
Four relievers -- Corey Knebel, Victor Vidnik, Riley Ferrell and A.J. Minter -- all worked a scoreless inning apiece to close it out.
Liberatore (3-0) earned the win. The save was the 13th of the season for Minter.

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Record: 41-38, 3rd, 8 GB Kansas City
Tied 2-2, Akron took the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning and broke it open with six more in the fifth, as the Flying Feet downed St. Louis 10-3 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Nate Schnell had the big hit in the fourth, with a two-out, two-run triple off River Walkers starting pitcher Argenis Batista.
In the fifth, the bulk of the damage came against reliever Bobby Poyner who took over with runners at first and second and two outs.,
He walked Aaron Ackerman to load the bases.
Pitcher Taijuan Walker followed with a bases-clearing triple, making it 7-2.
But the Feet were not done.
Taylor Trammell followed with a two-run homer.

Schnell then put one over the wall, pushing Akron's advantage to eight runs.
Poyner has now allowed 10 home runs in 31 innings this season.
Walker (9-5) handled the first five innings for the Feet, allowing two runs on two hits.
Donato Auguste took care of the sixth through eighth innings.
The ninth belonged to Arodys Vizcaino, who kept the Walkers off the scoreboard.

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Record: 42-38, 3rd, 8 GB Kansas City
Down 2-1, St. Louis poured six runs across the plate in the bottom of the third inning to pave the way for a 9-3 win over Akron at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the win, the River Walkers salvaged the final game of the three-game series with the Flying Feet. They also put an end to a four-game losing streak.
St. Louis put six straight batters on base against Akron starting pitcher Casey Mize in that big fourth inning.
During that span, Andrew Benintendi drove in a run with a single and Michael Toglia and Nicky Delmonico both plated two with doubles.
A single from Jean Carmona chased home the inning's final run, and spelled the end to Mize's time on the mound.
River Walkers starting pitcher Brandon Spagnuolo (7-) earned the win.
He worked 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.
Jake Brentz got the final out of the sixth inning.
John Curtiss got two outs in the seventh before exiting the game with back tightness.
The rest of the game belonged to Thad Ward, who didn't allow a run over the final 2.1 innings.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed right-handed relief pitcher John Curtiss on the 10-day injured lift after he was forced to exit their July 6 game against Akron with back tightness.
In 40 games this season, the 30-year-old Curtiss has gone 1-1 with two saves and posted a 2.66 ERA.
Being called up from Memphis will be 26-year-old reliever Bill Warson.
It will be Warson's second stint of the season with the Walkers, who in 10 games he went 0-2 with a 3.95 ERA.
At AAA, where he served as closer for the Redbirds, he is 0-1 in 16 games with nine saves and a 2.19 ERA.

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The game between the St. Louis River Walkers and Cedar Rapids Golden Grapplers at Shibe Park has been postponed by rain.
It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on July 8 in Cedar Rapids.

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Record: 43-38, 3rd, 6.5 GB Kansas City
St. Louis compiled four runs over the first four innings to open a 4-0 lead, and pave the way for a 5-1 win over Cedar Rapids at Shibe Park (1949).
The River Walkers banged out four hits off Golden Grapplers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer en route to scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first inning.
Andrew Benintendi drove in the first run with a double, although he was thrown out at third trying to stretch the hit.
Rhys Hoskins was then hit by a pitch.
A Larry Ernesto single moved him to second. J.T. Realmuto chased him home with another single.
Bo Bichette led off the third with a homer off Bauer, making it 3-0.
In the fourth, Nicky Delmonico led off the inning with a single and would later score on an Edmond Americaan single.
River Walkers starting pitcher Aaron Nola had one of his better outings in a while. He lasted seven innings, one run on seven hits. He struck out five and walked none.
Phil Maton tossed a scoreless eighth inning and got the first out of the ninth before getting into a jam.

Jake Brentz got out of it without an issue, retiring both the batters he faced to end it.

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Record: 43-39, 3rd, 7 GB Des Moines
Cedar Rapids jumped on St. Louis starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks for three runs in the bottom of the first inning and rode that momentum to an 8-2 win over the River Walkers at Shibe Park (1949).
Domingo Santana delivered the big blow of that first inning, with a two-run homer off Hendricks.
His homer made it 3-0, as Dominic Smith had driven in the game's first run just prior with a double.
Smith's double scored Victor Robles, who also doubled.
Cedar Rapids took a 4-1 lead in the third, when Alex Bregman drove in Smith with a single off Hendricks.
Santana's second homer of the game, also off Hendricks, made it 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
Two more homers, in the sixth, a lead-off blast from Robles oand a two-run shot from Joc Pederson both off Bill Warson, made it 8-1.
Golden Grapplers starting pitcher Sean Harp (6-4) worked five innings, iving up one run on five hits.
Durbin Feltman and Taylor Bashlor both handled two innings apiece to seal the win.

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Walkers news: Mid-season note from ownership

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MBL news: All-Star fan voting update for July 9

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The game scheduled for July 9 between St. Louis and Cedar Rapids at Shibe Park has been postponed by rain.

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MBL news: Week 12 awards and standings