2028 St. Louis River Walkers: Starting our second decade

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Record: 51-37, 2nd, 0.5 GB Des Moines
Alek Thomas snapped a 6-6 tie with a two-run single off Ann Arbor reliever Brandon Urban in the bottom of the eighth inning to help carry St. Louis to an 8-6 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Thairo Estrada got things moving for the River Walkers in the bottom of the eighth with a one-out single off Urban.
A walk to Jared Thomas followed,
Pinch-hitter Brendan McKay moved the runners to second and third with a ground out.
Thomas then slashed a 0-1 pitch past the shortstop, scoring both runners.
A three-run homer from Jared Thomas off Wolf Pack starting pitcher Trey Benton helped St. Louis go up 3-0 after two innings.
When Ann Arbor's Josh Breaux hit a three-run homer off St. Louis starter Angel Tiburcio in the fourth, it was tied at 4-4.
The Wolf Pack scored two more runs in the sixth, Jameson Hannah had an RBI single off Tiburcio and Austin Hays plated another with a sacrifice fly, to go up 6-4.
But the Walkers answered with a pair in the bottom of the inning -- pinch-hitter Keegan Fish plating both with a two-out double off reliever Jhoan Duran -- to even things at 6-6.
Tiburcio pitched 5.1 innings, allowing six runs on five hits.
Cory Tiller finished the sixth for the Walkers.
Ricky Cisneros worked scoreless seventh for St. Louis and got the first two outs of the eighth.
Ernesto Barbosa (5-0) retired the only batter he faced to wrap up the eighth, but he did get the win.
Jake Brentz worked a scoreless ninth for his 13th save.

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Record: 52-37, 2nd, 0.5 GB Des Moines
Brendan McKay and a trio of relievers combined to shutout Ann Arbor 7-0 at Busch Stadium (1997).
McKay (4-3) handled the first six innings,scattering five hits while striking out seven and walking two.
Cory Tiller (0.2 IP) and Zac Lowther (0.1) combined on a scoreless seventh inning.
Ernesto Barbosa handled the eighth and ninth, he did allow two base runners in that final inning, but not a run to earn his third save.
Andrew Benintendi provided the first of two River Walkers' runs with a solo homer off Wolf Pack startig pitcher Marshall Lacrombe with one out in the fourth inning.
St. Louis got its other run in the eighth after Alek Thomas led off with a double off Erik DePasquale and scored on a Cris Rosario single.

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MBL news: Players and Pitchers of the Month for June 2028

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MLB news: Rookies of the Month for June 2028 and standings

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MBL news: American League leaders for June 2028

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MBL news: National League Leaders for June 2028

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Walkers news: Team statistics for June 2028

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Player of the Month: Vidal Brujan: The 30-year-old infielder batted .347 with three homers, 12 RBIs and 12 runs scored in 26 games. He posted a .394 on-base percentage and slugged .525.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Adonis Medina -- The 31-year-old right-hander started six games and went 4-0 with a 3.06 ERA. He pitched a total of 35.1 innings, during which he struck out 28 and had a 0.99 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Ernesto Barbosa -- The 26-year-old rookie pitched in nine games during which he went 2-0 and post a 1.23 ERA. He was on the mound for 7.6 innings, during which he struck out 11 and had a 1.31 WHIP.

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Walkers news: Team statistics at end of June 2028

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Record: 53-37, 2nd, 0.5 GB Des Moines
Down 2-1, St. Louis scored six times in the bottom of the fifth inning -- the bulk of the damage coming on a Cris Rosario grand slam -- and the River Walkers went on to defeat Ann Arbor 7-3 at Busch Stadium (1997).
With single runs in the second and third inning off Walkers starting pitcher Kaneo Kawamoto, the Wolf Pack actually jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
St. Louis halved the deficit in the fourth inning when Alek Thomas led off with a double off Ann Arbor starter Nick Jorday and scored when Vidal Brujan followed with a single.
The Walkers then busted it open in the fifth against Jodway.
Singles from Steve Ruland and Keegan Fish and a walk to Thairo Estrada got things moving.
A squeeze-bunt attempt from Kawamoto didn't not work.
But Alek Thomas tied it with a single.
Jodway struck out Brujan for the second out.
However, Benintendi kept it going with a single to put St. Louis ahead 3-2.
Rosario then hammered a 1-1 pitch 400 feet over the left-field wall.
The grand slam was the 27th homer of the season for the rookie.
Kawamoto (6-6) evened his record by allowing three runs on five hits in 7.2 innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Luis Angel Medina struck out all four batters he faced to end it.

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MLB news: July 2 -- All-Star game fan voting final results

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MBL news: All-Star game rosters

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MBL news: Prospects Game rosters

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Record: 54-37, 2nd. 0.5 GB Des Moines
Tanner Bibee limited Ann Arbor to a single run over seven innings, and St. Louis completed a four-game sweep of the Wolf Pack at Busch Stadium (1997).
Bibee (3-9), who is on the trading block, may have made a statement for himself in an outing where he allowed one run on three hits, He struck out seven and walked one.
The lone Ann Arbor run came in the first inning, when Enrique Salcedo led off the game with a double and scored on a one-out single from Rhys Hoskins.
St. Louis took the lead for good in the bottom of the second on a three-run homer from Jared Thomas off Pack starting pitcher Antonio Gonzalez.
Alek Thomas singled off Gonzalez with one out in the fifth and scored on an Ozzie Albies single, making it 4-1.
The Walkers' other three runs came in the eighth
Two of the runs scored on a pinch-hit single by Keegan Fish.
The hit scored Carlos Vidal while Jean Carmona crossed the plate following a throwing error by Ann Arbor center fielder Jameson Hannah.
Jared Thomas scored the game's final run when he scored on an Alek Thomas sacrifice fly.
Travis Krogman worked the eighth inning for St. Louis.
Zach Lowther handled the ninth to seal the win.

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MBL news: National League routs American League 10-1 in Prospects Game

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MBL news: Week 14 Awards and standings

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MBL news: July 3 -- Milwaukee's Baty wins Home-Run Challenge

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MBL news: July 4 -- American League downs National League 6-3 in All-Star game

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MBL news: American League leaders at All-Star break

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MBL news: National League leaders at All-Star break