2031 St. Louis River Walkers: The ring is the thing

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MBL news: July 13 -- All-Star game rosters

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MBL news: July 13 -- Prospects game rosters

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Record: 53-37, 1st, 3 GA Cedar Rapids
Kaneo Kawamoto tossed a four-hit shutout and St. Louis went into the All-Star break with a 1-0 win over Dayton at Busch Stadium (1997).
The victory gave the River Walkers' victories three of the series' four games.
Kawamoto (8-6) scattered four hits -- three singles and a double -- over the nine innings. He struck out seven and walked none.
Rick Scott provided the game's lone run with a solo homer, his 22nd of the season, in the second inning off Pilots starting pitcher Ariel Vega.

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MBL news: July 13 -- American League wins slugfest of Prospects Game 14-13

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MBL news: Week 14 -- Awards and standings

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MBL news: July 14 -- Dayton's Brinton wins Home-Run Derby

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MBL news: July 15 -- Vlady Jr. leads American League to All-Star win

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MBL news: July 16 -- American League leaders at All-Star break

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MBL news: April 16 -- National League leaders at All-Star break

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Walkers news: July 16 -- Team statistics at All-Star break

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The St. Louis River Walkers will begin the post-All-Star break portion of their schedule with their starting catcher, Jared Thomas, and shortstop, Jean Carmona, back in the starting lineup after both had missed time with injuries.
Thomas, 30, has been out since May 26 with a torn abdominal muscle.
Before the injury, he had played in 37 games batting .301 with three homers and 23 RBIs.
In a short rehab stint in Memphis, Thomas played in four games where he hit .364 with two RBIs.
Carmona, 31, has been out since July 4 when he suffered an elbow injury.
In 71 games this season, Carmona has hit .234 with seven homers and 23 RBIs. He didn't take a rehab assignment,
Making room for them on the roster, infielder Armondo Morales has been sent to AAA while catcher Kevin Melendez has been released.
Morales, 25, has played in 23 games for the Walkers this season during which he has batted .182 with an RBI.
Melendez, 31, got into nine games during which he hit .219 with a homer and an RBI.
Melendez refused his assignment to AAA, leading to his release.

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MBL news: Week 15 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 54-37, 1st, 3 GA Cedar Rapids
Pinch-hitter Thairo Estrada drove home Jordan Groshans with a sacifice fly with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning to give St. Louis a 6-5 win over Des Moines at Busch Stadium (1997).
Groshans had opened the inning by drawing a lead-off walk from Harvesters relief pitcher Kyan-tae Choi.
A Jared Thomas single moved Groshans to second
Choi then it Scott with a pitch to load the bases.
Jean Carmona struck out for the first out.
But Estrada skied an 0-1 pitch into left field deep enough to score Groshans.
At one point, Des Moines led 5-1 thanks to a pair of two-run homers from Rafael Devers off River Walkers starter Angel Tiburcio.
Jose Ramirez got St. Louis right back into it in the bottom of the fifth, hitting a three-run homer off Harvesters starter Juan Amezquita.
The Walkers tied it an inning later against reliever Freddy Tarnok.
Groshans again scored the run after drawing a walk, this time with one out.
A wild pitch moved Groshans to second and he reached third on a Thomas ground out.
Tarnok hit Rick Scott with a pitch.
Carmona followed with a line-drive single to right, bringing Groshans home to tie it.
It was a rough outing for Tiburcio, who lasted just five innings during which he allowed five runs on 11 hits. He did strike out five and walk none.
Cory Tiller (0.2 IP) and Yeison Santos (0,1) combined to pitch the sixth inning.
Elian Acosta worked a scoreless seventh.
The eighth was divided between Zach Evers (0.2) and Argenis Batista (0.1).
Batista (2-1) would earn the win.
Ernesto Barbosa set the Harvesters down in order in the ninth for his 15th save.

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Record: 54-38, 1st, 3 GA Cedar Rapids
Des Moines bludgeoned St. Louis starting pitcher Izzy San Juan for nine runs in less than three innings, and capitalized on that for a 12-6 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Andrew Foley got things going for the Harvesters cranking a two-run homer off San Juan in the top of the first inning.
Des Moines tallied three more times in the second.
Rafael Devers, who hit two homers in a 6-5 loss to the River Walkers the previous day, earned all three RBIs with a bases-loaded double.
The Harvesters cranked two more homers in the third, both off San Juan. Justin Oates hit the first, a solo shot.
The second belonged to Garrett Frechette, a three-run homer which sent San Juan to the shower.
St. Louis did make it somewhat interesting after Jose Ramirez hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth to make it 10-6.
But the Walkers would not score again.
Des Moines got two more runs in the top of the ninth off reliever Zach Evers and Elian Acosta.
Both runs were driven in by sacrifice flies.
Andrew Foley hit his off Evers.
Devers hit the other off Acosta.
Harvesters starting pitcher Marshall Lacombe lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits.
Daniel Martinez finished the fourth and got the game to the sixth without allowing a run.
Martinez (3-2) would earn the win.
Andrew Perez, Dalvin Rosario and Jeremy Bouchard finished off the game with a scoreless inning apiece.

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Record: 54-39, 1st, 2 GA Cedar Rapids
Des Moines saw its first seven batters of the game reach base against St. Louis starting pitcher Zack Hunsicker, which led to a six-run first inning and the Harvesters blasted their way to a 13-2 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Des Moines won the final two games of the three-game series, and scored 30 runs in the three games.
Jackson Miller provided the big blow of that first inning with a grand slam which made it 4-0.
Garrett Frechette drove in the other two with a double.
St. Louis did draw within 6-2 after three innings, but would not score again.
The Harvesters, however, were not finished piling up the runs.
Three of them came in the fifth where Miller hit his second homer of the game, a lead-off shot off Hunsicker.
Orlando Torres later plated a pair with a single off reliever Argenis Batista.
Rafael Devers led off the sixth with a homer, also off Batista, to make it 10-2.
Justin Oates put a ball over the wall off Andres Hernandez in the seventh.
Hernandez then hit Devers with a pitch which led to a bench-clearing brawl.
Both players were ejected and will likely be suspended.
Bill Blakeney drove in the game's final two runs in the ninth with a double off infielder Steve Sullivan, who had taken over the pitching duties.
Harvesters starting pitcher Liam Henry (4-3) allowed two runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out seven and didn't walk a batter.
Brenan Hanifee pitched two scoreless innings of relief.
Freddy Tarnok took care of the ninth without incident.

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MBL news: July 23 -- Devers and Hernandez get four games for fisticuffs

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Record: 54-40, 1st, 2 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 3-3, Josh Shuler and Darren Miller both homered in the top of the ninth inning to help lift Kansas City to a 5-3 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
River Walkers reliever Ricky Cisneros retired Jason Gillem to open the top of the ninth.
But Shuler turned on the first pitch he saw and drove it 401 feet over the wall in right to put the Monarchs in the lead.
Two batters later, Miller powered a 3-1 pitch 414 feet over the same wall to extend the KC advantage to 5-3.
The River Walkers had tied it at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth on a pinch-hit solo homer by Nathaniel Dixon off Monarchs reliever Nate Guthrie.
Monarchs starting pitcher Javier Assad allowed two runs on five hits over the first six innings.
Juan Sandoval, Guthrie and Leo Hermosillo all pitched an inning apiece for KC.
Guthrie (5-4) earned the win. Hermosillo now has 13 saves.

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Record: 55-40, 1st, 2 GA Cedar Rapids
Jesse McNaboe allowed one run over 6.1 innings to help St. Louis snap a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over Kansas City at Busch Stadium (1997).
McNaBoe (8-2) allowed one run on three hits during his time on the mound. He struck out nine and walked two.
The lone run he allowed came in the top of the seventh on a two-out homer from Tony Martinez.
He exited the game after the home run.
Elian Acosta came one and retired the next two batters to end the seventh.
Argenis Batista issued a pair of walks in the eighth, but didn't allow a run.
Ernesto Barbosa also walked a batter in the ninth, but still came out of it with his 16th save.
Steve Rossi put the River Walkers on top in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out solo homer off Monarchs starter Mike Tucker.
An inning later, the Walkers increased their lead to 2-0.
Jared Thomas opened the inning with a single off Tucker.
Another single, from Rick Scott, moved Thomas to second,
He scored on a two-out single from Daniel Becerra.

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Record: 55-40, 1st, 2 GA Cedar Rapids
The game between the Kansas City Monarchs and St. Louis River Walkers scheduled for July 27 at Busch Stadium has been postponed by rain.
It has been rescheduled for Monday, August 25 at Busch Stadium, in St. Louis.

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MBL news: Week 16 -- Awards and standings