St. Louis River Walkers 2019 season: Is a repeat in the Cards?

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Aaron Judge and Ryan Zimmerman hit solo homers off St. Louis starting pitcher Carlos Martinez in the top of the first inning and the Long Haulers never lost the lead as it squeaked out a 3-2 win over the River Walkers at Busch Stadium.
The start was the first for Martinez, outside of one minor-league rehab start, who also gave up a run in the fifth when Green Bay pitcher Zach Davies singled to score Javier Baez.
Davies performed well, allowing two runs on just two hits over seven innings. He struck out five and walked none.
A Nicky Delmonico two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh provided both Walkers' runs.
Tony Cingrani tossed a scoreless eighth inning for Green Bay. The ninth belonged to Xavier Cedeno, who allowed two runners to reach.
However, he got Michael Conforto to fly out and struck out Delmonico to end it.
With runners at second and third and two outs in the ninth, St. Louis called on closer Keone Kela to help keep Green Bay from adding to its lead.

He struck out J.T. Realmuto to end the inning, but was reported to have an injury upon returning to the dugout.
His status was unavailable at game's conclusion.

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MBL news: Week 16 report

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The St. Louis River Walkers got about the worst possible news on closer Keone Kela learning on August 27, the right-hander will be lost for the remainder of the season (3-4 months on the calendar) with a torn labrum.
Kela earned the closer role during the Walkers' 2018 Midwest Baseball League championship run, a campaign where he posted 20 saves and a record of 9-4 in 54 appearances. He also owned an ERA of 2.06, a WHIP of 0.97 and had struck out 78 batters in 56.2 innings.
He had three blown saves.

In 2019, Kela seemed to taken his performance to even another level.
Prior to suffering the injury in a August 25 game against Green Bay, he came into face to one batter, struck him out, but reported pain on his return to the dugout, Keone had pitched in 44 games and posted a record of 3-0 with 26 saves and an ERA of 0.92.
For the season, he had pitched 39 innings and struck out 52 batters, while posting a WHIP of 0.79. He had just one blown save.

With just five days until the Sept. 1 deadline to set your 40-man rosters for the postseason, it's uncertain if the River Walkers can or would look to make a trade.
The team already features a strong stable of relievers, although only Andrew Miller has closing experience and has posted seven saves this season.
Miller, however, has struggled at times in 2019 with an ERA of 3.66 and four blown saves. Most of that damage has been done by left-handed hitters, who have a WHIP of 1.50 against him. The veteran's WHIP against right-handed batters is 0.80.
Adam Climber has been called up from AAA Memphis to take Kela's place on the roster.
This will be the right-hander's first stint in the big leagues in 2019. He was 5-1 with 11 saves and a 2.56 ERA in 45 games in Memphis.
The Walkers, however, did use Kela in 19 games in 2018 during which he went 1-0 with a 3.70 ERA.

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An Albert Almora two-run home run in the top of the third inning off Brent Honeywell helped stake St. Louis to a 3-0 lead, but after that it was all Chicago G-Men who stormed back for a 9-3 win at Wrigley Field in the opening game of a doubleheader.
After getting an RBI triple from Chris Owings in the bottom of the third, the G-Men took charge with a four-run fourth.
Josh Donaldson got it started by leading off with a solo homer. Shohei Ohtani and Robinson Chirinos followed with a double and single, respectively at which point St. Louis starting pitcher Luis Gohara had to leave with a mild hamstring injury.
The onslaught continued against reliever John Curtiss, who allowed a run-scoring sacrifice fly to Asdrubal Cabrera, before issuing back-to-back walks to DJ Stewart and Brandon Crawford to load the bases.
That set the stage for a two-run single from Chris Owings, making it 5-3.
Chicago had another four-run outburst in the sixth. Owings had a two-run double, giving him five RBIs for the game. Crawford scored one with a double and Donaldson earned his second RBI with a sacrifice fly.
Taking over for Honeywell in the fifth, Zach Greinke pitched a scoreless fifth inning and got the first two outs in the sixth to earn the win.

Four more relievers combined to keep St. Louis scoreless the rest of the way.
After Gohara's injury, the Walkers got heavy use out of four relievers and will have to deal with a short bullpen in the second game of the doubleheader.

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For the second straight game, St. Louis saw an early multi-run advantage erased as the Chicago G-Men exploded against ace Aaron Nola in an 8-4 win at Wrigley Field, which game them a sweep of a doubleheader.
Manny Pina cranked a three-run homer off Chris O'Grady in the top of the first inning to help stake the River Walkers to a 4-0 lead.
Chicago, however, gradually began to chip away from it against Nola.

Josh Donaldson had an RBI double in the bottom of the first and then drove in Chris Owings with a single in the third.
The G-Men then took Nola to the woodshed in the fourth, scoring six times as the Walkers were reluctant to go to their bullpen after seeing its relief core get major work in a 9-3 loss in the first gamer of the twinbill.
Chicago strung together seven hits in the inning.

Matt Carpenter had the lone multi-run hit with a double which scored the inning's final two runs.
Chris Owings hit a solo homer. Brandon Crawford hit his second triple of the game, driving in a run. Shohei Ohtani and Donaldson both had run-scoring singles.
O'Grady silenced St. Louis for the next three innings before exiting before the start of the fifth.

Seven relievers combined to shutout the River Walkers the rest of the way.
Greinke, who earned the win in the opener in relief, did the same in the nightcap by getting the first out of the seventh inning.
Michael Feliz capped the game with a scoreless eighth and ninth.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed left-handed starting pitcher Luiz Gohara on the disabled list after he left their 9-3 loss, the first game of a doubleheader, to the Chicago G-Men on August 27 with a mild-hamstring strain.
Called up from AAA Memphis will be Manuel Soliman, who just was sent back to the minors when Carlos Martinez returned for the disabled list.
In five starts for the Walkers this season, Soliman has gone 0-2 with a 6.08 ERA.

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Trevor Bauer pitched seven scoreless innings for St. Louis and Danny Duffy did the same for Chicago and it was not decided until the 10th when the River Walkers scratched out a run for a 1-0 win at Wrigley Field.
Bauer allowed just three hits in his seven scoreless innings, while striking out eight and walking two.
Duffy was just as impressive surrendering two hits while striking out three and walking one.
The Walkers finally broke through in the top of the 10th, when Rhys Hoskins drew a lead-off walk from Grant Drayton. He was replaced on the bases by Nicky Delmonico who hit into a fielder's choice.
Delmonico later scored on a Tucker Barnhart two-out double off Dayton.
Adam Climber got the first two outs of the 10th for St. Louis. Jerry Blevins faced just one batter. He got D.J. Stewart to fly out to end it.

Relievers Phil Maton and Andrew Miller also stepped up for St. Louis. Maton got the first out of the eighth inning. Miller held Chicago scoreless for 1.2. innings.

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When Tucker Barnhard and Adeiny Hechavarria both hit two-run home runs off Quad City starting pitcher Justus Sheffield in the top of the fourth inning for St. Louis, it appeared with a 7-2 lead they were on the way to a third straight win at Fenway Park.
It didn't work out that way.
The Thunder scored three runs in both the fifth and seventh innings to come away with an 8-7 victory.
Orlando Arcia led off the fifth with a home run off St. Louis starter Manuel Soliman and Robinson Cano later took him deep with a two-run blast to make it 7-5.
Called up to replace an injured Luiz Gohara, Soliman was not expected to make it deep into the game and departed after five innings.
The bullpen could not seal the deal.
Chaz Roe, who made the All-Star team after an outstanding first half, continued to have all kinds of damage in the seventh.
He did record the first two outs, but did allow a double to Robinson Cano before Russell Martin reached on an error by third baseman Nicky Delmonico.
A Hanley Ramirez single scored Cano making it 7-6. Drew Robinson then tied it with a single.
A single to PITCHER Justus Sheffield loaded the bases, and sent Roe to the showers.
Andrew Miller took the mound, after a string of strong outings was not at his best.

A balk while Anthony Alford was at the plate gave Quad City the lead.
Sheffield pitched seven innings, allowing seven runs on 11 hits while throwing 149 pitches, before exiting.

Ryan Buchter handled the final two innings. He allowed a two-out single to Tucker Barnhart in the ninth, but got Jed Gyorko to ground out to end it.

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MBL news: Players and Pitchers of the Month for August

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MBL news: Rookies of the Month for August

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MBL news: AL leaders at end of August

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MBL news: NL leaders at end of August

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River Walkers news: Team statistics at end of August

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Player of the Month: Andrew Benintendi: The MVP candidate batted .356 with three home runs and 21 RBIs in 26 games. He also scored 18 runs while posting an on-base percentage of .431 and a slugging percentage of .574.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Trevor Bauer: The right-hander went 1-2 in five starts but boasted an ERA of 2.45 over the 33 innings he pitched. He also boasted a WHIP of 0.85 while striking out 36.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Andrew Miller: The left-hander enjoyed his best month since signing with St. Louis in the offseason. He got into 10 games and didn't allow a run while going 1-0 and earning two saves. He tossed a total of 12 innings, posting a WHIP of 0.78 and striking out 19.

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MBL news: Week 17 report

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St. Louis starting pitcher Trevor Bauer struck out 11 and limited Kansas City to just one run as the River Walkers downed the Pit Masters 5-1 at Busch Stadium.
Bauer (12-8) allowed just three hits during his time on the mound, one of them was a solo home run to Yasmani Grandal in the second inning which made it 2-1.
A two-run homer from Rhys Hoskins off Drew Robinson in the bottom of the first staked St. Louis to a 2-0 lead.
The Walkers added single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings,

Nicky Delmonico plated the runs in the sixth and seventh, with a double and later a sacrifice fly. An Andrew Benintendi single off Hector Rondon drove in Jedd Gyorko with the game's final run.
Three relievers (Jake Diekman 1.2 IP, John Curtiss 0.1 and Phil Maton 1.0) combined to keep the Masters silent over the final three innings.

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Kansas City's Allen Cordoba hit a three-run home run off St. Louis' Brad Boxberger in the top of the eighth inning as the Pit Masters overcame what once was a 4-0 deficit to post a 5-4 win at Busch Stadium.
Down 4-2 going into the eighth, Kansas City got things going when River Walkers reliever Andrew Miller walked Joey Gallo and Brett Phillips with one out.
Miller did retire the next batter, striking out Yasmani Grandal, but then exited to Boxberger.
With a 3-0 count, Cordoba drove a Boxberger pitch 398-feet into the left-field seats.
St. Louis did threaten in the ninth loading the bases with two outs thanks to two walks and a hit by pitch.

But Daniel Hudson got MVP candidate Andrew Benintendi fly out to end it.
St. Louis starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks was impressive, allowing one hit in six innings during which he allowed four hits. He struck out 11 and walked one.
The Walkers got all four of their runs in the fourth inning against K.C. starter Chance Adams.
Nicky Delmonico drove in the first two runs with a double.

The third run scored on a wild pitch. Manny Pina made it 4-0 when Delmonico scored on his ground ball.
Kansas City sliced the deficit to 4-2 in the fifth. Joey Gallo led off the inning with his 43rd homer of the season.Willy Adames later had an RBI single, which scored Grandal.

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St. Louis starting pitcher Carlos Martinez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the River Walkers rode a three-run top of the fourth inning to a 4-2 win over the Des Moines Harvesters at LaBlatt Stadium.
Martinez did allow a run without a hit in the fourth inning, when A.J. Pollack was hit by a pitch to open the frame.
Pollack stole second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on a Rafael Devers sacrifice fly.
That run cut a St. Louis lead to 3-1.
The Harvesters first hit came in the seventh, on a lead-off single from Kolten Wong.

A wild pitch moved Wong to second, and he scored when Devers doubled.

That made it 4-2, and it ended Martinez day.
In his six innings, Martinez allowed the two runs on two hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Michael Conforto had an RBI single and Nicky Delmonico plated two with a single in a three-run fourth inning against Des Moines' Drew Pomeranz.
Rhys Hoskins took Pomeranz deep in the fifth inning for his 22nd homer, putting the Walkers up 4-1.
St. Louis needed to shuffle through six relievers to close out the victory.
Three pitchers (Jerry Blevins, John Curtiss and Jake Diekman) all got an out apiece in the seventh inning.
Chaz Roe got the first out of the eighth before running into trouble again, allowing a double to Thairo Estrada and walking Pollack.
But Andrew Miller came on to stifle the rally. He also got the first out of the ninth before Brad Boxberger came on to earn his second save of the campaign.

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When Jedd Gyorko hit a two-run homer and Michael Conforto launched a grand slam in the top of the seventh inning to give St.Louis an 8-2 lead, it would be hard to believe the Des Moines Harvesters would rally to make a game of it.
However, the Harvesters had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth when Andrew Miller struck out Jordan Luplow to seal a 10-7 River Walkers win at LaBlatt Stadium.
An RBI single from Gyorko and a run-scoring double from Albert Almora in the top of the eighth, actually increased the St. Louis lead to 10-2.
Gyorko was 4 for 4 in the contest with a double, two homers, three runs scored and four RBIs.
But Des Moines did some major damage against the St. Louis bullpen.
It pushed across five runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Rafael Devers had the only multi-run hit with a two-run single off Jake Diekman. Elvis Escobar plated a run with a single off John Curtiss.
Curtiss also was on the handle for two other runs, when he hit both Austin Meadows and Kolten Wong with pitches with the bags filled.
In the ninth, Des Moines put two runners aboard with two outs with a single (Mauricio Duhon) and walk (Delino DeShields Jr.) off Phil Maton.
But St. Louis was able to called upon Miller to end it.
The Walkers got a strong start from Manuel Soliman, who allowedone run in six innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
Des Moines starter Mike Clevinger allowed two runs in the first five innings.

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Des Moines' Cody Bellinger hit a two-run home run in the first inning and Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning and that was the difference in the Harvesters 5-3 win over St. Louis at LaBlatt Stadium.
Thario Estrada had opened the bottom of the 10th with a lead-off double off John Curtiss. Rafael Devers was then given an intentional walk, as Andrew MIller took over the mound duties from Maton.
Miller got Bellinger to hit into a double play, but was replaced by Phil Maton.
Stanton, who was already 2 for at the plate, hit second pitch he saw from Maton 343-feet into the left-field seats to give the Harvesters the win.
Bellinger took St. Louis starting pitcher Aaron Nola deep in the first inning to give Des Moines an early lead.
An RBI single from Carson Kelly in the fourth increased that advantage to 4-0.
But St.Louis rallied.
A passed ball in the seventh inning allowed Michael Conforto to score.
In the ninth, with two outs, Rhys Hoskins delivered a two-run single with two outs off Jandel Gustave to help send it to extra innings.