2022 St. Louis River Walkers: Two years without a postseason

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Record: 58-50, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Evansville rocketed out to a 10-2 lead only to hold on late for a 10-8 victory over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
The Big Bossemen used the long ball -- launching three in a row, a three-run shot by Estevan Florial and solo blasts from Jasrado Chisholm and Wynston Sawyer -- to carve out five runs off River Walkers starting pitcher Argenis Batista in the top of the first inning

Evansville pushed across four runs in the sixth inning to expand its lead to 10-2. Chisholm had a two-run double off reliever Eduardo Jimenez and Brandon Crawford drove in one, also with a double off Jimenez.
But the Walkers stormed back.
Bryan Buxton blasted a three-run homer off Enrique Castillo in the eighth.
St. Louis went right to work in the ninth by loading the bases with no outs.
Ender Inciarte made it 10-6 with an RBI single off Carlos Estevez.
A sacrifice fly from Bo Bichette sliced the deficit to 10-7.
Andrew Benintendi followed with a double, and suddenly the Walkers were within 10-8 with the tying run at second base.
However, that's where the rally stopped.
Hoskins struck out for the second out, and Estevez got Buxton to fly out to end it.
Evansville starting pitcher Elvin Rodriguez allowed two runs on seven hits over five innings.
Castillo handled the next three innings, and the ninth went to Estevez who posted his 18th save.

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Record: 59-50, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Down 5-4, St. Louis scored twice in the seventh inning and sixth in the eighth to cruise to a 12-4 win over Evansville at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the win, the River Walkers took two of three games from the Big Bossemen.
Trailing 3-2, St. Louis went up 4-3 following a two-run homer from Bo Bichette off Evansville starting pitcher Luiz Gohara in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Bossemen, however, tied it in the sixth on a lead-off homer from Rudy Rott off Walkers starting pitcher Trever Heldenberger.
St. Louis reclaimed the lead in the seventh, Nicky Delmonico coming through with a two-run, bases-loaded single off reliever J.B. Wendelken.
The Walkers big eighth inning was keyed by six hits and two walks.
Key blows were two-run doubles from Delmonico and Andrelton Simmons.
Bichette drove in the first run with a single. Andrew Beintendi collected an RBI with a double.
Making a spot start for an injured Brendan Spagnuolo, Hildenberger worked six innings, giving up four runs on four hits.
Reyes Moronta worked a scoreless seventh inning, earning his second win of the season.
Bobby Poyner (0.2) and Phil Maton (0.1) kept the Bossemen off the board in the eighth.
Felipe Vazquez did the same in the ninth.

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Record: 60-50, 2nd (Tied/w. Kansas City), 8.5 GB Des Moines
Kyle Hendricks worked seven scoreless innings en route to his 17th win and Rhys Hoskins hit a three-run homer to power a four-run third inning, leading St. Louis to a 4-0 win over Kansas City at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the win, the River Walkers moved into a second-place tie with Kansas City in the National League South Division. Both teams trail first-place Des Moines by 8.5 games.
Hendricks allowed just three hits and walked none during his time on the mound. He also struck out nine.
Phil Maton worked a scoreless eighth inning and notched the first out of the ninth. Brad Hand took care of the game's final two outs without incident.
St. Louis did all of its offensive damage in the bottom of the third against Pit Masters starting pitcher Chance Adams.
Hendricks got things rolling by drawing a lead-off walk.
Ender Inciarte followed with a single before Adams recorded a pair of outs.
Nicky Delmonico drove in the game's first run with a single.
Hoskins then cranked his 17th homer of the season, a 382 line drive into the left -field seats, to make it 4-0.

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Record: 60-51, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Dinelson Lamet allowed one hit over six scoreless innings and Kansas City hit three home runs to carry it to a 6-1 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
The only hit Lamet allowed was a single to Andrew Benintendi with one out in the second inning.
Overall, Lamet struck out 10 over his six innings and walked two.
An Eric Thames solo homer off River Walkers starting pitcher Aaon Nola in the second inning staked the Pit Masters to a lead they would not surrender.
Kansas City broke it open with a five-run sixth.

Mookie Betts got things going with a lead-off single off Nola.

He moved to third when Danny Cushing double. An intentional walk to Joey Gallo then loaded the bases.
Betts found the plate on a Brian Mundell sacrifice fly.
The other two followed suit when Yasmani Grandal powered his 14th homer of the season over the right-center field wall.
Four relievers followed Lamet to the mound.
Patrick Corbin handled the seventh and got the first two outs of the eighth.
Juan Minaya and Dario Alvarez both recorded an out apiece before Max Fried notched the final two to end it.

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Record: 61-51, 2nd (Tied/w. Kansas City), 7.5 GB Des Moines
After allowing two runs in the top of the 16th inning, St. Louis tallied three in the bottom half to escape with a 5-4 win over Kansas City at Busch Stadium (1997).
It was a pitchers' duel until both sides seemed to run out of pitchers deep into extra innings.
A solo homer from Joey Gallo off River Walkers starting pitcher Alex Fredo in the fourth inning put the Pit Masters on top.
It wasn't until the bottom of the ninth with one out that St. Louis tied it, Nicky Delmonico with a solo blast of his own off reliever Ryan Burr.
It would remain 1-1 until the 16th, when Kansas City mustered some offense against weary Walkers relief pitcher Phil Maton.
Two walks and a single loaded the bases before another free pass, this one to Gallo, broke the tie.
Brian Mundell drew another walk, pushing the second run of the inning across, as the Pit Masters went up 3-1.
Reyes Moronta took the mound and didn't fair much better, walking Enrique Hernandez to make it 4-1 before he finally was able to stop the bleeding by retiring the next two batters.
However, Kansas City was out of pitchers and was forced to send outfielder Seth Smith to the mound for the 16th inning.
The patience of the Walkers batters paid off.
Bo Bichette led off the inning with a double, only to have Smith retire the next two batters.
Here is the breakdown on the next five hitters:
Delmonico: RBI single, runner at first.

Byron Buxton: Single, runners at first and second.

Andrellton Simmons: Reached on error by Gallo at third base, bases loaded.
Austin Hedges: Two-run single to tie the game at 4.
Trevor Hildenberger: Bases-loaded walk to win the game.
St. Louis was out of position players, forcing them to use Hildenberger.
Walkers starting pitcher Alex Faedo worked seven innings allowing one run on five hits while striking out seven and walking none.
St. Louis utilized all eight of its relief pitchers to close it out -- Brad Hand (1.0 IP), Felipe Vazquez (1.0), John Curtiss (1.0), Eduardo Jimenez (2.0), Tommy Kahnle (1.0), Bobby Poyner (2.0), Maton (0.1) and Moronta (0.2) -- with Moronta earning his third win of the season.

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Record: 61-52, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
For the second consecutive game, St. Louis and Kansas City came out of nine innings tied at 1-1, this time though it was the Pit Masters who came out on top scoring twice in the top of the 10th inning for a 3-1 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the win, the Masters split the four-game series with the River Walkers. It also kept Kansas City a game in front of St. Louis in the National League South Division standings.
The Masters trail first-place Des Moines by 7.5 games.
An RBI single from Andrew Benintendi off KC starting pitcher Pablo Lopez in the bottom of the first inning give the Walkers an early 1-0 lead.
The Masters would tie it in the top of the fourth when Tyler Wade led off with a single off St. Louis starter Argenis Batitsta.
Wade would steal second. Move to third on a Mookie Betts single and score the tying run on a Danny Cushing sacrifice fly.
It would remain deadlocked until the 10th, when the Masters came through with a pair of runs.
St. Louis reliever John Curtiss mixed in a wild pitch amongst a pair of walks as Kansas City got things rolling early putting runners at first and second with one out.
Wily Adames struck out for the second, but rookie catcher Matt Dulce followed with a two-run triple making it 3-1 Masters.
St. Louis did put something together in the bottom of the 10th.but with runners at first and second Patrick Corbin came on to get both Bo Bichette and Nicky Delmonico to fly out to end it.
With their pitching staff shortened by a 16-inning game the previous day -- scheduled starter Jameson Tallion was forced to work three innings in that game -- the Masters again had to work its bullpen hard.
After Pablo Lopez left having allowed just one run on three hits in 3.2 innings, Kansas City utilized six relievers to handle the rest of the game.
David Berg (2.1 IP), Max Fried (1.1), Andrew Ryan (0.2), Juan Minaya (0.1), Dario Alvarez (1.0) and Patrick Corbin (0.2) combined to finish it off.
Alvarez earned his first win of the season, while for Corbin his save also was his first of the 2022 campaign.
St. Louis wasted an impressive start from Batista, who allowed one run on two hits over eight innings.

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MBL news: Week 19 Awards and standings

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Record: 61-53, 3rd, 10 GB Des Moines
Tied 1-1, Quad City scored twice in the bottom of the fourth inning to take the lead, and went on for a 4-1 win over St. Louis at Fenway Park (1971).
Facing Trevor Hildenberger, who had taken over on the mound in the second inning for St. Louis after starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks had to exit following the first inning with back spasms, Miguel Gomez got things going with a lead-off single.
The first of two Hildenberger wild pitches in the frame moved Gomez to second. He found third on a Eric Hosmer ground out.
An intentional walk to Justin Turner was followed by a regular bases on balls to Thunder pitcher Matt Ruppenthal to load the bases.
Gomez scored the inning's first run when Walkers third baseman Nicky Delmonico booted a Duke Kinamon ground ball.
Turner scored the inning's second run on Hildenberger's second wild pitch.
Quad City made it 4-1 in the sixth on Turner's one-out home run off Reyes Moronta .
Ruppenthal improved his record to 13-5 by allowing one run on two hits in five innings. He struck out eight and walked a pair.
Four relievers -- Randall Delgado (1.0 IP), Abel de Los Santos (1.1), J.D. Hammer (0.2) and Jimmy Herget (1.0) -- combined to shutout St. Louis the rest of the way, with Herget registering his 26th save of the season.

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Record: 62-53, 3rd, 10 GB Des Moines
Aaron Nola took a shutout into the seventh inning by which time St.Louis had built a 5-0 lead, and the River Walkers went onto defeat Quad City 5-2 at Fenway Park (1971).
With the win, St. Louis split the two-game series with the Thunder.

Andreltton Simmons led off the third inning with a double off Q-C starting pitcher Michael Santos and later scored on a sacrifice fly.
In the fourth, Rhys Hoskins doubled with one out and also scored on a sacrifice fly.
J.T. Realmuto and Simmons had RBI singles off reliever Sugar Ray Marmion in the sixth, as the Walkers lead grew to 4-0.
A two-run homer from Miguel Gomez in the seventh provided the only runs the Thunder would score.
Nola completed that seventh inning before exiting. He allowed the two runs on four hits. He struck out six and walked one.
John Curtisss got the first two outs of the eighth inning. Brad Hand handled the final out.
Phil Maton was perfect in the ninth for his fifth save.

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Record: 63-53, 3rd, 8 GB Des Moines
Andrellton Simmons snapped a 4-4 tie with a solo home run off Milwaukee relief pitcher Josiah Gray with one out in the top of the ninth inning to help give St. Louis a 5-4 win at County Stadium (1976).
The River Walkers owned a seemingly comfortable 3-1 lead before Milwaukee pushed across three runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Clint Frazier had an RBI triple that ended the day for St. Louis starter Alex Faedo and made it 3-2.
Walkers reliever Brad Hand had all kinds of issues.
He threw a wild pitch which brought Frazier home with the tying run.
Kyle Seager followed with a single and took second on another wild pitch by Hand.
An Andrew Kinzner single scored Seager, putting Milwaukee in front.
St. Louis would tie it in the seventh after Nicky Delmonico drew a lead-off walk from Arquidedes Caminero and scored on a Byron Buxton triple.
That set the stage for Simmons 414-foot blast to left-center off Gray in the ninth, which helped win it.
Faedo allowed three runs on five hits over 5.2 innings as the starter for St. Louis.
Hand lasted just that rough third of an inning.

Four relievers followed him to the mound -- John Curtiss (1.0 IP), Bobby Poyner (0.2), Reyes Moronta (0.1) and Tommy Kahnle (1.0) -- Moronta earned his fourth win.
Kahnle was perfect in the ninth for his 20th save.

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Record: 63-54, 3rd, 10 GB Des Moines
Former River Walker Adeiny Hechavarria hit a two-run homer off St. Louis reliver John Curtiss with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Milwaukee a 5-3 win at County Stadium (1971).
Luis Alexander Basabe had drawn a one-out walk from Curtiss before Hechavarria drove a 1-1 pitch 341 feet into the left-field seats.
A two-run homer from the Walkers' Byron Buxton off Keg Lifters reliever Luis Avilan in the top of the eighth inning put St. Louis ahead 3-2.
Milwaukee tied it in the bottom of the eighth after Max Kepler led off with a double off a suddenly struggling Brad Hand and later scored on a two-out single from Clint Frazier off Phil Maton.
Lifters starting pitcher Brendan McKay lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits.

Five relievers combined to finish it off.
Aaron Loup lasted the longest recording five outs. Caminero and Josiah Gray both worked a complete inning. Luis Avilan got the first out of the eighth inning. Tyler Lyons handled the final two.
Gray earned his first win of the season, after suffering six consecutive defeats.

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Record: 64-54, 3rd, 9 GB Des Moines
Down 5-0, St. Louis exploded for seven runs in the top of the fifth inning to propel it to an 8-6 win over Milwaukee at County Stadium (1971).
With the victory, St. Louis took two of three games in the series.

The first four River Walkers batters in the inning reached against Keg Lifters starting pitcher Robert Stephenson.
Ender Inciarte drove in the first run with a single, while the second came home on a double play.
But the twin-killing did not stop the outburst.
A wild pitch brought home Javy Baez with the inning's third run.
The rest of the damage came when Byron Buxton cranked a Stephenson pitch 409 feet for a grand slam, making it 7-5.
Their lead paired to a run, J.T. Realmuto made it 8-6 with a homer off Addison Reed with two outs in the eighth.
Making his first start since having to make an early exit with back spasms, Walkers starter Kyle Hendricks struggled lasting just four innings during which he allowed five runs on eight hits.
Phil Maton handled the fifth and sixth innings without incident.
Felipe Vazquez (0.1) and Reyes Moronta (0.2) combined in the seventh while the final two innings belonged to Eduardo Jimenez and Tommy Kahnle, respectively.
Maton earned his sixth win of the season.
For Kahnle, he notched his 20th save.

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MBL news: Week 20 Awards and standings

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The game between Chicago and St. Louis at Busch Stadium scheduled for August 16 has been postponed by rain.
It will be played as part of a doubleheader on August 17.

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Record: 64-55, 3rd, 9 GB Des Moines
Chicago starting pitcher Brent Honeywell limited St. Louis to two runs over six innings and also had two hits and a pair of RBIs, helping the G-Men to a 6-2 win in the opening game of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium (1997).
Chicago took control with a three-run second inning.
The first run scored on a wild pitch by St. Louis starting pitcher Aaron Nola.
Honeywell drove in run No. 2 with his first RBI single of the game.
The third run scored when Gleyber Torres reached on an error by shortstop Javier Baez.
Baez doubled off Honeywell to lead off the bottom of the fifth and later scored on an Austin Hedges sacrifice fly, pulling the Walkers to within 3-2.
But Chicago responded with two runs in the sixth.
Honeywell drove in the first run with his second single of the game, also off Nola. Phil Fitzgerald made it 5-2 with a sacrifce fly which scored Kevin Pillar.
The G-Men added an insurance run in the seventh on a Josh Donaldson sacrifice fly off John Curtiss, who had walked Jarred Kelenic and Cruz Calderon to open the inning.
Honeywell allowed two runs on three hits in his six innings. He struck out four and walked one.
Four relievers closed it out for the G-Men -- Ben Bowden (1.0 IP), Jorge Guzman (1.0), Jaime Callahan (0.1) and Michael Feliz (0.1) -- with Feliz notching his 26th save of the season.

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Record: 64-56, 3rd, 9.5 GB Des Moines
Nathan Karns and four relievers combined on a four-hit shutout as Chicago defeated St. Louis 3-0 to complete a doubleheader sweep at Busch Stadium (1997).
Karns left the game before Chicago started the scoring, but still worked five shutout innings allowing just two hits, while striking out five and walking.
The win would go to Luis Goguera who took care of a scoreless sixth and seventh inning.
Ben Bowden kept the River Walkers off the board in the eighth.
The ninth belonged to Michael Feliz, who got the first out, and Rod Stripling who notched the final two for his first save of the season.
St. Louis starter Alex Faedo kept the G-Men off the board for seven innings until they broke through against him in the eighth.
Kevin Pillar led off with a single and Robert Jolly drew a walk, putting two runners aboard.
Pillar moved to third when Daniel Johnson Jr. hit into a fielder's choice.

He then scored the only run his team would need when Phil Fitzgerald hit a fly ball into the outfield.
Chicago added two insurance runs in the ninth.
Reliever Phil Maton struggling coming out of the gate, walking Gleyer Torres and allowing a double to Jerred Kelenic to open the inning.
A wild pitch scored Torres and led to Reyes Moronta taking over the pitching duties.
George Springer followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Kelenic to make it 3-0.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed shortstop Andrellton Simmons on the 10-day disabled list after he suffered a sprained ankle in a 6-2 loss in the first game of a doubleheader against Chicago on August 17.
In 101 games this season, Simmons is batting ..251 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs.
Coming up from AAA Memphis will be 22-year-old switch-hitting shortstop Jean Carmona, who will be making his major league debut.
In 116 games with the Redbirds this season, Carmona is batting .268 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs.

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Record: 65-56, 3rd, 9.5 GB Des Moines
Down 1-0, St. Louis scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning and held on for a 4-3 win over Chicago at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the win, the River Walkers took the finale of the three-game series against the G-Men.
Javier Baez got things going in that second inning with a lead-off single off Chicago starter Jake Mullholland.
Jean Carmona followed by reaching on an error by third baseman Josh Donaldson.
A one-out walk to Christian Arroyo then loaded the bases for pitcher Argenis Batitsta, who singled to score Baez.
That was the first three straight singles for the Walkers, as Ender Inciarte and Bo Bichette also singled to drive in runs.
An inning later, Arroyo had a two-out double to score Carmona and make it 4-1.
A solo homer from Chris Owings off reliever Reyes Moronta in the seventh inning drew Chicago to within 4-3.
But the Walkers would keep the G-Men off the board in the eighth and ninth to grab the win.
Batista worked 5.1 innings for the Walkers, allowing two runs on seven hits. He struck out eight but struggled with his control walking six.
Moronta finished off the sixth inning and got the first out of the seventh.
Bobby Poyner (0.2 IP), Eduardo Jimenez (0.2) combined to get the game to the ninth.
Tommy Kahnle sent Chicago down in order in the ninth for his 22nd save.

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The game between the Ann Arbor Wolf Pack and the St. Louis River Walkers scheduled for August 19 at Busch Stadium was postponed by rain.
It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on August 20.

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Record: 66-56, 3rd, 9 GB Des Moines
Kyle Hendricks worked 7.1 innings to earn his 18th win of the season as St. Louis downed Ann Arbor 4-2 in the opening game of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium (1997).
Hendricks (18-3) allowed two runs on five hits in his time on the mound,. He struck out seven and walked two.
Phil Maton and Brad Hand both recorded an out to end the eighth.
Eduardo Jimenez struck out two of three batters he faced in the ninth while earning his third save.
Tied 1-1, the River Walkers put its other three runs on the board in the bottom of the seventh.
Javier Baez led off the seventh with a triple off Cam Bedrosian and after an intentional walk to Byron Buxton he scored on a Jean Carmona single.
Ender Inciarte drove in Buxton and Carmona with a two-out single.