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

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Record: 67-56, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Danny Ure was impressive in his first major league start allowing one run over seven innings to help lead St. Louis to a 5-1 win over Ann Arbor as the River Walkers completed a doubleheader sweep at Busch Stadium (1997).
Ure allowed five hits during his time on the mound. He struck out four and walked two.
John Curtiss recorded the first two outs of the eighth inning and Brad Hand got out No. 3.
Phil Maton pitched a scoreless ninth to wrap up the win.
Down 1-0, the Walkers tied it in the bottom of the second on a one-out homer from Nicky Delmonico off Wolf Pack starter Phil Bickford.
St. Louis later took full control with four runs in the seventh.
All the damage came against the Ann Arbor bullpen.
Delmoico opened the inning with a lead-off single off Roberto Osuna.
A walk to Jean Carmona and an Austin Hedges single later loaded the bases.
Freddy Peralta took over the on the mound, and on his second pitch threw a wild one allowing Delmonico to score and break the tie.
Bichette was then given an intentional walk.
Ender Inciarte flew out for the second walk.
But Peralta walked Christian Arroyo to drive in the inning's second run.
Andrew Benintendi drove in the final two with a single.

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Record: 68-56, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Bo Bichette singled off Ann Arbor reliever to score Christian Arroyo with the winning run as St. Louis downed the Wolf Pack 2-1 in 10 innings at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the win, the River Walkers swept the three-game series.
Chapman walked Arroyo to open the bottom of the 10th, and then before issuing another walk to Ender Inciarte threw a wild pitch which moved Arroyo to third.

Bichette followed with his game-winning hit on a 98.8 mph fastball, bringing home Arroya with the winning run.
Making a spot starter, Trevor Hildenberger threw his best game of the season at the major league level allowing just one run on five hits over seven innings.
Ann Arbor got on the board right away against Hildenberger, Sedric Long hitting a one-out solo homer.
It would not be until the bottom of the sixth inning that St. Louis would tie it.
Ender Inciarte doubled off Dylan Cease with one out.

He moved to second on a Bo Bichette single and would score when Cease uncorked a wild pitch with two outs.
Brad Hand handled the eighth inning for St. Louis, while John Curtiss ninth and got the first out of the 10th.
Poyner retired the only two batters he faced, setting himself up for his sixth victory of the season.

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MLB news: Week 21 Awards and standings

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Record: 68-57, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Jake Junis handled the first 4.1 innings and three relievers combined to finish it off as Fort Wayne shutout St. Louis 3-0 at Ebbets Field (1948).
Junis allowed three hits, struck out two and walked two before being relieved by Marco Gonzalez with one out in the fifth inning.
Gonzalez carried the torch through the end of the sixth inning.
The seventh and eighth innings belonged to Michele Vassolotti and in the ninth it was Braun Miller who earned his fourth save and capped the seven-hitter.
Fort Wayne got the only run it would need in the bottom of the second inning when Wilson Contreras led off with a double off River Walkers starting pitcher Alex Faedo and scored when Tommy Pham tripled.
The Mad Men scored their other two runs in the fourth on a two-out, two-run double from Desmond Lindsey off Faedo.

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Record: 69-57, 3rd, 7.5 GB Des Moines
Nicky Delmonico singled to lead off the top of the ninth inning and later scored on a J.T. Realmuto sacrifice fly to lift St. Louis to a 3-2 win over Fort Wayne at Ebbets Field (1949).
Delmonico, whose two-run homer in the sixth inning had given the River Walkers a 2-1 lead, singled off Mad Men reliever Braun Miller to open the ninth.
A single by Jean Carmona moved Delmonico to third and he scored on Realmuto's fly ball to left off Hyun-jin Ryu.
Fort Wayne had tied it at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth after Jake Lamb led off with a double off Walkers starting pitcher Aaron Nola and scored on a Yonder Alonso single.
Nola worked six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits.
Phil Maton worked the seventh and Felipe Vazquez (0.2) and Eduardo Jimenez (0.1) combined to handle the eighth.
The ninth was all Tommy Kahnle, who earned his 23rd save of the season.

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Record: 69-58, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Phil Klein handled the opening five innings and a trio of relievers took care of the rest, as Fort Wayne downed St. Louis 3-0 at Ebbets Field (1949).
With the victory, the Mad Men took two of three games in the series. Both of Fort Wayne's win came via 3-0 shutouts.
Klein allowed four hits during his five innings on the mound. He struck out six and walked one.
Victor Alcantara handled the sixth and seventh innings, while Hyu-jin Ryu took care of the eighth.
The ninth belonged to Blake Treinen, who pitched around a single while recording his third save of the season.
The four Mad Men pitchers combined to scatter seven hits.
Fort Wayne got on the board in the bottom of the third inning, when Andrew Velazquez drew a one-out walk from St. Louis starter Argenis Batista.

Klein got down a sacrifice bunt to move him to second.
Desmond Lindsay then made it 1-0 with an RBI single.
The Mad Men got their other two runs in the fourth. Tim Anderson picked up both the RBIs with a single off Batista.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have completed a three-player trade with the Columbus Golden Bears.
St. Louis will send 29-year-old infielder Javier Baez and 27-year-old right-handed reliever Omar Garcia to Columbus in exchange for minor-league third baseman Romy Gonzalez.
Baez had requested the trade about a week ago, and with him going into free agency and his performance on the decline, the River Walkers decided to grant him request.
Baez, who had signed with St. Louis as a free agent on June 4, played in 58 games for the Walkers batting .235 with five homers and 17 RBIs.
Gonzalez is a 25-year-old third baseman, who had recently been promoted to Triple AAA Scranton where he had hit .282. with a homer and five RBIs in 10 games.
Previous to that, he has played 104 games for AA Trenton where he hit .234 with 19 homers and 55 RBIs.
The 28-year-old Garcia spent the 2021 season in the majors with the Walkers and pitched well, going 3-1 with one save and an ERA of 2.74 in 68 games.
But he failed to make the big club out of spring training and then struggled at AAA Memphis, where he had gotten into 38 games and gone 0-5 with one save and an ERA of 6.38.
Gonzalez has been assigned to AA Springfield.
Replacing Baez on the Walkers major league roster will be Tyler Esplin.
Esplin started the season in the majors and had an impressive April before fizzling and being sent to Memphis.
In 71 games with the Walkers, Esplin hit .237 with 12 homers and 31 RBIs.
For the Redbirds, Esplin has played in 51 games and batted .296 with a homer and 17 RBIs.

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Record: 89-59, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Danny Duffy took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and St. Louis was shutout for the third time in four games, as the River Walkers fell 2-0 to Springfield at Olympic Stadium (Montreal).
Duffy, who a year ago won the National League ERA title while a member of the River Walkers, did not allow a hit until Bo Bichette singled with one out in the seventh inning.

Duffy allowed another hit that inning, as Andrew Beninendti immediately followed the single with a double putting runners at second and third.
But Duffy got Byron Buxton to fly out and Nicky Delmonico to ground out to come out of the inning without allowing a run.
For the game. Duffy allowed the two hits while striking out 10 and walking one.
Reid Schaller tossed a scoreless eighth inning for the Prairie Fighters and Archie Bradley followed suit in the ninth for his second save.
St. Louis starter Kyle Hendricks was impressive but come up short in his bid for his 19th win of the season.
The veteran right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings.
Springfield got the only run it would need in the bottom of the first when J.P. Crawford tripled with one out and scored on a Freddie Freeman ground out.
A Max Schrock solo homer in the sixth made it 2-0.

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Record: 69-60, 3rd, 9.5 GB Des Moines
Freddie Freeman hit a solo homer run off St. Louis relief pitcher Felipe Vazquez with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Springfield a 5-4 win over the River Walkers at Olympic Stadium (Montreal).
Down 4-3, the Prairie Fighters had helped force extra innings when it tied the game in the bottom of the eighth on Wander Samuel Franco's second homer of the game, a solo shot off Brad Hand with two uts.
Franco also homered in the fourth, a solo shot off Walkers starter Danny Ure, which at the time made it 3-2 in favor of the Fighters.
St. Louis took the lead in the top of the sixth on a two-run homer from Austin Hedges off Fighters starting pitcher James Paxton.
Paxton worked five innings, allowing two runs on six hits.
He was followed to the mound by five relievers -- Hunter Strickland (1.0 IP), Anyelo Gomez (1.0)., Reid Schaller (2.0), Gerson Moreno (0.0) and Alex Claudio (1.0) -- with Claudio earning his fourth win of the season.

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Record: 70-60, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
St. Louis broke open a 4-4 game with a five-run top of the sixth inning and then managed to hold on for a 9-8 win at Olympic Stadium (Montreal).
An Ender Inciarte RBI double off Prairie Fighters reliever Kevin Gadea plated the first run of the sixth-inning uprising.
The next hitter, Christian Arroyo, cranked three-run homer.
But the River Walkers were not finished as Archie Bradley struggled with his control issuing three walks in the span of five batters.

The second, to Jean Cormana, loaded the bases. The second, to Tyler Esplin, scored Rhys Hoskins and make it 9-4.
Springfield had a rally in it,however, Jerrion Ealy hit a solo homer off John Curtiss in the seventh, making it 9-5
In the bottom of the ninth, Bobby Poyner just could not close the door.
A three-run homer to Nate Traylor made it 9-8 with two outs.
Max Schrock followed with a double, leading to Poyner's exit.
Closer Tommy Kahnle came on and struck out Jorge Alfaro to end it and secure his 24th save.
Walkers starter Alex Faedo lasted six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits.
Curtiss handled the seventh and got the first two outs of the eighth.

Eduardo Jimenez wrapped up the eighth.
St. Louis star left fielder Andrew Benintendi left the game after injuring his knee running the bases in the first inning.
He could miss up to six weeks, meaning his season could be over.

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The St. Louis River Walkers confirmed the bad news that left fielder Andrew Benintendi will miss up to five weeks with a sprained knee.
The 28-year-old former Most Valuable Player suffered the injury while running the bases in the Walkers' 9-8 win over Springfield on August 27.
In 125 games this season, Benintendi was batting .295 with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs.
Replacing Benintendi on the major league roster will be the team's top position player prospect, Michael Toglia.
A corner outfielder, the 24-year-old Toglia has batted ..315 with 36 homers and 115 RBIS in 122 games for AAA Memphis this season.

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Record: 71-60, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
St. Louis rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Springfield 6-4 at Olympic Stadium (Montreal).
With the win, the River Walkers split the four-game series with the Prairie Fighters.
Springfield got solo homers from Wander Samuel Franco. off reliever Eduardo Jimenez, and Freddie Freeman, off Brad Hand, in the bottom of the fifth to grab a 3-1 lead.
The Walkers got one of those runs back in the sixth when rookie Michael Toglia, making his major league debut, doubled off reliever Justin Lawrence and scored on a Nicky Delmonico double off Kevin Gadea.
St. Louis grabbed the lead an inning later, this time Jean Carmona got things moving with a lead-off double.
Carmona moved to third when J.T. Realmuto reached on an error by third baseman Ryan Mountcastle.
Christian Arroya chased home Carmona with a sacrifice fly off off Anyelo Gomez.
An Ender Inciarte double moved Realmuto to third.
Realmuto scored when Toglia singled with two outs off reliever Hunter Strickland.
In the eighth inning, the Walkers strung together four singles with Inciarte driving in Carmona with his team's fifth run.
Toglia needed just one swing of the bat drive in a run in the ninth, his solo homer off Gerson Moreno making it 5-3.
Toglia finished the game 3 for 5 with a double, a homer, two runs scored and two RBIs.
But the Fighters didn't go without a fight.
Trevor Lanarch hit a one-out solo homer off Felipe Vazquez making hit 6-4.
Closer Tommy Kahnle then took over and gave up a two-out double to Mountcastle.

But he got Traylor to ground out to end it and earn his 25th save.
Walkers starting pitcher Aaron Nola exited with one out in the second inning with back spasms.
He is expected to be available to make his next start.
Six relievers combined to earn the win for the Walkers.
The line began with Phil Maton (0.2 IP), and continued through Jimenez (2.1), Hand (1.1), Reyes Moronta (1.0), Felipe Vazquez (1.1) and Kahnle (0.2).
Hand earned the victory his third of the season.

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MLB news: Week 22 Awards and standings

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Record: 71-61 3rd, 9.5 GB Des Moines
Justin Turner was hit by a Phil Maton pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Quad City a 6-5 win over St. Louis at Fenway Park (1970).
Caught in the midst of short starts and extra-inning games, the River Walkers bullpen finally ran out of gas as the Thunder tied the game in the ninth and won it in the 10th.
In the 10th, Maton walked Derek Fisher to lead off the inning and allowed a Miguel Gomez single.
Eric Hosmer grounded out to move the runners to second and third before Cedric Mullins drew an intentional walk to fill the bases.
Turner took the second pitch he saw from Maton for the team, bringing home Fisher with the winning run.
It also was a walk which got Quad City going in the ninth, this time Brad Hand issuing a free pass to Eric Hosmer.
With one out, closer Tommy Kahnle took over and allowed a single to Turner putting runners at the corners.
Meibrys Viloria tied it with a sacrifice fly to score Hosmer.
It marked just the second blown save of the season for Kahnle.
The Thunder led 4-1 early, only to see St. Louis rally to go up 5-4 in the top of the sixth when Christian Arroyo drew a walk from Luis L. Cruz with the bases filled.
Quad City starting pitcher Phil Conlon lasted just four innings, giving up three runs on three hits.
He was followed to the bump by four relievers (Sean Marmion (1.0 IP), Cruz (2.0), Erik Goedell (2.0) and Jimmy Herget (1.0) -- with Herget earning his second win of the season.

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Record: 72-61, 2nd (Tied/w. Kansas City), 8.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 4-4, St. Louis scored once in the top of the sixth inning and three times in the seventh to propel it to an 8-5 win over Quad City at Fenway Park (1970).
The River Walkers grabbed the lead in the sixth when Byron Buxton drew a one-out walk.

A double from Jean Carmona moved him to third and Buxton found the plate on a sacrifice fly from Tyler Esplin.
The seventh-inning outburst from the Walkers was highlighted by a three-run homer from Nicky Delmonico off reliever Abel M. De Los Santos.
St. Louis rookie Michael Toglia had another big night in just his second game in the majors.
Toglia hit a two-run homer off Quad City starter Matt Ruppenthal in the first inning and followed it with a two-run single in the second, also off Ruppenthal, as the Walkers went up 4-0.
Quad City evened it with a big bottom of the fourth against St. Louis starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks.
Eric Hosmer did the bulk of the damage with a three-run triple.
Hendricks worked five innings, allowing four runs on five hits and earned his 19th win of the season.
With the Walkers bullpen running on fumes, Argenis Batista stepped out of the starting rotation and took on a relief role.
He handed the final four innings, allowing a run on two hits for his first save of the season.

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Record: 72-62, 3rd, 9.5 GB Des Moines
Up from Triple AAA Memphis for a spot start, Max Lazar looked great for four innings but it fell apart in the bottom of the fifth as Quad City tallied four runs to send it on the way to a 7-2 win over St. Louis at Fenway Park (1970).
Derek Fisher and Miguel Gomez got things going against Lazar in the fifth with a pair of singles.
An Eric Hosmer sacrifice bunt moved them to second and third.
Bases-loaded to walks to Adam Haseley and Justin Turner than scored the game's first two runs.
Thunder starting pitcher Michael Santos then made it 3-0 with a single.
Duke Kinamon made it 4-0 with a sacrifice fly off reliever John Curtiss.
On the mound Santos went 5.2 innings allowing one run on five hits.
Aaron Bair (1.1 IP), Wily Peralta (1.0), De Los Santois (0.1) and Marimon (0.2) combined to finish out the win for Quad City.

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MBL reports: Players and Pitchers of the Month for August

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MBL reports: Rookies of the Month for August and Sept. 1 standings

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MBL reports: American League leaders after August

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MBL news: National League award winners for August