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

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Record: 39-36, 3rd, 7.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 2-2, St. Louis busted loose for four runs in the top of the ninth inning and held on for a 6-4 win over Evansville at Yankee Stadium (1952).
With the win, the River Walkers swept their three-game series with the Big Bossemen.
Bo Bichette got things started in the top of the ninth with a one-out double off Bossemen reliever Carlos Estevez.
Evansville then intentional walked Andrew Beintendi only to have Estevez walked Rhys Hoskins to load the bases.
Matt Duffy, appearing in his first major league game of the season, followed with a sacrifice fly snapping the 2-2 tie.
Estevez then walked Byron Buxton to reload the bases.
J.T. Realmuto drove in a run with a single.
Andrelton Simmons followed with a double, plating two more and making it 6-2.
Evansville did get something going against the Walkers bullpen in the ninth, a two-run homer from Estevan Florial off Eduardo Jimenez making it 6-4.
Jimenez, however, retired the next two to end it.
The Walkers broke off to a 2-0 lead -- Hoskins with an RBI double off Evansville starter Brad Peacock in the first and a solo homer from Buxton in the second -- but Evansville rallied to tie it.

Jose Ramirez scored on a throwing error by St. Louis shortstop Simmons in the fourth inning.
Phil Ervin tripled in the sixth and scored following an error by third baseman Nicky Demonico in the sixth.
St. Louis starting pitcher Brendan Spagnuolo worked five innings, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out two but walked five.
The Walkers went through six relievers to close it out.
John Curtiss and Reyes Moronto combined on the sixth inning when Evansville tied it.
Brad Hand, Phil Maton and Vazquez all worked an inning apiece to finish it out.

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MBL news: Week 13 awards and standings

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Record: 40-36, 3rd, 7.5 GB Des Moines
Down 3-0, St. Louis sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning and scored six runs to send it on the way to a 7-6 win over Grand Rapids at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win was the seventh in a row for the River Walkers.
Fueled by a two-run homer from pitcher Carlos Rodon off Walkers ace Aaron Nola, the Harvesters grabbed an early 3-0 lead but Rodon went off the rails in the fourth as the Walkers took control.
St. Louis scored six runs on just four hits and were aided by pair of walks and a wild pitch.
J.T. Realmuto drove im three of the runs with a bases-loaded double off Rodon, which happened to end his outing.
Byron Buxton had an RBI single off reliever Charlie Leesman.

Matt Duffy earned his first RBI of the season with a sacrifice bunt. Rhys Hoskins drove in the first run of the outburst with a sacrifice fly.
The Traders made it interesting late scoring three times in the eighth to pull within a run.
A Didi Gregorius sacrifice fly off Felipe Vazquez made it 7-6 with runners on first and second and two outs.
Reyes Moronta, however, struck out Jorge Bonifacio to end the threat.
In the ninth, St. Louis closer Tommy Kahnle allowed a single to and walk to open the inning.
But he turned it around to record strikeouts of Quinn Brodey, Kris Bryant and Joey Bryant for his 14th save.
Nola lasted six innings on the mound as the Walkers starter, allowing three runs on six hits.
John Curtiss pitched the seventh and got the first out of the eighth.
Vazquez and Reyes both got an out apiece to end that eighth-inning jam.

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Record: 41-36, 3rd, 6.5 GB Des Moines
Down 3-2, St. Louis scored three times in the bottom of the fifth inning to send it to a 7-4 win over Grand Rapids at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win was the eighth in a row for the River Walkers.
Rhys Hoskins had the big hit of the uprising with a two-run double off Traders relief pitcher Cody Allen.
Hoskins later scored on a Byron Buxton two-out double off Jhoan Duran as the Walkers went up 5-3.
A lead-off homer from Andrelton Simmons in the sixth made it 6-3.
An inning later, Javier Baez hit a pinch-hit homer off Chasen Shreve to make it 7-3.
St. Louis starter Kyle Hendricks didn't have his best stuff, but he was good enough to allow just three runs on five hits over six innings as he improved to 13-2.
Phil Maton, Eduardo Jimenez and Bobby Poyner all worked an inning apiece to close it out.
Poyner notched his second save of the season.

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Record: 42-36, 2nd (Tied/w. Kansas City), 6.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 4-4, St. Louis took the lead for good by scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth inning and kept on adding on en route to an 8-5 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the win, the River Walkers completed a three-game sweep of the Traders and extended their win streak to nine games.
Ender Inciarte led off the bottom of the fifth with a single off Grand Rapids starting pitcher JoJo Romero and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Matt Duffy.
A two-out single from Rhys Hoskins loaded the bases and Nicky Delmonico followed with another single, plating Inciate with what poved to be the game-winning run.
In the sixth, Austin Hedges led off with a solo homer off reliever Brandon Gold.
St. Louis added two more in the seventh, Delmonico with an RBI double and Javier Baez plating the game's final run with a single.
The Walkers hit five homers in the game. Hedges hit a pair, while Andrew Benintendi, Delmonico and Hoskins also contributed the long ball.
St. Louis starting pitcher Alex Faedo was responsible for four runs on eight hits over 5.2 innings.
Six relievers followed him to the mound -- none of them recording more than two outs -- to finish off the game.

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MBL news: Players and Pitchers of the Month for June

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MBL news: Rookies of the Month for June and July 1 standings

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MBL news: American League leaders on July 1

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MBL news: National League leaders on July 1

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Walkers news: Statistical Reports for June

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Player of the Month: Andrew Benintendi: The veteran outfielder played in 26 games, batting .373 with nine homers, 20 runs scored and 20 RBIs. He posted an on-base percentage of .443 and a slugging percentage of .706. He was named NL Player of the Month.

Starting pitcher of the Month: Kyle Hendricks: He went 5-0 in six starts with an ERA of 2.01. He pitched a total of 40.1 innings, boasting a WHIP of 0.80 while striking out 3.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Phil Maton: The right-hander appeared in 11 games posting a record of 2-0 with an ERA of 1.46. He worked a total of 12.1 innings, boasting a WHIP of 0.57 with 12 strikeouts.

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Record: 43-36, 2nd, 6.5 GB Des Moines
Rhys Hoskins drew a bases-loaded walk from Cedar Rapids relief pitcher Merandy Gonzalez in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift St. Louis to a 3-2 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
The victory was the 10th in a row for the River Walkers.
Back-to-back one-out singles from Ender Inciarte and Bo Bichette got things going in the 11th inning for the Walkers.
Andrew Benintendi drew a walk to load the bases.
Hoskins then took a 3-2 pitch for ball four, bringing home Inciarte home with the winning run.
Cedar Rapids took an early lead and never scored again after Domingo Santana hit a two-run homer off St. Louis starter Argenis Batista in the first inning.
The Walkers used the long ball to get back into it, Bichette knocked a solo shot off David Cullison in the fourth inning.
Andrelton Simmons tied it when he took reliever Tyler Bashlor deep to lead off the eighth.

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Record: 44-36, 2nd, 6.5 GB Des Moines
Down 6-5, St. Louis scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning to squeak out a 7-6 win over Cedar Rapids at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the victory, the River Walkers extended their win streak to 11 games.
A pair of one-out walks to Bo Bichette and Rhys Hoskins from Golden Grapplers relief pitcher Thomas Burrows got things going for St. Louis in the bottom of the seventh.
Nicky Delmonico then tied it with a double, scoring Bichette.
Andrelton Simmons followed with a single off Jacob Rhame, bringing in Hoskins with the go-ahead run.
St. Louis owned a 5-2 lead until Cedar Rapids put up four runs in the top of the sixth inning against Walkers starter Brendan Spagnuolo.
Domingo Santana drove in the first run with a double. The second came home on a groundout.
Yoan Moncada then landed the big blow with a two-run homer.
The Walkers built their lead behind the long ball.Bo Bichette hit a pair of solo homers and Austin Hedges cranked a solo shot.
Spagnuolo faltered late in his 5.1 inning-outing allowing six runs on seven hits.
The bullpen, however, picked him up as four relievers combined to shutout the Grapplers the rest of the way.
John Curtiss wrapped up the sixth inning. Bobby Poyner tossed a quiet seventh inning and got the first two outs of the eighth.
Reyes Moronta retired the only batter he faced to end the eighth.
Tommy Kahnle worked around a single in the ninth for his 15th save.

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Walkers news: Mid-season note from ownership

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MBL news: All-Star fan voting update for July 3

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Record: 44-37, 2nd, 6.5 GB Des Moines
Dominic Smith hit a three-run home run off St. Louis ace Aaron Nola in the top of the third inning and that was enough to carry Cedar Rapids to a 3-2 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the victory, the Golden Grapplers salvaged the finale of the three-game series and also put an end to the River Walkers' 11-game win streak.
In that third inning, Nola retired the first two batters before issuing walks to Jacob Peason and Terrin Vavra.
Dominic Smith then smashed the third pitch he saw from Nola 361-feet into the right-field seats to breakup a scoreless games.
The Walkers got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from Nicky Delonico off Cedar Rapids starter Carlos Martinez.
A solo homer from Rhys Hoskins off C-Mart in the sixth made it 3-2, but St. Louis would not score again.
Martinez worked six innings, allowing two runs on fouir hits. He struck out two and walked one.
Rick Atkinson worked a scoreless seventh inning before Jacob Rhame (0.1 IP) and Kelvin Herrera (0.2) combined to handle the eighth.
The save went to David Grigg, his 14th of the season.

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MBL news: Week 14 awards and standings

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Record: 45-37, 2nd, 6 GB Des Moines
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run on six hits over 6.1 innings to earn his MBL-best 14th win of the season as St. Louis downed Quad City 5-1 at Fenway Park (1970).
The only run Hendricks allowed came in the bottom of the seventh inning on an RBI single by Scott Kingery,
At that time, the River Walkers led 2-0.
They changed that by scoring three times in the top of the eighth inning.

J.T. Realmuto and Andrelton Simmons with RBI singles off Thunder reliever P.J. Conlon.
Andrew Beintendi scored another run on a Conlon wild pitch.
Simmons helped stake St. Louis to a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Quad City starter Tyler Duffey in the second inning.
Hendricks struck out seven and walked none during his time on the mound.
Brad Hand got the final out of the seventh.
The eighth and ninth belonged to Brad Hand, who kept the Thunder off the scoreboard.

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Record: 46-37, 2nd, 6 GB Des Moines
Tied 1-1, St. Louis put two runs on the board in the top of the eighth inning and went on for a 4-1 win over Quad City at Fenway Park (1970).
Bo Bichette snapped the tie with a two-out solo homer off Thunder relief pitcher Wily Peralta.
Andrew Benintendi kept it going when he followed with a double.

A Rhys Hoskins single moved him to third, and when Peralta unleashed a wild pitch, Beintendi scored.
The River Walkers added an insurance run in the ninth on a pinch-hit double from Christian Arroyo off Drew Smyly.
St. Louis starter Alex Faedo didn't figure into the decision, but still fared just fine allowing one run on two hits over six innings. He struck out five and walked two.
Three relievers worked an inning apiece to keep Quad City at one run.
Bobby Poyner handled the seventh and earned his fourth win of rthe season.

The eighth belonged to Brad Hand. In the ninth, it was Eduardo Jimenez, who earned his second save.

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Record: 47-37, 2nd, 6 GB Des Moines
Javier Baez hit a two-run home run off Quad City reliever J.D. Hammer in the top of the 10th inning to give St. Louis the lead, and the River Walkers held on for a 4-3 win over Quad City at Fenway Park (1970).
With the win, St. Louis swept the three-game series against the Thunder.
Pinch-hitter Nicky Delmonico opened the 10th with a walk from reliever Jimmy Herget.
With one out, Hammer relieved Herget and he saw his third pitch to Baez driven 398 feet over the wall in right field.
Quad City made it interesting in the bottom of the 10th against Walkers reliever Phil Maton.
Ka'ai Tom hit a solo homer, drawing the Thunder to within 4-3 with one out.
Derek Fisher then drew a two out walk and moved to third on a Orlando Arcia double.
St. Louis then elected to walk left-handed hitter Eric Hosmer, with the right-handed Maton on the mound, to load the bases.
The gamble paid off when Justin Turner flied out to end it.
St.. Louis led 2-1 going into the bottom of the ninth only to see Tommy Kahnle blow his first save of the season when Eric Hosmer doubled and scored on a two-out single by Scott Kingery.
Walkers starting pitcher Argenis Batista was impressive, allowing one run on five hits over 6.1 innings. He struck out eight and walked none.
Five relievers carried the load the rest of the way.

Kahnle got his third win but also his first blown save. Maton struggled and still earned his third save.