2025 St. Louis River Walkers -- Here we go again

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MBL news: Rookies of the Month and standings for June 2025

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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: Team statistics for June

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Walkers news: Total team statistics on July 1

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Player of the Month: Rhys Hoskins -- The 32-year-old first baseman batted .264 with seven home runs, 20 RBIs and 15 15 runs scored in 25 games. He got on base at .370 percent and slugged at a .571 clip.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Argenis Batista -- The 24-year-old left-hander went 4-1 in five starts with a 2.16 ERA. He worked a total of 33.1 innings, during which he struck out 30 and had a 1.02 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Jake Brentz -- The 30-year-old lefty was 0-0 with three saves and a 0.00 ERA in 11 games. He worked a total of 12.1 innings, during which he struck out 19 and had a 0.81 WHIP.

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Record: 51-27, 1st, 8.5 GA Kansas City
Down 1-0, St. Louis tallied six times in the bottom of the fourth inning and rode that big inning to a 10-3 win over Rockford at Busch Stadium (1997).
The River Walkers benefited from a trio of walks and a hit batters from Lightning starting pitcher Alex Reyes.
The big hits came from Edmond Americaan, who hit a three-run double, and Bo Bichette, who capped the outburst with a two-run homer.
St. Louis added its final three runs in the eighth, all three RBIs belonged to Johan Camargo, who smacked a bases-loaded double off reliever Josh Fleming to make the score 10-1.
Walkers starting pitcher Alex Faedo (6-3) allowed one run on three hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
John Curtiss retired all six of the batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings.
Luis Palomo allowed a two-run homer to Estevan Florial in the top of the ninth, but with that big lead it didn't matter.

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Record: 52-27, 1st, 8.5 GA Kansas City
Argenis Batista tossed seven innings of scoreless, three-hit baseball and Jared Thomas broke a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh as St.Louis downed Rockford 2-0 at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win gave the River Walkers a sweep of their three-game series against the Lightning.
Andrew Benintendi opened the bottom of the seventh with a lead-off single off Rockford reliever Erasmo Pinales.
Benintendi was eliminated when Tanner Kohlhepp failed to convert a sacrifice bunt.
But Thomas made up for it by lining a 1-2 pitch 396 feet over the right-field wall for his eighth homer of the season.
Batista scattered three hits in his time on the mound while striking out 11 and walking four.
The Lightning didn't land a base runner against the Walkers bullpen in the eighth and ninth.
It was Jake Brentz who set them down in order in the eighth.
Edwin Diaz struck out the side in the ninth for his 14th save.

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Record: 53-27, 1st, 9 GA Kansas City
Down 3-2, Jared Thomas hit a grand slam to highlight a five-run top of the third inning to help power St. Louis to a 9-4 win over Kansas City at Kansas City Municipal Stadium (1969).
Bo Bichette had got things rolling in the top of the third when he reached on an error by Pit Masters third baseman Jayson Gonzalez.
A bunt single by Carlos Vidal moved Bichette to second and he scored on a one-out single by Andrew Benintendi.
A second error, this one by KC second baseman Greg Jones, on a ball hit by Tanner Kohlhepp kept the inning going.
After Jean Carmona hit into a fielder's choice, Vidal being thrown out at the plate, Jared Thomas came through with his second homer in as many games, this one a grand slam off Masters starting pitcher Trevor Oaks, to make the score 7-3.
St. Louis got its final two runs in the top of the sixth.
A Rhys Hoskins doubled drove in Vidal with the first run.
Hoskins later scored on a Kohlhepp sacrifice fly.
Derek Gordon (3-2) was no-where near perfect but still managed to last seven innings giving up four runs on seven hits.
Luis Palomo kept the Masters off the board in the eighth and ninth to close it out.

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Record: 54-27, 1st, 10 GA Kansas City
Steven Brault carried a shutout into the eighth inning and Jared Thomas homered for the third straight game as St. Louis won 5-0 over Kansas City at KC Municipal Stadium (1969).
Brault (8-3) allowed just two hits over 7.2 innings before exiting after having thrown 114 pitches. He struck out seven and walked none.
Tim Hill got the final out of the eighth inning for the River Walkers.
John Curtiss kept the Pit Masters off the board in the ninth.
St. Louis got the only run it would need in the top of the first against KC starting pitcher Juan Sandoval.
Rhys Hoskins scored it after doubling with two outs and scoring on an Andrew Benintendi single.
Thomas stretched that lead to 4-0 in the fourth with a three-run homer off Sandoval. It was the third straight game with a homer for Thomas.
The Walkers added another run later in the fourth after Edmond Americaan singled, moved to second on a Brault bunt and scored on a Bichette single.

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Walkers news: Mid-season note from the owner
My response.
We have the second best record in the league.
This is my team.

Sit in your f'ing box and enjoy watching this team play.

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MBL news: All-Star game fan voting update for July 6

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Record: 54-28, 1st, 9 GA Kansas City
Pablo Lopez allowed one run over six innings and he combined with four relievers to lead Kansas City to a 5-1 win over St. Louis at Kansas City Municipal Stadium (1969).
Lopez (7-4) allowed four hits during his time on the mound. He struck out six and walked one.
Trevor Hildenberger and David Berg both worked a scoreless inning to get the game to the ninth.
Ryan Stanek recorded the first out, but allowed a pair of hits.
Kyle Nelson came on and retired the only two batters he faced for his 17th save.
Back-to-back doubles from Yasmani Grandal and Tim Anderson off River Walkers starter Jimmy Lambert in the second inning staked KC to a 2-0 lead.
The Pit Masters two more runs an inning later.
Greg Jones driving in the first with a double.
Jayson Gonzalez, who had walked, later scored when Lambert uncorked a wild pitch.

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MBL news: Week 12 awards and standings

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Record: 54-29, 1st, 8 GA Kansas City
Cedar Rapids pounded St. Louis starting pitcher Alex Faedo for six runs over the first four innings and went on to defeat the River Walkers 7-4 at Busch Stadium (1997).
The bulk of the damage came in a four-run top of the second inning.
Joc Pederson and RJ Teijeiro opened the inning with consecutive singles before Faedo recorded a pair of strikeouts.
But Drew Waters restarted things with an RBI single.
Pitcher Ranger Suarez followed with a double which plated another run.
The next two runs scored on yet another double, this one from Matt McLain.
The Golden Grapplers added single tallies in the third (Dominic Smith led off with a double and scored on a Teijeiro ground out) and fourth (Drew Waters opened the inning by being hit by a pitch and scored on an Enrique Bradford single) to go up 6-0.
Carlos Vidal broke up a Suarez no-hitter when he led off the fourth with a homer.
Cedar Rapids got that run back in the top of the fifth against the Walkers bullpen.
Noah Naylor drew a one-out walk from Nick Lodolo.
He stole second and third and scored on a Waters sacrifice fly.
St. Louis got late homers from Bo Bichette (solo shot in the seventh off reliever Trevor Bauer) and Jean Carmona (worth two runs off Patrick Weigel in the eighth) to make it seem closer than what it was.
In addition to the RBI double, Suarez (6-6) allowed one run on four hits in six innings.
Bauer, Weigel and Jose Alvarado all worked an inning apiece to close it out.
The save was the fifth of the season for Alvarado.

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Record: 54-30, 1st, 7 GA Kansas City
Dominic Smith and RJ Teijeiro hit first-inning home runs off St. Louis starting pitcher Argenis Batista and Cedar Rapids rode that outburst to a 4-2 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
It all happened with two uts.
Dominic Smith cranked a solo homer off Batista on a 3-2 pitch, it traveled 373 feet over the wall in right field.
Domingo Santana singled and Teijiero jumped on a 1-1 pitch, blistering it 424 feet to right-center, as the Golden Grapplers went up 3-0.
Neither side would score again until the top of the ninth, when Domingo Santana drew a lead-off walk from Luis Palomo and would later score on a single by Joc Pederson off Dan Jennings.
The River Walkers scored twice in the bottom of the ninth.
Edmond Americaan scored a run with a triple off reliever Mychal Givens.
Alan Dondero chased Americaan homer with a pinch-hit single.
Grapplers starter Jose Leclerc worked just five shutout innings, allowing four hits while striking out seven and walking two.
Kyle Barraclough, Thomas Burrows and Mychal Givens all worked an inning apiece to get the game to the ninth.
Felipe Vazquez got the first outs, but also was responsible for St. Louis' first two runs.
Trevor Bauer came on and shut the door for his first save of the season.

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Record: 55-30, 1st, 8 GA Kansas City
Jared Thomas' two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Tanner Kohlhepp with the winning run as St. Louis defeated Cedar Rapids 3-2 at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win allowed the River Walkers to take the finale of the three-game series after dropping the first two.
Kohlhepp had led off the bottom of the ninth with a double off Golden Grapplers reliever Patrick Weigel.
After Andrew Benintendi was intentionally walked, Weigel struck out Jean Carmona.
Trevor Bauer took the mound and got the second out with another strike out, this one of Johan Camargo.
But Jared Thomas dropped a 2-0 pitch into a open spot in left field bringing Kohlhepp home with the winning run.
The River Walkers owned a 2-1 lead before the Grapplers tied it in the top of the seventh.
Jacob Peason led off with a single off Walkers starter Derek Gordon, ending his outing.
Pearson stole second base and scored on a one-out single by Matt McLain.
Gordon handled the first six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Tim Hill handled the seventh inning and got the first out of the eighth.
The rest of the game belonged to Jake Brentz (4-0), who recorded the last five outs of the game to earn the win.

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Record: 55-31, 1st, 7.5 GA Kansas City
Down 8-5 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, St. Louis tallied twice but could not get the tying run across as the River Walkers fell 8-7 to Springfield at Busch Stadium (1997).
Alek Thomas opened the bottom of the ninth with a single off Prairie Fighters reliever Dinelson Lamet.
Two batters later, runners were at the corners with one out after Andrew Benintendi singled with one out.
Tanner Kohlhepp made it 8-6 with an RBI double.
Jean Carmona followed with a single, scoring Benintendi but Kohlhepp was gunned down at the plate on a throw by center fielder Odubel Herrera.
Lamet then struck out Austin Barnes to seal the win,
Leading 3-2 after the first inning, the Fighters expanded their lead to 7-2 by scoring three times in the third and once in the fourth.
Michael Wielansky drove in all three of the runs in the third with a bases-loaded double off Walkers starting pitcher Steven Brault.
An inning later, Andres Gimenez led off with a single off St. Louis reliever Luis Polomo.
Gimenez later scored on a two-out single from Eugenio Suarez off Polomo.
The Walkers tried to fight their way back into it.
Benintendi hit a two-run homer as part of a three-run fifth inning.
Rhys Hoskins connected for an RBI single off Michael Santos in the sixth to pull the Walkers to within 7-5.
Springfield collected an insurance run in the top of the ninth against Walkers reliever Danny Grigg.
Victor Caratini led off with a triple and scored when Herrera grounded out.
Fighters starting pitcher DJ Jefferson lated four innings allowing two runs on three hits.
He was followed to the bump by four relievers - Schaller (1.1 IP), Michael Santos (1.2), Mark McConnell (1.0) and Lamet (1.0) - with Schaller (1-0) coming out of it with his first win of the season.
Lamet notched save No. 23.

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Record: 55-32, 1st, 8 GA Kansas City
Rookie pitcher Hunter Barco's major league debut didn't prove to be a particularly memorable one as Springfield battered him for five runs over five innings on its way to a 6-2 win over the River Walkers at Busch Stadium (1997).
Barco was called to the majors after scheduled starter Jimmy Lambert had to be scratched because of the flu.
It didn't take the Prairie Fighters long to get to Barco as their second hitter of the game Kyle Williams crushed a ball 407 feet for a solo homer and an 1-0 lead.
Springfield added two more runs in the second.

Three walks and two singles combined to make up the damage.
Andres Gimenez drove in the first run with a single. A bases-loaded walk to Williams scored the second.
An inning later it was 4-0, as Nate Traylor and Victor Caratini connecte on consecutive one-out doubles.
The Fighters scored yet again in the fifth on a solo homer from Austin Hendrick.
Springfield starting pitcher Marcus Stroman allowed two runs on eight hits over six innings.
Patrick Corbin, Sean Doolittle and Michael Santos all worked a scoreless inning apiece to wrap up the win.

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Record: 56-32, 1st, 9 GA Kansas City
Alex Faedo took a shutout into the ninth inning before tiring and the bullpen finished it off as St. Louis downed Springfield 5-0 at Busch Stadium (1997).
In his 8.1 innings, Faedo (7-4) allowed five hits while striking out five and walking two.
Faedo got Wander Samuel Franco to fly out to open the ninth before allowing a single to Austin Hendrick and walking Nate Traylor hastening his exit.
Tim Hill took over and he retired the next two Prairie Fighters batters to end it.
The River Walkers took control of the game by scoring three times in the bottom of the second.
They banged out three straight singles off Springfield starter Keegan Thompson to open the inning.
The third single, by Jared Thomas, scored Rhys Hoskins with the game's first run.
Bo Bichette drove in the other two with a two-out double.
Thomas singled off Thompson to open the fourth and scored on a Bichette sacrifice fly.
St. Louis' final run came in the seventh.

Bichette drew a lead-off walk from Thomas Szapucki and scored on an Andrew Benintendi single.