2026 River Walkers: Ready to defend what we've earned

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Record: 24-23, 4th, 1.5 GB Des Moines and Springfield
JT Schwartz put St. Louis up top early with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning, but it got ugly after that as Madison routed the River Walkers 13-3 at Comiskey Park (1969).
The Muskies tied with solo homers off St. Louis starting pitcher Argenis Batista from Kristian Robinson in the third inning and Ke'Bryan Hayes in the fourth.
Madison took the lead with three runs in the sixth.
Nomar Mazara led off the inning with a single off Batista.
A wild pitch moved him to second, and Mazara scored when Francisco Lindor doubled.
A walk and an intentional walk later loaded the bases with one out.
Batista then hit pinch-hitter Addison Barger with a pitch, scoring a run.
Addison Ademan drove in the inning's third run with a sacrifce fly.
The Muskies made it ugly with an eight-run seventh inning, where it banged out seven hits and two walks and a wild pitch.
Providing the biggest hits were M.J. Melendez with a two-run double and Robinson's second homer of the game, this one a two-run shot.
Pitching wise, Jhon Vergara (3-1) worked five scoreless innings after allowing Schwartz two-run homer in the first.

He allowed two hits while striking out seven and walking one.
Kelvin Herrera, Mauricio Cabrera and Carlos Estevez all worked an inning apiece to close out the victory.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have recalled right-handed pitcher Jimmy Lambert from AAA Memphis where he was on a medical rehab.
Lambert, 31, had missed three weeks with a back issue.
In one game with Memphis, Lambert had pitched in one game for Memphis going 2.1 innings during which he allowed two runs.
Before his injury, Lambert had gone 2-1 in five starts for the Walkers and posted a 1.46 ERA.
Going to Memphis will be left-handed reliever Justin Roberts.
The 25-year-old Roberts had gotten into five games in his first callup to the big club.

It wasn't pretty as while he didn't have a record his ERA was a lofty 19.64.
Lambert is expected to rejoin the rotation, with Argenis Batista moving to the bullpen.
It's been a rough season for Batista, who has gone 0-7 with a 6.22 ERA in 10 starts.

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Record: 25-23, 3rd, 1 GB Springfield
A five-run top of the fifth inning helped St. Louis jump out to a 6-0 lead and they needed all of those runs to hold for a 6-5 win over Madison at Comiskey Park (1969).
Bo Bichette led off the third inning with a double off Madison starter Kirby McIntyre and scored on an Andrew Benintendi sacrifice fly to put the River Walkers up 1-0.
St. Louis then seemed to bust it open with its big fifth inning.
Rhys Hoskins had an RBI double to plate the first run.
Andrew Benintendi, JT Schwartz and Jean Carmona all drove in runs with singles.
Jared Thomas plated the final run with a sacrifice fly.
Juan Jose Teixieria was on the mound when all the runs scored.
The Muskies started to peck their way back into it.
They scored a pair of runs in the fifth.
Two more in the sixth, all charged to starter Adonis Medina.
In the eighth, Walkers reliever Jake Brentz retired the first two hitters before hitting Kevin Maitan and allowing a single to Francisco Lindor.
Edwin Diaz got the call and was greeted by a Nomar Mazara single, which made it 6-5.
But he struck out Joe Gray Jr. to end the inning.
Diaz set Madison down in order in the ninth to end it, earning his eighth save.
Medina (3-3) lasted five innings, allowing four runs on five hits. He struck out four and walked none.
Tim Hill got the first out of the sixth before giving way to Danny Grigg.
Grigg finished the sixth and worked a scoreless seventh.
That led to Brentz coming in to start the eighth.

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Record: 26-23, 3rd, 0.5 GB Springfield and Des Moines
Down 5-3, St. Louis exploded for seven runs in the top of the fifth inning and then held on for a 10-8 win over Madison at Comiskey Park (1969).
The River Walkers held a 3-0 lead after two innings, only to have Madison scored four times in the third and once in the fourth to go up 5-3.
In that fifth inning, the River Walkers had their first five batters reach base -- five singles and a walk -- with Jared Thomas and Edmond Americaan driving in runs with their hits while Jean Carmona drew a bases-loaded walk.
Reliever Kyle Hurt was on the mound for all the damage.
After a strike out of pitcher Steven Brault, Bo Bichette drove in three with a triple as St. Louis went up 9-5.
Carlos Vidal later drove in a run with a sacrifice fly off Ethan Hankins, making it 10-5.
Madison did rally, almost all of it behind a three-run homer from M.J. Melendez off Tim Hill to make it 10-8 in the bottom of the eighth.
But Jake Brentz ended the eighth without further damage.
Brentz also was spotless in the ninth for his second save of the season.
Brault (4-2) earned the win after allowing five runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings.
Tim Hill finished the seventh and got the first two outs of the eighth before being have to be bailed out by Brentz.

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MBL news: All-Star fan voting for May 30

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Record: 26-24, 3rd, 1.5 GB Springfield and Des Moines
Madison hammered St. Louis starter Tanner Bibee for seven runs over the first two-plus innings paving the way for a 12-4 win at Comiskey Park (1969).
The victory allowed the Muskies to split the four-game series with the River Walkers. Madison won the opener and finale by the combined score of 25-7.
After making three solid starts since coming up from Memphis, Bibee was bad from the get-go against Madison.
The Muskies scored four in the bottom of the first inning.
Josh Smith started it with a one-out triple. He scored when Kevin Maitan followe with a single.
Joe Gray Jr. drove in the other three-run with a two-out, bases-loaded triple.
Aramis Ademan singled with one out in the second inning and scored on a Maitan sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.
In the third, Kristian Robinson opened the inning with a double and scored on a M.J. Melendez single.
That ended Bibee's outing.

A wild pitch by reliever Derek Gordon moved Melendez to second.

He would scored on an Addison Barger sacrifice fly.
Back-to-back solo homers from Ferando Tatis Jr. and Jean Carmona in the fourth off Muskies starting pitcher Brian Rose helped St. Louis pull back to within 7-3.
But the Muskies blew it back open again with four runs in the bottom of the fifth.
All of it came against Gordon.

Nomas Mazara tripled off and scored on a Melendez single.
Gray then connected on a double, making it 9-3

Addison Barger capped the outburst with a two-run homer.
Rose (4-3) worked five innings, allowing three runs on six hits.
He was followed to the mound by Mauricio Cabrera (1.1 IP), Carlos Estevez (1.2) and Jorge Guzman (1.0).

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MLB news: Week 7 Awards and standings

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MBL news:Players and Pitchers of the Month for June 2026

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MBL news: Rookies of the Month for June 2026

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MBL news: American League leaders on June 1, 2026

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MBL news: National League Leaders on June 1, 2026

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Walkers news: Individual statistics for May 2026

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Walkers news: Team statistics on June 1, 2026

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Player of the Month: 1B/3B JT Schwartz -- The National League Rookie of the Month, the 26-year-old Schwartz batted .296 with six homers and 12 RBIs in 22 games. He scored 11 runs while getting on base at a .349 clip. He posted a .638 slugging percentage.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Alex Faedo -- The 31-year-old right-hander went 3-2 in five starts with a 2.05 ERA. He worked a total of 30.2 innings, during which he struck out 29 and boasted a 1.14 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Edwin Diaz -- The right-hander got into seven games, going 2-1 with three save. He posted a 1.04 ERA over 8.2 innings. He struck out nine and had a 0.58 WHIP.

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Walkers news: Player Organizational Report on June 1

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The St. Louis River Walkers have sent right-handed reliever Derek Gordon to AAA Memphis and called up 25-year-old righty Angel Tiburcio.
St. Louis acquired Tiburcio in an off-season trade with Twin Cities.
Up to his promotion, he had been serving as the closer for the Redbirds.
In 29 game, he had gone 1-3 with 11 saves and a 1.83 ERA over 19.2 innings.
It's been a rough season for Gordon, who was attempting to make the move to the bullpen after starting in 2025.
He hadn't posted a decision in 20 games, while owning a 6.82 ERA over 30.1 innings.

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Record: 27-24, 3rd, 0.5 GB Springfield and Des Moines
Alex Faedo held Milwaukee pretty much in check after taking over in the second inning after St. Louis starting pitcher Jimmy Lambert left with an injury and St. Louis rallied for a 2-1 win over Milwaukee at Busch Stadium (1997).
Lambert, making his first start in the majors after missing three weeks with a back injury, exited with one out in the second inning because of a sore shoulder.
Scheduled to start the next day, Faedo took over and did allow a run in that second inning -- Zach Hoguelsson hit a solo homer -- but shut out the Keg Lifters into the sixth before departing.
Faedo (7-2) ended up pitching 4.2 innings, allowing the one run on two hits. He struck out seven and wallked two.
St. Louis tied it in the fourth when Carlos Vidal led off with a homer off Keg Lifters starting pitcher Francisco Justo.
The game's only other run came in the sixth, when the River Walkers' Andrew Benintendi led off with a single off Lifters reliever Trey Dillard.
Benintendi stole second base and scored when Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a single.
Williams Jerez followed Faedo to the mound and worked a scoreless seventhj inning.
Angel Tiburcio made his debut in the majors by getting the first two outs of the eighth.
Jake Brentz handled the rest with strike out on all four outs he recorded, including three in a row in the ninth after allowing a lead-off double to Kyle Jacobsen.

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Record: 27-25, 3rd, 1.5 GB Des Moines and Springfield
Milwaukee chipped away at St. Louis rookie starter Jason Froelich for four runs over the first four innings to pave the way for a 5-3 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the River Walkers in need of an emergency starter after having to use Alex Faedo the previous day, they called Froelich up from AAA Memphis to make the start.
He wasn't bad -- allowing five runs over 6.2 innings -- but he wasn't nearly good enough either.
Bret Baty and Clint Frazier opened the second inning with back-to-back doubles to put the Keg Lifters up 1-0.
An inning later, Raynel Delgado opened things up by reaching on an error by second baseman Johan Camargo.
A wild pitch moved him to second and he scored on a two-out Baty single.
It's lead down to 2-1, the Lifters added two more runs in the fourth off Froelich.
Again, an error opened the inning, this one from first baseman Rhys Hoskins, as Kyle Jacobsen reached base.
Jacobsen moved to second on an Andrew Knizner single and scored when pitcher Justin Wrobleski hit a fly ball into the outfield.
Knizner later scored on a single by Eric Rivera.
St. Louis would pull to within 4-2, but it may have stuck with Froelich a bit too long letting him pitch into the seventh.
That's when Rivera got to him for a two-out homer, which expanded the Milwaukee lead to 5-2.
Wrobleski (4-3) pitched the first five innings, allowing two runs on five hits.
Kyle Hendricks worked a scoreless sixth.
Antonio Santillian took care of the seventh and eighth.
The ninth was split between Daniel Espino and Sam Stoutenbourough, with the latter getting the final two outs to earn his first save.

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Record: 28-25, 3rd, 1.5 GB Springfield and Des Moines
St. Louis put its first nine batters on base in the bottom of the first inning to facilitate a seven-run inning as the River Walkers cruised to a 10-2 win over Milwaukee at Busch Stadium (1997).
In its first nine hitters, the River Walkers reached on five singles, two doubles, a hit by pitch and a three-run homer from Larry Ernesto before Milwaukee recorded its first out.
In addition to Ernesto's homer, Jared Thomas had a two-run double and Johan Camago scored a run with a single.
Keg Lifters staring pitcher Brendan McKay faced the first seven batters before being yanked, with Ernesto being the last batter he faced.
Walkers starting pitcher Adonis Medina (4-3) pitched six innings allowing two run on eight hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Making his first appearance out of the bullpen since being removed from the starting rotation, Argenis Batista turned in one of his best performances of the season.
He worked three scoreless innings, not allowing a base runner, and struck out six of the nine batters he faced.
Batista also earned the first save of his career since the 2022 season.

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The game between the Milwaukee Keg Lifters and St. Louis River Walkers scheduled for June 4 at Busch Stadium (1997) was postponed by rain.
It will be rescheduled at a later date.
The rain out means the River Walkers won two of the three games played in the series.