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

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Record:28-26, 3rd, 2 GB Springfield
Cincinnati pounded St. Louis starting pitcher Steven Brault for three runs in each of the first two innings and breezed to a 14-0 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Things started badly for Brault and never really got better.
He walked Landon Jordan to start the game. Brandon Marsh followed with a single and Travis Swaggerty made it 1-0 with a double.
Vladimir Guerrero and Freddie Freeman also would earn RBIs in the inning when runs scored on their ground outs.
In the second, Brault retired the lead-off batter but Tony Esparza followed with a double and pitcher Cristofe Tineo singled.
Jordon scored Esparza on a ground out.
Swaggerty and Vladimir Guerero Jr. drove in the other two with singles.
It wouldn't be the seventh inning until Skyline scored again, pitcher Tanner Dodson with a lead-off homer off Argenis Batista.
Cincinnati scored three more times in the eighth, Willie Calhoun with his first homer of the season, a three-run shot off John Curtiss.
Skyline piled it on with four more in the ninth.
Francisco Meija and Esparza both had two-run singles off Tim Hill.
Three pitchers combined on the shutout for Cincinnati.
Tineo (2-2) worked the first five scoreless innings, allowing four hits.
Dodson worked one inning.
Blayne Enlow handled the final three, and earned himself a save despite the lopsided score.

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Record: 28-27, 3rd, 2 GB Springfield
This one wasn't a blowout, but the result was the same as Cincinnati shutout St. Louis for the second consecutive game 3-0 at Busch Stadium (1997).
A day after routing the River Walkers 14-0, the Skyline got the only run it would need in the top of the first inning against St. Louis starter Tanner Bibee.
Nick Dunn, who led off the game with a single, scored it.
A wild pitch moved him to second and a pair of ground outs -- from Derek Fisher and Freddie Freeman -- chased him across the plate.
That was enough for a quartet of CIncinnati pitchers who combined on the shutout.
Starter Corbin Burnes (5-3) handled the first five innings, limiting the Walkers to four hits while striking out five and walking one.
Giovanny Gallegos, Braden Zarbinsky, Sean Williams and Alex Claudio all pitched an inning apiece to complete the whitewashing.
Claudio earned his 12th save.
The Skyline got their second run in the fifth inning after Tony Esparza drew a lead-off walk from Bibee.
Luke Hancock moved Esparza to second with a single and he landed at third when Burnes got down a bunt.
Dunn made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly.
Derek Fisher led off the eighth with a triple off Williams Jerez.
Freddie Freeman scored him with a sacrifice fly.

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MBL news: All-Star game fan voting update for June 7

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Record: 29-27, 2nd (Tied/w. Des Moines), 1 GB Springfield
A two-out solo homer from Andrew Benintendi snapped a 2-2 tie and helped lift St. Louis to a 3-2 win over Cincinnati at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win enabled the River Walkers to grab the final game of the series after being shutout in the first two.
Benintendi's homer after off Skyline relief pitcher Sean Williams.
It came on a full count and traveled 383 feet over the wall in right field.
The Walkers carried a 2-0 lead into the top of the the eighth only to have Cincinnati tie it when Derek Fisher hit a two-run homer off Tim Hill.
A home run also provided the first two runs of the game, Rhys Hoskins with a long ball off Max Fried in the bottom of the sixth.
After four injury-plagued weeks, Jimmy Lambert seemed to rediscover his form with five scoreless innings.
He allowed three hits in his time on the mound.
Angel Tiburico worked a scoreless seventh for the Walkers.
Tim Hill didn't retire either of the two batters he faced to start the eighth, allowing Fisher's homer before exiting.
Jake Brentz (1-0) replaced him and got out of the inning to keep it tied.
Edwin Diaz set the Skyline down in order in the ninth for his ninth save.

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MBL news: Week 8 Awards and standings

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Record:30-27, 1st (Tied/w. Springfield and Des Moines), 1.5 GA Quad City
Rhys Hoskins hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning and Alex Faedo turned in another strong start to help carry St.Louis to a 7-2 win over Columbus at Busch Stadium (1997).
Bo Bichette drew a lead-off walk from Walker Buehler to open the bottom of the first for St. Louis.
Carlos Vidal then reached on a sacrifice bunt attempt and Hoskins followed with his three-run homer to quickly put the River Walkers in command.
Bo Bichette led off the fifth with a homer off Buehler, putting St. Louis in front 4-0.
The Golden Bears scored a pair of runs off Walkers starter Alex Faedo in the sixth, pulling them to within 4-2.
But St. Louis answered back with two in the bottom of the inning -- Larry Ernesto and Bichette with RBI singles -- to restore its four-run lead.
Faedo (8-2) earned his eighth win by going seven innings.
He allowed two runs on seven hits. He struck out six and walked none.
Willams Jerez worked the eighth inning.
Tim Hill took care of the ninth.

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St. Louis River Walkers Tim Hill has told the team he plans to retire at the conclusion of the 2026 season.
It's been a rough campaign for the 36-year-old left-hander, who in 24 appearances has going 2-1 but has an 7.52 ERA.
This is Hill's second season with the Walkers, he fared very well during their 2025 World Series title campaign.
During the reguar season, he got into 67 games going 4-3 with a save and boasting a 1.81 ERA.

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Record: 31-27, 1st (Tied/w. Springfield), 1 GA Des Moines
Adonis Medina allowed one run over eight innings and Jake Brentz pitched out of a heck of a mess in the ninth as St. Louis downed Columbus 3-2 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Medina (5-3) allowed one run on three hits over eight innings, he struck out five and walked one, before exiting with a 3-1 lead.
But Jake Brentz had his issues in the ninth.
The inning started with three straight singles -- from Ian Happ, Chad Wolff and Nolan Gorman -- to load the bases.
Brentz struck out Christian Yelich for the first out.
But Rowdy Tellez followed with a single, making it 3-2.
A visit to the mound, however, seemed to set Brentz straight as he struck out Raymond Torres and Max Moroff to earn his fourth save.
Down 1-0, St. Louis tied it in the bottom of the third.
Larry Ernesto led off with a double off Golden Bears starter Rhett Daniels and -- after being moved along by a sacrifice bunt from Medina -- scored on a two-out single from Carlos Vidal.
The River Walker seized the lead in the sixth.
This time, Bichette got things going with a lead off single off reliever Kodi Medeiros.
Vidal got down another bunt, with Gabriel Moya on the mound, to move Bichette to second.
Andrew Benintendi sent him across the plate with a double.
Jared Thomas made it 3-1 with a single.

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Record: 32-27, 1st (Tied/w. Springfield), 1 GA Des Moines
Steven Brault allowed one run over eight innings and St. Louis completed a three-game sweep of Columbus with a 5-1 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Brault took a shutout into the eighth inning, by which time the River Walkers had built a 5-0 lead.
The Golden Bears did get to Brault for a run in his final inning -- Max Moroff had a pinch-hit triple and scored on a Nolan Gorman single -- but John Curtiss worked around a pair of base runners to keep it 5-1.
St. Louis took control with three runs off Columbus starter Jovan Gill in the bottom of the second.
Andrew Benintendi reached on a error by shortstop Orlando Arcia to open the inning, ending up at second on the wild throw.
A balk moved Benintedi to third and he scored on a Jean Carmona triple.
Jared Thomas followed with a two-run homer.
The Walkers other two runs came in the seventh.
Thomas drew a lead-off walk from Bears reliever Omar Garcia.
An Larry Ernesto single moved him to second and he would score on a Bo Bichette sacrifice fly.
Carlos Vidal connected on a two-out triple to score Ernesto.

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Record: 32-28, 1st (Tied/W. Springfield), 1 GA Des Moines
Sean Harp threw six shutout innings and Cedar Rapids survived a late St. Louis uprising while posting a 3-2 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Harp (2-1) allowed just two hits while on the mound. He struck out four and walked one.
Evan Palmer worked a scoreless seventh for the Golden Grapplers and Jose Alvarado and Zach Schellenger combined to do the same in the eighth.
But the River Walkers got something going inthe ninth against Todd Peterson.
Andrew Benintendi reached on a one-out single and scored on a Larry Ernesto triple.
Peterson struck out JT Schwartz for the second out, but pinch-hitter Vidal Brujan followed with a single to make it 3-2.
But Peterson got Jared Thomas to ground out, earning him his first save of the season.
The Grapplers built their 3-0 lead with single runs in the first, fifth and sixth innings.
Terrin Vavra, the second batter of the game, did the honors on the first run with a homer off Walkers starter Tanner Bibee in the first.
An error by Walkers second baseman Bo Bichette led to Cedar Rapids second run.

Jesus Berrios reached on Bichette's error to open the inning, ending up on second after the wild throw.

A Bibee wild pitch planted Berrios at third.
Nick Juaire chased Berrios home with a sacrifice fly.
In the sixth, Matt McLain led off with a single off Bibbe.
He stole second and went to third on a ground out.
Another sacrifice fly, this one from Jose Leyva, then made it 3-0.

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Record: 33-28, 1st (Tied/w. Springfield), 2 GA Des Moines
Rhys Hoskins hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to stake St. Louis to a 2-0 lead and the River Walkers never trailed on their way to a 5-2 win over Cedar Rapids at Busch Stadium (1997).
Carlos Vidal got on base in front of Hoskins with a one-out single off Golden Grapplers starting pitcher Rick Atkinson.
Hoskins followed by hitting a 2-1 pitch from Atkinson 378 feet over the left-field wall for his 12th homer of the season.
Jose Leyva drew a lead-off walk from Walkers starter Jimmy Lambert and would later score, pulling the Golden Grapplers to within 2-1.
Vidal got that run back in the third with a lead-off homer, his eight of the season.
But Cedar Rapids made it 3-2 in the fourth, after Dominic Smith led off with a double.
A wild pitch from Lambert moved him to third and he scored when Leyva grounded out.
That would be the final run for Cedar Rapids.
St. Louis added two insurance runs in the sxith.
Jared Thomas provided the first with a solo homer off Todd Peterson.
Larry Ernesto scored the second.
Trevor Bauer replaced Peterson and served up walks to Larry Ernesto and Edmond American.
Johan Camargo then scored Ernesto with a single.
Lambert improved to 3-1 by going six innings, allowing the two runs on five hits.
Williams Jerez got the first out of the seventh.
Danny Grigg got the final two outs of the seventh and first one of the eighth before leaving with a back injury.
Jake Brentz got the final two outs of the eighth.
Edwin Diaz struck out the side in the ninth for his 10th save.

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MBL news: All-Star game fan voting update for June 14

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Record: 34-28, 1st (Tied/w. Springfield), 3 GA Des Moines
Larry Ernesto connected for a bases-loaded infield single in the bottom of the 12th inning to score Carlos Vidal and give St. Louis a 5-4 win over Cedar Rapids at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win gave the River Walkers in the final two games of their three-game series with the Golden Grapplers.
Vidal had got things going in the bottom of the 12th with a one-out double off reliever Thomas Burrows.
Rhys Hoskins, who had already homered twice, was then given an intentional walk.
Andrew Benintendi loaded the bases with a single.
Ernesto then beat out a ball hit into the no-man's land in the middle of the infield as Vidal crossed the plate with the winning run.
The Walkers won the game despite a rough first inning for ace Alex Faedo.
The Grapplers batted around against Faedo and scored three times, getting RBI singles from Je'Von Ward and Dominic Smith and a run-scoring doule from Jose Leyva.
But Faedo would buckle down and toss six shutout innings before exiting.
By then, the River Walkers had rallied to tie the game.
Hoskins made it 3-2 with a homer off Cedar Rapids starter Takahiro Norimoto in the third inning.
Hoskins second homer of the game, this one off Dan Hammer, in the eighth later tied it.
Cedar Rapids did grab a brief lead in the top of the ninth, Phillip Dull with a two-out solo homer off Angel Tiburico.
But pinch-hitter JT Schwartz forced extra innings with a two-out solo blast of his own off Jose Leclerc.
Faedo ended up working seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
Tim Hill and Tiburcio both followed with an inning apiece.
The bullpen aces handled the extra innings.
Jake Brentz handled the 10th and 11th.
Edwin Diaz (4-1) took care of the 12th and came out of it with the win.

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MBL news: Week 9 Awards and standings

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Record: 34-29, 1st (Tied/w. Springfield), 2 GA Des Moines
Quad City's Brad Beshirs shut out St. Louis over the opening 6.1 innings and a pair of relievers did the same over the last eight outs as the Thunder whitewashed St. Louis 3-0 at Fenway Park (1970).
Beshirs scattered three hits during his time on the mound, while striking out four and not walking a single batter.
Evan Steele wrapped up the seventh inning and kept the Walkers off the board in the eigth.
Sarkis Ohananan allowed nothing in the ninth for his third save.
Quad City took the lead in the bottom of the first against River Walkers starter Adonis Medina -- Duke Kinamon led off with a single and later scored on a bases-loaded walk to Brendan Rodgers -- and the game stayed 1-0 until the bottom of the eighth.
That's when Thomas Dillard and Kinamon got to reliever John Curtiss tor solo homers to make it 3-0.

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Record: 35-29, 1st, 1 GA Springfield
Vidal Brujan drove in Jean Carmona with a pinch-hit double and later scored himself as St. Louis scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning to defeat Quad City 4-2 at Fenway Park (1970).
Jean Carmona had reached ahead of Brujan with a one-out single off Thunder reliever Brenan Hanifee.
Brujan followed with his double, breaking the 2-2 tie.
Brujan also advanced to third on the throw to the plate.
Bo Bichette then scored Brujan with a long fly ball.
The Walkers used four singles to go up 2-1 in the seventh inning.
Edmond Americaan led off the inning with a hit off reliever Rafael Antonio Gomez.
Singles from Carlos Vidal and Rhys Hoskins later loaded the bases.
Andrew Benintendi delivered the fourth single, and third in a row, to send Americaan across the plate.
Quad City tied it in the eighth, Duke Kinamon leading off the inning with a homer off reliever John Curtiss.
The Walkers got a strong start from Steven Brault, who allowed one run on seven hits over six innings.
Five relievers followed him to the mound -- Williams Jerez (1.0), Curtiss (0.0), Tim Hill (0.2) Angel Tiburcio (1.1) and Edwin DIaz (1.0) -- with Tiburcio (1-0) coming out of it with the win.
Diaz notched his 11th save.

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The game between the St. Louis River Walkers and Quad City Thunder on June 17 at Fenway Park (1970) has been postponed because of rain.
Because this was the final game of the series, it will be rescheduled for later in the season.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have announced that right-handed reliever Danny Grigg will be lost for the remainder of the season with a torn labrum.
Grigg last pitched on June 15 in a 3-0 loss to Quad City.

It has been a rough season for Grigg, who has gotten into 26 games during which he has gone 0-1 with a save and posted a 3.20 ERA.
He will be replaced on the roster by right-hander Luis Palomo who will come up from AAA Memphis.
The 25-year-old Palomo has pitched well for the Redbirds, getting into 28 games during which he has gone 3-2 with six saves while posting a 1.57 ERA.

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Record: 36-29, 1st, 1 GA Springfield
Tanner Bibee took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and end up working seven scoreless frames to help St. Louis to a 10-1 win over Des Moines at LaBatt Park.
Bibee didn't allow a baserunner until Alex Freeland singled with one-out in the seventh inning by which time the River Walkers led 4-0.

Andrew Foley followed with another single, putting runners at first and third.
But Bibee got Cody Bellinger to hit into a double play to get out of the inning.
The Harvesters did get to reliever Williams Jerez for a run in the eighth inning.
After St. Louis scored six runs in the ninth to go up 10-1, Luis Polomo worked a scoreless bottom of the inning to close it out.
Bibee finished the game having allowed the two hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked none.
The Walkers jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a big irst inning.
Bo Bichette opened the game with a double off Des Moines starter Sixto Sanchez.
Bichette moved to third on a Carlos Vidal single and scored on a Rhys Hoskins sacrifice fly.
JT Schwartz did the rest with a two-out, two-run homer.
Jared Thomas led off the second with another homer, making it 4-0.
The six-run ninth featured just four hits but also two walks, an error and a hit by pitch.
Benintedni had the biggest hit with a two-out double which scored the final two runs.
Thomas and Jean Carmona both had RBI singles.

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Record: 37-29, 1st, 2 GA Springfield
JT Schwartz connected on a run-scoring one-out single in the top of the 10th inning to help lift St. Louis to a 9-8 win over Des Moines at LaBatt Park.
Andrew Benintendi had drew a lead-off walk from reliever Omar Benitez to open the inning.
After a strikeout of Larry Ernesto, Schwartz followed with his double bringing in Benintendi.
Jake Brentz (2-0) threw his second straight scoreless inning in the bottom of the 10th to seal the victory and earn the win.

It was a wild game, featuring four home runs from each team.
A solo homer from Rhys Hoskins off Harvesters reliever Ronny Carvajal had put the Walkers up 8-4.
But it would not hold up.
Austin Meadows hit a two-run homer off St. Louis starter Jimmy Lambert in the bottom of the sixth.
Carlos David Rodriguez greeted his replacement, Tim Hill, with a solo blast to make it 8-7.
St. Louis would not get out of the inning with t he lead.
Garrett Frechette greeted John Curtiss with a single.
He would steal second and score on a two-out single by Andrew Foley.
Lambert had his first really bad outing of the season, allowing six runs on six hits in 5.1 innings.
Angel Batista got the final out of the sixth inning and worked a scoreless eighth and ninth before giving away to Brentz.