2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 17-6, 1st, 3.5 GA Springfield
Down 2-0, St. Louis scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning to take the lead, and the River Walkers went on to defeat Indianapolis 5-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Manuel Coke got things going for St. Louis in the bottom of the seventh with a double off Racers starting pitcher Chung Pei.
Bob Saavedra later scored Coke with a two-out single.
Nathaniel Dixon then supplied the inning's big blow with a triple, scoring Saavedra to tie the game.
With Abdul-Nasser bin Amr at the plate, Pei unleashed a wild pitch bringing Dixon home with the go-ahead run.
The Walkers added two more runs in the eighth.
Yan C. Dixon struck first with a solo homer off reliever Rob Mincey.
Marcos Francis followed Dixon's homer with a single.
He scored on a two-out double by Nick Shaw.
Shane Drogo made the start for the Walkers, he went six innings allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter.
After that, Chris Eason, Greg Sones and Nick Strother all pitched scoreless innings.
Eason (2-1) earned the win.
Strother upped his save total to four.

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Record: 17-7, 1st, 3 GA Quad City
Indianapolis jumped on St. Louis starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall for three runs in the top of the first inning, and the Racers held on for a 4-3 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Indy opened the game by putting four of its first five hitters on base.
Brian Newell led off the game with a single, and he scored when Andrew Allison followed with a double.
After a ground out moved Allison to third, Wigfall walked Tony Galvan to put runners at the corners.
Rich Calhoun scored Allison with a single, as Galvan moved to third.
Chris Nicholson made it 3-0 with a fly ball to deep left.
The River Walkers would creep back to within 3-2, only to have the Racers score an insurance run in the top of the sixth with Wigfall still on the mound.
Nicholson led off the inning.
He later stole second and moved to third when Damiao Orozco reached on an error by Wigfall while covering first base.
Newell scored Nicholson with a two-out single off Nick Ruffalo.
St. Louis made it 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth.
Chris Duncan connected for an RBI single off reliever Chris Lutz.
Racers starting pitcher Joe Blakeley (2-1) went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits.
Lutz finished the sixth and work a scoreless seventh.
After that, it was scoreless innings from Matt Walizer and Craig Martinez to close out the win.
Martinez earned his eighth save.

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Record: 17-8, 1st, 2 GA Quad City
Indianpolis got to St. Louis closer Nick Strother for three runs in the top of the 12th inning to pave the way for a 5-3 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Having set the Racers down in order in the 11th, Strother returned to the mound for the 12th.
It was not a good decision.
Indy put its first three runners on base.
Shinya Mori drew a lead-of walk.
Scott Kern followed with a single.
Tony Galvan single to right, and an error by Manuel Coke allowed Mori to score.
Andrew Allison followed with a deep fly ball to center, scoring Kern.
After an intentional walk to Brian Newell, Chris Nicholson connected on another sacrifice fly to make it 5-2.
Down 2-0, the River Walkers had tied the game with single runs in the eighth and ninth.
Pinch-hitter Jackson Miller doubled off reliever Rob Mincey in the eighth and scored on a Marcos Francis fly ball.
Zach Wenman drew a lead-off walk from Craig Martinez in the ninth.
A Mark Waterson single moved Wenman to third.
Chris Duncan tied it with a deep fly ball to left.
Racers starting pitcher Jorge Rodriguez pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.
Five relievers -- Scott Nilsen (2.0 IP), Mincey (1.0), Martinez (2.0), Matt Loest (1.0) and Jon Diaz (1.0) -- followed Rodriguez to the mund.
Loest (2-0) earned the win.
Diaz notched his first save despite allowing three hits and a run.

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Record: 18-8, 1st, 2 GA Quad City
Jesse McNaboe allowed one run over the first seven innings and St. Louis held on for a 4-3 win over Indianapolis at Busch Stadium (2006).
McNaboe (2-2) allowed the one run -- an RBI double by Andrew Allison in the top of the fourth to make it 2-1 -- on three hits.
He struck out eight and walked three.
Chris Eason pitched a scoreless eighth for the River Walkers.
The ninth didn't go as well for Armando Cintron, who failed to retire any of the three batters he faced, with the third, Allison, hitting a three-run homer.
Brennan Weldon came in to close the game out, and earned his first save since joining St. Louis just a few days ago.
The Walkers went up 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning against Racers starting pitcher Paul Weaver.
Bob Saavedra led off the inning with a double, and scored on a two-out double by Nick Shaw.
Marcos Francis followed with a single, scoring Shaw.
It's lead down to 2-1, the Walkers added insurance runs in the sixth on a solo homer by rookie Mark Waterson off Weaver.
Shaw drew a lead-off walk from reliever Micah Bell in the eighth.
He later scored on a two-out single by Yan C. Dixon.

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Record: 18-9, 1st, 2 GA Quad City
Down 2-0, Twin Cites batted around in the top of the fifth inning scoring five times and the Snow Cats went on to rout St. Louis 11-3 at Busch Stadium (2006).
River Walkers starting pitcher Josh McDonald actually retired the first two Twin Cities hitters in the top of the fifth before the roof fell in.
Not surprisingly it started with an error, as Walkers first baseman Nick Shaw booted a ball hit by pitcher Brent Autin.
After that, it was a hit parade beginning with consecutive RBI doubles, from Shane King, Jonathan Kapp and Mike Sartain.
Aaron Watson kept it going with a single, scoring the inning's fourth run.
Jeff Friedman then smacked a triple to make it 5-2.
St. Louis did climb back to within 5-3 with a run in the bottom of the sixth.
The Snow Cats, however, busted the game open with a four-run seventh against the Walkers bullpen.
Three of the runs scored with two outs.
Jesse Leming plated two of them with a single off Chris Eason.
Jorge Avila had an RBI single to plate the inning's final run.
Twin Cities capped the scoring with single runs in the eighth and ninth.
Autin (2-2) went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out six and walked one.
Mike Harney finished the sixth for the Cats.
After that, it was Brandon Jollay for an inning and Nick Wilson for two to wrap up the win.

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Record: 18-10, 1st, 1.5 GA Springfield
Jeff Waddell connected on a one-out single off St. Louis reliever Nick Ruffalo, scoring Mike Sartain and helping give Twin Cities a 3-2 win at Busch Stadium.
Pinch-hitting, Sartain had doubled with one out off of Ruffalo.
His run was the first allowed this season by Ruffalo in 12 appearances.
The Snow Cats had tied it at 2-2 in the top of the sixth against River Walkers starting pitcher Shane Drogo.
This time, Waddell scored the run after he singled with two outs.
A balk moved Waddell to second.
He scored when Jesse Lemming followed with a double.
Twin Cities starting pitcher Vince Loyd lasted just 2.2 innings, allowed two runs on three hits.
He was ejected after hitting Manuel Coke with a pitch following a Marcos Francis home run.
Coke charged the mound and the benches cleared.
Both played were ejected.
Danny Patino finished the third inning and followed with scoreless fourth and fifth frames.
Jorge Aristizabal (2-1) earned the win after two scoreless innings.
Mike Harney pitched a scoreless eighth.
Jim Messina did the same in the ninth for his eighth save.

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St. Louis right fielder Manuel Coke will sit for five games after he helped incite a bench-clearing brawl after he charged the mound after being hit by a pitch by Twin Cities' Vince Loyd.
Loyd plunked Coke in the bottom of the fourth inning of a 3-2 Snow Cats' victory.
The previous batter, Marcos Francis, had hit a solo home run.
Both players were ejected from the game.
Loyd will serve a six-game suspension.

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Record: 19-10, 1st, 1.5 GA Springfield
Tied 1-1, St. Louis scored twice in the bottom of the fifth inning and went on to defeat Twin Cities 7-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory allowed the River Walkers to avoid being swept in the three-game series.
Chris Duncan led off the bottom of the fifth with a single off Cats starting pitcher Garrett Karp.
A bunt by pitcher Xavier Wigfall moved Duncan to second, and a single by Yan C. Dixon placed runners at the corners.
With Jackson Miller at the plate, a passed ball charged to catcher Josse Manhanas allowed Duncan to score.
Miller then drew a walk.
Brian Dowdy took over the Twin Cities, and he got Marcos Francis to hit into a fielder's choice, with Duncan being retired at the plate.
But Nick Shaw followed with a singe, scoring Dixon and making it 3-1.
The Walkers added to their lead in the sixth and seventh innings.
Duncan hit a solo homer off Dowdy with two outs in the sixth.
In the seventh, after the Cats had pulled to within 4-2, St. Louis tallied three times to bust it open.
Yan C. Dixon led off with a single off Elliot Calleson, and later stole second and scored on a Marcos Francis fly ball to left.
Nick Shaw followed with a double, and an intentional walk to Nathaniel Dixon put two runners aboard.
Rookie Matthew Harker scored them both with a triple.
Wigfall (2-1) worked 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. He struck out five and walked two.
Brennan Weldon finished the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth.
Ron Cox kept the Cats from scoring in the ninth.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have recalled center fielder Jose Segura from AAA Memphis, where he was on an injury rehab, and sent outfielder Mark Waterson down to the Redbirds.
Segura, 31, has not played with the Walkers since suffering a herniated disc on April 11.
In the season's first four games, Segura batted .333 with an RBI.
During his rehab at Memphis, Segura played in five games hitting .273 with a homer and three RBIs.
Waterson, 23, has split time between AAA and the majors in 2036.
In 19 games with St. Louis, Waterson hitting .163 with three homers and seven RBIs.

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Record: 20-10, 1st, 2 GA Springfield
Nick Shaw hit a three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to help rally St. Louis for a 4-3 win over Detroit at Tiger Stadium (1980).
Diesels relief pitcher Carlos Hernandez walked the first two River Walkers in the top of the ninth, to bring Shaw to the plate.
He ripped a 2-1 pitch 423 feet over the fence in left-center field to wipe out a 3-1 deficit.
St. Louis starting pitcher Edward Kunselman went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out four and walked the same.
Chris Eason got the first two outs of the sixth inning for the Walkers.
Ron Cox took over and finished that inning, and also worked a silent seventh.
Closer Nick Strother (2-1) took care of the eighth. He would earn the win.
Nick Ruffalo set the Diesels down in order in the ninth for his second save.

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Record: 21-10, 1st, 3 GA Springfield
Zach Wenman connected on a one-out single in the top of the seventh inning to score Nathaniel Dixon to help give St. Louis a 3-2 win over Detroit at Tiger Stadium (1980).
Dixon had led off the inning with a single off Diesels relief pitcher Chad Bigalow.
Chris Duncan moved Dixon to second with a bunt.
Wenman chased him home with a single to left on a 1-1 pitch.
All of the rest of the scoring came on a pair of two-run, two-out home runs.
The River Walkers' Nick Shaw took Detroit starter Javier Assad deep in the top of the first.
The Diesels tied it it in the fifth, Zachary Landis with a two-out, two-run blast off St. Louis starter Jesse McNaboe.
McNaboe (3-2) went six innings, allowing two runs on two hits. He struck out three and walked the same.
Scott Rissler worked a scoreless seventh inning for St. Louis.
Nick Ruffalo handled the eighth and got the first out of the ninth.
Nick Strother did the rest for his fifth save of the season.

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Record: 22-10, 1st, 4 GA Springfield
Tied 3-3, St. Louis scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning and held on for a 6-5 win over Detroit at Tiger Stadium (1980).
The River Walkers put four straight batters on base against Diesels relief pitcher Carlos Hernandez to begin the inning.
Marcos Francis and Bob Saavedra got things going with back-to-back singles to open the innings.
Nathaniel Dixon followed with a double, scoring Francis.
Jackson Miller was then given an intentional walk.
Hernandez did retire the next two -- Alfredo Gomez on a strike out and Matthew Harker on a fly out -- but Nick Shaw connected on a double scoring two.
Detroit did close the gap with a run in the eighth -- Lee Oakley doubled with two outs off Chris Eason and scored on a Zachery Schmitz triple -- and ninth on a two-out solo homer from Kyle Tucker off Ron Cox.
But Brennan Weldon got Tony Luna to fly out to end it.
Jesse McDonald (3-2) earned the win after allowing three runs on six hits over the first six innings. He struck out six and walked three.
Greg Sones pitched a scoreless seventh and got the first out of the eighth, before Eason took over.
Eason retired just one batter before giving way to Cox.
Cox got the final out of the eighth and the first two in the ninth.
Weldon earned his second save of the season.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed catcher Zach Wenman on the 10-day injured list after he suffered an intercostal strain in a 6-5 win over Detroit on May 10.
Wenman, 27, is expected to miss just four games but with starting catcher Jackson Miller already out with a minor injury, someone had to go on the IL.
In 19 games this season, Wenman has hit .273 with six RBIs.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis is 24-year-old Manny Martinez
In 1 games with the Redbirds, Martinez has hit .227 with two RBIs.
Martinez already has played two games with the Walkers in 2036, in those he hit .571 with one homer and seven RBIs.

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Record: 23-10, 1st, 5 GA Springfield
Shane Drogo pitched seven scoreless innings, and the St. Louis bullpen did the rest as the River Walkers downed Detroit 4-0 to complete a four-game sweep at Tiger Stadium (1980).
Drogo (3-1) allowed just three hits (all singles) during his time on the mound. He struck out seven and walked three.
Armondo Cintron worked a scoreless eighth inning. Chris Eason did the same in the ninth.
The River Walkers seized control from the outset scoring three times in the top of the first inning.
They put their first four batters on bases -- Bob Saavedra and Marcos Francis led off the game with back-to-back singles and Jose Segura scored them both with a triple. Nick Shaw plated Segura with a double -- against Diesels starter Francisco Velasco as St. Louis led 3-0 before the Diesels recorded an out.
Abdul Nasser bin Amr capped the scoring in the second.
He led of with a double.
A bunt by Drogo moved bin Amr to third.
Saaverda, who was 4 for 4 at the plate, picked up the RBI with a double.

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MBL news: May 12 -- Week 5 - Awards and standings

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The St. Louis River Walkers have announced the hiring of Juan Carlos Camacho as their first base coach.
Camacho replaces Kenji Johjima, who had held the position since the 2033 season.
Speculation is the move was made due to the defensive struggles of the team’s infielders in the early part of the 2036 season.
Johjima, 58, had taken on those duties following the retirement of bench coach Buddy Carlyle after the 2035 season.
Camacho spent the 2033 through 2035 season as the first base coach for the Toledo Mud Hens.

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Record: 23-10, 1st, 5.5 GA Quad City
St. Louis scored one run in the fourth inning and three in the sixth and went on to defeat Springfield 4-2 at Oracle Park.
Coming off a five-game suspension for taking part in a bench-clearing brawl, Manuel Coke opened the scoring with a solo homer off Railers starting pitcher Alan Albanese in the top of the fourth.
Bob Saavedra had the big hit in the sixth-inning outburst, knocking a bases-loaded triple off Albanese.
Walkers starter Xavier Wigfall took a shutout into the seventh inning before surrendering a two-run homer to Mike Murray.
Nick Ruffalo took over and pitched two scoreless innings.
Nick Strother handled the ninth for his sixth save.

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Record: 25-10, 1st, 6.5 GA Quad City
Nathaniel Dixon hit a three-run home run to highlight a five-run top of the sixth inning as St. Louis rallied from a 5-3 deficit to defeat Springfield 10-5 at Oracle Park.
Nick Shaw got things rolling in the top of the sixth with a lead-of double off Railers starting pitcher Marcos Zaragoza.
Yan C. Dixon followed with a triple, to make it 5-3.
Dixon then powered a 1-2 pitch 401 feet over the high wall in right field for his third homer of the season and a 7-5 St. Louis lead.
Dixon's homer chased Zaragoza in place of Sam Stoutenborough, but the Walkers still managed to score two more runs.
Stotenborough retired the first two batters he faced, but pinch-hitter Alfredo Gomez got things going again with a single.
With Saavedra batting for the second time in the inning, Gomez stole second and scored on a single.
Francis then connected on his second double of the inning, as Saavedra tallied the fifth run of the frame.
The River Walkers added two insurance runs in the ninth.
Manuel Coke doubled with one out off reliever Jon Santiago.
Shaw was given an intentional walk.
Yan C. Dixon scored Coke with a double.
Dixon picked up his fourth RBI of the game with a fly ball to left.
Walkers starter Edward Kunselman had his roughest outing of the season, lasting just 3.2 innings during which he allowed five run on eight hits.
Brennon Weldon (2-0) finished the fourth and pitched a scoreless fifth.
He would earn the win.
After that four relievers, Greg Sones (2.0 IP), Scott Rissler (1.0) and Chris Eason, combined to shutout the Railers the rest of the way.
Note: St. Louis center fielder Jose Segura left the game with an undisclosed injury after making a throw during the bottom of the fourth inning.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed outfielder Jose Segura on the 10-day injured list after he suffered a back injury while making a throw in a 10-5 win over Springfield on May 14.
It is the second trip to the IL this season for Segura, who earlier missed three weeks with a herniated disc.
Segura, 31, has played just nine games for the Walkers this season, batting .233 with three RBIs.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis is 26-year-old outfielder Hector Tavarez.
Once among the top prospects in the MBL, Tavarez has had numerous chances to show what he can do in the majors but has struggled at the highest level.
He has played in 20 games for St. Louis this season, batting .105 with two homers and seven RBIs.
For the Redbirds, Tavarez has played 12 games and hit .261 with three homers and seven RBIs.

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Record: 25-11, 1st, 6 GA Springfield and Quad City
Ewdy Alex handled the first six innings and a trio of Springfield relievers did the rest as the Railers shutout St. Louis 2-0 at Oracle Park.
The loss kept Springfield from being swept in the three-game series. It also ended a six-game winning streak for the River Walkers.
Ewdy (1-0) allowed just two hits (both singles) during his time on the mound. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.
Mike Fowler, Ruben Ruiz and Jon Santiago all pitched scoreless innings in relief.
Santiago earned his 11th save.
Springfield jumped in front 1-0 in the bottom of the third against Walkers starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe.
Garret Bixler led off the inning with a double.
A bunt by Alex moved Bixler to second, and he scored on a Ruben Villanueva single.
The game’s other run came in the eighth.
Hideaki Taguchi and Billy Salas opened the inning with singles off St. Louis reliever Chris Eason.
Taguchi scored on a fly ball to left by Riley Greene.
Injury note: St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe left the game after the third inning with an undisclosed injury.