2023 St. Louis River Walkers -- Postseason or bust

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Walkers news: Player development report for Oct. 1

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Record: 83-72, 2nd, 10 GB Des Moines
St. Louis put five runs on the board over the first two innings and cruised to a 10-4 win over Springfield at Olympic Stadium (Montreal).
With the victory, the River Walkers swept their three-game road series against the Prairie Fighters.
Back-to-back one-out homers from Bo Bichette and Michael Toglia off Springfield starter Danny Duffy in the first staked the Walkers to a 2-0 lead.
In the second, Duffy could not find the plate walking three i-- ncluding bases-loaded passes to Larry Ernesto and Bo Bichette -- as the St. Louis lead grew to 5-0.
Toglia drove in the third and final run with a sacrifice fly.
It's lead at 6-2, the Walkers put four runs on the board in the top of the ninth to make it a blowout.
Dahiandy Johnson drove in two of the runs with a double. Romy Gonzalez followed with another double, plating the game's final run.
St. Louis starter Alex Faedo allowed two runs on three hits over six innings.
Thad Ward, Brad Hand and Wilmer Jimenez all worked an inning apiece to close out the game.

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MBL news: Week 23 awards and standings

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At 104-52 owner of easily the best record in the Midwest Baseball League, the Cincinnati Skyline became the second team to clinch a playoff berth following a 4-1 win over Arkon.
With the win, Skyline gave itself an eight-game edge over Akron with six games to go.
In the race for the best record in the American League, it is already over.
Cincinnati owns a 26-game edge of Grand Rapids which sits atop the West Division.

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Record: 83-73, 2nd (Tied/w. Kansas City), 10.5 GB Des Moines
Cedar Rapids rode six shutout innings from Rick Atkinson to post a 5-1 win over St. Louis in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Shibe Park (1949).
Atkinson left the game after allowing a lead-off double to Rhys Hoskins to begin the seventh innings.
Before, that the only hit he gave up in the opening six innings was a one-out single by Michael Amditis in the fifth inning.
Atkinson also struck out six and walked two during his time on the mound.
Cedar Rapids took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second against River Walkers starting pitcher Ernesto Rios.
They did it with three consecutive hits. The first two were one-out doubles from Noah Naylor and Alex Bregman.

Naylor scored on Bregman's hit.
Terrin Vavra then chased Bregman across the plate with a triple.
The Golden Grapplers lead grew to 5-0 in the seventh, Domingo Santana hitting a two-run homer off reliever Bill Warson.
The Walkers got their lone run in the eighth on a MIchael Toglia double off reliever Kale Davis.
That hit scored Christian Arroyo who had drawn a lead-off walk from David Cullison.
Cullison and Davis were both credited with working a full inning.
The ninth belonged to Danny Grigg in a non-save situation.

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Record: 83-74, 3rd, 11 GB Des Moines
Dominic Smith homered twice off St. Louis starting pitcher Tyler McKay to help carry Cedar Rapids to a 5-2 win and a doubleheader sweep at Shibe Park (1949).
Smith's first homer was a solo shot in the first inning, as the Golden Grapplers took a 1-0 lead.
Smith's second homer came in the fifth and was part of back-to-back solo shots with Victor Robles, as Cedar Rapids took a 5-2 lead.
The River Walkers had tied it at 1-1 in the second, when McKay connected for an RBI double off Grapplers starter Trevor Bauer.
In the bottom of the third, Cedar Rapids had gone up 3-1 as McKay unleashed a pair of wild pitches, the second scoring Bauer who had drawn a lead-off walk.
Robles later scored Matt McLain who had reached on a sacrifice bunt attempt.
St. Louis pulled to within 3-2 in the fourth on Tanner Kohlhepp hit his first major league homer off Bauer.
Bauer worked five innings, giving up two runs on eight hits.
He was followed by four relievers -- Zach Schellenger, Jacob Rhame, Tyler Bashlor and Durbin Feltman -- who all worked an inning apiece.
Feltman earned his second save of the season.

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Record: 84-74, 2nd, 11 GB Des Moines
Tied 1-1, Michael Toglia hit a two-run homer off Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Sean Harp in the top of the third inning to give St. Louis the lead and send it to a 7- win over Cedar Rapids at Shibe Park (1949).
With the win, St. Louis took the finale of the three-game series after dropping the first two.
St. Louis' lead grew to 4-1 an inning later after Jared Thomas led off with a single.
A bunt from Argenis Batista moved him to second.
Thomas scored on Edmond Americaan's first of two triples in the game.
His second triple came in the sixth, scoring Batista who had singled, to make it 6-1.
Andrew Benintendi had made it 5-1 with a fifth-inning home run.
Tanner Kohlhepp drove in Benintendi with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, as the St. Louis lead reached its max at 7-1.
Batista (12-10) allowed one run on six hits over six innings. He struck out eight and walked one.
Thad Ward (1.2 IP) and Brad Hand (0.1) combined to pitch the seventh and eighth inning.
Brad Brann handled the ninth, not giving up a run.

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The Chicago G-Men are headed to the postseason after they clinched the National League North Division title following a 5-4 win over the Twin Cities Snow Cats.
With the win, the G-Men (96-62) own a five-game lead over Green Bay with four games left in the season.
In the battle for home-field advantage in the National League championship series, Chicago owns a one-game edge over National League South Division champion Des Moines.

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Record: 84-75, 2nd (Tied/w. Kansas City), 12 GB Des Moines
Tied at 2-2 after nine innings, Des Moines busted loose for four runs in the top of the 10th inning to carry it to a 6-3 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
Taking the mound to begin the 10th, River Walkers reliever Wilmer Jimenez took a beating.
He retired the first batter, but allowed a double to Rafael Devers followed by a single to Greyson Jenista.
Asked to cover first on a ground ball, Jimenez then dropped a ground ball allowing Carson Kelly to reach and load the bases.
Grant Witherspoon hit a triple scoring two runs.
Witherspoon scored when Corey Ray followed with a single.
St. Louis got a solo homer from Michael Toglia in the bottom of the 10th off Harvesters reliever Frankie Montas but it was not nearly enough.
The Walkers had forced extra innings by scoring in the bottom of the eighth.

Juan Gil had led off the inning with a single off reliever Jandel Gustave.

He later scored when a Gustave pitch got away from catcher Carson Kelly.
Des Moines starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel lasted six innings, giving up one run on four hits. He struck out five and walked none.
Bryan Garcia, Gustave, Leo Vazquez and Montas all worked an inning apiece to finish the game.

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Record: 84-76, 3rd, 13 GB Des Moines
Tied 1-1,. Des Moines scored single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to send the Harvesters to a 4-1 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
Miguel Amaya gave Des Moines the lead for good when he led off the fifth inning with a home run off River Walkers starter Jackson Smeltz.
An inning later, Rafael Devers led off with a double off Smeltz.
A Cody Bellinger single moved him to third and he scored on an Austin Meadows sacrifice fly.
The lead grew to 4-1 in the seventh, after Ricardo Mendez led off with a single off reliever Brent Suter.
Mendez stole second with one out and John Curtiss now on the mound.
He later scored on a Rafael Devers single off Brad Hand.
Harvesters starting pitcher Yeo-San Park allowed one run on four hits over 4.1 innings.
Yonny Chirinos finished the fifth and worked a scoreless sixth.
Blake Parker, Luis Avilan and Ken Giles all worked an inning apiece to seal the win.
The save went to Giles, his 43rd of the season.

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Record: 85-76, 3rd, 12 GB Des Moines
St. Louis scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and rolled to a 7-1 win over Des Moines at Busch Stadium (1997).
Andrew Benintendi plated the first run of the first inning with a solo homer off Harvesters starting pitcher Jose Berrios.
Three consecutive singles -- from Rhys Hoskins, Michael Toglia and Romy Gonzalez -- all followed with singles to load the bases.
A fourth single in a row, this one from catcher Jared Thomas, plated Hoskins making it 2-0.
The River Walkers lead grew to 4-0 in the fourth.
Making his first major league start, Tyler Miller drew a lead-off walk from Berrios.

A bunt from starting pitcher Alex Faedo moved him to second.
Miller scored on an Edmond Americaan double.
Americaan found the plate when Christian Arroyo followed with another double.
The Walkers would add on three more runs, a two-run homer from Rhys Hoskins in the seventh being the big blow.

St. Louis starting pitcher AlexFaedo (15-9) worked 6.1 innings giving up one run on seven hits.

Wilmer Jimenez finished the seventh inning.
Bill Warson and Brad Brann handled the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to close it out.

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Record: 86-76, 3rd, 11 GB Des Moines
Ernest Rios allowed one run over five innings on the mound and hit an inside-the-park home run to help St. Louis to a 9-4 win over Des Moines in the final game of the season at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the victory, St. Louis split its final four-game series of the season with the NL South Division champion Harvesters.
St. Louis ended the season 86-76 and in third place in the division, some 11 games behind Des Moines.
On the mound, the rookie, Rios (2-1), allowed two runs on six hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked two.
At the plate, Rios knocked a ball over over drawn-in outfield the second inning and rounded the bases for a two-run homer to give the River Walkers a 4-0 lead.
St. Louis had gone up 2-0 in the first on a home run from Rhys Hoskins.
Both homers came off Harvesters starter Chad Beal.
St. Louis also got a solo homer from Christian Arroyo in the fourth and a grand slam from Julian Infante in the seventh.
The Walkers used five relievers to close out the win.
Brent Suter (0.1 IP) and Thad Ward (0.1) combined on the sixth,
Brad Hand, Phil Maton and Jake Brentz all handled an inning apiece to wrap up what will be another October without a postseason for the River Walkers.

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MBL news: Final standings and American League leaders

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MBL news: National League leaders

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Walkers news: Final team statistics

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Player of the Year: Andrew Benintendi: The 29-year-old outfielder batted .302 with 30 homers, 74 RBIs and 85 runs scored in 138 games. He also stole 15 bases while boasting an on-base percentage of .371 and slugging percentage of .903
Starting pitcher of the Year: Argenis Batista: The 23-year left-hander went 12-10 with a 2.93 ERA in 32 starts. He pitched a total of 184.1 innings with 205 strike outs and a 1.05 WHIP.
Relief pitcher of the Year: Jake Brentz: The 29-year-old left-hander went 8-4 with eight saves and a 2.26 ERA in 66 games. He pitched a total of 71.2 innings, striking out 103 and boasting a 0.88 WHIP.

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Chrisian Yellich hit a grand slam in the fourth inning to snap a 1-1 tie and power Grand Rapids to a 6-3 win over Indianapolis in a playoff game to determine the American League South Division champion.
Grand Rapids and Indianapolis both finished the regular season at 82-80 forcing the playoff game, which was played in Grand Rapids.
Yellich's grand slam came off Racers starting pitcher Sean Wymer.
Jojo Romero (13-10) earned the win for the Traders, allowing one run over the first five innings.
Five relievers followed Romero to the mound with Shane McClanhan working the ninth for his fourth save.
The win advances Grand Rapids into the American League championship series where it will face AL East Division champion Cincinnati.
The Skyline will own home-field advantage after posting the best regular-season record of 107-55.

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The 2023 Midwest Baseball League playoff matchups:
AL championship series: Grand Rapids Traders (83-80) vs. Cincinnati Skyline (107-55).
NL champonship series: Des Moines Harvesters (97-65) vs. Chicago G-Men (100-62)

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Owners of the Midwest Baseball League's best regular-season record, Cincinnati will get to play for the league championship after downing Grand Rapids 6-3 in Game 4 to claim a 3-1 victory in the American League Championship Series.
The Skyline went up 4-0 with two runs in each of the first two innings.

Trent Grisham drove in both second-inning runs with a homer.
The Traders, who were shutout for the opening six innings by Cincinnati starter Kirby McIntyre, did pull to within 6-3 late in the game.
But Tim Hill came on to record the final two outs for the save.
Skyline first baseman Freddie Freeman was named series MVP after batting .357 with four runs scored and three RBIs.

With the victory, the Skyline advances to the World Series where it will face the National League champion Des Moines Harvesters.
The Harvesters just completed a three-game sweep of NL North Division champion Chicago.

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The Des Moines Harvesters scored three runs in the first and third innings to help lift them to a 6-4 win over the Chicago G-Men and a three-game sweep of the National League championship series.
The victory was a bit of a surprise for Harvesters, who have won the World Series in 2020 and 2022, who had trailed Chicago by three games (100-62 to 97-65) in the race for home-field advantage in the NL.
Thairo Estrada provided the big blow of the three-run first with a two-run homer off G-Men starter Luis Noguera.
Chicago had pulled to within 3-2 by the bottom of the third, but the Harvesters put up their second three-run inning.
Kahlil Lee had an RBI triple off Noguera and later scored.
Jose Berrios handled the first five innings on the mound for the Harvesters, allowing a pair of runs.
Jandel Gustave struck out the side in the ninth for his second save.
John Lehto was named series MVP after batting .500 with three runs scored and an RBI.
With the victory, Des Moines advances into the World Series for the third time in four seasons.
The Harvesters will face Cincinnati, who took down Grand Rapids in four games to win the American League title.
The Skyline will own home-field advantage after going 107-55 in the regular season.