2039 and beyond -- St. Louis River Walkers thread

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Record: 42-42, 3rd, 6.5 GB Cedar Rapids
St. Louis broke up a scoreless game with seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and the River Walkers shut out Springfield for the second consecutive game 7-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
St. Louis starter Kevin Hrdlicka turned in perhaps his best start of the season with 6.2 shutout innings. He allowed six hits -- five singles and a double-- while striking out 10 and not walking a batter.
Railers starter Nick Arreola allowed just two singles over 5.2 innings. He struck out two and walked two.
The Walkers finally busted loose against the Springfield bullpen in the eighth scoring the seven runs on five hits. They were also helped by a walk, a hit by pitch and two wild pitches which allowed runs to score.
St. Louis put five straight batters on base against Jon Santiago to open the inning.
Both wild pitches occurred in that span.
Former Walker ace Jesse McNaboe then took over for the Railers.
He was greeted by an RBI single from Manuel Coke.
After a ground out, Nick Shaw scored two with a single.
Joe Allen did the rest with a two-run homer.
Chris Willett (1-4) finished the seventh for St. Louis.
He also pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win.
Frank Jimenez allowed a lead-off double in the ninth but retired the next three.

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Record: 43-42, 3rd, 5.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Nick Shaw led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a walk-off home run as St. Louis defeated Springfield 3-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win gave the River Walkers a sweep of the three-game series and victories in five of six games in the home and home.
Shaw's homer came on a 3-2 pitch from Railers relief pitcher Ron Tanner.
It carried 358 feet over the right-field wall.
The game had been tied 2-2 since the bottom of the sixth when St. Louis' Manuel Coke hit his 23rd homer of the season, a solo shot, off Springfield starter Pascal Marcovicci.
A solo homer from Joseph Hughes off St. Louis starter Xavier Wigfall in the top of the fifth had put Springfield ahead 2-0.
Joe Allen drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the fifth for St. Louis.
He stole second and moved onto third on a throwing error by catcher Matt Beagle.
Allen scored on a Mike Vaughan ground out making it 2-1.
Wigfall pitched 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on eight hits. He struck out eight and walked two.
McVey and Carlos Hernandez both got one out to end the seventh.
Alex Rios (0.2 IP) and Leo Hermosillo (0.1) combined on a scoreless eighth.
Closer Craig Fritzler (2-2) handled two innings without allowing a run and earned the win.

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Record: 44-42, 2nd, 5.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Tony Urbaeljo hit a walk-off two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning to give St. Louis a 4-2 win over Toledo at Busch Stadium (2006).
It was the second consecutive walk-off win for the River Walkers, and extended their win streak to five games.
Joe Allen opened the bottom of the 11th with a single off Mud Hens reliever Chris Smoot.
Martin Lopez then replaced Smoot.
Daylen Reyes got down a bunt to move Allen to second.
Ryan Wibbenmeyer followed with a ground out for the second out.
But Urbalejo got a 1-1 pitch he liked and drove it 380 feet over the left-field wall for his second homer of the season.
Single runs in the first and third innings staked St. Louis to a 2-0 lead.
But that was brief as Toledo scored once in the fourth and fifth to tie it.
Walkers rookie starter Juan Farias allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Alex Rios worked a scoreless eighth inning and got the first two outs of the ninth.
Leo Hermosillo finished off the ninth and notched the first out of the 10th.
The rest of the game belonged to Chris Willett (2-4), he earned the win after pitching 1.2 scoreless innings.

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Record: 45-42, 2nd, 4.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Ming Xiang held Toledo to one run over the first seven innings and St. Louis extended its winning streak to six games with a 5-1 victory over the Mud Hens at Busch Stadium (2006).
Xiang (8-5) allowed six singles during his time on the mound. He struck out six and didn't walk a batter.
The lone Toledo run came in the top of the fourth when Fernando Jimenez singled with one out.
Jimenen stole second and scored on an Ellis Parr single to give the Mud Hens a 1-0 lead.
The River Walkers took the lead in the bottom of the fourth on a Joe Allen two-run, two-out single off Steve Davis.
A Nick Shaw two-out homer off Chis Smoot in the sixth made it 3-1.
St. Louis also would add single runs in the seventh -- Ryan Wibbenmeyer doubled with one out off Vern De san Miguel and scored on an error by Toledo left fielder Andy Johnson on a Mark Waterson single -- and eighth -- Manuel Coke led off with a double off Martin Lopez and scored on a two-out double by Allen -- to complete the scoring.
After Xiang left the game, Brett McVey pitched a scoreless eighth for St. Louis.
Carlos Hernandez did the same in the ninth.

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Record: 45-43, 2nd, 5.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Tied 10-10, Toledo scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning and held on for a 12-10 wild win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (2006).
The loss snapped a six-game win streak for the River Walkers, who fell despite getting three home runs from Mark Waterson.
At one point, the Mud Hens held a 10-2 lead primarily thanks to a seven-run third inning against St. Louis starting pitcher Agustin Perdomo.
Three-run homers, first from Ellis Parr and later from former Walkers catcher Jared Thomas did the bulk of the damage in that outburst.
An inning later, Kevin Valentin connected for an RBI double off Kyle Smarr to make it 10-2.
But St. Louis refused to fold.
Waterson, who had hit a solo shot in the bottom of the second, going back-to-back with Joe Allen to tie it 2-2, connected on his second homer of the game off Mud Hens starter Matt Todd in the bottom of the fourth, making it 10-4.
Nick Shaw launched one into the seats off Todd in the fifth, drawing the Walkers within 10-5.
St. Louis then came all the way back to even it with a five-run bottom of the seventh.
Waterson drove in the final three runs with a homer Knopp.
The Walkers turned to Leo Hermosillo to pitch the top of the eighth, but he brought nothing to the mound.
Ronny Mauricio greeted him with a single.
Fernando Jimenez drew a walk.
And Andy Jordan belted a triple into the gap in left center as the Mud Hens went up 12-10.
Todd pitched 4.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Willie Mendoza finished the fifth and worked a scoreless sixth for Toledo.
Knopp's line was ugly allowing five runs on five hits in just two-third of an inning in the seventh.
Jim Campbell (6-2) came on to get out of the seventh and then with the lead kept St. Louis from responding in the bottom of the eighth.
George Williams earned his 21st save with a perfect ninth.

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Record: 46-43, 2nd, 5.5 GB Cedar Rapids
St. Louis jumped on Toledo starting pitcher Chris Ebarb for five first-inning runs and then held on as the Mud Hens chipped away at that advantage for a 5-4 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win was the River Walkers third of the four game series and capped a surge which saw them eight of their first 10 games in July heading into the All-Star break.
St. Louis sent 10 batters to the plate against Ebarb, scoring five runs on just two hits.
The Walkers benefitted from four walks, a hit by pitch and a wild pitch.
Mark Waterson was the only player to drive in a run by putting the ball in play, hitting a two-run single.
Nick Shaw drew a bases-loaded walk. Kerry Fackelman was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka drove in the final run when he hit into a fielder's choice.
On the mound, Hrdlicka (7-6) wasn't great but he avoided the big inning.
In his six innings, he allowed three runs on six hits. He struck out six and walked two.
Alex Rios (0.1 IP) and Carlos Hernandez (0.2) combined to pitch the seventh when the Mud Hens scored their final run.
Chris Willett allowed two hits but no runs in the eighth.
Craig Fritzler earned his 13th save in the ninth.

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MBL news: July 10 -- All-Star game final voting final results

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MBL news: July 10 -- All-Star game rosters

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The St. Louis River Walkers will have four representatives on the National League roster for the annual All-Star game which will be played on July 12.
Selected to the team were right fielder Manuel Coke, outfielder Joe Allen and starting pitcher Ming Xiang.
Closer Craig Fritzler was selected to the NL roster through the fan vote.
* Coke, 26, has been selected to his third All-Star team. The 2038 NL Most Valuable Player is having another outstanding season batting .294 with 23 homers and a league-leading 78 RBIs in 85 games/81 starts.
* Allen, 34, is now a four-time All-Star. Signed as a free agent by the Walkers on April 19, Allen has hit .259 with 17 homers and 51 RBIs in 68 games/65 starts.
* Xiang, 27, a two-time All-Star in just his third MBL season, the right-hander is 8-5 in 18 starts with a 2.66 ERA. He has pitched a total of 122.0 innings, during which he has struck out 88 and posted a 1.04 WHIP.
* Fritzler, 32, has made his sixth All-Star team. It hasn't been the best of seasons for the veteran closer although he has pitched better the last few weeks. In 28 appearances, Fritzler is 2-2 with 13 saves and a 3.68 ERA. He has pitched 29.1 innings, during which he has struck out 36 and posted a 1.33 WHIP. He has seven blown saves.

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MBL news: July 10 -- Prospects game rosters

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The St. Louis River Walkers have announced that 20-year-old outfielder David Beard has been named to the National League roster for the Prospects Game.
A 15th-round selection in the MBL draft, Beard has been playing at Low-A State College this season where he has hit .353 with 10 homers and 20 RBIs in 22 games.

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MBL news: July 10 -- NL wins Prospects game 8-7

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MBL news: July 11 -- Week 15 - Awards and standings

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MBL news: July 11 -- Rockford's Stowe wins Home-Run challenge

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The St. Louis River Walkers have announced the signing of 26-year-old right-handed starting pitcher Ming Xiang to a one-year extension worth $11.2 million.
Xiang has been one of the best pitchers in the game since signing with the Walkers out of Taiwan before the start of the 2037 season.
In three years, Xiang has gone 38-17 in 83 starts with a 3.28 ERA.
This season h is 8-5 with a 2.66 ERA in 18 starts.
St. Louis had hoped to sign Xiang to a multi-year deal, but he insisted on going one season at a time at a rate much lower than he could have gotten on the open market.

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MBL news: July 12 -- NL downs AL 7-4 in All-Star game

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MBL news: July 13 -- Standings at the All-Star break

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MBL news: July 13 -- American League leaders

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MBL news: July 13 -- National League leaders

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Walkers news: July 13 -- Team statistics at the All-Star break