2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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St. Louis River Walkers shortstop Aaron Nixon was placed on the 10-day injured list after suffering a strained oblique during a 5-3 win over Evansville on May 6.
Nixon, 31, is expected to be sidelined for about a week.
A free-agent signing by the Walkers, Nixon has batted .248 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 33 games this season.
Getting called up from AAA is 31-year-old infielder Hector Hildalgo.
For the Redbirds, Hildalgo has played in 28 games, hitting .247 with 10 RBIs.

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Record: 20-14, 1st/(Tied/w. Cedar Rapids), 2.5 GA Kansas City
Rookie Manuel Coke hit the first of his two home runs, a two-run shot, to highlight a four-run top of the first inning for St. Louis, which went on to defeat Des Moines 10-4 at Green Canyon Park.
Dan Hillard got on in front of Coke with a one-out walk from Harvesters starting pitcher Rich Nelson.
Coke followed with his homer, a 377-foot shot over the right-field wall.
The River Walkers, however, were not done for the inning as they put their next three batters aboard.
Nick Shaw singled, Jackson Miller doubled and Zach Daddell drew a walk to load the bases.
Chris Duncan then plated a pair with a single.
St. Louis pushed its lead to 5- in in the third.
Miller doubled for the second time in the game and scored on a Chris Duncan ground out.
After the top of the fourth, it was 7-0 with Coke hitting his second homer of the game, and his fourth in seven MBL games since making his debut, this one off Brad Beshirs.
Des Moines used the long ball to make it interesting.
Joe Allen put the Harvesters on the board with a lead-off homer off Walkers starting pitcher Edward Kunselman in the fourth.
Kellum Clark cranked a two-run homer off Kunselman in the sixth, making it 7-4.
That, however, would be the end of the scoring for Des Moines.
St. Louis, meanwhile, would add one run in the seventh (Bob Saavedra with an RBI single off reliever Hugh Fisher) and two in the ninth (Shaw hitting a two-run homer off Brian Stewart) to make the 10-4 final.
Kunselman (3-4) lasted 5.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Oscar Martinez finished the sixth inning for St. Louis.
After that, it was an inning apiece from Scott Rissler, Zachary Stella and Angel Tibrucio to close out thewin.

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Record: 20-15, 1st/(Tied/w. Cedar Rapids), 2.5 GB Kansas City
A day after getting routed 10-4 by St. Louis, Des Moines returned the favor by pounding the River Walkers 12-2 at Green Canyon Park.
The fun started early with Fernando Tatis Jr. hitting the first of his two home runs, a two-run, two-out shot off St. Louis starting pitcher Shane Drogo, in the bottom of the first to put the Harvesters ahead 2-0.
Des Moines didn't score again until the fifth, by which time its lead was 2-1.
However, it did score five times to break the game open.
Tatis Jr. again provided the big blow with a three-run homer, again off Drogo.
Ramon Montes later connected on a two-run single off Oscar Martinez to make it 7-1.
The Harvesters kept on adding to their lead late.
Joe Allen drove in a run with a single off Angel Tibrucio in the sixth to make it 8-1.
David Tapley led off the seventh with a homer off Tiburcio, as the lead became 9-1.
The Harvesters final three runs came in the eighth.
Tapley collected two more RBIs with a double off Juan Munoz.
Montes drove in the game's final run with a single off Munoz.
Des Moines starting pitcher Justin Dexheimer lasted just four innings, allowing one run on five hits.
Hugh Fisher (1-0) worked a scoreless fifth inning, and earned the win.
Ozzie Contera did some heavy lifting by handling three innings.
Teddy Loetzch closed out the game with a scoreless ninth.

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Record: 21-15, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids
Down 3-2, Jose Segura hit a two-run homer run off Des Moines starting pitcher Dave Vacarri in the top of the fifth inning, and St. Louis dialed up the offense from there to rout Des Moines 12-3 at Green Canyon Park.
The victory gave the River Walkers wins in two of the three games of the season.
A solo home run by red-hot rookie Manuel Coke off Vacarri in the top of the first staked St. Louis to an early 1-0 lead.
That advantage vanished over the next few innings, as the Harvesters took the lead with a three-run bottom of the fourth against St. Louis starter Jesse McNaboe.
Once it had the lead, the Walkers added to it with one run in the sixth.
Daniel Becerra led off the inning with a double off Vacarri and later scored on a Zach Wenman ground out.
St. Louis then busted it open with a seven-run top of the seventh.
Nick Shaw and Jose Ramirez both had two-run singles off Harvesters reliever Carlos Duran.
Zach Caddell did the rest with his first homer of the season, a three-run shot off Brad Beshirs, to make it 12-3.
McNaboe (4-0) wasn't great but was good enough to earn his fourth win.
He allowed three runs on six hits over 5.2 innings. He only struck out one and walked five.
Nick Ruffalo got out of a jam to end the sixth.
Zachary Stella pitched two scoreless innings.
Rookie Greg Sones sent Des Moines down in order in the ninth.

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Record: 22-15, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids
Pinch-hitter Zach Wenman connected on a two-run single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap a five-run outburst as St. Louis rallied for a 7-6 win over Rockford at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Lightning had scored twice in the top of the ninth -- Greg Bernier had an RBI double off Greg Sones and later scored on a Matt Weaver ground out off Juan Munoz -- to grab a 6-2 lead.
Rookie Manuel Coke got the River Walkers going in the bottom of the ninth with a lead-off double off Nick Kahny.
The next batter, Nick Shaw, flew out for what would be the only out of the inning.
Jose Ramirez followed with a walk.
Marshall Larcombe then replaced Kahny.
Jose Segura drew a walk to load the bases.
Daniel Becerra then reached on an error by first baseman Jordan Groshans, with Coke scoring to make it 6-3.
Dan Hillard drew a walk, scoring Ramirez.
Wenman stepped to the plate, and a wild pitch scored Segura.
On the next pitch, Wenman hit a line drive into left center, scoring Becerra and Hillard to win it.
The Walkers led 1-0, when the Lightning took command with a four-run inning against starting pitcher Jim Martin.
Bernier had the big hit, with a three-run home run.
Martin went six innings, allowing four runs on three hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Scott Rissler and Oscar Martinez followed with an inning apiece.
Sones got the first out of the ninth. Munoz (1-2) notched the other two and earned the win.

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Record: 22-16, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids
Already leading 2-1, Rockford scored six runs over the fifth and sixth innings -- four in the fifth and two in the sixth -- and the Lightning went on to defeat St. Louis 8-5 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Rockford's Daylen Reyes seemed to be in the middle of everything, including the Lightning's two-run first.
Reyes led off the game with a single off River Walkers starting pitcher Josh McDonald.
He stole second, and moved to third on an Erik Stowe single.
Reyes then score don a wild pitch.
Stowe later scored on a two-out single by Javy Monjaraz.
Reyes ignited things again for Rockford in the fifth, with another lead-off single.
A ground out moved Reyes to second, and he scored on a David Blanton single.
Wade Martin then scored Blanton with a double, which also ended McDonald's time on the mound.
Zachary Stella took over and didn't bring much to the mound.
Monjaraz greeted Stella with an RBI double, scoring Martin.
After Monjaraz stole third, Marcos Francis drove him in in with a single.
The Lighting tacked on two more runs in the sixth, going up 8-1.
Reyes again lit the fire with a lead-off single off reliever Angel Tiburcio.
Stowe followed that with another single, putting runners at second and third.
Blanton plated Reyes with a double.
Stowe later scored on a Monjaraz fly ball.
A three-run homer from Jose Segura in the bottom of the sixth, pulled St. Louis with 8-4.
An RBI single from Manuel Coke in the seventh sliced the deficit to three runs.
That was as close as the Walkers would come.
Rockford starting pitcher Jon Diaz lasted five innings, allowing one run on one his. He struck out eight and walked two.
Matt Broussard (0.2 IP) and Josh Fleming (0.1) combined on the sixth inning, when the Walkers scored three runs.
Fernando Fernando allowed the final St. Louis run in the seventh.
Omari Gordon worked a scoreless eighth.
Marshall Larcombe sent the Walkers down in order in the ninth for his sixth save.

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Record: 23-16, 1st, 1.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 3-3, St. Louis got a solo homer from Nathaniel Dixon and a three-run shot from Jose Ramirez in the bottom of the seventh inning to pave the way for a 7-4 win over Rockford at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory gave the River Walkers wins in two of three games in the series.
Dixon's homer, his second of the season, came with one out off Lighting reliever Matt Broussard.
Broussard followed Dixon's homer by giving up a single to Bob Saavedra and walking Daniel Becerra.
Ramirez then hit his fifth homer of the season on a 2-0 pitch.
Rockford did get a solo homer from Erik Stowe off Scott Rissler with two outs in the eighth.
St. Louis closer Nick Strother allowed a lead-off single to Wade Martin, but he retired the next three for his eighth save.
River Walkers starting pitcher Edward Kunselman lasted 6.1 innings., allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Greg Sones finished the seventh for St. Louis.
Rissler (0.2 IP) and Nick Ruffalo combined (0.1) to pitch the eighth.
A three-run homer from Jose Segura in the bottom of the first off Rockford starting pitcher Bob Singer staked the Walkers to an early 3-0 lead.
The Lighning rallied to tie it with two runs in the fourth, Javy Monjaraz with a two-run double off Kunselman.
Daylen Reyes led off the sixth with a walk from Kunselman.
He later scored on a Wade Martin fly ball.

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MBL news: May 14 -- Week 6 - Awards and standings

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Record: 23-17, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Pinch-hitter Tim Tawa connected on an RBI single off St. Louis reliever Scott Rissler in the top of the ninth inning, snapping a 4-4 tie and helping Cedar Rapids win 5-4 at Busch Stadium (2006).
David Henderson scored the winning run, after he reached second base on a throwing error by Rissler to lead off the innings.
Rissler struck out Tim Juergensen for the first out.
Tawa followed with a single into left-field on a 2-1 pitch to score Henderson.
An RBI single by Mark Hill off River Walkers reliever Juan Munoz with two outs in the sixth had put the Grapplers ahead 4-1.
St. Louis climbed back into it.
Jackson Miller led off the sixth with a double off Cedar Rapids reliever Ian Goshe and later scored on a Nick Shaw fly ball.
The Walkers tied it with a pair of runs in the eighth.
Bob Saavedra led off with a homer off Omar Benitez.
Shaw later singled with two outs.
A passed ball moved Shaw to second, and he scored on a Jose Ramirez single.
Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Joey Ross last just 4.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits.
Goshe finished the fifth inning and also worked the sixth.
After that, it was an inning apiece from John Goulet, Benitez and Keith Kirby.
Benitez (1-1) earned the win.
Kirby upped his save total to six.

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Record: 24-17, 1st, 1.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Jackson Miller hit a walk-off three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, as St. Louis defeated Cedar Rapids 5-4 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Jose Morillo had hit a solo homer off River Walkers closer Nick Strother in the top of the ninth, giving the Grapplers a 4-2 lead.
Chris Duncan got things rolling in the bottom of the inning with a one-out single off Cedar Rapids closer Keith Kirby.
Kirby struck out Dan Hillard for the second out.
But Bob Saavedra kept it going with a single.
Miller then hammered a 1-1 pitch 388 feet over the wall in right field to win it.
Before Morillo put the Grapplers in front with his ninth-inning homer, the Walkers had pulled to within 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the eighth.
Pinch-hitter Nathaniel Dixon had reached on an error by shortstop Miguel Mena to lead off the inning.
Dixon stole second, and scored on a Miller single.
River Walkers starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe went 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out nine and walked four.
Oscar Martinez finished the seventh for St. Louis.
Angel Tiburcio worked the eighth.
Strother (2-0) gave up the Morillo homer, but came out with the win.

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Record: 24-18, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Justin Sterner threw seven shut-out innings and the Cedar Rapids bullpen did the rest, as the Grapplers downed St. Louis 3-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory gave Cedar Rapids' victories in two of three games in the series.
Sterner (7-1) scattered five hits in his seven innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Matt Ray pitched a scoreless eight for the Grapplers.
John Goulet set St. Louis down in order in the ninth for his first save.
Cedar Rapids grabbed the lead for good in the top of the first.
Mark Hill led off the game with a single off River Walkers starting pitcher Jim Martin.
Hill was eliminated when Jose Morillo hit into fielder's choice.
Morillo stole second base, and he scored on a Eric Gerhardt single.
Morillo also scored the Grapplers second run, when he homered off Martin in the sixth inning.
Arnold Hammond scored Cedar Rapids' third run in the ninth.
He doubled with two outs off Nick Ruffalo.
Jordan Batista collected the RBI when he followed with a single.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have traded infielder Hector Hildalgo to the Akron for first baseman Jean Lefevre.
St. Louis signed Hildalgo, 31, in the offseason for infield depth to be stashed at AAA Memphis.
He got the callup when starting shortstop Aaron Nixon became injured.
During that time, Hildalgo hitting .071 with no homers or RBIs in five games.
Before that, at Memphis, Hildalgo had hit .247 with 10 RBIs in 28 games.
Lefevre, 28, has spent this season with AAA Norfolk.
He has hit .273 with two homers and 20 RBIs in 37 games.
Lefevre has been assigned to AA Springfield.

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Record: 23-18, 1st. 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning to jump in front, and the River Walkers rolled to an 8-2 win over Ann Arbor at Busch Stadium (2006).
A walk to Bob Saavedra got St. Louis rolling against former St. Louis pitching prospect Joey Thacker in the bottom of the first.
Saavedra stole second and scored on an Jose Segura double.
A wild pitch advanced Segura to third.
Dan Hillard picked up the RBI with a single.
It's lead down to 2-1, the Walkers got a three-run homer from Hillard in the bottom of the fifth off reliever Joe Donhoe, to take a four-run advantage
Their lead whittled to 5-2, the Walkers broke it open with a three-run bottom of the eighth.
Pinch-hitter Nathaniel Dixon drove in the first two runs with a single off Allan Stephany.
Saavedra also singled off Stephany to make it 8-3.
St. Louis starting pitcher Josh McDonald (3-4) went seven innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out nine and didn't issue a walk.
Zachary Stella gave up a run while pitching the eighth.
Angel Tiburcio worked a scoreless ninth.
St. Louis did get some bad news learning catcher Jackson Miller will be out for approximately four weeks after injuring his knee during a collision at second base.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed catcher Jackson Miller on the injured list after he suffered a sprained knee while running the bases during an 8-2 win over Ann Arbor on May 17 at Busch Stadium.
A free-agent signing in the offseason from Des Moines, Miller, 34, had batted .285 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 34 games since joining the Walkers.
Miller is expected to miss up to four weeks.
Getting the callup from AA Springfield is 23-year-old Manny Martinez.
Considered the organization's best defensive catcher in the top two levels, Martinez has hit .267 with eight RBIs in 32 games for the Cardinals.
Zach Wenman is expected to get the majority of the starts in Miller's absence.

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Record: 26-18, 1st, 1.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 2-2, St. Louis scored three times in the bottom of the sixth inning to pave the way for a 5-2 win over Ann Arbor at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Wolf Pack had tied it in the top of the sixth when Jason Nolan led off with a home run off River Walkers starting pitcher Edward Kunselman.
Nathaniel Dixon got things rolling for St. Louis in the bottom of the inning with a lead-of single off Ann Arbor starting pitcher Jon Kunda.
An Aaron Nixon bunt moved Dixon to second.
Rob Reul took over for Kunda, but was greeted by an RBI single by Zach Wenman.
Pinch-hitter Zach Caddell followed with another single, putting runners at the corners.
Bob Saavedra then reached on an error by Nolan at third base,
Wenman scored on the error, making it 4-2.
After an intentional walk to Manual Coke, Dan Hillard drove in the inning's final run with a single.
Kunselman (4-4) handled the first six innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Juan Munoz worked a scoreless seventh and got the first two outs in the eighth.
Nick Ruffalo struck out Travis Swaggerty with a runner on first to end the eighth.
Scott Rissler pitched the ninth and earned his first save of the season.

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Record: 27-18, 1st, 1.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Manuel Coke doubled with one out in the bottom of the ninth to score Bob Saavedra to cap a two-run inning and give St. Louis a 4-3 win over Ann Arbor at Busch Stadium (2006).
Zach Wenman got things rolling for St. Luis with a lead-off single off Wolf Pack reliever Edgar Lamas.
Zach Caddell replaced Wenman as a pinch-runner at first.
Caddell then stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by catcher Cesar Salazar.
Dan Hillard drove in Caddell with a fly ball to center.
Saavedra drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch.
Coke followed with his double over the center fielder's head, bringing Saavedra home with the winning run.
Down 2-0, the Wolf Pack had taken a 3-2 lead on a three-run homer by Glenn Santiago off Walkers starting pitcher Shane Drogo in the top of the fourth.
Drogo lasted five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Angel Tiburcio took over and pitched two scoreless innings.
Scott Rissler handled the eighth and got the first two outs of the ninth.
Zachary Stella (2-0) struck out the only batter he faced, Salazar, but that was enough to help him earn the win.

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Record: 28-18, 1st, 1.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 1-1, St. Louis scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to send the River Walkers to a 4-1 win over Ann Arbor at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory gave St. Louis a sweep of the four-game series.
The game had been tied since the bottom of the third inning, when Bob Saavedra doubled off Wolf Pack starting pitcher Justin Potter to score Daniel Becerra.
Becerra had drew a walk to lead off the inning.
It was Becerra who got things rolling in the fifth, with a lead-off single of Potter.
Becerra stole second and reached third on a throwing error by catcher Cesar Salazar.
Pitcher Jesse McNaboe scored Becerra with a single.
Saavedra kept the inning rolling with another single.
After an out, both base runners moved up when Potter threw a wild pitch.
Dan Hillard made the Wolf Pack pay, with a double which scored two runs.
McNaboe (5-0) gave up a run in the first inning, but was pretty good after that.
In all, McNaboe went 6.2 innings. allowing one run on five hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Nick Ruffalo got the final out of the seventh inning.
Juan Munoz pitched a scoreless eighth.
Nick Strother handled the ninth, giving up a run, but still earning his ninth save.

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MBL news: Week 7 -- May 21 - Awards and standings

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Record: 28-19, 1st/(Tied/w. Cedar Rapids), 5 GA Quad City
In maybe the longest game the St. Louis River Walkers have ever played, Ryan West singled to drive in Dylan Crews with the winning run in the bottom of the 20th inning, as Springfield downed St. Louis 7-6.
Crews had reached on a one-out single off River Walkers reliever/starter Josh McDonald.
Edward Kunselman, who is also a starter, then took over for St. Louis.
He was greeted by a double by Kole Cottam.
After an intentional walk to Jason Hillsberg.
That brought West to the plate, and he drove the first pitch he was past second baseman Daniel Becerra to bring home Crews the winning run.
St. Louis had tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the seventh on an RBI single from Zach Wenman off former Walkers prospect T.J. Darr.
Daniel Becerra scored on the single. He had reached on an error by West, who was a at shortstop, to lead off the inning.
Both teams scored twice in the 15th inning.
Aaron Nixon had an RBI double off Railers reliever Ineo Sawada to plate St. Louis' first run.
Wenman scored the other with a fly ball.
Joseph Hughes hit a two-run homer off Angel Tiburcio in the bottom of the inning to keep the game going.
Railers starting pitcher John Haynes lasted 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out six and walked one.
After that, the Railers used eight relievers, the Walkers used 11, beginning with Darr, who got the final two outs of the sixth and the first out of the seventh.
Martino Banditelli pitched 0.1 innings to get to the final out of the seventh.
The rest of the game was handled by Steve Nilsen (2.0 IP), Jose Santiago (2.0), Nick Thiel (3.0), Inea Sawada (2.1) and Tony Aceves (3.2).
Aceves (1-0) earned his first win of the season.

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Record: 28-20, 1st/(Tied/w. Cedar Rapids), 4 GA Quad City
Springfield jumped on St. Louis emergency starting pitcher Alex Pazos for three runs in the bottom of the first inning, and the Railers rolled to a 5-2 win at Oracle Park.
Pazos retired the inning's first two batters before allowing a single to Billy Salas and walking Joseph Hughes.
Schneider followed with his home, driving a 1-0 pitch 430 over the fence in center.
Pazos was starting for scheduled starter Eric Kunsleman, who had been forced to pitch in relief in the Walkers 20-inning 7-6 loss to Springfield the previous night.
The Railers added their other two runs in the other, again off Pazos.
Springfield knocked out four singles in a span of four batters, with Matthew Lugo an Ruben Villanueva driving in runs.
Springfield got a strong start from Ewdy Allex (4-2), who allowed two runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked three.
Martino Banditelli pitched a pair of scoreless innings.
Steve Nilsen handled the ninth for his first save.