2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Walkers news: April 7 -- Misc. team information

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MBL news: April 7 -- Preseason predictions on Opening Day

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Time and place: 2:05 p.m., at Green Canyon Park, Des Moines.
First pitch: Jose Berrios, ace of World Series championship teams of 2020 and 2022
National anthem: Country Western singer Sarah Darling
Starting pitchers: StL: Jesse McNaboe (17-5, 3.73 ERA in 2035) vs. DM: Keith Talley (5-15, 4.97)
Lineups
River Walkers
3B: Bob Saavedra -- 153 G, .336 BA, 14 HRs, 90 RBIs, .850 OPS
C: Jackson Miller -- 88 G, .265 BA, 7 HRs, 45 RBIs, .768 OPS
RF: Manuel Coke -- 126 G, .293 BA, 22 HRs, 74 RBIs, .862 OPS
1B: Nick Shaw -- 151 G, .335 BA, 31 HRs, 119 RBIs, .967 OPS
2B: Marcos Francis -- 156 G, .253 BA, 18 HRs, 76 RBIS, .743 OPS
LF: Hector Tavares -- 65 G, .203 BA, 10 HRs, 23 RBIs, .651 OPS
CF: Jose Segura -- 128 G, ,192 BA, 24 HRs, 79 RBIs, .687 OPS
SS: Abdul-Nasser bin Amr -- 1 G, .333 BA, 0 HRs, 0 RBIS, .333 OPS
SP: Jesse McNaboe -- 34 G, .250 BA, 0 HRs, 8 RBIS, .555 OPS

Harvesters
RF: Justin Oates -- 118 G, .282 BA, 15 HRs, 53 RBIs, .768 OPS
2B: Jared Poland -- 147 G, .276 BA, 20 HRs, 68 RBIs, .767 OPS
CF: Joe Allen -- 159 G, .263 BA, 35 HRs, 90 RBIs, .833 OPS
LF: David Tapley -- 153 G, .286 BA, 29 HRs, 81 RBIs, .924 OPS
1B: Leo Cerna -- 148 G, .298 BA, 21 HRs, 74 RBIs, .866 OPS
3B: Kyle Roberts -- 133 G, .221 BA, 14 HRs, 37 RBIs, .470 OPS
SS: Raul Estrada -- 79 G, 243 BA, 3 HRs, 21 RBIs, .668 OPS
C: Zigza Mukuru -- Did not play in majors
SP: Keith Talley -- 40 G, .100 BA, 0 HRs, 4 RBIs, .243 OPS

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Record: 1-0, 1st/(Tied/w. Kansas City), 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids and Louisville
Tied 5-5, Nick Shaw led off the top of the ninth inning with a home run off Des Moines reliever Mario Reyes and St. Louis went on to win its season opener 6-5 at Green Canyon Park.
The River Walkers jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a big top of the first inning.
Shaw drove in the game's first two runs with a double off Harvesters starting pitcher Keith Talley.
Marcos Francis, in his first at bat with St. Louis. followed with a two-run homer.
That lead eventually stood at 5-1, before the Harvesters rallied.
Pinch-hitter Kellum Clark provided the big blow with a two-out three-run homer off Armando Cintron, who was making his debut with the Walkers, which tied the game.
St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe went six innings, allowing two runs run on nine hits.
Nick Ruffalo worked a scoreless seventh inning.
Scott Rissler got the first two outs of the eighth, but exited the game with two runners on base.
They both scored on the Clark homer off Cintron (1-0), who would still come out with the win.
Greg Sones handled the ninth and earned a save.
The Walkers suffered a major injury early in the game when catcher Jackson Miller suffered a concussion after being hit in the head by a Jeremy Sudbury pitch in the fifth.
He is expected to miss two weeks, and will likely be placed on the injured list.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed catcher Jackson Miller on the injured list after he suffered a concussion after being hit by a pitch in the team's 6-5 season-opening win over Des Moines on April 7.
Miller, who had gone 0 for 1 in his first at bat before being injured, batted .265 with seven homers and 45 RBIs in 88 games with St. Louis in 2035.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis is 24-year-old Manny Martinez.
Martinez played in 17 games with St. Louis in 2035, hitting .326 with one homer and 12 RBIs.
At Memphis, Martinez hit .250 with no homers and three RBIs in 11 games.

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Record: 2-0, 1st, 1 GA Kansas City, Cedar Rapids and Quad City
Down 8-6, St. Louis scored six times in the top of the ninth inning on its way to a 12-8 win over Des Moines at Green Canyon Park.
The River Walkers jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but would eventually fall behind 8-4 when the Harvesters scored three times in the fifth and four in the sixth.
St. Louis got to within 8-5 when Marcos Francis led off the top of the seventh with his second homer of the season.
An inning later Bob Saavedra drove in a run with his first hit of the season to make it 8-6.
The Walkers then busted loose in the ninth scoring six runs on five hits.
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr drove in the first run with a bases-loaded single off Mario Reyes.
Making his first at bat of the season, Alfredo Gomez followed with a two-run single.
Saavedra then connected on another single, driving in two more runs.
Manuel Coke did the rest of the damage, cracking a double which plated a trio of runners.
St. Louis starting pitcher Josh McDonald went five innings, giving up four runs on 10 hits.
Chris Eason relieved him, and lasted just two-thirds of an inning, and allowed four runs on three hits.
Two of the hits were back-to-back home runs by Kyle Roberts and Willie Martinez.
Ryan Marzella retired the only batter he faced to end the sixth.
After that, it was an inning apiece from Ron Cox, Scott Rissler and Nick Strother.
Rissler (1-0) came out of the game with a win.

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Record: 3-0, 1st, 1 GA Quad City
St. Louis busted loose for four runs in the top of the 13th inning, and went on to defeat Des Moines 5-1 at Green Canyon Park.
The win gave the River Walkers a three-game sweep of their season-opening series against the Harvesters.
Abdul-Nasser Bin Amr got things rolling in the 13th for St. Louis, when he led off the inning by reaching on an error by Des Moines left fielder Orlando Torres.
Two batters later, Bob Saavedra broke the tie with a two-run homer, his first of the season.
Marcos Francis kept things rolling with a double.
Manuel Coke was then issued an intentional walk.
Nick Shaw replaced Coke on the bases when he hit into a fielder's choice.
Hector Taveras made it 4-1 with a single, scoring Francis.
Jose Segura made it 5-1 with an RBI single.
The Harvesters did get a run in the bottom of the 13th, Justin Oates hitting a lead-off homer off reliever Ron Cox.
Des Moines would put two more runners on bases, but Cox would allow no more scoring.
St. Louis didn't get its first hit until the top of the eighth when bin Amr singled with two outs off Des Moines starting pitcher Teddy Loetzch.
That hit scored Tavarez, who had drawn a walk to lead off the inning.
Walkers starting pitcher Shane Drogo allowed one run on five hits over six innings.
Nick Ruffalo pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Chris Eason followed Ruffalo, and didn't allowed a run over the next two innings.
Armando Cintron pitched the 10th and got the first two outs of the 11th.
Nick Strother finished the 11th and worked a scoreless 12th/
Strother (1-0) would earn the win.

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Record: 4-0, 1st, 1 GA Quad City
Down 2-1, St. Louis scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and went on to defeat Peoria 3-2 in their home opener at Busch Stadium (2006).
Rivermen starter Frank Garcia was still on the mound to start the bottom of the sixth, getting Marcos Francis to fly out for the first out.
Alexander Bowlby then replaced him, and that's when the trouble began.
Bowlby hit Manuel Coke with a pitch, and then walked Nick Shaw to put two runners aboard.
Hector Tavarez did hit into a fielder's choice, eliminating Shaw, but Zach Wenman followed with a game-tying single.
Yan C. Dixon unknotted the score with another single, as St. Louis went up 3-2.
River Walkers starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall went 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Greg Sones (1-0) finished the sixth and worked a scoreless seventh.
Nick Ruffalo turned in his third scoreless outing of the season in the eighth.
Scott Rissler earned his first save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Walkers center fielder Jose Segura left the game with a herniated disc in his back.
He is expected to be out for three weeks and will likely be placed on the injured list.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed center fielder Jose Segura on the 10-day injured list after he suffered a herniated disc during its 3-2 win over Peoria on April 11.
It was the second major injury of the young season for the Walkers, with Jackson Miller already going on the IL with a concussion.
Segura is expected to miss up to three weeks.
Segura, 30, was batting .333 over the first four games with one RBI.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis is 23-year-old outfielder Mark Waterson.

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Record: 4-1, 1st/(Tied/w. Quad City), 2 GA Springfield and Cedar Rapids
Peoria put up four runs in the bottom of the 10th inning against the St. Louis bullpen to hand the River Walkers their first loss of the season 5-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The game had been tied since both teams had scored single runs in the fourth inning.
In the top of the 10th, John Nourian got things rolling when he led off and reached on an error by catcher Zach Wenman, while facing reliever Ron Cox.
Ryan Rickard followed with a single.
Tony Gamez snapped the tie with a double, scoring Nourian.
Chris Eason took over on the mound for St. Louis, only to be greeted by a Ryan Palmer double which scored a pair.
Wes Cohen plated the inning's final run with a deep fly ball off Armando Cintron.
Rivermen starting pitcher Brad Monroe worked six innings, allowing one run on two hits. He stuck out five and walked one.
Lorenzo Mascorro pitched a scoreless seventh for Peoria.
Michael Walgren (1-0) would handle a pair of spotless innings and earn the win.
Alexander Bowlby pitched the bottom of the 10th without incident.

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Record: 5-1, 1st (Tied/w. Quad City), 2 GA Springfield
Jesse McNaboe threw seven shut-out innings and the St. Louis' bullpen did the rest in a 1-0 win over Peoria at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory gave the River Walkers wins in two of the three games in their series with the Rivermen.
McNaboe (1-0) allowed just two hits in his seven innings, the first hit being a two-out double to Johnny Castognozzi in the sixth.
He struck out five and walked four.
Scott Rissler got the first two outs in the eighth.
Greg Sones finished the eighth and worked a 1-2-3 ninth.
Rookie shortstop Abdul-Nassen bin-Amr scored the game's lone run after he singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth.
A McNaboe bunt moved bin-Amr to second.
Bin-Amr then stole third.
It was the second time this situation had played out, only this time Bob Saavedra scored him with a fly ball to center.

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MBL news: April 14 -- Week 1 awards and standings

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Record: 6-1, 1st, 1 GA Quad City
St. Louis took the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning, it later busted it open with a six-run eighth as the River Walkers routed Kansas City 9-1 at Kauffman Stadium.
Catcher Manny Martinez belted a two-run triple off Monarchs starting pitcher Travis Rinker in the top of the second to put St. Louis in front.
Thanks to a solo homer from Manuel Coke off Rinker in the sixth, St. Louis led 3-1 going into the eighth.
That inning, the Walkers scored six runs on seven hits.
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr provided the first big hit with a two-run single off reliever David Ruffilo.
Jose Lazaro then replaced Ruffilo and was greeted by a three-run homer by Martinez.
Martinez finished the game with five RBIs.
Marcos Francis plated the game's final run with a single off Lazaro.
Walkers starting pitcher Josh McDonald (1-0) lasted 5.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits.
Greg Sones finished the sixth and got the first two outs of the seventh.
Scott Rissler retired the only batter he faced to end the seventh.
Chris Eason didn't allow a run over the final two innings.

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Record: 7-1, 1st, 2 GA Springfield and Quad City
Shane Drogo allowed one run over the opening 5.2 innings, and St. Louis broke a 1-1 tie with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth as the River Walkers defeated Kansas City 4-1 at Kauffman Stadium.
Marcos Francis drew walk from Monarchs starting pitcher Jose Buenrostro to open the top of the fourth.
He then stole second and moved to third on a one-out single by Nick Shaw.
Shaw made it runners at second and third, when he advanced on a Yan C. Dixon ground out.
Rookie Mark Waterson scored Francis with a single.
Another single, this one from Zach Wenman, plated Shaw.
St. Louis added an insurance run in the ninth.
Nathaniel Dixon scored it after reaching on a pinch-hit one-out single off reliever Brandon Jones.
Bob Saavedra chased Dixon home with a double.
Drogo (1-0) allowed one run on eight hits over 5.2 innings.
He exited the game with a runner on first and two outs in the sixth.
Scott Rissler stepped in and got Alejando Crespo to fly out to end the inning.
Ryan Marzella, Nick Ruffalo and Armondo Cintron closed out the game with an inning each.
Cintron earned his first save as a Walker.

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Record: 8-1, 1st, 2 GA Springfield and Quad City
St. Louis scored three times in the top of the 12th inning to defeat Kansas City 5-2 and complete a three-game sweep at Kauffman Stadium.
Rookie shortstop Abdul-Nasser Bin Amr led off the top of the 12th with a single off Monarchs reliever Brandon Jones.
He then stole second and scored when catcher T.J. Latham made a wild throw to first on a bunt attempt by pitcher Chris Eason.
Eason made second on the throw, he scored when Bob Saavedra singled.
Marcos Francis followed and reached on K.C.'s second error of the inning, a booted ground ball by third baseman Gerardo Bernal.
Saavedra, who had reached second on the error, later scored on a two-out single from Zach Wenman off Eric Warren.
A solo homer from the Walkers' Nick Shaw off Monarchs starting pitcher Tyler Martin had tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the seventh.
It remained that way until the 10th, when both teams scored one
Bin Amr scored for the Walkers.
He again led off the inning with a single.
Saavedra reached on a one-out error by first baseman Jerred Hendricks, moving bin Amr to second.
He scored on a two-out double by Manuel Coke.
However, Saavedra was thrown out at the plate.
A pair of River Walkers' error played into the Monarchs tying it in the bottom of the 10th.
Nick Strother walked Jim Peebles to lead off the inning.
With one one, T.J. Latham reached on a bin Amr error at shortstop putting runners at first and second.
A single by Alejandro Crespo then loaded the bases with one out.
Armando Cintron took over, and induced a fly ball to center by Eric Marion.
Center fielder Yan C. Dixon dropped the ball, allowing Pebbles to score and keeping the bases loaded.
Cintron got out of it by striking out Hendricks and Josh Shuler.
St. Louis starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall went six innings, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out four and walked five.
Ron Cox pitched one scoreless inning and Ryan Marcella two to get the game to extra innings.
Strother got just the first out of the 10th.
Cintron pitched until there were two outs in the 11th.
Chris Eason (1-0) came on with runners on second and third with two outs in the 11th.
He got Latham to ground out to keep the game going.
With a 5-2 lead, Eason allowed a one-out double to Marion in the 12th but nothing else.

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Looking to add bullpen depth from the right side, the St. Louis River Walkers have announced the signing of 28-year-old reliever Brennan Weldon.
Weldon spent the 2035 season between Class A Lynchburg and AAA Columbus in the Grand Rapids organization.
He pitched in a combined 45 games, going 7-2 with 21 saves and a 1.39 ERA.
Weldon did get five games worth of major league experience with Grand Rapids in 2034. He didn't give up a run in seven innings of work, while compiling no decisions.
The one-year (auto-renew) contract is worth $1.34 million.
Weldon is expected to pitch at AAA Memphis for a few games before making the jump to the Walkers.

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Record: 9-1, 1st, 2 GA Quad City and Springfield
Tied 2-2, St. Louis scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning and went on to defeat Ann Arbor 7-2 at Crosley Field (1958).
The Wolf Pack had tied it in the bottom of the seventh when Ryan Wibbenmeyer led off with a homer off River Walkers reliever Scott Rissler.
St. Louis had taken a brief 2-1 lead in the top of that inning.
The Walkers belted out five hits in that two-run inning, including RBI singles from Manny Martinez and Manuel Coke, both off reliever Jesus Vasquez.
St. Louis put six of its first seven hitters on base in the top of the eighth against Ann Arbor reliever Joey Thacker
Thacker began his career in the Walkers' farm system.
Yan. C. Dixon drove in the inning's first run with a single.
Martinez and Bob Saavedra also had RBI singles.
Marcos Francis drove in the inning's final run with a deep fly ball to left.
Walkers starting pitcher Edward Kunselman allowed one run on six hits over the first six innings.
Rissler (2-0) earned the win despite giving up Wibbenmyer's homer in the seventh.
Nick Ruffalo didn't allow a base runner over the final two innings to seal the win.

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Record: 9-2, 1st, 1 GA Springfield
Josh Walker allowed two hits over 6.1 scoreless innings and a pair of relievers did the rest as Ann Arbor shutout St. Louis 2-0 at Crosley Field (1958).
The loss was just the second of the season for the River Walkers, and ended a five-game winning streak.
All Walker (1-1) allowed during his time on the mound were a pair of singles -- Nick Shaw singled to lead off the fifth inning, and Manuel Coke singled with one out in the seventh -- while striking out six. He didn't walk a batter.
Mike Christie finished the seventh for the Wolfpack and followed it with a scoreless eighth.
Edgar Lamas worked a scoreless ninth for his third save.
Ann Arbor got its runs in the first and third innings off St. Louis starter Jesse McNaboe.
Mario Gurule tripled with one out in the first and scored on a Jaden Green ground out.
In the third, Paul Rochette drew a one-out walk.
A wild pitch by McNaBoe moved him to second.
He scored on a two-out single by Green, who collected his second RBI of the contest.

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Record: 9-3, 1st, 1 GA Springfield and Quad City
Down 1-0, Ann Arbor scored three times in the bottom of the first inning, and the Wolf Pack continued to pile it on from there routing St. Louis 13-1 at Crosley Field (1958).
It was a rough outing for St. Louis starter Josh McDonald, who allowed seven runs on nine hits in just 4.1 innings.
It started in the first when the Pack scored three times on four hits.
Jaden Green and Alex Freeland both had RBI singles.
Clay Owens collected an RBI for driving in the third run, when he drew a bases-loaded walk.
Ryan Wibbenmeyer made it 4-1 with a run-scoring double in the third.
Ann Arbor chased McDonald during a six-run bottom of the fifth.
McDonald allowed three singles, and recorded one out, before exiting with the bases loaded.
Rookie Ron Cox took over and sustained some heavy damage.
He actually retired the first two batters he faced, but allowed two runs.
Ed Moore drove in a run with a fly ball to left.
Owens struck out, but reached first on a wild pitch as another run scored.
Pitcher Jon Kunda then plated a pair with a single.
Jason Nolan provided the final piece of the outburst with a three-run home run.
The Pack added to their leads with one run in the seventh -- Jaden Green with an RBI single off Ryan Marzella -- and two in the eighth -- Owens drove in a runner from third with a ground out and Ryan Lodge had an RBI single -- to wrap up the rout.
On the mound, Kunda (1-1) went five innings allowing one run on four hits.
Jim Dunphy and Lodge both pitched two innings of scoreless relief.

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Record: 9-4, 1st/(Tied/w. Quad City), 1 GA Springfield
Eric DePasquale shut out St. Louis on two hits over the first seven innings, and Ann Arbor rolled to a 5-1 win at Crosley Field.
The victory was the third straight for the Wolf Pack, after dropping the opener of the four-game series. Ann Arbor outscored the River Walkers 20-2 in that span.
The only hits DePasquale (1-1) allowed were a first-inning double to Manuel Coke and a third-inning single to Yan C. Dixon.
DePasquale also recorded five strike outs while walking two.
Ryan Lodge and Mike Christie both pitched one inning of relief.
The lone St. Louis run came on a pinch-hit homer from Nathaniel Dixon off Lodge in the eighth.
The Pack jumped in front with a run off Walkers starting pitcher Shane Drogo in the bottom of the first.
Jason Nolan drew a lead-off walk, and moved to third on an Eddie Estrella single.
Mario Gurule scored Nolan with a deep fly ball to right.
Ryan Wibbenmeyer made it 2-0 in the fourth with a one-out homer off Drogo.
Ann Arbor wrapped up its scoring in the bottom of the fifth.
Jason Nolan led off the inning with a homer.
Drogo would allow the next three batters to reach, loading the bases.
He then proceeded to walk Alex Freeland, driving in a run.
Garrett Frechette hit a fly ball deep to right off Greg Sones to score the game's final run.