[rink23]

Record: 23-12, 2nd, 0.5 GB Springfield
Cedar Rapids pounded St. Louis starting pitcher Jimmy Lambert for five runs in the bottom of the second inning and rolled to an 8-5 win over St. Louis at Shibe Park (1949).
The victory gave the Golden Grapplers wins in two of three games in the series. It also knocked the River Walkers out of first place, as they fell a half-game behind Springfield.
Life has been tough for Lambert this season and it continued as he failed to get out of the third inning.
The second was the tough one.
Beginning with a lead-off double by Joc Pederson, five straight batters reached to start the inning for Cedar Rapids.
Noah Naylor drove in the first run with a single.
J Teijiero followed with another double, scoring a run.
After a walk to Terrin Vavra, Jean Carlos Arias plated two with the third double of the inning.
The fifth run of the inning scored on a Matt McLain sacrifice fly.
The carnage continued with two more runs in the third.
Pederson got it rolling with a one-out double.
A hit-by-pitch and walk then loaded the bases.
Vavra chased two of them home with a single, and sent Lambert to the shower.
St. Louis would try to climb back into it, getting as close as 8-5 in the top of the seventh.
But the Cedar Rapids bullpen retired the final six River Walkers batters of the game to seal the win.
Grapplers starter Rick Atkinson (5-2) worked the first five innings, allowing two runs on four hits.
Cedar Rapids had to use five relievers -- Jared Carkuff (1.0 IP), Felipe Vazquez (0.2), Kyle Barraclough (0.1), Jose Alvarado (1.0) and Jose Leclerc (1.0) -- to close out the game.
Leclerc's 1-2-3 ninth gave him 11 saves on the season.