2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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MBL news: April 9 -- Week 1- Awards and standings

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Record: 5-2, 2nd, 1 GB Cedar Rapids
Nathaniel Dixon's three-run double highlighted a four-run top of the eighth inning and helped St. Louis overcome a 2-0 deficit, on its way to a 4-2 win over Louisville at Dodger Stadium.
The Sluggers built their lead with single runs oin the bottom of the third (RBI double by CJ Abrams off River Walkers starting pitcher Jim Martin) and sixth innings (run-scoring single by Jake Holland off Scott Rissler).
Hector Tavarez set the wheels in motion for the Walkers in the eighth, drawing a lead-off walk off Louisville reliever Danny Wright.
After a strikeout of Jose Segura, Nick Shaw and Bob Saavedra both singled to load the bases.
Dixon followed with his double, lining it into the gap in left-center.
Zach Wenman then scored Dixon with a fly ball to center.
Martin worked five innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out fie and walked one.
Zachary Stella worked a scoreless sixth.
Rissler got the first two outs of the seventh.
Oscar Martinez got out of the jam by getting one out in the seventh.
He followed with a scoreless eighth.
Martinez (1-0) would earn the win.
Nick Strother set the Sluggers down in order in the ninth for his third save.

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Record: 6-2, 2nd, 1 GB Cedar Rapids
St. Louis exploded for six runs in the top of the 12th inning, and the River Walkers went on to defeat Louisville 12-6 at Dodger Stadium.
The Walkers banged out six hits in the inning and benefited from three walks.
Pitcher Angel Tiburcio provided the biggest hit with a three-run home run off Sluggers relief pitcher Elvis Pool.
Aaron Nixon drove in the first run with a single off Corey Wood.
The next batter, Nathaniel Dixon, plated a pair with a double.
Tiburcio handled the rest with his homer.
Down 3-2, the Walkers had rallied late to take a 6-3 lead.
They scored two runs in the eighth -- on singles from pinch-hitter Zach Caddell and Jose Ramirez -- and another in the ninth on a RBI double from Nick Shaw.
Louisville, however forced extra innings thanks to a two-out three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth from Alfredo Gomez off St. Louis closer Nick Strother.
Walkers starter Josh McDonald lasted 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits.
Zachary Stella finished the sixth and pitched a scoreless seventh.
Nick Ruffalo handled the eighth without a hitch.
Strother was on the mound, when Louisville tied it in the bottom of the ninth. His first blown save of the season.
Greg Sones pitched the 10th and got the first out of the 11th.
Tiburcio (1-0) completed the 11th and set the Sluggers down in order in the 12th.

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Record: 6-3, 2nd, 1 GB Cedar Rapids
Former St. Louis prospect Kurt Halter limited the River Walkers to one run over seven innings, and Louisville avoided a three-game sweep with a 4-1 win at Dodger Stadium.
Halter (1-1) allowed one run -- on an RBI single from Bob Saavedra which tied it at 1-1 -- on seven hits. He struck out 11 and walked one.
The Sluggers retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a pair of runs off St. Louis starting pitcher Edward Kunselman.
It all happened with two outs, beginning with Jake Holland reaching when right fielder Hector Tavarez botched a fly ball which should have been the third out.
Halter followed with a single, scoring Holland who had reached second on the error.
A single by CJ Abrams moved Halter to third.
Halter scored when Kunselman threw a wild pitch while Dan Boyle was at the plate.
Mike Courtney led off the sixth with a homer off Kunselman to make it 4-1.
Tadanori Kino****a pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Sluggers.
The ninth was divided between Corey Wood (0.2 IP) and Tony Arroyo (0.1).
Arroyo earned his first save.

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Record: 7-3, 1st/(Tied/w. Cedar Rapids), 1 GA Kansas City
St. Louis erupted for five runs in the top of the 10th inning and went on to defeat Indianapolis 9-4 at the Astrodome (1995).
The River Walkers got a lot of help from the Racers in the inning.
They were issued three walks, there was also a balk, a wild pitch and an error by second baseman Brandon LeBree in the inning.
Two walks, one intentional, and a single loaded the bases before St. Louis scored its first run.
That run scored when pinch-hitter Dan Hillard drew a walk from Racers reliever Micah Bell.
The next two runs scored on a wild pitch, and a balk, both by Bell.
Zach Wenman then connected on a single to plate the inning's fourth run.
Former Walkers pitcher Gil Meier then took over for Indy.
Wenman scored when Nathaniel Dixon reached on LeBree's error while h was on the mound.
St. Louis had gone up 4-2 on Dixon's two-run homer off Eric Watkins in the top of the ninth.
Indy tied it in the bottom half when Walkers reliever Scott Rissler issued three walks.
Justin Flatten tied it with an RBI single off Rissler.
St. Louis got another decent start from Shane Drogo.
He allowed two runs on seven hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out four and walkd two.
Juan Munoz turned in his best outing since joining the Walkers, with 2.1 scoreless innings.
Rissler was not good after taking over in the ninth, allowing the two runs on two hits and three walks in just 2-3rds of an inning.
Angel Tibrurcio (2-0) earned the win for recording the final out of the ninth.
Oscar Martinez pitched the 10th, allowing a run which did not mean much.

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Record: 8-3, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids
Jesse McNaboe allowed one run over eight innings and St. Louis pounded out 19 hits in a 12-1 rout of Indianapolis at the Astrodome (1995).
McNaboe (1-0) allowed one run -- Scott Kern led off the bottom of the fifth with a double and later scored on a Chris Nicholson fly ball to make the score 7-1 -- on six hits. He struck out three and walked two.
Offensively, the River Walkers put up crooked numbers (more than one run) in five innings.
They jumped on top with three runs off Racers starting pitcher Paul Weaver in the top of the second.
The Walkers then added two more in the third, Chris Duncan driving them both in with a single off Weaver.
Jose Segura drove in a run in the fourth with a triple off Chung Pei.
He later scored on a Nick Shaw single, as the Walkers' lead reached 7-0.
Segura struck again in the seventh with a three-run home run off Matt Wailzer.
The Walkers final two runs came in the eighth.
Jose Ramirez led off with a double off former St. Louis reliever Luke Dunkin.
He scored when Jackson Miller followed with a triple.
Miller later scored when Chris Duncan hit into a double play off Vince Loyd.
Angel Tiburcio pitched the ninth inning for St. Louis.

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Record: 8-4, 1st/(Tied/w. Cedar Rapids), 1 GA Kansas City
Danny Munos limited St. Louis to a one run over the first six innings, and Indianapolis jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as the Racers went on for a 6-2 win at the Astrodome (1995).
Munos (1-1) allowed one run -- it came on a Jose Ramirez homer in the top of the second to make it 2-1 -- on three hits. He struck out nine and didn't walk a batter.
The Racers went up 2-0 with a pair of runs off River Walkers starter Jim Martin in the bottomof the first.
Chris Zoltan and Fernando Jimenez opened the inning with back-to-back doubles.
Tony Galvan later delivered a third double, this one with one out, to score Jimenez.
Indy added a run to its 2-1 lead in the fourth.
Chris Nicholson drew a lead-off walk from Martin.
Singles from John DeSautel and Jason Fishburn helped send him across the plate.
The Walkers got a run off of one of its former player, Gil Meier, in the seventh to pull within 3-2.
Jose Ramirez doubled with one out and scored on a Jackson Miller single.
But the Racers added one run in the seventh (Danny Patino with an RBI single off Zachary Stella) and two in the eighth (Fishburn with an RBI single and Tony Martinez with a run-scoring double, both off Juan Munoz) to gain a comfortable advantage.
After Munos left the mound, five relievers -- Meier (0.2 IP), Luke Dunkin (0.1), Craig Martinez (1.0), Rob Mincey and Eric Watkins (0.1) -- combined to close out the game for the Racers.
Watkins retired the only batter he faced for his second save.

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Record: 8-5, 1st/Tied with Kansas City and Cedar Rapids, 1.5 GA Louisville
Brent Autin allowed one run on two hits over eight innings, and Indianapolis managed a split with St. Louis with a 3-1 win at the Astrodome (1995).
The lone run allowed by Autin (2-0) came in the sixth inning on a home run by Aaron Nixon.
It made the score 3-1.
Autin would go two more innings. He struck out seven and walked a pair.
Autin helped the Racers grab a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third with a triple off River Walkers starting pitcher Josh McDonald.
He scored on a Chris Nicholson fly ball to center.
Brandon LaBree made it 3-0 with a two-run homer off McDonald in the fifth.
Eric Watkins pitched the ninth for Indy, setting St. Louis down in order for his third save.

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MBL news: April 16 -- Week 2 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 9-5, 1st, 0.5 GA Kansas City and Cedar Rapids
Edward Kunselman took a perfect game into the seventh inning and pitched into the eighth, as St. Louis downed Quad City 3-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Kunselman didn't allow a baserunner until Jacob Gonzalez singled with one-out in the top of the seventh.
After getting through the seventh unscathed while keeping his 1-0 lead, Kunselman got Philip Clarke to ground out to lead off the ninth.
He then issued a walk to Alex Richards.
With 100 pitches in the book, Kunselman then exited the game.
In his 7.1 shutout innings, he allowed just the one hit while striking out six and walking only one.
Nick Ruffalo got the final two outs of the eighth.
The River Walkers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Bob Saavedra and Jackson Millerer led off the inning with a back-to-back singles off Thunder starting pitcher Troy Repasky.
Saavadra scored on a Jose Ramirez fly ball to right.
St. Louis' other two runs came in the bottom of the eighth.
Ramirez collected his second RBI of the game when he led off with a home run off Daniel Espino.
Later, Aaron Nixon drew a two-out walk from Espino.
Terry Zahnow took over and saw Nixon reach second on a passed ball by QC catcher Phillip Clarke.
Hector Tavarez then scored Nixon with a double.
St. Louis needed all those runs, as closer Nick Strother almost blew his second straight save.
The Thunder's first four batters of the inning all reached base to make it 3-2.
Chris Shelley led off with a single and Jacob Gonzalez drew a walk.
Angel Solis scored Shelley with a double.
Paul Totten then plated Gonzalez with a single.
With runners at the corners, Zachary Stella took over for the Walkers.
He started out by walking Clarke to load the bases.
But then Stella buckled down.
He got Masyn Winn to hit the ball back to the mound, with Solis thrown out at the plate
Garrett Frechette followed with a strike out.
Gabriel Hagan ended it by popping out to second baseman Daniel Becerra.
It marked Stella's first save of the season.

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Record: 10-5, 1st, 1.5 GA Cedar Rapids and Kansas City
St. Louis scored once in the first inning and twice in the second, setting the stage for a 6-3 win over Quad City at Busch Stadium (2006).
Dan Hillard and Jose Segura drew consecutive one-out walks from Thunder starting pitcher Mike Koontz in the bottom of the first inning.
Jose Ramirez scored Hillard with a single down the first-base line.
An inning later, Bob Saavedra hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot, off Koontz, making it 3-0.
That advantage grew to 5-0 in the fifth.
Saavedra scored again, this time doubling off Koontz with one out.
He scored when Hillard followed with another double.
Hillard advanced to third on a Jose Segura single.
Ramirez collected the RBI when Hillard scored on a fielder's choice.
The Thunder finally got on the board with a pair of runs off Walkers starter Shane Drogo in the sixth.
Alex Richards plated both runs with a two-out double.
QC pulled to within 5-3 in the top of the eighth.
Reliever Juan Munoz walked the inning's first two batters, and then saw the Thunder load the bases on a single by pinch-hitter Enrique Salcedo.
Paul Totten scored Chris Shelley, who had walked, with a fly ball to left.
Munoz followed that with a strike out of Richards for the second out.
Nick Ruffalo then got called to the mound.
He ended the inning with a strike out of Bill Blakeney.
The Walkers got one of those runs back in the bottom of the eighth.
Segura drew a lead-off walk from Edwin Cervantes.
A Ramirez doubled plated Segura on third.
Aaron Nixon picked up an RBI with a fly ball to left.
Drogo (2-0) earned the win by going 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on two hits. He struck out five, but walked the same number.
Scott Rissler (1.1) finished the sixth and worked a scoreless seventh.
The eighth belonged to Munoz (0.2), who pitched himself into big trouble, and Ruffalo (0.1), who retired the only batter he faced.
Angel Tiburcio converted his first save opportunity of the season in the ninth.

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Record: 11-5, 1st, 1.5 GA Kansas City and Cedar Rapids
Jose Segura hit a walk-off three-run home run off Quad City closer Craig Fritzler with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give St. Louis an 8-6 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory gave the River Walkers a sweep of the three-game series.
Leading 6-5, Fritzler got Chris Duncan to ground out to begin the bottom of the ninth.
Jose Ramirez, however got things rolling with a single.
Ramirez was eliminated at second when Bob Saavedra hit into a fielder's choice.
Daniel Becerra followed with a single.
That brought Segura to the plate, and he hit the first pitch he saw 392 feet over the wall in right field, his sixth homer of the season, to win it.
The Thunder had taken a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth when Garrett Frechette hit a two-run homer off St. Louis closer Nick Strother.
It marked the third straight appearance Strother has allowed multiple runs.
The River Walkers had taken a 5-4 lead on a solo homer from Nick Shaw off Daniel Espino.
It was Shaw's second home run of the game.
Down 4-2, the Walkers had tied it with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Saavedra drove in both runs with a double off Yelin Rodriguez.
St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe lasted just five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.
Four relievers, Oscar Martinez (1.0 IP), Scott Rssler (0.2), Greg Sones (1.1) and Strother (1.0), followed McNaboe to the mound.
Strother (1-0) blew the save, but that also set him up to earn the win.

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Record: 12-5, 1st, 2 GA Cedar Rapids and Kansas City
Jackson Miller led off the top of the 11th inning with a double and scored two batters later on a Chris Duncan fly ball to give St. Louis an 8-7 win over Milwaukee at Miller Park (2020).
After Miller doubled off Crushers reliever Chad Bigelow, he moved to third when Aaron Nixon got down a bunt.
Duncan's fly ball to right on a 2-1 pitch was deep enough for Miller to score.
A three-run top of the fourth inning -- highlighted by a two-run double by Nixon off Milwaukee starter Justin Wrobleski-- had helped stake the River Walkers to a 5-1 lead.
But the Crushers fought their way back.
Brett Baty hit a two-out RBI double off St. Louis starter Jim Martin in the fifth.
Jarrod Twomney drove in a run with a double off Oscar Martinez in the seventh, making it 5-3.
Baty led off the eighth with a single off Martinez.
He later scored on a Rogelio Mercado fly ball hit off Juan Munoz to pull the Crushers within 5-4.
With Nick Ruffalo on the mound for St. Louis, Jose Nieto reached on an error, ending up at second base, by Nixon at short to lead off the bottom of the ninth.
Two fly outs later, the second by Twomey, and it was tied 5-5.
Nick Shaw hit a two-run homer with two outs in the 10th off Glenn Dunn, as the Walkers moved ahead 7-5.
The Crushers rushed right back, getting a two-out, two-run pinch-hit double by Nicolas Thibault off Zachary Stella in the bottom of the inning to tie it once again.
Martin pitched 6.1 innings for St. Louis, allowing two runs on four hits. He struck out eight and walked four.
Oscar Martinez finished off the seventh for the Walkers.
After that, it was Munoz (0.2 IP), Ruffalo (1.1), Zachary Stella (1.0) and Greg Sones (1.0) - to close out the contest for St. Louis.
Stella (1-0) blew his first save but earned his first win of the season.
Sones pitched around a pair of walks by striking out three batters in the bottom of the 11th for his first save.
St. Louis center fielder Jose Segura injured his back while playing defense.
He is expected to be out for up to two weeks.

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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 back injury while making a defensive play in an 8-7 win over Milwaukee on April 20.
Segura, 29, could be slowed for up to two weeks.
In the first 15 games of the season, Segura has hit .192 with six homers and a National League leading 21 RBIs.
Getting the callup from AAA, is 28-year-old outfielder Carlos Gallegos.
In eight games with Memphis, Gallegos has hit .179 with two RBIs.

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Record: 12-6, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids and Kansas City
Milwaukee broke open a scoreless game with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, and the Crushers went on to defeat St. Louis 5-2 at Miller Park (2020).
Pete Crow-Armstrong set things in motion by drawing a one-out walk from Josh McDonald in the bottom of the fourth,
Three straight singles followed, from Nicolas Thibault, Brett Baty and Jose Flores, with the third scoring a pair o runs.
After a fly out, Jose Nieto made it 3-0 with another single.
The River Walkers drew to within 3-2 by scoring twice in the top of the fifth.
Jackson Miller tripled to drive in a run.
He later scored on a wild pitch by Crushers starter Josh Galarza.
Baty would provide the game's final two runs with a homer of Oscar Martinez in the bottom of the eighth.
Galazra (2-1) worked seven innings, allowing two runs on two hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Bobby Dellinger recorded the first two outs in the top of the eighth.
Brett McVey (1.1 IP) handled the rest to earn his seventh save.

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Record: 13-6, 1st, 2 GA Cedar Rapids and Kansas City
Jose Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the top of the first inning, and St. Louis never trailed in defeating Milwaukee 5-4 at Miller Park (2020).
The win gave the River Walkers in two of the three games in the series.
Bob Saavedra led off the game with a single off Crusher starting pitcher Scott Muller.
Two batters later, Ramirez hit his fourth home run of the season to put St. Louis up 2-0.
A solo homer from the Crushers' Nicolas Thibault off St. Louis starting pitcher Edward Kunselman cut the lead in half in the top of the second.
Nick Shaw hit his sixth homer of the season, a solo jack off Mueller, in the top of the third to make it 3-1.
Milwaukee came right back to make it 3-2 in the third.
Caiden Matheny led off the inning with a double off Kunselman.
Levi Usher brought Matheny home with a one-out double.
The Walkers gave themselves some breathing room with two runs in the top of the seventh.
Saavedra led off the inning with a double off reliever Tony Lujano.
Jose Ramirez later drew a one-out walk.
An errant pickoff throw by Lujano moved the base runners to second and third.
Nick Shaw plated them both with a single.
Thibault homered for the second time in the bottom of the eighth, it came off Nick Ruffalo, to pull the Crushers to within 5-4.
But Nick Strother pitched around a lead-off walk in the ninth for his fourth save.
Kunselman (2-2) earned the win after allowing two runs on four hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out seven and walked one.
Zachary Stella got the final out of the sixth.
Scott Rissler (0.2 IP) and Greg Sones (0.1) combined on a quiet seventh. Ruffalo's eighth was not quiet, as he gave up two runs to allow the Crushers to draw within 5-4.
Strother shook off a series of bad outings in the ninth for his fourth save.

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MBL news: April 23 -- Week 3 - Awards and standings

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Record: 13-7, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids
Connor Walsh drove in three runs with a two-out base-loaded double in the top of the fourth inning to wipe out a 2-1 deficit, and send Chicago to a 7-4 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (2006).
Ken Turner, who had homered in the first inning for the G-Men's first run. led off the inning with a double.
A pair of two-out walks by River Walkers starter Shane Drogo loaded the bases, and set the stage for Walsh's double into the gap in left-center.
Chicago added three more runs in the eighth against St. Louis reliever Angel Tiburcio.
Turner again opened the inning with a hit, this time a single.
He later went to third on a Tony Nolasco single, which also included an error by left fielder Jose Ramirez.
A George Phelps fly ball to center scored Turner.
Matt Walczak then plated Nolasco with a double.
A Connor Walsh single scored Walczak and made it 7-2.
G-Men starting pitcher Willie Mendoza went seven innings, allowing two runs on two hits. He struck out five and walked four.
Dennis Turner pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Scott Gingery started the ninth, but could not finish it allowing a pair of runs and recording just one out.
Yeison Santos got the final two outs for the G-Men.

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Record: 14-7, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids
Jesse McNaboe allowed one run over seven innings and St. Louis scored one run in each of the first three innings in a 3-1 win over Chicago at Busch Stadium (2006).
McNaboe (2-0) allowed his only run in the top of the fourth, by which time the River Walkers already led 3-0, when he allowed the first three batters to reach via hits.
Brian Gonyon opened the inning with a double.
A Ken Turner double put runners at the corners.
Gonyon scored on a Luis Tejada single.
But McNaboe retired the next three to keep it 3-1.
In his seven innings, McNaboe allowed the one run on five hits. He struck out six and didn't walk a batter.
Nick Ruffalo worked a scoreless eighth.
Closer Nick Strother ended a string of three straight outings where he had allowed a run.
This time he let the G-Men load the bases, but kept them from scoring for his fifth save.
Bob Saavedra opened the scoring when he reached on an error by Chicago catcher Willie Rubio to lead off the bottom of the first.
The errant throw by Ruiz put Saavedra on second.
Ground outs from Dan Hillard and Jose Ramirez off Chicago starting pitcher Joel Wisniewski moved him to third and then sent Saavedra across the plate.
In the second, Nathaniel Dixon and Zach Wenman both singled with one out.
McNaboe earned an RBI with his two-out single, scoring Dixon.
Ramirez scored the St. Louis' third-inning run.
He singled off Wisniewski with one out.
Two batter later, he scored on an Aaron Nixon double.

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Record: 15-7, 1st, 2 GA Cedar Rapids and Kansas City
Jim Martin shutout Chicago over 7.2 innings, and the St. Louis bullpen finished the job as the River Walkers defeated the G-Men 2-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Walkers took the final two games of the three-game series.
The game's lone runs didn't come until the bottom of the sixth when the Walkers struck twice.
Daniel Becerra led off with a single off Chicago starting pitcher Devin Eyre.
Two batters later, Becerra scored on a Bob Saavedra double.
Dan Hillard then made it back-to-back double as Saavedra scored to make it 2-0.
Martin (1-1) exited after hitting Brian Gonyon with a pitch with two outs in the eighth.
In his 7.2 innings, Martin allowed just two hits. He struck out seven and walked three.
Juan Munoz took over and allowed a Ken Turner double.
But Gonyon was thrown out at the plate, on a throws from left fielder Jose Ramirez to shortstop Aaron Nixon and finally to catcher Jackson Miller.
Rookie Greg Sones pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.