2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 28-23, 1st, 0.5 GA Springfield
Springfield broke open a scoreless game with a pair of home runs in the top of the sixth inning and the Railers went on to defeat St. Louis 3-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
All of the scoring came in the sixth inning.
The Railers did all of their damage with two outs against River Walkers startig pitcher Josh McDonald.
Joseph Hughes made it 1-0 with a solo shot.
Justin Schneider followed with a single.
Ruben Villanueva then crushed the first pitch he saw, driving it 425 feet over the wall in left center to make it 3-0.
Having not scored for 23 innings, St. Louis got a two-run homer from Mark Herman off Springfield reliever Joe Hatchett in the bottom of the inning.
The Walkers had runners on base in each of the final three innings but failed to score dropping their third straight game.
Zaragoza (5-2) pitched five shut-out innings, allowing five hits (all singles) while striking out five and walking two.
Hatchett and (0.2 IP) and Mike LaFramboise (0.1) combined to pitch the sixth when St. Louis got its two runs.
Ron Tanner, Jesse Edwards and Jon Santiago all pitched a scoreless inning to seal the win.
The save was Santiago's 11th of the season.

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MBL news: May 31 -- All-Star fan voting update

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Record: 28-24, 2nd, 0.5 GB Springfield
Trailing 5-0, Springfield exploded for five runs in the top of the ninth inning and later scored five more times in the 12th to defeat St. Louis 11-6 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win completed a three-game sweep for the Railers and moved them into first place in the National League South Division, a half-game in front of the River Walkers.
The loss was the fourth in a row for St. Louis.
Once again, the Walkers bullpen could not hold a lead after starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall threw 7.1 shut-out innings.
Nick Ruffalo got the ball to start the ninth.
The first three Springfield hitters reached base against him.
Riley Greene drew a walk.
Billy Salas doubled, and Joseph Hughes reached on a throwing error by shortstop Abdul-Nasser bin amr which allowed both runs to score.
After a passed ball by catcher Jackson Miller, Justin Schneider hit a fly ball to left, scoring Hughes and making it 5-3.
Closer Bobby Westerman got the call.
He proceeded to blow his third save of the season in 14 outings.
It didn't take long.
Pinch-hitter Jose Chavez knocked the first pitch he saw 417 feet over the left-center field wall.
The next batter, pinch-hitter Vincent Villaviencio, waited until it was a 3-2 count to put a ball over the wall in left to tie the game.
Both teams scored in the 10th.
Joseph Nolan led off the top of the inning with a single off Westerman.
He scored when Hughes doubled with two outs off Armando Cintron.
In the bottom of the inning, Eddie Estrella doubled with two outs off Jon Santiago.
He scored on a Jackson Miller single.
The Railers beat up on a St. Louis bullpen that was running on fumes in the 12th.
The Walkers actually had it runners on first and second with two outs early in the inning.
But four consecutive batters reached base against Mike Fagan.
Hughes drove in the frame's first run with a single.
Schneider followed with another single.
Chavez plated a pair with a double.
Hunter Fedducia capped the festivities with an RBI single.
Springfield starting pitcher Carlos Sanchez gave up four runs on 10 hits in the first five innings.
After that, it was an inning apiece from Mike LaFramboise, T.J. Darr, Jesse Edwards, Ron Tanner and Santiago to get the game to the 10th.
Joe Hatchett (1.2 IP) worked a scoreless 11th and got the first two outs of the 12th.
Hatchett (1-0) would earn the win.
Manuel Santiago got bin Amr to fly out with a runner on to end it.

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MBL news: Week 9 -- Awards and standings

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MBL news: June 1 -- Players and Pitchers of the Month for May

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MBL news: June 1 -- Rookies of the month for May

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MBL news: June 1 -- American League leaders

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MBL news: June 1 -- National League leaders

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Walkers news: June 1 -- Team statistics for May

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Walkers news: June 1 -- Team statistics for 2038

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Player of the Month: Bob Saavedra -- The 26-year-old third baseman batted .353 with four homers, seven RBIs and 17 runs scored in 28 games. He got on base at a .380 clip and slugged .491.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Xiang Ming -- The 25-year-old right-hander went 3-1 in five starts with a 2.70 ERA. He pitched 30.0 innings, during which he struck out 20 and had a 1.07 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Greg Sones -- The 28-year-old southpaw got into 11 games during which he went 0-1 with a 0.96 ERA. He pitched 9.1 innings, during which he struck out nine and had a 0.75 WHIP.

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Walkers news: June 1 -- Player Development Report

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Record: 28-25, 2nd, 0.5 GB Springfield
Dave Vacarri pitched seven scoreless innings and Des Moines beat up on St. Louis rookie starting pitcher Ming Xiang, as the Harvesters downed the River Walkers 8-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Vacarri (2-2) allowed four singles during his time on the mound. He struck out one and walked three.
With his team up 7-0, Matt Gernhardt handled the final two innings without giving up a run.
Des Moines wasted little time going to work against Xiang, who had been impressive through the first two months of the season
The Harvesters scored twice in the top of the first.
Joe Allen led of the game with a single.
He stole second,
A fly ball by Hector Hildalgo moved Allen to third.
He scored on another fly ball by Leo Cerna.
David Tapley than tripled with two outs and scored on a Ryan Rivet single.
They scored two more runs in the third courtesy of a two-run homer by Cerna.
Allen made it 5-0 in the sixth with a solo homer, which ended Xiang's outing.
The Harvesters made it ugly in the seventh, scoring three times.
Tapley and Willie Martinez both had run-scoring doubles.
The inning's third run scored on an error by shortstop Abdul-Nasser bin Amr.

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Record: 29-25, 1st, 0.5 GA Springfield
Mark Waterson's grand slam highlight a five-run bottom of the first inning as St. Louis snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over Des Moines at Busch Stadium (2006).
The River Walkers put three of their first four hitters -- singles by Marcos Francis and a walk to Nick Shaw -- against Harvesters starting pitcher Jason Dexheimer.
That brought Waterson to the plate, and the rookie turned on a 1-1 pitch and powered it 441 feet over the wall in right center for a 4-0 lead.
St. Louis added one more run in the inning.
Zach Wenman followed the Waterson slam with a single.
A double by Abdur-Nasser bin Amr moved him to third.
Wenman scored on a Chris Duncan ground out.
Walkers starter Jesse McNaboe (3-2) went six innings, allowing one run on five hits. He struck out four and walked four.
The one Harvesters run came on a Leo Cerna homer in the top of the third.
Greg Sones pitched the seventh and got the first out of the eighth.
Mike Fagan finished off the eighth and allowed the second Des Moines run.
Nick Ruffalo came in after Fagan walked the lead-off batter in the ninth.
The Harvesters would load the bases, but Ruffalo got pinch-hitter Corey Jordan to hit into a double play to end it.
The save was Ruffalo's second of the season.

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Record: 29-26, 1st, 0.5 GA Springfield
Des Moines jumped on St. Louis starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka for five runs in the first three innings and the Harvesters rolled to an 8-2 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win gave Des Moines wins in two of three games in the series.
Joe Allen drew a walk from Hrdlicka to open the game and two batters later scored on a David Tapley homer.
The walk was one of eight issued by River Walkers pitching.
In the second another lead-off free pass led to a run.
This time Kyle Roberts coaxed a walk from Hrdlicka.
Hrdlicka then hit the next batter before tossing a wild pitch with Shane Speer at the plate.
Speer would draw the second walk of the inning.
Allen scored Roberts with a fly ball to left.
Des Moines got its lead-off batter on again in the third, this time on a Tapley double.
He scored when Ryan Rivet followed that with a homer.
A three-run top of the eighth against the St. Louis' bullpen allowed the Harvesters lead to expand to 8-0.
Hector Hildalgo drove in two of the runs with a single off Armando Cintron.
Rivet later collected his third RBI of the game with a single.
The Walkers scored single tallies in the ninth against the Des Moines bullpen.
Harvesters starting pitcher Pat Walters (3-1) went seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits. He struck out six and walked one.
Matt Gernhardt gave up the eighth inning run.
Mark Polzin surrendered the run in the ninth.

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Record: 30-26, 1st, 0.5 GA Springfield
Nick Shaw hit a three-run home run in the top of the 12th inning to help lift St. Louis to a 7-4 win over Fort Wayne at Ebbets Field (1948).
The River Walkers put their first two batters on to being the 12th inning.
Marcos Francis drew a walk from Mad Men reliever Edwin Cervantes and Mark Herman singled.
Cervantes got Manuel Coke to fly out for the first out.
But Shaw drilled 3-2 pitch 376 feet over the left-field wall.
It was Shaw's first homer since May 20.
Behind a strong outing from Josh McDonald, St. Louis led 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth inning.
McDonald pitched six innings, allowing no runs on four hits (all singles). He struck out four and walked one.
The Walkers led 2-1 after eight innings and scored twice in the top of the ninth.
Bob Saavedra drove in both runs with a two-out triple off Mad Men reliever Keith Talley.
Fort Worth responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
Shea Langeliers plated the first two with a homer off Mike Fagan.
Jeremiah Jackson tied it with a double off Nick Ruffalo, scoring Jario Trujillo, who had singled off Fagan.
Bobby Westerman (1-1) earned the win with three shut-out innings of relief.
Between McDonald and Westerman, four other pitchers took the mound for St. Louis.
Greg Sones and Brett McVey both pitched an inning.
McVey allowing a run in the eighth.
Fagan failed to retire a battle in the ninth before giving away to Ruffalo.
Ruffalo gave up the game-tying run while finishing off the ninth.

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Record: 31-26, 1st, 0.5 GA Springfield
Trailing 6-5 going into the top of the ninth inning. St. Louis scored three times and held on for an 8-7 win over Fort Wayne at Ebbets Field (1948.
Marcos Francis got the ball rolling in the top of the ninth with a lead-off home run off Mad Men relief pitcher Nick Tracy.
Two batters later, Nick Shaw kept it going with a walk. He moved to third when Manuel Coke doubled.
Efrain Garcia took over the mound duties for Fort Wayne.
Zach Wenman greeted him with a single, scoring Shaw and put the River Walkers ahead 7-6.
Coke then scored on a sacrifice fly by Mark Waterson.
The Mad Men made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth, especially after Jarred Kelenic led off with a homer off Greg Sones.
Sones retired the next two, but Jared Poland tripled.
Matt Kerr, however, flied out to end it and give Sones his second save.
Fort Wayne had led 3-1 after two innings.
St. Louis later owned a 4-3 lead after five.
The Mad Men gained their 6-4 lead with a three-run sixth courtesy of a three-run homer from starting pitcher Adrain Arnesen off Walkers starting Xavier Wigfall.
It was Arnesen's second homer of the game. He hit a two-run homer off Wigfall in the bottom of the second, to put Fort Wayne ahead 3-1.
Shaw connected for an RBI single off Antony Barrowcliff in the top of the seventh to pull St. Louis to within 6-5.
It was a rough outing for Wigfall, who allowing six runs on 10 hits over six innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Mike Fagan and Brett McVey both pitched scoreless innings to get to the ninth.
McVey (4-0) earned his fourth win of the season.

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Record: 32-26, 1st, 0.5 GA Springfield
St. Louis jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and when Fort Wayne made it close the River Walkers scored four times in the top of the eighth inning to post an 8-3 win at Ebbets Field (1948).
St. Louis put four consecutive batters on base with two outs in the top of the second -- including RBI singles from Nick Shaw and Mark Waterson -- against Mad Men starting pitcher Kyle Freeman to go up 2-0.
The Walkers scored two more runs off Freeman in the fourth.
This time Mark Herman drove them both in with a two-out single.
But Fort Wayne rallied with three runs in the bottom of the sixth against St. Louis starting pitcher Ming Xiang.
The Mad Men put their first three batters on base -- including a two-run single by Shea Langeliers.
Conrad Perry drove in the third run with a deep fly ball to center.
The Walkers, however, broke it back open with their big
eighth.
Herman provided the big blow with a two-run homer off Josh Forgy.
Before that, Bob Saavedra had plated a run with a single off Edwin Cervantes.
The Walkers picked up another run after the Herman homer.
Manuel Coke drew a walk and scored on a Nick Shaw double.
Outside of the three-run sixth, Xiang (6-2) pitched well not allowing a run over the first five inning.
He allowed three runs on four hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked two.
Nick Ruffalo got the first two outs of the seventh.
Scott Rissler finished the seventh and worked 2.1 innings overall for his first save.

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MBL news - June 7 -- All-Star game fan-voting update

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed infielder Jordan Quinto on the injured list after he suffered an oblique strain in an 8-2 win over Fort Wayne on June 6.
Quinto, who signed with St. Louis in the offseason, has hit .247 with four RBIs in 45 games (18 starts) this season for the Walkers.
This is the second callup of the season for the 25-year-old Dodson.
In 13 games in St. Louis (eight starts), he has hit .333 with four RBIs.
At AAA Memphis, Dodson has played 30 games (29 starts) and hit .354 with one homer and 17 RBIs.