St. Louis River Walkers 2020 season: Striving to get back on top

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Record: 76-52, 1st, 0.5 GA Des Moines and Cedar Rapids
Alex Bregman hit a two-run home run off St. Louis reliever Bobby Poyner with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Cedar Rapids at 5-4 win at Shibe Park (1949).
Dominic Smith had drawn a lead-off walk to open the ninth for the Golden Grapplers. Bregman hit the third pitch he saw from Poyner 431 feet over the wall in right-center field.
The River Walkers had used the long ball to take the lead.
A solo shot from Rhys Hoskins off Cedar Rapids reliever Ryan Pressley in the sixth inning had tied it at 3-3.

In the eighth, Michael Conforto took Tommy Kahnle deep to put the Walkers in front 4-3.
Archer went five innings for the Grapplers, allowing two runs on three hits.
Cedar Rapids used five relievers -- Pressley (1.0 IP), Jacob Rhame (1.0), Kahnle (1.0), Tyler Bashlor (0.1) and Thomas Hackimer (0.2) -- to finish it off. Hackimer earned his second win of the season.
St. Louis starter Luiz Gohara lasted through six innings, giving up three runs on five hits.

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Record: 77-52, 1st, 1.5 GA Des Moines and Cedar Rapids
Down 4-2, St. Louis scored four times in the top of the third to send the River Walkers on their way to an 8-3 win over Cedar Rapids at Shibe Park (1949).
After a lead-off strike out, St. Louis wrapped out four straight hits off Golden Grapplers starting pitcher Matt Moore to get the inning going.
Andrew Benintendi drove in the first run of the inning during that span. It was followed by a two-run double from Rhys Hoskins.
Joe Mundy drove in the fourth run with a single.
A two-run homer from Hoskins off Tyler Bashlor in the fifth pushed St. Louis' advantage to 6-3.
Walkers starting pitcher Aaron Nola allowed three runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked none.
Phil Maton, Grant Drayton and Reyes Moronta all went an inning apiece to close it out.

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Record: 77-53, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Masahiro Tanaka allowed one run over seven innings to help Cedar Rapids to a 3-1 win over St. Louis at Shibe Park (1949).
With the win, Cedar Rapids took two of three games in the series. The Golden Grapplers now sit alone in second place in the National League South Division, a half-game behind the River Walkers.

Tanaka allowed seven hits over the seven innings and struck out six and walked one.
Thomas Hackimer tossed a perfect eighth inning and Danny Grigg did the same in the ninth for his 35th save.
The Grapplers got all three of their runs in the first inning off St. Louis starter Trevor Bauer.
Yoan Moncada got it started with a one-out double and scored when Dominic Smith followed with a single.

A Nick Williams single moved Smith to third, and he scored on a Keon Broxton fielder's choice.
Wilson Ramos followed with a double, scoring Broxton with the inning's third run.
Bauer went seven innings for the Walkers, allowing the three runs on seven hits.

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MBL news: Week 19 report

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Record: 78-53, 1st, 1.5 GA Des Moines and Cedar Rapids
St. Louis busted loose for five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pave the way for a 5-4 win over Springfield at Busch Field (1997).
Down 3-0, the River Walkers banged out five hits in the inning, drew one walk and benefited from an error.
Tucker Barnhart and Christian Arroyo got things started when they reached on a walk and error by first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, respectively.

Pinch-hitter Michael Conforto, Ender Inciarte, Bo Bichette and Andrew Benintendi all drove in a run apiece with two-out singles off Prairie Fighters reliever Tim Hill.
Taylor Williams finally reliever Hill, but gave up another single, this one to Rhys Hoskins, as St. Louis lead grew to 5-3.
Springfield did put something together in the ninth, however.
Bobby Poyner allowed a lead-off single to Delino DeShields and followed with a walk to Michael Brantley.
Mookie Betts hit into a fielder's choice, eliminating Brantley and leaving runners at the corners.

Ryan Mountcastle followed with a single, making it 5-4.
Poyner buckled down to strike out Max Schrock and Travis Shaw to end it, and earn his seventh save.
St. Louis starter Yu Darvish allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings. All three runs came on solo homers, two from Travis Shaw and one from Jason Castro.
Jake Diekman (0.1 IP), Keone Kela (0.0), Grant Drayton (0.2) and Chaz Roe (1.0) combined to bridge the gap between Darvish and Poyner.
Springfield starter Anthony Reyes was impressive with six shutout innings. He allowed five hits, while striking out five and walking not a single one.

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MBL news: Players and Pitchers of the Month for August

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MBL news: Rookies of the Month for August and standings

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MBL news: AL leaders on August 1

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MBL news: NL leaders on August 1

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Walkers news: Team statistics for August

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Player of the Month: Bo Bichette -- The rookie second baseman had quite a first full month in the big leagues batting .349 over 27 games with four homers and 19 RBIs. He also scored 24 runs while owning an on-base percentage of .415 and a slugging percentage. Bichette also was named NL Rookie of the Month.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Trevor Bauer: In six starts, Bauer went 3-1 with a 3.50 ERA. He pitched a total of 36 innings, during which he struck out 36. The right-hander posted a WHIP of 1.00.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Grant Drayton: The left-handed specialist got into 15 games and posted a record of 2-0 with a save. In 9.2 innings, he struck out 22 and posted a WHIP of 0.31.

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Record: 78-54, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids and Des Moines
Travis Shaw hit a solo home run off St. Louis reliever Grant Drayton with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to help lift Springfield to a 2-1 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
The Prairie Fighters grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when Delino DeShields reached on a lead-off bunt single off starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks.
DeShields then stole second and scored on a Mookie Betts single.
The River Walkers tied it in the seventh after Ender Inciarte led off with a double off reliever Chris Rearick and later scored on an Andrew Benintendi double.
Fighters starting pitcher Collin McHugh tossed 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing two hits. He struck out four and walked four.
David Phelps finished the fifth inning for Springfield.

Rearick, Taylor Williams and Gerson Moreno all went an inning apiece to close it out. Williams earned his second win of the season, while Moreno earned his 11th save.
Hendricks worked six innings for the Walkers, allowing the one run on six hits. He struck out five and walked one.

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Record: 78-55, 1st, Tied with Des Moines
Josh Hader and a trio of relievers combined on a three-hit shutout as Springfield won 3-0 over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the win, the Prairie Fighters took two of three games in the series. The loss dropped St. Louis into a first-place tie with Des Moines in the National League South Division. Cedar Rapids sits just a half-game behind the co-leaders.
Dylan Couzens broke open a scoreless game with a two-out solo homer off River Walkers starting pitcher Luiz Gohara in the fifth inning.
Mookie Betts connected for an RBI double off reliever Phil Maton in the eighth, making it 2-0.
Clint Coulter cranked his first homer of the season, a two-run jack, off Reyes Moronta in the ninth stretching that lead to 4-0.
Hader pitched into the sixth inning, 5.1 altogether, allowing just two hits. He struck out six and walked one.
Eduardo Parades finished off the sixth inning and tossed a scoreless seventh.
David Phelps kept St. Louis off the board in the eighth and Triston McKenzie did the same in the ninth to close it out.
For the Walkers, Gohara allowed one run on five hits over six innings.

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Record: 78-50, 2nd, 0.5 GB Des Moines
Green Bay scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning after St. Louis had scored once in the top half to tie the score, sending it to a 5-3 win at War Memorial Stadium.
With the loss, the River Walkers dropped a half-game behind Des Moines in the race for the top of the National League South Division.
Javier Baez led off the bottom of the sixth with a single off St. Louis reliever Daniel Hudson. A David Peralta ground out moved Baez to second.
A double from Kevin Pillar scored Baez.

Bobby Poyner relieved Hudson, only to give up a single to Brandon Lowe, which scored Pillar.
St. Louis had tied the game in the top of the sixth when Michael Conforto and Manny Pina had connected for consecutive doubles off reliever Dellin Betances.
Betances, the first of five relievers who followed starting pitcher Zach Davies, still earned the victory by pitching the sixth inning.
Kenley Janssen (0.1 IP), Richard Lovelady (0.2), Nick Burdi (1.0) and Zach Britton (1.0) finished out the game, with Britton earning his 32nd save.
Davies allowed two runs on eight hits in five innings.

Walkers starting pitcher Aaron Nola also departed after five innings, having allowed three runs on eight hits.

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Record: 78-51, 2nd, 0.5 GB Des Moines
Jung-ho Kang made his first Midwest Baseball League at-bat of the 2020 season count in a big way hitting a two-run pinch-hit home run off St. Louis reliever Chaz Roe to give Green Bay a 4-2 win in 10 innings at War Memorial Stadium.
Brandon Lowe had been hit by a pitch to open the inning before Roe got Javier Baez to strike out.
This brought Kang to the plate, and he hit a 3-2 pitch 411 feet over the fence in left-center field to give the Long Haulers their ninth straight victory.
All the runs before the 10th inning came in the second inning.
St. Louis jumped out in front in the top of the second when Nicky Delmonico belted a two-run homer off Green Bay ace Max Scherzer.
The Haulers answered right back in the bottom half against Trevor Bauer. Both the RBIs belonged to Javier Baez who came through with a two-out double.
Scherzer would pitched seven innings, allowing the two runs on two hits. He struck out nine and walked none.
It took four relievers -- Kenley Janssen (1.0 IP), Zach Britton (0.1), Nick Burdi (0.1) and Juan Nicasio (1.0) -- to finish it off. Nicasio earned his second win of the season.
Bauer left the game with two outs in the seventh inning. He allowed the two runs on four hits. He struck out nine and walked a pair.

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Record: 78-58, 2nd, 0.5 GB Des Moines
For the second straight game, Green Bay won on a walk-off homer -- this time a grand slam from Jose Ronson off St. Louis relief pitcher Miguel Soliman with one out -- as it scored all of its runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to win 5-3 at War Memorial Stadium.
With the win, the Long Haulers swept the three-game series and stretched their win streak to nine games. The loss was the fourth in a row for the River Walkers, who remained a half-game in back of Des Moines in the National League South Division.
St. Louis starting pitcher Yu Darvish tossed six shutout innings,allowing two hits while striking out six and walking two.
Four relievers combined to maintain the shutout through the seventh and eighth innings, but it fell apart quickly in the ninth.
Right-handed reliever Reyes Moronta opened the inning with a strikeout of Miguel Cabrera. But he followed it with a walk of Aaron Judge.

Moronto was then relieved by left-hander Grant Drayton.
He walked left-handed hitter Chance Sisco and then allowed a single to Rio Ruiz to jam the sacks.
A third straight lefty, Brandon Lowe, stepped to the plate and drew the third walk of the inning make it 5-1.
Just called up from AAA Memphis, Soliman got the ball, and the first pitch he threw Rondon hit it 367 feet over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season.
Green Bay starting pitcher Alec Mills allowed two runs on four hits over five innings.
Five relievers finished out the final four innings. Dellin Betances got the first out of the sixth inning. Kirby Yates got the second out of the sixth and first two of the seventh.
Richard Loveland completed the seventh inning.
Juan Nicasio handled a scoreless eighth and Lachlan Ellis did the same in the ninth to earn his second win of the season.

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MBL news: Week 20 report

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Record: 79-58, 2nd, 0.5 GB Des Moines
Kyle Hendricks tossed seven innings of one-hit shutout baseball and St. Louis snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-0 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Jarred Kelenic had the only hit for the G-Men off Hendricks, a one-out double in the sixth inning but he never got any farther than second base.
In addition to just the one hit, Hendricks struck out eight and walked two.
St. Louis did all of its scoring in top of the third inning against Chicago starting pitcher Chris O'Grady.
Ender Inciarte opened the outburst with a one-out double and scored on a triple by red-hot rookie Bo Bichette.
Andrew Benintendi followed with a two-run homer, his 32nd long ball of the season.
The River Walkers used three relievers over the final two innings. Reyes Moronta pitched around a walk in the eighth inning.
In the ninth, Bobby Poyner allowed a walk and single before giving way to Daniel Hudson with two outs.
Hudson got the only batter he faced, Victor Caratini, to ground out for his 12th save.

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Record: 79-59, 2nd, 1.5 GB Des Moines
The bullpen of the St. Louis River Walkers allowed another one to get away -- this time allowing Chicago score four times in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the G-Men a 6-5 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
All the runs came as result of a George Springer grand slam off John Curtiss with two outs in the top of the inning.
In a recent sweep at the road hands of Green Bay, the Long Haulers rallied to win with late-inning runs.

In a 5-3 loss on Sept. 6, the Haulers scored five in the ninth capped by a Brandon Lowe grand slam off Manuel Soliman.
On Sept. 5, in a 4-2 10-inning loss, Jung-Ho Kang hit a two-run walk-off Chaz Roe.
This time, with the Walkers leading 5-2 to open the inning, Daniel Hudson allowed a one-out double to Jarred Kelenic before striking out Chris Owings for the second out.
Left-hander Jake Diekman then got the ball, with the job of getting left-handed hitter Joc Pederson to end it.
He walked him.
John Curtiss then got the call.
Victor Caratini hit a ground ball to second baseman Bo Bichette.

His throw to first was wild, loading the bases.
Springer, who had homered off St. Louis starting pitcher Luiz Gohara to start the game, then cranked the an 0-2 fastball 396 feet into the left-field stands to put Chicago in the lead.
The Walkers did get a one-out pinch-hit double from Will Benson in the bottom of the ninth. But Chicago closer Mike Feliz got Ender Inciarte to fly out and struck out Bichette to end it.
Shohei Ohtani made the start for Chicago and lasted six innings, giving up four runs on six hits.
Mark Melancon (1.1) and Jeurys Familia (0.2) combined to pitch the seventh and eighth innings for the G-Men. The save was the 28th of the season for Feliz.
The Walkers got a strong start from Luiz Gohara, who allowed just one run on five hits. He struck out six and walked one.

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Record: 79-60, 2nd, 2.5 GB Des Moines
Chicago didn't have to depend on any late-game heroics in this one jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning en route to a 6-2 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the win, the G-Men took the final two games of the three-game series. The losses also mean the River Walkers have dropped 8 of their last 10 games, and trail Des Moines by 2.5 games in the National League South Division standings.
Chicago got to St. Louis ace Aaron Nola for a pair of runs in the second inning. The first three batters reached on a walk and two singles, to load the bases.
Mitch Garver then came through with a run-scoring sacrifice fly while Jarred Kelinic made it 2-0 with an RBI single.
A Garver RBI single off Nola in the fifth restored a two-run lead for Chicago, at 3-1.
A bases-loaded walk to Andrew Toles from Joe Kelly drew the Walkers to within 3-2. But they would leave the bases loaded.
Cruz Calderon pushed the deficit back to two, with a solo homer off Manuel Soliman to lead off the eighth.
Josh Donaldson cranked a two-run homer off Reyes Moronta in the ninth, making it 6-2.
Chicago starter Sonny Gray lasted six innings, giving up one run on four hits. He struck out five and walked one and earned his 10th win of the season.

It took seven relievers to close out the game for the G-Men.
Three pitchers recorded two outs, three recorded one out and one didn't record an out.