2030 St. Louis River Walkers -- This could be the last time

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Record: 50-50, 4th, 4.5 GB Des Moines
Down 2-0, St. Louis took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third inning -- a lead would eventually become 7-3 -- as the River Walkers went on to defeat Indianapolis 8-4 at Busch Stadium (1997).
It was a two-run single by Wenceel Perez off St. Louis starter Wilson Lara which put the Racers up 2-0.
It was a dropped third strike which allowed Lara to reach base which got the Walkers going in the bottom of the third.
Jose Ramirez followed with a single off Indy starter Kevin Abel.
Abel struck out the next two hitters, but Jared Thomas followed that by putting the Walkers in front with a three-run homer.
The Racers tied it in the top of the fourth, when Perez led off with a double off Lara, and later scored on a two-out single by Abel.
The Walkers took the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Ramirez took care of the first run with a solo homer.
Steve Rossi scored the other with a two-out single, and he scored on a two-out double by Thomas off reliever Jim Kendall.
St. Louis grew its lead to 7-3 with two more runs in the sixth.
Jean Carmona led off with a single off Kendall. He later scored on a two-out single by pinch-hitter Alek Thomas.
John Holmes took over for Kendall after the Alek Thomas single.
But Holmes was greeted by singles from Ramirez and Brian Mundell, Alek Thomas scoring on the latter to make it 7-3.
Indy did get a run off reliever Travis Krogman in the seventh.
Cody Freeman led off with a double. A Dominic Smith double moved him to second.
A Matt Fulton fly ball scored Freeman.
The Walkers got that run back in the eighth, rookie Rick Scott hitting a pinch-hit homer off Bryan Garcia in the eighth.
Lara (5-6) worked six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. He struck out five and walked two.
Krogman pitched a pair of innings, giving up the one run in the eighth.
Jake Brentz got into trouble in the ninth, loading the bases, but was able to keep the score at 8-4 in a non-save situation.

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Record: 51-50, 5th, 4.5 GB Des Moines
Jose Ramirez hit a pair of two-run home runs and starting pitcher Angel Tiburcio allowed one run over six-plus innings, as St. Louis downed Indianapolis 7-1 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Both of Ramirez's homers came early, in the first and third innings -- the first off Indy starter Matt Lowest and the second off J.B. Wendelekn -- to propel the River Walkers to a 4-1 lead.
St. Louis' final three runs came in the bottom of the eighth on a three-run homer from Rick Scott off Bryan Garcia.
Tiburcio (4-9) allowed one run on six hits over 6.1 innings. He struck out eight and walked one.
The lone run for Indy came in the top of the second after Kahlil Lee led off with a double and later scored on a Matt Fulton fly ball.
St. Louis will be without outfielder Steve Rossi for four games after he was ejected for charging the mound.
Rossi took after Loest following being a hit by a pitch after Ramirez' first-inning homer.
Rossi will be suspended for four games. Lowest has been told he will have to sit for six.

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The game between the Indianapolis Racers and St. Louis River Walkers scheduled for July 27 at Busch Stadium (1997) has been postponed by rain.
It will be made-up as part of a doubleheader on July 28.

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Record: 51-51, 5th, 5 GB Des Moines
Down 2-1, Indianapolis scored once in the top of the eighth inning and once in the ninth to defeat St. Louis 3-2 at Busch Stadium (1997).
River Walkers reliever Cory Tiller surrendered three straight singles to open the top of the eighth -- to Ruben Cordova, Joel Pal and Matt Fulton -- to tie it.
Cordova scoring on Fulton's hit.
Ryan Gardner led off the top of the ninth for Indy with a single off Yeison Santos.
A walk to Dominic Smith moved Gardner to second.
Cordova followed with a double to put the Racers in front.
Racers starter Justin Burris allowed two runs on six hits over five innings.
Emerson Hancock, Jim Kendall, Mike Fowler and Nate Green all followed with an inning apiece.
Fowler (1-0) came out of it with the win.
St. Louis loaded the bases against Green with two outs in the ninth, but Nathaniel Dixon grounded out to end it.
For Green, it was his eighth save of the season.

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Record: 52-51, 5th, 4.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 2-2, St. Louis scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning -- the first coming on a lead-off homer by Brian Mundell -- and the River Walkers went on to defeat Indianapolis 5-2 at Busch Stadium (1997) in the second game of a doubleheader.
The win gave St. Louis a split of the doubleheader, and victories in three of it four games against the Racers.
Mundell's lead-off homer came on an 0-1 pitch off Indy reliever J.B. Wendelken.
The Walkers added another run later in the inning.
Rick Scott followed the home run with a single. He later scored on a double by Hayden Jones.
The Racers had tied the game with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth.
Joel Pal had led off the sixth with a double off St. Louis starting pitcher Izzy San Juan, and scored when Matt Fulton followed with a triple.
Greg Colvin tied it with a fly ball to score Fulton.
The Walkers added an insurance run in the seventh on a Jose Ramirez homer off John Holmes.
San Juan (12-3) collected his 12th victory of the season by allowing two runs on eight hits over 6.2 innings. He struck out four and didn't issue a walk.
Travis Krogman got the final out of the seventh and the first out of the eighth.
Jose Alvardo finished off the eighth for St. Louis.
Ernesto Barbosa now has 18 saves after setting Indy down in order in the top of the ninth.

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MBL news:Week 14 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 52-52, 5th, 5.5 GB Des Moines
Mike Tucker didn't allow a run over 7.1 innings and a pair of relievers completed the shutout, as Kansas City downed St. Louis 2-0 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Tucker (12-4) scattered four hits during his time on the mound. He struck out six and didn't issue a walk.
He exited after striking out Rick Scott to begin the bottom of the eighth inning.
Trevor Stephan closed out the bottom of the eight, pitching around a two-out double from Nathaniel Dixon.
Benjamin Weigman earned his first save since recently joining the Monarchs in a trade with Ann Arbor.
Kansas City got the only run it would need in the top of the second.
Ed Moore drew a lead-off walk from River Walkers starter Zach Hunsicker.
He oved to second on a Tony Martinez single.
Logan Tanner made it 1-0 with another single.
The Monarchs other run came in the eighth.
Blaze Jordan led off with a double off Yeison Santos.
A wild pitch moved Jordan to third.
Danny Cushing scored Jordan with a single to left.

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Record: 53-52, 5th, 4.5 GB Des Moines
Wilson Lara allowed one run over seven innings and St. Louis defeated Kansas City 3-1 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Lara (6-6) allowed one run on four hits over his seven innings. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk.
Tied 1-1, the River Walkers took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning.
It all happened with two outs -- as Jose Seguara tripled off Monarchs starter Tony Locey, and he scored when Jared Thomas followed with a single.
Rookie Rick Scott's fifth homer of the season off Tyler Whitaker in the sixth capped the scoring.
After Lara exited, Jake Brentz set K.C. down in order in the eighth, and Ernesto Barbosa did the same in the ninth for his 19th save.

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Record: 54-52, 4th (Tied/w. Kansas City), 3.5 GB Des Moines
Angel Tiburcio tossed eight shutout innings and St. Louis hit three home runs to power its way to a 9-1 win over Kansas City at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win gave the River Walkers victories in the final two games of the three-game series.
Tiburcio (5-9) scatted six hits over his eight innings. He struck out nine and didn't walk a batter.
David Amador allowed three hits in the top of the ninth -- including a lead-off home run to Jon Leon -- but was able to keep it at 9-1.
Steve Rossi hit a two-out solo homer off Monarchs starter Jose Buenrostro in the bottom of the third to put St. Louis in front 1-0.
An inning later, Jose Segura hit his 33rd homer of the season, a two-run shot off Buenrostro, to push that lead to 3-0.
St. Louis didn't need the long ball to add two more runs in the sixth, as Segura picked up two more RBIs with a double off Trevor Stephan.
It was Brian Mundell's turn in the seventh, as he took Stephan deep with a two-run blast as the St. Louis lead ballooned to 7-0.
Thairo Estrada stroked a two-run double off Jean Sandoval in the bottom of the eighth to complete the scoring.

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Walkers news: August 1 -- Player Development Report

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MBL news: Players and Pitchers of the Month for July 2030

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MBL news: Rookies of the Month for July 2030 and standings

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MBL news: American League leaders on August 1, 2030

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MBL news: National League leaders on August 1, 2030

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Walkers news: Team statistics for July 2030

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Walkers news: Full season statistics on August 1, 2030

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Player of the Month: Jose Ramirez -- The 26-year-old outfielder had his best month since joining the River Walkers in the offseason. He batted .299 with nine homers, 12 RBIs and 16 runs scored in 21 games. He got on base at a .372 clip and slugged .740.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Angel Tiburcio -- The 30-year old went 3-1 in five starts with a 2.89 ERA. He pitched a total of 28.0 innings, during which he struck out 31 and posted a 0.96 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Ernesto Barbosa -- The 28-year-old closer was 1-0 in game games with four saves. He posted 1.69 ERA over 10.2 innings, during which he struck out 20 and had a 0.66 WHIP.

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Record: 54-53, 4th, 3.5 GB Des Moines
Matthew Liberatore and a pair of relievers combined on a seven-hit shutout as Akron 1-0 over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
Liberatore (4-10) handled the first 5.1 innings, during which he scattered six hits while striking out five and walking none.
Joel Thomas got out of the sixth inning, and followed with a scoreless seventh and eighth.
Brian Stewart set the River Walkers down in order in the ninth for his 26th save.
The game's lone run came in the top of the fifth against St. Louis starter Ricky Cisneros.
Cisneros was subbing for Kaneo Kawamoto who was deemed not ready to make his scheduled start.
Zach Arnold led off the fifth with a double, and moved to third on a ground out.
A single by Braden Shewmake scored Arnold with what would be the only run of the contest.
St. Louis outhit Akron 7-5.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed first baseman Brian Mundell on the 10-day injured list after he suffered an injured wrist following a collision while running the bases in a 1-0 loss to Akron on August 1.
Mundell, 36, is expected to miss about a week.
Acquired in a trade with Fort Wayne on July 14, Mundell has played 17 games for the Walkers batting .316 with four homers and 10 RBIs.
He'll be replaced on the roster by infielder Joshua Rivera.
It will be Rivera's second-stint with St. Louis this season.
In 33 games, he has batted .188 with one RBI.
For Memphis, Rivera has played in 21 games and batted .338 with eight RBIs.

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Record: 54-54, 5th, 3.5 GB Des Moines
Adam Vargas hit a one-out solo home run off St. Louis reliever Jose Alvarado in the top of the eighth inning to snap a 5-5 tie and help Akron down the River Walkers 6-5 at Busch Stadium (1997).
In the top of the seventh, Bill Larsen had hit a two-out jack off St. Louis starter Izzy San Juan to tie it at 5-5.
Down 4-0, the River Walkers had powered their way to a 5-4 lead with a five-run bottom of the sixth which featured solo homers from Steve Rossi and Jose Segura and a two-run homer from Joshua Rivera.
Flying Feet starter Jesus Cervantes allowed three runs on six hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out 10 and didn't walk a batter.
Steven Jennings (2-1) finished off that sixth inning -- allowing the Rivera homer after Cervates had given up the other two -- and would earn the win.
Victor Vodnik worked a scoreless eighth.
Brian Stewart did the same in the ninth for his 27th save.