2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Looking to bolster the lineup, the St. Louis River Walkers have landed 36-year-old shortstop Daylen Reyes from the Rockford Lightning in exchange for 27-year-old outfielder Wen He.
Reyes will replace Abdul-Nasser bin Amr as the starting shortstop for the Walkers.
Bin Amr, 28, has been the team's shortstop since 2036 but has struggled mightily at the plate this season hitting just .198 with two homers and 17 RBIs in 70 games (69 starts).
For his career, bin Amr has played in 334 games (330) starts during which he has hit .256 with 14 homers and 126 RBIs.
Bin Amr has been sent to AAA Memphis.
A two-time Gold Glove winner, Reyes broke into the majors with Indianapolis in 2026 and was trade to Akron during that same season.
He played in Akron through 2032 before spending the 2033 season with the Chicago G-Men.
Reyes has been with Rockford since the 2038 season.
This year for the Lightning, he has hit .270 with five homers and 35 RBIs in 78 games (75 starts).
For his career, Reyes is a .262 hitter with 68 homers and 400 RBIs in 1,493 games (1,371 starts).
Reyes, who will make $14.1 million in 2038, will be a free agent at the end of the season.
He has split time this season between AAA Memphis and St. Louis.
He began the year with the Walkers and has played in 54 games (31 starts) for them.
During that time, he hit .216 with one homer and eight RBIs.
At AAA, He is a .294 hitter with three homers and 14 RBIs in 22 games (all starts).

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Record: 48-39, 3rd, 2 GB Springfield
The bullpen of the St. Louis River Walkers continued to cause them all kinds of problems, as they were on the mound for all six runs Fort Wayne scored in the third through eighth innings of a 6-1 victory at Busch Stadium (2006).
St. Louis got a strong start from Kevin Hrdlicka, who shut out the Mad Men over the first five innings as his team took a 1-0 lead.
But already having a high-pitch count, Hrdlicka ran into trouble early in the sixth.
The Walkers had scored the game's first run in the bottom of the fifth when Zach Wenman doubled off Fort Wayne starting pitcher Alex Yanez.
and scored on a Ryan Wibbenmeyer ground out.
Dorian Gonzalez got the Mad Men going in the top of the sixth with a one-out double off Hrdlicka.
Jairo Trujillo followed with a single to put runners at the corners.
It also drove Hrdlicka from the mound.
Rookie Frank Jimenez took over for Hrdlicka.
Two batters later, following RBI singles from Danny Gutierrez and Ben Thompson, Fort Wayne had a 2-1 lead.
The Mad Men added three more runs in the seventh off reliever Kyle Smarr.
The first scored on a Jario Diaz single.
Gutierrez plated the other two with a double.
Marco Zurita made it 6-1 in the eighth with a homer, also off Smarr.
Yanez (7-7) went 6.2 innings for Fort Wayne, allowing one run on six hits. He struck out six and walked two.
Ernesto Barbosa finished the seventh and also handled the eighth.
Nick Tracy took care of the ninth for the Mad Men.

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Record: 49-39, 3rd, 2 GB Springfield
Down 5-0, St. Louis scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and exploded for five more in the seventh as the River Walkers rallied for an 8-5 win over Fort Wayne at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Mad Men scored single runs off River Walkers starter Brad Monroe in the first and third innings.
They then added three more in the top of the sixth when Marco Zurita homered off Monroe.
Fort Wayne starter Tony Rosenberg had shut out the Walkers on two hits over the first five innings.
But St. Louis quickly went to work on him in the sixth beginning with a lead-off homer from Bob Saavedra.
That was the first of four consecutive hits for the Walkers as Ryan Wibbenmeyer followed the homer with a single.
Manuel Coke then doubled to make it 3-2.
A Nick Shaw single moved Coke to third.
It also sent Rosenberg to the shower in favor of Brian Little.
Little retired the first two batters he faced.
But Zach Wenman managed to tie it with a single.
In the seventh, St. Louis sent nine batters to the plate, scoring the five runs on four hits.
Coke provided the big hit with a three-run homer off Oscar Martinez.
Wenman drove in the final two with a single off Craig Burch, giving him three RBIs for the game.
Monroe worked five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
Making his first appearance since a lengthy injury and AAA rehab, Brett McVey retired all six batters he faced.
Leo Hermosillo pitched a scoreless eighth for St. Louis.
Craig Fritzler earned his 23rd save with a spotless ninth.

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Record: 50-39, 3rd, 2 GB Springfield
Xavier Wigfall handled the first seven innings as he combined with the St. Louis bullpen on a 5-0 one-hit shutout of Fort Worth at Busch Stadium (2006).
The only hit allowed by Wigfall, or the River Walkers, was a one-out single by Danny Gutierrez in the top of the first inning.
For the game, Wigfall (6-5) struck out seven and walked four. He exited the game after Jario Diaz reached on a throwing error by third baseman Bob Saavedra to begin the top of the eighth.
Ron Cox took over and retired all six batters he faced to end the game.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third when the Walkers scored the only run they would end up needing.
Daylen Reyes drew a lead-off walk from Mad Men starting pitcher Tony Alegria.
A bunt by Wigfall moved Reyes to second.
Ryan Wibbenmeyer drove Reyes home with a two-out single.
St. Louis did the rest of its scoring in the seventh.
Saavedra drove in the first two runs with a single off Oscar Martinez,
The next hitter, Wibbenmeyer, did the rest with a two-run homer, his fifth home run of the season.

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MBL news: July 11 -- Final All-Star game fan voting results

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MBL news: July 11 -- All-Star game rosters

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The St. Louis River Walkers will have four representatives playing for the National League in the All-Star game.
Left fielder Mark Herman and right fielder Miguel Coke will both be in the starting lineup for St. Louis' manager Mike Renkes' NL team.
Starting pitcher Ming Xiang and closer Craig Fritzler will be part of the pitching staff.
* Mark Herman: The 25-year-old has played in 87 games this season (82 starts) and is batting .359 with 18 homers, 59 RBIs and 55 runs scored. It is his first All-Star selection.
* Manuel Cole: The 25-year-old has played in 88 games this season (82 starts) and is hitting .353 with 24 homers, 67 RBIs and 61 run scored. It is Coke's second All-Star selection.
* Ming Xiang: The 26-year-old right-hander is 9-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 18 starts. He has pitched a total of 113.2 innings, during which he has struck out 112 and has a 1.16 WHIP.
* Craig Fritzler: The 31-year-old right hander has pitched in 36 games during which he has gone 1-1 with 23 saves and a 2.15 ERA. He has pitched 37.2 innings, during which he has struck out 55 and has a 0.74 ERA. This is his fifth All-Star selection but first since joining St. Louis prior to the 2038 season.

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MBL news: June 11 -- Prospects Game rosters set

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Record: 50-40, 3rd, 3 GB Springfield
Fort Wayne jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning and never trailed in defeating St. Louis 4-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win allowed the Mad Men to split the four-game series with the River Walkers.
St. Louis starting pitcher Miguel Cisneros got himself in trouble to start that second inning by hitting Ben Thompson with a pitch and issuing a walk to David Kurnick.
Cisneros struck out Rich Contreras for the first out.
But Marco Zurita followed with a double to score Thompson.
Kurnick then scored on a Dave Soria ground out.
An RBI single from Mark Herman off Mad Men starting pitcher Kyle Freeman in the third drew the Walkers to within 2-1.
But Fort Wayne answered with a run in the fourth.
Thompson led off with a single off Cisneros and scored on a Contreras fly ball after he had stolen second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Mario Villa.
St. Louis drew back to within 3-2 in the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Ryan Wibbenmeyer and Manuel Coke.
The Mad Men, however, got the final run of the game in the seventh.
Soria and pinch-hitter Jose Ramirez opened the inning with back-to-back singles off reliever Alex Rios.
Soria would score when Danny Gutierrez doubled off Frank Jimenez with two outs.
Freeman (6-3) lasted just five innings, allowing two runs on eight hits. He struck out three and didn't walk a batter.
Brian Little pitched a scoreless sixth inning for Fort Wayne.
Nick Tracy handled the seventh and got the first out of the eighth.
Former Walker Scott Rissler closed out the eighth and took care of the ninth for his third save.

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MBL news: July 11 -- American League wins Prospects Game 7-2

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MBL news: July 12 -- Week 14 - Awards and standings

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MBL news: July 13 -- Toledo's Jimenez wins Home-Run Derby

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MBL news: July 14 -- American League wins All-Star game 4-3

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MBL news: July 19 -- American League leaders at the All-Star break

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MBL news: July 19 -- National League leaders at the All-Star break

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MBL news: July 19 -- Standings at the All-Star break

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Walkers news: July 19 -- Team statistics at All-Star break

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Record: 50-41, 3rd, 4 GB Springfield
Antonio Ceja handled the first six innings, and the Quad City bullpen did the rest as the Thunder shutout St. Louis 5-0 in both teams' first game after the All-Star break at Fenway Park (1976).
Ceja (4-6) scattered five hits (four singles and a double) during his time on the mound. He struck out five and walked one.
Mike Koontz pitched a pair of innings of scoreless relief.
Angelo Touliatos followed suit in the ninth.
Quad City jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs off River Walkers starting pitcher Ming Xiang in the bottom of the second.
Jacob Gonzalez led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch.
Gonzalez scored on a two-out single by Gabriel Hagan, with Gonzalez taking second on the throw to the plate.
Bruce Navarette made it 2-0 with the third single of the inning.
The Thunder did the rest of their scoring in the bottom of the eighth against the St. Louis bullpen.
QC wrapped out four hits (all singles) in the inning and also drew two walks.
Navarette drove in the first run with a single off Alex Rios.
Jesse Gaither walked Collin Allen with the bases loaded to make it 5-0.

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Record: 51-41, 3rd, 4 GB Springfield
Down 5-2, St. Louis scored once in the top of the eighth inning and three times in the ninth to rally for a 6-5 win over Quad City at Fenway Park (1976).
The Thunder had taken that 5-2 lead with a four-run bottom of the fourth highlighted by a three-run homer by Joshua Naylor off River Walkers starting pitcher Brad Monroe.
Back-to-back two-out doubles by Manuel Coke and Mark Herman off QC reliever William Myers in the top of the eighth had drawn St. Louis to within 5-3.
The Walkers put their first three batters on base against Angelo Touliatos to begin the ninth.
Mark Waterson drew a lead-off walk.
Bob Saavedra followed with an RBI triple.
Jackson Miller then tied it with a double.
St. Louis then turned to the bunt to score Miller, as Rece Hinds moved him to third.
Daylen Reyes followed with another bunt to score Miller and put St. Louis in front 6-5.
Monroe worked six innings, allowing five runs on six hits. He struck out two and walked two.
Brett McVey worked the seventh and got the first out of the eighth.
Frank Jimenez finished off the eighth.
Craig Fritzler allowed a single in the ninth but nothing else to earn his 24th save.

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Record: 52-41, 3rd, 4 GB Springfield
St. Louis scored six runs in the top of the second inning and four more in the third to build a 10-3 lead -- the River Walkers would eventually own a 12-3 advantage -- on its way to a 12-7 win at Fenway Park (1976).
The victory gave St. Louis wins in the final two games of the three-game series. The teams now head to Busch Stadium for a three-game series.
The Walkers' six-run second came mostly against Thunder starting pitcher Pascal Marcovicci.
Marcovicci faced seven of the nine hitters who batted in the inning. Reliever Shane Gilley took on the final two, retiring them both to end the inning.
While Marcovicci was on the mound, St. Louis banged out three hits with the biggest being a three-run homer by Mark Herman which plated the final three runs.
Pitcher Miguel Cisneros and Daylen Reyes both got down bunts which scored runs.
A run also scored on a balk.
In the third, with Gilley still on the mound, Jackson Miller hit St. Louis' second three-run homer of the game.
Herman and Miller both finished the game with four RBIs.
Overall, Miller was 3 for 5 with a homer, two runs scored and four RBIs.
On the mound, Miguel Cisneros (6-5) wasn't good but still earned the win.
He lasted six innings, allowing four runs on 11 hits. He struck out two and walked two.
Ron Cox worked a scoreless seventh.
Alex Rios (0.1 IP) and Leo Hermosillo (0.2) combined to pitch an eighth inning which saw the Thunder scored three times.
Jesse Gaither worked the ninth.