2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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MBL news: Sept. 1 -- Players and Pitchers of the Month for August

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MBL news: Sept. 1 -- Rookies of the Month and standings

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MBL news: Sept. 1 -- American League leaders

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MBL news: Sept. 1 -- National League leaders

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Walkers news: Sept. 1 -- Team statistics for August

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Walkers news: Sept. 1 -- Team statistics for 2033 season

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Player of the Month: Daniel Becerra -- The 33-year old second baseman batted .309 with seven homers 21 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 27 games. He got on base at a .396 clip and slugged .567.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Jesse McNaboe -- The 25-year-old right-hander went 4-0 in five starts with a 3.24 ERA. He pitched a no-hitter in a 1-0 win over Kansas City on August 10. Altogether, he worked 33.1 innings during which he struck out 20 and had a 1.08 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Scott Rissler -- The 28-year-old right-hander got into 12 games during which he went 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA. He pitched a total of 12 innings, during which he posted a 0.89 WHIP and struck out 13.

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Record: 57-75, 7th, 13.5 GB Springfield
Kevin Melendez led off the bottom of the 11th inning with a walk-off home run off Springfield reliever Dan Bouwman, as the River Walkers defeated the Traders 2-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Both teams got strong outings from its starter.
Grand Rapids starter Jared Harms last 6.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out 11 and didn't walk a batter.
The lone Walkers run in regulation came in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out single from Rick Scott.
Scott's hit scored Daniel Becerra, who had doubled just in front of him.
The lone run allowed by St. Louis starter Jesse McNaboe came in the top of the fifth.
Jarrod Twomey led off with a single, before being eliminated when Marcos Francis hit into a fielder's choice.
Francis would steal second and score on a Bill Taylor single.
McNaboe handled 7.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out three and walked two.
Josh Forgy pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth to keep it 1-1.
Yeison Santos worked a scoreless ninth.
Kevin Baker (2-1) pitched two innings, setting himself up to earn the win.

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Record: 57-76, 7th, 14.5 GB Springfield
Rodrigo Balcarcel hit his first career home run, a grand slam, in the top of the sixth inning to wipe out a 4-3 deficit, and help lift Grand Rapids to a 7-6 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (2006).
The River Walkers had gone up 4-3 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning off Traders relief pitcher Kevin Abel.
But Grand Rapids teed off on St. Louis reliever Nick Ruffalo once he took over for starter Jerry Tate in the top of the sixth.
Tate retired the first two Traders batters in the top of the sixth.
He exited the game, after allowing a single to Bill Taylor.
Ruffalo took over and was greeted by a Tony Matos double, putting runners at second and third.
Jim Wilson was then given an intentional walk, loading the bases and bringing Balcarcel to the plate.
After seeing a strike, Balcarcel lined the next pitch 384 feet over the wall in left field to put the Traders in front.
St. Louis did pull to within 7-6 in the bottom of the sixth.
Thario Estrada tripled off Phil Bickford to drive in a run, and then scored on a Dan Hillard fly ball.
That would be the last of the scoring for St. Louis.
Grand Rapids starting pitcher Jason Dexheimer worked four innings, allowing two runs on three hits.
Kevin Abel worked the fifth, allowing a pair of runs.
Still, Abel (1-0) would earn his first victory of the season.
Bickford took care of the sixth and seventh, as St. Louis pulled to within 7-6.
But Dylan Cloonan and Dan Bouwman both blanked the Walkers to seal the win.
Bouwman earned his 13th save.

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Record: 58-76, 7th, 14.5 GB Springfield
St. Louis got home runs from Nathaniel Dixon, Rick Scott and Jared Thomas, and rookie Ronald Crossingham turned in a strong start, as the River Walkers defeated Grand Rapids 6-3 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Dixon's homer led off the bottom of the first off Traders starting pitcher Trevor Wortham and staked the Walkers to a 1-0 lead.
Scott's long ball came an inning later, also off Wortham, and snapped a 1-1 tie putting St. Louis ahead 3-1.
Thomas also victimized Wortham, his being a solo blast in the fourth as the Walkers went in front 4-1.
Thomas added an RBI single in the fifth, again off Wortham, as St. Louis took its biggest lead at 5-1.
Marcos Francis hit a two-run homer off Crossingham in the sixth as Grand Rapids drew within 5-3.
The Traders would not score again.
Dixon scored the game's final run in the seventh.
He led off with a single off Traders reliever Phil Bickford.
A Kyren Paris bunt moved Dixon to second.
Bickford uncorked a wild pitch to place Dixon at third.
Daniel Becerra picked up the RBI with a single.
Crossingham (3-1) pitched five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.
After that, it was Cory Tiller and Yeison Santos for an inning apiece.
John Good worked the eighth and got the first two outs of the ninth.
Oscar Martinez struck out the only batter he faced, Tony Matos, for his third save.

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Record: 59-76, 7th, 13.5 GB Springfield
St. Louis jumped on Grand Rapids starting pitcher Adam George for five runs in the bottom of the first inning, and rolled to a 7-2 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win gave the River Walkers in three of the four games in their series with the Traders.
Down 1-0 after a half inning, St. Louis wasted no time wiping out that deficit in the bottom of the first.
Kyren Paris got things going with a lead-off single.
After a strike out of Jose Segura, Paris stole second, and scored when Jose Ramirez singled.
The rest came via the long ball, as Dan Hillard hit a three-run homer.
Rick Scott followed with a solo shot, making it 5-1.
Hillard picked up two more RBI in the fifth, when he doubled off Kevin Abel.
That made it 7-2.
The Walkers got a complete game from rookie Alex Pazos (2-4).
Over the nine innings, he allowed two runs on three hits. He struck out
four and walked five.

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MBL news: Week 20 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 59-77, 7th, 14.5 GB Springfield
Chicago starting pitcher Ben Harris took a shutout into the top of the eighth inning, and the G-Men routed St. Louis 8-2 at Wrigley Field (1938).
Harris (3-1) didn't allow a run until Jose Ramirez singled with two outs in the top of the eighth to score Glenallen Hill Jr.
Hill had led off the inning with a single.
Harris exited after the run.
His line for 7.2 innings, one run on eight hits. He struck out three and walked one.
The G-Men also led 5-0 by the time the River Walkers scored.
Chicago jumped in front by scoring three times off St. Louis starting pitcher Justin Doughtie in the bottom of the second.
The G-Men had three hits in the inning -- including an RBI single from Connor Walsh -- but were helped by a walk and a wild pitch, which scored a run.
Jarred Kelenic took Doughtie deep for his 24th home run of the season in the third to put Chicago ahead 4-0.
Eric Harris led off the fifth with a double off Doughtie.
He scored on a Luis Tejada single.
Harris would later hit a three-run homer off Scott Rissler in the bottom of the eighth to make it 8-1.
Andrew Perez finished off the eighth inning for Chicago.
Josh Morrow gave up a meaningless run in the ninth.

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Record: 59-78, 7th, 14.4 GB Springfield
Matt Walczak hit a two-run home run off St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, to spur Chicago to a 4-1 win at Wrigley Field (1938).
Jarred Kelenic had singled in front of Walczak.
Walczak then powered 1-1 pitch 379 feet over the wall in left, putting the G-Men in front for good.
The River Walkers' Daniel Becerra hit a solo homer off Chicago reliever Erik Perry in the top of the sixth, making it 2-1.
Chicago responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning, which would cap the scoring.
Luis Tejada drove in both run with a double off Nick Ruffalo, who had just entered the game.
Chicago starting pitcher Jimmy DaPra (7-9) worked 5.1 scoreless innings. He allowed four hits, while striking out four and walking two.
Erik Perry handled 2.2 innings of relief, allowing the lone St. Louis run.
Jeremy Bouchard pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save.

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Record: 59-79, 7th, 16.5 GB Springfield
Daylen Reyes connected on a two-out, two-run single off St. Louis reliever John Good in the bottom of the eighth inning to help lift Chicago a 5-4 win at Wrigley Field (1938).
The win gave the G-Men a sweep of the three-game series.
George Phelps and Brian Gonyon got things going for the G-Men in the bottom of the eighth when they opened the inning with a walk and single, respectively.
Good retired the next two hitters, although the base runners did move to second and third.
Reyes then lined a 3-2 pitch from Good into left field to plate them both and put his team in front.
A three-run top of the third for St. Louis against G-Men starting pitcher Jon Borland put the River Walkers up 3-1.
Jose Ramirez led off the sixth with a homer, as St. Louis took a 4-2 advantage.
Borland pitched six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk.
Michael Steinberg (4-2) worked two innings of scoreless relief and earned the win.
Jeremy Bouchard earned his 22nd save with a scoreless ninth.

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Record: 59-80, 7th, 16.5 GB Springfield
Trailing 3-2. Detroit's Alejandro Crespo hit his first career major league home run, a three-run shot off St. Louis starting pitcher Ronald Crossingham to help give the Diesels a 5-4 win at Tiger Stadium (1980).
Crossingham got into trouble early in the inning, issuing a lead-off walk to Jimmy Gorman followed by a Juan Herrera double.
Cade Doughty made it 5-2 when he scored Gorman with a ground out.
Bill Pena followed with a single to put runners at the corners.
Crossingham struck out Lee Oakley for the second out.
However, Crespo got ahold of a 3-2 pitch and hit it 401 feet over the wall in right to put Detroit in front.
With runners at second and third and one out in the top of the ninth, the River Walkers pulled to within a run in the top of the ninth on an RBI single from Jared Thomas off Diesels reliever Rob Pillsbury.
But Daniel Becerra was thrown out at the plate.
Pillsbury struck out Dan Hillard to end it.
Detroit starting pitcher Jeff Hoffman allowed three runs on three hits in five innings. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter.
After that, it was a scoreless inning each from Kleiber Bordones, Luis G. Helton, Juan Arroyo and Pillsbury.
Bordones (2-0) earned the win.
Pillsbury collected his fourth save.

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Record: 60-80, 7th, 16.5 GB Springfield
Jovan Gill led off the top of the 11th inning with a pinch-hit home run and St. Louis went on for a 5-4 win over Detroit at Tiger Stadium (1980).
Gill's homer came on a 2-1 pitch from Diesels relief pitcher Juan Arroyo.
It traveled 450 feet over the wall in left-center field.
Twice, the River Walkers surrendered leads to Detroit.
They led 3-1 going into the bottom of the fifth, when Detroit tied it on a two-out, two-run double from Juan Herrera off starting pitcher Alex Pazos.
St. Louis later led 4-3 going into the bottom of the eighth, when Detroit tied it on a bases-loaded walk from Kevin Baker to Lee Oakley.
Pazos pitched six innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out three and walked five.
Six Walkers' pitchers combined to walk 10 batters in the game.
Josh Forgy worked a scoreless seventh inning.
John Good got the first two outs of the eighth.
Baker finished the eighth and got the first two outs of the ninth, before issuing a string of walks which resulted in Detroit tying the game.
Yeison Santos (4-3) finished the ninth and pitched a scoreless 10th.
He would earn the win.
Oscar Martinez worked a 1-2-3 11th for his fourth save.

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Record: 60-81, 7th, 17.5 GB Springfield
Detroit starting pitcher Chris Terry tossed 6.2 shutout innings, and the Diesels beat up on St. Louis starter Justin Doughtie for six runs in the first four innings, as it won 7-3 at Tiger Stadium (1980).
Terry (8-4) didn't allow a hit until Jovan Gill doubled with one out in the top of the fifth inning.
Overall, Terry allowed just two hits while striking out nine and walking none.
The Diesels wasted little time taking control battering Dougtie for four runs in the bottom of the first.
They put their first three runners on base -- sandwiching doubles from Edgar Suarez and Kyle Tucker around a walk to Shinya Mori -- the Suarez double scored a pair.
Bill Pena later hit a two-out, two-run homer to make it 4-0.
Detroit chased Doughtie with two more runs in the fourth.
Suarez collected another RBI with his second double of the game.
Kelly Allain later drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 6-0.
The Diesels made it 7-0 in the bottom of the sixth against the St. Louis bullpen.
Terry led off with a double and scored on a one-out double by Mori.
The Walkers got all three of their runs in the top of the eighth.
Kyren Paris collected a pair of RBIs with a double.
After Terry made his exit, four relievers, Jorge Ariza (0.1 IP), Justin Burris (0.1), Kleiber Bordones (0.2) and Nate Wilson (1.0), combined to finish the game for Detroit.

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Record: 60-82, 7th, 17.5 GB Springfield
Kevin Baker took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning for St. Louis with a 10-9 lead, three batters later Detroit had itself an 11-10 win at Tiger Stadium (1980).
Dan Hillard had put the River Walkers ahead 10-9 with a one-out homer in the top of the eighth inning off Diesels relief pitcher Juan Arroyo.
But when it got to the bottom of the ninth, Detroit blasted Baker to win for the third time in the four-game series.
Tyler Carter opened the bottom of the ninth with a walk.
Shinya Mori tied it with a double to right-center.
Cade Doughty then won it, driving in two, with a double to virtually the same spot.
St. Louis scored four times in the third inning and two more in the fourth to take a 7-1 lead.
The Diesels wiped that out and grabbed the advantage when it pummeled St. Louis starter Jesse McNaboe for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Juan Herrera drove in two runs with a double.
Bill Pena followed with a two-run homer.
After McNaboe made his exit, Cory Tiller took over and proceeded to walk in a run.
He then surrendered a two-out single to Cade Doughty.
It took seven pitchers to secure the win for Detroit.
Ray O'Leary handled the first three innings, giving up six runs on seven hits.
Jorge Ariza took care of the fourth and fifth, giving up one run.
After that, it was an inning apiece from Luis G. Helton, Ariel Vega and Arroyo.
Ethan Hankins got the first two outs of the ninth.
He had to leave the game with an undisclosed injury.
Kleiber Bordones (3-0) got the final out of the ninth, and with it the win.

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MBL news: Week 21 -- Awards and standings