2032 St. Louis River Walkers -- Growing weary of just coming close

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed left-handed starting pitcher Kaneo Kawamoto on the injured list with an elbow injury which is expected to sideline him for three months.
It is the third trip to the IL this season for Kawamoto. He last pitched in a 7-3 win over Cedar Rapids on Sept. 21, but he exited that game after having pitched just over an inning.
For the season, Kawamoto was 8-8 with a 5.96 ERA in 23 starts.
It is likely this will end the 35-year-old Kawamoto's tenure in St. Louis, as he will be a free agent at season's end.
Acquired by the Walkers in a trade with Des Moines before the 2027 season.
Kawamoto had a nice tenure in St. Louis going 65-45 in 145 starts while boasting a 3.85 ERA.
He will be replaced in the Walkers' rotation by Rich Haas.
The right-handed Haas has made 11 starts for St. Louis this season, going 2-5 with a 7.20 ERA.
At Memphis, the 26-year-old went 7-2 in 16 starts with a 2.59 ERA.

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Record: 89-65, 2nd, 6.5 GB Des Moines
Fort Wayne put four consecutive batters on base -- capped by an RBI single from pitcher Adrian Arnesen -- in the bottom of the ninth inning against St. Louis reliever Cory Tiller to help give the Mad Men a 4-3 win at Ebbets Field (1948).
The win was the third straight for Fort Wayne, with one game remaining in the series.
Peter Alonso got things going with a single, and Castrioti Rrustemi followed with a walk.
A single from Zach Ebert loaded the bases.
Arnesen then ended it with a ground single between short and third on a 1-0 pitch.
The River Walkers had gone up 3-2 in the top of the eighth on a two-out solo homer from rookie Nick Shaw off Arnesen.
The Mad Men tied it in the bottom of the inning.
Dorian Gonzalez led off with a triple off Josh Forgy and scored on a Brian Sheppard single.
Fort Wayne starting pitcher Isaiah Dunlap worked five good innings, allowing just one run on two hits.
Antony Barrowcliff and Koi-sho Pai both followed with scoreless innings.
Arnesen (4-3) earned the win by going two innings, allowing the Shaw homer in the eighth.

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Record: 89-66, 2nd, 6.5 GB Des Moines
Mike Reese hit a pinch-hit home run with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning off St. Louis reliever Nick Ruffalo to give Fort Wayne a 3-1 win and a four-game sweep of their series at Ebbets Field (1948).
Ruffalo got Zach Ebert to ground out to open the bottom of the 10th, before giving up a walk to Jordan Martinez.
Reese then stepped to the plate and on a 0-2 pitch crushed the ball 367 feet over the fence in left-field for his second homer of the season.
Solo homers accounted for the game's other runs.
Darlin Guzman put the Mad Men up 1-0 in the bottom of the third when he took St. Louis starter Rich Haas deep for his 41st long ball of the season.
The Walkers tied it in the top of the fifth on Nathaniel Dixon's 15th homer of the season, a two-out shot off Fort Wayne starting pitcher Gary Snelling.
Snelling turned in a strong start, allowing one run on five hits over six innings. He struck out six and didn't walk a batter.
Koi-sho Pai (1.0 IP), Jesus Cervantes (2.0) and Eric Warren (1.0) combined to complete the game for the Mad Men.
Warren (3-3) earned his third win of the season.

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MBL news: Week 22 -- Awards and standings

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The St. Louis River Walkers have signed first baseman/third baseman Jovan Gill to a two-year extension worth $4 million.
The second second (2034) featured a team option.
St. Louis signed Gill as a free agent from Ann Arbor in the offseason before the 2032 season.
In 118 games with the Walkers, including 82 starts, Gill has batted .221 with 19 homers and 46 RBIs.

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Record: 90-66, 2nd, 6 GB Des Moines
Jose Ramirez hit a one-out pinch-hit home run off Springfield relief pitcher Mario Reyes in the bottom of the ninth inning to give St. Louis a 5-4 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the River Walkers.
A two-run homer from Nick Shaw in the bottom of the third off Railers starting pitcher Yordani Carmona highlighted a three-run inning as St. Louis moved ahead 3-0.
Springfield answered that homer with a two-run shot from Nolan Jones in the top of the fourth off St. Louis starter Zach Hunsicker to pull within 3-2.
Shaw doubled and scored in the fifth to put the Walkers back ahead by two runs, 4-2.
But Railers rallied to tie it with single runs in the sixth and eighth.
Dylan Crews led off the eighth iwth a double off Josh Forgy and later scored on an Alex Otero single.
Huniscker went six innings as the starter for St. Louis, allowing three runs on three hits.
Cory Tiller got the first two outs of the seventh, before giving way to Forgy, who finished that frame but gave up the tying run in the eighth..
Josh Grissom got the final two outs of the eighth and the first of the ninth.
Nick Ruffalo (4-1) bounced back from giving up a walk-off homer in his last outing by holding the Railers off the board in the ninth.
That set him up for his fourth win of the season.

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Record: 91-66, 2nd, 6 GB Des Moines, eliminated from playoff contention
Trailing 3-2, St. Louis scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning and later broke the game open with a five-run eighth as the River Walkers downed Springfield 9-3 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Despite the victory, St. Louis was eliminated from playoff contention by Des Moines' 11-3 win at Quad City.
The Harvesters (97-60) lead the Walkers in the National League South Division standings by six games with five games remaining.
The Railers had just taken a 3-2 advantage in the top of the third by scoring a pair of runs off Walkers rookie starting pitcher Tom McClurg who was making his major league debut.
With losses in four of his five previous starts, St. Louis had elected to skip a start by 17-game winner Jesse McNaboe electing to go with McClurg instead.
Jose Segura got things rolling for the Walkers in the top of the third with a one-out single off former St. Louis pitcher and Railers starter Wilson Lara.
A double from Daniel Becerra moved Segura to third, and he scored on a Jovan Gill ground out.
Thairo Estrada then put St. Louis in front with the second double of the inning off Lara.
Estrada also had the big hit of the five-run eighth hitting a grand slam off Springfield reliever Mario Reyes.
Earlier in the inning, Segura had driven in a run with a double.
McClurg (1-0) allowed three runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out eight and walked two.
Cory TIller (0.,2 IP) and Yeison Santos (0.1) combined on a scoreless seventh inning.
Ricky Cisneros held the Harvesters scoreless in the eighth inning.
Andres Hernandez allowed a pair of base runners in the ninth, but did not allow Springfield to score.

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The Columbus Golden Bears, Indianapolis Racers and Des Moines Harvesters have all had their tickets punched to the Midwest League Baseball's postseason for 2032.
Columbus clinched the American League East with an 8-6 win over Evansville.
The Golden Bears (95-62) own a six-game lead over Cleveland with five games left in the season.
Indianapolis put the finishing touches on its American League West crown with a 10-2 win over Cleveland.
The Racers (92-65) lead second-place Evansville by 6.5 games with six games left in the regular season.
In the race for the best record in the AL, and with it home-field advantage in the championship series, Columbus has a magic number of two over Indianapolis.
In the National League, Des Moines clinched the South Division title with an 11-3 rout of Quad City.
The win left the Harvesters six games ahead of second-place St. Louis with five games left.
In the NL North title still remains in doubt with defending MBL champion Twin Cities leading Green Bay by one game with five left in the regular season.
Des Moines has a magic number of two to clinch home-field advantage in the NL championship series.
For Columbus, the playoff berth is its seventh but its first since 2029.
The Bears earned the MBL title in 2029 and in 2019.
Indianpolis is in the playoffs for for the third time, but the first time since 2020.
Des Moines made the playoffs four times between 2020 and 2024, winning championships in 2020 and 2022, but the Harvesters have not been back in a decade.
(Standings are from after games of Sept. 30).

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Record: 91-67, 2nd, 6 GB Des Moines
Springfield jumped on St. Louis rookie starting pitcher Jerry Tate for five runs in the top of the first inning -- and lead which eventually grew to 9-2 -- before holding on for a 9-7 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
The victory allowed the Railers to take the finale of the three-game series after dropping the first two.
Springfield put seven of its first eight batters on base against Tate.
Part of that was three consecutive walks, one with the bases loaded.
Ruben Villanueva drove in the inning's first run with a single.
The next two came off the bat of Justin Schnender, who doubed.
A single from Austin Wells plated the final two runs of the outburst.
It leads down to 5-2 following a two-run homer from Jae-hong Chang off Harvesters starter John Haynes in the bottom of the second, Des Moines chased Tate in the top of the third following a lead-off homer from Kyren Paris.
Paris went deep again in the fifth -- this time off reliever Ricky Cisneros -- part of a three-run inning which saw Des Moines' lead grow to 9-2.
The River Walkers did chip their way back into it.
Nathaniel Dixon drove in a run with a triple off Haynes in the fiith.
Daniel Becerra cranked a grand slam off T.J. Darr in the seventh, as the lead shrunk to 9-7.
But that was as close as it would get.
Haynes (11-13) allowed three runs on six hits over five innings.
Edwin Cora worked a scoreless sixth inning.
Darr managed to get two outs in the seventh, before having Jon Santiago to come on and bail him out.
Nick Thiel pitched a silent eighth.
A perfect ninth earned Mike Fagan his 28th save of the season.

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Record: 92-67, 2nd, 6 GB Des Moines
Trailing 2-0, St. Louis got a solo homer from Jean Carmona and a two-run homer from Jose Segura in the bottom of the third inning and went on to defeat Green Bay 5-2 at Busch Stadium (1997).
The contest was a makeup from a game postponed by rain earlier in the season.
The Mallards put four runners on bases -- three singles and a walk -- but managed just two runs off St. Louis rookie starting Xavier Wigfall in the top of the first.
That may have proved big, as the River Walkers took the lead in the third behind Carmona's lead-off homer and Segura's two-run shot, both off Green Bay starter Ben Hughes.
The game's final two runs also came via the long ball, Jovan Gill hitting his 20th homer of the season, a two-run shot off Justin Doughtie in the seventh.
Making his final start of the season, Wigfall (5-4) looked good allowing two runs on five hits over six innings.
He exited after issuing a lead-off wall in the seventh.
Yeison Santos wiped that off the board by getting out of the inning without allowing a run.
Josh Grissom worked a scoreless eighth inning.
Ernesto Barbosa did the same in the ninth for his 36th save.

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Walkers news: Oct. 1 -- Player Development report

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MBL news: Oct. 1 -- Player and Pitchers of the Month for Sept. 2032

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MBL news:Oct. 1 -- Rookies of the Month for Sept. 2032 and standings

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MBL news: Oct. 1 -- American League leaders

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MBL news: Oct. 1 - -National League leaders

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Walkers news: Oct. 1 -- Team statistics for Sept. 2032

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Player of the Month: Jose Segura -- The 27-year-old center fielder batted .258 with 10 homers, 21 RBIs and 15 runs scored in 27 games. He got on base at a .314 clip and slugged .629.
Starting pitcher of the Month: Zack Hunsicker -- The 33-year-old right hander made six starts during which he went 2-1 with a 2.11 ERA over 38.1 innings. He struck out 23 batters and posted a 1.23 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Kevin Baker -- A Sept. 1 callup, the 25-year-old right-hander didn't allow a run in the 10 games he pitched in and worked a total of 12 innings. He didn't record a win or save. He struck out 16 batters and posted a 1.00 WHIP.

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Walkers news: Oct. 1 -- Team statistics for 2032

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Record: 92-68, 2nd, 7 GB Des Moines
Des Moines jumped on St. Louis starting pitcher Rich Haas in the bottom of the first inning -- a lead which eventually grew to 4-0 -- and the Harvesters held on for a 4-3 win at Green Canyon Park.
Haas allowed four of the first five Harvesters hitters to reach base in the bottom of the first , two of them via walk, to set up the big inning.
Kellum Clark had one of those hits with a two-run single.
A two-out single from Glenn Santiago later made it 3-0.
Santiago hit a two-out solo homer off Haas in the third to increase the lead to 4-0.
Jovan Gill hit a two-run homer off Des Moines starter Albert Hernandez in the top of the fourth, making it 4-2.
Rookie first baseman Nick Shaw knocked his 23rd homer of the season to lead off the sixth as St. Louis drew to within a run.
But that would be the last of the scoring for either side.
Hernandez (12-6) went five innings in his first start of the regular season.
He allowed two runs on five hits. The lefty struck out five and walked one.
Jose Leclerc, Craig Burch, Manny Pescosolido and Mike Goodkin all worked an inning apiece.
Goodkin notched his 38th save of the season.

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Record: 93-68, 2nd, 6 GB Des Moines
St. Louis starting pitcher Zack Hunsicker took a shutout into the bottom of the eighth inning, he also went 3 for 3 at the plate with three runs scored and an RBI, as St. Louis routed Des Moines 14-1 at Green Canyon Park.
Making his final start of the season, Hunsicker (12-8) didn't allow a run until the bottom of the eighth by which time the River Walkers led 13-0.
Over his eight innings, Hunsicker allowed one run on four hits. He struck out four and walked two.
At the plate, Hunsicker singled and later scored to lead off a six-run third inning.
He led off the fourth with a walk and later scored as the St. Louis lead grew to 8-0.
In the fourth, Hunsicker singled and scored again, this time on a Jose Ramirez two-run double as the Walkers' advantage stretched to 10-0.
Hunsicker tripled and drove in a run in the seventh inning.
He later scored on an Alex Greene fly ball.
A solo homer from the next batter, Jose Ramirez, made it 13-0.
Leading 1-0, St. Louis broke the game open with its six-run third.
Three-run homers from Jose Segura (off Harvesters starting pitcher Jim Kendall) and Jared Thomas (off reliever Dave Vacarri) drove in all the runs.
Ramirez also had a big game going 3 for 5 with a double, a homer and four RBIs, giving him 102 RBIs for the season.
Andres Hernandez handled the final three outs of the lopsided win for the Walkers.