2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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MBL news: July 1 -- Players and Pitchers of the Month for June

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ML news: July 1 -- Rookies of the Month for June and standings

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MBL news: July 1 -- American League leaders

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MBL news: July 1 -- National League leaders

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Walkers news: July 1 -- Team statistics for June

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Walkers news: July 1 -- Team statistics for 2034 season

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Player of the Month: Freudis Nova -- The 34-year-old infielder batted .259 with three homers, 16 RBIs and 16 runs scored in 27 games. He got on base at a .302 clip and slugged .444.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Angel Tiburcio -- The 34-year-old right-hander was 3.2 in six starts with a 3.16 ERA. He pitched a total of 37 innings, during which he struck out 25 and had a 1.35 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Zachary Stella -- The 33-year-old left-hander got into 11 games, during which he was 0-1 with a 1.26 ERA. He pitched 14.1 innings, striking out 18 and posting a 0.91 WHIP.

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Record: 42-41, 5th, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Springfield's Martino Banditelli opened the game with six shutout innings and pinch-hitter Joseph Hughes broke the game open with three-run double in the bottom of the sixth, as the Railers downed St. Louis 6-2 at Oracle Park.
Banditelli (4-3) allowed just three hits in his time on the mound. He struck out four and walked two.
Nick Spear pitched a scoreless seventh for Springfield.
Both River Walkers' runs came in the eighth off Alan Albanese, Freudis Nova drove in the first run with a single and a Jose Ramirez double plated the second, but by that time the Railers already led 5-0.
Fernando Fernando set down the Walkers in order in the ninth.
Alex Otero scored the game's first run in the bottom of the second.
He led off with a single off St. Louis starter Jim Martin.
An error by third baseman Dan Hillard on a ball hit by Justin Schneider moved him to third.
That was one of four errors in the game by the Walkers, two by Hillard and other two by Nova at second base.
Otero scored on a two-out ground out by Dylan Crews.
The Railers added a run to their lead in the third off Martin.
Matthew Lugo led off with an infield hit.
He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hideaki Taguchi.
Lugo moved to third on a Billy Salas fly ball.
He then scored on Nova's first error of the game, committed on a ball hit by Otero.
Hughes' bases-loaded double of Zachary Stella in the seventh made it 5-0.
The first three base runners had all reached base against Martin.
Crews made it 6-2 in the bottom of the eighth.
He drew a one-out walk from Stella.
Crews then stole second and scored on a Mike Murray single.

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Walkers news: July 2-- Mid-season note from the owner

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MBL news: July 2 -- All-Star game fan voting update

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Record: 42-42, 5th, 9.5 GB Des Moines
Trailing 6-4, Springfield put up five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning against the St. Louis bullpen, and the Railers went on to defeat the River Walkers 9-6 at Oracle Park.
The victory game Springfield' victories in the final two games of the series.
St. Louis had put up three runs in both the top of sixth and seventh to go up 6-2.
Nick Shaw hit a three-run homer off Springfield starting pitcher Ewdy Alex in the sixth.
A two-run triple from Nathaniel Dixon off reliever Nick Spear was the big hit of the seventh.
The Railers got back to within 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh.
Alex Otero connected for a two-run, two-out double off Josh Forgy.
Gil Meier started the bottom of the eighth on the mound for St. Louis.
After retiring the lead-off batter, he allowed the next four to reach base.
Pinch-hitter Jason Hillsberg started it with a single.
He scored on a Mike Murray double.
A Justin Schneider single then tied it at 6-6.
Adan Vallette then drew a walk, ending Meier's time on the mound.
Nick Ruffalo got the call for the Walkers, but was not any better.
He got Matthew Lugo to ground out before intentionally walking Hideaki Taguchi.
Otero burned St. Louis for that decision, with an RBI single.
Riley Greene drove in the final two runs with a single.
Alex went the first six innings, allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out five and walked two.
Spear (0.2 IP) and Andrew Perez combined to pitch the seventh for Springfield.
Eric Dreese (2-2) struck out three in a scoreless eighth.
Jose Santiago raised his save total to 22 by pitching the ninth.

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MBL news: Week 12 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 43-42, 5th, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Nick Shaw homered twice and drove in five runs to help power St. Louis to an 8-3 win over Green Bay at Busch Stadium (2006).
Shaw's first homer was a three-run shot off Mallards starting pitcher Juan Vergara to cap a four-run bottom of the third inning.
Eric Peretz drove in the inning's first run with a single.
The outburst put the River Walkers ahead 4-0.
His second home came in the seventh, and capped the scoring.
This two-run shot, his 17th home run of the season came with two outs off Green Bay reliever Tyler Parker.
In between Shaw's home runs, the Mallards had drawn to within 5-3.
Solo homers from Kerry Fackelman in the fifth and Alex Boychuk in the sixth, both off Walkers starting pitcher Devin Rogers, accounted for the final two runs.
St. Louis went up 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth on a Kyren Paris RBI single off Jim Kendall.
Rogers (4-4) long enough to get the win, 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on 10 hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
Gil Meier recorded the final out of the sixth for St. Louis.
After that, it was single scoreless innings from Scott Rissler, Oscar Martinez and Luke Dunkin to close out the win.

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Record: 44-42, 5th, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Xavier Wigfall took a shutout into the top of the seventh inning before exiting with an undisclosed injury, as St. Louis downed Green Bay 2-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Wigfall (6-7) allowed just three hits over the first six innings before allowing a two-out double to Alex Boychuk in the seventh.
Wigfall, who struck out seven and walked one during his time on the mound, then left the game with an injury.
With the score 1-0, Cory Tiller took over for the River Walkers.
He hit the first batter he faced, Pete Alonzo, but got Marty Lizardo to ground out to end the inning.
Nick Ruffalo got the first two outs of the eighth for St. Louis before walking Austin Hendrick.
Luke Dunkin replaced Ruffalo and got Ben Shuster to ground out to keep it at now 2-0.
Andy Black greeted Dunkin with a home run to open the ninth inning.
Jaden Agassi then followed with a single.
But the Walkers stuck with Dunkin, and he got through it.
Striking out Boychuk before getting Scott Kern to hit into a double play to end it.
The save was Dunkin's second of the season.
St. Louis went up 1-0 in the bottom of the first.
Nathaniel Dixon led off with a single off Mallards starting pitcher Trevor Criswell.
He scored on a two-out double by Nick Shaw.
Jared Thomas hit his fourth homer of the season off Jason Garrett to make it 2-0.

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Record: 44-43, 5th, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Green Bay jumped on St. Louis starting pitcher Angel Tiburcio for three runs in the top of the first inning, and the Mallards rode that to a 5-1 win to avoid a three-game sweep at Busch Stadium (2006).
All of the first-inning damage came with two outs.
Ronald Acuna Jr. got things rolling with a two-out homer.
Sal Valdez followed with a triple, and promptly scored on a Tiburcio wild pitch.
Austin Clayton kept things rolling with a double.
Peter Alonso then connected on a fourth straight hit, a single to score Clayton and make it 3-0.
The Mallards pushed their lead to 4-0 in the third.
Acuna scored again, this time leading off with a double off Tiburcio.
He scored on a two-out single by Alonso.
Green Bay struck again in the fourth.
Scott Kern led off with a single.
Two singles later, by Marty Lizardo and Kerry Fackelman, and it was 5-0.
Green Bay got a strong start from Alex Duarte (6-8), who allowed one run on five hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Josh Fleming pitched two scoreless innings of relief.
After that, it was an inning apiece from Matt Rodriguez and Armando Cintron to close out the win.

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Record: 45-43, 5th, 7.5 GB Detroit
Tied 1-1, St. Louis exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and went on to rout Detroit 10-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Starting pitcher Jim Martin got things rolling for the River Walkers, with a lead-off single off Diesels starting pitcher Franciso Velasco.
Eric Pertez followed with another single, but Velasco retired the next two.
That's when the roof fell in.
Nick Shaw singled to drive in the inning's first run.
Dan Hillard followed with a triple, expanding the lead to 4-1.
After an intentional walk to Jovan Gill, Kyren Parin singled, scoring the inning's fourth run.
That also sent Velasco to the shower.
Jorge Ariza took over, only to be greeted by a two-run double from Will Banfield to make it 7-1.
Banfield would collected the game's final two RBIs, with another double this one in the bottom of the eighth off Rob Pillsbury.
Martin (7-5) allowed one run on six hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked two.
Oscar Martinez took care of the final two innings for the Walkers.

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The news was bad for the St. Louis River Walkers regarding the injury to right-handed starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall.
Wigfall, who had to exit his last start against Green Bay in the seventh inning while pitching a shutout has been diagnosed with elbow tendinitis and is expected to miss seven weeks.
Despite a 6-7 record in 17 starts, the 25-year-old Wigfall has enjoyed a good season for the Walkers posting a 2.84 ERA over 104.2 innings. He has struck out 98 batters and posted a 1.27 WHIP.
He will be replaced in the rotation by veteran left-hander Shane Drogo.
Drogo, 28, acquired in the offseason from Peoria, began the season in the Walkers rotation going 3-3 over his first six starts with a 4.74 ERA. He struck out 31 batters over 38.0 innings while posting a 1.37 WHIP.
Drogo suffered a hamstring injury in a May 10 start against Kansas City.
He had also struggled in five rehab starts at Memphis, going 0-3 with a 6.00 ERA over 24.0 innings.
Drogo struck out 21 batters while with the Redbirds, while owning a 1.54 WHIP.

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Record: 45-44, 5th, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Juan Herrera snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-run home run off St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe, and Detroit went on to defeat the River Walkers 5-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Jimmy Goman got on base in front of Herrera with a one-out single.
The Diesels added two insurance runs in the ninth on another two-rn omer, this one from pinch-hitter Kelly Allain off Gil Meier.
Ray O'Leary (6-8) handled the first five innings for Detroit, allowing one run on five hits. He struck out three and walked one.
A trio of relievers -- Jordan Harrison (1.0 IP), Bill Russell (2.0) and Brian Little combined to finish the game for the Diesels.
McNaboe exited the game after five innings with an undisclosed injury.

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Record: 45-45, 5th, 9.5 GB Detroit
Making his first start of the season since coming off the injured list, Jeff Hoffman pitched 3.1 scoreless innings and a trio of relievers did the rest as Detroit shut out St. Louis 4-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Hoffman, who suffered a rotator cuff injury late in spring training, allowed three hits in his time on the mound. He struck out two and didn't issue a walk.
After that, it was Cristian Sanchez (7-0) who earned his seventh victory of the season with 2.2 innings of shutout ball.
The final three innings were handled by Clyde Rayner (2.0 IP) and Pablo Maldonaldo (1.0), as the Diesels limited the River Walkers to five hits overall.
A solo homer from Cade Doughty off St. Louis starting pitcher Shane Drogo to lead off the top of the second inning provided the Diesels with the only run they would need.
Drogo was making his first start in the majors since May 10 when he suffered a hamstring injury.
He also made a number of rehab starts at AAA Memphis.
Detroit broke the game open in the with three runs in the sixth.
Robert Hassell chased Drogo with a run-scoring double.
Lee Oakley had a two-run single off reliever Cory Tiller.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have announced that catcher Jared Thomas will miss the final game before the All-Star break with an ankle injury suffered in their 4-0 loss to Detroit on July 8.
With a week off following the finale of their series with the Diesels, Thomas should have ample time to recover before the Walkers resume play on July 17 at Des Moines.
Thomas, 33, is batting .242 with five homers and 25 RBIs in 67 games this season.