2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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The St. Louis River Walkers have added right-handed relief pitcher Steven Von Lehmden to their major-league roster after claiming off waivers from the Rockford Lightning.
The 32-year-old Von Lehmden has pitched in 35 games for Rockford this season, going 3-2 with a 3.77 ERA.
He will be a free agent at the end of the 2034 season.
Right-hander David Amocacci has been returned to AAA Memphis, without having pitched in a game.

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Record: 47-48, 5th, 10.5 GB Des Moines
Rookie Hector Taverez hit a grand slam to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 7-5 lead, and St. Louis went on to defeat Des Moines 8-6 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Trailing 3-2, the Harvesters had taken a the lead in the top of the fifth on a three-run double from Jackson Miller off reliever Oscar Martinez, who had just entered the game for the River Walkers.
St. Louis turned that around in the seventh against the Harvesters bullpen.
Ozzie Contrera issued three straight one-out walks to bring Tavarez to the plate.
The highly touted prospect made them pay crushing a 3-2 pitch 428 feet over the wall in right for a go-ahead grand slam.
David Tapley connected for an RBI single off Walkers reliever Josh Forgy in the eighth to draw Des Moines to within 7-6.
St. Louis got that run back in the bottom of the inning.
Nathaniel Dixon singled off Dave Vacarri.
A Freudis Nova singled moved Dixon to third, and he scored on a Daniel Becerra fly ball to right.
Injuries continued to plague St. Louis starting pitcher Shane Drogo.
He lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on five hits, before exiting with a back injury which is expected to keep him out for up to three weeks.
Oscar Martinez completed the fifth inning and also worked a scoreless sixth.
Just arrived via the waiver wire, Stephen Von Lehmden (1-0) earned the win after keeping the Harvesters from scoring in the seventh.
Josh Forgy recorded the first two outs of the eighth.
Justin O'Rourke, making his Walkers debut after being acquired via trade from Cincinnati, completed the eighth and worked a scoreless ninth to earn his first save as a Walker.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed left-handed starting pitcher Shane Drogo on the 10-day injured list, after he had to leave their 8-6 win over Des Moines on July 21 with a back injury.
It is the second trip to the injured list this season for Drogo, who has only made nine starts for since joining St. Louis from Peoria in the offseason.
The 28-year-old has made nine starts for the Walkers, going 3-4 with a 5.51 ERA.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis is 25-year-old right-hander Alex Pazos.
It is Pazos second stint in the majors this season, in four earlier starts he went 2-2 with a 5.85 ERA.
At Memphis, Pazos is 8-5 in 15 starters with a 3.90 ERA.

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Record: 47-49, 5th, 11.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 1-1, Des Moines scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning and went on to defeat St. Louis 3-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Harvesters opened the inning with a back-to-back singles from Kyle Roberts and Jackson Miller off River Walkers rookie starter Kyle Smarr.
Roberts then scored on a passed ball charged to St. Louis catcher Jared Thomas.
After a strikeout, Justin Oates drew a walk to putt runners at first and second.
Orlando Torres followed with a single to score Miller and make it 3-1.
Harvesters starting pitcher Albert Hernandez (3-0) allowed one run on four hits over 7.1 innings. He struck out two and walked two.
Keith Talley kept the Walkers off the scoreboard to finish the eighth.
Mario Reyes allowed St. Louis to load the bases in the ninth, but got pinch-hitter Jose Ramirez to ground out to end it, and earn his 26th save.

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Record: 47-50, 5th, 12.5 GB Des Moines
Marshall Larcombe pitched deep into the seventh inning and a trio of relievers did the rest, as Des Moines shut out St. Louis 3-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory gave the Harvesters victories in the final two games of their series in St. Louis. It also gave them wins in five of the six games the two teams played to open the post All-Star break portion of their schedules.
Larcombe scattered five hits over the opening 6.2 innings. He struck out six and didn't issue a walk.
Yelin Rodriguez got the final out of the seventh for the Harvesters.
Dave Vacarri pitched a scoreless eighth for Des Moines.
Mario Reyes kept St. Louis silent in the ninth for his 27th save.
River Walkers starting pitcher Jim Martin kept the Harvesters off the scoreboard until the top of the sixth when they cord twice.
It all happened with two outs, beginning with a double by Justin Oates.
Oates scored on a Jackson Miller single.
A wild pitch moved Miller to second, and he scored on a Leo Cerna single.
Miller capped the scoring with a solo homer off Josh Forgy to lead off the ninth.

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MBL news: Week 14 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 47-51, 5th, 13.5 GB Des Moines
Trailing 5-4, a Tim Jurgensen grand slam highlighted a five-run top of the seventh inning for Cedar Rapids, and the Grapplers continued to pile it on after that downing St. Louis 13-6 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Both teams scored three times in the first inning.
Josiah Miller had a two-run single for the Grapplers off River Walkers starting pitcher Devin Rogers in the top of the inning, while Nick Shaw hit a two-run homer and Hector Taveraz a solo shot off Cedar Rapids starter Justin Sterner in the bottom.
The Grapplers went in front 4-3 in the top of the second, thanks to back-to-back two-out doubles from Mark Hill and Armond Hammond off rogers.
St. Louis, however, tied it in the bottom of the third -- Shaw with an RBI single off Sterner -- and took the lead in the fifth -- Shaw's second homer of the game off Sterner -- as the Walkers snuck in front 5-4.
The Walkers turned to reliever Stephen Von Lehmden to start the seventh.
Danny Ocampo greeted him with a game-tying lead-off homer.
Hammond followed with a single, and stole second.
That led to an intentional walk for Jose Morillo.
David Henderson flew out to move Hammond to third, and that led to Zachary Stella taking over the mound duties for St. Louis.
Morillo stole second.
That led to an intentional walk for Eric Gerhardt.
Stella struck out Josiah Miller for the second out.
Jurgesen, however, followed with his grand slam hitting a 1-0 pitch 393 feet over the wall in right field.
St. Louis drew back within 9-6 in the bottom of the seventh.
Shaw drove in his fifth run of the game with an RBI single off Grapplers reliever Matt Ray.
That was the end of the scoring for St. Louis.
But Cedar Rapids was not done, as the Grapplers scored twice in both the eighth and ninth.
Hammond, who had five hits in the game, drove in the eighth inning's first run with a single off Luke Dunkin.
David Henderson later connected on an RBI double.
Juergensen hit a two-run homer off Josh Forgy in the ninth to cap the scoring.
Sterner lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits.
Evan Palmer (2-1) netted the win after finishing the fifth and working a scoreless sixth.
After that, the Grapplers got an inning apiece from Ray, Cole Duensing and Rhett Daniel to wrap up the win.

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Record: 48-51, 5th, 13.5 GB Des Moines
Trailing 4-1, St. Louis scored four times in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead, and the River Walkers went on to defeat Cedar Rapids 7-4 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Jordan Batista hit a three-run homer off St. Louis starting pitcher Angel Tiburcio in the top of the first inning, as the Grapplers jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
The Walkers got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first against Cedar Rapids starter Lorenzo Mascorro.
Dan Hillard led off with a single.
He moved to third on a Nick Shaw single and scored on a passed ball by catcher Steven Williams.
St. Louis then seized the lead with its big bottom of the second.
Mascarro didn't survive the inning/
Jared Thomas drove in the first run with a single.
Freudis Nova made it 4-3 with a sacrifice fly.
Jared Thomas scored on a wild pitch by Mascorro to tie it.
Rookie Hector Tavarez sent Mascorro to the shower with a single which put the Walkers in front 5-4.
Tavarez scored an insurance run in the fourth when he and Nick Shaw connected on back-to-back two-out doubles.
Jose Segura singled off Alex Gallegos to begin the bottom of the seventh.
A double by Nathaniel Dixon moved Segura to third.
He scored on a fly ball by Jared Thomas.
Angel Tiburcio (6-5) earned the win despite the rough first inning.
He went five innings, allowing the four runs on eight hits. He struck out seven and walked three.
Oscar Martinez and Justin O'Rourke both pitched scoreless innings.
Nick Ruffalo earned a two-inning save, his seventh of the season.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have announced that outfielder Jose Ramirez is expected to miss up to seven weeks with a strained oblique.
Ramirez, 30, suffered the injury during an 7-4 win over Cedar Rapids on July 25.
It's been a rough season for Ramirez, as he's batting just .203 with nine homers and 38 RBIs in 88 games.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis is 32-year-old outfielder Wayne McHaney.
McHaney has batted .295 with six homers and 30 RBIs in 77 games this season for the Redbirds.

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Record: 49-51, 5th, 13.5 GB Des Moines
Trailing 3-1, St. Louis exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to propel the River Walkers to a 9-3 win over Cedar Rapids at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win was the second in a row for St. Louis, after dropping the opener of the three-game series.
The Grapplers had scored a pair of runs off Walkers starting pitcher Alex Pazos in the top of the sixth -- getting an RBI double from Jose Morillo and run-scoring single from Eric Gerhardt -- to go up 3-1.
But after Cedar Rapids starter Edwin Cora struck out Jose Segura to start the bottom of the seventh, St. Louis went to work.
Daniel Becerra singled and crossed the plate when Jared Thomas launched a two-run homer to tie it.
Chris Duncan followed with a single,. which led to Cora's exit.
Jeff Singleton took over for the Grapplers.
He started off by walking pinch-hitter Nathaniel Dixon, but struck out Dan Hillard for the second out.
The next four Walkers batters would reach base.
Freudis Nova drove in a run with a single, while Hector Taveras plated a pair with a double.
Jose Segura did the rest with his second homer of the game, a three-run blast to make it 9-3.
Back in the rotation because of an injury to Shane Drogo, Alex Pazos was not bad allowing three runs on seven hits over the first six innings.
Stephen Von Lehmden (2-1) earned the win after a scoreless seventh innings.
Luke Dunkin faced one batter, allowing a single, before leaving with a calf injury.
Scott Rissler handled the rest, going two scoreless innings.

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Record: 50-51, 5th, 14 GB Des Moines
Chris Duncan connected on an RBI single with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift St. Louis to a 2-1 win over Chicago at Busch Stadium (2006).
Jose Segura led off the bottom of the 11th with a single off G-Men reliever Jeremy Bouchard.
Segura stole second and with one out and Kleiber Bordones on the mound, he scored when Duncan singled to right on a 1-1 pitch.
Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out RBI double from Tony Nolasco off River Walkers starting pitcher Kyle Smarr.
St. Louis tied it in the bottom of the fourth.
Hector Tavarez led off with a single off Chicago starter Nick Black.
A balk moved Tavarez to second.
A passed ball placed him on third.
Segura picked up an RBI with a fly ball deep enough to score Tavarez.
Smarr, a rookie, allowed one run on eight hits over 6.1 innings.
Scott Rissler finished the seventh for St. Louis.
Stephen Von Lehmden (0.2 IP) got the first two outs of the eighth.
Zachary Stella finished the eighth and pitched a silent ninth.
Justin O'Rourke (1-0) didn't allow a base runner in the 10th or 11th to earn his first win since joining the Walkers, via a trade with Cincinnati.

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Record: 51-51, 5th, 14 GB Des Moines
St. Louis hit five home runs -- including a pair of Jose Segura -- to power the River Walkers to an 11-2 win over Chicago at Busch Stadium (2006).
The River Walkers actually fell behind 1-0 when the G-Men's Brian Gonyon led off the game with a homer off St. Louis starter Jim Martin.
Rookie Hector Taveras tied it in the bottom of the first with his fifth homer of the season.
An inning later, the Walkers took the lead for good, and they'd didn't need a homer scoring three times on four singles.
Martin drove in the inning's first run with the first of his two hits.
Daniel Becerra plated the other two with a two-out hit.
After that, the Walkers relied mostly on the long ball.
Nathaniel Dixon hit a solo homer off G-Men starting pitcher Brandon Birdsell in the fourth inning.
Segura hit the first of his two solo homers off Ben Harris in the seventh.
Nick Shaw and Segura hit back-to-back bombs off Jesus Mercano in the eighth.
Martin (8--7) went six innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out fie and walked one.
After that, Zackary Stella, Oscar Martinez and Luke Dunkin all pitched an inning apiece to close out the win.

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Record: 51-52, 5th, 15 GB Des Moines
Chicago jumped on St. Louis starting pitcher Devin Rogers for four runs in the top of the first inning, and the G-Men never looked back on their way to an 8-1 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory helped the G-Men avoid a three-game sweep.
A pair of fielding miscues played a big role in Chicago's first-inning outburst.
First, the Walkers botched a rundown between second and third when shortstop Chris Duncan failed to get a tag down at third base.
The next batter, Tony Nolasco reached on an error by third baseman Freudis Nova which also allowed a run to score.
George Phelps compounded that with a three-run homer, as Chicago went up 4-0.
The G-Men chased Rogers with a pair of runs two inning later.
Nolasco drove in the first run with a double.
Connor Walsh later drove in Nolasco with a two-run single.
In the top of the fifth, Adam Stewart drove in the game's final two runs with a single off Oscar Martinez.
G-Men starting pitcher Joel Wisniewski (7-5) worked the first 5.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits. He struck out six and walked one.
Mason Montgomery (2.2) got the game to the ninth.
Jesus Mercano allowed St. Louis to load the bases in the ninth, but did not allow a run.

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MBL news: Week 15 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 52-52, 5th, 15 GB Des Moines
Hector Tavarez led off with a home run and Chris Duncan added a three-run homer to highlight a four-run top of the seventh inning for St. Louis, as the River Walkers defeated Peoria 4-1 at Globe Life Field.
Tavarez, who is in the midst of a 15-game hitting streak, hit his homer on an 0-2 pitch off Rivermen relief pitcher Michael Walgren.
Duncan's long ball also came off Walgren. It came with two outs and on a 2-2 pitch.
St. Louis got a strong start from Angel Tiburcio who pitched into late in the seventh inning.
In his 6.2 innings, Tiburcio (7-5) allowed one run on five hits.
Josh Forgy finished the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth.
Scott Rissler earned his sixth save by setting Peoria down in order in the ninth.

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

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MBL news: August 1 -- Rookies of the Month for July and standings

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MBL news: August 1 -- American League leaders

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MBL news: August 1 -- National League leaders

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Walkers news: August 1 -- Player Development Report