2039 and beyond -- St. Louis River Walkers thread

[rink23]

Walkers news: July 15 - Team statistics at All-Star break

[rink23]

MBL news: July 16 -- Week 17 -- Awards and standings

[rink23]

The St. Louis River Walkers have announced a trade that will send starting pitcher Brent Autin and top minor-league pitching prospect Nate Simmons to the Dayton Pilots in exchange for All-Star shortstop Mike Casebolt.
A three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, Casebolt was made available by the Pilots who are looking to cut salary.
Dayton sits tied for third place in the American League East Division, nine games behind first-place Columbus.
The 28-year-old Casebolt is hitting .249 this season with nine homers, 36 RBIs and 45 runs scored in 90 games/84 starts.
For his career, he is a .234 hitter with 51 homers and 251 RBIs.
Casebolt is in the first year of an eight-year deal which will pay him $153,400,000.
He has a player opt out after the 2044 season.
Acquired as a free agent before the 2040 season, Autin leads the Walkers with a 10-6 record this season in 18 starts.
He has posted a 4.21 ERA with 95 strike outs and 1.38 WHIP over 107.0 innings.
For his career, Autin, 32, has gone 98-90 with a 4.58 ERA over nine-plus season.
He broke in with Indianapolis during the 2031 season and pitched there through 2035.
Autin spent the 2035 through 2039 seasons with Twin Cities before signing with St. Louis.
A 10th-round pick in the 2035 draft by the Walkers, Simmons was the team's highest-rated pitching prospect.
He has pitched 10 games in the majors -- eight of them this season -- and gone 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA.
At AAA Memphis this season, Simmons, 23, was 7-3 with a 3.16 ERA in 11 starts.
His minor league totals are 67-45 with one save and a 2.80 ERA.

[rink23]

Record: 42-51, 4th/(Tied/w. Quad City), 7 GB Cedar Rapids
Manuel Coke hit a solo homer in the first inning and rookie Josh Hurley hit a grand slam in the second to help power St. Louis to a 4-0 lead, and the River Walkers began the post All-Star break portion of their schedule with a 6-2 win over Milwaukee at Busch Stadium (2006).
Coke started the scoring with a one-out homer off Crushers starting pitcher Josh Galarza in the bottom of the first.
The Walkers added a second run later that inning, when Nick Shaw followed Coke's homer with a double.
Mark Herman drove home Shaw with a single.
An inning later, Hurley's slam off Galarza was set up by two errors and a walk which loaded the bases.
Outside of a two-run fourth, St. Louis got a strong start from Ming Xiang.
Xiang (7-8) went seven innings allowing the two runs on three hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Chris Willett handled the eighth and ninth innings without an issue.

[rink23]

Record: 43-51, 4th/(Tied/w. Quad City), 6 GB Cedar Rapids
Manuel Coke homered twice, and Kevin Hrdlicka allowed two runs over the first seven innings as St. Louis defeated Milwaukee 5-3 at Busch Stadium (2006).
For the second straight game, Coke homered in the first inning.
This time it was a two-run shot off Crushers starting pitcher Tony Lujano.
It wiped out a 1-0 deficit.
Milwaukee tied it in the top of the third against Hrdlicka.
Jose Morillo led off with a single and scored on a two-out single by Dylan Crews.
The next three runs would be scored by St. Louis.
Mike Vaughan connected for a two-out RBI single off Lujano in the fourth.
Coke drove in a run with a two-out double off Lujano in the fifth.
In the eighth, Coke collected his fourth RBI of the game when he hit his 22nd homer of the season off Jorge Rodriguez.
Hrdlicka (9-5) had some issues with his control walking four.
But in his seven innings, he allowed the two runs on five hits. He struck out four.
Curt Donaldson pitched a scoreless eighth, but he got into trouble in the ninth when he allowed three hits including a run-scoring sacrifice fly to Andy Burhoe.
Closer Tom Floria took over and proceeded to walk Danny Guitierrez to load the bases.
But he got Jim Carr to ground out.
That gave Floria his 16th save of the season.

[rink23]

Record: 43-52, 5th, 6 GB Cedar Rapids
Tied 2-2 Milwaukee scored three times in the top of the fifth inning and held on for a 5-4 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory allowed the Crushers from being swept in the three-game series.
Milwaukee had jumped in front in the top of the first with a pair of runs off River Walkers starting pitcher Juan Farias.
Farias hit a batter and threw a wild pitch which allowed a run to score.
An issue he would have again in the fifth.
St. Louis got a two-run homer from Mark Waterson off Crushers starter Alexis Yanez in the bottom of the second to tie the game.
Jose Flores got things going for Milwaukee in the fifth with a lead-off double.
Yanez then got down a bunt to move Flores to third.
Flores scored when Mike Lamoureux reached on an error by first baseman Nick Shaw.
Farias then hit Angel Ontiveros with a pitch.
After getting a fly out by Jose Morillo, Farias was called for a balk moving the runners to second and third.
Joseph Hughes was given an intentional walk.
But Farias followed that with an unintentional walk to Jim Carr to score Lamoureux with the inning's second run.
Chris Willett replaced Farias but with Dylan Crews at the plate, and an 0-2 count, he threw a wild pitch allowing Ontiveros to score, making it 5-2.
St. Louis cut that deficit to a run in the bottom of the fifth.
Manuel Coke homered for the third straight game, this one a solo shot of Wayne Rotar, and Waterson collected his third RBI of the game with a two-out single.
But that would be the end of the scoring.
Yanez lasted just four innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out three. He also walked three.
Rotar (3-0) got the win after working a scoreless fifth and getting the first two outs of the sixth, when he was charged with two runs.
Justin Buck got the final out of the sixth.
After that, it was an inning apiece from Jorge Rodriguez, Caleb Walker and Danny Araya.
Araya collected his 22nd save of the season.

[rink23]

The St. Louis River Walkers have traded 35-year-old outfielder Joe Allen to the Evansville Bosses in exchange for minor-league reliever Aaron Attaway Jr.
For the second straight season, St. Louis had signed Allen as a free agent after the season had started.
In 2039, it worked out fairly well as Allen hit .236 with 24 homers and 72 RBIs in 138 games.
This season was a different story as in 41 games, Allen had hit just .113 with one homer and six RBIs.
In the 25-year-old Attaway, the Walkers get a player high in potential.
He has split the 2040 season between High-A and AA Mobile, posting a 1-6 record with 19 saves and a 4.33 ERA.
Attaway Jr. was a fourth-round pick by Evansville in the 2037 draft.

[rink23]

Record: 43-53, 5th, 7 GB Cedar Rapids
Down 2-1, Des Moines took the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning and later broke the game open with a five-run eighth as the Harvesters downed St. Louis 8-6 at Busch Stadium (2006).
River Walkers rookie starting pitcher Allan Almon had held his own through the first four innings, but he ran into trouble he could not get out of in the fifth.
A walk to Zigza Mukuru got things going for Des Moines.
Pitcher Isaiah Dunlap then got down a bunt in which both runners were safe.
Ramon Puente hit into a force play, with Dunlap being retired at second.
Justin Oates followed with a single, scoring Mukuru with the tie-breaking run.
Evan Palmer replaced Almon expecting to face the right-handed hitting Ryan Rivet.
Jamie Sanders pinch-hit for Rivet and doubled to score Puente and giving the Harvesters a 3-2 lead.
Des Moines busted it open against the Walkers bullpen in the eighth.
Willie Martinez provided the big blow with a three-run homer off Curt Donaldson.
The Harvesters would add on two more runs before the inning ended.
One scoring on a ball hit by Corey Jordan which was misplayed by center fielder Josh Hurley.
A Ramon Puente sacrifice fly scored the frame's final run, making it 8-2.
The Walkers did make it interesting in the ninth, with Hurley hitting his second grand slam of the week.
That, however, was only enough to make the score 8-6.
Dunlap lasted just 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out four and walked two
Martin Lopez (5-2) finished the fifth and got the game to the seventh without allowing another run.
Josh Ashton pitched a silent eighth.
Roman Watson (0.2) gave up the Hurley slam.
Cameron Baker got Manuel Coke to fly out to end the game.
Baker now has 14 saves.

[rink23]

The St. Louis River Walkers have traded 32-year-old outfielder Tom Blevins and 22-year-old minor league first baseman Antonio Lerma to the Green Bay Mallards in exchange for 25-year-old outfielder Jaylen Dawson.
The Walkers signed Blevins as a free agent in the offseason hoping to use him as a platoon piece in the outfield.
It didn't work out, as in 57 games/27 starts Blevins hit just .176 with five homers, 14 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
A scouting discovery, Lerma has spent the 2040 season at Single-A Peoria where he has hit .263 with 14 homers and 51 RBIs in 75 games/70 starts.
A 10th-round pick in the 2033 draft, Dawson has split the 2040 season between AA Binghampton and AAA Las Vegas.
Combined, in 81 games/77 starts, he has batted .325 with 17 home runs and 68 RBIs.
The move also will allow St. Louis to call Aaron Watson up from AAA Memphis.
Signed as a free agent on June 30, Watson has hit .339 with one homer and nine RBIs in 15 games with the Redbirds.

[rink23]

Record: 44-53, 5th, 7 GB Cedar Rapids
Tied 4-4, Jose Ramon hit a solo home run off Des Moines reliever Matt Gary with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to help lift St. Louis to a 5-4 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
The River Walkers had tied it in the bottom of the sixth when Josh Hurley led off with a single off Grey.
Hurley swiped second before Mike Casebolt drew a walk.
Mike Vaughan got down a bunt, moving the runners to second and third.
Hurley scored when pinch-hitter Tommy Gardner grounded out.
Earlier, St. Louis had owned a 3-0 lead after two innings.
The Harvesters got on the board with a run in the top of the fifth off Walkers starting pitcher Agustin Perdomo.
A three-run top of the sixth tied it as Des Moines put four straight runners on base against Perdomo with one out.
Marcos Francis got it started with a walk.
Willie Martinez followed with and single.
Fernando Mendoza connected on another single, scoring Francis.
Zigza Mukuru evened it with a two-run double.
Perdomo lasted 5.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out eight and walked three.
Curt Donaldson got out the sixth with the game still tied.
Juan Munoz (1-4) earned the win for working the seventh and getting the first two outs of the ninth.
Tom Floria earned his 17th save.
He entered the game with two on and one out in the eighth and emerged from the inning unscathed.
Floria then pitched around a lead-off single in the ninth.

[rink23]

Record: 44-54, 5th, 8 GB Cedar Rapids
Pat Walters held St. Louis scoreless into the seventh inning and Marcos Francis provided the game's lone run with a homer as Des Moines defeated St. Louis 1-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory was the second of the three-game series for the Harvesters.
A pair of singles was all Walters (5-8) allowed in his 6.1 innings on the mound.
He struck out four and walked three.
Walkers left the game after retiring the lead-off batter in the seventh. He had thrown 93 pitched.
Ryan Watson finished the seventh for Des Moines.
Davey Matteson allowed three consecutive two-out hits in the eighth to load the bases.
But Mattson got Nick Shaw to ground out to keep the Harvesters in front.
Cameron Baker worked a scoreless ninth for his 15th save.
Francis led off the top of the fifth with his 12th home run of the season.
It came on an 0-2 pitch from River Walkers starter Ming Xiang.
It soared 434 feet over the left-field wall.

[rink23]

MBL news: July 23 -- Week 18 - Awards and standings

[rink23]

Record: 44-55, 5th, 8 GB Cedar Rapids
Down 2-1 Louisville exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and went on to defeat St. Louis 7-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The bottom of the fifth started out great for River Walkers starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka with a pair of strikeouts.
But things quickly went south.
Dan Boyle singled.
Willie Miranda walked, one of five free passes issued by Hrdilcka, and Joe Bien connected on an RBI single to tie the score.
Carlos Hernandez replaced Hrdlicka.
Simply put, he stunk.
Zachary Landis greeted Hernandez with a single to load the bases.
Chris Zoltan unloaded them with a two-run single.
A wild pitch put runners on second and third for pitcher Travis Pooler.
Pooler scored them both with a single up the middle.
The Sluggers added an insurance run in the sixth when Chris Ring tripled off Evan Palmer and scored on a Dan Boyle double.
Pooler (6-8) went five innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out one and walked two.
Former Walker prospect Billy Herman pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
Rob Reul and Ruben Lopez handled the final two innings.

[rink23]

Record: 45-55, 5th, 8 GB Cedar Rapids
St. Louis jumped out to a 3-0 lead after 2.5 innings and held on to defeat Louisville 4-3 at Dodger Stadium.
A two-run single with the bases loaded by Ryan Wibbenmeyer off Sluggers starting pitcher Garret Karp staked the River Walkers to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
They added another run off Karp in the third.
This time putting three straight runners on base with two outs.
Quiang Chang drew a two-out walk from Karp.
A single by Adam Stewart moved Chang to second.
Pitcher Juan Farias picked up the RBI with a single past the shortstop.
Louisville got back into the game with single runs off Farias in the fourth and sixth -- this one coming on a Dan Boyle homer -- to climb back to within 3-2.
St. Louis picked up its fourth run in the top of the eighth.
It all came with two outs off reliever Rob Reul.
Pinch-hitter Mark Waterson singled. He scored on a Jose Ramon double.
The Sluggers got that run back in the bottom of the inning.
Lance Brown drew a one-out walk from Curt Donaldson.
He scored on a Boyle double.
Farias (5-9) went 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Leo Hermosillo finished off the sixth for St. Louis.
Evan Palmer worked a scoreless seventh.
Donaldson was on the mound when Louisville got its final run in the eighth.
Juan Munoz started the ninth for the Walkers but could not finish it recording just one out while allowing a pair of base runners.
But Tom Floria came on against his former team and got a pair of ground outs to collect his 18th save.

[rink23]

Record: 46-55, 5th, 8 GB Cedar Rapids
Thanks to three Louisville errors, St. Louis scored four times in the top of the first inning and went on to defeat the Sluggers 7-2 at Dodger Stadium.
St. Louis' first two hitters of the game got on base via error.
Ryan Wibbenmeyer reached when shortstop Victor Archuleta booted a ground ball.
Mike Casebolt then reached when third baseman Brice Mills followed suit.
Manuel Coke then put the River Walkers in front with an RBI single.
A wild pitch by Sluggers starting pitcher Bryan Bohan then put runners at second and third.
When Nick Shaw beat out an infield single, the bases were loaded.
After a strike out, Josh Hurley coaxed a bases-loaded walk from Bohan to make it 2-0.
A single by Mike Vaughan made it 3-0.
Quing Chang then reached on Archuleta's second error of the inning, as another run scored pushing the advantage to 4-0.
The Sluggers would pull to within 4-1 and 5-2, but St. Louis broke it open with a pair of runs in the seventh on a two-run homer from Hurley off reliever Kyle Kulig.
Hurley finished the game 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs.
Almon (1-1) could not get out of the sixth inning but still earned his first major-league win.
He went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Curt Donaldson got the final out of the sixth for St. Louis.
Kyle Smarr worked a scoreless seventh for the Walkers.
Carlos Hernandez (1.2 IP) and Juan Munoz (0.1) took care of the eighth and ninth.

[rink23]

Record: 47-55, 5th, 8 GB Cedar Rapids
Jose Ramon hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off Cleveland's Chuck Irvin as the River Walkers downed the Juke Box Heroes 2-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Irvin had walked Josh Hurley to open the inning.
Ramon then turned on a 3-2 fastball and lined it over the left-field wall for his ninth home run of the season.
The game's only other run came in the first inning when Luis Tejada hit a two-out home run off St. Louis starting pitcher Agustin Perdomo.
Perdomo went six innings, allowing the one run on four hits. He struck out five and didn't issue a walk,
Leo Hermosillo pitched a scoreless seventh for St. Louis.
Kyle Smarr (4-1) earned the win after working the eighth and ninth.

[rink23]

The St. Louis River Walkers have completed a trade with Milwaukee which would send left-handed relief pitcher Carlos Hernandez and infielder Tommy Gardner to the Crushers in exchange for minor-league pitcher Nick Moody.
Moody, 23, has spent the 2040 season at Class A Lakeland where he has gone 5-2 with four saves and 0.99 ERA in 34 games.
He has pitched 45.2 innings, during which he has struck out 55 and posted a 0.85 WHIP.
Moody was acquired by Milwaukee with a sixth-round pick in the 2038 draft.
Gardner, 31, was in his first season with St. Louis after being signed to a minor-league contract in the offseason.
He has played in 82 games/47 starts during which he batted .226 with seven homers and 16 RBIs.
Hernandez, 29, was in his second season with the Walkers.
He pitched in 32 games going 0-1 with one save and a 5.13 ERA.
Hernandez pitched a total of 33.1 innings, during which he struck out 26 and posted a 1.26 WHIP.
Replacing Hernandez and Gardner on the Walkers roster will be left-handed relief pitcher Antonio Cruz and infielder Rich Dodson.
Dodson, 28, was up with the Walkers earlier in the season during which he batted .325 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 45 games/35 starts.
At Memphis, Dodson has hit .327 with two homers and 16 RBIs in 34 games.
Signed in the off-season as a free agent, Cruz has spent the entire season at Memphis where he has gone 5-2 with 21 saves and a 1.04 ERA in 37 games.
He has pitched 52.1 innings, during which he has struck out 58 and posted a 0.81 WHIP.

[rink23]

Walkers news: July 27 -- Trade with Crushers continued

[rink23]

Record: 47-56, 5th, 8 GB Cedar Rapids
Starting pitcher Bob Granillo held St. Louis scoreless into the fifth inning and the Cleveland bullpen did the rest in a 3-0 victory at Busch Stadium (2006).
Granillo didn't last long enough to earn the win, exiting with two outs in the bottom of the fifth having thrown 87 pitches.
In his time on the mound, Granillo allowed four singles while striking out six. He didn't walk a batter.
Matt Ray (5-4) earned the win after finishing the fifth and pitching a scoreless sixth.
Jason Garrett kept the score 1-0 in the seventh.
Mario Salmeron loaded the bases with three walks in the eighth before exiting with one out.
Tyler Martin took over and got Manuel Coke to hit into a fielder's choice, with Mark Waterson being retired at the plate, and induced a fly out form Nick Shaw.
Chris Herrick was perfect in the ninth for his first save.
The Juke Box Heroes got the only run they would need in the top of the first.
Franklin Ramirez led off the game with a single off Ming Xiang.
Ramirez stole second.
A Jon Howard single advanced Ramirez to third.
Jordan Grullon scored him with a fly ball to right.
The Heroes added two runs in the ninth, making for an ugly major league season debut for Antonio Cruz.
Alex Rodriguez hit the second pitch of the inning over the left-field wall for his seventh homer of the season.
Ben Moorehead followed with a single.
A passed ball moved Moorehead to second.
An error by first baseman Nick Shaw on a Justin Kuenzel ground ball advanced him to third.
Javy Gutierrez made it 3-0 with a single to right.

[rink23]

Record: 47-57, 5th, 8 GB Cedar Rapids
Cleveland jumped on St. Louis starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka for four runs in the top of the fourth inning to pave the way for a 7-1 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Jordan Grullon drove in the first run of the inning with a double before Alex Rodriguez delivered the big blow with a three-run homer.
It was the first of two home runs in the game for Rodriguez.
Rodriguez smacked his second homer two innings later, this time taking Kyle Smarr over the wall.
The long ball provided also provided the final two runs of the game for the Juke Box Heroes, Franklin Ramirez cranking a 377-feet shot over the left-field wall off Curt Donaldson in ninth to make it 7-1.
Cleveland starting pitcher Nick Kolcei lasted just 3.1 innings, but they were impressive.
He allowed one run on three hits while striking out six and walking three.
Nick Simmons (2-1) earned the win with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.
Hugo Vasquez shut out the Walkers in the seventh and eighth innings.
Jason Garrett took care of the ninth.