2039 and beyond -- St. Louis River Walkers thread

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Record: 53-60, 5th, 6 GB Cedar Rapids
Rich Dodson led off the top of the 13th inning with a double and scored two batters later on a Jose Ramon single as St. Louis downed Los Angeles 2-1 in 13 innings at Petco Park.
Dodson's double came off Turtles relief pitcher Miguel Castillo.
Castillo then walked Mike Vaughan before giving up Ramon's double to left on a 2-1 pitch.
The River Walkers had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth against L.A. starting pitcher Yuskhiro Onishi.
Manuel Coke doubled with two outs and scored on Nick Shaw single.
St. Louis was within an out of a win in the bottom of the ninth when Jose Sotelo homered off closer Tom Floria.
It was Sotelo's 14th home run of the season and Floria's third blown save.
Walkers starting pitcher Ming Chiang went seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits -- four singles and a double -- he struck out three and didn't issue a walk.
Leo Hermosillo pitched a scoreless eighth before Floria took over in the ninth.
Evan Palmer worked a scoreless 10th for the Walkers.
He was followed by Kyle Smarr (0.1 IP), Curt Donaldson (1.1), Antonio Cruz (1.0) and Chris Williett (0.1).
Cruz (2-0) earned the win.
Willett picked up his first save.

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Record: 54-60, 5th, 5 GB Cedar Rapids
Mark Herman broke up a scoreless game with a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning and St. Louis went on to defeat Los Angeles 2-0 at Petco Park.
Manuel Coke drew a lead-off walk from Turtles relief pitcher John Good to open the top of the ninth inning.
Good got Nick Shaw to fly out for the first out.
But Herman, who is in the midst of a slump, slammed a 2-0 pitch 373 feet over the right-field wall for a home run.
It was Herman's 10th homer of the season and his first since June 23.
River Walkers starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka threw 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing five hits -- four singles and a double -- while striking out six and issuing two walks.
Leo Hermosillo got out of a two on, one-out jam with a double play to end the seventh.
Kyle Smarr (0.2 IP) and Evan Palmer (0.1) combined on a scoreless eighth inning.
Palmer (3-0) earned the win.
Juan Munoz handled the ninth for his 10th save.

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Record: 54-61, 5th, 5.5 GB Des Moines
Trailing 4-3, Los Angeles' D.J. Saffels hit a two-run home run off St. Louis Curt Donaldson in the bottom of the eighth inning to help the Turtles defeat the River Walkers 5-4 at Petco Park.
Pinch-hitter Mike Pillsbury had led off the inning with a single off Donaldson.
Saffels followed that by belting a 1-1 pitch 403 feet over the wall in left center for his third home runs of the season.
The victory allowed L.A. to avoid from being swept in the three-game series.
St. Louis jumped out to leads of 2-0, 3-2 and 4-2 only to have the Turtles rally each time.
L.A. starter Josh Fields went five innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out two and didn't walk a batter,
After that, it was an inning apiece from Miguel Castillo, Brian Little, Juan Aristizabel and Jose Patricio, to close out the game.
Little gave up the final Walkers run in the seventh when Jose Ramon homered to make it 4-3.
Arisitizabal (6-6) earned the win.
Patricio notched his 30th save.

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Record: 54-62, 5th, 6 GB Cedar Rapids
Down 3-2, Cedar Rapids' Bobby Matt hit a two-run pinch-hit home run in the top of the seventh inning to help lift the Grapplers to a 4-3 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (2006).
With Leo Hermosillo on the mound for the River Walkers, Noah Smith drew a lead-off walk to open the seventh inning.
Hermosillo followed that with a strike out of Tim Jurgensen.
Matt then turned on the first pitch he saw and drove it 394 feet over the wall in left field.
It was his second homer of the season.
Down 2-1, St. Louis had tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on a solo homer by pitcher Allan Almon off Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Ramon Diaz
An inning later, the Walkers took the lead on an RBI double by Nick Shaw off Mike Koontz.
Diaz lasted the first five innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out three and didn't issue a walk.
After that, it was an inning apiece for four relievers beginning with Koontz (1-0), who would earn his first victory of the season.
After that, it was Hector Miro, Tony Giron and Jeff Durako, none of whom allowed a run.
Durako earned his 23rd save.

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Record: 54-63, 5th, 7 GB Cedar Rapids
Tied 2-2, Cedar Rapids scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning and went on to defeat St. Louis 6-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The River Walkers had tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on a Mark Waterson solo homer off Grapplers starting pitcher Anton Melendez.
Dane Finch untied the game with a one-out homer off Agustin Perdomo in the top of the fifth.
It was Finch's 20th homer of the season.
Cedar Rapids kept on going as Eric Gerhardt drew a walk from Perdomo.
Santos Villanueva followed with a single.
That ended Perdomo's outing.
Evan Palmer took over and was greeted by an RBI double by Ryan Cleaver.
Lamar Black then drew a walk.
The next batter, Noah Smith, hit a fly ball deep enough to center to score Villanueva.
The Grapplers added an insurance run in the ninth, Cleaver connected on a run-scoring double off Curt Donaldson.
Melendez went just 3.2 innings in his start for Cedar Rapids. He allowed two runs on four hits. He struck out one and walked the same.
Danny Wright (3-0) earned the win after 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Antonio Echevaria, Willie Mendoza and Tony Giron all pitched one inning to close out the win.

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Record: 55-63, 5th, 6 GB Cedar Rapids
Tied 1-1, St. Louis scored two runs in the bottom of the second inning and went on to defeat Cedar Rapids 4-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory allowed the River Walkers to avoid a three-game sweep. The teams now head to Cedar Rapids for a three-game series.
St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-out homer by Mark Herman off Cedar Rapids starter Jake Richardson.
The Grapplers tied it in the top of the second on a lead-off homer by Santos Villanueva off Walkers starting pitcher Ming Xiang.
A one-out single by Mark Waterson got St. Louis going against Richardson in the bottom of the inning.
Rich Dodson followed with another single and when Adam Stewart drew a walk, the bases were loaded.
Xiang drove in the inning's first run with a fly ball to deep center.
Richarson then reloaded the bases by hitting Ryan Wibbenmeyer with a pitch.
He followed that up with his second walk of the inning, this one to Quaing Chang, forcing Rich Dodson to cross the plate.
The Grapplers pulled within a run in the fourth on a Miguel Mato RBI single.
With Richardson still on the mound, the Walkers got their final run in the fifth.
Wibbenmeyer led off with a single.
A bunt moved him to second.
Nick Shaw collected the RBI with a single, which extended his hit streak to 19 games.
Xiang (8-10) went six innings, allowing one run on eight hits. He struck out six and walked two.
Antonio Cruz got the first two outs of the seventh, but left the game with a runner on first.
Curt Donaldson finished the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth.
A spotless ninth earned Tom Floria his 20th save.

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MBL news: August 13 -- Week 20 - Awards and standings

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Record: 56-63, 5th, 5 GB Cedar Rapids
Nick Shaw led off the top of the 13th inning with a home run to snap a 7-7 tie and lift St. Louis to an 8-7 win over Cedar Rapids at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
Shaw's eighth home run of the season came on a 2-2 pitch from Grapplers left-hander Willie Mendoza.
It traveled 379 feet over the wall in left field.
The game had been tied since Cedar Rapids had tied it with two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Miguel Mato and pinch-hitter Bobby Matt led off the inning with back-to-back singles off River Walkers reliever Kyle Smarr.
With one out, Chris Willett took over for Smarr.
He was greeted by an RBI double from pinch-hitter Miguel Mena.
Another pinch hitter, Dusty Hinton, then tied it with a fly ball to deep right.
A back-and-forth game, St. Louis had scored two in the top of the first only to have the Grapplers score three times in the bottom of the inning.
A three-run third and another run in the fourth had put the Walkers ahead 6-3.
Cedar Rapids climbed back to within 6-5.
Mark Waterson connected on an RBI double off reliever Danny Wright in the top of the ninth, putting St. Louis ahead 7-5.
Walkers starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka went six innings, allowing four runs on six hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Juan Munoz got just one out in the seventh.
Closer Tom Floria came on and finished that inning and also worked a scoreless eighth.
Smarr got the first out of the eighth.
Williett finished that inning, as Cedar Rapids tied the game.
He also worked a scoreless 10th.
Evan Palmer (4-0) earned the win with three hitless innings of relief.

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Record: 56-64, 5th, 6 GB Cedar Rapids
Down 1-0, Cedar Rapids roughed up St. Louis rookie starting pitcher Cory Birks for four runs in the bottom of the third inning and rode that to a 6-3 win at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
Former River Walkers catcher Jackson Miller got the Grapplers rolling in the bottom of the third with a lead-off double off Birks.
Miguel Matos and Santos Villanueva followed with back-to-back singles, as Miller scored to tie the game.
Birks retired the next two but Dane Finch and Miguel Mena both connected on RBI singles before the inning was over to make it 4-1.
Ryan Cleaver later made it 5-1 with a homer off Birks with two outs in the fifth.
Mena earned another RBI in the sixth with a run-scoring single off Leo Hermosillo as Cedar Rapids took a 6-2 lead.
Grapplers starting pitcher Francisco Velasco (2-2) went five innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out three and walked one.
After that it was four relievers -- Jeff Durako, Tony Giron, Mike Koontz and Danny Wright -- to close out the game.
Wright earned his first save.

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Record: 56-65, 5th, 7 GB Cedar Rapids
St. Louis got a good start from recent acquisition Billy Albles but its bullpen took a pounding late in the game as Cedar Rapids rallied for a 5-2 win at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
The victory was the fourth for Cedar Rapids in the six-game home-and-home three-game series.
Ables, who the River Walkers claimed off waivers from Toledo on August 2, shut out the Grapplers into the sixth inning before exiting with two outs and a runner on second.
Kyle Smarr managed to get out of the inning with St. Louis still ahead 1-0.
The story changed in the seventh.
Chris Willett took the mound to begin the inning for the Walkers.
He was horrible.
He hit pinch-hitter Dusty Hinton to open the inning.
Eric Gerhardt followed with a double, putting runners at second and third.
A Noah Smith singe tied the game.
Pitcher Antonio Echevaria got down a bunt to put runners at second and third.
Lamar Black followed with a single to put Cedar Rapids ahead 2-1.
Miguel Mato followed with a deep fly ball to right, making it 3-1.
(It should be noted, that after a 13-inning game two days before both bullpens were running on fumes. RANT -- HOW COME MY RELIEVERS WHO WERE NOT IN THE RED GOT HAMMERED, WHILE CR's RELIEVERS WHO WERE SUPPOSEDLY EXHAUSTED SHUT ME DOWN).
An inning later, with Willett still on the mound, the Grapplers added two more runs both scoring on a single by PITCHER Willie Mendoza.
Cedar Rapids starting pitcher Ramon Diaz went five innings, allowing one run on six hits. He struck out seven and didn't issue a walk.
Echevaria (9-2) earned the win with two scoreless innings.
Mendoza pitched a scoreless eighth.
The ninth was a combination of Mike Koontz (0.2 IP) and Danny Wright (0.1).
Wright earned his second save.

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Record: 56-66, 5th, 7 GB Cedar Rapids
Tied 4-4, Grand Rapids scored five runs off the St. Louis bullpen in the bottom of the seventh inning to propel the Traders to a 5-4 win at the Polo Grounds (1923).
Grand Rapids jumped on St. Louis starting pitcher Agustin Perdomo for four runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Zach Simon provided the big blow with a three-run homer, his 21st of the season.
The Walkers, however, rallied to tie the game.
Mark Waterson hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Traders starting pitcher Brian Southers to make it 4-2.
Nick Shaw took Southers deep in the sixth to tie it.
Grand Rapids five of its first six base runners aboard in the bottom of the seventh against reliever Leo Hermosillo.
Hermosillo issued two walks and a single to begin the inning, loading the bases.
Wes Cohen drove in the first run on a deep fly ball to center which featured a throwing error by center fielder Jose Segura.
After an intentional walk to Chris Jensen loaded the bases, Simon collected two more RBIs with a double to left center.
Evan Palmer replaced Hermosillo.
After a fly out, he gave up a two-run single to Jon Milligan to make it 9-5.
Southers went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out eight and didn't issue a walk.
Marshall Hornby (7-0) got the win after working a scoreless seventh.
Jimmy DaPra worked the eighth and got the first two outs of the ninth.
Jason Pappas put the finishing touches on the win.

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Record: 56-67, 5th, 8 GB Cedar Rapids
St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning but never scored again, as Grand Rapids rallied for a 6-2 win at the Polo Grounds (1923).
Aaron Watson (single) and Quaing Chang (double) both connected on two-out run-scoring hits in the top of the first off Traders starting pitcher Adam Wilkes.
Grand Rapids got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning.
Dan Linde led off with a double off Ming Xiang and scored on a two-out Wes Cohen single.
Two innings later, Cohen gave the Traders the lead with a two-run homer.
Cohen went deep again in the fifth, part of a two-homer inning against Xiang.
Cohen's was a solo shot, giving him four RBIs for the game.
Brady House later delivered a two-run bomb to make it 6-2.
Wilkes (6-6) went five innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Jared Harms pitched a scoreless sixth for the Traders.
Mike Walgren went the seventh and eighth.
The ninth belonged to Mike Webb.

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Record: 56-68, 5th/(Tied/w. Springfield), 8 GB Cedar Rapids
Jake Klingenstein hit a two-run inside-the-park homer and Chris Jensen hit a solo shot in the bottom of the first inning off St. Louis Kevin Hrdlicka to stake Grand Rapids to a 3-0 lead, and the Traders breezed to a 7-2 at the Polo Grounds (1923).
The River Walkers have dropped six consecutive games.
With a Bruce Herrera on first thanks to an error by shortstop Mike Casebolt, Klingenstein lined 1-0 pitcher over center fielder Mark Waterson's head into that no-man's land in deep center of the Polo Grounds for what would be his 37th homer of the season.
Two batters later, Jensen clocked his third of the campaign to make it 3-0.
Grand Rapids would eventually own a 6-1 lead.
Ricardo Santillan hit an RBI double off Hrdlicka in the fourth to make it 4-1.
He had an RBI single in the sixth to push it to 5-1.
Pitcher Rafael Pina followed with another single as the advantage became 6-1.
Edwin Palos provided the final Traders run with a solo homer off Chris Willett to lead off the bottom of the eighth.
Pina (11-8) went seven innings, allowing the one run on two hits. He struck out five and walked three.
Jimmy Da Pra struck out the side in the eighth.
St. Louis did load the bases in the ninth against Drew Dillard, who recorded the first two outs.
Brett Conroy took over and walked Aaron Watson to score a run.
He got Rich Dodson to fly out to end the game.

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Record: 57-68, 5th/(Tied/w. Springfield), 8 GB Cedar Rapids
Tied 5-5, St. Louis put its first three hitters on base in the top of the ninth inning -- capped by an RBI double by Nick Shaw -- to score Mike Casebolt with the winning run and defeat Grand Rapids 6-5 at the Polo Grounds (1923).
The win allowed the River Walkers to avoid a four-game sweep. It also snapped a six-game losing streak.
Casebolt and Mark Herman had opened the inning with back-to-back singles off Traders closer Mike Webb.
Shaw then delivered his game-winning hit, driving a 2-2 pitch into right field.
St. Louis jumped out to a 5-0 lead against Grand Rapids starting pitcher Victor de Leon only to see the Traders rally to tie it.
The Walkers scored two runs in the top of the second.
One of the runs scored on a de Leon bases-loaded walk. The other on a wild pitch.
Mark Herman smashed a pitched 503 feet over the wall in left-center to highlight a three-run fourth.
Grand Rapids mounted its comeback with a pair of runs off rookie Walkers starter Allan Almon in the bottom of the fourth.
Relief pitcher Drew Dillard drove in both runs with a two-out double.
The Traders made it 5-3 in the sixth.
Zach Simon had an RBI double off Evan Palmer, scoring Chris Jensen who had doubled off Almon.
Grand Rapids tied it in the seventh against Leo Hermosillo, who allowed singles to all four batters he faced.
Wes Cohen drove in a run to make it 5-4 with his single.
Jensen later connected for a sacrifice fly off Juan Munoz to tie the game.
Almon went 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. He struck out one and didn't issue a walk.
Palmer finished the sixth for St. Louis, giving up the Traders fourth run.
Hermosillo, as noted, was awful failing to retire a batter.
Munoz (3-4) recorded all six outs in the seventh and eighth. He would earn the win.
Tom Floria now has 21 saves after setting Grand Rapids down in order in the ninth.

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MBL news: August 20 -- Week 21 - Awards and standings

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The St. Louis River Walkers have released veteran outfielder Jose Segura and recalled 27-year-old outfielder Josh Hurley from AAA Memphis.
The Walkers brought back the left-handed hitting Segura, who began his career with nine seasons with St. Louis, hoping he could help man center field and provide depth off the bench.
After a decent start, Segura, 35, went flat and at the time of his release was hitting .193 with seven homers and 18 RBIs in 50 games/35 starts.
This is Hurley’s second time with the Walkers this season.
In an earlier callup, Hurley got into 27 games/24 starts where he batted .255 with four homers and 19 RBIs.
At Memphis this season, Hurley has hit .312 with 10 homers and 53 RBIs in 77 games.

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Record: 58-68, 5th, 7.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Billy Ables allowed just two hits over eight shutout innings and St. Louis defeated Springfield 5-0 at Oracle Park.
The win was the first of the season for the River Walkers over the Railers after dropping their first six meetings.
Ables (1-0), who was making just his second start for St. Louis after being claimed off waivers from Akron, allowed just two singles during his time on the mound.
He struck out five and walked one.
Ables has pitched 13.2 scoreless innings since joining St. Louis.
The Walkers got all five of their runs in the top of the sixth inning.
Ables opened the inning with a single off Springfield starting pitcher Jesse Edwards.
Ryan Wibbenmeyer doubled with Ables moving to third.
Manuel Santiago then replaced Edwards.
Mark Herman greeted him with a three-run homer, hit a 2-2 pitch 397 feet over the right-field wall for a 3-0 lead.
Manuel Coke followed with a single.
Nick Shaw made it runners on first and second when he drew a walk.
A two-out walk to Josh Hurley loaded the bases.
Ozzie Solo replaced Santiago.
Mike Casebolt drove in the inning's fourth run with a single.
When Nick Shaw scored on a Mike Vaughan fielder's choice, it was 5-0.
Kyle Smarr preserved the shutout with a scoreless ninth for the Walkers.

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Record: 58-69, 5th/(Tied/w. Springfield), 8.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Down 2-0, Springfield scored in three straight innings -- one in the fourth, three in the fifth and one in the sixth -- and went on to defeat St. Louis 5-3 at Oracle Park.
Quaing Chang's seventh home run of the season -- a two-run shot off Railers starting pitcher Ruben Ruiz -- in the top of the fourth had staked the River Walkers to that 2-0 lead.
Springfield got on the board in the bottom of the inning against St. Louis starting pitcher Agustin Perdomo.
Hideaki Taguchi and Arturo Verdugo led off the inning with singles.
Taguchi would eventually score on a Mark Johnson fly out.
The Railers moved in front an inning later when Vincent Villaviencio hit a three-run homer off Perdomo to make it 4-2.
In the sixth, Perdomo allowed a lead-off single to Johnson.
He would score on a Carlton Randall double off Chris Willett.
Ruiz (8-6) earned the win after allowed two runs on two hits over the first five innings. He struck out five and walked two.
After that, it was single innings from Mike Maloney, Roger Cresswell, Jason Dexheimer and Jon Santiago,
Santiago earned his 27th win despite allowing St. Louis to load the bases.
He got Nick Shaw to fly out to end the contest.

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Record: 59-69, 5th, 8.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Quiang Chang hit a two-run home run off Springfield starting pitcher Marcos Zaragoza in the top of the second inning to snap a 1-1 tie and help propel St. Louis to an 8-3 win at Oracle Park (2020).
The win was the second of the three-game series for the River Walkers.
Mark Waterson had led off the inning with a triple.
Chang then belted a 1-2 pitch 381 feet over the left-field wall.
St. Louis would go up 5-1 in the fifth on an RBI double by Josh Hurley off Zaragoza.
Hurley scored on a Ryan Wibbenmeyer ground out.
Manuel Coke doubled in a run in the seventh off Mike Maloney, as St. Louis extended its lead to 6-1.
The Railers got their final two runs in the bottom of the seventh off reliever Evan Palmer (RBI ground out to Luke Leto) and Kyle Smarr (two-out double by Billy Salas).
But St. Louis got those two runs with single runs in the eighth and ninth.
Aaron Watson hit a solo homer off Jason Dexheimer in the eighth.
Hurley scored his second run of the game in the ninth when he singled off Roger Cresswell and eventually scored on a Coke ground out.
St. Louis starting pitcher Ming Xiang (9-11) allowed one run on five hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked three.
Palmer (0.1 IP) and Smarr (0.2) combined to pitch the seventh.
Juan Munoz took care of the eighth and ninth.

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Record: 60-69, 5th, 7 GB Cedar Rapids
Kevin Hrdlicka took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and St. Louis scored 10 runs over the first six innings as they downed Des Moines 10-4 at Minute Maid Park.
Hrdlicka didn't allow a hit until Justin Oates hit a solo homer with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
It made the score 10-1.
An inning later, pinch-hitter Jaime Sanders hit a two-run home run to hasten Hrdlicka's exit.
In his seven-plus innings, Hrdlicka (10-8) allowed three runs on three hits. He struck out 11 and didn't walk a batter.
The River Walkers did the bulk of their scoring in the top of the second (five runs) and third (three runs) to seize an 8-0 advantage.
Harvesters starting pitcher Raul Rivas took the bulk of the damage, allowing all of the second-inning runs and two of those which scored in the third.
The St. Louis' second-inning outburst featured six straight batters reaching base after the inning opened with a strikeout.
Adam Stewart drove in the first run with a bases-loaded single.
Hrdlicka plated the next two with another single.
Josh Hurley wrapped it up with a double.
In the third, Nick Shaw led off the inning with a double.
He scored on a Quiang Chang single, which chased Rivas.
Martin Lopez took over and was greeted by a two-run homer by Mark Waterson.
The Walkers final two runs came in the fourth -- Chang with an RBI single off Lopez -- and sixth -- Shaw singled with one out off Roman Watson and scored on a Waterson ground out -- as their lead grew to 10-0.
Chris Willett relieved Hrdlicka in the eighth and finished the inning without incident.
He returned for the ninth and gave up three hits which led to a run.
Curt Donaldson recorded the final three outs of the game.