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

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Player of the Month: OF Jose Ramirez -- The 28-year-old batted .305 with seven homers, 21 RBIs and 13 runs scored in 21 games. He got on base at a .374 clip and slugged .610.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Jesse McNaboe -- The 23-year-old right-hander went 5-0, winning all five of his starts with a 2.90 ERA. He pitched 31.0 innings, during which he posted a 1.03 WHIP and struck out 20. He was named National League Pitcher of the Month.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Ricky Cisneros -- The 27-year-old lefty got into 10 games during which he went 2-0 and earned a save while posting a 1.72 ERA. Cisneros pitched a total of 15.2 innings, during which he posted a 0.70 WHIP and struck out 14.

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Record: 13-11, 3rd, 2.5 GB Des Moines
Down 6-5, Twin Cities wiped that deficit out with a pair of home runs in the bottom of the sixth inning -- a solo homer from Robbie Mackie and a three-run shot from Jeff Friedman -- as the Snow Cats went on to defeat St. Louis 10-6 at Metropolitan Stadium (1977).
The River Walkers had taken a 6-5 lead with five runs in the top of the sixth -- primarily thanks to a grand slam from Jose Segura off reliever John Goulet.
But Mackie opened the bottom of the inning with his second homer of the game off St. Louis starter Kaneo Kawamoto.
Josh Grissom took over after the homer, but brought nothing to the mound.
He walked the first batter he faced, Josse Manhanas, before recording a pair of outs.
Roc Riggio followed with a single.
Friedman then connected on his three-run homer.
It also was his second homer of the game.
The Cats hit five home runs, altogether, also getting a two-run homer from Mike Sartain in the second inning.
Steve Carroll connected on an RBI single off reliever Alex Pazos, who was making his major league debut in the seventh to complete the scoring.
Twin Cities starting pitcher Jason Wisniewski went five dominant innings, allowing one run on two hits. He struck out nine and walked none.
But the failure of his bullpen cost him the win.
Goulet failed to retire any of the six batters he faced.
Lucas Daltari (1-0) cleaned up that mess, by finishing the sixth inning.
He would earn the win.
Bobby Lozoya struck out the side in the seventh for the Cats.
Jim Messina and Eric Watkins closed it out with a scoreless inning each.
The six Twin Cities pitchers combined to strike out 15 batters.

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Record: 14-11, 3rd (Tied/w. Cedar Rapids), 1.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 4-4, Jovan Gill hit a one-out, solo homer off Twin Cities reliever Bobby Lozoya in the top of the eighth inning to give St. Louis the lead, and the River Walkers went on for a 7-5 win at Metropolitan Stadium (1977).
St. Louis won two of three games in the series.
The River Walkers added two more runs in the top of the ninth to go up 7-4.
Nathaniel Dixon led off with a homer off Jesse Gaither.
Daniel Becerra and Jose Ramirez followed with singles, with Becerra scoring on a Jose Sergua fly ball.
In the bottom of the ninth, Walkers closer Ernesto Barbosa gave up a lead off homer to Josse Manhanas.
He retired the next three for his seventh save.
Walkers starter Zack Hunsicker, hit a solo homer, while also pitching five innings during which he allowed four runs on six hits, including three home runs.
Cory Tiller worked a scoreless sixth and recorded the first two outs in the seventh.
Josh Forgy (2-1) completed the seventh and earned the win.
Andres Hernandez pitched a 1-2-3 eighth.
Hunsicker's solo homer to lead off the fifth off Snow Cats starter Keegan Jensen followed by an RBI single from Segura gave St. Louis a 4-1 lead.
That advantage disappeared in the sixth when Mike Sartain hit a solo homer and Jim Peebles a two-run shot, in a span of three batters, off Hunsicker to tie it.

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MBL news: Week 4 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 15-11, 2nd (Tied/w. Kansas City),1.5 GB Des Moines
Angel Tiburcio allowed one run over seven innings and St. Louis downed Kansas CIty 6-1 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Tiburcio (3-1) allowed one run on four hits. He struck out nine and walked none.
Jose Ramirez hit a two-run homer off Monarchs starting pitcher Jose Buenrostro in the bottom of the first to stake the River Walkers to a 2-0 lead.
A four-run bottom of the fifth broke it open, making it 6-1.
Ramirez homered for a second time, a solo shot off reliever Greyson Rodriguez.
Jared Thomas made it a back-to-back with another homer.
Jose Segura capped the outburst with a two-run homer, Rodriguez being the victim of all three.
Nick Ruffalo pitched a 1-2-3 eighth for St. Louis.
Andres Hernandez followed suit in the ninth.

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Record: 16-11, 1st (Tied/w. Cedar Rapids, 0.5 GA Des Moines
Kansas City reliever Matt Broussard hit St. Louis' Nathaniel Dixon with the third pitch, an 0-2 count, of the top of the 11th inning and he came around to score on a Jose Segura single, as the River Walkers won 4-3 at Busch Stadium (1997).
A bunt from Felix Acevado moved Dixon to second.
Jose Ramirez followed with a single, which put him on third in position for when Segura connected for another single.
Down 3-2, although it had one led 1-0, St. Louis tied it in the bottom of the ninth.
Acevado led off with a double off Broussard and later scored on a Daniel Becerra double.
St. Louis starter Izzy San Juan worked the first three innings, allowing no runs on two hits, before leaving with an undisclosed injury.
The Walkers used six relievers after San Juan exited.
Ricky Cisneros pitched two scoreless innings.
Josh Grissom handled an inning, and allowed a run.
Yesion Santos, back from a stint on the injured list, pitched 0.2 innings.
Closer Ernesto Barbosa got an early call in the seventh but got burned by a two-run homer from Tony Martinez in the top of the eighth to put the Monarchs up 3-2.
Barbosa has allowed five homer runs this season after allowing just four in the 2031 season.
Nick Ruffalo picked up the slack with scoreless ninth and 10th innings.
Josh Forgy (3-1) did the same in the 11th to earn the win.

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Record: 17-11, 1st, 0.5 GA Des Moines
Nathaniel Dixon hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead, and St. Louis went on to defeat Kansas City 6-4 at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win completed a three-game sweep of the Monarchs by the River Walkers.
Kansas City jumped out to a 3-0 lead against St. Louis starter Jesse McNaboe, who although he didn't figure into the decision failed to earn a win in the first time for six starts.
The long ball played into all six Walkers runs.
Jose Ramirez got them on the board with a solo shot off Monarchs starter Dominic Pipkin in the bottom of the fourth.
An inning later, Jovan Gill hit a lead-off homer off Pipkin.
Then in the seventh, with Pipkin out of the game, St. Louis seized the lead on Dixon's fourth homer of the season.
It came off reliever Nate Guthrie, who after retiring the first two batters walked Armando Morales and gave up a single to pinch-hitter Jean Carmona to bring Dixon to the plate.
An RBI single from pinch-hitter Cole Wagner in the top of the eighth pulled KC to within 5-4.
But St. Louis got the run back when Jean Segura cleared the fence off a pitch from Tyler Whitaker to lead off the bottom of the eighth.
McNaboe lasted 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits.
He left the game with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth.
Yeison Santos, however, wiggled out that jam without allowing a run.
He followed that with a scoreless seventh.
Andres Santos was charged with the Monarchs' run in the eighth while allowing a run.
Josh Forgy recorded the final two outs of the eighth.
Ernesto Barbosa pitched around a two-out walk in the ninth for his eighth save.

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Record: 17-12, 1st (Tied/w. Des Moines), 0.5 GA Kansas City and Cedar Rapids
Tied 1-1, Madison scored three runs in the top of the third inning, and the Muskies went on to defeat St. Louis 6-2 in a rain-shortened six-inning game at Busch Stadium (1997).
A rough season continued for Walkers veteran starter Kaneo Kawamoto, not only was he on the mound for the start of the Muskies three-run inning.
He also had to leave the game during that inning with an undisclosed injury.
The left-hander joins fellow starter Izzy San Juan on a lengthy River Walkers' injured list.
San Juan's injury and how long he will be out also is unknown.
Madison pitcher Johnny Kuhn Jr. opened the top of the third with a double off Kawamoto.
After a fly out by Wyatt Olson, Aramis Ademan pounded a 437 foot homer to put the Muskies in front and also force Kawamoto's exit.
Andres Hernandez took over for St. Louis, and allowed four of the next five batters to reach base.
Duilio Mazzocchi was the fifth, and his single drove in two to make it 5-1.
Kurt Baty had a two-out RBI single off Ricky Cisneros to make it 6-2.
Kuhn Jr. lasted four innings, allowing two runs on five hits.
Former Walkers pitcher Ben Schellenger worked the fifth, which helped him earn his second win of the season.

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The St. Louis River Walkers got three injury updates to begin their Saturday, and none of it was particularly good.
Starting pitchers Izzy San Juan and Kaneo Kawamoto are both bound for the injured list while right fielder Alex Greene will remain out of action longer than expected.
San Juan,33, is expected to miss from two to three months with acute elbow soreness.
The left-hander has struggled after a good start to his 2032 season, and owns an 0-2 record with a 6.49 ERA in six starts.
Kawamoto's injured list stay is expected to be much shorter, just two or three weeks, as he deals with a strained oblique.
The 34-year-old Kawamoto's entire 2032 season has been a struggle, as he has gone 1-3 with a 8.54 ERA in six starts.
Getting the call up from AAA Memphis are Rich Haas and Jerry Tate.
Tate, 29, has gone 3-1 with a 4.18 ERA in five starts.
He pitched in one major league game in 2030, allowing five runs in 4.2 innings of a game he started.
Haas, 26, has gone 4-0 for the Redbirds in 2032 with a 3.52 ERA in six starts.
The right-hander made five starts for the Walkers in 2031, going 1-1 with a 5.47 ERA.
As for Greene, who was the team's big off-season acquisition, he is having trouble recovering from a quadriceps injury.
The 30-year-old last played April 21.
In 14 games, Greene has batted .261 with three homers and seven RBIs.

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Record: 18-12, 1st, 1 GA Des Moines
Jean Carmona hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning, and Zack Hunsicker turned in his best outing of the season as St. Louis downed Madison 3-1 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Muskies starting pitcher Danny Munos retired the first two River Walkers' batters in the bottom of the first, but Jose Ramirez got to him for a double.
A single by Jose Segura put runners at the corners.
Carmona drove them both in, with his second home run of the season driving the ball 398 feet over the left-field wall on a 2-1 pitch.
Hunsicker (1-2) collected his first win of the season after going 7.1 innings during which he allowed one run on four hits.
Yeison Santos recorded the final two outs of the eighth -- both via strikeouts -- with no one on base.
Ernesto Barbosa was flawless in the ninth for his ninth save.

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Record: 19-12, 1st, 1.5 GA Kansas City
St. Louis scored at least one run in each of the first four innings to build a 7-1 lead, and the River Walkers went on to defeat Madison 10-5 at Busch Stadium (1997).
The victory gave St. Louis' victories in the final two games of their three-game series with the Muskies.
For the second straight game, Jean Carmona drove in a run in the first inning, a day after he hit a three-run homer in the opening frame, this time he had an RBI single off Madison starter Keith Talley to put his team up 1-0.
After the Muskies tied it on a Jordan Groshans lead-off homer off Angel Tiburcio in the top of the second, Tiburcio himself untied it in the bottom half with a two-run blast off Talley.
The Walkers tallied three times in the third.
Thairo Estrada with a two-run single, and the third run scoring when Muskies left fielder Steve Mann botched a fly ball hit by Tiburcio.
Caromona connected on a two-out double in the fourth off reliever Mario Martinez, driving in Jose Segura who had drawn a two-out walk, to make it 7-1.
The Muskies would make it interesting drawing to within 8-5.
Chris Duncan hit a two-run homer and Aramis Ademan a solo homer off Tiburicio in the fifth to make it 7-4.
Jose Ramirez made it 8-4 with a solo homer off Martinez in the sixth.
But Duncan went deep for the second time in the game, again off Tiburcio, with one out in the seventh to make it 8-5.
That ended Tiburcio's outing.
Daniel Becerra, however, put a stamp on the win with a two-run homer off Casey Owens in the eighth.
Tiburcio (4-1) lasted 6.1 innings on the mond, allowing five runs on eight hits. He struck out seven and walked none.
Nick Ruffalo got the second out of the seventh before exiting after he got into trouble after allowing a pair of base runners.
Cory Tiller finished the seventh, without allowing a run to score, and then pitched a silent eighth.
Josh Grissom was flawless in the ninth.

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MBL news: Week 5 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 19-13, 1st (Tied/w. Kansas City), 1 GA Springfield
Alex Otero went 3 for 4 with two homers and six RBIs to power Springfield to a 10-6 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (1997).
Otero struck first with a two-run homer off River Walkers starting pitcher Rich Haas in the top of the first inning.
His second homer was a two-run shot off reliever Yeison Santos with two outs in the seventh to make it 8-5.
The game was tied 5-5 going into the top of the seventh.
Billy Salas snapped the tie with an RBI single off Josh Grissom.
Matthew Lugo , who had led off the inning with a single, scored on Salas' hit.
At one point, the River Walkers had led 4-2 following a two-run homer from Rick Scott, off Springfield starter John Haynes in the bottom of the third.
The Railers retook the lead in the top of the sixth on a three-run homer from Justin Schenider off Haas.
Jose Segura evened it with a one-out homer off Haynes in the bottom of the sixth.
Otero made it 10-5 with a two-run single off Andres Hernandez in the top of the ninth..
Haynes lasted 5.1 innings as the starter for the Railers, he allowed five runs on five hits.
Edwin Cora finished off the sixth inning, and recorded the first two outs of the seventh.
Former St. Louis pitcher Jason Froeloch completed the seventh inning.
The rest belonged to Mario Reyes, who allowed a run in the eighth, but kept his team in the lead while recording his first save.

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Veteran infielder Thairo Estrada's return from the injured list as the 36-year-old is again out of action after injuring his thumb in a 10-6 loss to Springfield on May 11.
Estrada was out from April 26 to May 8 with an elbow injury.
The injury is expected to last just five days, but the Walkers need a right-handed bat on the bench.
Estrada has played in 16 games this season, and hit .182 with no homers and two RBIs.
Getting the call up from AAA is Felix Acevado, who played with the Walkers while Estrada was on the IL the first time.
The 28-year-old got into game's during which he hit .167 with no homers or RBIs.

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Record: 19-14, 1st (Tied/w. Springfield and Kansas City), 1 GA Des Moines
Springfield handed St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe his first loss of the season, pounding him for seven runs in just over two innings as the Railers went on to win 11-5 at Busch Stadium (1997).
After retiring the lead-off batter to begin the game, McNaboe allowed four straight batters to reach in the top of the first capped by a grand slam by Justin Schneider.
After 1-2-3 second, the Railers chased McNaboe (5-1) in the third.
He walked lead-off batter Ruben Villanueva, who stole second base and then scored on a Schneider double.
Dylan Crews then ousted McNaboe with a two-run home making it 7-0.
St. Louis -- thanks to a three-run homer from Jose Ramirez in the off Springfield starter Brian McIlmoyle in the third and an RBI fielder's chice from Nathaniel Dixon in the fourth -- did climb back to within 7-4.
But the Railers used the long ball to put the game out of reach,
Kyren Pais hit a two-run homer off Nick Ruffalo in the fifth, increasing the lead to 9-4.
Alex Otero went deep of Yeison Santos in the eighth, while Ruben Villanueva tripled and scored in the same inning to make it 11-5.
McIIlmoyle lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on five hits.
Chris Hensley finished the fourth and got the first out of the fifth.
Hensley (1-0), who earned the win, was followed by a pair of former Walkers T.J. Darr (0.2) and Jason Froelich (1.0).
Alex Gallegos (2.1) and Edwin Cora (0.2) combined to keep the Walkers from scoring over the final three innings.
St. Louis reliever Yeison Santos had to exit after facing just one batter -- Otero's homer -- with a back injury.
He will miss approximately five days and will not be placed on the injured list.

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Record: 20-14, 1st, 1 GA Springfield, Kansas City and Des Moines
Springfield's Raul Ahumada took a no-hitter into the bottom of the eighth inning, but the time it was over St. Louis led 5-1 and the score remained that way as the River Walkers won at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win allowed St. Louis to avoid being swept in the three-game series.
The Railers went up 1-0 in the top of the fourth against Walkers starting pitcher Zack Hunsicker.
Ruben Villanueva scored the run after drawing a one-out walk.
He moved to third on an Alex Otero single, and scored on a wild pitch.
Ahumada had not allowed a hit going into the bottom of the eighth, but things fall apart after Rick Scott reached on an one-out error by Railers shortstop Kyren Paris.
Jean Carmona followed by breaking up the no-hitter with a single.
That also ended Ahumada's outing after 119 pitches.
Mario Reyes took over and walked pinch-hitter Felix Acevado, loading the bases.
Daniel Becerra struck out for the second out.
But Jose Ramirez put St. Louis in front with a triple to drive in three.
Jose Segura drew Reyes' second walk of the inning.
Jared Thomas scored Ramirez with a double.
Alex Gallegos then took over the mound duties.
He opened with a walk to Jae-hong Chang.
Gallegos followed that with a wild pitch on his first offering to Jovan Gill, scoring Segura with the inning's fifth run.
Hunsicker pitched six innings,. allowing one run on two hits. He struck out seven, walked four and threw two wild pitches.
Ricky Cisneros (3-0) earned the win after two scoreless innings.
Ernesto Barbosa struck out the side in the ninth, but it was not a save situation.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have sent 27-year-old first baseman Rick Scott to AAA Memphis, and called up 23-year-old first baseman Nick Shaw from the Redbirds.
Scott has struggled mightily in 2032, batting just .141 with six homers and 10 RBIs in 29 games.
This following a season, where Scott helped the Walkers win the National League South title by hitting 36 homers and driving in 82 runs.
Shaw, a first-round pick in the 2027 draft, has hit .322 in 34 games for Memphis this season, also hitting seven homers and driving in 31.

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Record: 20-15, 1st (Tied/w. Kansas City and Des Moines), 1 GA Springfield
Rookie Jerry Tate took some lumps in his first start for St. Louis in 2032, allowing four runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings as the River Walkers fell 8-1 to Peoria at Globe Life Field.
Making just his second major league appearance, he got his call up from Memphis after Kaneo Kawamoto and Izzy San Juan went on the injured list, the Rivermen first got to Tate in the bottom of the third inning when he gave up a pair of runs on his one hit.
The only hit belonged to Jeremiah Jackson, a double which was sandwiched between a pair of walks .
The inning's first run scored on a wild pitch.
Ryan Palmer drove in the other with a fly ball.
Peoria added another run in the fourth, as this time its first four batters reached base on three singles and an intentional wal.
The single, from Luke Madden, scored the run which made it 3-0.
Mike Clay hit the first of his two homers in the game to lead off the fifth.
It's lead now 4-1, Clay struck again with another solo homer, this one off Andres Hernandez, with one out in the seventh to make it 5-1.
Randy Underhill added a two-run bomb later in the inning, also off Hernandez, to make it 7-1.
Ryan Palmer drove in the game's final run in the eighth, with a single off Nick Ruffalo.
Madden pitched 6.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out six and walked two.
Clyde Rayner (1.2 IP) and Corbin Martin (1.0) combined to shutout St. Louis the rest of the way.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have learned that third baseman Matt Fulton could miss up to another month after suffering a setback in his return from a rotator cuff injury.
Fulton, acquired in the offseason from Indianpolis to be the starting third baseman had played in just 18 games when he was injured on April 25.
Altogether, Fulton played on 18 games for St. Louis batting .242 with three RBIs.

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Record: 21-15, 1st, 1 GA Kansas City and Des Moines
Jose Ramirez and rookie Nick Shaw both homered twice, and St. Louis routed Peoria 14-2 at Globe Life Park.
Ramirez and Shaw both hit their first homers in the top of the third off former River Walker Lenyn Crisp. Ramirez led off the inning and Shaw hit his first homer as a major leaguer two batters later.
The Rivermen did tie the game at 2-2 with a pair of runs off St. Louis ace Angel Tiburcio in the bottom of the fourth.
But Jose Segura untied it in the top of the fifth with a three-run shot off reliever Carlos Aguirre.
Shaw then made it a back-to-back with his second homer of the third, this one off Corbin Martin who had just come on in relief of Aguirre.
St. Louis would add two more runs before the inning was over.
The Walkers banged out four straight singles after Shaw's homer.
Tiburcio earned an RBI in the fourth single.
The inning's sixth run scored on a balk by Martin.
The Walkers would add four more runs in the seventh .
Jae-hong Chang drove in two with a pinch-hit triple off James Bowman.
Ramirez's second homer of the game came in the top of the ninth, it was worth two runs and hit off Sam Bianco.
Tiburcio (5-1) allowed two runs on five hits over six innings. He struck out six and walked two.
Josh Grissom, Yeison Santos and Josh Forgy all pitched an inning of scoreless relief.