2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 51-37, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Josh McDonald allowed one run over six innings, and St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead and never trailed in a 4-1 win over Columbus at Busch Stadium (2006).
McDonald (7-7) gave up a lead-off homer to Chris Hery in the second inning, it made the score 2-1, and eight hits in his time on the mound.
He struck out nine and walked one.
The River Walkers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Bob Saavedra led off the inning with a single off Golden Bears starting pitchrr Agustin Perdomo, and followed that with a steal of second.
A ground ball Saavedra to third, and he scored on a Nick Shaw double.
Jose Ramirez moved Shaw to third.
Aaron Nixon delivered the fourth hit of the inning, a single, making it 2-0.
Rookie catcher Manny Martinez hit his first major league homer leading off the bottom of the second, extending the St. Louis lead to 3-1.
The Walkers got their final run in the third.
Segura led off with a triple and scored on a Ramirez ground out.
Zachary Stella worked a scoreless seventh and got the first out of the eighth for St. Louis.
Juan Munoz got one out in the eighth.
Nick Ruffalo finished the eighth and set Columbus down in order in the ninth for his third save.

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Record: 51-38, 2nd, 0.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Damon Casetta-Stubbs and a pair of relievers combined on a one-hit shutout as Columbus downed St. Louis 4-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Casetta-Stubbs (6-7) handled the first seven innings and allowed the lone River Walkers hit, a two-out single by Manny Martinez in the bottom of the fifth inning, while striking out two and issuing one walk.
Jason Johnson and Manny Pescosolido both pitched hitless innings to close out the win.
The Golden Bears went up 1-0 in the top of the third.
Antonio Burgos led off the inning with a double off St. Louis starting pitcher Shane Drogo, and scored on a two-out single by Mike Stone.
A three-run homer from Nolan Gorman off Greg Sones in the top of the eighth made it 4-0.

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MBL news: July 8 -- All-Star game fan voting final results

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MBL news: July 8-- MBL All-Star game rosters

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A trio of St. Louis River Walkers have been named to the National League roster for the upcoming Midwest Baseball League All-Star Game
* SP -- Jesse McNaboe -- It's the first All-Star appearance for the 26-year-old right-hander. During 2035, he's gone 9-2 in 18 starts with a 3.19 ERA.
* 1B -- Nick Shaw -- The National League's leading vote-getter. The 26-year-old Shaw will be a first-time starter. This season, he is hitting .339 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs in 81 games.
* 3B -- Bob Saavedra -- The rookie first baseman has batted .352 with 10 homers and 50 RBIs in 86 games.

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MBL news: July 8 -- Prospects Game rosters released

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A pair of St. Louis River Walkers minor-league players have been named to the National League roster for the Midwest Baseball League's prospects game.
* SP -- Kevin Hrdilicka -- The 23-year-old right-hander has gone 11-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 18 games for AAA Memphis. A first-round pick in the 2033 MBL draft (26th overall), Hrdilicks is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the MBL.
* 3B -- Mark Herman -- The 22-year-old is batting .270 with 11 homers and 43 RBIs for AA Springfield. The third overall pick in the 2034 draft, Herman is the 43rd ranked prospect in the MBL.

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Record: 52-38, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Aaron Nixon capped a 4 for 5 day at the plate with a walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving St. Louis a 9-8 win over Columbus at Busch Stadium (2006).
The River Walkers took three of the four games in their series with the Golden Bears.
Columbus reliever Nick Finck struck out the first two St. Louis hitters in the bottom of the 10th.
But with an 0-2 count on Nixon, he left one in the zone and he drove it 387 feet over the right-field wall.
Nixon drove in four runs in the contest.
St. Louis had gone up 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single from Nixon off Bears reliever Jason Johnson.
Columbus tied it in the top of the eighth, Mike Wardlaw driving in Javy Gutierrez with a two-out single off Scott Rissler.
The Bears had pounded St. Louis starter, and 2035 All-Star, Jesse McNaboe for six runs in the top of the second inning.
Neil Assenjberg did the bulk of the damage with a grand slam.
The Walkers put together seven runs in the fifth against Bears starter Cesar and a couple of relievers.
Bob Saavedra had a two-run double during the outburst, while Nixon plated a pair with a single.
McNaboe had the one bad inning, but it was ugly, as in five innings overall he gave up six runs on eight hits. He did strike out eight while walking two.
Juan Munox (0.1 IP) and Zachary Stella (0.2) combined to pitch the seventh for St. Louis.
After that, it was an inning apiece for Nick Ruffalo, Scott Rissler and Nick Strother.
Strother (3-2) came out of it with the win.

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MBL news: July 8 -- American League wins Prospects Game 3-2
* St. Louis AA player Mark Herman started for the National League and went 0 for 2.
Starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka did not play.

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MBL news: July 19 -- Week 14 -- Awards and standings

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MBL news: July 10 -- KC's Jernigan is home-run derby champ

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MBL news: July 11 -- American League claims All-Star game 7-4
* St. Louis River Walkers first baseman Nick Shaw was 2 for 3 with an RBI.
* Walkers third baseman Bob Saavedra was 1 for 2 with a double and run scored.
* St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe did not play, having started the previous Sunday.

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MBL news: July 12 -- American League leaders at the All-Star break

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MBL news; July 12 -- National League leaders at the All-Star break

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Walkers news: July 12 -- Team statistics at the All-Star break

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The St. Louis River Walkers will begin the post-All-Star break portion of their schedule with both their primary catchers back on the rosters.
Starter Jackson Miller and his backup Zach Wenman both have been on the 10-day injured list.
Miller, 33, was injured on July 1 in an 8-4 win at Kansas City. It was his second trip to the injured list this season.
In 39 games with St. Louis, Miller, who signed as a free agent from Des Moines in the offseason, has hit .295 with two homers and 16 RBIs.
Wenman, 26, went on the injured list June 29 after an 11-1 win at Kansas City.
He had played very well during Miller's absence, and for the season is hitting .374 with one homer and 27 RBIs in 51 games.
Going back to AAA Memphis are Manny Martinez and Mike Winchester.
Martniez 23, got into 14 games while with St. Louis batting .293 with one homer and seven RBIs.
Winchester, 26, played in just two games during which he hit .286 with two RBIs.

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MBL news: July 16 -- Power rankings after All-Star break

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Record: 53-38, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis jumped out in front with three runs in the bottom of the first inning, and it never really stopped as the River Walkers exploded into post-All-Star break portion of their schedule with a 13-2 rout of Louisville at Busch Stadium (2006).
Rookie Bob Saavedra opened the bottom of the first with a lead-off triple off Sluggers starting pitcher, and he scored when Aaron Nixon reached on an error by third baseman David Morales.
Two batters later, Nick Shaw made it 3-0 with a two-run home run.
After that, St. Louis scored single runs in the third, fifth and eighth innings and erupted for seven in the sixth.
Coming off his first All-Star game appearance, Saavedra had a huge game going for 4 for 5 with a double, a triple, four runs scored and three RBIs.
Jose Segura was 2 for 4 with two doubles, one run scored and three RBIs.
Shaw also was 4 for 5 with two doubles, a homer, two runs scored and four RBIs.
On the mound, Walkers starting Jesse McNaboe (10-2) allowed one run on six hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Angel Tiburcio worked the final three innings, giving up a meaningless run in the ninth.

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Record: 54-38, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids
Josh McDonald pitched six shutout innings, and St. Louis took command with three runs in the bottom of the second inning in a game where the River Walkers downed Louisville 4-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
McDonald (8-7) struck out the side in the top of the first inning, and never really got into trouble in his six innings.
He allowed three hits, while striking out nine and walked one.
McDonald exited the game after a rain delay in the bottom of the sixth.
Nick Shaw reached on an error by Sluggers shortstop Alfredo Gomez to lead off the bottom of the second inning.
The Walkers put their next three hitters on base against Louisville starter Andres Garcia.
Manuel Coke was the fourth to reach base, and he delivered a two-run double to make it 2-0.
Jackson Miller made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly to score Daniel Becerra, who had singled.
The Sluggers did get to the Walkers bullpen for a pair of run after McDonald left the game.
David Morales hit a solo homer off Zachary Stella in the seventh.
The Walkers answered that run with one of their own in the bottom half.
Jackson Miller led of with a double off Dave Schaeffer. He scored on an Aaron Nixon fly ball.
St. Louis closer Nick Strother could not slam the door allowing three straight base runners after striking out the first two batters he faced.
Nick Ruffalo came on with runners at second and third and got Jake Holland to ground out.
Ruffalo now has four saves.
After Stella pitched the seventh, Scott Rissler set the Sluggers down in order in the eighth.
St. Louis second baseman Daniel Becerra had to leave the game after being injured while trying to make a throw.
The injury and its extent is still unknown.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have announced that second baseman Daniel Becerra will miss seven weeks after he suffered an elbow injury in a 4-2 win over Louisville on July 17.
Becerra, 35, has played in 83 games this season and batted .274 with three homers and 17 RBIs.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis, is 32-year-old infielder Izzac Pacheco.
Pacheco has played in 66 games for the Redbirds, and hit .254 with five homers and 26 RBIs.