2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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The St. Louis River Walkers have announced a trade with the Indianapolis Racers.
St. Louis will send 26-year-old minor league starting pitcher Alex Pazos and major-league outfielder Zach Cadell to the Racers in exchange for Class A closer Ken Henry.
Pazos has gone 4-2 in 15 starts with a 2.93 ERA for the Redbirds this season.
He also has made 34 starts at the major league level for the Walkers, going 4-15 with a 5.41 ERA.
In his first season in St, Louis, Caudell, 27, has hit .160 with one homer and five RBIs in 51 games.
In Henry, St. Louis has acquired a ninth-round draft pick in the 2033 draft.
The 23--year-old has split time between A and high-A this season, going a combined 2-4 with 17 saves and a 2.17 ERA in 35 games.
The trade was primarily made to bring outfielder Hector Tavarez to the majors, after he has played very well at AAA.

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Record: 55-38, 1st, 1 GA Cedar Rapids
Down 3-0, St. Louis exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, and the River Walkers held on for a 6-5 win over Louisville at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win gave the Walkers a sweep of their three-game series with the Sluggers.
St. Louis starter Edward Kunselman gave up a two-run homer to David Morales in the second inning and an unearned run in the third as the Sluggers went up 3-0.
But the Walkers busted loose against Louisville starter in the fifth.
Beginning with a lead-off single by Jackson Miller, the Walkers put six of their first seven batters on base. (The one out being a sacrifice bunt).
That included two walks and a hit by pitch.
Pinch-hitter Jose Ramirez drew a bases-loaded walk.
Bob Saavedra drove in a pair of runs with a single.
After Saavedra's single, Manuel Coke drove in one with a double.
Nick Shaw delivered the final blow with a two-run single.
Louisville did make it interesting with Alfredo Gomez hitting a two-run homer off Juan Munoz in the eighth.
Kunselman (6-5) went five innings, allowing three runs on three hits. He struck out five and walked one.
He exited the game when St. Louis loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth, and his spot came to the plate.
After that, Zachary Stella and Scott Rissler both pitched an inning apiece.
Munoz got just one out in the eighth, and had to be bailed out by Greg Sones.
Nick Strother struck out the side in the ninth for his 16th save.

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Record: 56-38, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 2-2, St. Louis exploded for seven runs in the top of the ninth inning, and the River Walkers went on to defeat Louisville 9-2 at Dodger Stadium.
Sluggers relief pitcher Matt Whitmore struck out Nick Shaw to open the ninth inning, but immediately got into trouble allowing a single to Hector Tavarez and an RBI double to Jackson Miller.
Miller had to leave the game with a back injury, being replaced by Nathaniel Dixon.
The Walkers followed that by putting their next four batters on base, before Whitmore headed to the shower.
The big hits were an RBI single Aaron Nixon and a three-run double by Bob Saavedra.
John Fiefield took over over the Sluggers, but the Walkers kept on scoring.
Manuel Coke connected on an RBI single.
Shaw later drove in the inning's final run with a fly ball.
St. Louis starting pitcher Jim Martin went 7.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out five and walked three.
Greg Sones got Martin out of an eighth inning jam, retiring the only batters he faced.
With a comfortable lead, Angel Tiburcio pitched a scoreless ninth.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed catcher Jackson Miller on the 10-day injured list after he suffered a back injury during a 9-2 win over Louisville on July 20.
It is the third trip to the injured list this season for Miller 33, who when he has been able to play has batted .302 with two homers and 18 RBIs in 43 games.
Getting called up from AAA is Manny Martinez, who is back in the majors for the third time this season.
In 14 games with the Walkers, he has hit .293 with one homer and seven RBIs.

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Record: 57-38, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Shane Drogo handled the first seven innings, and the St. Louis bullpen did the rest as the River Walkers shut out Louisville 5-0 at Dodger Stadium.
Drogo (6-6) scattered five hits over his seven innings.
He struck out seven and walked one.
Angel Tiburcio worked a scoreless eighth before allowing a single to lead off the ninth.
Oscar Martinez retired all three batters he faced to put a cap on it.
The Walkers took the lead in the top of the third with a pair of runs off Sluggers starting pitcher Esteban Serna.
Aaron Nixon drew a walk to lead-off the inning, but was eliminated when Izaac Pacheco hit into a fielder's choice.
Drogo got a bunt down to move Pacheco to second.
Bob Saavedra made it 1-0 with a double.
Manuel Coke followed with an RBI single.
Pacheco homered off Serna in the fourth, making it 3-0.
Coke singled off Serna with one out in the fifth.
He later scored on a Hector Tavarez double.
Tavarez scored the game's final run in the eighth after drawing a lead-off walk from John Fiefield.
A Zach Wenman single sent Tavazrez to third.
A Nixon single then made it 5-0.

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Record: 58-38, 1st, 0.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Jesse McNaboe tossed his second shutout of the season, a five-hitter, as St. Louis defeated Louisville 3-0 at Dodger Stadium.
The win completed a six-game sweep for the River Walkers, with their home-and-home three-game series with the Sluggers to begin the post-All-Star break portion of their season.
McNaboe (11-2) allowed five hits, all singles over the nine innings. He struck out three and walked two.
Louisville starting pitcher Kurt Halter actually carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning, before Zach Wenman broke it up with a one-out single.
Halter exited having thrown 109 pitches.
Caden Lemons took over and the Walkers went to work.
Hector Tavarez greeted him with a single.
Chris Duncan then made it 1-0 with a fly ball to center field.
St. Louis added two insurance runs in the ninth on rookie Manuel Coke's 10th homer of the season, a two-out shot off Ricardo Builes.

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MBL news: Week 16 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 59-38, 1st, 1.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Josh McDonald allowed one run over six innings, and St. Louis took control of a 1-1 game with three runs in the bottom of the fifth as the River Walkers defeated Green Bay 6-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win was the seventh in a row for St. Louis coming out of the All-Star break.
Rookie Bob Saavedra provided the big blow in that bottom of the fifth hitting a three-run homer off Mallards starting pitcher Alex Duarte.
The Walkers added two insurance runs in he eighth.
Fellow Manuel Coke collected the first RBI with a double off Juan Crespo.
Pinch-hitter Jose Ramirez later scored Coke with a single of Nick Ferretti.
McDonald (9-7) allowed one run -- on a RJ Teijeiro single in the top of the second, tying it 1-1 on five hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Nick Ruffalo got the first two outs of the seventh, before being replaced by Scott Rissler.
Rissler finished that inning, and also pitched a scoreless eighth.
Oscar Martinez set the Mallards down in order in the ninth.

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Record: 60-38, 1st, 2.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Manuel Coke capped a four-run bottom of the ninth inning with a game-winning single to lift St. Louis to a wild 9-8 win over Green Bay at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory was the eighth in a row for the River Walkers, who have not lost since the All-Star break.
The Mallards had scored twice in the top of the ninth -- Sal Valdez with an RBI double off St. Louis relief pitcher Greg Sones. Valdez later stole home with two outs -- to go ahead 8-5.
Hector Tavarez got things going for the Walkers in the bottom of the ninth drawing a lead-off walk from Matt Rodriguez.
Tavarez then moved to second on an errant pick-off throw by Rodriguez.
After a strike out of Zach Wenman, Aaron Nixon drew a walk.
A pinch-hit single by Dan Hillard then loaded the bases.
Manny Martinez cleared the bags with a double down the third-base line.
Bob Saavedra followed with a single putting runners at the corners.
Coke then made it five straight St. Louis batters to reach base -- and six of seven for the inning -- with his single up the middle, scoring Martinez with the winning run.
The game was rather quiet early.
The Walkers scored single runs in the first and third, and added two more in the seventh to go ahead 4-0.
Green Bay wiped that out with six runs in the top of the eighth.
Blaze Jordan drove in a pair of runs with a double off Nick Ruffalo.
Pinch-hitter Jimmy Thomas plated the final three with a homer off Juan Munoz.
St. Louis got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning.
Pinch-hitter Jose Ramirez led off with a double off former Walkers closer Ernesto Barbosa.
He later scored on a Saavedra single.
St. Louis starting pitcher Edward Kunselman went seven strong innings, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out six and walked two.
The day didn't go nearly as well for the Walkers bullpen.
Ruffalo allowed three runs in 0.2 innings.
Munoz was charged with two while not recording an out.
Zachary Stella did manage to get out of the eighth unscathed.
Sones (6-0) earned the win despite allowing the two runs in the top of the ninth.

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Record: 61-38, 1st, 3.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Thanks to a three-run homer from Nick Shaw off Green Bay starting pitcher Juan Vergara, St. Louis jumped out to an early in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back in routing the Mallards 10-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win completed a three-game sweep for the River Walkers, and improved them to 9-0 since the All-Star break.
St. Louis -- which got seven-plus shutout innings from starting pitcher Jim Martin -- led 10-0 before the Mallards got on the scoreboard.
The Walkers scored twice in the third -- Jose Segura had an RBI single while Manny Martinez plated a run with a fly ball -- and once in the fifth on a solo homer from Hector Tavarez off reliever Ernesto Tello.
St. Louis broke it open with a four-run seventh.
Shaw collected his fourth RBI of the game with a double off Juan Crespo.
Tavarez drove in another run with a single.
Martinez tripled off Goro Abe to plate Tavarez.
A wild pitch by Abe made it 10-0 when Tavarez scored.
Martin (6-8) did go the distance allowing the on run on five hits. He struck out 11 and walked one.

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Record: 62-38, 1st, 4.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Izaac Pacheco singled with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to drive in Nick Shaw and give St. Louis a 3-2 win over Grand Rapids at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win was the 10th in a row for the River Walkers, who have not lost since the All-Star break.
Shaw had led off the inning with a single off Traders reliever and former Walker Travis Krogman.
A one-out single by Zach Wenman moved Shaw to third.
Pacheco's single came on a 0-1 pitch and got past the shortstop.
A solo homer by Shaw off Grand Rapids starting pitcher Joseph King in the fourth had put the Walkers ahead 2-1.
The Traders tied it in the sixth.
Nick Velez led off the inning with a single off St. Louis starting pitcher Shane Drogo
A wild pitch had moved Velez to second.
He scored when Bill Taylor reached on an error by third baseman Bob Saavedra.
Drogo was good allowing two runs on four hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked three.
After that, it was a scoreless inning apiece for Juan Munoz, Scott Rissler and Nick Strother.
Strother earned his 17th save.

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Record: 63-38, 1st, 5.5 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe worked seven scoreless innings, and the bullpen did the rest as the River Walkers shut out Grand Rapids 5-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The River Walkers have not lost since the All-Star break, reeling off 11 consecutive wins.
McNaboe (12-2), who already has two shutouts on the season, got through seven innings this time before exiting after throwing 110 pitches.
The 26-year-old right-hander allowed just one hit -- a double to Bruce Herrera in the third inning -- while striking out five and issuing four walks.
Scott Rissler handled the final two innings, allowing just one hit -- a ninth-inning double to Luis Rodriguez -- but keeping the shutout intact.
The Walkers took the lead in the bottom of the fourth on back-to-back one-out doubles from Nick Shaw and Zach Wenman off Traders All-Star pitcher Jared Harms.
St. Louis busted the game open an inning by scoring four runs.
Chris Duncan drove in a run with a double. Manuel Coke followed with a run-scoring single.
Shaw handled the other two with a two-run homer off Harms.

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Record: 64-38, 1st, 6.5 GA Cedar Rapids
It's an even dozen on for the St. Louis River Walkers, who rallied for a 5-4 win over Grand Rapids to post a franchise-record 13th consecutive win coming out of the All-Star break at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Traders tallied a pair of runs off St. Louis starting pitcher Josh McDonald in the top of the third inning, to go up 3-1.
St. Louis cut he deficit tp a run in the fourth on rookie Hector Tavarez's sixth home run of the season.
It came off Grand Rapids starting pitcher Mark MacDougall.
The Walkers stormed into the lead in the bottom of the sixth.
MacDougall started the inning, but left after a one-out walk to Martinez.
Shane Duke took over but after retiring Izaac Pacheco, he allowed five consecutive batters to reach base.
Included in that were, an RBI double by Nathaniel Dixon and run-scoring singles by Bob Saavedra and Aaron Nixon.
The Traders did make it interesting in the ninth, loading the bases and scoring a run against St. Louis closer Nick Strother.
But Strother got Leonardo Rodriguez to hit into a double play, which scored Arturo Verdogo.
Then after an intentional walk to Matt Crawl, again loading the bases, Strother struck out Roberto Hernandez for his 17th save.
McDonald (10-7) went the first six innings allowing three runs on eight hits. He struck out five and walked three.
Juan Munoz held Grand Rapids scoreless in the seventh and eighth.

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Record: 64-39, 1st, 5.5 GA Cedar Rapids
All good things must come to an end, and the Grand Rapids Traders put a conclusion to St. Louis' franchise-record 13-game win streak in decisive fashion routing the River Walkers 11-3 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win allowed Grand Rapids to avoid a four-game sweep. It also was the first lost for St. Louis since the All-Star break.
A two-run single from Manuel Coke in the bottom of the second inning off Traders starting pitcher Brian Strothers gave the Walkers a 3-2 lead.
That advantage lasted until the fifth when Grand Rapids took the lead for good.
Sal Rendon provided the big blow, driving in the final two runs of a three-run inning with a home run off St. Louis starting pitcher Edward Kunselman.
From there, the Traders just added to their lead.
Roberto Hernandez was hit by a pitch by Kunselman to open the top of the sixth, and later scored on a wild pitch.
Ubaldo Capponi crushed a three-run homer off Angel Tiburcio in the seventh, making it 9-3.
Nick Velez, who went 4 for 4 with two runs scored and three RBIs, hit a two-run homer off Oscar Martinez in the eighth to cap the scoring.
Southers (4-8) barely lasted long enough to earn the win.
He pitched 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits.
Matt Stoppenhagen completed the sixth and worked a scoreless seventh for the Traders.
Jaden Foster held down the final two innings to finish off the win.

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MBL news: July 30 -- Week 17 - Awards and standings

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The St. Louis River Walkers have acquired two-time All-Star closer Bobby Westerman from the Madison Muskies, along with a minor-league prospect, in exchange for starting pitcher Jim Martin, reliever Juan Munoz and utility man Dan Hillard.
Westerman, 26, has pitched in 42 games for the Muskies this season, going 5-7 with 17 saves and a 4.11 ERA. He has five blown saves.
For his career, Westerman has a career mark of 37-46 with a 3.74 ERA and 161 saves in 368 games.
Westerman, who makes $15.9 million per season, can be a free agent at the end of the season.
Martin, 31, was in his second season in St. Louis and had gone 6-8 with a 4.47 ERA in 20 starts.
In a year plus with the Walkers, Martin had gone 18-20 with a 4.03 ERA in 53 games (52 starts).
In his first season in St. Louis, Munoz, 27, had gone 2-2 with a 3.96 ERA in 38 games.
For his career, the right-hander, he spent six seasons in Cleveland before being acquired by the Walkers, is 20-19 with a 3.12 ERA in 416 games. He has recorded 14 saves.
Hillard, 29, has been a valuable utility player in just over two seasons in St. Louis.
After a good season in 2034, when he hit .257with 13 homers and 50 RBIs in 119 games, Hillard had seen his playing time decrease this season and has hit just .225 with 3 homers and 19 RBIs in 66 games.
Hillard's value is in his ability to play first base, third base and both corner outfield positions.
Also coming to St. Louis was 23-year-old right-handed relief pitcher Nestor Perez.
The right-hander has pitched at both A and AA this season, going 2-3 with 11 saves.
St. Louis made the trade for Westerbrook for a couple of reasons.
Acquired in the offseason from Toledo, Nick Strother has been inconsistent in the closing role despite having 18 saves and just two blown saves.
Also, right-hander Xavier Wigfall was expected to miss the entire season after Tommy John surgery, but has returned quicker than was planned.
After a month's worth of strong outings, Wigfall seems more than ready to re-join the rotation and someone had to go.
Jose Gonzalez, who has played well at AAA Memphis, hitting .375 with nine homers and 46 RBIs will take Hillard's place on the roster.
He will provide depth at both first and third base.

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Walkers news: July 30 -- Players involved in St. Louis-Madison trade

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Walkers njews: July 30 -- Cards for Xavier Wigfall and Jose Gonzalez

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Record: 65-39, 1st, 6.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Nathaniel Dixon hit a pinch-hit home run with one out in the top of the ninth inning to snap a 4-4 tie, and give St. Louis a 5-4 win over Cedar Rapids at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
Dixon's fourth home run of the season came off Grapplers reliever Keith Kirby, and carried 423 feet over the high wall in right-center field.
The River Walkers had led 4-1 going into the bottom of the fifth, when Cedar Rapids rallied to tie it.
Pinch-hitter Dane Finch led off the inning with a home run off Walkers starting pitcher Danny Burch.
Burch had been called up from AAA Memphis to make an emergency start, following the trade of scheduled starter Jim Martin.
Mark Hill then drew a walk from Burch, who then exited the game.
Scott Rissler took over and didn't bring anything with him to the mound.
Arnold Hammond greeted him with an RBI double, making it 4-3.
Hammond later tied the game when he scored on an Jordan Batista sacrifice fly.
St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second when Jose Ramirez homered off Grapplers starter Josh Downer.
Burch pitched four innings, allowing three runs on five hits.
Rissler handled 1.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits.
Nick Strother pitched a strong 2.2 scoreless innings.
Just acquired Bobby Westerman set Cedar Rapids down in order in the ninth for his 1st save as a River Walker.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have recalled catcher Jackson Miller from the 10-day injued list, and returned 23-year-old catcher Manny Martinez to AAA Memphis.
Miller, 33, has been on the injured list this season, his first with the Walkers. This time he was sidelined with a back injury.
In the 43 games Miller has played for St. Louis, he has batted .302 with two homers and 18 RBIs.
Martinez has played very well in his three callups to St. Louis.
In 17 games, he is hitting .326 with one homer and 12 RBIs.