2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed starting pitcher Jerry Tate on the injured list after he left their 7-3 win over Quad City on May 17 in the third inning with an elbow injury.
Tate is expected to miss two weeks.
The 30-year-old right-hander has pitched in seven games this season, going 0-3 with a 0.59 ERA.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis is 24-year-old Alex Pazos.
The right-hander is 1-3 with a 8.33 ERA this season in eight games for the Redbirds in 2033.
He also has made one start for the Walkers, getting battered for 14.54 ERA but was not involved in the decision.

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Record: 20-21, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 1-1, Nick Shaw hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to put St. Louis in front, and the River Walkers went on for a 6-2 win over Quad City at Busch Stadium (2006).
Starting pitcher Danny Garza opened the inning on the mound for the Thunder.
He allowed a one-out single to Alex Greene and then got Glenallen Hill Jr. to ground out for the second out.
He then exited.
Jaden Foster took over, and was greeted by a Nathaniel Dixon single.
Shaw was next.
He turned on a 3-2 pitch for his eighth homer of the season and put St. Louis in front for good.
Quad City notched a run in the sixth -- and chased Walkers starter Angel Tiburcio -- to make it 4-2.
The Walkers, however, responded with two more runs in the bottom half -- Jose Ramirez drove in both runs with a double -- to go up 6-2.
Tiburcio (2-3) worked five innings, allowing two runs on four hits.
Cory Tiller took over for Tibucio in the sixth, and kept St. Louis in the lead.
Nick Ruffalo worked a scoreless seventh and got the first two outs of the eighth.
Luke Dunkin finsihed off the eighth, but allowed QC to load the bases in the ninth.
Closer Ernesto Barbosa had to make a brief appearance -- striking out Ben Nelson to end it -- and give him his eighth save.

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Record: 21-21, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
In his first start since taking a shutout into the bottom of the ninth inning, when he exited with two outs, Jesse McNaboe this time finishing the job tossing a two-hit shutout in St. Louis 1-0 win over Cleveland at Busch Stadium (2006).
McNaboe (5-3), who won his fourth consecutive start, allowed only singles to Randolph Thorne and Fernando Jimenez, along with one walk. He struck out four.
The game's lone run came in the bottom of the second courtesy of Jared Thomas.
Thomas singled with one out off Juke Box Heroes starter Bob Granillo, and scored on a two-out double by Jovan Gill.

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Record: 22-21, 3rd, 8.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 2-2, Nick Shaw hit a one-out home run in the bottom of the sixth inning off Cleveland starting pitcher Andy Caruthers to help lift St. Louis to a 3-2 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
The River Walkers actually trailed 2-0 before tying it with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Daniel Becerra drew a lead-off walk from Caruthers.
Becerra scored on a Jovan Gill double.
Another double, this one two batters later from pinch-hitter Nathaniel Dixon, scored Gill to even the score.
St. Louis starting pitcher Zack Hunsicker turned in one of his better starts of what's been a disappointing season -- allowing two runs on four hits over four innings -- before exiting with a back injury.
He is expected to miss a week. It is not known if he'll be placed on the injured list.
Yeison Santos (0.1) and Scott Rissler (0.2) combined to keep the Juke Box Heroes from scoring when they loaded the bases in the fifth.
After that, it was two scoreless innings from Josh Forgy followed by sile frames from Cory Tiller and closer Ernesto Barbosa.
A 1-2-3 ninth earned Barbosa his ninth save.

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Record: 22-22, 3rd, 9.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 1-1, Cleveland scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning of St. Louis starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall, and the Juke Box Heroes rode it to a 5-1 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
The loss ended a five-game win streak for St. Louis.
Tyler McKenzie got things going for Cleveland by getting down a lead-off bunt single in the fifth.
Wigfall retired the next two batters, but than melted down.
He hit Jon Howard with a pitch.
Randolph Thorne followed with an RBI single.
Howard then stole third base, and scored on a throwing error by catcher Jarred Thomas.
A single from Fernando Jimenez scored Thorne, making it 4-1.
In the top of the sixth, Edgar Bustillos led off with a homer off reliever Luke Dunkin to make it 5-1.
Cleveland starting pitcher Jojo Romero (2-1) worked 5.2 innings allowing one run on four hits.
Corey Wood finished off the sixth inning, and followed with two more scoreless frames.
Victor Medina set St. Louis down in order in the ninth.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have claimed left-handed reliever Oscar Martinez from the Grand Rapids Traders after he was placed on waivers.
The 29-year-old Martinez has pitched in 14 games for Grand Rapids this season, going 0-2 with nine saves and a 1.29 ERA.
He also has spent some time in AAA, where he pitched in two games and went 0-1 with one save and a 3.00 ERA.
For his career, in the majors. Martinez has pitched in 212 games, all with Grand Rapids, going 15-19 with 109 saves and a 3.87 ERA.
To make room for Martinez, 29-year-old left-hander reliever Jonathan Lucas has been placed on waivers.
Lucas has spent most of the season with AAA Memphis, but in nine games with St. Louis he was 0-0 with a 10.12 ERA.

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Record: 22-23, 3rd, 10.5 GB Des Moines
Tony Jackson homered off St. Louis reliever Luke Dunkin with one out in the top of the 11th inning, helping Cleveland to a 3-2 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win gave the Juke Box Heroes a split of their four-game series with the River Walkers.
The game had been tied since the bottom of the seventh, when the Walkers' Nick Shaw hit a lead-off double off Heroes starting pitcher Nick Black, and later scored on a Jovan Gill fly ball.
Black worked a strong seven innings, allowing two runs on two hits, He struck out eight and walked four.
Four relievers -- Juan Munos, Adam Wenger, Omar Benitez and Corey Wood -- all supplied a scoreless inning of reliever for Cleveland.
Benitez (3-2) earned the win.
Wood clocked his first save.

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MBL news: Week 7 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 22-24, 3rd (Tied/w. Louisville), 11 GB Des Moines
Green Bay jumped on St. Louis starting pitcher Angel Tiburcio for five runs in the bottom of the first inning, and the Mallards rode that to a 5-3 win at PNC Park.
Green Bay cranked out six hits off Tiburcio in the bottom of the first, and scored all of its runs with two outs.
Ben Shuster and Tim Tawa both drove in runs with singles.
Jack Sigrist did the rest with a three-run homer.
The River Walkers scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings off Mallards starting pitcher Ryan Agnew.
But they couldn't manage to tie it, despite having plenty of opportunities over the final four innings.
Agnew (3-6) worked seven innings, allowing the thee runs on seven hits.
Justin Doughtie handled the final two innings, giving up four hits but no runs, for his first save.

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Record: 22-25, 5th, 11 GB Des Moines
Green Bay collected three runs in the bottom of the first inning off St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe, and held on for a 5-3 win over the River Walkers at PNC Park.
McNaboe, who had not allowed a run in his previous two starts, didn't see that streak last long against the Mallards.
He retired the first two batters in the bottom of the first, but then things unraveled beginning with a walk to Sal Valdez.
Ben Shuster followed with a run-scoring double.
When Tim Tawa blasted a two-run homer, the Mallards led 3-0.
St. Louis got on the board in the top of the second when Jovan Gill led off with a homer off Green Bay starting pitcher Ben Hughes.
The Mallards made it 4-2 in the bottom of the third.
McNaboe allowed three singles, before a Jaden Agassi drove in Sal Valdez who had led off the inning.
St. Louis answered with a run in the top of the fourth off Hughes.
Nick Shaw led off the inning with a single.
He moved to second on a wild pitch.
A botched hit and run by Jovan Gill ended up with Shaw stealing third, and scoring on a wild throw by catcher Alek Boychek.
The Mallards got that run back in the fifth.
Tawa led off the inning with a single off McNaboe.
A ground out moved him to second, and he scored on an Agassi single.
St. Louis got its final run in the top of the ninth, courtesy of Shaw.
He doubled and scored after a pair of ground outs.
Hughes (1-2) earned his first win of the season, allowing two runs on four hits over 7.2 innings. He struck out six and walked thee.
Antonio Gonzalez recorded the final out of the eighth.
Justin O'Rourke handled the ninth, allowing a run, but earning his 14th save.

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Record: 22-26, 5th, 12 GB Des Moines
Cody Bellinger hit a three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning off St. Louis reliever Oscar Martinez, to give Green Bay a 9-6 win at PNC Park.
The homer was the first of the season for the 37-year-old Bellinger, and it gave the Mallards a sweep of the three-game series.
Making his first appearance for the River Walkers after being claimed off waivers from Grand Rapids, Martinez allowed a lead-off single to Jaden Agassi to begin the bottom of the ninth.
He retired the next two batters, before allowing a single to Alex Boychuk.
With a lefty on lefty matchup, St. Louis opted to keep Martinez in the game, and they paid for it when Bellinger crushed the first pitch he saw 391 feet over the high wall in right field.
A back-and-forth game, the Mallards jumped out to a 3-0 lead, with a pair of runs in the first inning and a single tally in the second off Walkers starter Tom McClurg.
McClurg had been called up from AAA Memphis to start in place of the injured Zack Hunsicker.
St. Louis clawed its way back into the game, and eventually took the lead after a five-run top of the fourth.
Daniel Becerra drove in the final three runs with a bases-loaded double.
Becerra was injured while running the bases, and had to leave the game
The extent of his injury is unknown.
The Mallards powered back with back-to-back homers from Sal Valdez and Jaden Agassi off McClurg to begin the bottom of the fifth.
Staying in to face a left-handed hitter, McClurg then gave up a double to Austin Hendrick before exiting.
Luke Dunkin got out of the inning, with the Walkers still leading 6-5.
The Mallards tied it in the bottom of the seventh against Scott Rissler.
Agassi led off the inning with a single.
An Austin Hendrick bunt moved Agassi to second.
Kerry Fackelman chased him home with a pinch-hit single.
Mallards starting pitcher Triston Casas took some lumps, allowing six runs on eight hits in 3.2 innings.
The Green Bay bullpen was spotless the rest of the way -- Seth Halvorsen (2.1 IP), Antonio Gonzalez (1.0) and Allen Stephany (2.0) -- shutting out the Walkers the rest of the way.
Stephany (1-0) earned his first win of the season.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed second baseman Daniel Becerra on the 10-day injured list with a strained Achilles' tendon suffered in a 9-6 loss at Green Bay on May 25.
Becerra, 32, has hit .234 with nine homers and 25 RBIs in 43 games for St. Louis this season.
Getting called up from AAA Memphis is shortstop Kyren Paris.
Signed in the offseason to take over at shortstop for Jean Carmona, injuries has limited Paris to 12 games with the Walkers this season.
He has hit just .207 with no homers or RBIs.
His latest injury was a concussion which has kept him out of the majors since April 29.
He began an injury rehab in Memphis on May 19, and in eight games has hit .226 with 1 homer and five RBIs.

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The game between the Quad City Thunder and St. Louis River Walkers scheduled for May 27 at Busch Stadium (2006) has been postponed because of weather.
It has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader on May 28.

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Record: 22-27, 5th, 13 GB Des Moines
Vinny Padilla limited St. Louis to a pair of runs on four hits over the opening eight innings, and Quad City downed the River Walkers 3-2 in the opening game of a doubleheader at Fenway Park (1975).
Padilla (3-6) gave up single runs in the fifth and seventh innings, before giving way to closer Craig Fitzler, who earned his 13th save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Padilla struck out five and walked three during his time on the mound.
The Thunder jumped in front 2-0 in the bottom of the third on a two-out double from Nick Gonzalez off St. Louis starter Xavier Wigfall.
It's lead down to 2-1, Quad City picked up its third run in the sixth.
This time Gonzalez scored the run, leading off the inning with a single off Wigfall.
He stole second and moved to third on a ground out.
A Paul Totten fly ball advanced Gonzalez across the plate.

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Record: 23-27, 5th, 12.5 GB Des Moines
Jose Ramirez homered with two outs in the top of the 10th inning, his second home run of the game, to help lift St. Louis to an 8-7 win over Quad City in the second game of a doubleheader at Fenway Park (1975).
The victory snapped a six-game losing streak for the River Walkers.
Ramirez homer came off Thunder relief pitcher David Marcano.
St. Louis closer Ernesto Barbosa (4-1) allowed a lead-off single to Paul Totten to open the bottom of the 10th, but retired the next three to earn the win.
Quad City had tied it in the bottom of the ninth against Barboa, when he allowed a one-out double to Bill Blakeney and he scored on a Chase Davis single.
That evened it at 7-7.
Quad City jumped on Walkers starter Alex Pazos for four runs in the bottom of the first to go up 4-0.
That lead grew to 5-0 in the third before St. Louis finally got on the board in the top of the fifth on a lead-off homer from Jovan Gill off Thunder starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft.
QC answered that in the bottom half with another run off Pazos.
Nick Gonzalez led off the inning siwht a single and scored on a Totten ground ball.
St Louis began its comeback in earnest in the fifth, on Ramirez first homer, a two-run shot off Ashcraft to make it 6-3.
The Walkers then exploded for four runs in the seventh to take the lead.
Alex Greene tied with a two-run double off Ashcraft.
Jose Segura gave St. Louis the lead with a sacrifice fly which scored Greene.
Paxos worked five innings, allowing six runs on eight hits.
Luke Dunkin worked a scoreless sixth inning.
After that it was two innings apiece from Yeison Santos, who didn't give up a run, and Barbosa.

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MBL news: May 29 -- All-Star game fan voting update

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Record: 23-28, 5th, 13.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 2-2, Paul Totten hit one-out double to score two runs and highlight a three-run bottom of the sixth inning to help give Quad City a 5-3 win over St. Louis at Fenway Park (1975).
The win gave the Thunder victories in two of the three games in their series with the River Walkers.
Ben Nelson opened the bottom of the sixth with a double off St. Louis starter Angel Tiburcio.
Nick Gonzalez followed with a walk.
After a fly out, Nelson connected on his double to score both base runners.
Pinch-hitter Chase Davis later scored Totten with a two-out single, following an intentional walk to Bobby Wescott.
The Thunder went on top 2-0 with a pair of runs off Tiburcio in the bottom of the first.
St, Louis evened the score in the fifth, plating a pair off QC starter Pascal Marcovicci.
Marcovicci pitched five innings, allowing two run on four hits.
After that, it was an inning apiece from Jaden Foster, David Marcano, Miguel Peralta and Craig Fritzler.
Foster (2-1) earned the win.
Fritzler recorded all three outs via strikeout for his 14th save.

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MLB news: Week 8 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 23-29, 5th, 13.5 GB Des Moines
Milwaukee collected four runs over the first four innings against St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe and the Crushers rode that to a 6-3 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Milwaukee banged out three singles in the opening inning -- including a two-run single by Hsin-ping Mei to go up 2-0.
An inning later, two singles and two walks, including a bases-loaded free pass to Brett Baty, made it 3-0.
Noah Naylor hit a two-out homer off McNaboe in the third to up the ante to 4-0.
The River Walkers pieced together a pair of runners in the bottom of the sixth inning off Crushers starter Scott Mueller to draw within 4-2.
Milwaukee got both those runs back in the top of the ninth, when Mei hit a two-run homer off reliever Yeison Santos.
Mueller (3-1) allowed two runs on seven hits over 6.1 innings.
Chad Bigalow handled the final out of the seventh inning.
The eighth and ninth belonged to Joseph King, who notched his fifth save.

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Record: 23-30, 6th, 14.5 GB Des Moines
Erik Rivera hit a two-run home run off St. Louis relief pitcher Nick Ruffalo in the top of the ninth inning to help lift Milwaukee to a 6-4 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Michael Brooks drew a walk to open the top of the ninth.
Rivera then turned on a 2-2 pitch and powered it 385 feet over the wall in left field to put the Crushers in front for good.
A run scoring triple from Rivera followed by RBI singles from Hsin-ping Mei and Ian Blount in the top of the first off River Walkers starting pitcher Zack Hunsicker helped stake Milwaukee to an early 3-0 lead.
A solo homer from Noah Naylor in the fourth later gave the Crushers a 4-1 lead, after Nick Shaw had gone deep for the first St. Louis run in the bottom of the second.
The Walkers rallied to tie it.
They scored twice in the fourth off Crushers starter George McCardel.
Kevin Melendez drove in both runs with a single.
A pinch-hit homer from Jae-hong Chang off McCardell in the seventh tied it.
McCardel pitched seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
Chad Bigalow and Adam George both pitched a scoreless inning.
George earned his 13th save.