2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 76-55, 2nd, 1.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Eric Gerhardt doubled off St. Louis closer Bobby Westerman, to scored Arnold Hammond and give Cedar Rapids a 7-6 win at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
Westerman hit Hammond with a pitch to open the inning. He then reached second on a wild pitch.
After a strikeout of Tim Jurgensen, Gerhardt doubled on a 1-0 pitch into center to win it.
It was the first time since Westerman joined the River Walkers just prior to the trade deadline he has blown a save or lost a game.
The game featured plenty of offense early.
Rookie Jose Gonzalez hit a three-run homer in the top of the first inning off Grapplers starting pitcher Ivan Alonzo to highlight a three-run inning.
Jordan Batista did Gonzalez one better, hitting grand slam off St. Louis starter Jesse McNaboe in the bottom half to cap a five-run frame.
McNaboe (14-3) didn't even making it out of the first inning, exiting with one out still remaining.
St. Louis briefly took the lead with a pair of runs off reliever Lorenzo Mascorro in the top of the sixth.
Cedar Rapids tied it in the bottom half on a Dane Finch homer off Nick Strother.
Alonzo lasted 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on four hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Mascorro finished the fifth and worked the sixth when St. Louis briefly took the lead.
Ian Goshe pitched a spotless seventh and eighth innings for the Grapplers.
Keith Kirby (3-9) allowed a pair of base runners in the ninth, but with runners on second and third got Chris Duncan to fly out to end the inning.

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Record: 76-56, 2nd, 2.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Edwin Rivera threw six shutout innings and his relief corps did the rest, as Cedar Rapids downed St. Louis 5-0 at Connie Mack Stadium (1960) to complete a three-game sweep.
Rivera (9-6) allowed three hits in his six innings. He struck out three and walked one.
Jordyn Ibarra handled the seventh and eighth innings, he also recorded the first out of the ninth.
Ian Goshe tallied the final two outs to complete the shutout.
The Grapplers scored single runs in the third -- Rivera doubled and scored on a Mark Hill single -- and fifth innings -- Miguel Mena doubled and scored when Dane Finch reached on an error by center fielder Jose Segura -- off River Walkers starter Josh McDonald to go up 2-0.
Cedar Rapids upped its advantage to 5-0 with a three-run sixth.
After a lead-of walk to Tim Jurgensen and a fly out by Eric Gerhardt, McDonald gave up four consecutive hits.
Pinch-hitter Jerrion Ealy drove in a run with a single.
Mena followed with his second double of the game, plating a pair, to make it 5-0.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed right-handed relief pitcher Angel Tiburcio on the 10-day injured list, after he had to leave their 7-6 loss to Cedar Rapids on August 28 with an elbow injury.
Tiburcio, 35, has pitched in 47 games this season, going 2-1 with three saves and a 4.54 ERA.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis is 27-year-old right-hander Chris Eason.
He has gotten into 45 games for the Redbirds, going 3-2 with 18 saves and a 3.04 ERA.
This is the first trip to the majors for Eason.

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Record: 77-56, 2nd, 2.5 GB Cedar Rapids
St. Louis finally got a decent start from Xavier Wigfall, who worked five shutout innings before giving up a two-run home run to Toledo's Chris Gibbs, and the River Walkers went on to win 5-3 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Coming off Tommy John surgery, Wigfall had a rough first three starts before this one.
The Gibbs home run made it 3-2 River Walkers.
Wigfall (1-3) ended up going 5.2 innings, allowing the two runs on three hits. He struck out four and walked two.
St. Louis jumped out to a 1-0 lead against Mud Hens starting pitcher Martin Lopez in the bottom of the third.
The Walkers banged out three straight singles, from Wigfall, Bob Saavedra and Jackson Miller, his driving in the run.
The St. Louis lead expanded to 3-0 in the fifth.
Izaac Pacheco led off with a single, and moved to second on a Wigfall bunt.
Saavedra singled again, putting runners at the corners.
Miller drove in Pacheco with a fly ball.
Jose Segura followed with a double to score the inning's third run.
It's lead down to 3-2, the Walkers went back up by three in the bottom of the seventh.
Segura tripled with Miller on first.
Nick Shaw drove in Segura with a fly ball to right off Josh Stauffer.
After Wigfall left with one out in the sixth, St. Louis used five relievers to close out the game.
Scott Rissler faced just one batter, to end the sixth.
Rookie Chris Eason made his debut with a silent seventh. He did come out for the eighth and allowed a lead-off single.
Nick Strother (0.2 IP) and Greg Sones (0.1) combined to make sure that run did not score.
Bobby Westerman rebounded from his first bad outing as a Walkers, with a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed center fielder Jose Segura on the injured list, after he complained of blurred vision following their 5-3 win over Toledo on August 30.
Segura is expected to miss about a week.
In 111 games this season, the 30-year old has hit .199 with 23 homers and 75 RBIs.
Getting the callup from AAA is 26-year-old outfielder Hector Tavarez.
Tavarez started the season with the Walkers, but hit just .198 with eight homers and 17 RBIs in 48 games.
At AAA, Tavarez has hit .301 with 24 homers and 65 RBIs in 87 games.

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Record: 77-57, 2nd, 3.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Chris Ebarb held St. Louis to one run over the opening 5.1 innings, and Toledo defeated the River Walkers 6-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Mud Hens grabbed control of a scoreless game with three runs in the top of the third inning.
St. Louis starting pitcher Edward Kunselman had left the game with a hamstring injury.
He is expected to miss about a week.
Dave Hernandez led off the third with a double off reliever Chris Eason.
Hernandez, however, was thrown out at third on a bunt attempt by Ebarb.
Ebrab would score because Jamie Mora followed with a single.
Eason then walked Chris Gibbs to load the bases.
Zachary Stella was called into relieve, and Ebarb scored when River Walkers third baseman Bob Saavedra mishandled a ball hit by Ronny Maurcio.
Andy Jordan followed with a single, scoring another run to make it 2-0.
Gibbs scored on a Josh Daly fly ball to give the Mud Hens a three-run edge.
That advantage became four runs early in the fourth, Kevin Valentin leading off the inning with his 27 home run of the season, coming off Stella.
Valentin collected another RBI in the fifth, with a sacrifice fly off Scott Rissler to score Josh Daly, who had reached on a one-out walk from Stella.
Hernandez led opened eighth with a homer off Nick Ruffalo, giving Toledo a 6-1 lead.
Ebarb (11-5) allowed one run on four hits in 5.2 innings. He struck out seven and walked one.
Travis Hailey finished the sixth and pitched a scoreless seventh.
Andres Yanez allowed pretty much a meaningless run in the eighth.
George Williams set St. Louis down in order in the ninth.

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MBL news: Sept. 1 --Players and Pitchers of the Month for August

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MBL news: Sept. 1 -- Rookies of the Month and standings

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MBL news: Sept. 1 -- American League leaders

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MBL news: Sept. 1 -- National League leaders

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Walkers news: Sept. 1 -- Team statistics for August

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Walkers news: Sept. 1 -- Team statistics for 2035 season

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Player of the Month: Manuel Coke -- The 22-year-old rookie outfielder played in 27 games, during which he hit .317 with five homers, 12 RBIs and 13 runs scored. He got on base at a .348 clip and slugged .505.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Edward Kunzelman -- The 31-year-old right-hander was 3-0 in six starts with a 4.55 ERA. He pitched 27.2 innings, during which he struck out 29 and had a 1.19 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Nick Strother -- The 30-year-old right-hander pitched in 11 games. He had no record or saves, but pitched 13.2 innings, during which he struck out 18 and had a 0.95 WHIP.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have added a pair of players from AAA Memphis, with the Sept. 1 expansion of rosters from 26 to 28 players.
Getting the call ups are left-handed pitcher Ron Cox and first baseman/third baseman Mark Herman.
Cox, 23, has gone 14-5 with three saves in 29 games/23 starts for the Redbirds this season. He boasts a 2.73 ERA for the season.
A 23rd-round pick in the 2029 draft, Cox will likely be asked to pitch out of the bullpen for St. Louis.
Herman, 22, only recently was called up to AAA and has been on fire at the plate for the Redbirds hitting .441 with seven homers and 25 RBIs in 28 games.
Before that, Herman had excelled at AA Springfield, hitting .283 with 11 homers and 56 RBIs in 103 games.
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2034 draft, Herman will provide depth at the corner infield positions.
Memphis owns a Pacific Coach League-best 96-38 record, and a 12-game lead over New Orleans in the AC South Division.

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Record: 78-57, 2nd, 2.5 GB Cedar Rapids
St. Louis scored four times in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat Toledo 6-5 at Busch Stadium (2006).
At one point, the Mud Hens owned leads of 3-0 and 5-1 only to see the River Walkers storm back.
Aided by three walks, Toledo scored three times in top top of the first off St. Louis starting pitcher Shane Drogo.
Ronny Mauricio drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk.
Danny Diaz plated the other two with a single.
After Bob Savaderra led off the bottom of the first with a homer off Hens starter Matt Todd, Toledo responded with a run in the top of the second, and another one in the third.
Jamie Mora reached on an error by second baseman Izaac Pacheco to open the bottom of the second.
Mora stole both second and third, and scored on an Andy Jordan fly ball.
Kevin Valentin led off the third with his 28th homer of the season.
The Walkers made it 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth, when Aaron Nixon, who had four hits in the game, tripled off Todd to lead off the inning.
He scored on a Pacheco fly out.
St. Louis really busted loose against the Toledo bullpen in the eighth.
It happened fairly quickly.
Saavedra led off with a double off Jose Lopez, and scored on a Manuel Coke single.
Hector Tavarez then tied it with two-run homer.
Josh Stauffer replaced Lopez, only to issue a walk to Nick Shaw.
Stauffer retired the next two, but Nixon doubled down the third-base line scoring Shaw to put the Walkers in front.
It was an ugly start for Drogo, who lasted just 3.2 innings, during which he allowed five runs on three hits. He struck out six and walked the same.
The St. Louis' bullpen, however, was lights out not allowing a hit over the final 5.1 innings.
Oscar Martinez got the call first, and he finished the fourth inning and pitched until there was two outs in the seventh.
Scott Rissler finished off the seventh, and worked a slight eighth.
Bobby Westerman tossed a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save since coming to St. Louis.

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Record: 79-57, 2nd, 1.5 GB Cedar Rapids
For the second straight game, St. Louis spotted Toledo a multi-run lead and rallied for a win, this time scoring the final eight runs of the game to defeat the Mud Hens 10-5 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win gave the River Walkers victories in three of the four games in the series.
Already leading 3-2, the Mud Hens added two more runs to their advantage in the top of the fourth inning.
Toledo connected for three doubles in the inning -- from Andy Jordan, Kevin Valentin and Dave Hernandez, the latter two driving in runs -- off St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe.
Jackson Miller answered those two runs with a two-run homer off Toledo starter Jorge Aristizabal in the bottom of the fourth, making it 5-4.
It was all Walkers after that.
They took the lead with a pair of runs in the sixth.
Manuel Coke led off the inning with a double off Aristizabal and scored on a Miller single.
Jason Gildea replaced Aristizabal, only to issue a walked to Hector Tavarez and a single to Jose Ramirez to load the bases.
Pinch-hitter Wayne McHaney snapped the tie with a fly ball to center, deep enough to score Tavarez.
Coke hit a solo homer in the seventh off Jose Lopez, extending the St. Louis' lead to 7-5
The Walkers made it ugly with three runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Pinch-hitter Nathaniel Dixon scored two of the runs with a double off Jim Campbell.
Bob Saavedra made it 10-5 with a single, scoring Chris Duncan.
McNaboe (15-3) was not particularly good, allowing five runs on eight hits in six innings, but he did secure his MLB-high 15th win of the season.
Nick Ruffalo retired all six batters he faced to get the game to the ninth.
Greg Sones allowed a hit but nothing else in the ninth.

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Walkers news: Sept. 3 -- Week 22 - Awards and standings

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Record: 80-57, 2nd, 0.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Tied 2-2, Hector Tavarez hit a two-run home run to highlight a three-run top of the fourth inning for St. Louis, as the River Walkers won 5-2 over Chicago at Wrigley Field (1938).
Jose Ramirez drew a one-out walk from Sean Hopkins in front of what-would-be Tavarez's 10th home run of the season.
St. Louis, however, did add another run.
Hopkins hit the next batter, Chris Duncan. and he later scored on a two-out single by Bob Saavedra.
Josh McDonald (12-11) shrugged off a series of sub-par starts by limiting the G-Men to two runs on three hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
Scott Rissler, rookie Ron Cox and Bobby Westerman all pitched scoreless inning in relief.
Cox struck out three of the four batters he faced in his major-league debut.
Westerman posted his ninth save since joining the Walkers.

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Record: 80-58, 2nd, 1.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Connor Walsh hit a three-run home run off Scott Rissler with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Chicago a 7-4 win over St. Louis at Wrigley Field (1938)
Rissler got Danny Gutierrez to ground out to open the bottom of the ninth.
But he followed that with a walk to Tony Nolasco and a double by George Phelps.
That brought Walsh to the plate, and he crushed a 3-2 pitch 372 feet over the left-field wall for his 15th homer of the season.
The River Walkers had tied it 4-4 in the top of the ninth.
Hector Tavarez singled with one out off Juan Gomez and scored on a Jose Ramirez double.
At one point, St. Louis had been down 4-0 but had rallied to tie it.
G-Men starting pitcher Greg Sadler went 5.2 innings, and didn't allow a run on three hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Jeremy Bouchard finished the sixth and got the first two outs of the seventh.
Gomez finished the seventh and gave up a run in the eighth.
Chicago closer Bill Webb (4-7) could not convert the save, but it did allow him to earn the win.

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Record: 80-59, 2nd. 2.5 GB Cedar Rapids
Chicago scored four runs over the first three innings off St. Louis starting pitcher Eric Kunselman, and the G-Men held on for a 4-3 win at Wrigley Field (1938).
Ken Turner got things going in a two-run bottom of the first inning for Chicago, with a one-out double.
Kunselman walked the next batter, Luis Tejada, before giving up a double to Ken Nelson, scoring Turner.
Tejada scored on a George Phelps ground out.
The G-Men pushed their lead to 3-0 in the second.
Connor Walsh singled off Kunselman with one out.
A bunt by pitcher Rhett Daniel moved Walsh to second.
When third baseman Bob Saavedra mishandled a ball hit by Danny Gutierrez, Walsh scored making it 3-0.
St. Louis tallied twice in the top of the third against Daniel.
Nick Shaw drove in both runs with a double.
But Tejada led off the bottom of the third with a double off Kunselman.
He scored on a Tony Nolasco fly ball, making it 4-2.
St. Louis drew within 4-3 in the top of the sixth.
Nathaniel Dixon tripled to lead off the inning off reliever Jerry Krajancic.
He scored on an Aaron Nixon fly ball.
But that would be the end of the scoring.
Daniel, who was making a spot start, allowed two runs on four hits in four innings.
Krajanici (1-0) earned the win after pitching two innings, giving up the final St. Louis' run.
Willie Mendoza handled two innings, not allowing a base runner.
Bill Webb worked a silent ninth for his 31st save.