2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

[rink23]

The St. Louis River Walkers have recalled second baseman Daniel Becerra from AAA Memphis, where he has been on an injury rehab.
Becerra, 35, has not played in the majors since suffering an elbow injury on July 17.
In 83 games with St. Louis this season, Becerra has hit .274 with three homers and 17 RBIs.
First baseman/third baseman Mark Herman has been sent back to AAA.
In his first callup to the majors, Herman got into four games/two starts, and hit .300 with an RBI.

[rink23]

Record: 80-60, 2nd, 3 GB Cedar Rapids
Trailing 2-1, Cleveland pummeled St. Louis starting pitcher Shane Drogo for five runs in the bottom of the second inning, and the Juke Box Heroes went on to defeat the River Walkers 6-3 at Cleveland Stadium (1980).
Will Banfield drew a one-out walk from Walkers starting pitcher Shane Drogo to get things rolling.
Ramon Zarate followed with a single.
Pitcher Anton Alguezez got down a bunt, putting runners at second and third.
Mac Horvath drew another walk to load the bases.
Judson Fabian scored Banfield with a fly ball.
Jon Howard plated two more, when he followed with a double.
Javy Gutierrez made it 6-2 with a single.
Alguezes (9-12) worked six innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Dominc Pipkin, Mike Fagan and Adam Wegner all worked a scoreless innings.
Wegner, who long ago was a top Walkers prospect, now has 33 saves.

[rink23]

Record: 81-60, 2nd, 3 GB Cedar Rapids
Down 2-1, St. Louis scored five times in the top of the eighth inning to rally for a 6-4 win over Cleveland at Cleveland Stadium (1980).
Joey Kierman had tripled off River Walkers starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe to drive in Randolph Thorne with a go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh.
Zach Wenman, however, got St. Louis going in the top of the eighth with a one-out single of former Walkers reliever Josh Forgy.
Pinch-hitter Wayne McHaney followed with another single.
Josh Paul took over the mound duties for Cleveland, only to be greeted by three more singles -- from Bob Saavedra, Jackson Miller (RBI) and Manuel Coke -- before Nick Shaw delivered the big blow with a three-run double.
Ramon Zarate did hit a two-run homer off Nick Strother in the bottom of the eighth, pulling the Heroes to within 6-4.
Bobby Westerman set Cleveland down in order in the ninth for his 10th save since coming to St. Louis.
McNaboe went 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on eight hits. He struck out five and walked three.
Nick Ruffalo finished off the seventh, while Strother pitched the eighth.

[rink23]

Record: 81-60, 2nd, 3 GB Cedar Rapids
Luke Madden pitched shut out for the opening six innings, and the Cleveland bullpen held St. Louis scoreless until the ninth in a 5-2 Juke Box Heroes victory at Cleveland Stadium (1980).
Madden (8-8) scattered four hits during his time on the mound, while striking out four and not issuing a walk.
Oscar Foreman maintined the shutout over the seventh and eighth innings.
Jake Gaither recorded two outs in the ninth, but allowed a two-run homer to Nick Shaw.
Adam Wenger came on and got pinch-hitter Jose Gonzalez to fly out to end it.
Wenger now has 34 saves.
Cleveland got single runs in each of the first two innings against River Walkers starting pitcher Josh McDonald.
Mac Horvath led off the bottom of the first with a single, and eventually scored on a two-out single by Edgar Bustillos.
In the second, Cleveland again pieced together a trio of singles.
This time, Justin Fabian collected the RBI with a two-out hit off McDonald.
It scored Will Banfield, who had led off the inning with a single.
Bustillos, who started his professional career in the Walkers' farm system, homered off McDonald in the fifth, making it 3-0.
The Heroes tallied twice against the St. Louis bullpen in the seventh.
Bustillos earned both the RBIs with a bases-loaded single.

[rink23]

Record: 81-62, 2nd, 4 GB Cedar Rapids
Cleveland may have gotten outhit, but it didn't get outscored as the Juke Box Heroes downed St. Louis 6-4 at Cleveland Stadium (1980).
The win gave Cleveland wins in three of the four games in the series.
A two-out RBI single from Manuel Coke off Heroes starting pitcher Keegan Jensen staked the River Walkers to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning.
That advantage was gone by the end of the bottom of the second, as aided by a pair of walks from St. Louis starter Xavier Wigfall, Cleveland seized a 2-1 lead.
Javy Gutierrez drove in both runs with a two-out single.
The Heroes pushed their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth.
It all started with a two-out single from Jon Howard.
Howard stole second, which led to an intentional walk to Edgar Bustillos.
Wigfall then issued another walk, this one to Will Holland, loading the bases.
Nick Strother got the call, but former Walkers reserve catcher Will Banfield greeted him with a bases-clearing double.
Gutierrez led off the eighth with a homer off Zachary Stella, putting the Heroes in front 6-1.
St. Louis scored three times in the top of the ninth -- Nathaniel Dixon led off the inning with a homer (off reliever Mike Fagan) and Zach Wenman later hit a two-run homer (off Dominic Pipkin) - but it was not enough.
Jensen went 3.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits.
Jesse Gaither (5-1) earned the win after finishing the fourth and getting the game to the seveth.
Dylan Cloonan and Fagan both recorded three outs.
Dominic Pipkin got the first two outs of the ninth.
Adam Wenger got his second straight one-out save, his 35th overall of the season, to end the game.

[rink23]

MBL news: Sept. 11 -- Week 23 - Awards and standings

[rink23]

Record: 82-62, 2nd, 3 GB Cedar Rapids
Edward Kunselman pitched six shut-out innings and St. Louis broke open a 1-0 game with five runs in the bottom of the fifth in a 6-2 win over Cedar Rapids at Busch Stadium (2006).
The teams came into the series with Cedar Rapids holding a four-game lead over St. Louis with 18 games left in the season.
The River Walkers' Jackson Miller opened the scoring with lead-off homer off Grapplers starting pitcher Josh Downer in the bottom of the fourth.
An inning later, St. Louis put five its first six batters on base to start the inning against Downer, the one which didn't was a sacrifice bunt, as it took full control.
Bob Saavedra had an RBI triple and later scored on a Jackson Miller single.
Nick Shaw did the rest with a three-run homer.
Kunselman (10-7) went seven innings, scattering six hits. He struck out three and walked three.
Oscar Martinez got the first two outs of the seventh inning -- and also allowed both of the Grapplers runs, Arnold Hammond tripled to drive in a run and later scored -- before giving way to rookie Chris Eason.
Eason finished the eighth and worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the win.

[rink23]

Record: 82-63, 2nd, 4 GB Cedar Rapids
Leading 1-0, Cedar Rapids scored four runs in the top of the third inning and went on to defeat St. Louis 10-3 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The River Walkers took a gamble by moving No. 1 starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe up a day, and it failed miserably as the 15-game winner allowed five runs on five hits in five innings.
The Grapplers jumped in front in the top of the first.
Lead-off hitter Mark Hill reached on an error by third baseman Mark Saavedra, the first of two errors by Saavedra in the game.
Hill, who had moved to second on the throwing error, scored on a Jose Morillo single.
Cedar Rapids put its first six hitters aboard against McNaboe in the third.
Morillo drew a walk to get things going.
Morillo then stole second and scored on an Eric Gerhardt single.
Tim Jurgensen followed with another single, and when Arnold Hammond was hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded.
Jordan Batista singled, scoring Gerhardt, making it 3-0.
Miguel Mato connected on the fourth single of the inning, driving in the final two runs.
The River Walkers climbed back into it with a three-run bottom of the third against Cedar Rapids starter Antonio Echevaria.
Jose Ramirez drove in the first run with a double.
Saavedra plated the second with a fly ball.
An RBI single from Nathaniel Dixon made it 5-3.
St. Louis, however, would not score again while the Grapplers would add five more runs on 10 hits against the Walkers' bullpen over the final four innings.
Batista connected for a three-run double off Nick Strother in the seventh.
Pinch-hitter Dane Finish and Vince Hill had RBI singles of Oscar Martinez in the ninth.
Echevaria lasted just 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits.
Ian Goshe finished the fifth inning for the Grapplers.
Matt Ray (5-4) earned the win for a 1-2-3 sixth inning.
Jordyn Ibarra pitched a scoreless seventh and got the first out of the eighth.
Lorenzo Mascorro completed the eighth.
Closer Keith Kirby handled the ninth in a non-save situation.

[rink23]

Record: 83-63, 2nd, 3 GB Cedar Rapids
Josh McDonald held Cedar Rapids to one hit over eight scoreless innings, and Scott Rissler set the Grapplers down in order in the ninth as St. Louis won 7-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win gave the River Walkers wins in the first and third games of the three-game series. St. Louis trails Cedar Rapids by three games with 16 remaining.
A one-out single by Miguel Mato in the sixth inning was the lone hit for Cedar Rapids off McDonald (13-12), who also struck out five while walking one.
St. Louis went up 1-0 in the bottom of the first.
Bob Saavedra reached on an error by third baseman Josiah Miller to lead off the inning, the wild throw put him at second base.
An Aaron Nixon bunt moved Saavedra to second. He scored on a Manuel Coke fly ball to center.
That advantage grew to 3-0 in the third.
Saavedra again set things in motion with a lead-off single off Grapplers starter Joel Glenn.
This time, Nixon singled Saavedra to second, and he scored on a Coke single.
Nixon later scored when second baseman Miguel Mena booted a ball hit by Daniel Becerra.
A solo homer from Nick Shaw off reliever Matt Ray, followed by a Jose Ramirez double and an Becerra single made it 5-0 in the fifth.
Becerra hit a two-run homer in the seventh off Anton Melendez to cap the scoring.

[rink23]

Record: 83-64, 2nd, 4 GB Cedar Rapids
St. Louis built an 8-3 lead over the first 5.5 innings, but Kansas City wiped that out with five runs in the bottom of the sixth and seven in the seventh as the Monarchs roared to a 15-9 win at Kauffman Stadium.
Rookie Miguel Coke hit two homers and drove in five runs to help power the River Walkers to their early lead.
But their starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall allowed three runs during that span to keep KC in the game.
He was still out there to begin the sixth when things began to collapse.
Wigfall allowed three singles to the Monarchs' first four batters, before exiting the game with the score 8-4.
Nick Ruffalo took over and was greeted by two-run double by Jonathan Vaughns.
Jason Gillem then reached on an error by third baseman Bob Saavedra, his fourth error in the last three games, to put runners at the corners.
T.J. Peterson connected on a sacrifice fly, scoring Vaughns, making it 8-7.
Rookie Chris Eason replaced Ruffalo.
Gillem stole second and went to third on a throwing error by catcher Zach Wenman.
Gillem then scored when shortstop Aaron Nixon made the third St. Louis error of the inning on a ball hit by Nick Jernigan.
It was now tied 8-8.
The seventh was even worse for the Walkers.
The Monarchs scored seven times on seven hits to go up 15-8.
Kansas City's first five batters of the inning reached base against rookie reliever Greg Sones and right-hander Nick Strother.
Pinch-hitter Kyle Tucker, Vaughns, Eric Peretz and Jernigan all had RBI singles off Tucker, while Gillem drove in a run with a fly ball.
T.J. Latham then plated two with a double before Strother was replaced.
Monarchs starting pitcher Mike Tucker lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing four runs in seven hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Anderson Perry worked a total of two innings, getting the game into the sixth, but did allow three runs.
Chris Long finished off the sixth.
After that, it was a scoreless inning apiece from Seth Halvorsen, Garo Abe and Leo Hermosillo.
Halverson (2-1) came out of it with the win.

[rink23]

Record: 83-65, 2nd, 5 GB Cedar Rapids
Kansas City scored five runs over the first three innings off St. Louis starting pitcher Shane Drogo, and the Monarchs rode that to a 6-4 win at Kauffman Stadium.
Back-to-back two-out homers in the bottom of the first from Gerardo Bernal and Nick Jernigan off Drogo set the tone, as KC went up 2-0.
After Daniel Becerra went deep off Monarchs starter Travis Rinker in the top of the second, KC struck for two more in the bottom half.
A single, a hit by pitch and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, Josh Shuler then scored a pair with a single off Drogo.
In the third, Jernigan hit his second homer of the game, as the Monarchs' lead grew to 5-1.
Later, the Walkers would pull to within 5-4 after a three-run homer from Jackson Miller off Rinker in the fifth.
That, however, would be the end of the scoring for St. Louis.
Jason Gillem had a run-scoring single off Walkers closer Bobby Westerman in the eighth for the game's final run.
Rinker (14-5) allowed four runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out four and walked one.
Chris Long finished the sixth inning.
Garo Abe, Jose Patricio and Leo Hermosillo all pitched scoreless innings in relief.
Hermosillo's save total grew to 21.

[rink23]

Record: 84-65, 2nd, 4 GB Cedar Rapids
Edward Kunselman tossed a six-hit shutout as St. Louis avoided a three-game sweep with a 7-0 win over Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium.
Kunselman (11-7) allowed six hits (four singles and two doubles) during his time on the mound. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter.
The River Walkers took control of the game early with two runs in the first inning and four in the second.
They strung together three singles and a walk against Monarchs starter Alexis Yanex in the top of the fifth.
Nick Shaw and Hector Tavarez both collected RBIs with singles.
In the second, St. Louis scored four times on five hits and chases Yanez.
Jackson Miller scored the inning's first two runs with a double of Yanez.
Nick Shaw did the rest, belting a two-run homer off Yanez.
Shaw collected a third RBI in the fourth, with a run-scoring single off Anderson Parra.

[rink23]

MBL news: Sept. 17-- Week 24 -- Awards and standings

[rink23]

Record: 84-66, 2nd, 4 GB Cedar Rapids; Magic No. 9
A once 6-1 lead whittled down to 6-5, Springfield got a three-run home run from pinch-hitter Joseph Hughes in the top of the ninth inning and went on to defeat St. Louis 9-5 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Hughes' home run, his 20th of the season, came off River Walkers relief pitcher Scott Rissler, who had just entered the game.
Also scoring on the homer were, Justin Schneider and Ruben Villanueva who had reached on one-out singles off Greg Sones.
The Railers jumped in front 1-0 in the top of the first inning.
Ryan West led off the game with a double off St. Louis starter Jesse McNaboe, and scored when Hideaki Taguchi followed with a single.
The Walkers btied it in the bottom of the first, rookie Manuel Coke hitting his 21st homer off the season. It came off Springfield starting pitcher Ewdy Alex.
Mike Murray homered off McNaboe with two outs in the fourth, giving the Railers the lead for good.
Springfield also added single runs in the fifth - Taguchi with an RBI double to drive in West, who had singled -- and sixth -- Dylan Crews doubled and scored on a McNaboe balk -- for a 4-1 advantage.
The Railers took their 6-1 lead in the seventh.
Alex Otero drew a one-out walk from reliever Ron Cox, and scored on a Schneider triple.
Schneider scored when Cox uncorked a wild pitch.
The Walkers right back into the game with four run in the seventh.
Alex opened the inning by allowing a single to Zach Wenman. He then left the game.
T.J. Darr took over and allowed four of the five batters he faced to reach base.
He also uncorked a wild pitch and was called for a balk.
Jose Segura and Bob Saavedra both had RBI singles in that sequence.
Daniel Becerra drove in the inning's final run with a double off Steve Nilsen.
Nilsen later hit Nick Shaw with a pitch to load the bases, but he got Wenman to hit into a fielder's choice to keep the Railers in front 6-5.
Alex (12-6) allowed two runs on five hits. He struck out two and walked two.
Darr (0.1 IP) and Nilsen (0.2) combined to work that ugly seventh.
Ruben Ruiz didn't allow a baserunner in the eighth or ninth, while posting his second save of the season.

[rink23]

Record:85-66, 2nd, 4 GB Cedar Rapids; Magic No. 8
St. Louis starting pitcher Josh McDonald held Springfield scoreless on seven hits while tossing a shutout in a 2-0 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
It is the second career shutout, his first coming back in 2031 when he was pitching for Ann Arbor.
All seven hits McDonald allowed were singles. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter while throwing 109 pitches.
The only runs of the game came in the bottom of the first inning off Railers starting pitcher Alan Albanese.
Bob Saavedra led off the bottom of the first with a single.
He scored from second on a one-out double by Jose Ramirez.
Daniel Becerra later scored Ramirez with a two-out single.

[rink23]

The Detroit Diesels are the first time to clinch a spot in the MBL postseason, having been crowned the champions of the American League South Division.
Detroit (97-52) claimed the title when Indianapolis lost 6-4 to Fort Wayne on Monday, Sept. 17. The Diesels didn't have a game scheduled for that day.
As of Sept. 18, Detroit owns a 14-game lead over Grand Rapids with 12 games left in the season.
The Diesels also have already wrapped up home-field advantage in the AL championship series. Their record is 16-games better than current AL East leader Toledo.
The playoff berth is the third for Detroit since the inception of the MBL in 2018.
The Diesels made the playoffs in 2024 and 2026, winning the World Series on both occasions.

[rink23]

Record: 85-67, 2nd, 5 GB Cedar Rapids; Magic No. 6
One shutout, deserves another, as Springfield's Marcos Zaragoza and three Railers relievers combined to shutout St. Louis 3-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win came a day after the River Walkers' Josh McDonald had shutout the Railers 2-0. The victory gave Springfield wins in two of three games in the series.
Zaragoza (13-6) handled the first 5.2 innings, allowing no runs on three hits. He struck out three and walked one.
Nick Thiel finished the sixth and worked a silent seventh.
Ryan Wimbush and Jose Santiago handled the eighth and ninth, respectively.
Santiago now has 30 saves for the season.
Springfield got the only run it would need in the top of the second off River Walkers rookie starter Kevin Hrdlicka.
Justin Schneider led off the inning with a single.
Hrdlicka walked the next two batters, Ruben Villaneuva and Dylan Crews, and Ben Rortvedt singled to scored Schneider.
The game other runs came via solo homers off Hrdlicka.
Billy Salas hit his 26 home run of the season in the third.
Hideaki Taguchi hit his 11th in the sixth.

[rink23]

Record: 85-68, 2nd, 6 GB Cedar Rapids, Magic No. 4
Akron hit two-run homers in the first (Victor Romero) and second innings (Joe Gray Jr.) to wipe out a 3-0 deficit, and the Flying Feet went on to defeat St. Louis 4-3 at Candlestick Park (1993).
The River Walkers scored three runs in the top of the first inning off Feet starting pitcher Jesus Pinto.
Nick Shaw provided the big blow with a two-run homer.
But Akron used the long ball to turn the game around.
Romero hit a two-out, two-run homer off Drogo in the first to pull the Feet to within a run.
In the second, Gray Jr. powered a 2-1 pitch from Drogo 398 feet over the wall in left-center as Akron claimed the lead.
Pinto (12-6) was strong after his rough opening inning.
He ended up going 5.1 innings, allowing the three runs on six hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Jonathan Rocco finished the sixth and got the first two outs of the seventh for Akron.
Tom Ross retired the only batter he faced to end the seventh.
Freddy Cisneros pitched the eighth, and kept the Feet in the lead.
Phil Luis allowed two hits but no runs in the ninth for his 28th save.

[rink23]

Record: 86-68, 2nd, 6 GB Cedar Rapids; Magic No. 3
St. Louis starting pitcher Edward Kunselman allowed two runs over 7.1 innings to help St. Louis slip past Akron 3-2 at Candlestick Park (1993).
Kunselman (12-7) allowed two run on six hits in his time on the mound. He struck out two and did walk three.
The River Walkers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning against Flying Feet starting pitcher Orland Claude.
Nick Shaw led off the inning with a double, and scored when Daniel Becerra tripled.
Becerra scored when the next batter, Jose Segura, hit a deep fly ball to center field.
Akron got its first run in the bottom of the second.
Kunselman walked two straight batters with no outs, and John Roberson drove one of them, John Hartigan, home with a single.
St. Louis went ahead 3-1 in the seventh.
Segura led off with a triple off reliever TJ Reeves.
He scored when Kunselman got down a bunt.
John Polk homered off Kunselman with one out in the eighth, but that was the end of the scoring.
Nick Strother came on after the Polk homer and finished the eight for St. Louis.
Bobby Westerman converted his 11th straight save since joining the Walkers in late July.

[rink23]

Walkers news: -- Never mind