2030 St. Louis River Walkers -- This could be the last time

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Walkers news: Team full season statistics on June 1

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Record: 26-30, 5th, 9 GB Quad City
Tied 1-1, Rockford put up three runs in the top of the seventh inning and went on to defeat St. Louis 4-2 at Busch Stadium (1997).
River Walkers ace Angel Tiburcio continued to have trouble getting out of the seventh inning, this time being charged both of the Lightning's runs.
Javy Monjaraz and Rece Hinds got it started with consecutive one-out doubles, Monjaraz scorign to tie the score.
Cory Tiller took over, and on his very first pitch Hinds stole third and then scored when catcher Jared Thomas' throw soared into left field.
The River Walkers did make it 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth, when Thairo Estrada connected on an RBI single which also left runners at first and third.
But Luis Palomo came on and walked Jose Ramirez to load the bases.
However, he got Jose Segura to fly out to keep it at 4-2.
Rockford starting pitcher Allen Stephany came into the game with an ERA over 10.00, but you would not know it considering how he pitched.
The right-hander took care of the first six innings, allowing one run on two hits. He struck out six and walked none.
Michele Vassalotti worked a scoreless sixth inning.
James Pazos (0.2 IP) and Palomo (0.1) combined in the eighth, when St. Louis made it 4-2.
Veteran Edwin Diaz worked a scoreless ninth for his 10th save.

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MBL news: June 2 -- All-Star game fan voting update

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Record: 27-30, 5th, 8 GB Quad City
Fueled by a three-run bottom of the sixth inning, St. Louis jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held on to defeat Rockford 4-3 at Busch Stadium (1997).
The victory allowed the River Walkers from being swept in their three-game series with the Lightning.
A two-out double from Jared Thomas off Rockford starter Miguel Ciseneros in the bottom of the fifth scored Jose Segura to open the scoring, as the Walkers went up 1-0.
An inning later, St. Louis loaded the bases on a trio of walks -- two from Cisneros and one from reliever Josh Friedman -- and Thomas drove all of them home with a double.
Wade Martin hit a two-run homer off Walkers reliever David Amador in the eighth to make it 4-2.
In the ninth, the first two Lightning batters got on base against Jake Brentz on an error (by first baseman Cris Rosario) and single, and with two outs a single by pinch-hitter Jackson Lueck made it 4-3.
Walkers closer Ernesto Barbosa got the call to end it, and he did, getting pinch-hitter Joe Coffey to ground out.
It gave Barbosa his ninth save of the season.
St. Louis starter Kaneo Kawamoto (6-5) got the win, he was credited with working seven innings during which he didn't allow a run and just three hits.
David Amador (0.2 IP), and Travis Krogman (0.1) combined on the eighth inning.
It was Brentz and Barbosa in the ninth.

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MBL news: Week 8 Awards and standings

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Andrew Benintendi gave a lot during his more than 12 seasons with the St. Louis River Walkers, so the Walkers decided to give him something special in his final game with the franchise.
After starting just one game in the opening two months plus of their season, Benintendi was given a start in their June 2 game against Rockford at Busch Stadium (1997).
As the 35-year-old came to the plate, he was given a standing ovation.
After he was struck out by the Lightning's Miguel Cisneros, he was given another.
Everyone knew, his time with the Walkers was over.
"I knew this was coming," said Benintendi, who was pulled from the game after the strikeout. "I had plenty of discussions with Skip (manager Mike Renkes) and Alfons (GM Alfonso Alfonseco) and it was easy to see that my time was running out here.
"It happened in a hurry. My knees went bad. It's tough for me to play in the field any more. And yes sure, I've hit some home runs over the years, but I'm a doubles guy. And when you cannot run, that's tough to do."
Renkes said the decision was not easy, but necessary for the Walkers, who continue to flounder under .500 at 27-30 and sit some eight games behind first-place Quad City.
"Benny's been a huge part of this team since we got this thing started," said Renkes. "But in a league with no DH, it's tough to have a guy on your roster who finds it hard to play in the field.
"We hoped, we could use him as a big bat off the bench. But our offense has really struggled this season, and we need more flexibility."
Benintendi, who has become almost unusable in the outfield, his rating has dropped from 50 to 20 since the end of the 2028 season, struggled as a pinch hitter this season going 7 for 31 (.226 BA) with just two RBIs.
"After being an everyday player for all these years, it's been frustrating to get just one at bat a day," said Benintendi. "It's tough. But this team wants to win, and with me struggling to play in the field it's hard to find a way for me to contribute."
The 35-year-old Benintendi has been with the Walkers since he was taken in the fourth round of the Midwest Baseball League inaugural draft following the folding of Major League Baseball after the Madfred scandal.
He made his impact right away in that 2018 season, leading the Walkers to a championship during which he earned MVP honors in their World Series win over Dayton.
A year later, Benintendi earned NL MVP honors in a campaign where he hit .340 with 41 homers and 123 RBIs.
He nearly duplicated those numbers in 2020, bating .298 with 38 homers and 123 RBIs.
In his 12-plus seasons in St. Louis, during which the team made the postseason five times and made the World Series three times winning two titles, Benintendi won the one MVP, four Silver Sluggers, two Gold Gloves and was selected to the NL All-Star team six times.
"St. Louis will always be my baseball home," said Benintendi. "We did a lot of great things here. We always seemed to be the hunt. A lot of great memories.
"There was always a reason to come to the ball park. The fans were awesome."
The Walkers did look for a trade partner, but could no one willing to take on Benintendi.
He is currently being paid $15,041,000 per season, with an option on 2031.
He'll still take home more than $11 million this season, even if he never swings a bat.
His release takes the Walkers off the hook for that season.
"I'd like to keep on playing for a team that has a role for me," said Benintendi. "I know I can still hit. And I've been around winning teams all my life, so hopefully that counts for something.
"It'll be hard to move on. But that is how this game works."

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The St. Louis River Walkers have made a trade with the Kansas City Monarchs, landing right fielder Steve Rossi in exchange for a pair of AAA players starting Ben Schellenger and outfielder Carlos Vidal.
Rossi has long been a highly touted prospect for the Monarchs, but been blocked by the depth of their outfield at the major-league level.
This season, the 27-year-old left-handed hitter is batting .361 in 35 games with three homers and nine RBIs.
In Schellenger, Kansas City receives a decently regarded prospect who has struggled in his shots to pitch in the majors.
Schellenger, 25, is 4-1 in 10 games/9 starts for AAA Memphis this season and is boasting a 2.73 ERA.
But in eight starts in the majors in 2029, Schellenger went 1-3 and posted a 5.79 ERA.
In Vidal, the Monarchs require a veteran outfielder who did some great things while with the River Walkers.
A player who did some things on the big stage, Vidal bated .257 with 82 homers and 232 RBIs in more than 600 games with the Walkers.
A big reason for the deal, was both Schelleger and Vidal have been slapped with a fragile label,

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Record: 28-30, 4th, 8 GB Quad City
Jose Segura hit a pinch-hit grand slam to cap an eight-run bottom of the eighth inning that helped give St. Louis a 9-6 win over Chicago at Busch Stadium (1997).
The G-Men scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning off the River Walkers bullpen -- getting RBI singles from Paul Broyles (off Ricky Cisneros) and Aaron Nixon (off Travis Krogman) and an bases-loaded walk drawn by Jake Harris (from Krogman -- to build what seemed a comfortable 6-1 lead.
But St. Louis quickly went to work against the G-Men relief corps in the bottom of the inning.
Peter Ahn drew a walk from Carter Stewart to open the inning. Thairo Estrada followed by reaching on an error by second baseman Jake Harris.
Jose Ramirez drove in the inning's first run with a double.
Two batters later, Steve Rossi, playing his first game with the Walkers, delivered his third hit of the game, a single, which scored two.
Steve Von Lehmden took over for Stewart, but was no better allowing consecutive singles to Joshua Rivera, Hayden Jones and Alex Thomas.
That drew the Walkers within 6-5, and brought Segura to the plate.
Facing an 0-1 count, Segura powered the ball 429 feet over the wall in right center -- his 19th homer of the season.
Trey Benton made the start for St. Louis, he wasn't strong but kept it close allowing three runs on eight hits over 6.2 innings.
Yeison Santos retired the only batter he faced to get out of a jam in the seventh.
Cory Tiller took the mound in the eighth before Cisneros and Krogman.
Krogman (2-1) would get the win.
David Amador pitched around a lead-off walk in the ninth for his first save.

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Record: 29-30, 4th, 8 GB Quad City
The off-season signing of free agent pitcher Izzy San Juan continued to be a wise investment for the St. Louis, as the 31-year-old left-hander tossed a three-hit shutout in the River Walkers' 2-0 win over Chicago at Busch Stadium (1997).
It was the second shutout of the season for San Juan (7-2), in addition to the two hits -- both singles -- he struck out four and walked one.
The Walkers got their runs in the first and eighth innings.
Lead-off hitter Peter Ahn scored both the runs.
In the bottom of the first, he led off with a single off G-Men starter Shohei Ohtani.
He moved to second on a ground ball, and wound up at third on a Jose Ramirez' single.
A two-out single from Cris Rosario would send Ahn across the plate.
In the eighth, Ahn swung at the first pitch he saw from reliever Kevin Milam and drove it 429 feet over the fence in center field.

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Record: 30-30, 4th, 8 GB Quad City
Wilson Lara tossed five shutout innings, during which St. Louis built a 2-0 lead, and the River Walkers went to defeat Chicago 4-1 to complete a three-game sweep at Busch Stadium (1997).
Lara (4-3) allowed just two hits in his five innings. He struck out four and walked six.
Peter Ahn homered for the second game in a row for the River Walkers, this time a lead-off blast in the top of the first inning off Chicago's Anderson Parra.
The Walkers' lead grew to 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth.
Parra hit the inning's second batter, Jared Thomas, with a pitch.
He scored two batters later on a double by Jose Ramirez.
Chicago did get on the board in the sixth against the Walkers' bullpen.
Jake Gelof reached on a one-out single off Cory Tiller.
He moved to third on a two-out single by pinch-hitter Shohei Ohtani off Yeison Santos.
When Aaron Nixon followed with another single, it was 2-1.
But the Walkers would tally twice in the seventh to pretty much put it away.
Cris Rosario drove in both runs with a two-out double off Jose Betances.
After Lara made his exit, five relievers covered the final four innings for the Walkers.
Tiller and Santos combined on the sixth.
Travis Krogman got the first out of the seventh, before being relieved by Jake Brentz who recorded the next five outs.
Ernesto Barbosa set the G-Men down in order in the ninth for his 10th save.

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Record: 30-31, 4th, 9 GB Quad City
Tied 5-5 after four innings, Rafael Devers took matters into his own hands to help carry Des Moines to an 8-5 win over St. Louis at Green Canyon Park.
A wild game, St. Louis had jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, only to have Des Moines score five consecutive runs to go up 5-2.
The River Walker put up three runs in the top of the fifth -- Jose Ramirez hitting a two-run homer -- to tie it at 5.
That's when Devers took over.
The veteran third baseman drew a walk from Angel Tiburcio to lead off the bottom of the fifth.
After a fly out, Austin Meadows drew another walk, after which a Justin Oates single loaded the bases.
Devers then scored on a Garrett Frechette fly ball, making it 6-5.
An inning later, Devers did the damage with his bat hitting a two-run homer off Travis Krogman to put the Grapplers up 8-5.
Des Moines starting pitcher Chris Rybicki lasted just 4.2 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits.
Jared Jones finished off the fifth and worked a scoreless sixth for Des Moines.
That was enough for Jones (1-0) to earn the win.
After that, it was an inning apiece for Jhon Duran, Jeremy Bouchard and Omar Benitez.
Benitez earned his 12th save of the season.

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Record: 31-31, 4th, 8 GB Quad City
St. Louis broke open a scoreless game with three runs in the top of the fifth inning, and the River Walkers made it stand up with a 4-2 win at Green Canyon Park.
Jean Carmona led off the top of the fifth with a single off Grapplers starter Juan Amezquita.
The next hitter, Peter Ahn, then drove in the inning's first run with a double.
Kaneo Kawamoto followed with a sacrifice bunt, moving Ahn to third.
Amezquita then intentionally walked Alek Thomas.
Thairo Estrada followed with a ground out, Ahn holding at third, putting runners at second and third.
Amezquita issued his second intentionally walk of the inning, this one to Jose Segura.
But it didn't pay off, as Cris Rosario hit a double to score two runs, making it 3-0.
A pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, Fernando Tatis Jr. with a lead-off homer off Kaneo Kawamoto and David Lewis with an run-scoring double, drew Des Moines within 3-2.
Jared Thomas hit a solo homer off Jared Jones in the eighth, to put the Walkers ahead 4-2.
That would be the end of the scoring.
Kawamoto (7-5) earned the win, allowing two runs on five hits over 6.2 innings.
Cory Tiller was the first of four St. Louis relievers, finishing off the seventh and getting the first two outs of the eighth.
Jake Brentz completed the eighth, keeping it 4-2.
Jose Alvarado got the first two outs of the ninth, but allowed a pair of base runners.
Closer Ernesto Barbosa had to step in. He walked Orlando Torres to load the bases, but followed that by getting Tatis Jr. to fly out for his 11th save.

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MBL news: All-Star fan voting update June 9

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Record: 31-32, 5th, 8 GB Quad City
Albert Hernandez allowed one hit while pitching 6.1 shutout innings, and the Des Moines' bullpen didn't allow a hit the rest of the way, as the Harvesters routed St. Louis 8-0 at Green Canyon Park.
The win allowed Des Moines to take two of the three games in the series.
The only hit allowed by Hernandez was a one-out single from Jose Segura in the top of the fourth inning.
Overall, Hernandez (8-3) allowed just the one hit while striking out seven and walked three.
Right fielder Justin Oates had a big day at the plate for the Harvesters, going 3 for 4 with four RBIs.
Oates collected his first three RBIs in the bottom of the second, hitting a three-run homer off River Walkers starter Trey Benton, as Des Moines seized a 3-0 lead.
He collected his fourth RBI the next time he batted, his two-out single off Benton in the fourth scoring David Lewis to make it 4-0.
The Des Moines lead grew to 6-0 an inning later, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Andrew Foley hitting consecutive homers off Benton.
Yelin Rodriguez replaced Hernandez in the seventh and recorded the inning's final two outs..
He also pitched a scoreless eighth.
Kellan Tulio breezed through the ninth to end it.

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MBL news: Week 9 Awards and standings

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Record: 32-32, 4th, 7 GB Quad City
St. Louis pounded five home runs and got another strong start from Izzy San Juan, as the River Walkers downed Kansas City 9-5 at Royals Stadium (1973).
Just acquired in a trade with the Monarchs, Steve Rossi served up the first long ball with a two-run homer off KC starter Bryan Price in the top of the first inning.
Their lead at 2-1, Jordan Groshans clubbed the first of his two homers for the Walkers in the top of the fourth, a solo shot off Price to make it 3-1.
St. Louis pretty much broke it open in the fifth with a pair of two-run homers -- Jose Segura (off Price) and Gorshans (off Felix Jorge) to increase their advantage to 7-1.
The Walkers didn't need a homer to get a run in the sixth, Segura with an RBI triple off Jorge.
Kansas City did get a three-run homer from Danny Cushing off San Juan in the bottom of the sixth, slicing to deficit to 8-4.
Both teams got late homers to close out the scoring.
Jared Thomas took former Walker pitcher Ben Schellenger deep to lead off the seventh.
Former Walkers outfielder Carlos Vidal cranked one out off Jose Alvarado in the ninth.
The June 3 deal between St. Louis and Kansas City, sent Rossi to the Walkers while Schellenger and Vidal landed with the Monarchs.
San Juan (8-2) allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked two.
Travis Krogman recorded the first two outs of the seventh, before giving way to Yeison Santos, who ended the inning.
Santos also worked a scoreless eighth.
Alvarado allowed the Vidal homer in the ninth, but nothing else.

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Record: 32-32, 4th, 7 GB Quad City
St. Louis pounded five home runs and got another strong start from Izzy San Juan, as the River Walkers downed Kansas City 9-5 at Royals Stadium (1973).
Just acquired in a trade with the Monarchs, Steve Rossi served up the first long ball with a two-run homer off KC starter Bryan Price in the top of the first inning.
Their lead at 2-1, Jordan Groshans clubbed the first of his two homers for the Walkers in the top of the fourth, a solo shot off Price to make it 3-1.
St. Louis pretty much broke it open in the fifth with a pair of two-run homers -- Jose Segura (off Price) and Gorshans (off Felix Jorge) to increase their advantage to 7-1.
The Walkers didn't need a homer to get a run in the sixth, Segura with an RBI triple off Jorge.
Kansas City did get a three-run homer from Danny Cushing off San Juan in the bottom of the sixth, slicing to deficit to 8-4.
Both teams got late homers to close out the scoring.
Jared Thomas took former Walker pitcher Ben Schellenger deep to lead off the seventh.
Former Walkers outfielder Carlos Vidal cranked one out off Jose Alvarado in the ninth.
The June 3 deal between St. Louis and Kansas City, sent Rossi to the Walkers while Schellenger and Vidal landed with the Monarchs.
San Juan (8-2) allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked two.
Travis Krogman recorded the first two outs of the seventh, before giving way to Yeison Santos, who ended the inning.
Santos also worked a scoreless eighth.
Alvarado allowed the Vidal homer in the ninth, but nothing else.

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Record: 33-32, 4th, 6 GB Quad City
Trailing 2-0, St. Louis pounded the Kansas City bullpen for three runs in the top of the eighth inning and four in the ninth en route to a 7-2 win at Royals Stadium (1973).
The Monarchs' Blaze Jordan connected for a two-run homer off River Walkers starter Wilson Lara in the bottom of the first inning to put his team in front.
All was quiet until the top of the eighth when St. Louis' offense finally awoke.
Thairo Estrada, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement at second base, led off with a single off reliever Juan Sandoval.
Alek Thomas then reached when Sandoval dropped a throw from the first baseman when he was attempting to cover first.
Cris Rosario put the Walkers on the board with a double, scoring Estrada.
Steve Rossi, who has tortured his former team in the first two games of this season, scored Thomas with a fly ball.
KC elected to walk Jose Seguara to load the bases.
Jean Carmona made them pay with a single, breaking the tie as Rosario scored.
An inning later, St. Louis went one run bigger.
Joshua Rivera greeted new reliever Javier Assad with a single.
Alek Thomas drew a one-out walk.
And with two outs, Rossi hit a three-run homer.
It was his third hit of the game, and gave him four RBIs.
Walkers rookie starter Wilson Lara held the Monarchs scoreless over the next five innings after Jordan's early home.
In all, he pitched six innings allowing the two runs on six hits.
Cory Tiller recorded the first two outs of the seventh, before giving way to Jake Brentz, who finished that inning and got the first two outs of the eighth.
When the Monarchs got a two-out hit from Jon Leon followed by a hit by pitch of Phillip Matulia off Brentz, to put two runners aboard in the bottom of the eighth, St. Louis went to closer Ernesto Barbosa.
He struck out Logan Tanner to quell the threat.
With their lead at 7-2, the Walkers didn't need Barbosa in the ninth so David Amador handled the final three outs of the contest.

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Record: 34-32, 3rd (Tied/w. Des Moines), 5 GB Quad City
Thairo Estrada hit a homer with one out in the top of the ninth inning to help lift St. Louis to a 3-2 win over Kansas City at Royals Stadium (1973).
The win gave the River Walkers a sweep of the three-game series.
For the second straight game, St. Louis rallied for the win in the final two innings.
Down 2-0, the Walkers tied it in the top of the eighth when Cris Rosario hit a two-run homer off former St. Louis pitcher Ben Schellenger.
Estrada's ninth-inning homer came on a 2-0 pitch from Nate Guthrie and traveled 420 feet over the wall in left.
A two-out, two-run homer from Logan Tanner off St. Louis starter Angel Tiburcio in the bottom of the fifth put the Monarchs in front.
Tiburcio would exit the game after retiring the next batter with an apparent shoulder injury.
He is expected to be out for at least a week.
In his 4.2 innings, Tiburcio allowed two runs on four hits. He struck out six and walked none.
Yeison Santos finished off the fifth and got the first two outs of the sixth.
Travis Krogman took over and finished off the sixth, and worked a scoreles seventh.
The eighth belonged to Jake Brentz (3-0), who earned the win for the second time in as many games.
Ernesto Barbosa sent the Monarchs down in order in the ninth for his 12th save.

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Record: 35-32, 3rd (Tied/w. Des Moines), 4.5 GB Quad City
Kaneo Kawamoto took a shutout into the eighth inning, and the St. Louis' bullpen finished the job as the River Walkers downed Columbus 3-0 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Kawamoto (8-5) allowed two hits over his 7.2 innings. He struck out six and walked one.
The left-hander exited after allowing lead-off single to Raymond Torres and hitting Pat McNeill with a pitch with two outs in the top of the eighth.
Cory Tiller took over, and got Noah Smith to ground out to end the inning.
In the ninth, Jose Alvarado retired the first two hitters for the Golden Bears before allowing a single to Chad Wolff and walking Nolan Gorman.
David Amador was called on to finish the game, and he got it done getting Oscar Rodriguez to fly out to end it.
The save was the second of the season for Amador.
St. Louis jumped in front in the bottom of the second, when Jose Segura led off with his 23th homer of the season off Columbus starter Jorge Guzman,
The Walkers went up 2-0 in the fourth
Jose Ramirez led off with a single and scored on a one-out double by Steve Rossi.
Jordan Groshans led off the bottom of the seventh with a double off David Peterson.

A ground ball moved Groshans to third.
He scored when Peterson uncorked a wild pitch.