2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 26-37, 7th, 13.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 3-3, Springfield scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and went on to defeat St. Louis 7-4 at Oracle Park (2020).
The River Walkers had tied it at 3-3 in the top of the sixth on a two-run homer from Jared Thomas off Railers starting pitcher Raul Ahumada.
However, Springfield fired right back against St. Louis reliever Oscar Martinez in the bottom of the inning.
Ruben Villanueva led off with a single.
Two batters later, Adan Valette also singled.
With two outs, Matthew Lugo was issued an intentional walk to load the bases with the pitcher coming to the plate.
Pinch-hitter Joseph Hughes made them pay with a two-run single.
Austin Schultz was issued another intentional walk to load the bases.
Again, it didn't work out, as Martinez walked Riley Greene to force in another run as Springfield went up 6-3.
Thomas collected his third RBI of the game in the eighth, with a double off TJ Darr to make it, 6-4.
The Railers got that run back in the bottom of the inning against Scott Rissler.
Mike Murray drew a lead-off walk.
After a pair of strikeouts, he moved to second on a wild pitch with Austin Schultz at the plate.
Schultz later drew a walk.
Josh Forgy took the mound, and gave up a single to Riley Greene to make it 7-4.
Ahumada pitched 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on 11 hits.
Alan Albanese (1-0) recorded just one out, a strike out of Alex Greene to end the sixth, but that was enough to earn his first win of the season.
Juan Valdez, Darr and Mario Reyes all pitched an inning to close it out.
Reyes earned his 13th save.

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Record: 26-38, 7th, 13.5 GB Des Moines
Springfield bludgeoned St. Louis starting pitcher Jerry Tate for six runs in 2.1 innings and rode that to a 6-3 win which completed a three-game sweep at Oracle Park (2020).
After St. Louis had tied it 2-2 with a pair of runs off Railers starting pitcher Marcos Zaragoza in the top of the third, Springfield wasted little time chasing Tate in the bottom of the inning.
Billy Salas and Justin Schneider sandwiched singles around a hit by pitch of Alex Otero to open the inning.
Ruben Villanueva followed with an RBI single.
With Matthew Lugo at the plate, Tate threw a wild pitch to score the inning's second run.
Lugo then plated the third with a fly ball.
After an intentional walk to Ben Rortvedt, Zaragoza helped his own cause with a single to make it 6-2.
Zaragoza, however, did not last long enough to earn the win.
He pitched into the fifth inning, where he failed to retire a batter, allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out three and walked the same.
Joseph Hughes finished the fifth inning, giving up a run to make it 6-3.
Hughes (3-4) also worked a scoreless sixth inning and recorded the first out of the seventh to earn the win.
Nick Thiel finished off the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth
Joe Santiago allowed a pair of hits in the ninth, but no runs to earn his second save.

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MBL news:June12 -- All-Star game fan-voting update

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MBL news: June 13 -- Week 10 awards and standings

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Record: 26-39, 7th, 14 GB Des Moines
Leading 3-1, Rockford broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning against St. Louis starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall, and the Lightning went on to defeat the River Walkers 9-3 at RFK Stadium (2005).
Tied 1-1, the Lightning took the lead on a two-run single from starting pitcher Bob Singer off Wigfall in the bottom of the fourth.
Singer singled twice in the game, and drove in three runs.
An inning later, Rockford chased Wigfall with its five-run inning.
Erik Stowe opened it with a lead-off double.
Wade Martin scored Stowe with a one-out single.
Martin then stole second base and scored on a Javy Monjaraz single.
The other three RBIs belonged to Thomas Dillard, who cranked his first homer of the season off Wigfall.
The win went to Singer (4-2), who allowed one on five hits. He struck out two and didn't issue a walk.
Josh Greenberg pitched scoreless sixth and seventh innings, and also recorded he first out of the eighth.
Jose Betances finished off the eighth.
Mark Henderson worked the ninth, allowing a meaningless two-run homer to Kevin Melendez.

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Record: 26-40, 7th, 14.5 GB Des Moines
Trailing 2-0, Rockford scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning against the St. Louis' bullpen, and the Lightning went on for a 3-2 win at RFK Stadium (2005).
The River Walkers, who have dropped five straight, took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second thanks to an RBI double from Jared Thomas and a run-scoring single from Alex Greene.
Both came off Lightning starting pitcher Melvin Chavez.
It stayed that way until the seventh.
St. Louis got 3.1 scoreless innings out of rookie starter Alex Pazos, who had to exit in the fourth inning with a blister on a finger on his throwing hand.
He is expected to be available to make his next start.
Yeison Santos replaced Pazos and was still on the mound to begin the seventh.
He was greeted that inning by a Wade Martin double.
He struck out Javy Monjaraz for the first out, but threw a wild pitch while Alex Freeland was at the plate.
Freeland was intentionally walked, ending Santos' outing.
Scott Rissler took over and gave the game away.
Jake Holland drew a walk to load the baes.
Pinch-hitter David Blanton followed with a two-run single to tie the game.
Another pinch-hitter, Onfredo Hernandez, also singled scoring Holland to put Rockford in front.
Chavez worked the first 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out five but walked four.
Jose Betances finished off the fifth and worked a silent sixth.
After that, it was an inning apiece from Alex Ochoa, Shinji Koizumi and Joe Shannon.
Ochoa (1-0) earned his first win.
Shannon collected his second save in as many games, and his third of the season.

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Record: 27-40, 7th, 13.5 GB Des Moines
Tied 7-7, Kyren Paris hit a bases-loaded, three-run double in the top of the 11th inning to give St. Louis the lead, and the River Walkers survived a scary bottom part of the inning to squeak out a 10-9 win over Rockford at RFK Stadium (2005).
The loss prevented a three-game sweep for the Lightning, it also snapped a five-game losing streak for St. Louis.
A wild game, Jared Thomas led off the top of the 11th for the Walkers with a single off Rockford reliever Jose Betances.
Two batters later, Thairo Estrada drew a walk, putting two runners aboard with one out, and also ending Betances outing.
Alex Ochoa took over and was greeted by a single from Alex Greene to lod the bases.
Paris followed with his three-run double into the gap in left-center.
The bottom of the inning wasn't easy for St. Louis.
Nick Ruffalo walked Onofredo Hernandez to lead-off the inning.
Two batters later Alex Freeland took him deep to make it 10-9.
Cory Tiller got the call for St. Louis.
Raynel Delgado greeted him with a single.
Tiller, however, rebounded to strike out Thomas Dillard and pitcher Joe Shannon, Rockford was out of pinch hitters, to end it.
The Lightning busted the game open early with a four-run first against St. Louis starter Jesse McNaboe.
The Walkers made it 4-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the second.
They then took the lead an inning later, putting up a four-spot to chase Lightning starter Miguel Cisneros.
A solo homer from Jose Segura off Josh Greenberg in the sixth made it 6-4 St. Louis.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the eighth, when the Lightning put two on with two out against Walkers reliever Josh Forgy.
Closer Ernesto Barbosa got the call for St. Louis, and it wasn't long before it was tied.
Eddie Ortiz hit the first pitch he saw 441 feet over the wall in right-center to deadlock the game.
Barbosa has six blown saves on the season, a career-high.
McNaboe settled down after the bad first inning, but still lasted just five allowing the four runs on five hits. He struck out three and walked five.
St. Louis used six relievers -- Luke Dunkin (1.1 IP), Forgy (1.1), Barbosa (0.1), Scott Risler (2.0), Ruffalo (0.1) and Tiller (0.2) -- with Rissler (1-2) earning his first win of the season.
Tiller collected his first save.

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Record: 28-40, 7th, 13.5 GB Des Moines
Zack Hunsicker turned in his best start of the season, limiting Dayton to one run over seven innings, he also drove in three runs with a pair of hits as St. Louis downed the Pilots 4-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The only run Hunsicker allowed came in the top of the second inning -- when he walked Marcos Mangual with the bases loaded to put Dayton up 1-0 -- after that he scattered four hits and no more runs.
Overall, Hunsicker (2-5) allowed the one run on five hits. He struck out four and walked six.
St. Louis took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the second.
Kevin Melendez drove in the first run with a single.
Hunsicker took care of the other two by following with a triple.
The Walkers got their fourth run in the fourth.
Jovan Gill led off the inning with a double off Pilots starter Sean Reznik.
Gill scored two batters later on a Hunsicker single.
Yeison Santos pitched a scoreless eighth for the Walkers.
Ernesto Barbosa shook off a string of bad outings with a perfect ninth for his 12th save.

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Record: 28-41, 7th, 13.5 GB Des Moines
Trailing 1-0, Dayton belted a pair of home runs and scored four runs total -- all off St Louis starting pitcher Jerry Tate -- to pave the way for a 4-2 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Tate had cruised through the first five innings in one of his best outings of the season.
It all began to crumble when Bobby Carrasco belted his 20th homer of the season on the fourth pitch of the inning, a blast traveling 444 feet over the wall in left center.
The next batter, Nick Bitsko, reached when center fielder Nathaniel Dixon muffed a fly ball.
A single by Baek-ho Kang put two runners aboard.
Armando Sandoval cleared the bags with his 14th homer of 2033, a 390 foot blast over the left-field fence.
The Flyers got a solid start from Mike Fowler, who after giving up a run in the bottom of the first silenced the Walkers into the sixth.
Altogether, Fowler (7-4) went 5.1 innings allowing the one run on five hits. he struck out six and walked one.
Dante Mendoza finished the sixth inning and got the first two outs of the seventh.
He exited after allowing a solo homer to Jared Thomas.
Jose Infante closed out the seventh for the Pilots.
After that, it was an inning apiece from Justin Roberson and Jason Pappas to close out the victory.
Pappas' save total grew to 19.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed right-handed relief pitcher Cory Tiller on the injured list with a sore right shoulder.
Tiller, 32, pitched a scoreless inning in the Walkers' 4-2 loss to Dayton on June 17, and complained of shoulder pain afterward.
He has pitched in 26 games for St. Louis this season, going 1-2 with one save and a 1.44 ERA.
Getting the callup from AAA Memphis will be 26-year-old right-hander Kevin Baker.
Baker has gone 3-2 with 14 saves and a 3.72 ERA in 21 games for the Redbirds this season.
It is Baker's first callup of the 2033 season, but he pitched very well in 23 appearances for St. Louis in 2032.

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Record: 28-42, 7th, 14.5 GB Des Moines
Dayton jumped out to 2-0 lead with runs in the top of the first and third innings, and held on for a 3-2 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Pilots' Mike Wardlaw led off the game with a double off River Walkers starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall and scored two batters later on a Nick Bitsko fly ball.
Wardlow was at it again in the third.
This time he led off with a single off Wigfall.
He moved to third on a Bobby Carrasco double.
With two outs, the hot-hitting Baek-ho Kang was given an intentional walk.
Four pitches later, Matt Freudenberg drew an unintentional walk to score Wardlow.
A lead-off homer from the Walkers' Jose Ramirez off Dayton starter Mark MacDougall got St. Louis on the board.
The Pilots got that run back when Wardlow scored for the third time in the seventh.
He drew a lead-off walk from reliever Scott Rissler.
A one-out single from Nick Bitsko moved Wardlow to second.
Kang made it 3-1 with a two-out single off Nick Ruffalo.
An RBI single from Jared Thomas in the bottom of the eighth drew St. Louis to within 3-2.
The Thomas hit left runners at first and second with no outs..
But Justin Roberson got Glenallen Hill Jr. to hit into a double play.
Pinch-hitter Nathaniel Dixon then flew out to end the inning.
St. Louis had a chance in the ninth following a lead-off double from Alex Greene off Jason Pappas.
A Kyren Paris bunt moved Greene to third.
But Roberson struck out Jose Ramirez and Jae-hong Chang to end it.
MacDougall (7-5) earned the win after allowing one run on five hits in the first five innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Cruz Calderon worked a pair of scoreless innings.
Roberson allowed the one run in the eighth.
Pappas notched his 20th save.

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MBL news: June 19 -- All-Star game fan-voting update

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Record: 29-42, 7th, 14.5 GB Des Moines
Pinch-hitter Glenallen Hill Jr. singled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to score Daniel Becerra and lift St. Louis to a 4-3 win over Dayton at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory allowed the River Walkers to split the four-game series with the Pilots.
Becerra had singled with one out off Dayton relief pitcher Jose Infante.
A Jovan Gill double which followed put runners at second and third.
Infante struck out Kevin Melendez for the second out.
But Hill got ahold of a 1-1 pitch, and grounded it into right field to bring home Becerra with the winning run.
A Nick Shaw two-run homer in the first inning off Pilots starting pitcher Jon Diaz helped the Walkers forge an early 3-1 lead.
Dayton tied it in the late innings -- with single runs in the seventh and eighth.
Mike Wardlaw doubled with two outs off St. Louis starter Alex Pazos in the top of the seventh.
Wardlow was 10 for 17 at the plate in the series with five runs scored.
He scored when Bobby Carrasco greeted reliever Josh Forgy with a single.
Pinch-hitter Ricky Cobos homered off Kevin Baker in the eighth to tie it.
Pazos pitched 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on eight his.
Forgy recorded one out while finishing the seventh.
Baker pitched the eighth, allowing Dayton to tie it.
Yeison Santos (2-1) sent the Pilots down in order in the ninth, which ended up setting him up to earn the win.

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MBL news: Week 11 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 32-40, 7th, 14.5 GB Des Moines
St. Louis jumped in front with three runs in the top of the second inning, and rode seven strong innings from Jesse McNaboe to defeat Cedar Rapids 4-1 at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
The River Walkers banged out four singles and benefited from three walks from Grapplers starting pitcher Rodolfo Cervantez in their second-inning outburst.
Alex Greene drove in the games first run with a single.
The other two belonged to Jose Segura, who plated a pair with a two-out single.
A single run in the fifth was the lone tally allowed by McNaboe (6-5).
The right-hander allowed six hits while striking out eight and walking one.
Scott Rissler, Nick Ruffalo and Luke Dunkin all recorded two outs while shutting out Cedar Rapids the rest of the way.
Dunkin posted his second save.
The Walkers' fourth run came on a Jae-ho Chang homer in the eighth off Jim Kendall.

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Record: 30-43, 7th, 15.5 GB Des Moines
St. Louis jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Cedar Rapids beat up on River Walkers starting pitcher Zack Hunsicker for six runs between the second and fifth innings and the Grapplers rolled to a 10-6 win at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
Most of Hunsicker's struggles were self-inflicted as he walked nine batters in just 4.2 innings on the mound.
He walked four in the bottom of the second -- two with the bases loaded, while giving up just one hit - as Cedar Rapids scored three times.
In the fourth, Hunsicker didn't issue any walks but did allow two hits and was hurt by an error by shortstop Kyren Paris as the Grapplers plated a pair of runs.
Eric Gerhardt became the first Cedar Rapids batter of the game to collect an RBI with a hit, his two-out single driving in the second run of the frame
Hunsicker retired the first two Grapplers hitters in the fifth, before becoming completely unraveled.
He walked the next batter, before giving up two straight singles -- including an run-scoring scoring to pitcher Ivan Alonzo -- as his game came to a conclusion.
Oscar Martinez took over for the River Walkers, and was greeted by a two-run double by Christian Moore.
The Walkers did kind of climb back into it, an Alex Greene two-run homer off reliever Cristofe Tineo in the seventh making it 8-4.
But Steven Williams led off the the bottom of the seventh with a homer off Kevin Baker.
Jordan Batista then got to Baker for an RBI single in the eighth, upping the Grapplers' advantage to 10-4.
Alonzo (4-6) pitched the first five innings, allowing one run on five hits.
He struck out four and walked one.
Tineo allowed three runs in the sixth.
That was followed by a scoreless seventh by Joel Glenn.
Luis Palomo worked a silent eighth, but got into trouble in the ninth allowing two runners to reach base while recording the first out.
Jim Kendall (0.1 IP) and Keith Kirby (0.1) recorded the final two outs of the game.
Kirby came out of it with his sixth save.

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Record: 31-43, 7th, 14.5 GB Des Moines
St. Louis fell behind 6-2 in the third inning, but on a day when it set a season-high for hits and runs it didn't matter as the River Walkers bludgeoned their way to a 13-7 win over Cedar Rapids at Connie Mack Stadium (1960).
The win gave the Walkers victories in two of the three games in the series.
The Grapplers beat up on St. Louis starter Jerry Tate for six runs on nine hits in just 2.1 innings.
That advantage seemed safe until the sixth inning, when the Walkers erupted for six runs.
Kevin Melendez ignited things with a lead-off homer off Grapplers reliever Jordyn Ibarra.
Pinch-hitter Glenallen Hill Jr. then drew a walk and went to second on a wild pick-off throw by Ibarra.
Kyren Paris scored Hill with a single.
Jose Segura did the rest with a grand slam, putting St. Louis ahead 8-6.
St. Louis added another run in the seventh, Nathaniel Dixon with a solo homer off Cristofe Tineo.
A four-run eighth made it lopsided.
Paris did the bulk of the damage with a three-run homer off Jim Kendall.
Tate was bad, allowing the six runs on nine hits in just 2.1 innings.
Six relievers combined to finish the game for St. Louis.
Scott Rissler finished off the third inning.
After that it was Yeison Santos for 2.1 innings, and Luke Dunkin, Josh Forgy, Nick Ruffalo and Oscar Martinez for an inning apiece.
Santos (3-1) earned the win.

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Record: 31-44, 7th, 14.5 GB Des Moines
Jaime Mora drew a walk from St. Louis reliever Luke Dunkin to begin the bottom of the 10th inning, four batters later Andy Jordan singled off Josh Forgy to score Mora and give Toledo a 1-0 win at Braves Field (1946).
After Mora walked, a Chris Gibbs single moved him to second.
Dunkin struck out Ronny Mauricio for the first out.
Josh Forgy took over for Benjamin Palagni for the second.
But Jordan singled between the shortstop and third baseman on a 1-0 pitch to bring in Mora with the game's lone run.
A day after scoring 13 runs and banging out 22 hits in a win at Cedar Rapids, the River Walkers were held scoreless and managed just four hits.
Mud Hens starting pitcher Russell Berg worked 7.1 scoreless innings, allowing four hits. He struck out just one and walked three.
Jorge Aristizabal finished the eighth inning and worked a scoreless ninth.
Nick Strother (2-2) retired St. Louis in order in the 10th and earned the victory.

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Record: 31-45, 7th, 14.5 GB Des Moines
Andy Jordan wiped out a 2-0 deficit with a third-inning grand slam, helping to power Toledo to a 5-3 win over St. Louis at Fulton-County Stadium (1974).
Jose Segura hit a solo homer in the first inning and Kyren Paris tripled and later scored in the third -- both off Mud Hens starting pitcher Martin Lopez -- to stake the River Walkers to a 2-0 lead.
That went away in the top of the third, when St. Louis starter Alex Pazos allowed a single, hit a batter and issued a walk in a span of four batters to start the inning.
Andy Jordan made him pay hitting a 0-2 pitch 424 feet over the fence in left-center to put the Hens ahead for good.
The Walkers did pull within 4-3 in the top of the fourth -- Jovan Gill with an RBI single off Lopez -- but they would not score again.
Lopez (4-7) pitched the first five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.
Josh Stauffer worked two scoreless innings to get it to the eighth,.
After that, it was an inning apiece from Jose Vasquez and Andres Yanez to seal the win.
Yanez collected his first MBL save of his career.

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Bullpen isn't doing too bad, but you need to get Tiller back.