2032 St. Louis River Walkers -- Growing weary of just coming close

[rink23]

Record: 45-27, 1st (Tied/w. Des Moines), 3 GA Cedar Rapids
Pinch-hitter Thairo Estrada singled with the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning to score Daniel Becerra, and give St. Louis a 4-3 win over Des Moines at Busch Stadium (1997).
Becerra had doubled with one out off Harvesters relief pitcher Joseph King.
Jose Ramirez was then given an intentional walk before Alex Greene singled to load the bases.
Jared Thomas hit a fly ball which was not deep enough to score Becerra.
Estrada, however, stroked a single into right center to bring Becerra home and end the game.
For the second time in three games, the River Walkers were forced to extensively use their bullpen after their starting pitcher left early because of an injury.
This time, it was Angel Tiburcio who left the game.
He pitched just one inning, and all eight members of the St. Louis' bullpen were called upon to finish this one out.
Tiburcio's injury is undisclosed.
A two-run homer from Jose Ramirez off Des Moines starting pitcher Chris Rybicki in the bottom of the first staked the Walkers to a 2-0 lead.
Tiburcio didn't even make it out for the start of the second inning, and the Harvesters took a 3-2 lead when Franklin Flores hit a three-run homer off Yeison Santos.
The Walkers tied it in the bottom of the fourth when Jean Carmona led off with a double off Rybicki and scored on a fly ball hit by relief pitcher Andres Hernandez.
The St. Louis pitching order looked like this Santos (2.0 IP), Hernandez (2.0), Josh Forgy (1.0), Cory Tiller (1.0), Nick Ruffalo (1.0), closer Ernesto Barbosa (3.0) and Josh Grissom (1.0).
Grissom (2-4) came out of it with the win.

[rink23]

Record: 45-28, 2nd, 1 GB Des Moines
Juan Amezquita limited St. Louis to one run on two hits over the first six innings to help lead Des Moines to a 4-2 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win allowed the Harvesters to avoid being swept in the three-game series.
Daniel Becerra got to Amezquita for the River Walkers only run in the bottom of the first with a solo homer.
Des Moines, however, seized the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the third against Walkers starter Kaneo Kawamoto.

Arturo Verdugo led off with a single, and after a bunt moved him to second, scored on a Jared Poland double.
A single from Glenn Santiago moved Poland to third.
The ageless Rafael Devers followed with another single, making it 2-1.
Des Moines tallied two more runs in the top of the ninth against a St. Louis bullpen which has to be running on fumes after a pair of very short starts by their starting pitchers in the last three games.
Jackson Miller collected both the RBIs with a two-out single off Ricky Cisneros.
Jeff Kendall pitched a scoreless seventh inning after Amezquita left the game.
Manny Pescosolido worked two innings to earn his third save.

[rink23]

The St. Louis River Walkers have announced that right-hander Angel Tiburciuo will miss the remainder of the season after having surgery on his right arm to remove bone chips from his elbow.
In 2032, Tiburcio, 32, has gone 6-2 with a 3.17 ERA in 15 starts.
Since being acquired from Twin Cities before the 2026 season, Tiburcio has been one of the best pitchers in the Midwest Baseball League.
He spent the 2026 season in the bullpen, but since that time earned three Cy Young awards (2028, '29 and '31).
In his time with the Walkers, Tiburcio owns a record of 70-51 with a 3.23 ERA. He has pitched in a total of 212 games, 166 of them starts.
Tiburcio will become a free agent at the end of this season, and with injuries having halted his seasons in 2030 and now 2032, I don't expect the Walkers to pay him the kind of money he will probably demand.
For now, Rich Haas will be called from AAA to take his spot in the rotation.

[rink23]

Record: 46-28, 2nd, 1 GB Des Moines
Jose Segura became the first member of the St. Louis River Walkers to hit three home runs in a game, as he powered his team to a 9-4 win over Toledo at Braves Field (1946).
The 27-year-old outfielder hit a two-run homer off Mud Hens starting pitcher Chris Ebarb in the first inning, a three-run shot off Ebarb in the third and another two-run homer off Jorge Aristizabal in the sixth.
In between his second and third homers, Segura collected another RBI by drawing a bases-loaded walk. That helped give him eight for the game.
Powered by Segura, the Walkers took control with three runs in the third inning and two in the fourth to go up 7-1.
Segura's homer drove in all three third-inning runs.
In the fourth, the Walkers loaded the bases against Edward Kunselman with two singles, a walk and an error by first baseman Jorge Alvarado.
Segura's bases-loaded walk to score the inning's first run.
Alex Greene plated the second with a fly ball.
Segura's third homer of the game in the sixth accounted for the final two St. Louis' runs.
Walkers starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe (10-3) became the MBL's second-10 game winning by going six innings, during which he allowed three runs on seven hits.
He struck out five and walked one.
Nick Ruffalo gave up a run in the seventh.
Yeison Santos recorded a scoreless eighth and notched the first out of the ninth.
Cory Tiller retired the game's final two batters.

[rink23]

Record: 47-28, 2nd, 1 GB Des Moines
A day after a three-homer outing, St. Louis' Jose Segura snapped a 2-2 tie with a solo homer run in the top of the sixth inning to help give the River Walkers a 3-2 win at Braves Field (1946).
Segura's 26th homer of the season came with one out on a 0-1 pitch from Mud Hens starting pitcher Alex Pineda.
It traveled 420 feet over the scoreboard in left field.
Jean Carmona had staked the Walkers to a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Pineda in the top of the second.
Toledo tallied twice off St. Louis starter Zach Hunsicker to tie it.,
Quaing Chang drove in both runs with a two-out double.
Hunsicker (4-4) two runs on seven hit in six innings. He struck out six and walked three.
The bullpen didn't allow a baserunner over the final three innings.
Josh Forgy handled the seventh and eighth.
Ernesto Barbosa struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth for his 19th save.

[rink23]

Record: 48-28, 1st (Tied/w. Des Moines), 5 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis got another strong effort from its bullpen after starting pitcher Jerry Tate left after only an inning, as the River Walkers won 4-3 over Toledo at Braves Field (1946).
Fortunately, the injury for Tate, a rookie who had won seven consecutive starts, isn't serious with it being diagnosed as a finger blister which isn't expect to force him to miss his next start.
Already with a 3-0 lead, Ricky Cisneros began a parade of seven relievers who took the mound for St. Louis.
Cisneros (6-0), who earned the win, allowed one run over the second through fourth innings.
Nick Ruffalo followed with a scoreless fifth.
After that it was Andres Hernandez (0.2 IP), Yeison Santos (0.1), Cory Tiller (1.0), Josh Forgy (1.0) and closer Ernestro Barbosa (1.0).
Barbosa earned his 20th save.
It took three batters into the game for the Walkers to take a 1-0 lead.
Daniel Becerra led off the game with a double off Mud Hens starting pitcher Willie Romero.
A Jose Ramirez single moved Becerra to third.
Alex Greene drove him home, but didn't collect an RBI, by hitting into a double play.
Jovan Gill made it 3-0 in the top of the second with a two-out, two-run homer off Romero.
The Walkers went up 4-1 in the seventh when Nick Shaw doubled with one out off Romero.
A Jean Carmona single moved Shaw to third.
Gill notched his third RBI of the game with a single off Chandler Murphy.

[rink23]

MBL news: June 27 -- All-Star game fan voting update

[rink23]

Record: 49-28, 1st (Tied/w. Des Moines), 6 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis scored five times in the top of the third inning to wipe out a 3-0 deficit, and the River Walkers held on for an 8-7 win over Toledo at Braves Field (1946).
The victory gave the Walkers a sweep of their four-game series with the Mud Hens.
Jean Carmona led off the St. Louis third with a double off Hens starter Andres Yanez.
He moved to third on a Jared Thomas ground out, and scored when pitcher Rich Haas got down a sac bunt and was safe at first.
That's when the wheels seem to fall off.
A wild pitch moved Haas to second, and a single from Daniel Becerra put runners at the corners.
Jose Ramirez drove in the inning's second run with a single.
After a fly out by Alex Greene, Jose Segura struck again with a three-run homer to make it 5-3.
It was Segura's fifth homer of the four-game series.
The first of two solo homers from the Hens' Ryan Holgate leading off the bottom of the sixth off Haas made it 5-4.
Ramirez answered that with a long ball of his own in the top of the seventh off Kleiber Bordones.
Holgate cleared the fences for the second time in the eighth, this time off Josh Grissom, as Toledo closed to within 6-5.
Nick Shaw connected on a two-run single off Nick Thiel in the top of the ninth to give the Walkers an 8-5 advantage.
They needed it as pinch-hitter Travis Hawkins hit a two-run homer off Nick Ruffalo with no outs in the ninth and all of a sudden it was 8-7.
Ruffalo, however,pitched around a two-out walk to Ronny Maurcio to end it.
Haas (1-2) , making his first start since replacing the injury Angel Tiburcio in the rotation, wasn't great early but did enough to earn the win.
He allowed four runs on five hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out six and walked four.
Yeison Santos got the final two outs of the sixth inning.
Josh Grissom worked a scoreless eighth.
With the bullpen running on fumes, Ruffalo was overextended in the final two innings but still earned his second save.

[rink23]

MBL news: Week 11 -- Awards and standings

[rink23]

Record: 49-29, 2nd, 1 GB Des Moines
Des Moines rocked St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe for four runs in the bottom of the first inning, and the Harvesters rode that to a 5-1 win at Green Canyon Park.
McNaboe was almost his own worst enemy walking two batters in a stretch which saw the Harvesters' first four batters of the game reach base.
One of those free passes, to Kyle Tucker, came with the bases loaded to drive in a run.
Glenn Santiago contributed the inning's big hit with a two-out, two-run single.
An RBI double from the River Walkers' Daniel Becerra off Des Moines starting pitcher Juan Amezquita., scoring McNaboe who had doubled just in front of him, made it 5-1.
The Harvesters got that run back in the bottom of the third.
Jared Poland led off with a single off McNaboe.
An error by second baseman Daniel Becerra put two runners aboard.
Amezquita scored Poland with a two-out double.
Amezquita pitched well, allowing one run on three hits over 4.2 innings, but not long enough to earn the win.
That went to Joseph King (4-1), who finished the fifth and also worked a silent sixth.
Sam Stoutenborough worked two scoreless innings.
Mike Goodkin got two outs in the ninth before having to leave with an undislosed injury.
Jonathan Loasiga gave up a couple of hits before the game ended, but no runs.

[rink23]

Record: 49-30, 2nd, 2 GB Des Moines
Arturo Vergudo hit a pair of two-run home runs and Marshall Larcombe took a no-hitter into the seventh inning to help Des Moines down St. Louis 4-2 at Green Canyon Park.
Both of Verdugo's homers came off River Walkers starting pitcher Kaneo Kawamoto.
The first came with one out in the third inning, the second with two outs in the fifth.
Larcombe (8-4) didn't allow a hit through six innings. The left-hander exited after allowing a lead-off single to Alex Greene in the seventh inning.
Greene ended up scoring the first Walkers' run.
For the game, Larcombe allowed the one run on one hit. He struck out seven and walked two.
Sam Stoutenborough finished off the seventh, allowing a two-run single to Ricky Liriano.
Manny Pescosolido worked a quiet eighth for the Harvesters.
St. Louis put together a threat in the ninth against Des Moines closer Mike Goodkin.
The Walkers had runners on second and third when Goodkin struck out Liriano to end it.
Goodkin now has 24 saves.

[rink23]

Walkers news: July 1 -- Player Development Report

[rink23]

MBL news: July 1 -- Players and Pitchers of the Month for June

[rink23]

MBL news: July 1 -- Rookies of the Month for June and standings

[rink23]

MBL news: July 1 -- American League leaders

[rink23]

MBL news: July 1 -- National League leaders

[rink23]

Walkers news: July 1 -- River Walkers statistics for June 2032

[rink23]

Player of the Month: Jean Segura -- The 27-year-old left field batted .194 with 11 homers, 24 RBIs and 17 runs scored in 25 games. He reached base on a .262 clip and slugged .581.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Jerry Tate -- The 29-year-old rookie went 4-0 in five starts with a 1.09 ERA. He pitched a total of 24.2 innings, during which he struck out 13 and had a 1.01 WHIP. Tate was named NL Rookie of the Month.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Josh Grissom -- The 32-year-old right hander got into 14 games, during which he went 1-1 with a save and a 1.23 ERA. He pitched a total of 14.2 innings, during which he struck out 17 and had a 0.61 WHIP.

[rink23]

Wakers news: July 1 -- Team individual statistics for 2032

[rink23]

Record: 50-30, 2nd, 1 GB Des Moines
Zack Hunsicker allowed one run over 7.2 innings and St. Louis avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of Des Moines with an 8-1 win at Green Canyon Park.
Hunsicker (5-4) allowed one run on seven hits in his 7.2 innings. He struck out three and walked none.
The veteran right-handed exited after giving up a two-out single to Justin Oates in the bottom of the eighth.
Yeison Santos took over and walked Jackson Miller.
He followed that with a strikeout of Rafael Devers to end the inning.
Santos then worked a scoreless ninth to seal the win.
Tied 1-1, the River Walkers took the lead for good with a run in the top of the fifth.
Jared Thomas singled with two outs off Harvesters starter Albert Hernandez.
A wild pickoff throw by Hernandez moved Thomas to second.
Alex Greene was then given an intentional walk.
Nick Shaw scored Thomas with a single.
St. Louis added two more runs in the sixth.
Jovan Gill had a RBI double off Jose Leclerc,. while Nathaniel Dixon plated the other with a single.
Greene tripled in the seventh off Joseph King and scored on a Jean Carmona single.
The Walkers scored three more times in the eighth.
Nick Shaw drove in two with a single off Jim Kendall.
A Jean Carmona single, also off Kendall, brought in Greene with the game's final run.