2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 20-16, 1st, 2 GA Kansas City
Down 3-2, Quad City scored single runs in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings to defeat St. Louis 4-3 and complete a three-game sweep at Fenway Park (1975).
Bob Saavedra had connected for an RBI single off Thunder reliver William Myers in the top of the sixth inning to give the River Walkers their 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, back-to-back singles by pinch-hitter Frank Garcia and Kyle Solomon off St. Louis reliever Scott Rissler set the stage for QC to tie the game when catcher Zach Wenman allowed a passed ball.
The ninth saw Rissler issue a one-out walk to Paul Totten, before being relieved by Ron Cox.
Cox got Ronny Bonilla to fly out.
But Raul Collazo and Tobia Rocha both singled to bring home Totten with the winning run.
Diaz worked five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. He struck out three and walked two.
Myers handled a pair of innings, getting the game to the eighth.
Angelo Touliatos pitched a scoreless eighth.
The win went to Terry Zahnow (3-0), after he did the same in the top of the ninth.

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Record: 20-17, 1st, 1 GA Kansas City
Vince Loyd handled the first six innings, not allowing a run, and the Twin Cities bullpen did the rest in a 1-0 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (2006).
Loyd (4-2) scattered four hits -- three singles and a double -- over six scoreless innings.
He struck out eight and didn't issue a walk.
Three relievers, Mike Haney, Danny Patino and Brian Dowdy, allowed just one base runner while handling an inning apiece.
Dowdy earned his seventh save.
The game's lone run came in the top of the seventh when Mike Sartain and Daniel Sanabria hit back-to-back doubles off River Walkers starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall to open the inning.

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Record: 20-18, 1st, 1 GA Kansas City
Mark Sartain led off the top of the 10th inning with a solo home run off St. Louis relief pitcher Nick Ruffalo to break open a scoreless game and help give Twin Cities a 1-0 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Sartain's 10th homer came on a 1-1 pitch from Ruffalo.
It landed 401 feet over the wall in right field.
Brent Autin was the starter for the five pitchers who combined to shut out the River Walkers.
Autin allowed just one hit over 5.2 innings. He struck out four and walked three.
Tommy Lynch finished off the sixth inning. He also worked a scoreless seventh.
After that, it was Mike Harney, Jerry McCune and Brian Dowdy for an inning apiece to close out the win.
McCune (2-0) earned the win. Dowdy notched his eighth save.

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Record: 21-18, 1st, 2 GA Springfield and Kansas City
A pinch-hit two-out double from Chris Duncan in the bottom of the 11th inning scored Bob Saavedra to give St. Louis a 7-6 win over Twin Cities at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win prevented a three-game sweep by the Snow Cats and ended a five-game losing streak for St. Louis.
Twin Cities, who at one point trailed 3-0, scored three times off Walkers closer Bobby Westerman in the top of the 10th.
Victor Machado led off the inning with a single and scored on a Mike Sartain home run.
Daniel Sanbria then followed with a double before Westerman was removed.
Ron Cox took over and struck out Ray Fry before allowing a single to Juan Yanez, which moved Sanabria to third.
Jesse Leming followed with a double, scoring Sanabria to make it 6-3.
The Walkers, however, tied it in the bottom half of the inning on Mark Herman's fourth homer of the season, a two-out, three-run shot off Jerry McCune.
After Armando Cintron set Twin Cities down in order in the top of the 11th, the Walkers waited until two were out in the bottom half before setting the stage for the winning run.
Saavedra singled to bring up Duncan.
Duncan drove a 1-0 pitch from McCune down the right-field to bring home the game-winner.
Marcos Francis played a big role in St. Louis taking a 3-0 l ed.
He led off the fourth with a double off Snow Cats starting pitcher Garrett Karp.
Francis scored on a two-out single by Herman.
In the seventh, Francis hit a two-out, two-run home run off Jeremy Sudbury.
Twin Cities pulled to within 3-2 in the top of the eighth.
The Snow Cats got three straight two-out hits off Mike Fagan.
The third, from Victor Machado, scored Forrest Nance who had started the string of hits with a pinch-hit single.
Sartain then scored Shane King with a double off Scott Rissler.
Westerman, making his first appearance after missing time with a shoulder injury, gave up a lead-off double to Juan Yanez in the ninth.
Two batters later, Yanez scored on a Bill Walter single.
St. Louis got its best start of the season from Jesse McNaboe.
He pitched into the seventh inning, going 6.2 overall and allowing no runs on three hits. He struck out six and didn't issue a walk.
Nick Ruffalo got the final out of the seventh.
After that it was Fagan (0.1 IP), Rissler (0.1), Westerman (1.0), Cox (1.0) and Cintron (1-0).
Cintron (2-0) earned the win.

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MBL news: Week 7 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 22-18, 1st, 2 GA Springfield
Tied 2-2, Jose Segura hit a solo home run off Kansas City reliever Mike Pillsbury to help lift St. Louis to a 3-2 win at Busch Stadium.
The homer, just the second of the season for Segura, came on a 3-1 pitch with two outs.
All the rest of the scoring came in the sixth inning.
In the top of the inning, Gerardo Bernal connected on a bases-loaded two-out single off River Walkers starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka.
Bob Saavedra evened the score with a two-run homer off Monarchs starter Tyler Martin in the bottom half.
Hrdlicka went six innings, allowing the run runs on four hits. He struck out six but did walk four.
Greg Sones handled the seventh inning and got the first out of the eighth.
Brett McVey (2-0) earned the win after finishing off the eighth.
Armando Cintron set the Monarchs down in order in the ninth for his third save.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have traded veteran outfielder Bill Pena and minor-league relief pitcher Nestor Perez to the Ann Arbor Wolf Pack in exchange for a pair of minor-league relief pitchers.
They also have announced that calling up of 24-year-old outfielder Mark Waterson from AAA Memphis.
Pena, 34, was signed in the offseason by St. Louis to provide outfield depth.
In 35 games this season, Pena hit .220 with two homers and six RBIs.
Perez, 25, had been with the River Walkers since 2035 when he was acquired in a trade with Akron.
This season, Perez has split time between high-A Palm Beach and AA Springfield.
He got into 10 games, going 1-0 with a 6.14 ERA.
Coming to St. Louis are right-handers Reuben Leija and Chris Marks.
Leija, 23, was an eighth-round draft pick in the 2035 draft.
He has split this season between A and high-A, pitching in five games and going 2-0 with a 2.93 ERA.
A sixth-round draft pick by Ann Arbor in 2031, Marks, 24, has pitched in 10 games at AA this season going 1-0 with one save an a 0.63 ERA.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have called 24-year-old outfield Mark Waterson from AAA Memphis.
The trade of Bill Pena to Ann Arbor opened the door for Waterson's promotion.
It is believed Waterson may get a shot to earn the starting center field job from the struggling Jose Segura.
In 36 games this season at AAA, Waterson has hit .272 with six homers and 23 RBIs.
Waterson has played in the majors before getting brief callup in 2035 and 2036.
In 51 games with the Walkers, Waterson has hit .183 with five homers and 11 RBIs.

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Record: 23-18, 1st, 2 GA Springfield
Jordan Quinto doubled with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Mark Herman and give St. Louis a 4-3 win over Kansas City at Busch Stadium (2006).
Herman had led off the inning with a single off Monarchs relief pitcher David Rufillo.
After a strike out of Jackson Miller, Quinto lined a shot down the right-field line to score Herman.
Gerardo Bernal hit a three-run homer of River Walkers starting pitcher Josh McDonald in the top of the sixth inning, putting Kansas City up 3-0.
Bob Saavedra hit the first of his two home runs leading off the bottom of that inning, it came off Monarchs starter Travis Rinker, to put St. Louis on the board.
An inning later, Jackson Miller led off the inning with a homer.
Two batters later, Saavedra went deep again, both home runs came off Brandon Jones, to tie it.
McDonald pitched five shut-out innings before allowing the three runs in the sixth.
Overall, he allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out three and didn't issue a walk.
Ron Cox worked a scoreless seventh inning for St. Louis.
Brett McVey got the first two outs of the eighth.
Nick Ruffalo finished off the eighth and held KC scoreless in the ninth.
Ruffalo (2-2) earned the win.

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Record: 24-18, 1st, 2.5 GA Springfield
Tied 2-2, St. Louis scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take the lead and the River Walkers held on for a 4-3 win over Kansas City at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory completed a three-game sweep for St. Louis.
Jose Segura led off the bottom of the fourth with a triple off Monarchs starting pitcher Jose Buenrostro.
He scored when Rich Dodson followed with a double.
A balk was called on Burenrostro to move Dodson to third.
Dodson scored when pitcher Xavier Wigfall got down a bunt.
Eric Marion hit a two-run homer off Wigfall in the top of the second to put the Monarchs in front 2-0.
Nick Shaw made it 2-1 when he led off the bottom of the second for St. Louis with a homer.
The Walkers tied it in the third.
Bob Saavedra led off with a single off Buenrostro.
A double by Manuel Coke moved Saavedra to third.
Shaw drove him in with a ground out.
KC pulled to within 4-3 in the top of the fifth -- T.J. Latham led off with a single and scored on a Alejandro Crespo double -- but that was the end of the scoring.
Wigfall (3-5) worked 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out five and walked the same.
Six relievers combined to finish the game for the Walkers, with just closer Bobby Westerman working a whole inning.
Greg Sones (0.1 IP), Mike Fagan (0.2), Ron Cox (0.1), Armando Cintron (0.2) and Scott Rissler (0.1) all pitched before Westerman took the mound and earned his sixth save.

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Record: 24-19, 1st, 1.5 GA Springfield
Hector Tavares homered twice, and Ann Arbor went deep three times in the first four innings to pave the way for a 6-2 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (2006).
A former top prospect for the River Walkers, St. Louis traded Taveras to the Wolfpack during the 2036 season, in 2037 he has busted out.
The 27-year-old hit a solo shots in the second and third innings off River Walkers starting pitcher Ming Xiang.
For the season, Tavarez is hitting .331 with 23 homers and 50 RBIs with just 42 games gone in the season.
His first homer put Ann Arbor ahead 1-0.
The second was part of a three-run inning, which saw the Wolfpack go up 5-0.
Shaun Young hit a two-run homer just before Tavarez second solo blast.
Bill Pena, who St. Louis traded to Ann Arbor just last week, also had an RBI single in the inning.
The Wolfpack extended their lead to 6-0 in the fourth.
Pena drove in the run, connecting on a two-out single off Xiang to score Glenn Santiago.
A two-run homer from Eddie Estrella in the bottom of the fourth off Ann Arbor starter Joe Alvarado accounted for the only runs for St. Louis.
Alvarado (2-2) worked five innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out eight and didn't issue a walk.
Five relievers, four of them pitching a full inning, completed the game for Ann Arbor.
Ryan Lodge (1.0 IP), was the first of them.
He was followed by Scott Von Lehmden (1.0), Kyle Gatti (1.0), Duarte Picado (0.0) and Joey Thacker (1.0).
Thacker, who started his career with St. Louis, earned his 14th save.

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Record: 25-19, 1st, 1.5 GA Springfield
Marcos Francis homered twice -- including a three-run go-ahead shot in the
bottom of the eighth -- as St. Louis rallied for a 7-5 win over Ann Arbor at Busch Stadium (2006).
Tied 3-3 after Mark Waterson had tied the game for St. Louis with his first hit of the season in the bottom of the fourth inning off Wolf Pack starting pitcher Justin Potter, Ann Arbor regained the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Potter opened the inning by reaching on an error by shortstop Rich Dodson.
Bill Pena, who the Wolfpack had acquired in a trade with St. Louis last week, drew a walk from River Walkers starter Jesse McNaboe.
Shaun Young followed with a single to load the bases.
McNaboe did get Andrew Allison to fly out and struck out Hector Tavarez.
But Ryan Wibbenmeyer connected on a two-out single, scoring two and putting Ann Arbor up by a pair.
In the eighth, Bob Saavedra and Manuel opened led the inning for St. Louis with singles off Kyle Gatti, who had just entered the game for the Wolf Pack.
Francis, who had hit a solo homer back in the sixth to make it 5-4, then turned on a 1-1 pitch from Gatti and drove it 369 feet over the left-field wall to put St. Louis in front.
McNaboe managed to stick around for six innings, allowing five runs on six hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
After that, it was Ron Cox, Brett McVey and Armando Cintron to close out the game.
McVey (3-0) earned win.
Cintron struck out the side in the ninth for his fourth save.

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Record: 26-19, 1st, 1.5 GA Springfield
Kevin Hrdlicka turned in a dominant start allowing one run on four hits and striking out 12 over six innings, as St. Louis edged Ann Arbor 2-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The only run Hrdlicka (5-1) allowed came on a solo homer by Mario Gurule, which put the Wolf Pack ahead 1-0.
Hrdlicka issued three walks.
The River Walkers tied it in the bottom of the fourth, when it got a lead-off double from Manuel Coke and one-out double from Mark Waterson off Ann Arbor starting pitcher Alejando Chacon.
St. Louis took the lead for good in the sixth.
Coke connected on his second lead-off double of the game, this one again off Chacon.
A pair of wild pitches over the next two batters brought Coke across the plate.
Three relievers, Greg Sones, Scott Rissler and Bobby Westerman, pitched an inning apiece to close out the game.
Westerman raised his save total to seven.

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Record: 26-20, 1st, 0.5 GA Springfield
Josh Walker tossed seven shut-out innings and his bullpen did the rest to lead Ann Arbor to a 7-0 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win gave the Wolf Pack a split of the four-game series.
Walkers (4-3) allowed seven hits in his seven innings, but they all were singles.
He struck out six and didn't walk a batter.
With a 7-0 lead, Adam Weisz and Joe Donahoe breezed through the eighth and ninth to seal the win.
The Wolf Pack jumped on River Walkers starting pitcher Josh McDonald for a run in the top of the first and two more in the second to build an early lead.
Shaun Young doubled with one out in the first and scored on an Andrew Allison single.
Bill Pena, who the Wolfpack acquired from St. Louis via trade just last week, connected on a two-out, two-run double in the second.
Mario Gurule hit his second home run of the series, off McDonald, in the fourth to make it 4-0.
Ann Arbor would add two more runs in the sixth -- Gurule drove in another run with a single -- it came off reliever Mike Fagan.
Gurule scored the game's final run in the ninth, after he led off with a single off Ron Cox.
He later scored on a Pena single.

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MBL news: Week 8 -- Awards and standings

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The St. Louis River Walkers have recalled shortstop Abdul-Nasser bin Amr from AAA Memphis, where he was on an injury rehab assignment and sent infielder Rich Dodson back to the Redbirds.
bin Amr last played with the Walkers on April 28, when he suffered an oblique strain.
He was batting .218 with two homers and 10 RBIs through 21 games at the time of the injury.
In five games at Memphis, bin Amr hit .550 with two homers and six RBIs.
Dodson, 25, got into 13 games while in St. Louis batting .333 with four RBIs.

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Record: 27-20, 1st, 1.5 GA Springfield
Marcos Francis hit a grand slam to highlight a five-run top of the fourth inning as St. Louis downed Louisville 7-1 at Dodger Stadium.
Tied 1-1, Sluggers starting pitcher Esteban Serna got Mark Waterson to ground out to open the top of the fourth.
But the next three River Walkers hitters reached base -- Mark Herman and Jackson Miller both singled and Abdul-Nasser bin Amr was hit by a pitch -- before pitcher Xavier Wigfall reached on an error by Serna to score Herman with the inning's first run.
Serna got Bob Saavedra to fly out for the second out.
But Francis got ahold of an 0-2 pitch and clocked it 425 feet over the wall in left-center to make it 6-1.
Wigfall (4-5) allowed one run on three hits over the first six innings. He struck out nine but walked three.
Scott Rissler (1.1 IP) was next on the mound for the Walkers.
Ron Cox (0.2) and Mike Fagan (1.0) combined to finish the game.

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Record: 28-20, 1st, 2.5 GA Springfield
Ming Xiang allowed one run over the first seven innings and St. Louis put up three late runs to defeat Louisville 4-1 at Dodger Stadium.
A free-agent signing in the offseason, Xiang improved to 5-1 by allowing one run on four hits over seven innings.
He struck out six and walked three.
The lone run Xiang allowed came in the bottom of the first after Chris Zoltan led off with a triple and scored on a Dan Boyle single.
The River Walkers tied it in the top of the second when Mark Herman hit a solo homer off Sluggers starting pitcher Victor Mendez.
It remained tied until the top of the seventh when St. Louis broke through against Louisville reliever Brad Tonks.
Herman scored his second run of the game after he led off with a single.
A passed ball moved him to scored.
Jackson Miller drove Herman in with a single.
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr added two insurance runs with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth off Clyde Rayner.
After Xiang left the game, Brett McVey pitched a scoreless eighth for St. Louis.
Bobby Westerman set the Sluggers down in order in the ninth for his eighth save.

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Record: 28-21, 1st, 2.5 GA Springfield
Kurt Halter pitched six shut-out innings and the Louisville bullpen did the rest in the Sluggers' 3-0 win over St. Louis at Dodger Stadium.
Halter (1-3), who began his career in the River Walkers' minor-league organization, allowed four hits, three singles and a Zach Wenman double in the second inning, in his time on the mound.
He struck out five and walked one.
The three relievers who followed Halter -- John Fiefield, Matt Whitmore and Tom Floria -- all pitched an inning apiece.
Floria allowed two baserunners in the ninth, but didn't give up a run to preserve the shutout and post his10th save.
The Sluggers got the only run they would need in the bottom of the third off River Walkers starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe
Jairo Diaz led off with a single and moved to third on a Chris Ring single.
Diaz scored when Dan Boyle hit into a double play.
Louisville's other two runs came in the sixth when Lance Brown, another former St. Louis farmhand, hit a two-run homer off McNaboe.
It was his 11th homer of the season.

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Record: 28-22, 1st, 1.5 GA Springfield
Alejando Moto shut out St. Louis over the first six innings, and Springfield hit four home runs to roll over the River Walkers 7-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The loss was the second via shutout in the row for St. Louis, which has gone 18 straight innings without scoring.
Moto (4-3) scattered six hits, all but one a single, during his time on the mound. He struck out seven and walked one.
TJ Darr worked a scoreless seventh for the Railers.
Joe Hatchett handled the eighth and ninth without incident.
Walkers starter Kevin Hrdlicka had his first poor start of the season, allowing five runs on five hits in the first three innings.
The bulk of that damage in the top of the second, when Springfield scored four times.
Joseph Hughes led off the inning with a homer.
Moto later had an RBI single, and Ruben Villanueva plated the final two with a double.
Solo homers accounted for the Railers final three runs.
Justin Schneider led off the third with a homer off Hrdlicka.
Jose Chavez took Hrdlicka deep in the fourth.
Vincent Villaviecencio capped the scoring with a homer off Ron Cox in the fifth.