2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 57-44, 1st, 5 GA Des Moines
Nick Shaw went 4 for 4 with three doubles, a homer and four RBIs to power St. Louis to an 8-5 win over Grand Rapids at Busch Stadium (2006).
A year after winning the National League MVP, a campaign where he hit .374 with 30 homers and 106 RBIs, 2037 has been of a step back for Shaw.
Although, most players would be happy with the numbers he has put up.
In this game, Shaw looked played like an MVP.
His RBI double in the bottom of the first inning off Traders starting pitcher Brian Southers got the River Walkers on the board after Grand Rapids had put up three runs in the top of the inning against St. Louis starter Josh McDonald.
In the third, Shaw tied it with a two-run homer off Southers.
The next batter, Marcos Francis, also went deep as the Walkers took a 4-3 lead.
Grand Rapids tallied twice against McDonald in the top of the fifth, snatching a 5-4 lead.
The Walkers answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half.
Shaw got it started with a lead-off double off Southers.
Francis moved Shaw to third with a single.
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr drove them both home with a two-out double.
St. Louis upped that lead to 6-5 an inning later.
Shaw drove in the run with a double off reliever Sean Hopkins.
The Walkers' final run of the game didn't feature Shaw.
Bob Saavedra drove in Mark Waterson, who had led off the inning with a single off Brad Beshirs, with a single off Terry Lesnau.
McDonald (5-6) wasn't great, he allowed five runs on 12 hits in 5.1 inning, but he still got the win. He struck out five and walked one.
Armando Cintron got out of a jam by getting the final two outs of the sixth and pitching a scoreless seventh.
Scott Rissler set the side down in order in the eighth.
Bobby Westerman did the same in the ninth for his 16th save.

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

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MBL news: August 1 -- Rookies of the Month and standings

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MBL news: August 1 -- American League leaders

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MBL news: August 1 -- National League leaders

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Walkers news: August 1 --Team statistics for July

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Walkers news: August 1 -- Team statistics for 2037 season

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Player of the Month: Marcos Francis -- The 32-year-old second baseman batted .298 with seven home runs, 17 RBIs and 16 runs scored in 22 games. He got on base at a .337 clip and slugged .585.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Ming Xiang -- The 25-year-old right-hander was 1-1 with a 3.16 ERA in four starts. He pitched a total of 25.2 innings, during which he struck out 26 and had a 0.90 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Greg Sones -- The 29-year-old left-hander pitched in 10 games during which he went 1-0 with one save and 0.00 ERA. He pitched a total of 9.2 innings, during which he struck out 19 and had a 0.92 WHIP.

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Walkers news: August 1 -- Player Development Report

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Record: 57-45, 1st, 4 GA Des Moines
Tied 9-9, Grand Rapids tallied two runs off St. Louis reliever Nick Ruffalo in the top of the 10th inning and the Traders held on for an 11-10 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Leonardo Rodriguez led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a Roberto Hernandez ground out.
Chris Jensen put Grand Rapids in front with an RBI single.
Jensen later scored an insurance run by scoring on a two-out double by Ricardo Santillan.
The Traders would need that extra run.
St. Louis got a base runner with one out when Nick Shaw doubled off reliever Sean Hopkins.
With two outs, Dan Bouwman replaced Hopkins only to give up back-to-back singles to Mark Waterson and Jackson Miller.
Waterson's single loaded the bases,
Miller's made it 11-10 and put runners at first and third.
However, Bouwman struck out Abdul-Nasser bin Amr out swinging to end it.
The River Walkers shortstop had gone 4 for 5 in his previous at bats with a double, a homer, four runs scored and two RBIs.
The contest was back and forth from the outset.
St. Louis scored single runs off Traders starting pitcher Rafael Pina in each of the first three innings to go up 3-0.
Jensen hit a grand slam off Walkers starter Ming Xiang in the fourth to put the Traders in front.
St. Louis regained the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Bob Saavadra and Manuel Coke both picked RBIs with two-out singles off Pina.
Grand Rapids regained the lead in the fifth as Jake Klingenstein cranked a three-run homer off Xiang.
That lead reached 9-5 an inning later.
Bruce Herrera connected on a two-run, two-out double off Scott Rissler.
The Walkers refused to fold.
They scored three times in the seventh.
The first run scored on a bin Amr single off Benjamin Wiegman.
Saavedra later plated a pair with a two-out single.
St. Louis tied it in the bottom of the ninth
Brad Beshirs retired the inning's first two hitters, but bin Amr singled and was followed by another single by pinch-hitter Eddie Estrella.
Hopkins replaced Beshirs but was greeted by a Saavedra single which tied the game.
Pina lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits. He struck out three and didn't walk a batter.
The Traders needed six relievers to finish the game.
Terry Lesnau finished the fourth and worked a scoreless fifth.
Yuki Matsui kept St. Louis from scoring in the sixth.
Weigman got the first two outs of the seventh and was responsible for three runs.
Behirs finished the seventh, through all of the eighth and got the first out of the ninth.
Hopkins (2-5) got three outs, a blown save and the win.
Bouwman notched his 26th save.

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Record: 54-45, 1st, 4 GA Des Moines
St. Louis bludgeoned Grand Rapids with 21 hits -- including a pair of home runs from rookie Mark Waterson -- as the River Walkers routed the Traders 13-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory gave St. Louis victories in three of four games in the series.
Waterson's first homer of the game, leading off the bottom of the second against Grand Rapids starting pitcher Mark MacDougall, put the Walkers ahead 1-0.
But after that, the runs came in bunches.
St. Louis two runs in the fourth, three in the fifth, four in the seven and three in the eighth.
Waterson finished the game 3 for 4 with two homers, three RBIs and four runs scored.
Eddie Estrella, getting a rare chance to bat lead off, was 3 for 6 with three RBIs.
Jordan Quinto, making a start at shortstop, was 4 for 5 with a run scored and four RBIs.
Chris Duncan, who filled in for Marcos Francis at second, was 3 for 5 with three runs scored and an RBI.
Jackson Miller was 2 for 4 with three runs scored and an RBI.
Not to mention the strong mound outing from Jesse McNaboe.
McNaboe (5-7) allowed one run on one hit over seven innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Ron Cox pitched the final two innings of the lopsided win.

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MBL news: August 3 -- Week 17 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 58-46, 1st, 4 GA Des Moines
Relief pitcher Jason Patricio led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a single and later scored on an Eric Marion double as Kansas City defeated St. Louis 7-6 at Kauffman Stadium.
The Monarchs had forced extra innings when pinch-hitter T.J. Peterson homered off River Walkers reliever Brett McVey with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
Patricio set St. Louis down in order in the top of the 10th.
Then, given a rare opportunity to bat, Patricio drove the first pitch he saw from reliever Nick Ruffalo past the shortstop for a lead-off single.
A bunt by Nick Kline moved Patricio to second.
Marion sent him across the plate with the winning run, as he doubled into the gap in right center.
The run was Patricio's first of the season, and the hit just his second.
A back-and-forth contest.
St. Louis scored two runs in the top of the second only to have the Monarchs match it with a pair in the bottom of the third.
An RBI single from the Walkers' Zach Wenman in the fifth off KC reliever Omar Moreno out St. Louis ahead 3-2.
By the time the sixth inning started, Kansas City led 4-3 after a two-run homer from T.J. Latham off St. Louis starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall.
Wigfall tied it in the top of the sixth with his second homer of the season, it came off Jose Lazaro.
The Walkers later took the lead in the same inning, Nick Shaw with an RBI single off Frank Musser to score Marcos Francis.
KC evened it again in the bottom of the sixth.
Nick Kline led off with a single off Wigfall.
He later scored when Gerardo Bernal hit a deep fly ball of Greg Sones.
The Walkers went up 6-5 in the top of the seventh.
Wenman and Alex Nunez opened the inning with singles off David Riffilo.
A deep fly ball by pinch-hitter Mark Herman scored Wenman.
Monarchs starting pitcher Jereny Bangs left the game with an elbow issue after just two innings.
H allowed two runs on three hits before departing.
KC used six relievers to finish the game.
Omar Moreno (2.1 IP) was the first of the lot.
He was followed by Jose Lazaro (1.1), Musser (0.1), Ruffilo (1.0) Andy Carruthers (2.0) and Patricio (1.0).
Patricio (2-4) came out of it with the win.

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Record: 59-46, 1st, 4 GA Des Moines
Down 1-0, St. Louis ripped Kansas City starting pitcher Travis Rinker for five runs in the top of the fourth inning and rode that to a 10-2 win over the Monarchs at Kauffman Stadium.
Mark Hermann opened the top of the fourth with a walk and moved to third on a one-out double by Jackson Miller.
After Abdul-Nasser bin Amr drew a walk, Herman scored on a bunt by pitcher Matt Wilson.
Bob Saavedra then delivered the big blow with a grand slam as the River Walkers went up 5-1.
The Monarchs did get a run off Wilson in the bottom of the fourth -- Josh Shuler led off with a double and after a wild pitch scored on a Gerardo Bernal ground out - but the rest of the scoring would be done by St. Louis.
Manuel Coke drove in two runs in the sixth with a double off Andy Carruthers.
Alex Nunez tripled off David Rufillo to spur a three-run ninth.
Nunez scored on a bin Amr single.
Pitcher Brett McVey collected an RBI with a single.
Saavedra collected his fifth RBI of the game with a single off Omar Moreno as the lead reach 10-2.
Wilson (1-0) lasted long enough to earn his first win at the major-league level.
He went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits He struck out four and walked one.
Scott Rissler pitched a scoreless sixth.
Brett McVey earned his fourth save with three hitless innings of relief.

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Record: 60-46, 1st, 4 GA Des Moines
Down 7-1, St. Louis scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning and four more in the seventh and two and the eighth and held on for a 10-9 win over Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium.
The Monarchs used a huge inning of their own to grab the lead blistering River Walkers starting pitcher Jesse McDonald for five runs in the bottom of the fourth.
The inning featured two errors, and a hit by pitch and at least a couple of other plays which could have been ruled errors.
Gerardo Bernal did have a two-run double while pitcher Jose Buenrostro plated a run with a double as the Monarchs went up 5-1.
That advantage grew to 7-2 an inning later.
McDonald gave up a lead-off single to Bobby Scheid followed by a Jim Peebles doubles.
Both scored after Maximilliano Minelli took the mound when Amari Simpson connected on a two-out double.
The River Walkers' comeback started in the top of the sixth with four runs.
Four of St. Louis' first five batters reached base against Buenrosto.
Nick Shaw led off the inning with a single. He moved to third on a Zach Wenman double.
Shaw scored when Mark Waterson grounded out.
After Abdul-Nasser bin Amr drew a walk, Manuel Coke doubled to score Wenman.
Pinch-hitter Eddie Estrella grounded out, but Bob Saavedra followed with a two-run single as St. Louis pulled to within 7-5.
The Monarchs picked up a run in the bottom of the sixth.
Nick Jernigan singled with one out off Ron Cox.
He stole second and scored on a Bobby Scheid single.
But Mark Waterson hit a three-run home run off Frank Musser in the top of the seventh to tie it at 8-8.
The Walkers took the lead for good in the top of the eighth.
With Jose Lazaro on the mound, they out their first two hitters of the inning on bases -- Saavedra singled and Marcos Francis double putting runners at second and third -- after Mark Herman struck out, Nick Shaw was given an intentional walk to load the bases.
Zach Wenman flew out for the inning's second out.
Waterson then delivered his second big hit in as many innings, driving a single past the second baseman to score a pair and make it 10-8.
The Monarchs didn't go quiet in the bottom of the ninth against reliever Greg Sones.
Sones struck out the first two batters, but followed it by allowing consecutive singles to Alejando Crespo, Jose Sotelo and T.J. Latham to load the bases.
Jordan Grullon then worked his way through a 11-pitch at bat before drawing a walk to force Crespo in with a run.
Scott Rissler got called to the rescue, and he bailed out Sones by getting Nick Jernigan to ground out on a 3-2 pitch.
McDonald lasted just four innings, allowing seven runs on five hits. He struck out two and walked two.
Minelli worked just one inning.
After that, it was Ron Cox (1.0 IP), Bobby Westerman (2.0), Sones (0.2) and Rissler (0.1).
Westerman (6-1 earned his sixth win of the season.
Rissler increased his save total to two.

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Record: 61-46, 1st, 5 GA Des Moines
St. Louis jumped out to a 5-0 lead after six innings and held on to defeat Columbus 6-3 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Manuel Coke's three-run home run off Golden Bears starting pitcher Dae-ki Jung put the River Walkers up 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning.
St. Louis banged out four straight singles off Jung in the fifth -- the first from pitcher Ming Xiang and the fourth from Mark Herman as Xiang scored -- to go up 4-0.
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr doubled off reliever Jamie Gam in the sixth and scored on a two-out single by Bob Saavedra in the sixth as the advantage reached 5-0.
The Walkers got a strong start from Xiang but may have stuck with him too long as a three-run homer from Edgar Salas in the top of the eighth drew Columbus to within 5-3.
Xiang (11-4) still got his 11th win by allowing three runs on seven hits over 7.2 innings. The rookie right-hander struck out eight and didn't walk a batter.
Nick Ruffalo finished off the eighth for St. Louis.
Maxmilliano Minelli struck out three of the four batters he faced in the ninth for his first save.
Eddie Estrella drove in an insurance run for the Walkers in the bottom of the eighth with a pinch-hit double off Pat Leadingham.

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Record: 61-47, 1st, 5 GA Des Moines
Adrian Penucci doubled off St. Louis reliever Scott Rissler with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to drive in Antonio Burgos and help give Columbus a 3-2 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
Burgos had reached on a one-out single off reliever Greg Sones.
Rissler then replaced Sones only to have his 2-1 pitch lined to the gap in right center.
The Golden Bears scored single runs off River Walkers starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe in the first two innings to go up 2-0.
Columbus' second inning run came on a Kevin Kendrall homer.
In the bottom of the second, St. Louis rookie Mark Waterson made it 2-1 with a homer off Bears starting pitcher Agustin Perdomo.
The Walkers tied it in the sixth against reliever Josh Schorr.
Manuel Coke and Mark Herman greeted him with consecutive one-out singles.
Coke then scored on a Marcos Francis fly ball to right.
Perdomo lasted 5.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out four and didn't issue a walk.
Schorr finished the sixth inning and also worked the seventh.
John Tennant (2-1) earned the win after pitching a 1-2-3 eighth.
Eric Watkins notched his 28th save with a scoreless ninth.

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Record: 62-47, 1st, 5GA Des Moines
Tied 1-1, St Louis sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning and scored five runs to pave the way for a 6-2 win over Columbus at Busch Stadium (2006).
Jordan Quinto and pinch-hitter Bob Saavedra got things started with back-to-back doubles off Pat Leadingham to lead off the inning.
Quinto scored on Saavedra's double.
Eddie Estrella was then given an intentional walk.
After a fly out by Manuel Coke, Mark Herman reached on an error by Leadingham to load the bases.
A Leadingham wild pitch then scored Saavedra.
Nick Shaw flew out for the second out.
But Zach Wenman started a string of four consecutive batters reaching base with a single, scoring two.
Drew Dillard replaced Leadingham.
He walked Mark Walterson and Chris Duncan followed with an RBI single.
Quinto followed that with his second hit of the inning, this one a single to load the bases.
The bases, however, would be left packed as Saavedra flew out to right.
The Walkers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third, when Coke drew a one-out walk from Golden Bears starter Chris D'Alessandro and scored on a Herman double.
St. Louis starter Xavier Wigfall took a shutout into the seventh inning before tiring.
He exited with two outs and nobody on.
Ron Cox took his place and his third pitch to Nolan Gorman traveled over the right-field wall tying the game.
Columbus got a run off Armando Cintron in the eighth to make the final.
Cintron left the game with a sore elbow. He is expected to miss five days.
Wigfall allowed just one hit -- a two-out single by Mike Stone in the top of the fifth -- in his 6.2 innings. He struck out five and walked two.
Cox (4-0) blew his second save of the season with the Gorman homer but still notched his fourth win.
Cintron allowed a run on three hits in his two-thirds of an innings.
Closer Bobby Westerman kept the score at 6-2 in the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth for his 17th save.

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Record: 62-47, 1st, 5 GA Des Moines
The game between the Columbus Golden Bears and St. Louis River Walkers scheduled for August 9 at Busch Stadium (2006) has been postponed because of bad weather.
It has been rescheduled for Oct. 5 in St. Louis.

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MBL news: August 10 -- Week 18 - Awards and standings