2024 St. Louis River Walkers -- Why can't this thing be fixed?

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Record: 40-47, 4th (Tied/w. Cedar Rapids), 9 GB Des Moines
Jimmy Lambert and three relievers limited Kansas City to a single run and J.T. Realmuto hit a go-ahead homer as St. Louis down the Pit Masters 2-1 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Lambert (5-5) worked 5.1 innings, allowing just one run on two hits. He struck out four and walked three.
The right-hander exited with a runner on first and one out in the eighth.
However, Danny Cushing was caught stealing by Realmuto and Sean Doolittle struck out Joey Gallo to end the inning.
John Curtiss (0.1 IP) and Caleb Ferguson combined on a quiet seventh inning.
The eighth saw Ferguson get two more outs before giving way to Jake Brentz, who struck out Greg Jones for the third.
Edwin Diaz was perfect in the ninth for his 13th save.
The Masters got their lone run in the top of the first off Lambert.
Jones led off with a single.
He moved to second on an errant pick-off throw by Lambert and followed it with a steal of third.
A Cushing ground out chased him across the plate.
The Walkers tied it in the bottom of the inning after Alek Thomas led off with a single off Kansas City starter Chance Adams.
A walk to Christian Arroyo and an Andrew Benintendi single loaded the bases.
Toglia scored Thomas with a sacrifice fly.
Realmuto broke the deadlock with his second homer of the year.
It came off 2-1 pitch from Adams in the second inning.
The ball traveled 391 feet over the wall in left field.

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Record: 41-47, 4th, 9 GB Des Moines
St. Louis posted its second consecutive 2-1 win over Kansas City, this time riding a strong outing from right-hander Steven Brault.
Brault worked six shutout innings, allowing four hits. He struck out six and walked two.
Relievers Jake Brentz (1.1 IP) and Edwin Diaz (1.0) both allowed a run.
Eric Thames led off the ninth with a homer off Diaz, making it 2-1.
Diaz retired the next three batters for his 14th save.
Homers provided both of the River Walkers' runs.
Christian Arroyo hit a solo shot off Pit Masters starter Kyle Wright in the bottom of the third.
Andrew Benintendi provided what proved to be the game-winning run when he took Wright deep with one out in the fourth.

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MBL news: July 7 -- All-Star fan voting final results

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MBL news: All-Star game rosters

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Record: 42-47, 4th, 9 GB Des Moines
St. Louis scored at least once in each of the first three innings and rolled on to a 6-3 win over Kansas City at Busch Stadium (1997).
The victory allowed the River Walkers to wrap up the pre-All-Star break portion of their season with a sweep of the Pit Masters.
At the break, St. Louis sits in fourth place in the National League South, some nine games in back of first-place Des Moines.
The Walkers grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first inning after Max Fried issued a one-out walks to Christian Arroyo and Michael Toglia.
Romy Gonzalez scored Arroyo with a one-out single.
That lead grew to 3-0 an inning later.
St. Louis banged out three singles in the inning, including an RBI single from Alek Thomas.
The other run scored when Arroyo hit into a fielder's choice.
After three innings, it was 4-0, this time Jean Carmona doubled off Fried with one out and scored on a single by Alan Dondero.
A two-run homer from Yasmani Grandal off Walkers starter Aaron Nola in the fourth sliced the lead in half at 4-2.
Another long ball off Nola, this one from Eric Thames, in the seventh trimmed it to 4-3.
St. Louis would add two insurance runs in the seventh.
Dondero tripled off reliever Kyle Nelson scoring Jared Thomas, who had reached on an error.
Nick Poirier, who was 4 for 4, scored Dondero with a single.
Nola worked six innings, allowing three runs on just three hits. He struck out 10 and walked one.
Caleb Ferguson (0.1 IP) and Phil Maton (0.2) combined on a scoreless seventh inning.
Jake Brentz worked a quiet eighth and got the first two outs of the ninth before tiring.
John Curtiss got Grandal to fly out to end it.

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MBL news: Week 14 awards and standings (All-Star break)

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MBL news: K.C.'s Cushing is MVP, but AL wins All-Star game in extra innings

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Walkers news: Team statistics at All-Star break

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The St. Louis River Walkers have sent outfielder Michael Toglia to AAA Memphis and called outfielder George Valera up from the Redbirds.
The runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year in 2023, Toglia has struggled to do much this season.
He opened the season on the injured list with a fractured finger.

And then after a slow start in the majors was sent to Memphis, where he performed well.
But once back in the big leagues, Toglia once again has struggled to produce leading to the decision to have him start the post-All-Star break portion of the season with the Redbirds.
In the majors this season, the 25-year-old Toglia has batted just .209 with six homers and 24 RBIs in 53 games.
Valera, who had success in a late-season callup with the Walkers in 2023, has batted .291 in AAA this season with 15 homers and 46 RBIs in 81 games.

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Record: 43-47, 3rd (Tied/w. Springfield), 8 GB Des Moines
Des Moines' Rafael Devers hit a two-run homer in the first inning, but the Harvesters would not score again as St. Louis rallied for a 3-2 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
Devers hit his bomb off River Walkers starting pitcher Argenis Batista.
The River Walkers waited until the sixth inning to begin their rally, Andrew Benintendi with a two-run homer off Des Moines starter Jose Berrios which tied it.
St. Louis seized the lead an inning later, Romy Gonzalez with a one-out solo homer off reliever Quinn Priester.
After allowing the two early runs, Bautista ended up working six innings allowing the two runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Sean Doolittle got the first two outs of the seventh and Jason Jester retired the only batter he faced to end it.
Jester (1-0) would end up with the win.
Jake Brentz and Edwin Diaz worked a scoreless inning apiece to end it.
Diaz notched his 15th save.

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Record: 44-47, 3rd, 7 GB Des Moines
Aaron Nola handled the first five innings and the bullpen took care of the rest as St. Louis shut out Des Moines 3-0 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Nola didn't allow a run but threw a lot of pitches (101) before departing with a 2-0 lead after five innings.
He allowed five hits while striking out two and walking five.
Caleb Ferguson (0.1 IP) and Jason Jester got the first two outs of the sixth inning before giving way to Sean Doolittle.
He did the hard work, finishing that sixth and working scoreless seventh and eighth innings.
Kenley Jansen kept things clean in the ninth for his fourth save.
The River Walkers took control in the bottom of the third.
Jared Thomas got it going with a lead-off double off pitcher Yeo-San Park.
But he was retired when a sacrifice bunt from Nola didn't work with him being retired at third.
Alek Thomas put runners at second and third with a double.
Andrew Benintendi scored them both with a single.
A lead-off homer from Romy Gonzalez off reliever Bryan Garcia in the ninth made it 3-0.

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Record: 45-47, 3rd, 6GB Des Moines
Alek Thomas one-out single in the bottom of the 15th inning scored George Valera with the winning run, as St. Louis defeated Des Moines 5-4 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Valera had led off the bottom of the 15th with a single off Harvesters reliever Ronny Carvajal.
He had moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by pinch-hitter Aaron Nola.
(The River Walkers were out of position players at this point, because of a glitch or my mistake, Nola would be awarded the win although he never through a pitch).
Anyway.
Alek Thomas followed with a single past the shortstop bringing in Valera.
The game was tied 2-2 going into the ninth when both teams scored to keep it going.
Des Moines got an RBI double from Grant Witherspoon off Walkers reliever Jake Brentz.
Nicky Lopez scored the inning's second run with a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom half, St. Louis loaded the bases with one out, a passed ball with Leo Vazquez on the mound (Carson Kelly was his catcher) made it 4-3.
Valera then connected on a sacrifice fly to tie it.
Alex Faedo was the first of seven Walkers pitchers to take the mound.
He allowed 10 hits over six innings, but just two runs. He struck out 13 and walked one.
Caleb Ferguson didn't allow a baserunner over the next two innings.
Phil Maton struggled, giving up one run on two hits.
Jake Brentz got out of the ninth with no more damage and recorded the first two outs of the 10th.
He was followed by John Curtiss (1.1 IP), Edwin Diaz (2.0) and Jansen (2.0).
Ignore the boxscore, Nola did not pitch. The win should have gone to Jansen.

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Record: 45-48, 3rd, 7 GB Des Moines
Carson Kelly homered twice and drove in four runs and Dallas Keuchel limited St. Louis to a pair of runs over six innings, as Des Moines won 6-2 at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the victory, the Harvesters avoided dropping all four games of their series against the River Walkers.
It was the second consecutive weekend Des Moines had salvaged the final game of a four-game series with St. Louis.
Down 1-0, Kelly put the Harvesters in front in the top of the second with a three-run homer off Walkers starting pitcher Steven Brault.
Kelly's second long ball also was off Brault, it came in the fourth inning and made it 4-2.
Des Moines got its final two runs in the eighth against the St. Louis bullpen.
Austin Meadows drove in both with a two-out double off John Curtiss.
Keuchel allowed the two runs on seven hits in his six innings.
Yonny Chirinos, Ronny Carvajal and Jon Olsen all worked a scoreless inning apiece to wrap up the win.

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MBL news: Week 15 awards and standings

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Record: 46-48, 3rd, 6 GB Des Moines
Rhys Hoskins hit a pair of three-run homers and Jimmy Lambert took a shutout into the ninth inning as St. Louis won 7-1 over Cedar Rapids at Shibe Park (1949).
The win was the fifth in their last six games for the River Walkers. St. Louis is 10-2 since July 1.
The Walkers got their first run in the top of the second when Alan Dondero doubled with one out off Golden Grapplers starting pitcher Rick Atkinson and scored when Romy Gonzalez singled.
Hoskins carried much of the load in the remainder of St. Louis' scoring, hitting a three-run shot off Atkinson in the third and another one in the seventh off David Cullison.
Lambert didn't allow a run until the ninth when he allowed a lead-off triple to Terrin Vavra, who would scored when Domingo Santana hit a sacrifice fly.

Jason Jester replaced Lambert and pitched around a hit-by-pitch to end it.
Lambert allowed seven hits in his 8.1 innings. He struck out three and walked none.

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Record: 47-48, 3rd, 6 GB Des Moines
St. Louis poured seven runs across in the top of the fourth inning to power the River Walkers to a 9-2 win over Cedar Rapids at Shibe Park (1949).
The Walkers had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Alek Thomas led off with a double off Golden Grapplers starter Madison Bumgarner and scored when Rhys Hoskins singled.
Next came that big fourth inning.
St. Louis did all of its damage with two outs beginning with a two-out solo homer by Alan Dandero off Bumgarner.
Bumgarner was guilty of three wild pitches, all of which scored run.
Bo Bichette had an RBI double. Pitcher Argenis Batista and Thomas both drove in runs with singles.
On the mound, Batista worked seven innings giving up one run on seven hits. He struck out nine and walked one.
Jason Jester took care of the eighth inning and got the first two outs of the ninth.
Caleb Ferguson ended it by retiring the only batter he faced.

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Record: 48-48, 3rd, 6 GB Des Moines
Down 4-1, St. Louis scored eight runs over the final four innings to rally for an 8-6 win over Cedar Rapids at Shibe Park (1949).
The victory allowed the River Walkers to sweep the three-game series against the Golden Grapplers.
St. Louis has won seven of its last eight games and is 12-2 since July 1. The victory also put the River Walkers at .500 for the first time since April 17.
A two-run homer from Jared Thomas in the sixth inning off Grapplers starter Carlos Martinez pulled the Walkers to within 4-3.
Andrew Benintendi had a two-run single off reliever Thomas Burrows in the seventh, putting St. Louis in front 5-4.
Rookie outfielder Alan Dondero led off the eighth with a single off Tyler Bashlor.
He stole second and moved onto third on a throwing error by catcher Noah Naylor.

Dondero scored on a Jean Carmona single.
Rhys Hoskins proved the final two St. Louis' runs with a homer off Danny Grigg in the ninth.
Cedar Rapids did score twice off Walkers reliever Kenley Jansen in the ninth, but he didn't give up anything else to seal the win.
Walkers starting pitcher Aaron Nola allowed four runs on seven hits over five innings.
Caleb Ferguson and John Curtiss both worked a scoreless innings.
Ferguson (2-1) earned the win.
Phil Maton (0.1) and Sean Doolittle (0.1) kept things quiet in the eighth.

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Record: 48-44, 3rd, 6 GB Des Moines
Chicago scored three runs in the top of the 11th inning to defeat St. Louis 6-3 at Busch Stadium (1997).
The G-Men had tied the game in the top of the ninth when Jordan Groshans led off with a homer off River Walkers closer Edwin Diaz.
It marked Diaz's sixth blown save of the season.
In the 11th, St. Louis reliever Kenley Jansen walked three of the first four batters he faced.
A fourth walk, this one to Tyler Malone,scored Gorshans with the go-ahead run.
Caleb Ferguson then took the mound for the Walkers.
He was greeted by Victor Caratini who connected for a two-run single.
The G-Men got just 3.2 innings for their starter Franklin Perez, who allowed three runs on six hits.
Six relievers followed him to the mound and blanked the Walkers the rest of the way.
Tyler Chatwood handled the first 2.1 innings.
He was followed by James Pazos, Jamie Callahan, Ken Giles, Danny Barnes and Taylor Rogers, who all worked an inning apiece.
Barnes (3-4) earned the win.
Rogers notched his third save.
The loss spoiled a big game for St. Louis' Bo Bichette who was 5 for 6 with three doubles, one run scored and an RBI.

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Record: 48-50, 3rd, 6 GB Des Moines
Chicago scored once in the top of the eighth inning and twice in the ninth to win it as the G-Men down St. Louis 6-4 at Busch Stadium (1997).
With the River Walkers bullpen running on fumes, forcing them to use tired pitchers or overtend those who were fresh, Chicago took advantage in the final innings.
Gleyber Torres tied it at 4-4 in the top of the eighth with a one-out homer off John Curtiss.
In the ninth, Jarred Kelenic got things going with a one-out walk from Jason Jester.
He moved to second when Cruz Calderon singled and a walk to Marcell Ozuna fillled the bags.
With no left-handers available, Nolan Jones followed with a single to put Chicago up 5-4.
Torres then connected on a sacrifice fly making it 6-4.
The G-Men once again got a short outing from their starter -- Luis Ramon Silva worked six innings, allowing three runs on two hits -- but still came away with the win.
Trevor Hildenberger (1.1), Jamie Callahan (1.2), Danny Barnes (1.0), James Pazos (0.2), Taylor Rogers (0.1) and Ken Giles (1.0) all combined to limit the Walkers to one run over the final six innings.
The win went to Rogers (4-2). Giles now has 14 saves.

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Record: 49-50, 3rd, 6 GB Des Moines
St. Louis scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to expand on a 2-0 lead and rolled to a 9-3 win over Chicago at Busch Stadium (1997).
The win allowed the River Walkers to salvage the finale of their three-game series with the G-Men.
St. Louis actually would never relinquish the 2-0 lead it took in the bottom of the first.
Red-hot rookie Alan Dondero had the big hit with a double off Chicago starter Jake Mulholland driving in both runs.
It was the seventh inning which firmly swung things in favor of the Walkers.
Their first three batters reached base, the third being a double from Bo Bichette off reliever James Pazos which made it 3-0.
Dondero collected his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly.
A Jean Carmona double then made it 5-0.
Two batters later, it was 7-0 after Jared Thomas hit a two-run homer.
A two-run homer from VIctor Caratini off St. Louis reliever Caleb Ferguson in the eighth did make it 7-3.
But Bo Bichette got both those runs back with a two-run shot of his own off Jamie Callahan.
Jimmy Lambert (7-5) remained on a roll on the mound with six shutout innings. He allowed four hits while striking out fie and walked three.
Phil Maton (0.1 IP), Ferguson (1.1) and Kenley Jansen (1.1) combined to close out the win for the Walkers.