2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 75-59, 1st, 8 GA Quad City
Eddie Estrella homered twice and Mark Waterson was 2 for 3 with a homer and four RBIs to power St. Louis to an 11-7 win over Toledo at Busch Stadium (2006).
Ronny Maurcio hit a two-run home run off River Walkers starter Josh McDonald in the top of the first.
But when St. Louis responded with four in the bottom half of the inning -- Waterson plating three of them with a homer off Mud Hens starter Matt Todd -- it never trailed again.
The Walkers gradually built on their lead from there.
Jordan Quinto, who getting a rare start went 3 for 4, tripled and scored on a Bob Saavedra fly ball.
When Toledo pulled to within 5-4 with a pair of runs off McDonald in the top of the third, St. Louis answered with a run in the fourth -- Estrella's first homer of the game -- and four in the fifth -- Estrella with a three-run blast off Travis Hailey -- to go up 10-4.
Toledo would not go away.
Quiang Chang hit a two-run homer off McDonald in the sixth to make it 10-6.
Kevin Hrdlicka, who the Walkers were hoping to contribute as a reliever during the stretch run, failed miserably in his first attempt when he took the mound in the seventh.
He hit the first batter he faced.
The next two batters singled, with a run scoring.
He then threw a wild pitch before striking out Ellis Parr for the first out.
Hrdlicka followed that with a walk.
That was it. Experiment probably over.
Scott Rissler took and struck out Kevin Valentin to end the inning and keep it at 10-7.
The Walkers added an insurance run in the eight.
Quinto singled with two outs and scored on a pinch-hit double by Alex Nunez off reliever Jason Slone.
McDonald (8-7) got an ugly win.
He allowed six runs on seven hits in six innings. He did strike out 10 and walk just one.
Hrdlicka pitched one third of an inning. He allowed one run on two hits with a walk.
Scott Rissler (1.1 IP) and Armando Cintron (1.1) both went an inning and a third.
Cintron earned his seventh save.

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Record: 76-59, 1st, 8.5 GA Quad City
Down 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Nick Shaw hit a two-home run off Toledo starting pitcher to help lift St. Louis to a 3-2 win over Toledo at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory gave the River Walkers a sweep of the four-game series.
Mark Herman had led off the bottom of the sixth with a double.
After Manuel Coke grounded out, Shaw cranked a 1-1 pitch 418 feet over the left-field fence for his 22nd home run of the season.
The Mud Hens had gone up 2-1 with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth.
Walkes starting pitcher Matt Wilson, who had shut out Toledo over the first five innings, gave up a single to Andy Jordan before walking Ellis Parr to open the inning.
Brett McVey took over and his string of bad outings continued.
He struck out Fernando Jimenez for the first out.
But with Quiang Chang at the plate, he threw a wild pitch
Chang then connected on a single to score both runners and put Toledo in front.
Wilson worked five innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out six and walked four.
McVey was credited with an inning, and was not charged with allowing any runs to score.
Elvis Pool continued to impress since his call up with 1.2 scoreless innings.
Maximilliano Minelli got the final out of the eighth after Pool ran out of gas.
Bobby Westerman set the Mud Hens down in order in the ninth for his 23rd save.

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MBL news: Sept. 7 -- Week 22 - Awards and standings

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Record: 77-59, 1st, 9 GA Quad City
Rookie Mark Waterson had three hits, including a pair of home runs and collected five RBIs to power St. Louis to a 7-3 win over Milwaukee at Miller Park (2020).
Nicolas Thibault gave the Crushers an early lead by hitting a solo homer off River Walkers starting pitcher Ming Xiang in the bottom of the first.
But St. Louis tied it in the second, Waterson with an RBI double off Milwaukee starter Caleb Walker.
It then took the lead in the third.
Pitcher Ming Xiang led off with a single and scored on a Mark Herman double.
Milwaukee tied it at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth, belting out a trio of singles off Xiang including one which scored a run by Jose Nieto.
Waterson put the Walkers in front for good in the seven with a one-out homer which ended Walker's outing.
St. Louis broke it open with a four-run eighth.
Marcos Francis drove in the first run with a single off reliever Andy Chavez.
Waterson handled the other three with his second homer of the game and 20th of the season.
Xiang (14-6) earned the win by allowing two runs on six his over 6.1 innings. He struck out two and walked one.
Greg Sones got the final two outs of the seventh.
Ron Cox pitched the eighth, allowing a run on an Andy Burhoe homer.
Jose Tapia (0.2 IP) started the ninth and got two outs,but allowed a run.
Elvis Pool faced one batter, pinch-hitter Corey Flowe, and struck him out for his first save at the major-league level.

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Record: 77-60, 1st, 8 GA Quad City
Tied 2-2, Milwaukee's Sean Reed and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit solo home runs off St. Louis relief pitcher Armando Cintron to propel the Crushers to a 5-2 win at Miller Park (2000).
Milwaukee had tied the game an inning earlier.
Crow-Armstrong drew a lead-off walk from River Walkers starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe.
Nick Ruffalo replaced McNaboe and gave up a single to Lamar Black,
Crow-Armsrong moved to third when Nicoloas Thibault hit into a fielder's choice.
Alvaro Lovato then tied the game with a fly ball to deep center.
In the seventh, Cintron took over and Reed connected on his first pitch of the inning for his seventh homer of the season.
Cintron struck out Andy Burhoe for the second out.
Crow-Armstrong, however, followed with his 10th homer of the season to make it 4-2.
The Crushers added an insurance run in the eighth.
Angel Ontiveros singled with two outs off Scott Rissler.
He stole second and scored on an Jose Flores single.
Milwaukee got a good start from Ramon Diaz, who allowed two runs on five hits in the first six innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Pablo Ochoa, David McLoughlin and Dave Araya all followed with 1-2-3 innings.
Ochoa (3-6) earned the win.
Araya notched his 12th save.

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Record: 77-61, 1st, 8 GA Quad City
Tied 3-3, Milwaukee scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and went on to defeat St. Louis 5-4 at Miller Park (2020).
The win gave the Crushers wins in final two games of the three-game series.
The game had been tied 3-3 win since the River Walkers scored a pair of runs off Milwaukee starting pitcher Tony Lujano in the top of the fourth.
Nick Shaw provided the first run with a solo homer.
Rookie Wen He, making his major league debut, later doubled and scored on a two-out single by Abdul-Nasser bin Amr.
Andy Burhoe got the Crushers rolling in the bottom of the fifth against St. Louis starter Xavier Wigfall with a lead-off double.
He scored on a one-out single by Alvaro Lovato.
Corey Flowe followed with another single, putting runners on the corners.
Lovato scored when Ryan Edwards hit into a fielder's choice.
Eddie Estrella led off the sixth with a homer off Lujano to pull St. Louis to within a run.
That, however, would be the end of the scoring for the Walkers.
Lujano (10-10) allowed four runs on seven hits in 5-2 innings but still earned the win. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter.
Ed Sutherland completed the sixth inning for Milwaukee.
David McLoughlin, Jason Pappas and Dave Araya all pitched scoreless innings in relief.
Araya upped his save total to 13.

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Record: 77-62, 1st, 7 GA Quad City
St. Louis closer Bobby Westerman came into the bottom of the ninth inning protecting an 8-7 lead, four batters later he had his MBL 10th blown save of the season as Judson Fabian hit a three-run home run to give Cleveland a 10-8 win at Cleveland Stadium (1980).
Westerman got Edgar Bustillos to fly out to start the ninth.
But Jon Howard followed with a single.
Westerman than hit Javy Gutierrez with a pitch.
Five pitches later, it was over, as Fabian drove 2-2 pitch 398 feet over the left-field wall to give the Juke Box Heroes the win.
A back-and-forth contest, rookie Wen He had hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth off Cleveland reliever Adam Wenger to give St. Louis a 7-6 lead.
Bustillos took Ron Cox deep in the bottom of the seventh to tie it.
St. Louis regained the lead in the top of the eighth.
Josh Paul retired the first tow baters before giving up a double to Jordan Quinto.
A wild pitch moved Quinto to second and he scored on a Bob Saavedra single.
It was a short night for Heroes starting pitcher Antono Alguezes, who gave up five runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings.
But the Cleveland bullpen managed to keep it close.
Nate Wilson finished the third inning and got the game to the sixth without allowing a run.
Wenger gave up two runs in the sixth.
But after that, it was nothing but blank frames for St. Louis as Leo Hermosillo, Josh Paul and Jonah Mills all put up scoreless innings.
The win went to Mills (2-1).

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Record: 78-62, 1st, 8 GA Quad City
Record: 78-62, 1st, 8 GA Quad City
Marcos Francis homered twice and Kevin Hrdlicka earned his first win since May 23 as St. Louis downed Cleveland 7-1 at Cleveland Stadium (1980).
Francis led off the sixth inning with a home run off Juke Box Heroes to give the River Walkers a 3-1 lead.
St. Louis added another run later in the inning.
Jackson Miller singled and scored when Bob Saavedra reached on a two-out error by third baseman Edgar Bustrillos.
Francis second homer, and 23rd of the season, completed back-to-back bombs off Juan Munoz with rookie Mark Waterson to open the top of the ninth.
It also capped the scoring in St. Louis 7-1 win.
The Heroes had jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a run off Hrdlicka in the bottom of the first.
The Walkers tied it in the fourth.
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr singled with one out off Cleveland starter Luke Madden.
He moved to third on a throwing error by catcher Bruce Naverette on a ball hit by Hrdlicka.
Madden then uncorked a wild pitch to score bin Amr.
Manuel Coke connected on a two-out RBI double off Leo Hermosillo in the seventh to put St. Louis up 5-1.
It's been a strange season for Hrdlicka.
The 25-year-old right-hander won his first five decisions but then dropped the next six to earn a trip to AAA Memphis.
Getting a chance to start in the majors again, he had made a relief appearance which had not gone well, Hrdlicka settled down after allowing that first-inning run to throw six scoreless innings.
In his seven innings of work, Hrdlicka (6-6) allowed one run on five hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Armando Cintron set the Heroes down without a run in the eighth.
Rookie Ken Henry made his major-league debut with a scoreless ninth.

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The St. Louis River Walkers have placed right-hander Brett McVey on the 60-day injured list after he left their 5-4 loss on Sept. 9 at Milwaukee with a sore shoulder.
The right-hander is in his first season in St. Louis and had a strong first half being named to his first all-star team.
But the going for the 32-year-old has been rough since the All-Star break.
In 67 games this season, McVey went 7-3 with four saves and a 3.80 ERA. He pitched a total of 71.0 innings, during which he struck out 76 and had a 1.38 WHIP.
McVey also was guilty of five blown saves.
Getting the callup for his first MBL tenure is 25-year-old right-hander Ken Henry.
In 28 games at Memphis this season, Henry went 5-6 with three saves and a 4.89 ERA.
Henry pitched a total of 99.1 innings, striking out 108 and boasting a 1.50 WHIP.

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Record: 79-62, 1st, 8 GA Quad City
Mark Herman snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning and that helped St. Louis starting pitcher Ming Xiang become a 15-game winner, as the River Walkers defeated Cleveland 3-1 at Cleveland Stadium (1980).
Nick Shaw led off the inning with a single off Juke Box Heroes starting pitcher Juan Munoz.
Alex Nunez then pinch-ran for Shaw.
Nunez was eliminated when Mark Waterson hit into a fielder's choice.
Herman then lined a 3-1 pitch 362 feet over the left-field wall to put St. Louis in front.
Solo homers accounted for the game's only other runs.
Zachary Puckeridge put Cleveland ahead 1-0 with a homer off Xiang in the bottom of the first.
Rookie Mark Waterson tied it in the top of the second with a one-out homer off Heroes starting pitcher Devin Rogers.
Xiang (15-6) was impressive allowing one run on five hits over eight innings. He struck out three and didn't walk a batter.
Bobby Westerman's scoreless ninth earned him his 24th save.

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Record: 79-63, 1st, 7 GA Quad City
Tied 3-3, Cleveland roughed up St. Louis reliever Elvis Pool for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and the Juke Box Heroes went on for a 6-3 win at Cleveland Stadium (1980).
The victory gave Cleveland a split of the four-game series.
Pool had not given up a run in 11 outings since being called up by the River Walkers on August 26, but this game was different from the first batter.
That would be, Luis Ruiz, who Pool hit with an 0-2 pitch to set the Heroes outburst in motion.
Joey Kiernan followed with a triple to put Cleveland ahead 4-3.
When Mac Horvath followed with a run-scoring double, Pool's day was done and the Heroes led 5-3.
Horvath later scored on a two-out wild pitch by Maximilliano Minelli.
Both teams had three-run innings earlier in the game.
St. Louis tallied three times in the top of the third off Cleveland starter Hugo Vasquez.
The Heroes evened in the bottom of the fourth against River Walkers starter Jesse McNaboe.
Will Holland plated two of the runs with a double.
Ruiz took care of the third with a single.
Vasquez worked the first six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. He struck out six and didn't issue a walk.
After that, it was a string of scoreless innings from Adam Wenger, Nate Wilson and Josh Paul to close the game.
Wenger (2-6) earned the win.
Paul notched his fourth save.

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MBL news: Sept. 14 -- Week 23 - Awards and standings

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Record: 79-64, 1st, 7 GA Quad City
Tied 2-2 in the top of the seventh inning, Kansas City's Nick Kline led off with a double off St. Louis starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall and eventually scored on a Greg Sones wild pitch to help give the Monarchs a 3-2 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
After Kline doubled, Sones took over on the mound for the River Walkers.
Kline stole third on his very first pitch to Amari Simpson.
When the count reached 2-0, Sones threw pitch which eluded catcher Jackson Miller allowing Kline to score.
The Walkers scored in each of the first two innings off KC starting pitcher Travis Rinker to go up 2-0.
Manuel Coke hit a two-out homer in the first inning.
Mark Waterson led off the second with another homer.
The Monarchs tied with a pair of runs off Wigfall in the sixth.
Bobby Sceid did the deed with a two-out two-run homer.
Rinker went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits over five innings. He struck out two and walked one.
After that it was nothing but zeros from Omar Moreno (2.0 IP), Andy Carruthers (1.0) and Jose Patricio (1.0).
The win went to Moreno (7-2).
Patricio now has 28 saves.

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Record: 79-65, 1st, 7 GA Quad City
Tyler Martin pitched six shut-out innings and the Kansas City bullpen did the rest as the Monarchs defeated St. Louis 5-0 at Busch Stadium (2006).
Martin (9-11) scattered five hits -- all singles -- during his six innings. He struck out five and didn't walk a batter.
Daniel Reid took care of the seventh without allowing a run.
The eighth and ninth belonged to David Ruffilo, who also kept the game scoreless.
The Monarchs jumped om front in the top of the second against St. Louis starter Xavier Wigfall.
With two outs, Aljandro Crespo singled and he scored when Jose Sotelo followed with a double.
That lead grew to 2-0 in the fifth.
T.J. Latham led off with a single off Wigfall.
Martin got down a bunt to move him to second.
Nick Kline singled to score Latham.
In the seventh, Kline collected two more RBIs with a single off reliever Ken Henry.
Nick Jernigan added another run in the ninth.
He led off with a single off Jose Tapia before stealing second and third.
A Tapia wild pitch made it 5-0.

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Record: 80-65, 1st, 7 GA Quad City
Kevin Hrdlicka turned in another strong start allowing one run over seven innings and St. Louis avoided getting swept at home defeating Kansas City 5-1 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The lone run Hrdlicka allowed was a two-out RBI single to Gerardo Bernal in the top of the third inning which made the score 5-1.
For the game, Hrdlicka (7-6) allowed the one run on five hits. He struck out 10 and walked three.
The River Walkers jumped on Monarchs starting pitcher Jeremy Bangs for five runs over the first two innings.
Marcos Francis got it started with a one-out solo homer in the bottom of the first inning.
Manuel Coke followed the homer with a double.
He later scored on a Mark Waterson single.
An inning later, Jackson Miller led off the inning with a homer off Bangs.
Manuel Coke later collected two RBIs with a two-out double.
After Hrdlicka left the game, Greg Sones and Scott Rissler both pitched scoreless innings to finish it out.

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Record: 80-66, 1st, 6 GA Quad City
Springfield roughed up the St. Louis bullpen for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to wipe out a 4-3 deficit, and the Railers went on to win 8-6 at Oracle Park.
The River Walkers had scored three times in the top of the seventh off Springfield reliever T.J. Darr to take the lead.
Elvis Pool started the bottom of the eighth on the mound for St. Louis.
He struck the first batter, Hideaki Taguchi, to open the inning and exited after allowing a single to Billy Salas.
Armando Cintron then took over and it did not go well.
Joseph Hughes, Justin Schneider and Jose Chavez all singled to score a pair of runs and put Springfield in front.
Nick Ruffalo replaced Cintron and was not much better.
He walked Jason Nolan to load the bases.
Matt Beagle grounded out for the second out, Schneider being retired at the plate.
But pinch-hitter Riley Greene followed with a two-run single making it 7-4.
Ken Henry then got the call from the pen.
Carlton Randall greeted him with an RBI single to cap the five-run outburst.
St. Louis did manage a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth.
But closer Jon Santiago came on with runners at second and third to close it out for his 28th save.
Carlos Sanchez made the start for the Railers and allowed one run on four hits over six innings. He struck out three and walked one.
Darr pitched the seventh, giving up the three runs.
Brent Dreher worked a scoreless eighth.
Ozzie Soto started the ninth and got the first out before giving way to Santiago.

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Record: 80-67, 1st, 5 GA Quad City
The St. Louis' bullpen continued to struggle allowing three runs in the bottom of the seventh and two in the eighth allowing Springfield to break open what had been a 6-6 game in an 11-6 win at Oracle Park (2020).
Neither starting pitcher lasted past the second inning.
Railers starter Tony Aceves gave up four runs in the top of the second -- the key hit a bases-loaded triple by Abdul-Nasser bin Amer -- as the River Walkers went up 4-0.
St. Louis starter Jesse McNaboe allowed the first five Railers batters to reach in the bottom of the second before he exited without recording an out.
Included in that mix was a three-run homer by Ruben Villanueva and an RBI triple by Matt Beagle.
Beagle later scored on a single by pinch-hitter Joseph Hughes off Ron Cox as Springfield went ahead 5-4.
Marcos Francis hit a solo homer off Railers reliever Tom McClurg in the top of the third to tie it.
Springfield regained the lead on a Carlton Randall homer off Ron Cox in the fourth.
St. Louis drew even gain in the sixth against Ozzie Soto.
Jackson Miller led off the inning with a single and scored on a Bob Saavedra sacrifice fly off T.J. Darr.
That set the stage for the Railers bludgeoning of the St. Louis bullpen in the seventh and eighth innings.
Maximilliano Minelli walked Billy Salas to lead off the bottom of the seventh for Springfield.
Greg Sones took over and after a strikeout of Jose Chavez walked Justin Schneider.
Walkers pitchers would combine for 10 walks in the game.
Pinch-hitter Nick Gonzalez then connected on a two-run single.
Riley Greene later scored Gonzalez with another single.
The Railers pretty much put it out of the reach in the eighth.
Billy Salas singled off Scott Rissler with one out.
He scored on a Schneider double.
Pinch-hitter Hunter Fedducia capped the scoring with a single that brought Schneider across the plate.
Aceves allowed four runs on three hits in his two innings. He walked two and didn't strike out a batter.
After that, it was McClurg (1.2 IP), Soto (1.2), Darr (0.2), Mike LaFramboise (1.0), Brent Dreher (1.0) and Ryan Tanner (1.0) to close out the game.
LaFramboise (6-3) earned his sixth win of the season.

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Record: 81-67, 1st, 6 GA Quad City
Mark Waterson connected on an RBI single off Springfield reliever Ozzie Soto in the top of the 10th inning to help give St. Louis a 7-6 win at Oracle Park (2021).
The win allowed St. Louis to avoid being swept in the three-game series.
Mark Herman led off the top of the 10th with a single off Soto.
Manuel Coke followed with a single.
Herman moved to third when Nick Shaw hit into a fielder's choice, Coke being eliminated at second.
Waterson then connected on what would be a game-winning single on a 2-1 count.
A back-and-forth game, St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning -- Nick Shaw with his 24th homer of the season, a two-run shot off Railers starting pitcher Ruben Ruiz.
Springfield tallied three times against Walkers starter Xavier Wigfall in the bottom of the third to go up 3-2.
St. Louis scored three runs on Ruiz in the top of the fifth to take a 5-3 advantage.
The Railers answered with three runs off Wigfall in the bottom half of the fifth -- Hideaki Taguchi driving in all three runs with a triple -- to snatch a 6-5 advantage.
St. Louis tied it again in the top of the ninth.
Eddie Estrella, Bob Saavedra and Mark Herman opened the inning with three straight singles off Santiago.
Estrella, a pinch-hitter, scored on Herman's hit.
Wigfall had a rough outing, allowing four runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings. He struck out two and walked one.
Scott Rissler finished the fifth and worked a scoreless sixth for St. Louis.
Nick Ruffalo didn't allow a run in the seventh as did rookie Elvis Pool in the eighth.
Closer Bobby Westerman (8-2) earned the win with three innings of scoreless relief.

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MBL news: Sept. 21 -- Week 23 - Awards and standings

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Record: 82-67, 1st, 6 GA Quad City
Tied 3-3, Jordan Quinto connected on a two-out single off Louisville reliever Cole Duensing to score Abdul-Nasser bin Amr to snap a 3-3 tie and help give St. Louis a 4-3 win at Busch Stadium (2006).
The inning opened with a bin Amr single off Duensing.
He moved up with a steal of second and reached third on a Bob Saavedra ground out,
Quinto, getting a rare start, then drove a 1-0 pitch between short and third to score bin Amr with the winning run.
Another back-and-forth game for St. Louis.
In this one, it scored twice in the bottom of the first off Sluggers starter Jason James to go ahead 2-0.
The Sluggers tallied twice off Walkers starter Josh McDonald in the top of the second to tie it.
Eddie Estrella connected on a two-out RBI single off James in the bottom of the second to put the Walkers ahead 3-2.
Vince Jackson led off the fourth with a homer off McDonald to square things once again.
McDonald (9-8) wasn't great but still earned his ninth win.
He pitched six innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out eight and walked one.
Ken Henry (0.2 IP) and Greg Sones (0.1) combined to keep the Sluggers off the board in the seventh.
Maximilliano Minelli struck out the side in the eighth.
Bobby Westerman set Louisville down in order in the ninth for his 25th save.