2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

[rink23]

Manuel Coke hit a pair of two-run home runs and starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka limited Twin Cities to one run over seven innings as St. Louis downed the Snow Cats 7-1 in Game 1 of the National League championship series at Target Field (2010).
Coke helped St. Louis take early command with a two-run homer off Cats 15-game winner Travis Mayr in the top of the first inning.
The lead grew by a run in the top of the second when Jackson Miller led off with a triple off Mayr and scored on an Abdul-Nasser bin Amr ground out.
The Walkers doubled their lead in the fifth.
Hrdlicka doubled with one out and scored on a Mark Herman double.
Coke followed with his second two-run homer of the game.
Hrdlicka shut out the Cats for the first five innings before giving up a lead-off homer to Juan Yanez in the sixth.
The right-hander, however, recovered to retire the next six hitters he faced.
For the game, Hrdlicka allowed the one run on six hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked one.
Ron Cox (0.2 IP) and Jose Tapia (0.1) combined to keep Twin Cities off the board in the eighth,
Elvis Pool did the same in the ninth.
St. Louis added an insurance run in the ninth on an RBI single by Nick Shaw,

[rink23]

St. Louis got another strong effort from its starting pitcher as Ming Xiang shut out Twin Cites over the first seven innings as the River Walkers defeated the Snow Cats 7-0 at Target Field (2010).
The victory put St. Louis up 2-0 in the National League championship series.
For the second consecutive game, the Walkers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
In Game 1, it was on a two-run homer from Manuel Coke.
This game, it was Nick Shaw who belted a two-run bomb, it coming off Snow Cats starting pitcher Brent Autin.
Coke made it 3-0 with his third homer of the series, it came in the top of the fifth.
The Walkers busted it open with two more runs in the sixth off reliever Mike Harney.
Bob Saavedra drove in both runs with a single.
The 7-0 final came about after a two-run ninth.
Xiang, who went 16-6 in the regular season, scattered four hits over his seven innings.
He struck out three and walked one.
Greg Sones (0.2 IP) and Scott Rissler (0.1) combined to hold Twin Cities in check in the eighth.
Maximilliano Minelli took care of the ninth.

[rink23]

MBL news: Oct. 9 - ALCS Game 1 -- Indianapolis 2, Cincinnati 1

[rink23]

MBL news: Oct. 10 -- ALCS Game 2 -- Indianapolis 4, Cincinnati 2, Indianapolis leads 2-0

[rink23]

Jonathan Knapp hit a solo home run off St. Louis reliever Greg Sones in the top of the 14th inning to help lift Twin Cities to a 5-4 win over St. Louis in Game 3 of the National League championship series at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win by the Snow Cats left the River Walkers with a 2-1 series lead.
Knapp's homer came on an 0-2 pitch and soared 423 feet over the wall in left center.
Once trailing 3-0 and later 4-1, St. Louis tied it with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Manuel Coke led off with his fourth home run of the series, it came off Twin Cities closer Brian Dowdy.
Zach Wenman and Mark Herman later hit back-to-back doubles to make it 4-3.
Mark Waterson made it three hits in a row, with a single to score Wenman and tie the game.
Twin Cities went up 3-0 in the top of the second against Walkers starter Xavier Wigfall.
Shane King had the big hit with a two-run double with the bases loaded.
A solo homer from Mark Herman off Snow Cats starter Garrett Karp got St. Louis on the board.
Twin Cities got that run back in the sixth.
Jorge Avila led off with a single off Wigfall.
A ground out advanced Avila to second and he scored when Karp reached on a throwing error by third baseman Bob Saavedra.
Karp worked five innings, allowing one run on seven hits. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter.
Nick Wilson and Danny Patino both followed with scoreless innings before Dowdy gave up three in the eighth.
Dowdy returned for the ninth and didn't allow a run.
Vince Loyd pitched three scoreless innings of relief.
Mike Harney (1-0) worked two innings without allowing a run and earned the win.

[rink23]

MBL news: Oct. 12 -- ALCS Game 3 - Indianapolis 10, Cincinnati 1, Indianapolis leads series 3-0

[rink23]

Down 2-0, St. Louis scored four times in the bottom of the second inning off Twin Cities starting pitcher Vern De san Miguel and went on for a 4-2 win in Game 4 of the National League championship series at Busch Stadium (2006).
The victory gave the River Walkers a 3-1 lead in the series.
The Snow Cats jumped in front in the top of the first when Mike Sartain hit a two-run home run off St. Louis starting pitcher Jesse McNaboe.
The Walkers, however, came up big in the bottom of the second against De san Miguel beginning with putting their first four batters on base.
Nick Shaw led off with a single.
A Mark Waterson double put runners at first and third.
Marcos Francis then reached on a nubber back to the pitcher to load the bases.
Jackson Miller plated a pair with a single.
After Abdul-Nasser bin Amr hit into a fielder's choice.
McNaboe drove in Francis by getting down a bunt.
Bob Saavedra then made it 4-2 with an RBI single.
After Sartain's homer, McNaboe pitched well keeping the score at 4-2 until he left after the sixth.
For the game, McNaboe (1-0) allowed two runs on five hits. He struck out one and didn't walk a batter.
Elvis Pool (0.2 IP), Greg Sones (0.2) and Scott Rissler (0.2) all retired two batters over the seventh and eighth.
Bobby Westerman held the Snow Cats in check in the ninth for his first save of the postseason.

[rink23]

MBL news: Oct. 13 -- ALCS Game 4 -- Indianapolis 4, Cincinnati 2, Indianapolis wins series 4-0

[rink23]

MBL news: Oct. 12 -- ALCS final statistics -- Indianapolis defeats Cincinnati 4-0

[rink23]

Twin Cities beat up on St. Louis starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka for five runs in the top of the second inning to wipe out a 1-0 deficit, and the Snow Cats went on for a 5-1 win in Game 5 of the National League championship series at Busch Stadium (2006).
The win sends the series back to Target Field in Minneapolis with the River Walkers owning a 3-2 edge.
Bob Saavedra led off the bottom of the first inning with a homer off Twin Cities starting pitcher Travis Mayr to give St. Louis a brief 1-0 lead.
It was brief because the damage did against Hrdlicka in the top of the second.
Jorge Avila led off with a single.
After a fly out, Jeff Waddell drew a walk to put two runners on.
A bunt my Mayr put runners on second and third.
Shane King scored them both with a single as Twin Cities went up 2-1.
But the Cats were not finished.
Juan Yanez drew a walk from Hrdlicka, and Mike Sartain followed with a RBI double to make it 3-1.
Daniel Sanabria was given an intentional walk.
But Victor Machado made them pay with a double, scoring two more and making it 5-1.
Mayr (1-0) went six innings, allowing one run on four hits. He struck out four and didn't issue a walk.
Bradon Jollay worked a scoreless seventh inning.
Closer Brian Dowdy handled both the eighth and ninth.

[rink23]

This one was no contest.
St. Louis jumped on Twin Cities starting pitcher Brent Autin for five runs in the top of the first, while their starter Ming Xiang took a shutout in the seventh inning as the River Walkers downed the Snow Cats 10-1 in Game 6 and win the National League championship series at Target Field (2010).
The victory gives St. Louis a 4-2 series win and advances them to the World Series.
The Walkers will host the American League champion Indianapolis Racers in Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 18.
This is St. Louis first trip to the World Series since 2030. The Walkers last won a World Series in 2025.
Not surprisingly it was Manuel Coke who provided the big hit of St. Louis' big first-inning outburst.
He hit a three-run homer off Autin to put the Walkers up 3-0.
Coke later added a two-run homer in the fourth off Ruben Lopez to make it 7-0.
For the series, Coke batted .357 with six homers and 12 RBIs.
He was selected series MVP.
St. Louis added two more runs after Coke's three-run homer off Autin in the first.
The runs were driven in by singles from Abdul-Nasser bin Amr and Xiang
After Coke's two-run homer in the fourth made it 7-0, Marcos Francis launched one over the wall in the fifth to make it 8-0.
St. Louis eventually pushed its advantage to 10-0 with single runs in the sixth and ninth.
After a strong performance in a Game 1 win, he went seven shut-out inning, Xiang was just as good in this game.
The 25-year-old right-hander didn't allow a run over 6.1 innings before exiting after 102 pitches.
Xiang (2-0) allowed eight hits while striking out six and not issuing a walk.
Ron Cox (1.2 IP), Elvis Pool (0.2) and Maximilliano Minelli (0.1) combined to finish the lopsided win.
The lone Snow Cats run came in the ninth.

[rink23]

MBL news: Oct. 15 -- NLCS final statistics -- St. Louis defeated Twin Cities, 4-2

[rink23]

MBL news: Oct. 16 -- World Series preview -- Indianapolis Racers vs. St. Louis River Walkers

[rink23]

MBL news: Oct. 16 -- World Series preview -- Indianapolis Racers regular-season statistics

[rink23]

MBL news: Oct. 16 -- World Series preview -- Indianapolis Racers postseason statistics

[rink23]

MBL news: Oct. 16 -- World Series preview -- St. Louis River Walkers regular-season statistics

[rink23]

MBL news: Oct. 16 -- World Series preview -- St. Louis River Walkers postseason statistics

[rink23]

St. Louis won season series 4-0.
April 16 -- at Indian
St. Louis 7, Indianapolis 1
W - K. Hrdlicka (1-0, 0.66 ERA). L - J. Diaz (1-1, 5.25).
HRs - StL: N. Shaw 2 (7).
April 17 -- at Indianapolis
St. Louis 4, Indianapolis 3
S. Rissler (1-0, 1.80). L - R. Canales (0-1, 3.40).
Sv - B. Westerman 2, 18.00.
HRs - StL: N. Shaw 8, M. Coke 4; Ind: B. Newell 2.
April 18 -- at Indianapolis
St. Louis 1, Indianapolis 0
W - X. Wigfall (2-0, 3.93 ERA). L - C. Martinez (0-2, 4.05).
HR - StL: bin Amr 2.
April 19 -- at Indianapolis
St. Louis 7, Indianapolis 5, 11 innings
W - B. McVey (1-0, 0.00). L - J. Dawson (0-1, 10.80).
Sv - N. Ruffalo (1, 1.80).
HRs - None.

[rink23]

Chung Pei limited St. Louis to a pair of runs over the first six innings and Danny Patino drove in a pair of runs as Indianapolis defeated St. Louis 3-2 in Game 1 of the World Series at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Racers jumped on River Walkers starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka for a run in the top of the first inning when Ozzie Albies led off with a single and scored on a two-out double by Tony Galvan.
After St. Louis answered that run in the bottom of the first, Marcos Francis and Manuel Coke with back-to-back doubles off Pei, Indy took the lead for good in the third.
CJ Abrams doubled off Hrdlicka with two outs and scored on a Danny Patino double.
Patino collected another RBI in the fifth with a two-out solo homer off Hrdlicka.
The Walkers cut the deficit back to one in the bottom of the fifth.
Mark Waterson led off with a triple and scored when Abdul-Nasser bin Amr ground out.
That, however, would be the end of the scoring by either side.
Pei (1-0) allowed two runs on seven hits over the first six innings. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter.
Matt Wailzer pitched scoreless seventh for the Racers.
Closer Ramiro Canales handled the final two innings for his fourth save of the postseason.

[rink23]

Down 2-1, St. Louis scored three times in the bottom of the second inning and added another in the third and then held on to defeat Indianapolis 5-4 in Game 2 of the World Series at Busch Stadium (2006).
The series is even at 1-1.
A solo homer from Marcos Francis off Racers starting pitcher Jorge Rodriguez staked the River Walkers to a 1-0 lead.
Indy wiped that lead out with a pair of runs in the top of the second.
Brian Gonyon and Brian Newell hit back-to-back doubles off Walkers starter Xavier Wigfall.
Newell then stole third and scored on a deep fly ball by Jared Thomas.
St. Louis responded with three in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good.
Mark Waterson led off with a single off Rodriguez.
He scored when Nick Shaw followed with a double.
Jackson Miller then drew a walk.
After a fly out, Wigfall got down a bunt to put runners at second and third.
Bob Saavedra scored them both with a single between short and third.
St. Louis picked up another run in the third.
Manuel Coke led off with a single and moved to second when Mark Herman drew a walk.
Waterson reached on a fielder's choice, Herman being forced at second.
Shaw then drew a walk to load the bases.
Rodriguez then hit Jackson Miller to with a pitch bring in Coke to make it 5-2.
Indy would draw within a run.
CJ Abrams connected for an RBI single off Wigfall in the fifth.
A pair of singles in the eighth from Ozzie Albies and Danny Patino set Tony Galvan to drive in a run with a fly ball of Ron Cox.
But that wasn't enough.
Wigfall went 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Greg Sones stepped in and got out of a jam in the fifth and pitched into the eighth.
Cox kept the Walkers in front after eight innings.
Nick Ruffalo, who was added to the Walkers roster because of the Racers' large number of left-handed hitters, set Indy down in order in the ninth for his first save of the postseason.