The St. Paul Saints returned home from a road trip and wasted no time in giving the fans a show. They put up eight runs in the first inning off Gary starting pitcher Charlie Rosario and never looked back on route to a 15-2 victory.
The offensive outburst was started when Alonzo Harris led off the game with a base hit to left. He then stole second and scored on a Willie Argo flyout to center field. After that, the Saints would pile on seven more runs, thanks to six hits, including a three-run home run from Harris, and when the inning was done, St. Paul led by a score of 8-0.
Gary got one run back in the third when Zac Mitchell singled to center, driving in Ryan Brockett. Mitchell then advanced to second when Alonzo Harris overthrew the ball; however, Drew Martinez struck out to end the threat and keep it an 8-1 Saints lead.
The Saints would strike again in the fourth when Anthony Phillips led off with a single to left field. Alonzo Harris then walked, and both of them scored when Willie Argo hit a long double to the wall in left center field. That made it a 10-1 Saints lead.
The Saints then had a minor threat in the fifth when Vinny Difazio drew a leadoff walk. Joey Paciorek then hit a single to right field to advance Difazio to second. Anthony Phillips then hit a base hit to left to load the bases with one out for Alonzo Harris. He would fly out to center field, driving in Difazio to give the Saints a 11-1 lead.
Pedro Hernandez had another fantastic start, giving up only two runs on seven hits in seven innings of work. He got help in the sixth inning when J.D. Pulfer hit a sharp single down the left field line. However, Mitch Elliott, the Saints' left fielder, threw him out at second with a laser to end the inning without any major damage.
Kevin Osaki would come in to pitch the sixth inning for Gary. He was about to make it out of the inning without allowing any hits, but Angelo Songco hit a triple with two outs. Difazio then singled to the third baseman, which allowed Songco to score and boost the Saints' lead to 12-1. They weren't finished yet as Paciorek singled to deep right center field, advancing Difazio to third base. Steve Nikorak would then strike out looking to end the inning.
The Railcats would continue trying to chip away at the lead in the seventh as Michael Vaughn scored on a Michael Schroeder double to left field. That cut the lead to 12-2. That would be all for the inning as the Saints got a flyout to left field from Brockett to end the inning with only one run allowed.
The Saints got another threat in their half of the seventh as Harris and Elliott both got base hits back to back. Mike Schultz would then walk to give the Saints a chance with the bases loaded with one out for Ian Gac. He would pop out to Roger Bernal to bring up Songco with two outs. Songco would hit a single to drive in Harris to extend the lead to 13-2. Difazio would follow with a base hit to right that scored Elliot and Schultz. When the inning was done, the Saints held a 15-2 lead.
Tillman Pugh hit a double to leadoff the ninth, but he was stranded as the Saints went on to win big.