Every time Mark Hamburger takes the mound, you expect him to turn in a quality start. Entering Friday's game against the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks, he was a perfect 9-0 on the season, with most starts lasting a minimum of seven innings.

That was no different on Friday, as the veteran pitcher went eight strong innings, giving up just four runs on eight hits while striking out eight batters. 

Both teams score in the first inning

He had a rocky start to the game, as K.D. Kang led off the game with a single. He advanced to second when Ryan Pineda singled. After getting Kuery De La Cruz to fly out for the first out of the inning, Josh Mazzola stepped up to the plate and singled, allowing Kang to score, and giving the Redhawks an early 1-0 lead.

The Saints responded right away in the bottom of the inning, as Brady Burzynski drew a lead-off walk. After Tanner Vavra struck out, Burzynski stole second, then advanced to third when the catcher threw the ball into center field. Angelo Songco then walked. Alonzo Harris then stepped up and managed to get a run scored without doing anything, as pitcher Will Solomon threw a wild pitch that allowed Burzynski to score, and moved Songco up to second base. After Harris drew a walk. Tony Thomas and Nate Hanson both went down quietly to end the inning.

Saints explode in the third

The Saints had a big power surge in the third inning when Vavra led off with a single. Songco followed and reached base on a fielder's choice, but the Redhawks were unable to get an out, putting two runners on base for Harris, who drew his second walk of the game to load the bases up for Thomas, who singled to score two runs and give the Saints the lead.

Brady Burzynski makes a catch during the game. (Betsy Bissen/St. Paul Saints)

Hanson followed with a fly-out to center field for the first out of the inning, but it did advance Harris to third base. He scored when Willie Argo flew out to right field for the second out. Tony Caldwell followed with a two-run home run that made it a 6-1 game.

The teams exchanged two-run home runs in the sixth, and the Saints tacked on two more in the seventh, while the Redhawks got one in the eighth.

Gene Escat entered the game in the ninth with the intention of securing the win, and he did, as he retired the Redhawks in order to give the Saints a 10-4 victory over their division rivals, who they took three out of four from last weekend.

Quick Hits

- The win makes Hamburger 10-0 on the season, making him the first Saints pitcher in history to be 10-0 to start the season. His last start came last weekend in Fargo when he went the full nine innings, giving up just one run on seven hits. 

- Harris now has an 11-game hitting streak, which is the second longest on the team this season. The longest was 26 games, which Tony Thomas did early in the season. 

- The two teams will play game two on Saturday night when the Saints will send knuckleballer Dan Johnson to the mound, while the Redhawks will counter with former Saint Cody Scarpetta

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About the author
Stevie Larson
NASCAR Editor, Minnesota sports fan. Contact: [email protected]