ST PAUL, Minn. – Just one night after losing to the Laredo Lemurs, the St. Paul Saints responded with a big win over the Lemurs in a game that was as wacky as a game can get.
Both teams exchange runs in the first
Both teams scored in the first inning, as Denis Phipps singled to score Leandro Castro. Phipps scored a few batters later when Cesar Valera singled to put Laredo up 2-0. The Saints got three runs in the bottom of the inning, as Tony Thomas singled to score Breland Almadova. Trever Adams singled a few batters later to score both Thomas and Angelo Songco to give St. Paul a 3-2 lead.
They were back at it in the third inning as Valera doubled to score Castro and Ty Morrison to put Laredo back in the lead. They got two more when J.D. Pulfer singled to score Castro and Valera.
The Saints responded in the bottom of the inning when Tony Caldwell walked, which forced in Songco. Tanner Vavra followed with a double to score Trever Adams and Nate Hanson, while Caldwell was caught trying to get to third base. Alonzo Harris singled to bring Vavra in and score to put the Saints up 7-5.
St. Paul tacks on three in the fourth to extend lead
The Saints tacked on three more in the fourth inning when Songco doubled, on which Thomas scored when the second baseman made an error. Caldwell followed with a fielder’s choice that saw Hanson advance to second on another error by the second baseman, while Songco came across to score. Sam Maus followed with a double to score Hanson and make it a 10-5 Saints lead.
The teams again exchanged runs in the sixth, as the Lemurs got two when Jesus Posso doubled which allowed Zane Chavez and Pulfer to score to cut it to 10-7. Drew Martinez followed with a bunt that scored Posso and made it 10-8. The Saints got two in the bottom of the inning as Harris cleared the bases with a triple to score Hanson and Maus, and re-extend the Saints lead to 12-7.
Laredo attempts a rally in the seventh
Laredo got three runs in the seventh inning, as Pulfer singled to score Castro and Chavez. Posso followed suit by hitting a sacrifice fly to center field that allowed Valera to score from second base because there was initial confusion as to if it was really a catch. The end ruling was a catch, which brought out the Laredo manager for a short argument. He did not win the argument and returned to the dugout.
The Saints tacked on an insurance run in the eighth when Maus doubled to score Hanson and make it a 13-11 game. Ryan Rodebaugh than came into the game, and threw one shutout inning to secure the win and move the Saints record to 42-40.
Quick Hits
- The win went to Rob Coe, who went 5.1 innings while giving up seven runs. It was his 40th career win in a Saints uniform, which is the franchise record.
- Harris was the top hitter for the Saints on the night, as he went 2-5 with three runs batted in, along with a nice catch in the sixth inning.
- The win was a big one for the Saints, as they are now 116-46 in their last 162 games, which is the length of a major league season. That is easily the best record among MLB teams during that time, and even more impressive considering that the Saints have only 100 games a year, plus playoffs.