The St. Paul Saints picked up their 50th win of the season on Monday night as they defeated the Gary Southshore Railcats 5-2 at US Steel Yard behind seven strong innings from Chaska, MN native John Straka.
Saints get on the board first
The Saints wasted no time in scoring, as Alonzo Harris led off the top of the first with a single, and advanced to second on an error by the pitcher He scored when Brady Burzynski singled, which was followed by a single from Tony Thomas.
Burzynski scored when Trever Adams continued his recent hot streak with a single. After Bryson Myles struck out, Willie Argo singled to score Thomas and put the Saints up 3-0. The inning ended when Aaron Gretz grounded into a double play.
The Railcats nearly got those runs back in the bottom of the inning, as Cameron Newell, Reggie Wilson, and Anthony Cheky all led off the inning with back-to-back-to-back singles. Miraculously, Straka worked out of the jam as he got Tillman Pugh to strike out, Jaime Del Valle to fly out to left, and Alex Crosby to ground out to end the inning unscathed.
Gary did get a run in the bottom of the third inning when Wilson led off with a single. After he stole second base he advanced when Cheky grounded out, then scored when Pugh grounded out to third base to cut the Saints lead to 3-1.
The Saints were able to get that run back in the top of the fourth when Breland Almadova hit a one-out single. He advanced to third when Tanner Vavra singled and scored when Harris hit into a fielder’s choice that saw Vavra retired at second base. The inning ended when Burzynski grounded out to first base.
Saints and Railcats exchange runs in the 8th inning
St. Paul tacked on another run in the top of the eighth inning when Myles led off with a walk. He advanced to second when Argo drew a walk and moved up to third when Almadova drew a walk. He scored when Vavra hit a sacrifice fly to center field to extend it to a 5-1 lead. The Railcars were able to get the run back in the bottom of the inning when Cheky hit a one-out double. He stole third and scored when Pugh grounded out for the second out.
Ryan Rodebaugh came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth for the Saints, and he pitched masterfully, as he gave up just one hit, which was a two-out single to John Holland. He got Jarred Mederos to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the game and give the Saints win number 50 on the season.
Quick Hits
- Myles went 1-3 with a single in the third inning in his first game as a Saint, as he was signed on Saturday to replace Angelo Songco, who was placed on the inactive list with an injured shoulder.
- Straka now improves to 10-3 on the season, with a 4.53 ERA, as he went seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits while striking out three.
- The Saints are the first team in the American Association this season to hit the 50-win mark, just like last season when they were again the first team to hit the mark.
- The Saints and Railcats will play game two of the series on Tuesday when the Saints send RHP Dan Johnson (2-2, 4.77) to the mound while the Railcats counter with RHP Karl Triana (4-4, 3.50).