Ruud pitches solidly but Saints lose third in a row
Published on June 12, 2006 under American Association (AA)
St. Paul Saints News Release
ST. PAUL, MN - Charlie Ruud pitched in tough luck again Monday night at Midway Stadium. The former St. Olaf righty held North Division leader Lincoln to six hits over eight innings but ended up on the short end of a 2-1 decision. Ruud walked none and fanned five but his won-loss mark fell to 1-3 with a 2.03 ERA.
The Saints (17-13) have lost three games in a row and trail the first place Saltdogs by five games with 18 to play in the first half race.
Winning pitcher Jeffrey Blitstein (3-0) combined with Jerrod Fuell, who recorded his seventh save, to hold the Saints to five hits, including two each by Victor Rodriguez and Brian Becker.
The Saltdogs (22-8) grabbed the early lead on Pichi Balet's solo home run, his third of the season, in the second inning. They added a run in the sixth when Jose Torres singled and eventually rode home on Josh Patton's double down the right field line.
St. Paul scored suddenly in the eighth inning. With two out and nobody on, Rodriguez doubled. Becker followed with a sharp liner to right that scored Rodriguez but he was thrown out at second base by right fielder Bryan Warner to end the inning.
Veteran righty Mike Meyer (3-2, 3.10) will start the middle game of the series Tuesday night at Midway Stadium. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
Before the game, the team announced they signed rookie OF Derek Willis. The team first spotted him at their local tryout camp at Midway last month. He also spent time in Cincinnati's training camp this spring.
The San Francisco, CA native played at Cañada JC in Redwood City, CA. He was a JC All-American in 2003 and served as the team captain in 2004. (That same school also produced current ESPN analyst Harold Reynolds and San Francisco Giants star Moises Alou.) He transferred to Olivet Nazarene, a NAIA school near Chicago, IL for the 2005 season where he posted a solid .352 batting average.
American Association Stories from June 12, 2006
- X's walk away with win - Sioux City Explorers
- American Association recap - AA
- Walk beats Canaries in ninth - Sioux Falls Canaries
- Ruud pitches solidly but Saints lose third in a row - St. Paul Saints
- Pelicans to play first place team - Pensacola Pelicans
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