IL St. Paul Saints

Saints' Comeback Falls Short in Ninth, Lose 5-4 to Mud Hens

July 27, 2023 - International League (IL)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN - The St. Paul Saints had four runners thrown out on the basepaths: two at the plate, one at third, and a runner picked off second. Despite all that, they had an opportunity to win the game in the ninth, but they fell just short leaving the tying and winning runs in scoring position in a 5-4 loss to the Toledo Mud Hens on Thursday night at CHS Field in front of 7,867. The loss drops the Saints to 14-10 in the second half.

The Mud Hens grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third. With one out Parker Meadows walked, stole second, and scored on a single from Justyn-Henry Malloy.

The Saints tied the game in the bottom of the inning when they loaded the bases on an Ernie Yake double, a hit by pitch to Alex De Goti, and a walk to Anthony Prato. Kyle Garlick tied the game with a sacrifice lineout to left.

In the fourth, the Saints had two runners thrown out at home. Gilberto Celestino led off the inning with a double to right. He moved to third on a flyout. With the infield in, Mark Kolozsvary hit a grounder to first, Celestino broke for the plate and was thrown out. Yake followed with a double and Kolozsvary tried to score from first, but was thrown out.

The game remained tied at one until the seventh when the Mud Hens took the lead. With one out they loaded the bases on a Meadows single, a walk to Malloy, and a single by Colt Keith. With two outs Wenceel Perez singled to center scoring a pair giving the Mud Hens a 3-1 lead.

As they did in the third, the Saints tied the game in the bottom of the inning. With two outs De Goti singled to right-center and Andrew Stevenson walked. Prato tied the game at three with a two-run double to left.

For the third time in the game the Mud Hens took the lead, this time for good. Grant Witherspoon led off the eighth with a single to right-center. He swiped second and advanced to third on the throwing error by the catcher Kolozsvary. With the infield drawn in, Meadows hit a grounder off the glove of the second baseman Yake and the error allowed Witherspoon to score giving the Mud Hens a 4-3 lead.

The Mud Hens added to their lead in the ninth. With one out, Pérez led off with a walk, stole second, and advanced to third on the throwing error by Kolozsvary. With the infield in, Joe Rizzo hit a hard grounder to first baseman Chris Williams, but his throw home was high, and Pérez scored making it 5-3.

The Saints had a golden opportunity in the ninth. With two outs Andrew Stevenson singled to left and Prato walked. Garlick doubled to right scoring Stevenson and sending Prato to third as the Saints got to within 5-4. Mark Contreras, however, flew out to right ending the game.

The same two teams meet in game four of the six-game series on Friday night at CHS Field at 7:07 p.m. The Saints send LHP Dallas Keuchel (0-0, 0.69) to the mound and the Mud Hens are TBA. The game can be seen on the Saints Broadcast Network, cable access channels in and around the Twin Cities, the Bally Live app (free), and MiLB.TV (subscription), and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.

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International League Stories from July 27, 2023


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