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IL St. Paul Saints

Saints Make It a Big Diehl with Seventh Straight Series Opening Victory, 5-4

August 3, 2021 - International League (IL)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN - There's something about the first game of a series for the St. Paul Saints. For the seventh consecutive series the Saints scored at least five runs in the opening game and consequently came out victorious in all seven of those. They scored two runs in the eighth inning off Louisville Bats reliever Phillip Diehl for a 5-4 victory at CHS Field on Tuesday night in front of 6,401.

With the scored tied at three in the eighth, and Diehl on the mound, Ben Rortvedt capped off a 3-4 night with a single to left. Drew Maggi followed with a single to left sending Rortvedt to second. Jimmy Kerrigan's single to left scored Rortvedt as the throw home forced catcher Chris Okey to leap in the air as Rortvedt slid in and took his legs out from under him. That allowed Maggi to score all the way from first to make it 5-3.

The Bats got their fourth solo homer of the night in the ninth from TJ Friedl, but Nick Vincent locked down his fifth save by striking out Braxton Lee to end the game.

The Saints were forced to go with a bullpen by committee after Matt Shoemaker, who was scheduled to start, was released from the roster. Ian Hamilton got the start and his only two blemishes in 3.0 innings of work were solo homers. In the first, Jose Barrero clubbed a solo homer to left, his eighth of the season, putting the Bats up 1-0.

In the second, the Bats utilized a solo homer from Alejo Lopez, his third of the season, to take a 2-0 lead.

Rortvedt got the Saints on the board in the bottom of the second when he drilled a solo homer to right, his second of the season, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

Kyle Barraclough picked up where Hamilton left off and tossed 2.0 scoreless innings on one hit while walking one and striking out three.

The Saints grabbed the lead in the fifth as Drew Stankiewicz reached on a one out walk. Jose Miranda singled Stankiewicz to second. Rob Refsnyder made it 3-2 with an RBI single to right-center.

The third reliever of the night, Robinson Leyer, was greeted in the sixth by a Mike Moustakas (on Major League rehab) solo homer to right, his first in his rehab stint, tying the game at three.

The same two teams meet in game two of the six-game series on Wednesday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. at CHS Field. The Saints send LHP Andrew Albers (4-4, 4.44) against Bats LHP Nick Loboldo (NR). The game can be seen on the Saints Broadcast Network, cable access channels in and around the Twin Cities area, and MiLB.TV, and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.

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