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AA St. Paul Saints

Saints Win Seventh Straight, Trim Magic Number to Nine with Sweep of Saltdogs in 9-2 Victory

August 7, 2015 - American Association (AA)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN - The St. Paul Saints jumped out to a 7-0 lead after one inning and rolled to their seventh straight victory as they finished off the Lincoln Saltdogs with a 9-2 win in front of 9,307 at CHS Field Friday night. It was the seventh series sweep of the year for the Saints as they trimmed their magic number down to nine and improved to 55-16.

The Saints started off the ballgame with a bang, putting up a seven spot on the Saltdogs in the first and leaving little doubt that they would take the finale of the three game set in St. Paul. Willie Argo smacked a one out double to left and Vinny DiFazio walked before Angelo Songco blasted a three run home run to right center field. It was the team leading 13th home run of the year for Songco and gave the Saints a 3-0 lead. Mike Kvasnicka singled to right and Joey Paciorek reached on an error on a ball that went off the glove of third baseman Curt Smith followed by an errant relay throw from left field by Matt Forgatch that allowed Paciorek to advance to second. Steve Nikorak's base hit to left field made it 4-0 and a two run double by Anthony Phillips brought the Saints lead to 6-0. Dan Kaczrowski followed with the sixth hit of the inning with a run scoring single that drove in Phillips to wrap up the seven run first frame.

Vinny DiFazio added a run for good measure with an RBI double to right in the fifth that made it 8-0. Angelo Songco drove in a run with a single to right center in the seventh for another insurance run that extended the Saints lead to 9-0. Songco finished the ballgame going 2-3 with a home run, four RBI and put himself atop the American Association leaderboard with 69 RBI on the season, 11 short of the tying the Saints franchise record.

Kramer Sneed cruised through 7.0 innings to record his second scoreless start in a row. The left-hander retired the first nine batters he faced and surrendered just four hits over his final four innings of work while walking two and striking out six to earn his 11th win of the year. Mikey Mehlich came out of the bullpen in the eighth and allowed two runs on three hits with a wild pitch in the eighth before working a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Aaron Payne came around to score on a wild pitch by Mehlich in the eighth after leading off with a double and Mike Gilmartin recorded a sacrifice line out to center to drive in just the second run of the series for the Saltdogs who avoided being shut out for the third straight night. The two runs in the eighth snapped a streak of 22 consecutive innings without allowing a run by Saints pitchers.

The Saints continue their homestand Saturday night as they begin a three-game tilt with the Winnipeg Goldeyesat at CHS Field at 7:05 p.m. The Saints send RHP Jeff Shields (10-1, 3.04) to the mound as the Goldeyes roll out LHP Nick Hernandez (8-4, 2.20). It is a night to leave your soles at the gate with a shoe drive presented by the Minnesota Atheists and the Foundation Beyond Belief. The game can be seen on the Saints Cable Network, cable access channels in the Twin Cities area, heard on Sports Radio 105 The Ticket and in the ballpark on 97.9 FM.

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