Saints Out-Slug Red Wings In Series Finale
St. Paul used a four-run fourth inning to beat Rochester in the series finale Sunday afternoon, 8-1. CF Darren Baker, making his second career start in center field, stole three bases and scored a run in the contest. In relief, LHP Joe La Sorsa delivered his sixth consecutive scoreless outing.
St. Paul used a four-run fourth inning to beat Rochester in the series finale Sunday afternoon, 8-1. CF Darren Baker, making his second career start in center field, stole three bases and scored a run in the contest. In relief, LHP Joe La Sorsa delivered his sixth consecutive scoreless outing.
Darren Baker and SS Jackson Cluff tested St. Paul early on Sunday after their respective walks to start the bottom of the first inning. Both runners stole a base in the following at-bat to put two runners into scoring position with no one out. The next batter, 1B Juan Yepez, took advantage of the scoring threat with an RBI groundout that brought Baker across the plate to put the Wings up 1-0.
The Saints swung back in the top of the fourth after LF Matt Wallner and CF Michael Helman were each hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. DH Alex Isola then doubled to score Wallner and Helman, which pulled the Saints ahead 2-1. SS Diego A. Castillo drove a ground ball past a diving 3B Carter Kieboom into left field that scored Isola and RF Yoyner Fajardo to extend St. Paul’s lead to 4-1.
Saints’ 2B Tony Kemp led off the fifth frame with a single to right field. Following a balk and a wild pitch, another single from 1B Yunior Severino scored Kemp from third to boost the lead to 5-1 for Minnesota’s top affiliate.
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In the seventh, LF Royce Lewis worked a base on balls to lead off for the Saints. The next batter, Wallner, took a pitch deep to left center for his ninth home run of the season and fourth of the series to give the Saints a 7-1 advantage.
St. Paul’s offense kept rolling in the top of the eighth inning, kicked off by a walk to Castillo with one out. After a force out on a Tony Kemp grounder to second, Lewis recorded an infield single to second to put runners on first and second. Wallner knocked his second extra-base hit into right field and brought Kemp around for the 8-1 lead.
The 8-1 lead held until the bottom of the ninth, where the Red Wings looked to stage a comeback late in the contest. The Red Wings would go down in order, losing the final game in the series 8-1.
RHP Joan Adon started on the hill for the Red Wings on Sunday for his 10th start of the 2024 season. The Dominican Republic native turned in 4.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while sitting down four Saints and walking two. Southpaw Joe La Sorsa took over in the fifth, going 1.1 scoreless innings on just one hit in his 17th appearance of the season. RHP T.J. Zeuch entered to start the top of the seventh, making his ninth appearance with the Red Wings. The former Toronto draft pick went 1.2 innings and allowed two earned runs on two hits while walking two. RHP Luis Reyes finished off the eighth inning, allowing two hits before handing the ball over to RHP Orlando Ribalta, who received the task of the final inning for Rochester. The veteran surrendered one hit with two walks during the scoreless inning.
Sunday’s Diamond Pro Player of the game goes to CF Darren Baker, who set a career-high with three stolen bases during the contest. He now has eight games this season with at least two stolen bases, the most among all Triple-A players.
Rochester will take Monday off to travel to Worcester for a six-game series against the Red Sox. RHP Spenser Watkins will get the ball for the Red Wings, making his 10th start (12th appearance) of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.
Find the box score attached here .
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