Eight Is Great, Saints Come From Behind For Franchise Record Tying Eighth Straight Win, 8-7

ST. PAUL, MN (June 19, 2024) - In the first six games of their current winning streak the St. Paul Saints trailed for a total of three innings. On Tuesday night they trailed after the first two innings before coming back to win. On Wednesday afternoon they came from behind on two separate occasions as they rode a career-high three doubles from Brooks Lee to an 8-7 victory over the Toledo Mud Hens at CHS Field in front of 7,248. The win is the eighth in a row for the Saints, tying the franchise record from June 5-14, 2022. The win gets the Saints to 35-35, the first time they’ve been at .500 since they were 7-7 on April 14.

The Mud Hens struck in the first inning courtesy of a solo home run from Ryan Vilade, his seventh of the season, making it 1-0.

Vilade came through again for the Mud Hens in the third. Riley Unroe led off the inning with a single into right-center. With two outs, Vilade doubled to the gap in right-center scoring Unroe giving the Mud Hens a 2-0 lead.

As they did on Tuesday night, the Saints came from behind with a five spot, this time in the third. With one out Will Holland doubled to right-center and Edouard Julien walked. After a double steal, Lee tied the game at two with a two-run double to left-center. With two outs Yunior Severino walked. Jair Camargo stepped to the plate and hit a three-run homer to right, his fifth of the season, putting the Saints up 5-2.

As quickly as the Saints grabbed the lead, is as quickly as the Mud Hens took it back. Bligh Madris led off the inning and he moved to third on a double by Eddys Leonard. Justice Bigbie made it 5-4 with a two-run double to right-center. With two outs, the Saints made a pitching change. The first batter Jeff Brigham faced, Andrew Navigato, hit a two-run homer to center, his seventh of the season, giving the Mud Hens a 6-5 lead.

Leonard gave the Mud Hens a 7-5 lead with a solo homer over the batter’s eye in center field, his second of the season. Leonard became the sixth player in the 10-year history of CHS Field to homer over the batter’s eye, the second Triple-A player, and the first opposing Triple-A player. He becomes just the second opposing player to homer over the batter’s eye joining Joe Dunnigan of the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks who did it on Opening Night of the ballpark, May 21, 2015.

Patience was a virtue for the Saints in regaining the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Julien led off the inning with a walk. Lee collected his third double of the games, roping a shot to the gap in left-center putting runners at second and third. Lee finished the game 3-5 with three doubles, two RBI, and a run scored. The three doubles are a career high and he becomes the sixth Saints player with three doubles. A walk to Matt Wallner loaded the bases. Yunior Severino walked to force in a run getting the Saints to within 7-6. Diego Castillo tied the game with a 107-mph scorcher off the glove of a backhanded try from the shortstop Andrew Navigato. A wild pitch then scored Wallner giving the Saints an 8-7 lead.

Kody Funderburk closed out the game for the Saints. He struck out all three outs in the ninth picking up his third save of the season.

The same two teams meet in game three of a six-game series on Thursday night at CHS Field at 7:07 p.m. The Saints send RHP David Festa (2-2, 3.50) to the mound against Mud Hens LHP Brian Sammons (4-3, 3.26). The game can be see on the Saints Cable Network, cable access channels in and around the Twin Cities, MLB.TV, MiLB.TV, the Bally Live app, and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.