Festa Ties Franchise Record With 10 K's, But Saints Fall 7-5 To Bats
ST. PAUL, MN (April 30, 2024) - If there were any questions whether David Festa could go around an opponent’s batting order twice, he answered them on Tuesday morning. For the first time in his Triple-A career, Festa pitched into the fifth inning and in doing so he tied the
ST. PAUL, MN (April 30, 2024) - If there were any questions whether David Festa could go around an opponent’s batting order twice, he answered them on Tuesday morning. For the first time in his Triple-A career, Festa pitched into the fifth inning and in doing so he tied the St. Paul Saints franchise record with 10 strikeouts. Unfortunately, the Saints couldn’t make five runs in the first hold up as they lost 7-5 on Tuesday morning at CHS Field in front of 4,636. The loss drops the Saints to 10-16 on the season.
Festa gave a preview of things to come as he struck out the side in the first inning.
It didn’t take long for the Saints to get on the board as they grabbed five runs in the first that was capped off with a big fly. Anthony Prato led off with a walk. With one out Michael Helman worked an eight pitch at bat and walked. With two outs Yunior Severino reached on a fielding error by the shortstop Erik González loading the bases. A walk to Tony Kemp forced in a run giving the Saints a 1-0 lead. Saints catcher Patrick Winkel then unloaded on one and hit a grand slam to right, his first home run of the season and the first grand slam of his career, making it 5-0.
The Bats catcher came through with a long ball of his own in the second to cut into the Saints lead. The first two hitters reached as P.J. Higgins singled to left and Peyton Burdick walked. Levi Jordan then hit a ground ball to third and Anthony Prato stepped on third and threw across for a double play. That proved big because the next hitter, Austin Wynns hit a two-run homer to right, his first of the season, cutting the Saints lead to 5-2.
That was all the damage allowed by Festa who ended the second with a strikeout, retired the side in order in the third with two strikeouts, allowed a leadoff single in the fourth, but retired the next three hitters, the last two on strikeouts, and retired the side in order in the fifth on two strikeouts. Overall, Festa went 5.0 innings allowing two runs on three hits while walking one and striking out 10. He threw 80 pitches, 53 for strikes and got eight of his 10 strikeouts on the slider. He threw his slider for a 74% strike rate and got a total of 10 swing and misses. He becomes the second player in franchise history to strikeout 10 in a game, tying Griffin Jax from May 28, 2021 @ Iowa.
Justin Topa made his second Major League rehab appearance and started the sixth inning by hitting Blake Dunn. He stole second and scored on a single to right by Rese Hinds getting the Bats within two, at 5-3. Hinds stole second and moved to third on a groundout. Higgins walked and Burdick chopped a double over the head of the third baseman Prato that scored Hinds and moved Higgins to third making it 5-4. Levi Jordan then reached on an infield single to first and Higgins scored on a throwing error to first by first baseman Yunior Severino tying the game at five.
The Bats grabbed the lead in the seventh as González reached on a one out single to short. He stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher Winkel. Dunn made it 6-5 Bats with an RBI single to right. Hinds then hit a ground ball to third that Prato made a great diving play on, but his throw to first skipped by Severino as Dunn took third on the throwing error. Mike Ford made it 7-5 Bats with an RBI groundout to first.
The same two teams meet in game two of a six-game series at CHS Field on Wednesday at 6:37 p.m. The Saints send RHP Joe Gunkel (0-3, 8.47) to the mound against Bats RHP Carson Spiers (1-0, 3.24). The game can be seen on the Saints Broadcast Network, cable access channels in and around the Twin Cities, MLB.TV, MiLB.TV, and the Bally Live app, and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.