Saints Three Home Runs Late Not Enough In 8-3 Loss

ST. PAUL, MN (June 8, 2024) - The two pitchers with the highest groundball rate in the International League faced off on Saturday night at CHS Field. St. Paul Saints starter Randy Dobnak, who leads all of Triple-A in groundball rate, went up against Syracuse Mets lefty, Joey Lucchesi. Early on it looked like neither team would do much against those pitchers, but a five-run fifth by the Mets was too much for the Saints to overcome in an 8-3 loss in front of a season-high 9,204.

After three perfect innings, the wheels came off for Dobnak in the fourth. Luisangel Acuña led off with an infield single to short. A wild pitch sent Acuña to second. Pablo Reyes reached on a throwing error by shortstop Brooks Lee putting runners at the corners. Rylan Bannon made it 2-0 with a two-run single into the gap in left-center. Luke Ritter then singled, putting runners at first and second. Trayce Thompson hit a three-run homer to left-center, his 15^th of the season, making it 5-0. Dobnak would then load the bases on three straight singles before getting a strikeout and leaving the game. Hobie Harris got out of the jam with two fly outs. Dobnak went 3.1 innings allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits while fanning six.

Lucchesi meanwhile walked back-to-back batters in the second, but didn’t allow a hit through four innings. The Saints collected their first hit with a leadoff single to left by Castillo in the fifth.

The Mets added to their lead in the fifth. With two outs and nobody on, back-to-back doubles from Thompson and Brosseau increased the lead to 6-0.

Back-to-back solo home runs from Reyes, his fourth of the season, and Brosseau, his 10^th, in the seventh pushed the Mets lead to 8-0.

The Saints finally cracked the Lucchesi code in the seventh inning. After allowing just one ball in the air through the first six, a foul out by Tony Kemp, Michael Helman, his ninth of the season, and Diego Castillo, his third, hit back-to-back solo home runs getting the Saints to within 8-2.

Will Holland hit the Saints third home run of the night in the eighth, a leadoff solo homer to left-center, his fifth of the season, that traveled 437 feet cutting the deficit to 8-3. The Saints would threaten later in the inning when Brooks Lee reached on a one out infield single to third and Helman doubled him to third with two outs. Castillo, however, would strikeout to end the inning.

The same two teams meet in the finale of the six-game series at 2:07 p.m. on Sunday at CHS Field. The Saints send RHP Scott Blewett (3-2, 2.28) to the mound against Mets LHP Tyler Jay (3-0, 2.00). 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.