St. Paul vs Sioux City X's Recap

Another series done another series won for the boys from St. Paul. The St. Paul Saints came out and took there 10th consecutive series in the American Association against the Sioux City Explorers.
On Monday night everything didn't start off to well for the Saints as Sioux City put up 2 runs in the top of the inning when Noah Perio Jr got to first on an error that allowed Michael Lang and Rene Tosoni to score for the X's. In the bottom of the inning DiFazio would single to center and Steve Nikorak would score to cut the lead in half, but the Saints wouldn't let up there as they would score 1 in the 4th to tie it and 3 in the 5th to take a 5-2 lead. The X's would try to come back in the 9th by tacking on 2 more but that's where it would stay Saints win game 1 5-4 in front of 7,690 fans. Kramer Sneed went an outstanding 8 innings, getting the win, allowing 2 runs (0 ER) on 5 hits, striking out 2 and walking none. Dylan Chavez took the Save, while Jeff Marquez took the loss going 7 innings allowing 5 runs (4 ER) on 7 hits, with 4 strikeouts and no walks.
On Tuesday Night the Saints would put up the first run in the 1st inning when Ian Gac took a sac fly to left and Steve Nikorak scored on it to make it 1-0 Saints. The X's would tie it up at 1 when Tommy Mendonca singled to right to score Noah Perio Jr, however it wouldn't stay tied for long as the Saints scored 3 runs in the 4th inning to make it 4-1. Sioux City would come back and put up 2 more runs in the top of the 5th before scoring 1 more in the 8th to tie the game. But in the bottom of the inning Mitch Elliott was walked to first 1 batter later Vinny DiFazio jacked the game winning home run to right field to give the Saints a 6-4 win. 7,798 fans came out to CHS Field to see the Saints take win number 26 on the year. Michael Zouzalik was credited with the win, Dylan Chavez the save, and Rob Wort the loss for the X's.
A special matinee game was played at 1:05 PM on Wednesday afternoon (the first of only 4 this season) but this was a very different feeling for Saints fans than normal. With no scoring through the first 3 innings the Explorers took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 4th. The Saints would put 1 up in the bottom of the inning but Sioux City put up yet another in the 6th to make it 3-1 X's. In the 7th St.Paul would cut it down to 3-2 but the X's pulled it back up to 4-2 in the 9th. But the bottom of the 9th was very different, Rob Wort came in to pitch for the Sioux City Explorers  he struck out the first batter Joey Paciorek, then walked Robert Youngdahl. With Youngdahl on first Jose Flores came in to pitch for Wort, his first batter Dan Kaczrowski singled on him, then he struck out Mitch Elliott. With 2 on and the bases loaded Steve Nikorak got an infield single to load the bases but on that play Robert Youngdahl rounded 3rd and came back only to be tagged out on a baserunning error. St. Paul would lose that game 4-2 in front of 7,792 fans. Saints Ace Pedro Hernandez took the loss, while Jon Straka took the win and Jose Flores the save for the X's.
St. Paul now heads north to Newmann Outdoor Field in Fargo, ND to take on North Division rival Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in a 4 game series Thursday-Sunday. Game times are set for 7:02 PM on Thursday and Friday, 6:00 PM on Saturday, and 1:00 PM on Sunday. St. Paul will send RHP Robert Coe out to start against F-M's Taylor Stanton. You can catch the games LIVE on americanassociationbaseball.tv or listen to the Saints radio broadcast HERE on 1220 AM KLBB. Until next time remember Fun Is Good and GO SAINTS!

Saints vs Railcats Recap

Alright everyone another series down and another series win! The St. Paul Saints are 9-0 when it comes to winning a series this year and a highly successful record of 24-5 on the season, that's right through just 29 games they have already won HALF of the 48 wins they accomplished ALL SEASON LAST YEAR!!!! Now on to the recap of each game in the series.
Friday night St. Paul started off a 3 game series with the Gary SouthShore Railcats (first game in a 6 game homestand) and that start went off with a BANG as the Saints would power through with 8 runs in just the first inning alone. Gary would score 1 run each in the 3rd and 7th innings meaning that just the first inning alone would get the Saints the win but they didn't stop there. The Saints would score 2 in the 4th, 1 in the 5th and 6th, and 3 in the 7th inning to blow out the Railcats 15-2 in front of 8,388 fans! Former Major Leaguer and current Saints staff ace Pedro Hernandez took the win going a solid 7 innings while Charle Rosario took the loss for Gary that night.
Things weren't so sweet on Saturday night however. The Saints did manage to score a single run in the first inning but the Railcats would score 1 in the 2nd and 3 more in the 3rd to make it 4-1 Gary. St. Paul wouldn't give up right away as they score 2 in the bottom of the 3rd, the first being on a Vinny DiFazio solo home run, after a fly out by Ian Gac to center Angelo Songco jacked another one out of the park to make it 4-3. But in the 6th Roger Bernal would single and send in Michael Schroeder from 2nd to make it 5-3. St. Paul was down but not out in the 9th as an error and failed pickoff attempt would have them score there 4th and 5th runs sending the game to extra innings. With nothing happening in the 10th it would go to the international rule in the 11th which has not been kind to the Saints this season. Gary would pile 3 on while the Saints couldn't score any making this an 8-5 win for the Railcats in front of a crowd of 8,312. Ryan Rodebaugh took the loss while Paul Mittura got the win.
A series victory came down to game 3 on Sunday evening at CHS Field. A replica St. Paul Saints home jersey was given out to the first 750 adults and first 750 kids each. Even though the Railcats got the games first run in the top of the 1st St. Paul would get 3 in there bottom of the inning starting with Steve Nikorak's solo blast. That homer was followed up by a DiFazio single and an Ian Gac home run. St. Paul led the game 7-2 heading into the bottom 6th inning when Mike Kvasnicka and Joey Paciorek would hit back to back jacks over the Spire Home Run Porch in right field and onto the GMF Building behind it for the Saints to take a 9-2 lead. Gary would put up 1 more run in the 8th but went down 1-2-3 in the 9th inning. 5 home runs hit in one game (4 by the Saints 1 by the Railcats) was quite an amazing feat with the Saints winning in front of another huge crowd of 8,218 fans. Dustin Crenshaw took the win going 7 solid innings giving up 2 runs (1 earned) 7 hits no walks and struck out 4, while Rene Solis struggled through 5 and 1/3 innings giving up 14 hits 9 runs (7 earned) walking 3 and striking out just 3.
The St. Paul Saints next opponent is there toughest challenge yet as the 22-7 Central Division leading Sioux City Explorers come into town. Monday and Tuesday games are 7:05 PM start times while a special Wednesday matinee game at 1:05 PM. You can head over to saintsbaseball.com or call the Saints box office to get tickets. And if  you can't do that you can catch the games LIVE over on americanassociationbaseball.tv or listen to them here on 1220 AM KLBB. If you wanna catch me at a game the next one I'll be at is Wednesday afternoon vs Sioux City. Thanks for reading and remember Fun Is Good and GO SAINTS!

Saints vs Goldeyes

Well the St. Paul Saints took 2 out of 3 games against the Goldeyes in Winnipeg this week. On Monday night St. Paul would knock off the Goldeyes 8-1 at Shaw Park in front of a crowd of 4,011. Tuesday night would be a different story however as the hosting Goldeyes would take out the best team in the American Association 4-3 in 11 innings in front of a crowd of 6,711. St. Paul who scored first in inning 1 to go up 1-0 gave up that lead in the 6th and 7th and were down 3-1. But Willie Argo would use the first at bat in the 8th to bring it up to 3-2 on a solo home run. Later in the inning DiFazio would drive in Gac to tie up the ball game. But it would be in the 11th inning it would change, with the international extra inning rule being used (runner starts at second base, if he scores it does not count as an earned run) St. Paul would not score in the top of the inning. Winnipeg on the other hand would bunt the runner to 3rd and hit an outfield single to drive him home and win the game. St. Paul would take game 3 of the series by a score of 5-4 in front of 7,023 fans to take the series 2 games to 1 and continue there series winning streak.
The Saints have the night off tonight and will start a 6 game homestand tomorrow against the Gary SouthShore Railcats (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) and end it Monday through Wednesday against the Sioux City Explorers with a special Wednesday matinée. You can catch the games LIVE FOR FREE on americanassociationbaseball.tv or take in a game at CHS Field. Remember Fun Is Good and GO SAINTS!

Saints vs Joplin, Shikoku Island and road series at Sioux Falls

Finally fixed my computer issues so now just a quick recap of the last 7 games.
St. Paul would host the Joplin Blasters June 8th through 10th. The first game of the series had the Saints knock out the Blasters in a tight game with a final score of 5-4. Even though the Saints took the victory it would be the first time all season they didn't sell out with a still stellar crowd of 5,639 coming out to CHS Field. Tuesday night would have St. Paul beat Joplin 8-3 in front of 6,811 fans. Wednesday would be a busy day for the Saints as they played the Shikoku Island League Plus All Stars, St. Paul was made up of many former College players from the area and the only regular Saints players who played that afternoon was Sam Maus and Steve Nikorak. However the Shikoku Island League Plus All Stars blanked the Saints 6-0 in that exhibition game. The All Stars are currently out east taking on Can-Am League teams and after their 17 game series is all said and done we'll do a recap of that as well. That night the Saints made up for it by beating the Blasters 9-4 in front of 7,382 fans and sweeping yet another series.
Thursday night the Saints and Canaries were rained out prompting a doubleheader on Friday. St. Paul would drop game 1 3-0 to the Canaries being shutout for the first official time all season. However St. Paul would beat Sioux Falls 6-2 in front of 3,519 fans. On Saturday a crowd of 2,578 at Sioux Falls Stadium would see the Saints beat the Canaries 9-3 to take the 3rd game of a 4 game series in Sioux Falls. The final game of the series on Sunday saw the Saints beat Sioux Falls 5-3 in front of a crowd of 2,404. St. Paul has currently won every series this season and sits on top of the American Association's North Division at a record of 20-3 a whopping 9.5 games ahead of Sioux Falls and are currently the best team in the league.
St. Paul will finish out the 7 game road trip with 3 game against the Goldeyes and Shaw Park in Winnipeg, MB. The Saints will return home with a 6 game homestand taking on the Gary SouthShore Railcats Friday though Sunday, and the Sioux City Explorers Monday through Wednesday.
Remember Fun Is Good and GO SAINTS!

Saints vs Canaries Recap

Well the St. Paul Saints did it again this weekend against Sioux Falls at CHS Field. The Saints would take 2 out of 3 against the Canaries which started on Friday night in St. Paul.
The Saints jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Friday night when Willie Argo drove in Alonzo Harris and just two batters later Mike Kvasnicka would drive in Argo to make it 2-0. In the 3rd Kvasnicka would drive in Argo again to make it 3-0 as he was put out on an infield ground ball. The low scoring game would stay that way the whole night with the Canaries driving in their only run in the 6th. Pedro Hernandez would take the win go 6 innings giving up 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 5 and walking just 1. Joe Bircher took the loss for the Canaries going 7 1/3 innings giving up 3 runs (2 E) on 4 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. The save was given to the Saints Ryan Rodebaugh as 8,020 fans saw the Saints take win number 9 in a row.
On Saturday night it was another fast low scoring pitchers duel. St. Paul only managed to score 2 runs on a crazy 11 hits. Sioux Falls only managed 2 hits, the first being on the opening batter of the game in which he would get out in a 6-4-3 DP the second was in the 2nd inning on a triple and he would be out on a 7-2 double play when Wing lined out to Willie Argo in LF who then fired the ball directly to the catcher Joe Paciorek. Paciorek lept and tagged out the runner, Richard Stock, who stormed home from 3rd after tagging up! Dustin Crenshaw preceded to get out the last 22 batters in a row to end the game with a 2 hit, no walk, complete game gem relying on only 2 K's!! A great crowd (including myself) of 7,982 was on hand to witness that game.
However Sunday evening wouldn't be so kind to the Saints even though another sellout crowd of 7,510 for their 7th sellout in a row. Sioux Falls would gain revenge on the Saints winning 6-2 with 14 hits and St. Paul having 2 errors.
The Saints next opponent is the expansion Joplin Blasters, they'll play Monday-Wednesday night at 7:05PM at CHS Field in Lowertown St. Paul. Plus on Wednesday afternoon a special FREE exhibition game will be played against the Shikoku Island League Plus All Stars from Japan before they head out east to play the Can-Am League teams. That game will take place at Noon on Wednesday at CHS Field. I'll be at both games on Wednesday. You can listen to the game here on 1220 KLBB or on americanassociationbaseball.tv. Remember Fun Is Good and GO SAINTS!

Saints Trip to Texas Recap PLUS HOMESTAND PREVIEW

Well unfortunately I was not able to do a full recap on the Laredo series so this will be a shorter recap on the final 6 games of the trip and the overall trip plus a preview of the upcoming 6 game homestand.
The Saints would take all 3 games in Laredo, it started out with an 8-4 win at Uni-Trade Stadium in front of 3,367. However on Saturday the game was rained out postponing it to Sunday. So a double header would ensue on Sunday with both games scheduled for 7 innings St. Paul would take game 1 2-1 and the second game 8-0 in front of 1,409 fans in Laredo.
The next step was on to Grand Prairie, TX against the AirHogs at The Ballpark in Grand Prairie (aka QuikTrip Park in Grand Prairie). The Saints would take all three game starting with a 7-1 win on Monday, followed by a 7-3 win on Tuesday, and ending with a 5-2 win on Wednesday. However the paltry crowds would continue in Grand Prairie with  375, 641, and  430 people showing up in that order, which is very unfortunate for Amarillo, Grand Prairie, and the AAIPB.
Now the Saints are off today and will be back playing tomorrow against Sioux Falls to kick off a 6 game homestand. St. Paul is 12-1 on the year and 9-1 in their last 10, and they have not lost yet at CHS Field. The Saints offense through 13 games is averaging 7.15 runs and 10.69 hits per game while the team is batting an average of .302 with 28 Doubles, 3 Triples, and 9 Home Runs. Sioux Falls on the other hand is averaging 5.07 runs, 9.46 hits per game with the team batting at an average of .261 with 25 Doubles, 1 Triple and 7 Home Runs. Defensively St. Paul is giving up an average of 3 runs, 7.46 hits, and 2.07 walks per game, striking out 6.61 batters per game, while the team ERA stands at 2.52. Sioux Falls is giving up about 4.35 runs, 9.42 hits, and 2.85 walks while striking out 6.64 batters per game and the team ERA stands at 2.97. Defensively the series looks like a very even match up however the Saints have a big offensive advantage over the Canaries. Former Major Leaguer Pedro Hernandez gets the nod on Friday for the Saints the Canaries pitcher is TBA. EDIT the Canaries will be starting Joe Bircher on Friday against the Saints. Stop by, go online, or call the Saints box office for tickets, if you can't get tickets tune in to the game on 1220 KLBB (avaliable on the TuneIn Radio app) or americanassociationbaseball.tv. I'll be at the Saturday game vs Sioux Falls and Wednesday game against Joplin. Remember Fun Is Good and GO SAINTS!