Aaron Sabato made sure Friday night in St. Paul had at least one bright storyline, even if the Saints spent most of the evening buried.
In a 10-4 loss to Syracuse, Sabato went 3-for-4 with a double, a homer and an RBI, and both extra-base hits carried real weight in the record book. His 29th double set the Saints’ single-season franchise mark, moving past Jermaine Palacios, who had 28 in 2022. Then the home run - his 24th of the year - tied Matt Wallner for the Saints’ single-season home run record.
The rest of the game tilted hard toward Syracuse almost immediately. The Saints were down nine runs over the first two innings, and although they scored in four different innings, the comeback never came close.
Aaron Rozek, who has been excellent for St. Paul this season, had a rough outing and lasted four innings.
He allowed 10 runs, nine earned, on 11 hits, including three homers, and four walks.
St. Paul’s bullpen at least settled things down.
Matt Bowman struck out four over two scoreless, one-hit innings. Eric Orze followed with two scoreless innings of his own, allowing one hit and striking out two.
Marco Raya closed it out with a perfect ninth and two strikeouts.
Cody Morissette added a 2-for-3 night with a walk and his 17th double. Emmanuel Rodriguez finished 2-for-4 with a walk and also threw out a runner from the outfield.
There was also a bit of #OldFriend trivia attached to Billy Amick, who was traded to the Mets. At the time of the deal, he was hitting .217/.338/.482 with 14 doubles, 23 homers and 72 RBI.
He then hit .304/.396/.783 in 12 games at Double-A Binghamton, with one double, seven homers and 22 RBI, before moving up to Triple-A Syracuse. In 17 games there, he has hit .222/.275/.556 with three doubles, six homers and 11 RBI.
Put together, that leaves him at .227/.335/.526 with 18 doubles, 36 homers and 105 RBI.
Wichita had a much tougher night of its own in a 14-2 loss to Frisco, and the game got away early. Frisco broke things open with a six-run third inning and scored in seven of its nine offensive innings.
Riley Quick made what was listed as his final Double-A start of the season, and it was another difficult one. He gave up eight runs, six earned, on nine hits and two walks in four innings, while striking out two.
Unless he gets a Triple-A start next week, his season ends with 23 starts and 81 2/3 innings. The bigger picture, though, is that he stayed healthy after Tommy John surgery limited him to three innings in 2024.
He also logged 14 games and 62 innings at Alabama in 2025 before the Twins used their Competitive Balance pick on him. He finished with 110 strikeouts and 48 walks in those 81 2/3 innings.
Jaylen Nowlin followed and allowed an unearned run on one hit and one walk in the fifth, striking out three. Chris Vallimont handled the last four innings and was charged with five runs, four earned, on five hits, two walks and a hit batter, while striking out three.
Wichita’s offense was limited to two runs on three hits and five walks. Khadim Diaw provided the first one, tying the game 1-1 with a first-inning homer, his fourth for the Wind Surge.
Marek Houston went 1-for-3 with a walk, but he also committed two errors, giving him 10 in Wichita and 19 overall this season. Eighteen of those have come at shortstop.
He had one error in nine innings at second base in Cedar Rapids. Jaime Ferrer doubled for the 14th time with Wichita, and Andrew Cossetti drew two walks.
Around the Twins system, Walker Jenkins went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and a sacrifice bunt while batting first and playing center field for Minnesota. Kaelen Culpepper went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a strikeout while hitting second and playing shortstop.
Hendry Mendez was 0-for-5 for St. Paul.
Friday’s standout honors went to Sabato on the hitting side and Bowman on the mound, with Bowman’s line coming in at two innings, one hit, no runs, no walks and four strikeouts on 25 pitches, 19 of them strikes.
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Emmanuel Rodriguez Just Gave The Twins A Different Look
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For Minnesota, the bigger takeaway was how the game kept opening new lanes for a club that has been looking for different ways to win. Rodriguez finished with a hit, a run, an RBI, a home run and an assist, while the bullpen did enough to protect the lead the offense had built. The debut was memorable on its own, but it also hinted at how quickly a new face can alter the look of a lineup when the Twins need one more spark. [Read more 🡒]