Austin Martin’s rehab assignment got underway Tuesday night, but the Saints couldn’t turn it into a win.
St. Paul dropped a 5-4 decision to Syracuse at CHS Field as Martin, playing designated hitter, went 1 for 4 in his first game back. His biggest swing came in the fifth inning, when he lined an RBI single that brought in Tristan Gray and put the Saints on the board.
By then, though, the Mets had already built a 4-0 cushion against Ricky Castro. The St.
Paul starter was charged with four runs, three earned, on six hits and two walks while striking out one in the loss. Castro now sits at 3-3 with a 5.85 ERA.
The Saints started to claw back in the sixth. Matt Wallner and Aaron Sabato both came home on a pair of groundouts, trimming the deficit to 4-3.
Two innings later, Cody Morissette tied it with an RBI double that scored Wallner again and pulled St. Paul even at 4-4.
That comeback stopped there. Syracuse answered in the top of the ninth against Julian Merryweather, who allowed the go-ahead run and took the loss. Merryweather finished with one hit, one walk and the deciding tally, dropping to 0-2 with a 1.69 ERA.
St. Paul never mounted a final push in the bottom of the ninth and fell to 77-61 while opening its six-game set with Syracuse, now 73-65, with a defeat.
The series continues Wednesday night at CHS Field, with first pitch set for 6:37 p.m. Germán Márquez (0-2, 5.68) is scheduled to start for the Saints against Jonathan Santucci (1-3, 6.00) for the Mets.
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