Matt Wallner made sure there was no late drama at CHS Field on Saturday night.
The Saints slugger launched a grand slam and finished with five RBIs, while Kala’i Rosario added two homers as St. Paul rolled past Toledo 8-1 and snapped a three-game skid against the Mud Hens.
St. Paul got the kind of start it had been missing this week from Jack Anderson, who kept Toledo from grabbing an early lead. The Saints backed him with power in the second inning, when Rosario and David Bañuelos each hit solo shots to push the home side in front 2-0.
Toledo answered with a solo homer in the fifth, and that ended Anderson’s bid for the win. Matt Bowman came on with two outs in the inning and shut down the threat.
Any tension that lingered didn’t last long. Wallner cleared the bases in the fifth with a grand slam that sent Bañuelos, Alan Roden and Gabriel Gonzalez home, stretching the lead to 6-1. The blast was Wallner’s franchise record-extending 24th home run of the season.
He wasn’t done there. In the seventh, Wallner drove in Gonzalez with a single for his fifth RBI of the night, and Rosario put the finishing touch on the win with his second solo homer, this one to left field.
Bowman finished at 4-4 with a 4.05 ERA after allowing Toledo’s final three hits. He worked 1 1/3 innings and struck out four.
Garrett Acton and Marco Raya handled the rest, combining to strike out five and give up only one walk over the Mud Hens’ final three trips to the plate.
St. Paul finished with 11 hits. Wallner, Rosario and Gonzalez each had two.
The series wraps up Sunday at 2:07 p.m. at CHS Field, with the Saints sending Aaron Rozek, who is 3-4 with a 4.07 ERA, against Toledo’s Sawyer Gipson-Long, who is 2-6 with a 5.50 ERA.
In Other News...
Twins Move On From Kyler Fedko In Painful Roster Twist
September roster churn brought an especially tough turn for Kyler Fedko, whose brief run in the Twins organization ended with a designation for assignment after a severe knee injury. Minnesota made the move while also promoting infielder Ben Ross to the 40-man roster and recalling right-hander Garrett Acton from Triple-A as part of the clubs September call-ups, a reminder that this time of year can be as much about paperwork as it is about opportunity.
Fedkos situation carries a painful layer beyond the roster math, since injury waiver rules mean he will be released because of the injury and then becomes available again afterward. The door is not necessarily closed from there, whether that leads to a return with the Twins or a chance elsewhere, but for now the transaction underscores how quickly a promising path can change when health intervenes. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Triple-A Lineup Is Suddenly Chasing An Even Bigger Record
The power surge in St. Paul has turned the Twins Triple-A affiliate into one of the most dangerous lineups in the minors, and the Saints just added another layer to an already historic season. Their latest long ball pushed them past the International League mark, passing the Omaha Storm Chasers and giving the club a new single-season home run record to chase the rest of the way.
Kalai Rosario supplied the tying blast before Cody Morissette delivered the record-breaker, and the balance of the lineup has been almost as striking as the raw total. The Saints now have 12 players with at least 10 homers, a depth of thump that has them within reach of the all-time minor league single-season home run record held by the El Paso Chihuahuas, giving Minnesota plenty to monitor as the year winds down. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Wallner May Be Running Out Of Time With The Twins
The Twins used their September call-ups to bring up Ben Ross and Garrett Acton from Triple-A St. Paul, and the move said plenty about where Matt Wallner stands right now. Once viewed as a promising outfield bat, Wallner was sent to the minors while Minnesota looked elsewhere for help, a sign that the clubs patience with his uneven production may be wearing thin.
Wallners profile has not helped him stay in the picture. The strikeouts and whiffs have piled up, his sprint speed has trended down, and his defense has not given the Twins much reason to keep waiting for a breakthrough. With the team continuing to promote other players instead of him, the question is no longer just how long Wallner can hold onto a roster spot, but whether the organization has already started to move on. [Read more 🡒]