The St. Paul Saints walked into Columbus riding the momentum of three straight wins in Iowa and sitting second in the International League second-half standings. By the time Tuesday night was over, though, the Clippers had hit them with a loud reality check.
Columbus hammered five home runs and rolled to a 19-3 win in the series opener, blowing the game open early with three runs in the first inning and six more in the second. The Saints did strike first, but that edge didn’t last long.
Ben Ross got St. Paul on the board in the top of the first with his 14th homer of the season.
Walker Jenkins started the rally with a single, and Ross followed with the shot. Then David Fry answered in the bottom half with a three-run homer to put the Clippers in front for good.
The damage kept coming from there. Kyle Manzardo added a three-run blast in the second, and Milan Tolentino finished the scoring with a grand slam in the eighth.
St. Paul also got a solo homer from Gabriel Gonzalez, his 13th of the year, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep pace.
Ryan Gallagher took the loss for the Saints after allowing nine runs on five hits and five walks in 1 2/3 innings. Woo-Suk Go followed and was tagged for five runs in one inning, giving up two hits and issuing six walks.
As a team, St. Paul pitchers handed out 12 walks.
The series continues Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. CDT.
In Other News...
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Former Twins Fan Favorite Suffers Another Brutal Mets Setback
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Polanco has already landed on the injured list twice, and his latest setback is left ankle bursitis that required surgery and will end his season. For a Mets team sitting last in the National League East at 58-70, it is one more blow in a year where little has gone according to plan, and for Minnesota fans still tracking one of their own, it adds another rough chapter to a difficult reunion. [Read more 🡒]