Saints Four Home Runs Not Nearly Enough In 18-7 Loss To Mud Hens

ST. PAUL, MN (June 20, 2025) - An offense that struggled last week in Indianapolis has come to life this week at home. Unfortunately, so has the Toledo Mud Hens bats. The Saints smashed four home runs, but couldn’t slow down the Mud Hens in an 18-7 loss on Friday night at CHS Field in front of 7,063.

The Saints got on the board in the bottom of the first courtesy of a long ball. With two outs and nobody on Jose Miranda singled to right-center. Carson McCusker followed with a two-run homer to right, his 14^th of the season, giving the Saints a 2-0 lead.

The lead quickly disappeared in the second. Akil Baddoo’s check swing double to left started the inning. Ryan Kreidler followed with a soft floater into center putting runners at the corners. With one out Gage Workman doubled off the wall in right scoring Baddoo cutting the Saints lead to 2-1. After a walk to Brian Serven loaded the bases, Andrew Navigato belted a grand slam to left, his fifth home run of the season, making it 5-2.

A second long ball for the Saints got them to within one. With two outs and nobody on, Noah Cardenas walked and that was followed by a two-run homer to left by Edouard Julien, his fifth of the season, getting the Saints to within 5-4. Julien finished the night 3-5 with a home runs, two RBI, and a run scored.

An inning after sending eight men to the plate and scoring five runs, the Mud Hens sent eight more to the plate and scored four runs in the third. With one out Baddoo walked and then four consecutive hits plated the four runs. Kreidler singled putting runners at the corners. Manuel Margot’s RBI single to center gave the Mud Hens a 6-4 lead. Workman made it 8-4 with a two-run triple to right-center. Serven’s line drive off the glove of third baseman Jose Miranda scored Workman increasing the lead to 9-4.

Cardenas hit the Saints third home run, a solo blast to left in the fourth, his second of the season, getting the Saints to within 9-5.

Navigato hurt the Saints again this time in the fifth. Serven drew a one out walk and that was followed by a two-run homer to right-center by Navigato, his second of the night and sixth of the season, giving the Mud Hens an 11-5 lead.

The runs kept coming for the Mud Hens in the sixth. Justyn-Henry Malloy led off with a single to left-center, moved to third on a double to right-center by Baddoo, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Kreidler making it 12-5.

Aaron Sabato got the run back for the Saints in the bottom half of the inning with his second home run in as many games, a solo shot to left-center, his second at Triple-A, getting the Saints to within 12-6.

The Saints scored an unearned run in the eighth when they loaded the bases and with two outs Mickey Gasper hit a ground ball to short that Workman bounced to first for an error allowing a run to score making it 12-7.

There would be no magical comeback for the Saints because the Mud Hens sent 11 men to the plate in the ninth and scored six runs.

The same two teams meet in game give of a six-game series at CHS Field on Saturday night at 7:07 p.m. The Saints send RHP Cory Lewis (1-4, 9.09) to the mound against Mud Hens LHP Lael Lockhart (2-6, 5.78). The game can be seen on the CW Twin Cities, MLB.TV, MiLB.TV, and the Bally’s Live app, and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.