Saints Forced To Play Out Of Position, Lose 6-1

OMAHA, NE (May 9, 2021) - A catcher playing third. An outfielder playing second. Another catcher playing first. And a pitcher hitting. That was what the St. Paul Saints were forced to use on Sunday afternoon against the Omaha Storm Chasers at Werner Park in a 6-1 loss. The Saints fell to 2-4 on the season.

The Saints were already shorthanded and became even more so when third baseman Drew Maggi left the game after the first inning. That forced Tomás Telis to move from second (where he was playing for the second time in more than 1,100 games) to third (just the fifth game in his career). Keon Broxton went from the outfield to second base for the first time in more than 1,400 professional games. Ryan Jeffers went from designated hitter to first and that forced the Saints to hit a pitcher in Maggi’s spot in the order.

The Saints jumped on Royals #4 prospect Jackson Kowar in the first. Rob Refsnyder led off with a double. Telis singled him to third, and Brent Rooker gave the Saints a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single to center.

Ian Gibaut got the start for the Saints as the opener and the Storm Chasers got to him for a pair of runs in the first. Edward Olivares led off with a single, stole second and scored on Kyle Isbel’s double tying the game at one. After a walk to Emmanuel Rivera and a groundout that moved the runners up, Kelvin Gutierrez’ ground out to third scored Isbel making it 2-1.

The Saints nearly tied it in the third off a hit from their pitcher. With one out, Rooker singled to right-center and Jeffers walked. With two outs that brought up Maggi’s spot in the order which was now the pitcher’s spot. Andrew Albers ripped a single to right field, but it was hit so hard that Rooker was thrown out trying to score from third.

The Storm Chasers made it 3-1 in the bottom of the third when Ryan McBroom led off with a single, stole second, and scored on Kelvin Gutierrez’ single.

In the fourth, Anderson Miller led off with a single to center and, with one out, moved to second on a bunt single by Isbel. Emmanuel Rivera’s RBI single to right-center made it 4-1.

The Storm Chasers finished the scoring in the sixth on a two-run homer by Rivera, his first of the season.

The Saints have Monday off before beginning their first homestand as the Triple-A affiliate of the Twins. They begin a six-game series on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. against the Iowa Cubs. Both teams are TBA. The game can be seen on the Saints Broadcast Network, Cable Access Channels in and around the Twin Cities area, and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.