Fresh Off the Bench, Gonzalez' Pinch-Hit, Walk-Off Single Wins It For Saints, 4-3
ST. PAUL, MN (July 23, 2026) - The St. Paul Saints bottom of the order isn’t an ordinary bottom of the order. Their bench also has guys that were once getting regular playing time. With so much offensive talent it gives manager Brian Dinkelman various late game choices. He used
ST. PAUL, MN (July 23, 2026) - The St. Paul Saints bottom of the order isn’t an ordinary bottom of the order. Their bench also has guys that were once getting regular playing time. With so much offensive talent it gives manager Brian Dinkelman various late game choices. He used one of those options on Thursday night as Gabby Gonzalez came through with a pinch-hit, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off 4-3 victory over the Columbus Clippers in front of 7,757 at CHS Field.
With the score tied at two in the ninth the Clippers pushed across an unearned run. With two outs and nobody on Cooper Ingle singled to right-center and took second when right fielder Kala’i Rosario had the ball kick out of his glove. That error proved costly as Angel Genao’s RBI single to right-center put the Clippers up 3-2.
In the bottom of the ninth Hendry Mendez led off the inning with a single to center. Kyler Fedko came on to pinch run for him. Rosario atoned for the error in the top of the inning by ripping a 100 mph ground ball passed the third baseman Genao putting runners at first and second. Cody Morissette moved the runners over on a ground out back to the mound. Gonzalez then stepped to the plate pinch-hitting for Noah Cardenas. On a 3-1 curveball, Gonzalez whacked a two-run walk-off single into right-center. It was his second walk-off hit in his Saints tenure and the second pinch-hit walk-off in franchise history. Ben Rortvedt had a pinch-hit, two-run walk-off homer in the 10th inning on August 7, 2021 vs. Louisville.
The pitching stood out all night as the lone runs came when the teams traded two spots in the third. For the Clippers, with one out Dom Nuñez singled to center and Milan Tolentino walked putting runners at first and second. Ingle’s broken bat single to left scored Nuñez putting the Clippers up 1-0. Genao’s infield single to third plated Tolentino making it 2-0.
The first four batters reached in the bottom of the inning for the Saints as Morissette led off with a double to left-center. Cardenas followed with an RBI single to center cutting the deficit in half at 2-1. Back-to-back singles by Walker Jenkins and Matt Wallner loaded the bases. With one out Tristan Gray tied the game with a single to left.
John Klein, 1.1 scoreless innings, Eduardo Salazar, 1.2 scoreless innings, Cole Sands, 1.0 shutout inning on Major League rehab while walking two and striking out three, Raul Brito, 1.0 shutout inning, and Grant Hartwig, 1.0 inning allowing one unearned run, all kept the Saints in the game. The Saints punched out a season-tying high 14 Clippers on the night and allowed three runs or less for the sixth time in their last seven games.
The same two teams meet in game four of a six-game series on Friday night at CHS Field at 7:07 p.m. The Saints send RHP Ryan Gallagher (3-4, 6.95) to the mound against Clippers LHP Logan Allen (4-3, 4.39). The game can be seen on FOX 9+, MLB.TV, MiLB.com, and the Bally Sports Live app, and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM, all presented by Northland Ford Dealers.