Miranda's Walk-Off Single In Ninth Sends Saints To 6-5 Victory

_ST. PAUL, MN _*(May 24, 2023) - *Over the last few games, Jose Miranda has hit balls harder that just didn’t find any holes. In the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday night, Miranda found the open space on the left side of the infield for a walk-off single giving the St. Paul Saints a 6-5 victory over the Omaha Storm Chasers at CHS Field in front of 4,222.

With the game tied at five in the bottom of the ninth, Andrew Stevenson, who earlier in the game extended his hitting streak to 12 games, lined a single into left field. Stevenson stole second and advanced to third on a single by Andrew Bechtold off the pitcher Brooks Kriske. That brought up Miranda who took a 1-1 splitter and singled through the left side between short and third to score Stevenson for the walk-off win. Miranda finished the night 2-5 with two RBI.

The game reached the bottom of the ninth because the Storm Chasers tied the game in the top half. Down to their final out, Logan Porter singled to right-center. Brewer Hicklen reached on a throwing error by Andrew Bechtold at third and Porter took third. A bloop single to center by Dairon Blanco scored Porter tying the game. It was the lone blemish on the night for a bullpen that went 5.0 innings allowing one unearned run on four hits while fanning eight.

Storm Chasers starter Anthony Veneziano was making his Triple-A debut and the Saints made sure it didn’t last long. They exploded for a five-run second, the highest scoring inning since a seven-run, sixth inning back on April 24 in Rochester. The Saints sent nine men to the plate and,, with one ou,t Ryan LaMarre started the outburst with a walk. Hernán Pérez made it 1-0 with an RBI double to left. Jair Camargo increased the lead to 2-0 with an RBI single to left-center. With two on and two outs Royce Lewis made it 4-0 with a two-run double to left. Jose Miranda finished off the scoring with an RBI single between the bag at first and the first baseman giving the Saints a 5-0 lead.

The Storm Chasers trimmed the lead to one with four runs over the next two innings. In the third, Drew Waters singled to left-center, Samad Taylor singled to center, and Nick Loftin hit a three-run homer to left, his seventh of the season, making it 5-3.

In the fourth the Storm Chasers loaded the bases on a single, walk, and a one out error at third by Lewis. Taylor’s single off the pitcher Brent Headrick’s glove plated a run cutting the Saints lead to 5-4.

Lewis finished his sixth Major League rehab game with the Saints by playing seven innings and going 2-4 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored.

The same two teams meet in game three of a six-game series on Thursday night at CHS Field at 7:07 p.m. The Saints send RHP Aaron Sanchez (2-4, 4.89) to the mound against Storm Chasers LHP Austin Cox (2-0, 3.24). The game can be seen on the Saints Broadcast Network, cable access channels in and around the Twin Cities, the Bally Live app (free), and MiLB.TV (subscription), and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.