Rooker's Career Night Vaults Saints To 19-1 Thrashing Of Clippers

ST. PAUL, MN (July 13, 2021) - Two Major Leaguer’s were in the St. Paul Saints lineup on Tuesday night on a rehab assignment. It was Brent Rooker, however, who stole the show setting a career high in home runs (3), RBI (7), runs (4), and total bases (14). Meanwhile, the Saints offense put up a season high in runs, crushed six home runs, and had their largest margin of victory in a 19-1 beat down of the Columbus Clippers at CHS Field in front of 6,606.

Jose Miranda led off the bottom of the first with a walk. Up stepped Jake Cave and in his first Major League rehab at bat he crushed a two-run opposite field home run to left giving the Saints a 2-0 lead. Two batters later Rooker drilled a line drive over the left field wall, his 15th of the season and first of the night, to increase the Saints lead to 3-0.

The Clippers got one back in the third with a long ball of their own as Yu Chang hit a solo homer to right-center, his first of the season, making it 3-1.

The Saints continued the long ball carousel in the third when Cave and Mitch Garver led off the inning with back-to-back walks. Rooker then took a 3-1 pitch and drilled it over the right-center field wall, his 16th of the season and second of the night, making it 6-1. Two batters later Mark Contreras got in on the act with a towering solo homer to right, his eighth of the season, giving the Saints a 7-1 lead.

The Saints put the game out of reach by scoring 10 runs in the fourth, their most in an inning this season. Cave led off the inning by being hit by a pitch and Mitch Garver walked. Rooker continued his hot night with an RBI double to left scoring Cave to make it 8-1. Willians Astudillo was hit by a pitch and Conteras singled home Garver to make it 9-1. Drew Maggi’s two-run double increased the lead to 11-1. JT Riddle came through with a two-run double of his own making it 13-1. With one out, Jose Miranda deposited one over the left field wall for a two-run shot, his fourth of the season, making it 15-1. Cave walked and two batters later Rooker capped off a career night with his third homer of the game, a two-run blast to left, his 17th of the season, making it 17-1. Rooker finished the night 4-6 with a double, a career high three home runs, a career high seven RBI, and a career high four runs scored. His 14 bases were tied for the second most in all of baseball this season, only behind Miranda’s 15 from June 29.

The Saints capped off the night in the eighth with a pair of runs on an RBI double by Miranda and an RBI infield single from David Bañuelos making it 19-1. Miranda went 2-4 with a double, home run, and three RBI.

In their Major League rehab’s Cave went 1-2, with a home run, two RBI, and four runs scored while Garver was 0-3 with two walks and two runs scored.

The same two teams meet in game two of the six-game series on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. The Saints are TBA while the Clippers send LHP Kirk McCarty (6-2, 4.63) to the mound. The game can be seen on the Saints Cable Network, cable access channels in and around the Twin Cities area, and MiLB.TV, and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.