Saints Finish Roadtrip With Winning Record After 8-1 Victory Over Red Wings

ROCHESTER, NY (June 2, 2024) - All things considered, this was an extraordinary roadtrip for the St. Paul Saints. Finishing over .500 away from home is always cause for celebration, but facing two teams in Buffalo and Rochester that are fighting for a first half title made it more impressive. The Saints got a gutsy starting effort from Randy Dobnak and Matt Wallner provided some thump as the Saints took down the Red Wings 8-1 on Sunday afternoon at Innovative Field. They finished the 13-game roadtrip 7-6.

It didn’t look like Dobnak would get out of the first inning. He started the bottom of the first with a walk to Darren Baker, who then stole second. Jackson Cluff followed with a walk. Baker and Cluff pulled off a double steal putting runners at second and third. An RBI groundout by Juan Yepez scored Baker giving the Red Wings a 1-0 lead. Dobnak walked his third batter of the inning, Travis Blankenhorn, but got Carter Kieboom to ground into an inning ending double play.

Dobnak settled down over the next three innings allowing just two hits from the second through fourth which allowed his offense to get the first inning run back and then some.

Two hits were all the Saints needed to score four runs in the fourth and take the lead. Wallner and Micheal Helman led off the inning with back-to-back hit by pitches. With one out Alex Isola doubled off the chalk in left field scoring both runners and giving the Saints a 2-1 lead. Yoyner Fajardo reached on a fielding error by the shortstop Jack Dunn as Isola took third. Fajardo stole second and with two outs Diego Castillo ripped a single past the diving Dunn at short scoring a pair increasing the lead to 4-1.

For the fourth time in five innings the Saints got the leadoff man aboard as Tony Kemp singled to right to begin the fifth. He stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Kemp finished the day 3-6 with a double and two runs scored. He is now 8-14 over his last three games. With two outs Helman walked and Yunior Severino made it 5-1 with an RBI single to right.

Dobnak retired the first two hitters in the fifth, but then walked back-to-back hitters. He got out of the inning when he retired Yepez on a ground out.

In the sixth, Dobnak once again ran into trouble through no fault of his own. Blankenhorn led off the inning by reaching on a fielding error from Severino at first. Kieboom then hit a slow roller up the third base line that came close to rolling foul, but stayed fair as it hit the bag putting runners at first and second. Dobnak fell behind 3-0 on Dunn before going full and getting him to fly out. Dobnak finished the inning with a strikeout and flyout to end his day. He went 6.0 innings allowing one run on three hits while walking five and striking out three.

Wallner continued his power display in the series in the seventh. After Royce Lewis walked, Wallner deposited a two-run homer over the left field wall, his ninth of the season, second in as many games and fourth in his last six, giving the Saints a 7-1 lead.

The Saints added another run in the eighth courtesy of Wallner. With Kemp on at first after a fielder’s choice, Lewis singled off the glove of the shortstop Jake Dunn. Lewis finished his sixth Major League rehab game 1-4. Wallner followed with an RBI double to right increasing the lead to 8-1. Wallner finished the game 2-4 with a double, home run, three RBI, and a run scored.

The Saints are off on Monday and begin a six-game series against the Syracuse Mets (New York Mets) on Tuesday night at CHS Field at 7:07 p.m. The Saints send RHP Caleb Boushley (5-1, 4.24) to the mound and the Mets are TBA. The game can be seen on the Saints Broadcast Network, cable access channels in and around the Twin Cities area, MLB.TV, MiLB.TV, and the Bally Live app, and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.