Saints Five-Game Win Streak Snapped In 4-1 Loss To Bisons

_BUFFALO, NY _*(June 2, 2023) - *A potent offense that had scored 50 runs over its last five games was held in check on Friday night at Sahlen Field. The Saints had a couple of opportunities, but failed with the bases loaded in the first and hit into a triple play in the seventh as their five-game winning streak came to an end in a 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Bisons. The loss drops the Saints to 30-23 on the season.

The St. Paul Saints are one of the best hitting teams in all of Minor League Baseball with the bases loaded. They had a chance to set the tone in the first inning when they loaded the bases with nobody out, but a pop out, strikeout, and groundout ended the inning without a run crossing the plate.

The Bisons grabbed the lead in the third and utilized a challenge to their advantage. Tanner Morris was rung up on a strike three call, but utilized his challenge and the call was overturned. Two pitches later Morris hit a solo homer to right, his third of the season, giving the Bisons a 1-0 lead.

In the fifth, the Bisons added to their lead. With one out, Davis Schneider singled into left. Spencer Horwitz followed with a walk and Wynton Bernard made it 2-0 with an RBI single just past the diving Elliot Soto at short.

The Saints got on the board in the sixth courtesy of a solo home run from Kyle Garlick, his seventh of the season, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

The Bisons grabbed the run back in the bottom half of the inning on back-to-back doubles by Cam Eden and Rafael Lantigua increasing the lead to 3-1.

In the seventh, the Saints had a golden opportunity to make some noise. Mark Contreras led off the inning with a walk and Tony Wolters lined a single into left. That brought up Soto. With the count 3-2 on Soto the runners took off. Soto hit a soft liner to short that Otto Lopez made a leaping grab on. He threw to second where Schneider stepped on the bag and then tagged Williams who was standing on second, for the triple play. It’s the first triple play the Saints have it into in their three seasons as a Triple-A franchise.

The momentum swung to the Bisons on the play and they used it to score a run in the bottom of the inning. Three straight hits to start the inning plated another run for the Bisons. Horwitz led off with a double, and back-to-back singles from Bernard and Rob Brantly gave the Bisons a 4-1 lead.

Trevor Larnach finished 0-2 with a walk on Major League rehab.

The same two teams meet in game five of a six-game series at 5:05 p.m. (CT) on Saturday night at Sahlen Field. The Saints send RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-5, 7.79) to the mound and the Bisons are TBA. The game can be heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.