Saints Leave Season Tying High 11 Men On Base, Lose 5-3 To Clippers

COLUMBUS, OH *(May 20, 2023) - *The St. Paul Saints had their opportunities on Saturday night at Huntington Park. They left at least a man on in every inning, but the ninth including the bases loaded in the fifth. Those squandered opportunities translated to 11 men left on base as they came up short in a 5-3 loss to the Columbus Clippers. The loss drops the Saints to 23-19 on the season.

The Clippers got on the board in the second on a solo homer from Daniel Schneeman, his second of the season, making it 1-0.

In the fourth, the Clippers tacked on a run, adding to their lead. Back-to-back singles by Brayan Rocchio and Zach Collins leading off the inning put runners at the corners. A wild pitch scored Rocchio, increasing the lead to 2-0.

In the fifth, the Saints loaded the bases on a walk to Alex De Goti, a double from Andrew Stevenson, and a walk to Jose Miranda. Joey Cantillo would strike out Matt Wallner and get Chris Williams to fly out to the warning track in right ending the inning.

The Saints finally capitalized in the sixth as the first three hitters reached. Mark Contreras singled to center, Tyler White walked, and Hernán Pérez made it 2-1 with an RBI double to center. A sacrifice fly from Tony Wolters tied the game at two. ADe Goti gave the Saints their first lead of the night with a bloop RBI double just inside the chalk in right field making it 3-2.

The lead didn’t last long as the Clippers scored two in the bottom half of the sixth. Rocchio led off the inning with a walk and went to third on a double from Collins. Oscar Gonzalez’ RBI single to left knotted the game at three and put runners at the corners. With one out, Schneeman’s RBI fielder’s choice put the Clippers up 4-3.

The Clippers grabbed an insurance run in the eighth when Oscar Gonzalez doubled to left-center and took third when Mark Contreras had trouble picking up the ball. Micah Piers made it 5-3 with a sacrifice fly to right.

Stevenson extended his hitting streak to nine games going 2-5 with a double and Mark Contreras finished 2-5. Jose Miranda set a career high with three walks.

The Saints were 2-12 with runners in scoring position and it was the third time this season they left 11 men on base.

The same two teams meet in the finale of the six-game series on Sunday afternoon at 12:05 p.m. (CT). The Saint send RHP Randy Dobnak (1-0, 4.22) to the mound against Clippers RHP Gavin Williams (1-1, 1.83). The game can be heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.