Saints Walked Off For Fourth Time Against Clippers, Lose 4-3

COLUMBUS, OH (June 18, 2022) - The St. Paul Saints play just one home series against the Columbus Clippers this season. When that series takes place in August the Saints are hoping to repay the favor from the painful walk-off losses they’ve been handed at Huntington Park. The Saints led 3-0, but couldn’t hang on losing 4-3 on a Franmil Reyes walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. It’s the fourth walk-off loss to the Clippers in their nine losses to them this season.

With the score tied at three in the bottom of the ninth, Juan Minaya took over trying to get the Saints to extras. With one out he hit Jose Fermin. With two outs, Tyler Freeman singled to left sending Fermin to third. That brought up the Major League rehabber, Reyes. He had been 0-4 up to that point, but on a 1-2 pitch he singled just past a diving Spencer Steer at second to score the winning run.

The Saints jumped out to a 3-0 lead as they struck first in the first. Kyle Garlick, in his third Major League rehab game, did what he does best against lefties, hitting a solo homer off Kirk McCarty, his third with the Saints, making it 1-0. Jake Cave then extended his streak of reaching base safely to 36 with a bloop double to center. Caleb Hamilton followed with a double to right-center scoring Cave to make it 2-0.

The Saints utilized another long ball to take a 3-0 lead as Steer launched a solo shot to left leading off the third, his ninth home run in 21 games. The Saints collected just two more hits after this, a two out single by Jermaine Palacios in the third and a leadoff single by Garlick in the fifth. They didn’t get another base runner until back-to-back walks with one out in the ninth.

The Clippers got on the board in the fourth when Cole Sands started the inning with back-to-back walks. Bobby Bradley followed with an RBI single to center making it 3-1. Sands went 4.0 innings allowing one run on five hits while walking two and striking out three.

It stayed that way until the seventh when the Clippers cut the Saints lead to one. JC Ramírez walked the leadoff hitter Mitchell Tolman. He stole second and scored on a one out single from Will Brennan making it 3-2.

The Clippers knotted the game at three in the eighth against Yennier Cano, who entered the game with a franchise record 13.2 consecutive scoreless innings streak. Jones led off the inning with a double to left, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Bobby Bradley.

The same two teams meet in the finale of the six-game series on Sunday afternoon at 12:05 p.m. (CT). The Saints send RHP Jake Faria (1-2, 6.48) to the mound against Clippers LHP Tanner Tully (5-1, 4.83). The game can be seen on MilB.TV and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.