Saints Walked-Off For Seventh Time This Season, Second In Series, Lose 5-4 In 10 To Bisons

BUFFALO, NY (June 24, 2022) - It’s becoming too common of a trend for the St. Paul Saints. Carry a lead late. Don’t hold onto the lead. Get walked-off. For the fourth time in the series against the Buffalo Bisons they carried a lead into the eighth, for the third time they couldn’t hold on, and for the second time they were walked-off, losing 5-4 in 10.

With the Saints up 4-3 in the eighth, Yennier Cano was looking for revenge after giving up an eighth inning three-run homer that proved to be the game winner on Tuesday night. With one out, Nathan Lukes reached on an infield single to second. He stole second and that brought up the man who homered off Cano on Tuesday, Samad Taylor. This time Cano won the battle by striking him out. Unfortunately, it was the next hitter, Jordan Groshans, who tied it with a line drive single to left-center.

In the 10th, the Saints had the top of the order up with John Andreoli the placed runner at second. Spencer Steer lined out to right, Jake Cave struck out, and Tim Beckham fouled out to first. Beckham’s 12-game hitting streak came to an end as he went 0-5.

In the bottom of the 10th the Bisons wasted little time winning the game as the leadoff hitter Nathan Lukes singled to right scoring the placed runner Chavez Young to end the game. It’s the sixth loss for the Saints in extras this season and the seventh time they’ve been walked-off, and the third time in the 10 games of their 12-game roadtrip.

The Saints jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second as they loaded the bases with one out on a Jermaine Palacios single, a walk to Michael Helman, and José Godoy reaching on a fielding error by the second baseman Logan Warmoth. A passed ball scored Palacios from third putting the Saints on top.

An error in the bottom of the inning cost the Saints three runs. With Cullen Large at first, after reaching on a fielder’s choice, and one out, L.J. Talley reached on an infield single putting runners at first and second. With two outs, Nick Podkul hit a popup in between home plate and the mound. The third baseman Palacios came charging in and had the ball hit off his glove and fall to the ground as Large scored on the two-base error. That was followed by a two-run single up the middle from Young giving the Bisons a 3-1 lead.

The second most prolific home run hitting team in Minor League Baseball in the month of June, the Saints, smashed their first back-to-back homers of the season in the fourth. With one out, Helman singled to right. He stole second and, with two outs, John Andreoli drilled a two-run homer to left, his fifth of the season and third with the Saints, tying the game at three. The very next hitter, Steer, crushed a solo homer to left, his 11th of the season in just his 26th game with the Saints. Steer has 19 homers between Double-A Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul in 61 games.

Cave finished 1-4 with a walk and extended his streak of reaching base safely to 39 consecutive games.

The same two teams meet in game five of the six-game series at 5:05 p.m. (CT) on Saturday at Sahlen field. The Saints send RHP Aaron Sanchez (1-0, 4.62) to the mound against Bisons RHP Thomas Hatch (4-3, 4.99). The game can be seen on MiLB.TV and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.