For the first time in franchise history, the St. Paul Saints won a series in Toledo, thanks to Sunday’s 4-3 victory over the host Mud Hens.
St. Paul failed to win a Triple-A series against the Mud Hens in four trips to Toledo over the past two years. That streak ended in the first series of 2023, with the Saints winnings games on Saturday and Sunday after losing the opener of the three-game set on Friday.
The Saints got clutch hits from Matt Wallner and Mark Contreras and a superb two-inning pitching save from reliever Connor Sadzeck at Third-Fifth Field.
Contreras got things going for the Saints in the fourth inning with a solo home run to right field, his first of the season, making it 1-0. It was the seventh home run in the three-game series for St. Paul.
After Toledo tied the score 1-1, Wallner led off the sixth inning with a triple to right-center. With one out and the infield drawn in, Contreras hit a hot smash toward second for a fielder’s choice that scored Wallner to give the Saints a 2-1 lead.
Toledo went ahead 3-2 in the seventh, but St. Paul answered right back. In the eighth, Edouard Julien led off with a walk, then Wallner doubled him home to tie the score 3-3. After a groundout moved Wallner to third, Contreras came through with an RBI single to right to score Wallner and give the Saints a 4-3 lead.
Wallner finished 2-for-4 with a double, triple, RBI and two runs scored. Contreras also was 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and a run scored.
The Saints are off on Monday, then begin their 2023 home schedule at 6:37 p.m. Tuesday at CHS Field against the Iowa Cubs.
