INDIANAPOLIS — The St. Paul Saints pulled out a 10-6, 12-inning victory over Indianapolis on Tuesday, but the host Indians made them work for it.
The Saints (5-4) were three outs from winning in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings, but the Indians (5-5) rallied each time to get to another extra inning. St. Paul finished things with four runs in the top of the 12th, then held Indianapolis scoreless in the bottom half of the inning.
The Saints took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the Indians scored two runs to send the game to the 10th. Both teams scored one run in the 10th and two more in the 11th before St. Paul exploded for four more in the 12th.
In the 12th, Kyle Garlick’s RBI groundout with the bases loaded gave St. Paul a 7-6 lead. Mark Contreras followed with a two-run single, and Chris Williams added an RBI single to compete the big inning.
The first half of the game seemed detached from the wild ending, but starting pitcher Brent Headrick was terrific for the Saints, allowing one run and four hits in five innings. He struck out eight.
The Class AAA teams meet in Game 2 of a six-game series at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Bailey Ober (0-1, 6.75 ERA) will pitch for St. Paul.
