Saints walk their way to a win in Game 1 in Buffalo before loss in second game
After weather cut Wednesday’s game short in the third inning, the St. Paul Saints and Buffalo Bisons returned to the field on Thursday for 16 innings, starting with a resumption of Wednesday’s game.
Buffalo pitchers might have rather not resumed the game at all.
The Bisons walked 15 St. Paul batters for the game — a Saints’ franchise record — in an 18-3 win in Thursday’s first game. Buffalo had a better time of it in the second game, winning 5-1 in the regularly scheduled game.
The score was 3-1 when the rain halted play in the top of the third inning on Wednesday, the Saints playing from in front on a three-run homer by Tony Kemp. Buffalo scored once before the rain and then added another run in the third a day later. It was all St. Paul from there.
The Saints scored four times in the fourth. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. had an RBI single, Austin Martin and Chris Williams both walked with the bases loaded and Will Holland plated another run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
In the seventh, Matt Wallner scored a run with a sacrifice fly and Yunior Severino had an RBI single. Keirsey added an two-run double in the eighth before St. Paul poured it on with seven runs in the ninth. Diego A. Castillo had an RBI double, Keirsey and Wallner had RBI singles and Severino finished it off with a grand slam, his seventh homer of the season.
The offensive outburst, and walks, made a winner of reliever Scott Blewett (2-2), who pitched three scoreless innings on Thursday. Keirsey had four hits, four RBIs, three runs scored and a stolen base. Severino had four hits and five RBIs, while Martin walked five times.
St. Paul might have used up its offense for the day.
In the second game, the Saints only scored on Patrick Winkel’s solo homer in the second and totaled five hits, two from Michael Helman.
Adam Plutko (0-1) started the game for St. Paul, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk in 2 1/3 innings. Martin walked two more times in the second game.
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