The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks didn’t put up any crooked numbers on Saturday night, but they were able to string together a couple of three-run innings to beat the St. Paul Saints 8-4 and split the two-game series. The loss dropped the Saints behind the Gary Southshore Railcats in the North Division Standings.
The Redhawks are lurking in third place, just two games behind the Saints.
After the Saints scored in the first, and FM responded in the second, the RedHawks were able to put three runs on the board in the third inning. It all started with a leadoff single from Yhoxian Medina who advanced to third on a single from Quinn Irey. Medina came around to score on a double from Tim Colwell to put FM up, 3-1.
Irey and Colwell both scored when Leobaldo Pina singled to center field and was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double to end the inning.
The RedHawks did it again in the fourth on four hits, including singled from Devan Ahart, Medina and Irey and a three-run double from Shoreview native Tim Colwell. Maikol Gonzalez ended the inning with a strikeout swinging to prevent any further damage being done.
FM tacked on one more run in the fifth thanks to a one-out double from Keury De La Cruz, who scored on a single by Ahart to extend the lead a little further.
The Saints were able to make a slight dent in the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Zach Walters hit a one-out single to set up Dante Bichette Jr. for his seventh home run of the season, this one ending up in the FM bullpen in left field. Unfortunately for the Saints, Nathaniel Maggio and Justin O’Conner both struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Saints were able to get one run in the bottom of the eighth when Kyle Barrett led off with a single to left field and scored on three wild pitches, but that was it for the rally, as the next three batters went down in order to end the inning, and the three batters in the ninth were retired as well.
The Saints now have a much-needed day off Sunday after playing 25 games in a row without a day off.
They will be back in action on Monday when they travel to Sioux Falls for another series with the Canaries. Neither team has announced who will pitch. After the Sioux Falls series, the Saints will travel to Chicago to face the Dogs before going up north to Winnipeg for a series against the Goldeyes.
NOTES
- It was not a good night for the bottom of the Saints order, as the 7-9 batters went a combined 1-for-11 with seven strikeouts. The lone batter at the bottom to get a hit was Joey Wong, who singled in the seventh inning.
- Trey McNutt got the start for the RedHawks, and pitched great, going seven-plus innings allowing seven hits and four runs while recording 13 strikeouts of the Saints. He picked up the win to move to a 6-7 record this season, while Chris Nunn took the loss for the Saints, bringing his season record to 5-3.
- Maggio went 0-for-4 on the night, ending his team-leading 19-game hitting streak. Bichette extended his streak to 17 games, while Barrett has a 14-game streak and Murphy has gotten a hit in 10 straight games.
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