St. Paul – The St. Paul Saints had a 20-walk game to open the season at CHS Field, so it felt like a 20-plus run victory balanced things out.
The Saints entered Tuesday night’s game leading Triple-A with 119 homers on the year. They crushed the Omaha Storm Chasers, who had a team ERA of 5.53, 21-2. Center fielder Alan Roden and first baseman Aaron Sabato led the Saints offense, both of whom were 3-for-4 with four RBI and fell a triple short of the cycle.
“We had a good day Sunday, 17 hits or whatever, another night tonight, scored a bunch of runs, walks, did some damage,” said Saints manager Brian Dinkelman. “They just continue to have good at-bats every night and get on base, and it’s like they just keep passing the baton to the next guy.”
It had been 55 days since his last game in Triple-A, but Roden swung as though he hadn’t skipped a beat. It was already an encouraging sign that he went 5-for-12 with a home run, three RBI, and seven walks in five rehab games. On Tuesday night, he was on another level that no one could have expected.
The way the Saints swung their bats in the first inning, everyone at CHS Field forgot the guy starting on the mound for the Storm Chasers, Aaron Sanchez, had once won an ERA title in the majors (3.00 in 2016).
It all started with Alan Roden’s lead-off single. Sanchez didn’t record an out until the sixth batter for the Saints, second baseman Cody Morissette, struck out. By that point, it was already 2-0. Sanchez only induced one more out before Roden reached the plate for the second time in the first inning.
With runners on first and second, Roden worked a 1-2 count in his favor, getting a changeup right down the middle from Sanchez, and made it an 8-0 game. The Storm Chasers hadn’t made it out of the first inning, and already Roden was halfway to a cycle.
By the fourth inning, Roden was already making his way to the plate for the fourth time in the game, and drilled an RBI double to make it 14-2. By that point, Roden felt as though he’d be at the plate every inning for the rest of the game.
“Oh my gosh, totally,” said Roden postgame. “Baseball is a momentum sport. All the guys getting hits and stuff like that, you’ve got to get in rhythm too with the game, and you walk up there every inning, you can kind of get into a little bit of a mojo and just try to swing at good pitches. For the most part, I was able to do that.”
“He just gives us another left-handed bat in the lineup,” Dinkelman said. “Somebody who takes their walks can also do their damage at times, too. He just always has good at-bats and makes it tough for pitchers. So to have him at the top of our lineup and to have guys in there to drive him in is always good.”
By the time Roden had hit a double to be one triple short of the cycle, Sabato was 2-for-3 with a double and single. When his fourth at-bat came in the bottom of the fifth, Sabato drilled a first-pitch slider down and in from veteran lefty Anthony Gose to make it a 15-2 game.
Sabato has been swinging a hot bat since receiving regular playing time on April 29. He has a .311/.380/.669 slash line, with 12 home runs and 38 RBI in the last 39 games.
While he and Roden led the way for the offense Tuesday night, each Saints batter reached base at least once and also scored a run. Second baseman Tanner Schobel led the team with six. There have been many individual performances to highlight with each Saints win this season, and Sabato said it’s all about the group effort from the offense as a whole each day they get to the ballpark.
“The way we’re challenging ourselves and executing those challenges and taking it,” said Sabato. “It’s kind of no surprise what I feel like everybody is doing it. No matter who’s coming up or down, everybody’s bought in on our work pre-game, and it’s really showing on the field.”
“[It’s] very fun watching this offense,” said Mick Abel, who made his second rehab start with the Saints in Tuesday night’s win. “Everybody brings a lot to the table, something different too, yeah, it’s fun.”
With their win Tuesday night, the Saints extended their winning streak to six games as they enter a crucial last week of the first half. How they play this homestand against Omaha could determine their seed in the Triple-A playoffs in Las Vegas.
The team with the best record in the International League and Pacific Coast League in the first half of the season is rewarded with one of four playoff spots in the Triple-A Playoffs. The Saints sit fourth in the International League standings, trailing only the first-place Memphis Redbirds, Rochester Red Wings, and Nashville Sounds.
To secure their place over all three teams, the Saints will need to sweep Omaha in this six-game series, hope the Red Wings lose three of their next five games, and have the Sounds take four of five against the Redbirds.
The 21 runs scored in Tuesday night’s game tied their franchise record for runs in a game, set on September 11, 2021. That game was also against the Storm Chasers at CHS Field, which they won 21-4.
