Saints' skid hits seven with two losses in one day

St. Paul dropped two one-run games to Toledo, the first a completion of the season's longest minor league game.

August 30, 2021 at 2:12AM
Detroit Tigers' Spencer Torkelson warms up before a spring training exhibition baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla., Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Torkelson drew a walk. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
Tigers minor leaguer Spencer Torkelson warmed up in spring training in Bradenton, Fla., in March. (Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

TOLEDO, OHIO – The St. Paul Saints rallied from a six-run deficit to pull within one Sunday but fell 9-8 to the Toledo Mud Hens, their seventh consecutive loss.

Kody Clemens' third-inning grand slam off Beau Burrows gave Toledo a 7-1 lead, and they went on to complete a six-game sweep, the first ever suffered by the Saints. During their losing streak, the Saints have gone from a half-game lead in the Triple-A East Midwest Division to 6½ games back.

Trailing 9-7 entering the ninth inning, the Saints pulled within one run on an RBI double by JT Riddle, but David Banuelos and BJ Boyd struck out to end the game.

Earlier Sunday, the Saints and Mud Hens completed a game that was suspended Saturday night. The Mud Hens won 10-9 in 14 innings, the longest in Class AAA this season at 5 hours, 7 minutes, and the longest in minor league baseball this season in terms of innings.

The game had been stopped because of a Major League Baseball rule stating an inning can't start after 12:50 a.m. local time.

The Saints had led 7-2 in the top of the third inning, but Toledo rallied and eventually forced extra innings on Spencer Torkelson's solo home run in the bottom of the ninth.

Tomas Telis went 3-for-7 for St. Paul in the suspended game and 5-for-12 in the two games combined.

During the six-game sweep, the Saints lost three one-run games and two two-run games.

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