ST. PAUL, Minn. – Davis Wendzel hit a grand slam in the eighth inning and Termarr Johnson connected on his second homer of the campaign, but the Indianapolis Indians fell to the St. Paul Saints, 7-6, on Tuesday night at CHS Field.
Wendzel teed off a high and inside sinker from Andrew Bash in the eighth frame, cutting the deficit to 7-5, but the rally fell short after one more tally. Indy (24-34) went scoreless in the ninth coming up one run short.
St. Paul (30-27) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a leadoff home run by Kaelen Culpepper. Royce Lewis later hit a three-run blast in the third frame for a 4-0 advantage. The lead went to 6-0 with the Saints posting a sacrifice fly in both the fourth and fifth.
Johnson put the Indians on the board with a solo shot when he took a high and away fastball to opposite field, clearing the wall into the left field bullpen for his second long ball of the season. After Johnson’s home run, Lewis left the yard again in the seventh inning for his ninth homer of the season and a 7-1 lead.
Hunter Barco (L, 2-4) got the start for Indianapolis and allowed six runs across 5.0 innings. Aaron Rozek started for St. Paul and tossed 4.0 scoreless. Raul Brito (W, 3-1) blanked Indy over the final four outs to close the game.
The Indians continue their six-game series in St. Paul on Wednesday afternoon at 2:07 PM ET. Indy will have a yet-to-be-named opener in front of bulk thrower RHP Antwone Kelly (3-4, 4.96). On the mound for the Saints will be RHP Ryan Gallagher (1-1, 7.04).