COLUMBUS, OH (August 21, 2026) - One starter was coming back from an injury. One starter left with an apparent injury. Columbus Clippers starter Ben Lively, making his second Triple-A start since returning from Tommy John surgery, silenced the St. Paul Saints bats. Kendry Rojas walked off the mound in the second inning with an apparent injury for the Saints as they fell 5-1 to the Columbus Clippers at Huntington Park.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the second inning, Rojas delivered a 1-0 pitch to Ralphy Velazquez, dropped his glove on the mound, and walked to the infield grass towards second base. Athletic trainer Ben Meyers came out to talk to him, and after a few moments the two walked off the field towards the dugout. Aaron Rozek, who was scheduled to piggyback Rojas, entered the game sooner than anticipated.
After runs aplenty in the first three games of the series, the game remained scoreless into the bottom of the fourth when Kody Huff hit a two-out solo homer to left, his 19th of the season, putting the Clippers up 1-0.
The Saints couldn’t muster much against Lively. They scattered three singles off him and had one runner reach second base as he went 4.2 shutout innings allowing three hits, while walking one and striking out four.
Disaster struck in the fifth for the Saints when a ball was lost in the twilight. With one out Dayan Frias walked. He stole second and with two outs Daniel Schneeman singled him home increasing the lead to 2-0. After a walk to Kahlil Watson put runners at first and second, Kyle Manzardo hit a fly ball to right, but no one on the right side of the diamond could see the ball in the twilight sky and it fell for a two-run double, doubling the lead to 4-0.
Milán Tolentino made it 5-0 with a solo homer to right, his 17th of the season, in the sixth for the Clippers.
Tristan Gray got the Saints on the board in the seventh with a solo homer to right, his third of the season and third in the last three games, cutting the deficit to 5-1.
The Saints have scored 22 runs in the first four games of the series, 21 of them have come by way of the long ball.
The same two teams meet in game five of a six-game series at Huntington Park at 6:05 p.m. (CT). The Saints send RHP Germán Márquez (1-1, 3.32) to the mound against Clippers RHP Rorik Maltrud (5-1, 3.83). The game can be heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM presented by Northland Ford Dealers.