ST. PAUL, MN (August 27, 2026) - Pitching coaches will always talk about how walks will kill you. On Thursday night at CHS Field that was the case for the St. Paul Saints pitching staff. They walked nine Toledo Mud Hems, with five of those scoring, plus they gave up three home runs in a 9-3 loss in front of 6,670.
It took the Mud Hens no time to take the lead as Trei Cruz took the first pitch of the ballgame and hit it over the right field wall, his third of the season and first in 54 games, making it 1-0.
Another long ball by the Mud Hens added to their lead in the second. With one out Cal Stevenson singled to right-center and with two outs Michael Siani made it 3-0 with a two-run homer to right, his second of the season.
That’s when the walks started. The Mud Hens scored a pair of runs courtesy of a pair of walks. The first two hitters in the inning reached on a free pass and a sacrifice bunt moved them over. After a pitching change, Cruz drove in both runs with a two-run single to right-center passed a drawn in infield putting the Mud Hens up 5-0.
The third home run of the night for the Mud Hens gave them a 7-0 lead. With one out Stevenson walked and that was followed by a two-run homer to right from Max Burt, his third of the season.
In the bottom of the inning the Saints answered with a longball of their own. Tristan Gray singled to right-center that ended Carl Edwards Jr’s night after 4.1 impressive innings. Tanner Schobel greeted new pitcher Beau Brieske with a two-run homer to left-center, his sixth of the season, getting the Saints to within 7-2. Schobel went 2-3 with a home run, two RBI, and a run scored.
Emmanuel Rodriguez delivered the Saints second homer of the night with a leadoff homer to right in the sixth, his 10th of the season, cutting the deficit to 7-3. Rodirguez became the 12th Saints hitter with double-digit homers on the season, most in baseball. Rodriguez went 2-4 with a double, home run, RBI, and a run scored.
Two more walks by a Saints pitcher turned into runs in the eighth. With one out Cruz walked and with two outs Max Anderson walked. Josue Briceño made Marco Raya pay with a two-run double to left, inflating the lead to 9-3.
The same two teams meet in game four of a six-game series on Friday night at CHS Field at 7:07 p.m. The Saints send RHP Germán Márquez (1-1, 4.74) to the mound against Mud Hens LHP Jackson Wolf (6-11, 6.59). The game can be seen on FOX 9+, MLB.TV, MiLB.com, and the Bally Sports Live app, and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM all presented by Northland Ford Dealers.