Wrong side of history, Saints win series – Brandon Peddycoart

Saint Paul, Minnesota – All good things must come to an end. Louie Varland and the Saints lost on Sunday for the first time in several weeks. Not only was their winning streak broken, the Saints also allowed the most runs in franchise history. The Toledo Mud Hens defeated the Saints 20-9 in front of 8,306 fans. The defeat dropped the Saints’ season record to 38-36.

The Toledo Mud Hens got off to a flying start. On the second pitch of the game, Parker Meadows sent a cutter that landed in the zone straight to center field. Spencer Torkelson hit a single next. Finally, Dillon Dingler hit a 435-footer to left that gave Toledo a 3-0 lead. That was Dingler’s ninth home run of the season. The Saints responded immediately, however. The Saints sent nine men to the plate in the bottom half of the inning. Edouard Julien led off with a walk. Diego Castillo hit a single next. Yunior Severino hit a ground ball that led to a double play, but the Saints didn’t let that hurt them. The Saints scored five runs with two outs.

The ball flew out of the park. Andrew Navigato picked up right where he left off, hitting a three-run home run in the second inning. Later in the inning, Dingler came back to bat. For the second time today, Dillon Dingler hit Louie Varland for a home run. Toledo led 8-5.

The Mud Hens ended Varland’s afternoon with another four runs in the third inning. Varland allowed five home runs on Sunday, which was a career high. Varland played 2.1 innings and allowed 12 runs, which was also a career high. He allowed 11 hits, which is a career high. Overall, this is an afternoon Varland will want to forget. Ty Madden struggled early but was able to settle down, playing 4.0 innings and allowing nine runs on 10 hits. In the end, neither starter had a great afternoon.

Aaron Rozek, transferred from Wichita (Double-A) before the game, replaced Varland. His afternoon didn’t go well either. In the fourth inning, Toledo scored another seven earned runs, six of which were by Rozek. The Saints had a reason to cheer in the bottom of the fourth. Anthony Prato hit a single and scored when Julien hit a double. Later in the inning, Julien scored on a wild pitch. Jair Camargo hit a triple on a ball high off the right-center field wall. The Saints trailed 19-8 at the end of the fourth inning.

It took until the fifth inning, but Scott Blewett came into the game and managed to pitch a scoreless inning. In the second half of the fifth inning, the Saints tried to capitalize on the momentum from the previous inning. The Saints managed to score one run, but left the bases loaded. Saint Paul trailed 19-9 at the end of the fifth inning.

Josh Winder pitched a perfect eighth inning. In the ninth, Winder allowed a solo home run by Ryan Vilade. Toledo had a commanding 20-9 lead.

If the Saints learned anything Saturday night, it’s that big leads can disappear quickly. Unfortunately for the Saints, this lead was a little too big to overcome. In the ninth inning, Patrick Winkel hit a double. He was left standing on second base.

There was no shortage of offensive power. The Mud Hens had 20 hits and drove in six runs in the batting order. The Saints had 13 hits and left 10 men on base. The Saints won five of six games against Toledo this week.

Fun fact about the game: How many batters were sent to the plate in total? The answer… 100!

This concludes the first half of the season. The Saints have Monday off and return Tuesday for a 6-game series against the Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs). First pitch at Principal Park is scheduled for 6:38 p.m. Both teams are yet to be announced. The game can be seen on MiLB.TV and heard on KFAN, Plus, 96.7 FM.