[ArquimedezPozo]

Saints Walk Off into First Place in Independence Day Nailbiter

The Saint Paul Saints have claimed a share of first place with a dramatic, come from behind walk off victory over Columbus before a crowd of 35,000 at Target Field.

The fireworks on this July 4 started late, as the first four innings passed quickly for both clubs. Saints lefthander John McNayr was sharp, getting through three without a hit, allowing a baserunner on a hit by pitch in the second and a walk in the fourth. Columbus starter Brad Moss ran into trouble in the first, loading the bases on two walks and an error, but got the last two batters to escape. He set the Saints down 1-2-3 in the second and third, and allowed a lone single in the fourth.

McNayr blinked first when 1B Warren Lachance roped a double into the left-center gap to lead off the fifth. Jose Rodriguez drilled what looked like an RBI single, but the 2B Fitzpatrick gloved it and threw out the Red Birds 3B. Still, it got Lachance to third, and he scored on a bloop single from Justin Cole to draw first blood. Another hit batsman and a single scored Cole to make it 2-0 Columbus.

That’s where it stayed until the seventh. Moss was outstanding over six, allowing just that one hit while striking out six. He opened the seventh with another K, but then got into his first bit of trouble: Enrique Morales booted a routine grounder at short, and a single from 3B Travis Levis put men on the corners. Moss protested when the manager Blake came to get him, but relented, handing the ball over to Willie Aleman out of the pen. He watched from the dugout as Aleman gave up a single to score Routt from third, but pumped his fist when Fitzpatrick went down on strikes to end the inning.

A leadoff double went nowhere for Columbus in the eighth, but St. Paul tied it in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Brian Rosenblum - hitting for RF Danny Silvey - walked. When Motoi Honda grounded a ball into right, Rosenblum went over to third, and an Oscar Cota single sent him home.

Columbus came back to life in the ninth, though, and plated a run after two straight singles that put Enrique Morales on third with one out. LF Julio Pacheco grounded a ball slowly to second, and it gave Morales enough time to scoot home with the go ahead run.

Now in a last-ditch ninth, St. Paul got going quick: Danny Wilson lined a single past the shortstop, and Steve Mershon drove a double into left. The catcher Wilson thought it was going to be caught and hung back for a moment; that hesitation, plus his speed, gave the 3B coach reason to hold him at third, but he scored on the next pitch as Kevin Fitzpartrick singled him in to tie it up, bringing the nervous crowd to its feet.

Kevin Walker came to the plate next, and with a runner at third and only one out in a now-tied game the crowd sensed the possibilities. Walker took ball 1 as Kevin Fitzpatrick tried to draw an errant throw with a steal of second, but Centeno’s throw, though late, was taken in by Morales. Walker took ball 2 next, a borderline pitch. The third offering, though, was a good one, and Walker drilled it to center, medium deep - it was clearly staying in the park, but with a runner on third the crowd rose as one anyway. Lyndon Pretlow caught it on the run as Wilson tagged and took off. Pretlow gunned it, and as Wilson barreled in, Centeno took it in off the hop. He whirled, and just got the tag down before Wilson’s foot crossed the plate - inning over, as the crowd deflated.

It only got worse for the home crowd in the 10th. Pat Pipkin relieved McNayr, and though he opened with a strikeout of Chris Bishop he then hit Ricky Ponce, who took second on a fielder’s choice. With two outs, the Red Birds sent switch hitter Fred Burdette up to hit, but St. Paul walked him to face light-hitting Justin Cole. This proved to be a mistake: Cole knocked a 1-0 pitch into the RF corner for a triple, scoring both runners. Morales grounded out, but the damage was done, and St. Paul needed a big inning to stay alive.

Josh Martinez came out of the pen for the Red Birds - a choice that Columbus fans likely second-guessed immediately, as the righthander has been one of the club’s worst pen arms since coming to the club at the start of the month. He proved them right fast, as he hit Honda with an 0-2 fastball, then gave up an RBI triple to Tony Cruz. Suddenly the Saints had a chance, with the tying run on third and on one out. Travis Levis tied the game up with a sac fly - no out at home this time - and the crowd stayed on its feet for the rest: a walk to Joe Sessa, a fly out by Steve Mershon, a Kevin Fitzpatrick single, a free pass to Kevin Walker. With the bases now loaded, and two down, Alfredo Martinez came to the plate. He took a strike on the outside corner - the crowd groaned all together - and then delivered: a sharp single that just eluded the glove of Enrique Morales and rolled into left as Honda crossed the plate arms raised, into a swarm of his teammates. An up and down game ended with an improbable comeback to put the Saints into a tie with Salt Lake for first place in the D3 West.