The Sioux City Explorers clinched the second half North Division, defeating the St. Paul Saints by the score of 9 to 0.
…congratulations to les lancaster and the sioux city explorers…
For a full recap, visit SaintsBaseball.com, and, for a boxscore, visit the American Association Website.
The St. Paul Saints have traded RHP Charlie Ruud to the Atlantic City Surf of the Can-Am League for future considerations. Charlie Ruud holds the record for most wins and innings pitched in St. Paul Saints franchise history. Ruud finishes his 2008 season with the Saints tied for most wins in a single season in franchise history with 12.
…well, charlie ruud was not going to pitch again in the american assocaition season because he started on tuesday night, meaning he’d have to go on three days rest if he were to pitch on saturday, and he has only done that once after a start this season. this gives ruud a chance to go to a contender and continue to pitch in what has been a remarkable 2008 season. i think it’s fair to say that all saints fans wish charlie ruud the best in all of his endeavors…
The update is pretty simple today. The Lincoln Saltdogs trail the Sioux City Explorers by 1.0 game entering the final two days of the season. The Explorers play the Saints, while the Saltdogs play the Wichita Wingnuts.
| NORTH DIVISION | W | L | PCT | GB | STREAK | LAST 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux City | 29 | 17 | .630 | W 2 | 8- 2 | |
| Lincoln | 28 | 18 | .609 | 1.0 | W 6 | 8- 2 |
| *Sioux Falls | 27 | 19 | .587 | 2.0 | W 3 | 7- 3 |
| Wichita | 18 | 28 | .391 | 11.0 | L 3 | 3- 7 |
| St. Paul | 18 | 28 | .391 | 11.0 | L 4 | 1- 9 |
The St. Paul Saints ( 18-28 ) lost to the Sioux City Explorers ( 29-17 ) by the score of 6 to 3.
…the explorers scored early against luis villarreal in what was a very big game for the x’s…
For a full recap, visit SaintsBaseball.com, and, for a boxscore, visit the American Association Website.
The St. Paul Saints ( 18-27 ) fiinshed the 2008 home schedule with a 23-24 record, losing to the Lincoln Saltdogs ( 27-18 ) by the score of 14 to 2.
…lincoln homered five times off of jeff blitstein, tying a saints record formerly held by mike meyer for most home runs allowed in a single game. kit pellow hit two home runs, and shea mcfeely homered for the third consecutive game against the saints. brent krause, in his final game in 2008 with the saints, homered twice to account for the only two runs the saints scored on the night…
For a full recap, visit SaintsBaseball.com, and, for a boxscore, viist the American Association Website.
The Game:
The Fourth Place St. Paul Saints ( 18-26 ) play their final home game in 2008 tonight against the Second Place Lincoln Saltdogs ( 26-18 ) at 7:05 P.M. from Midway Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Matchup:
RHP Jeff Blitstein (2-2, 3.28 ERA)
RHP Jarrett Gardner (10-6, 3.37 ERA)
The Lineups:
Lincoln Saltdogs
Albenis Machado SS
Manny Rodriguez 2B
Dustin Yount 1B
Kit Pellow DH
Shawn McGill C
Curt Miaso RF
Shea McFeely 3B
Matt Maloney LF
Deacon Burns CF
St. Paul Saints
Jimmy Mojica 2B
Pichi Balet LF
Ron Fenwick RF
Brent Krause CF
Ben Thomas 3B
Kevin Sullivan C
Adam Hale DH
Steve Butler 1B
Ryan Priddy SS
Follow the Game:
Listen LIVE on the internet to the radio broadcast on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
If you’re at home, check out the action on your local Saints Cable Network.
And, as always, lets go Saints!
Pichi Balet, after his eighth year in professional baseball, will retire. Balet played in both the Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies organizations, before spending three years in Lincoln from 2005-2007 and one year with the Saints in 2008. Balet hit .405 in 304 at-bats with Cook County of the Frontier League in 2002, and was the American Association Player of the Year in 2006 when he hit .378 with nine home runs and 82 runs batted in for the Saltdogs.
…pichi may go down as one of the best pure hitters in minor league baseball. he hit at least .300 in every professional season with the exception of 2004 when he split the year between high-a inland empire and high-a visalia of the california league. balet goes the other way with remarkable success, is one of the hardest workers i’ve ever seen, and i wish him the best of luck going forward in what should be a very successful career in the fitness industry…
The St. Paul Saints lost to the Lincoln Saltdogs by the score of 6 to 4.
…as has happened so many times this season, the saints fell behind early and fought back late only to have their rally fall short…
For a full recap, visit SaintsBaseball.com, and, for a boxscore, visit the American Association Website.
…even though the saints are mathematically eliminated, i do plan on updating the blog until the end of the season. i will be going back to school on tuesday, so if anyone is interested in updating the blog over the winter with moves and press in regards to the saints and the american assocaition, please let me know by either commenting to this post or e-mailing me at jeremy dot kreisberg at gmail dot com…
The Game:
The Fourth Place St. Paul Saints ( 18-25 ) play spoiler in the second of three against the Second Place Lincoln Saltdogs ( 25-18 ) at 7:05 P.M. from Midway Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Matchup:
RHP Charlie Ruud (12-3, 3.61 ERA)
RHP Ryan Trytten (4-5, 3.55 ERA)
…charlie ruud will be going for the saints franchise record for most wins in a single season tonight…
The Lineups:
Lincoln Saltdogs
Albenis Machado SS
Manny Rodriguez 2B
Dustin Yount 1B
Kit Pellow DH
Shawn McGill C
Curt Miaso RF
Shea McFeely 3B
Matt Maloney LF
Deacon Burns CF
St. Paul Saints
Ron Fenwick 2B
Ryan Priddy SS
Pichi Balet LF
Brent Krause CF
Ben Thomas 3B
Kevin Sullivan DH
Heath Keel RF
Zach Goldberg C
Steve Butler 1B
Follow the Game:
Listen LIVE on the internet to the radio broadcast on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
If you’re at home, check out the action on your local Saints Cable Network.
And, as always, lets go Saints!
…with last night’s loss, the saints were eliminated from playoff contention…
Monday, August 18
El Paso 1 at Shreveport 0 – Suspended 3rd
Grand Prairie at Fort Worth – PPD/Rain
Sioux Falls 3 at Wichita 2
Sioux City 4 at Pensacola 10
Lincoln 7 at St. Paul 1
Tuesday, August 19
El Paso at Shreveport – 7:05 p.m.
Sioux City at Pensacola – 6:35 p.m.
Grand Prairie at Fort Worth – 7:05 p.m.
Sioux Falls at Wichita – 7:05 p.m.
Lincoln at St. Paul – 7:05 p.m.
…the explorers, saltdogs, and wingnuts are left to fight for the only playoff spot remaining in the american association playoffs…
| NORTH DIVISION | W | L | PCT | GB | STREAK | LAST 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux City | 27 | 17 | .614 | L 1 | 7- 3 | |
| Lincoln | 25 | 18 | .581 | 1.5 | W 3 | 6- 4 |
| *Sioux Falls | 25 | 19 | .568 | 2.0 | W 1 | 7- 3 |
| St. Paul | 18 | 25 | .419 | 8.5 | L 1 | 3- 7 |
| Wichita | 18 | 26 | .409 | 9.0 | L 1 | 4- 6 |
| SOUTH DIVISION | W | L | PCT | GB | STREAK | LAST 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| &Grand Prairie | 27 | 16 | .628 | L 4 | 5- 5 | |
| *Fort Worth | 27 | 16 | .628 | W 5 | 6- 4 | |
| El Paso | 21 | 22 | .488 | 6.0 | W 1 | 2- 8 |
| Pensacola | 20 | 24 | .455 | 7.5 | W 1 | 8- 2 |
| Shreveport | 9 | 34 | .209 | 18.0 | L 3 | 1- 9 |
| Team | W | L | GB |
| Sioux City X’s | 48 | 44 | – |
| Lincoln Saltdogs | 46 | 44 | 1.0 |
| Wic. Wingnuts | 44 | 47 | 3.5 |
The St. Paul Saints (18-25) were eliminated from playoff contention last night, losing to the Lincoln Saltdogs (25-18) by the score of 7 to 1.
…The St. Paul Saints were eliminated from playoff contention, losing 7-1 to the Lincoln Saltdogs on Monday night at Midway Stadium. The Saints entered play trailing the Sioux City Explorers by 5.5 games in the wild card standings with six games left for the Saints and, despite an Explorers loss last night, the Saints loss kept them at 5.5 games back with only five games remaining. Saints starting pitcher Mark Romanczuk struggled with his control last night, loading the bases in the second inning on a single and two walks before walking Albenis Machado to force in the first run of the game. Manny Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to give the Saltdogs a 2-0 lead. The Saints had their best chance against Saltdogs starting pitcher Brian Campbell in the fifth inning, when Kevin Sullivan led off the inning with a single. Adam Hale then lined a double into right field, but Sullivan, trying to score from first, was thrown out at the plate on a relay from Curt Miaso to Manny Rodriguez, who threw out Sullivan at home. With Hale at second and two outs in the inning, Steve Butler laced a single into left field, but Hale was thrown out by Matt Maloney to end the inning. The Saltdogs tacked on one run in the sixth on a Rodriguez RBI single and three runs in the seventh inning on a Shea McFeely RBI double and a two-run double off the bat of Machado. With a six-run lead in hand, the Saltdogs extended that lead to seven when McFeely homered in the ninth. The Saints avoided the shutout when Kevin Sullivan hit a solo homer in the ninth, but Adam Hale struck out to officially eliminate the Saints from playoff contention…
The Game:
The Fourth Place St. Paul Saints ( 18-24 ) play the first of three against the Second Place Lincoln Saltdogs ( 24-18 ) at 7:05 P.M. from Midway Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
…the saints elimination number is one, so this is literally a must-win game…
The Matchup:
LHP Mark Romanczuk (3-2, 3.69 ERA)
RHP Brian Campbell (8-4, 4.43 ERA)
The Lineups:
Lincoln Saltdogs
Albenis Machado SS
Manny Rodriguez 2B
Dustin Yount 1B
Kit Pellow DH
Shawn McGill C
Curt Miaso RF
Shea McFeely 3B
Matt Maloney LF
Deacon Burns CF
St. Paul Saints
Jimmy Mojica SS
Pichi Balet LF
Ron Fenwick 2B
Brent Krause CF
Ben Thomas 3B
Kevin Sullivan C
Adam Hale DH
Heath Keel RF
Steve Butler 1B
Follow the Game:
Listen LIVE on the internet to the radio broadcast on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
If you’re at home, check out the action on your local Saints Cable Network.
And, as always, lets go Saints!
…the saints elimination number currently stands at one…
Saturday, August 16
Sioux City 5 at Grand Prairie 3
Pensacola 6 at Shreveport 2
El Paso 0 at Fort Worth 14
Sioux Falls 0 at Lincoln 1
Wichita 0 at St. Paul 4
…in that fort worth-el paso game, fort worth all-star dh john allen hit four home runs and collected eight rbi, setting a league record with his four home runs. with el paso’s loss, grand prairie clinched a playoff birth because they have already clinched the next best overall record in the south division and, since el paso was eliminated from the second half standings, either grand prairie or fort worth will win the second half, thus guaranteeing the airhogs a spot in the playoffs. congratulations to pete incaviglia, who has led the airhogs to the playoffs in their inaugural season…
Sunday, August 17
El Paso 3 at Shreveport 2
Grand Prairie 2 at Fort Worth 5
Sioux Falls 1 at Wichita 2
Sioux City 2 at Pensacola 1
…richard salazar, kevin cheppenko, and byron embry combined to throw a one-hitter in wichita’s 2-1 win over sioux falls…
Monday, August 18
El Paso at Shreveport – 7:05 p.m.
Sioux City at Pensacola – 6:35 p.m.
Grand Prairie at Fort Worth – 7:05 p.m.
Sioux Falls at Wichita – 7:05 p.m.
Lincoln at St. Paul – 7:05 p.m.
…i am not willing to call the saints a “spoiler” until they are mathematically eliminated…
…but they do play the saltdogs, who really need a win…
| NORTH DIVISION | W | L | PCT | GB | STREAK | LAST 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux City | 27 | 16 | .628 | W 4 | 7- 3 | |
| Lincoln | 24 | 18 | .571 | 2.5 | W 2 | 5- 5 |
| *Sioux Falls | 24 | 19 | .558 | 3.0 | L 3 | 7- 3 |
| St. Paul | 18 | 24 | .429 | 8.5 | W 1 | 3- 7 |
| Wichita | 18 | 25 | .419 | 9.0 | W 1 | 5- 5 |
| SOUTH DIVISION | W | L | PCT | GB | STREAK | LAST 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Prairie | 27 | 16 | .628 | L 4 | 5- 5 | |
| *Fort Worth | 27 | 16 | .628 | W 5 | 6- 4 | |
| El Paso | 21 | 22 | .488 | 6.0 | W 1 | 2- 8 |
| Pensacola | 19 | 24 | .442 | 8.0 | L 1 | 8- 2 |
| Shreveport | 9 | 34 | .209 | 18.0 | L 3 | 1- 9 |
…i’ll show the wild card standings again when sioux falls gets closer to first place. in case you’re curious, the saints trail the explorers by 5.5 games for first place in the wild card standings with six games to play for st. paul…
The St. Paul Saints (18-24) used a complete game shutout from Luis Villarreal en route to a victory over the Wichita Wingnuts (17-25) by the score of 4 to 0.
…luis villarreal was magnificent, throwing a complete game four-hitter without walking a batter while striking out six. the saints picked up two runs in the third inning when kevin hooper and chris colton made errors on the same play featuring a grounder to short by pichi balet that glanced off of hooper into center field and then was mishandled colton, allowing steve butler to score. brent krause then singled home balet and the saints led 2-0. the saints picked up their final two runs of the night on rbi singles by ben thomas, with each scoring brent krause. gustavo mata had control issues tonight, wakking four in his six innings of work, and justin young was the only reliever in the game, as he tossed two innings while allowing one run in relief of mata. day off tomorrow for everyone (including myself), and the saints can not mathematically be eliminated until play on monday night…
The Game:
The Fourth Place St. Paul Saints (17-24) will look to avoid a sweep tonight against the Fourth Place Wichita Wingnuts (17-24) at 7:05 P.M. CST at Midway Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Matchup:
RHP Gustavo Mata (4-6, 4.06 ERA)
LHP Luis Villarreal (3-4, 2.89 ERA)
Saints Lineup:
Jimmy Mojica SS
Pichi Balet LF
Ron Fenwick 2B
Brent Krause CF
Ben Thomas 3B
Kevin Sullivan DH
Heath Keel RF
Zach Goldberg C
Steve Butler 1B
Follow the Game:
Listen LIVE on the internet to the radio broadcast on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
If you’re at home, check out the action on KSTC-TV Channel 45.
And, as always, lets go Saints!
