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The St. Paul Saints (4-3) scored in just one inning all night on Tuesday, but the five-run frame held up as they handed the Gwinnett Stripers (2-5) a 5-2 loss in the opener of the series at CHS Field.
Decisive Plays: Bryce Elder (L, 5-3) opened the second inning with two walks, and both scored on a double by Patrick Winkel to put St. Paul ahead 2-0. Later in the inning, Elder allowed a three-run home run to Brooks Lee that made it 5-0. Gwinnett chipped away at the deficit courtesy of Chadwick Tromp, who tallied an RBI single in the third and solo home run (3) in the sixth. The Stripers brought the tying run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings but couldn’t complete the comeback.
Key Contributors: Tromp (3-for-3, homer, 2 RBIs) and Yuli Gurriel (2-for-4) combined for five of Gwinnett’s nine hits. Following Elder’s outing (5.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO), Parker Dunshee (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO) and Ken Giles (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO) combined on 3.0 scoreless innings. For St. Paul, Lee (1-for-4, homer, 3 RBIs) and Winkel (1-for-3, double, 2 RBIs) each had multi-RBI games. Randy Dobnak (W, 7-5) worked 5.0 one-run innings and Nick Wittgren (S, 2) pitched a scoreless ninth.
Noteworthy: The Stripers are now 0-7 in the state of Minnesota all-time. Tromp’s homer was the 25th of his Gwinnett career, tied for 13th-most on the franchise leaderboard.
Next Game (Wednesday, July 3): Gwinnett at St. Paul, 7:07 p.m. ET at CHS Park. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com. RHP Darius Vines (0-3, 5.43 ERA) for the Stripers vs. RHP Caleb Boushley (8-2, 3.48 ERA) for the Saints.
Next Home Game (Tuesday, July 9): Gwinnett vs. Jacksonville, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live. It is Coolray T-Shirt Tuesday at Coolray Field, as the first 500 fans to the ballpark will receive a Spencer Strider Stripers shirsey.