Mark Hamburger threw a complete game on Sunday afternoon to boost the St. Paul Saints to a 4-1 victory over the Kansas City T-Bones in front of a Saints record 10,443 people. Hamburger now moves to 3-0 on the season.
St Paul scores early and often
Hamburger got a lot of run support, and it came early, as the first run came in the second inning when Willie Argo hit a home run to left field to put the Saints up 1-0. The Saints tacked on another run in the fifth inning when Aaron Gretz led off with a double to right field. Alonzo Harris advanced him to third on a sacrifice bunt, and he scored on a single by Breeland Almadova to put St. Paul up 2-0.
Hamburger takes a no-hitter into the fifth
Hamburger had a no-hitter going into the fifth inning but lost it with two outs when Steve Swingell hit a single to right field. Brandon Tierney followed with a single to center field but Swingell was thrown out trying to advance to third to end the inning without a run.
(Photo via St. Paul Saints)
Hamburger allowed two hits in the sixth, but again worked around them and made it through with no runs allowed. His offense picked up two more runs in the seventh. It started with a one-out walk by Almadova. Nate Hanson then followed with a home run to right field to put the Saints up 4-0.
T-Bones get one in the ninth, but not enough
That was all that Hamburger needed, as he worked a perfect seventh and eighth innings, setting himself up for a ninth inning that wasn’t perfect, as Kansas City got one run after a leadoff single by Jake Blackwood. He advanced to third when Anthony Gallas singled to right field and scored on a wild pitch to give the T-Bones their only run of the game, as Hamburger was able to get Tyler Massey to ground out to first baseman Angelo Songco to end the game.
Quick Hits
- Hamburger went the distance, giving up just one run on six hits, with six strikeouts to lower his season ERA to 1.90. His record now improves to 3-0 on the season.
- Hanson had a great game, as he went 1-3, but that one hit was a home run. He finished with three of the four runs batted in for the Saints.
- Tony Thomas hit a double in the fourth inning to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, the longest for the Saints this season. He also leads the team in batting average with a .391 average so far.
- The Saints now enter a stretch that will really test them as they hit the road for two weeks for a road trip that will take them to Joplin, Laredo, and Grand Prairie before returning to the Midwest to play Sioux City. All that happens with no off days during the stretch, which will force manager George Tsamis to get creative with his lineups.