Saint Paul, Minnesota - The way series are set up a sweep does not happen very often. However, the Saints overcame the odds-on Monday evening in a come from behind win to sweep the Gwinnett Stripers in front of 9,028 fans. The Saints improved to 49-31 on the season and 6-0 in the second half. 

Hometown pitcher Louie Varland started for St. Paul. Varland worked 5.0 innings allowing three runs on seven hits. He threw eighty-eight pitches with fifty-six being strikes (64%). Kody Funderburk would pick up his second win of the season working the final 2.0 innings without allowing any hits. Laweryson and Boyle also pitched for the Saints. 

On the other hand, for the Gwinnett Stripers Allan Winans got the start. He pitched 5.0 innings. He did not allow a hit during them five innings, but he did allow two walks. The rain would start falling in St. Paul and after a fifty-eight-minute delay Winans would not come back out. Winans tossed seventy-seven pitches and forty-six of them were strikes (60%). Moran would come into the game to relieve Winans. Moran pitched one innings, allowing four runs on four hits. The former Saint, Dereck Rodriguez would take his third loss working the final two innings allowing two runs on two hits. 

The first runs of the game would come in the fourth. Braden Shewmake and Vaughn Grissom both singled. Jesus Aguilar doubled, which brought home Shewmake and Grissom to give Gwinnett a 2-0 lead. 

In the fifth, Joshua Fuentes doubled and Shewmake continued his good day at the plate with an RBI single. This gave Gwinnett a 3-0 lead. 

Joe Dunand would hit a solo homerun to left field, which gave the Stripers a 4-0 lead. 

First goes the no-hitter and then goes the shutout. Alex De Goti would get the first hit of the evening for the Saints. De Goti singled on a line drive to rightfield. Next, Andrew Stevenson collected a bunt single. Later in the inning with two outs Trevor Larnach singled on a soft groundball to third, which allowed De Goti to score. Kyle Garlick would hit a homerun to left centerfield, which tied the game at four. 

In the seventh, Braden Shewmake led off the inning. The 2-0 pitch was inside and Shewmake thought the ball hit him. However, Homeplate umpire Jennifer Pawol thought differently. Her call was the ball did not hit him. Shewmake was very unhappy with the call and Stripers manager Matt Tuiasosopo came out to argue the call. In the end, Tuiasosopo would be ejected and instead of Shewmake getting to take his base he had a 3-0 count. The next two pitches were called strikes; however, in the end Shewmake would get to take his base due to being hit-by-the-pitch on a 3-2 count. This ball clearly hit him, and he was awarded first base. 

The game would stay tied until the bottom of the eighth. Stevenson would start the inning with a walk. Next, Martin grounds into a double play. With two outs, Matt Wallner walked and Larnach hit his sixth homerun of the season to right-centerfield. This gave the Saints a 6-4 lead, and then Funderburk would come back out to pitch the ninth and secure a 6-4 win for the Saints. This completed a six-game sweep of the Gwinnett Stripers. 

Many games this series the Saints scored double digits runs and collected ten plus hits. However, that was not needed on Monday night. The Saints collected six hits. Larnach and Garlick were the only two Saints players with multiple hits. Also, Larnach and Garlick were the only Saints players to collect an RBI, each got three respectively. The Saints would go two-for-six with runners in scoring position and leave three men on base. 

The Saints have one more series to play before the All-Star Break. Overnight the St. Paul Saints will travel to Des Moines, Iowa to begin a six-game series with the Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs). The St. Paul Saints and Iowa Cubs will meet in game one of a six-game series at Principal Park at 7:08 p.m. on Tuesday night. The Saints will send RHP Randy Dobnak (4-3, 4.62) to the mound while Iowa will counter with RHP Adrian Sampson (0-0, 8.64). Sampson is on an MLB Rehab Assignment. The game can be seen on MiLB.TV, and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM. The Saints will return home to play the Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays) on Friday July 14th at 7:07 p.m. at CHS Field.