Saint Paul, Minnesota – It was not pretty but the Saints got it done. With assistance from a breakthrough moment from Diego Castillo and strong performances from Jordan Balazovic and Caleb Thielbar, the Saints got past the Iowa Cubs 5-2 in front of 3,028. The Saints improved to 6-5 on the season.

David Festa took the ball for the Saints. This was his third start of the season, and the Cubs got to him early. Pete Crow-Armstrong singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Next, Crow-Armstrong stole third, which was his fifth stolen base of the season. Patrick Wisdom (MLB Rehab Assignment) walked to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Finally, David Peralta made sure his Cubs debut was rememberable. Peralta singled to right, which drove in Crow-Armstrong, and the Cubs had a 1-0 lead.

Chris Clarke did not give up a hit in the bottom of the first, but he worked in and out of trouble. Michael Helman walked followed by a walk from Patrick Winkel. Clarke got out of the inning without any additional trouble.

In the second, Cubs shortstop Luis Vazquez got ejected. The argument started in the first when Helman stole second base and Vazquez thought the Cubs caught Helman stealing; however, third base umpire Evin Johnson thought differently. Vazquez was displeased and continued to argue through the inning. When Vazquez singled in his part of the inning he attempted to steal second base; however, he was caught stealing and now very displeased. This time his argument got him the boot. Not long after Vazquez got ejected, Cubs manager Marly Pevey got ejected too.

Peralta continued his good day at the plate for the Cubs. In the third, Peralta walked and advanced from first to third on a throwing error by Saints pitcher David Festa. Festa went onto walk Owen Caissie before being replaced by Jordan Balazovic. Festa worked 2.2 innings and allowed three hits, one run, four walks, and four strikeouts. Balazovic got the Saints out of the inning.

The Saints put runners on the basepaths in the third. Yoyner Fajardo singled followed by a single from Dashawn Keirsey Jr. Helman walked and the Saints had the bases loaded with nobody out. The double play ball killed the Saints once again. Patrick Winkel grounded into a 1-2-3 double play. However, the Saints did not give up. Jair Camargo walked with two outs to reload the bases. Severino flew out to left field and the Saints left the bases loaded. Iowa had a 1-0 lead after three.

Things settled down thanks to Jordan Balazovic. Balazovic worked 2.1 innings and allowed no hits and struck out four. He gave way to Caleb Thielbar, who is on an MLB Rehab assignment. The lone run Thielbar allowed came on a solo homerun off the bat of Ali Sanchez. Thielbar worked 2.0 innings and allowed one run, one hit, and struck out four. Thielbar appeared to be ready to rejoin the Minnesota Twins.

Patience paid off for the Saints. The Saints acquired Diego Castillo from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for cash considerations on April 5th, 2024. His first big moment for the Saints came in the sixth. Castillo launched a three-run home run to left, which gave the Saints a 3-1 lead.

In the seventh, the Saints hit another homerun. Keirsey Jr. launched his second homerun of the season, this time to dead center field. The Saints took a 4-2 lead. Later in the inning, the Saints added an insurance run on a sacrifice fly from Winkel. The Saints had a 5-2 lead after seven, and that is how it would stay.

The Saints offense has been slow out of the gate; however, pitching has kept the Saints competitive. For the second consecutive night the Saints struck out fifteen batters, marking it the third time this season the Saints struck out fifteen or more batters. The Saints have 124 strikeouts this season, and eighty-three had been swinging.

The Iowa Cubs and Saint Paul Saints meet in game four of a six-game series on Friday night at CHS Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:37 p.m. The Cubs are TBA while the Saints will send RHP Joe Gunkel (0-0, 7.71) The game can be seen on MiLB.TV and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.