Saint Paul, Minnesota – The Saints are hot! The Saints were founded in 1993 and have never had an eleven-game single season win streak. That changed on Saturday June 22, 2024. The Saints held off the Toledo Mud Hens for a 9-7 victory, which was the teams eleventh straight win!

The streak started on Tuesday June 11^th. The Saints started a 6-game series in Louisville. The Saints topped the Louisville Bats by a score of 3-2 in game one. Little did anyone know the run that would come! The highlight of the trip to Louisville came on Thursday June 13^th, when the Saints killed the Bats 18-4. Following a six-game sweep of Louisville, the Saints welcomed the Toledo Mud Hens to CHS Field for a 6-game series. The Mud Hens and Saints had played close games all series, including Saturday night. Each game has been decided by no more than two runs. On Saturday, the Saints hit four home runs and jumped out to a 9-0 lead; however, the Mud Hens did not go away quietly. Toledo scored seven runs in the ninth. The biggest blow of the inning came when Andrew Navigato hit a grand slam to straight-away center field. Nick Wittgren was able to shut the door and the Saints made history! Currently, the Saints hold the longest active winning streak this season in the International League!   

Winning eleven straight is a team effort. Every person on the Saints roster has contributed in one way or another. The Saints swept the International League player of the week awards for the week of June 10^th to 16^th. Randy Dobnak earned the award of top pitcher and Matt Wallner was awarded top player. Wallner and Dobnak were not the only Saints players to have remarkable weeks. Caleb Boushely, Jair Camargo, Brooks Lee, along with others are red hot!

The Saints have an opportunity to add onto the streak on Sunday afternoon. The Saints turn to Saint Paul native, Louie Varland. Valand has bounced back-and-further between the Minnesota Twins and Saints this season. His last start for the Saints was on June 6^th against the Mets where he worked 3.0 innings and allowed six runs on seven hits. Since that start he has appeared twice for the Twins. One time out of the bullpen and once start. In them two appearances he worked 9.1 innings and allowed two runs on six hits. Varland comes into play today with a MiLB record of 2-5 with a 5.31 ERA. Louie will be opposed by RHP Ty Madden, who is 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA this season. Madden was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2021 following his college career in Texas. Madden has never appeared in a major league game. He has received multiple non-rosters invites to spring training with the Detroit Tigers. His last appearance was against the Saints on Tuesday night when the Saints got to him. Madden lasted just 1.2 innings and allowed five runs.

Louie Varland wants to extend the Saints win streak to twelve. Meanwhile, Ty Madden looks to end the losing streak for the Mud Hens and help his team avoid getting swept in the state capital. First pitch is scheduled for 2:07 p.m. and the game can be seen on MiLB.TV and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM.