Ninth Inning Run Halts Saints Comeback Bid In 5-4 Loss To Mets

ST. PAUL, MN (September 8, 2026) - Two weeks left in the season. Twelve games to make some noise in the race for the lone playoff spot in the second half. The St. Paul Saints showed fight in coming back from 4-0 to tie it, only to see the Syracuse Mets score a run in the ninth that proved to be the difference in a 5-4 loss on Tuesday night at CHS Field in front of 5,063.

With the Saints down 4-3 and one out in the eighth Matt Wallner doubled off the glove of left fielder Jose Ramos. With two outs Morissette tied it with an RBI double to right.

Unfortunately, for the Saints the Mets answered in the ninth. Vidal Bruján walked with one out and with two outs Jose Ramos made it 5-4 with an RBI double off the wall in right-center.

There would be no comeback in the bottom of the ninth as the Saints went down in order and fell 3.0 games back of the lone playoff spot, but in fifth place.

An error proved costly in the top of the first inning that allowed the Mets to score first. D’Andre Smith led off with a walk, stole second and scored when Émilien Pitre’s slow roller to third was barehanded by Jake Rucker, but his throw to first went into foul territory and the error allowed Smith to score making it 1-0.

For the third straight inning the leadoff man got aboard for the Mets and for the second time in three innings he scored. Ramos led off with a single to right, stole second, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a single to right-center by Pitre upping the lead to 2-0.

Back-to-back homers in the fourth doubled the Mets lead. Former Minnesota Twins farmhand Billy Amick hit a solo homer to left-center, his sixth of the season, and that was followed by a solo homer to right by Bruján, his third, making it 4-0.

After having just one man in scoring position over the first four innings, the Saints finally broke through in the fifth. Tristan Gray extended his hitting streak to a career tying-high 12 games with a leadoff single to right. With two outs Emmanuel Rodriguez was hit by a pitch, putting runners at first and second. Austin Martin’s RBI single to center plated Gray getting the Saints to within 4-1.

The first two hitters got aboard for the Saints in the sixth as Wallner was hit by a pitch and Aaron Sabato singled to left putting runners at first and second. A wild pitch moved the runners up. Back-to-back RBI groundouts by Morissette and Gray got the Saints to within 4-3. The RBI by Morissette was his seventh straight game with an RBI tying Kyle Garlick’s (June 30-July 9, 2023) franchise record.

The same two teams meet in game two of a six-game series on Wednesday night at CHS Field at 6:37 p.m. The Saints send RHP Germán Márquez (1-3, 4.56) to the mound against Mets LHP Jonathan Santucci (1-3, 9.00). The game can be seen on the Saints Broadcast Network, cable access channels in and around the Twin Cities area, MLB.TV, MiLB.com, and the Bally Sports Live app, and heard on KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM, all presented by Northland Ford Dealers.