PAPILLION, Neb. – The St. Paul Saints took a page from their parent club Thursday night, losing 4-3 in 11 innings to the Omaha Storm Chasers at Werner Park.
Hours after the Twins lost 4-3 in 10 innings to the Texas Rangers at Target Field and dropped to 0-7 this season in extra-inning games, their Class AAA affiliate met a similar fate when Omaha's Kevin Merrell hit a run-scoring single off Danny Coulombe in the bottom of the 11th.
It was the first extra-inning game of the season for the Saints (1-2).
Saints starter Randy Dobnak, sent down by the Twins on Monday, pitched four scoreless innings.
St. Paul's Trevor Larnach and Rob Refsnyder both homered for the second consecutive game. Refsnyder's shot to right field on the second pitch of the game gave the Saints a 1-0 lead, and Larnach made it 2-0 in the third with a home run measured at 458 feet.
Anderson Miller homered to bring Omaha within 2-1 in the seventh, and Kyle Isbel doubled in the tying run later in the inning.
The game went to extra innings tied 2-2, and Travis Blankenhorn singled in Larnach in the top of the 10th to give the Saints a 3-2 lead before Omaha tied it again with a run in the bottom of the inning.
The Saints struck out 19 times and went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position while leaving 15 men on base. They left the bases loaded three times, including in the 10th and 11th.
