Express Use Ninth-Inning Magic Again, Beat Saints 10-9 on Saturday

ST. PAUL, Minn. - BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED:

St. Paul started the scoring in the second inning. A leadoff home run from RF Carson McCusker made it a 1-0 game. The E-Train came back in the third and 1B Justin Foscue drilled a three-run home run to give the Express a 3-1 advantage

The E-Train offense continued to mash in the fourth inning. A leadoff single for C Omar Narváez was followed by a double for C Cooper Johnson and Narváez scored from first base making it a 4-1 lead. 2B Alex De Goti came up next and drove in Johnson with a single up the middle which extended the lead to 5-1.

St. Paul came back with a two-RBI single from C Patrick Winkel in the home half of the fourth and cut the Round Rock lead to 5-3. The Express re-extended that lead in the seventh inning. 3B Alan Trejo connected for a two-run shot and the E-Train held a 7-3 advantage.

The Saints marched back with a three-spot in the seventh. DH Jhonny Pereda delivered a double with the bases loaded and he cleared the bags as the Express lead was down to 7-6. St. Paul tied the game in the bottom of the eighth when McCusker left the yard for a second time on the night.

Round Rock received a leadoff home run from 1B Abimelec Ortiz to jumpstart the ninth. With the Express leading 8-7, they added two more insurance runs in the inning when Narváez singled and made it a 10-7 game. St. Paul struck for two in the bottom of the ninth on a double by Pereda and a sacrifice fly for 1B Aaron Sabato. With the tying run on third base with two outs, LHP Robby Ahlstrom collected the save by getting McCusker to line out and end the game.

E-TRAIN EXCERPTS:

THE MAGIC CONTINUES: Round Rock has been tied or trailing entering the ninth inning each of the last two games and they have won both. They have won four consecutive games and earned a series victory over St. Paul. It’s the first time this year they have won three consecutive series. They won both road series in August. Entering this month, they had just two road series victories on the year. They are 14-4 in their last 18 games.

EVERYBODY CHIPPING IN: The Express offense had six players record two hits and eight of nine record at least one. Seven of the nine reached base at least two times.

ALAN ALL OVER IT: 3B Alan Trejo finished 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, two runs scored and a strikeout. Trejo is two home runs away from tying his single-season high (17) from 2021 with Albuquerque. In his last 43 games, Trejo is slashing .274/.324/.536/.860 with 11 doubles, 11 home runs, 37 RBI, 30 runs scored, 13 walks and 41 strikeouts.

NEXT GAME: Sunday, August 24 at St. Paul FIRST PITCH: 2:07 p.m. CT BALLPARK: CHS Field

For more information about the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and X!