​Saints fans found Friday night’s game easier to watch than Thursday’s, but the result was the same: St. Paul fell 7-4 to the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park in Des Moines. A two-run single by Gabriel Gonzalez and an earlier run-scoring single by Hendry Mendez gave the visiting Saints a 3-0 lead after the first inning. The I-Cubs, however, answered quickly, erupting for four runs in the bottom of the second to seize the advantage they would not surrender.
Iowa continued its offensive assault with three more runs across the fourth and fifth frames, widening the disparity and pushing the game out of reach. St. Paul did manage a late-salvage run when David Banuelos crossed home on a wild pitch in the seventh, but that would be the final scoring play for either side as the eighth and ninth innings passed without incident.
For the Saints, Mendez and Gonzalez each had a productive day at the plate, going 2-for-4 and accounting for four of St. Paul’s five total hits. Ben Ross contributed the remaining hit with a lone single. On the mound, Saints starter Ty Langenberg (3-4) took the loss after allowing six earned runs on six hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings, while recording four strikeouts against the I-Cubs.
This marked the third straight loss for St. Paul (49-40) after they had won the series opener against Iowa (38-50) on Tuesday. The two teams were slated to meet again on Saturday at 6:08 p.m. in Des Moines, with John Klein (1-3, 6.39 ERA) set to start for the Saints, facing an Iowa starter to be announced.
The week has been a notable one for Saints fans and followers. On the road, the squad has faced increased expectations after an encouraging series against their Iowa counterparts, and the team is trying to maintain momentum as they continue their schedule. The Saints have been mentioned in coverage alongside other notable developments, including the Saints’ evolving roster and prospects within the organization’s broader pipeline. Among those prospects, outfielder Kaelen Culpepper has drawn attention, earning inclusion in the Futures Game lineup once again, a point of interest for fans and analysts following the organization’s farm system and potential future impact players.