Lincoln Drops First Game With St. Paul

Saint Paul Saints Designated Hitter Nick Gretz took an Humberto Cardenas fastball (0-1) over the right center field wall at Haymarket Park in fifth inning to give the Saints a 3-2 lead over the Lincoln Saltdogs. Saint Paul would add another run to defeat the Lincoln Saltdogs 4-2 Friday night.
Saltdogs starter Humberto Cardenas (0-1) worked seven innings in his first professional start, gave up two runs, both earned, eight hits, walked two and struck out five batters in the loss. St. Paul starter Bryan Gaal (5-1) picked up the win and Matt Hammons notched the save (2).
St. Paul moves ahead of Lincoln in the Northern League's Southern Division with the win. The Saints now 16-11, while Lincoln drops to 15-12.
Lincoln's Cory Harris continued his hitting streak, which now stands at 17 games. Harris 1-4 an infield hit in the bottom of the first inning. Pichi Balet went 2-5 with an RBI.
Lincoln will host St. Paul in the second game of the three games series at 7:05 PM Saturday night at Haymarket Park.