Offense Shines in Dominant Friday Night Win in St. Paul

June 20, 2025 – International League (IL)
Toledo Mud Hens News Release

St. Paul, MN – The Toledo Mud Hens defeated the St. Paul Saints on Friday evening at CHS Field in an offensively dominant matchup. The final score was 18-7.

Toledo sent Wilkel Hernandez (1-2, 3.61 ERA) to the mound, while St. Paul countered with veteran Darren McCaughan (4-2, 4.43 ERA).

Hernandez began his outing with two strikeouts, but St. Paul followed up with three straight hits, including a two-run home run from Carson McCusker to take a 2-0 lead.

The Mud Hens wasted no time responding with a five-run second inning as the bats came alive. Akil Baddoo led off with a double, followed by a Ryan Kreidler single to put runners on the corners. Gage Workman drove in Baddoo with an RBI double to cut the deficit to one.

After Brian Serven drew a walk to load the bases, Andrew Navigato stepped up and launched a grand slam, giving Toledo a 5-2 lead.

St. Paul kept things close with a walk followed by a home run in the bottom half of the second, pulling back within one. However, the Saints’ defense began to unravel as Toledo’s offense kept rolling.

Baddoo and Kreidler again reached base in the third, setting up another scoring chance. Baddoo walked and Kreidler singled-once again placing runners at the corners. Manuel Margot then drove in Baddoo with an RBI single, followed by a two-run triple from Workman and an RBI single from Serven, extending the lead to 9-4. A double play ended the inning and stopped the bleeding for the Saints.

St. Paul attempted to answer but couldn’t match the Hens’ offensive output. They added a solo home run in the fourth from Noah Cardenas to make it 9-5, but Toledo continued to pile on.

Following a walk, Navigato blasted his second home run of the game in the fifth inning to stretch the lead to 11-5.

Toledo didn’t take their foot off the gas. In the sixth, Justyn-Henry Malloy singled, and Baddoo doubled to put both runners in scoring position. Kreidler hit a sacrifice fly to score Malloy, adding another run to Toledo’s total.

Hernandez exited after 5.0 innings pitched, allowing five earned runs on eight hits, with one walk, five strikeouts, and three home runs. Brendan White took over in relief.

The Saints cut into the lead with another solo home run, this one from Aaron Sabato, making it 12-6.

Matt Manning pitched a scoreless seventh inning, retiring the side in order. Drew Sommers took the mound for the eighth.

St. Paul threatened with back-to-back singles and a…