26 July 2024
Another day, another Saint gets his wings.
After the Saints said goodbye to Royce Lewis following Wednesday’s game at CHS Field, fellow Twins infielder Jose Miranda completed his rehab in the Saints’ 5-2 win over the Omaha Storm Chasers on Thursday and is set to join the Twins in Detroit.
Miranda, hitting second in the order and playing first base, walked in his first at-bat, walked again in the second inning, poked an outside pitch down the right-field line for an RBI double in the fourth and flew out to left in the sixth.
Miranda was replaced at first base by Chris Williams in the seventh and received a hug from manager Toby Gardenhire before heading to the clubhouse. Miranda left the stadium before game’s end.
The Twins placed Miranda on the 10-day injured list on July 11 due to a low back strain amidst the best major-league season of his young career. Miranda was hitting .325 with nine home runs and 43 runs batted in.
Meanwhile, one day after Saints starter Caleb Boushley tied the team record with his ninth win of the season, Randy Dobnak added his name to the record book with his ninth victory. Dobnak (9-5) pitched seven shutout innings, striking out five.
He came out to pitch the eighth but was lifted after hitting the first two batters of the inning. He was charged with the Storm Chasers’ first run.
Dobnak is well aware of the last time he pitched seven full innings in a game. It was his last start in the majors — Sept. 3 of 2021 while a member of the Twins.
He remembers the details clearly: “Seven innings. Tampa Bay. Five runs. I want to say six hits. Two strikeouts. Eighteen ground outs.”
The 29-year-old Dobnak appeared in 33 games with the Twins from 2019-21, including 21 starts. He owns a record of 9-12 in the majors to go along with two saves. He has one year remaining on a five-year, $9.25 million contract he signed in 2021. He has not pitched for the Twins since going 1-7 in 2021.
Dobnak said Thursday’s performance was reminiscent of the way he pitched when he had some of his best success.
“This is how I pitched in 2019,” he said. “I’d go 6- to 7-plus, I wouldn’t have many strikeouts, but I’d have plenty of ground outs and plenty of early outs. It worked out today. Good defense; the guys were pretty much locked in the whole game.”
Asked if he was going to try to go nine innings, Dobnak said, “I’ll go until they take me out. Toby asked me if I wanted to go back out (for the eighth) and I said, ‘Hell, yeah I want to go back out.’ He told me I had 10 pitches.
“So, of course, I get ahead of two guys and hit them both.”
The Saints sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning and took a 2-0 lead. Designated hitter Alex Isola and catcher Patrick Winkel delivered RBI singles.
The Saints added a run in the third. Left fielder Dalton Shuffield led off with a triple to center field and scored on a wild pitch. After Miranda’s double gave the Saints a 4-0 lead in the fourth, the Saints strung three two-out singles together in the fifth, with Peyton Eeles driving in the run.
Briefly
Dobnak made it three straight impressive starts in the series for the Saints after Boushley allowed one run in six innings on Wednesday and Louie Varland pitched six shutout innings on Tuesday. Varland will get another start against the Storm Chasers on Sunday.
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