Clutch grand slam leads St. Paul Saints to 1st championship in 15 years
While the Twins were using a clutch grand slam from Miguel Sano to beat the Indians on Saturday night, the St. Paul Saints were getting a clutch grand slam of their own en route to winning their first American Association championship in 15 years.
Here's the final play of the night: A double play to clinch a 6-3 victory over the Sioux City Explorers.
The Saints' last title came in 2004 on a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning, and this one had a similar feel as it was a grand slam by Chesny Young in the bottom of the sixth inning to turn a 3-1 deficit into a Saints lead.
Young, who had just six homers all season, actually stopped at second base thinking it was a ground-rule double before the umpire motioned for him to keep going because the ball cleared center-field wall.
Saint Paul swept the best-of-five championship series after rallying to win the best-of-five North Division championship over the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks.
It's the fifth championship in Saints history: 1993 (inaugural season), 1995, 1996, 2004, 2019.