Minor-league team completes wild comeback with unique walkoff

Thanks to one of the craziest endings you could ever imagine, the St. Paul Saints defeated the Winnipeg Goldeyes 12-11 on Saturday night.

Truth be told, it may have been the craziest finish in the now 11-year history of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

When you think of walkoffs, you think of dramatic home runs, bloop singles that split three defenders, walk-off walks even. Never though do you envision the winning run scoring on a strikeout.

That’s exactly what happened here. With the game tied and the winning run on third, Saints pinch-hitter Aaron Gretz swung and missed a 3-2 pitch in the dirt. The ball then went between the legs of catcher Carlton Tanabe, allowing the winning run to race home and Gretz to reach first base, where he was mobbed as if he’d gotten a hit.

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The official scoring was a strikeout, wild pitch. The official terminology is a walkoff strikeout, which hasn’t happened in MLB since the Rangers beat the Mariners in 2010. Prior to that, it had only happened five times on record in MLB history.

It truly was a unique ending, and it had to be especially thrilling for St. Paul. They constantly battled back all night, overcoming deficits of 5-0, 7-3, and 10-6 as late as the eighth inning. They were resilient on Saturday, and they’ve best resilient all season, as they’re league-best 26-10 would indicate.

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