DES MOINES – Lefthander Charlie Barnes allowed one run and five hits in seven innings — the longest start by a St. Paul Saints pitcher this season — to help the Saints defeat the Iowa Cubs 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon.
Barnes, the Twins fourth-round draft pick in 2017, improved to 2-0 with seven strikeouts.
It was the third consecutive victory for the Saints — their longest winning streak of the season — as they improved to 9-11.
The Saints scored two runs in the fourth inning off former Twin Kohl Stewart on a sacrifice fly by Jimmy Kerrigan and an RBI-single by Drew Maggi to take a 2-1 lead.
The Saints extended their lead to 3-1 when Yeltsin Encarnacion doubled in the fifth inning and eventually scored on a single by Tomas Telis. The Saints made it 4-1 in the seventh with out, taking advantage of three walks before a sacrifice fly by Telis.
The Cubs scored two runs in the eighth inning off Saints reliever Derek Law, but Law closed out the save with a perfect ninth inning.
Jhoan Duran is scheduled to start on the mound for the Saints on Thursday in the third game of their six-game series against the Cubs.
