The St. Paul Saints fell behind early, giving up seven runs in the first three innings, and lost 7-3 to the Iowa Cubs at CHS Field on Tuesday. The Saints' fourth consecutive home loss was a first for the franchise since the team became the Class AAA affiliate of Twins.

Devin Smeltzer had been one of the Saints' best starters this season, but the Cubs (12-12) scored four runs in the first inning and tagged Smeltzer (1-2) for six earned runs in two innings.

Four relievers for the Saints (12-11) — Jake Petricka, Ian Hamilton, Tyler Bashlor and Yennier Cano — were effective, holding the Cubs to one run on three hits over the final seven innings.

Mark Contreras and Jose Godoy each had two hits for the Saints. Dixon Machado and Nelson Maldanado had three hits for Iowa.