COLUMBUS (Interstat) — The St. Paul Saints will visit the Columbus Clippers on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, at Huntington Park in an International League (AAA) matchup. The forecast at game time calls for 85 degrees and rain. St. Paul enters with a 77-64 record, while Columbus is 76-65.

St. Paul is expected to start Kendry Rojas, who is 2-1 this season. Columbus is expected to counter with Austin Peterson, who is 5-8. The Saints will look to Aaron Rozek for a strong performance. Rozek was sharp in Wednesday’s 3-2 win at Columbus, allowing one earned run on two hits over five innings with one walk and five strikeouts. In his previous starts, he gave up nine earned runs in four innings against Syracuse on Sept. 11, tossed six scoreless innings at Omaha on Sept. 4, and allowed two earned runs in 3 2/3 innings against Toledo on Aug. 30. He also allowed three earned runs in four innings against Toledo on Aug. 26 and four earned runs in 3 2/3 innings at Columbus on Aug. 21.

Yorman Gómez is a player to watch for Columbus. He worked four hitless innings with one strikeout in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to St. Paul. Gómez allowed two earned runs over four innings against Iowa on Sept. 6, four earned runs over five innings against Iowa on Sept. 1, and four earned runs over 3 1/3 innings at Indianapolis on Aug. 26.

The teams have split the first two games of this series. Columbus won 1-0 on Tuesday, and St. Paul answered with a 3-2 victory Wednesday. St. Paul has won six of the last 10 meetings, a stretch that includes a 15-11 win Aug. 22, while Columbus recorded a 19-3 victory Aug. 18. Earlier in the season, St. Paul won 8-6 on Aug. 20 and 10-2 on Aug. 19, and Columbus took a 5-1 decision Aug. 21 and an 8-5 win Aug. 23. In July, St. Paul won 6-3 and 2-1 at home.

St. Paul has won four of its past 10 games. The Saints beat Syracuse 6-5 on Sept. 13 and won 12-5 at Omaha on Sept. 6, but they dropped three straight against Syracuse from Sept. 10-12 and lost at Omaha on Sept. 5. Columbus also has won four of its past 10. The Clippers swept Iowa from Sept. 4-6, then lost five of six at Louisville before returning home for this series. The series is scheduled to continue Friday through Sunday at Huntington Park.

Interstat’s game simulator projects Columbus to win 5-3. Interstat’s ELO system gives Columbus a 56.3 percent probability to win.