COLUMBUS (Interstat) — Gabriel Gonzalez homered and drove in three runs, and the Saint Paul Saints used a seven-run late-game rally to defeat the Columbus Clippers 16-6 on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, at Huntington Park in an International League (AAA) matchup. Saint Paul finished with 15 hits, while Columbus had 11. The Saints improved to 78-64, and the Clippers fell to 76-66. The game took 3 hours, 8 minutes and drew 7,019 fans.

Saint Paul built an early lead with a pair of runs in the third inning. Tanner Schobel walked, Jake Rucker singled and Ian Daugherty lined a single to left to score Schobel. After Alan Roden walked to load the bases, Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to force in Rucker. Columbus answered in the bottom half when Ralphy Velazquez doubled to left to score Cooper Ingle.

The Saints added a run in the fourth when Rucker doubled to left to score Schobel, making it 3-1. In the fifth, Gonzalez singled before Matt Wallner launched a two-run homer to right, his 25th of the season. Saint Paul added another run later in the inning when Daugherty walked with the bases loaded to score Hendry Mendez. Columbus trimmed the margin in the bottom of the fifth. Cooper Ingle singled, Kyle Manzardo walked, and Velazquez doubled to left to score Ingle. Kody Huff followed with a two-run double to left, scoring Manzardo and Velazquez to cut the Saints’ lead to 6-4.

Saint Paul regained separation in the sixth. Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, Hendry Mendez doubled, and Cody Morissette singled to center to drive in both runners for an 8-4 lead. The Saints added another run in the seventh when Alan Roden singled to right to score Rucker. Then the late-game rally put the game away. In the eighth, Wallner was hit by a pitch, Kala’i Rosario and Mendez walked, and Morissette walked to force in Wallner. Rucker walked to bring in Rosario, Daugherty grounded out to score Mendez, and Roden singled to left to drive in Morissette and Rucker. Gonzalez capped the inning with a two-run homer to left-center, scoring Roden and making it 16-4.

Columbus did not go quietly. George Valera homered to right in the eighth, his 12th of the season, and later singled in the ninth to drive in Velazquez. Valera finished 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Velazquez went 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and Huff drove in two runs. Cooper Ingle and Kahlil Watson also contributed hits atop the Columbus order. Austin Peterson took the loss, allowing two earned runs over 2 2/3 innings with three strikeouts, falling to 5-9. The Clippers scored once in the eighth and once in the ninth.

Ricky Castro earned the win for Saint Paul, improving to 7-4. He worked four innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs and striking out four. Trent Baker also delivered four strong innings, giving up one earned run on four hits with seven strikeouts. Gonzalez finished 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Wallner went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer. Rucker was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Roden went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, and Morissette drove in two runs. Saint Paul’s pitchers combined for 23 strikes, 76 balls and 23 balls in play. Columbus pitchers combined for 22 strikes, 59 balls and 22 balls in play.

The result ran counter to Interstat’s pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Columbus 5, Saint Paul 3, and its ELO system had given Columbus a 56.3 percent probability to win. Saint Paul will continue its series at Columbus on Friday, Sept. 18, with the teams also scheduled to meet Saturday and Sunday.