There is a reason why Jeremy Strawn was the American Association Rookie of the Year last season. Sunday evening he got to showcase why in a Sioux Falls Canaries 6-2 win over the St. Paul Saints. The victory by the Canaries snapped the 10-game win streak of the Saints and moved Sioux Falls a game under .500.

Kramer Sneed started for the Saints and he found himself in trouble after retiring the first two batters of the game. Michael Wing doubled and, after a wild pitch, he scored on a single by David Bergin. That gave the Canaries the lead, 1-0.

Strawn retired the first seven batters of the game before giving up back-to-back singles with one out in the third. Alonzo Harris popped a fly ball into right field that left Joey Paciorek, the runner on second, no real option. If he waited near second to see if the ball dropped and it did, he would have been out at third. He opted to run, and when Jason Repko made a nice diving catch in right field, Paciorek was a sitting duck for the double-play and Strawn was out of a jam.

In the bottom of the fourth it was time for the St. Paul Saints to mount their own two out rally. Ian Gac doubled and scored on a base hit by Mike Kvasnicka and the game was tied. The RBI gave Kvasnicka 10 on the season.

The game remained tied until the top of the sixth. Repko led off with a double and Sneed hit the next two batters to load the bases. Vickmash Ramjit came to the plate and he, too, was hit, sending Repko across the plate to give the Sioux Falls Canaries the lead.

Alan Oaks took over after the run scored, and got the Saints out of the inning without any further damage.  However, in the top of the seventh the Canaries extended their lead. Wing led off the inning and laced a pitch over the left field fence for his second home run of the year.  Bergin followed with a double, and moved to third on a single by Stock. Repko delivered a sacrifice fly that scored Bergin and it was 4-1 Canaries.

The Saints got a run back in the bottom of the seventh. Gac walked and Kvasnicka followed with a shot down the right field line that landed just fair, putting runners at second and third with no one out. Josh Ferrell relieved for Strawn and Angelo Songco greeted him with a rope toward center field that Wing made a great play on, beating Songco with the throw. Gac scored and it was 4-2.

In the eighth, Sioux Falls scored two more. Jerome Pena tripled with one out and scored on a sacrifice fly by Wing. Back-to-back singles by Bergin and Stock followed, and Repko drove home Bergin with a single of his own. That made the score 6-2, which is how it would end.

Sneed (2-1) pitched well, but was the hard-luck loser. Strawn (2-1) earned the win with 6 innings of 6 hit, 1 walk ball. He allowed two runs and struck out 4.

The heart of the Canaries order did the real damage. The 3-6 hitters were 9-16 with 5 runs and 4 RBI. Wing was 2-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI. Bergin was 3-3 with 2 walks, 2 runs and an RBI.

Boxscore Provided by the American Association

By Robert Pannier