The St. Paul Saints got strong starting pitching from Adam Plutko on Sunday on the road against the Iowa Cubs. The offense didn’t help Plutko and the bullpen blew the game late in a 9-1 loss for St. Paul, which lost three of the last four games and split the series with Iowa.

Plutko struck out the first five batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until one out in the third inning. Two infield singles — the first being a 38 mph grounder — were the first two hits for the Cubs, but Plutko got out of the inning. He finished five scoreless innings with just four hits allowed to go with six strikeouts.

But the Cubs scored twice in the sixth, twice in the seventh and five times in the eighth. St. Paul’s Hobie Harris (1-4) relieved Plutko and ran into trouble.

Harris gave up four runs — three earned — in two innings, allowing four hits and two walks. Scott Blewett was then charged with five runs allowed while getting just one out. He surrendered six hits.

St. Paul’s lone run came in the on an RBI single by Tony Kemp that plated DaShawn Keirsey Jr. Keirsey Jr. had led off the inning with a single to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

Matt Wallner had two hits for the Saints, who return home to start a series with the Gwinnett Stripers on Tuesday. Randy Dobnak (6-5, 4.05) is scheduled to start for St. Paul.

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SEATTLE — Spring training is a time to get ready for the season. A time to try new things. A time to get locked in. So it seemed a little odd when, in late June, catcher Ryan Jeffers said he was trying to treat every at-bat as a spring training at-bat.

What, exactly, does that mean?

Let him explain.

“Spring training, you’re so focused on the process,” Jeffers said. “You’re so focused on the plan. ‘Hey, did I have a good ID? Did I swing at the right pitches? And really trying to put the onus on that.”

Jeffers was among not just the league’s best catchers but the league’s best hitters earlier this season. But in May and particularly June he hasn’t been quite as successful, leading to what he called a “tale of two seasons.”

That’s what has led to a change in mindset as he seeks to get himself back to where he was earlier this season at the plate.

“I think we finally made the last couple of adjustments. … It’s been — we were kind of down here,” he said, motioning lower down with his hand. “And it’s been kind of climbing back up, feeling better, feeling better, putting together better ABs. Back to not striking out, kind of doing everything I was doing at the beginning of the year, doing it again. … I feel like I’m back to being at the top, back to where I was.”

And the results have started to follow. Jeffers had a seven-game hitting streak that was snapped on Saturday. On Wednesday in Arizona, he hit his first home run since May 30, a long drought for Jeffers, who remains the team’s leader in home runs.

Jeffers said he was getting caught in between at the plate. He wasn’t attacking like he was earlier in the season.

So, what has helped him feel better at the plate?

“I think we realized some of the stuff I wasn’t doing that I did early, like routine-wise, that I really got back to,” Jeffers said. “Getting big picture, it really sucks, that month you’re in there and in the depth of it. But coming out of it and realizing how much baseball is still left to be played, I still feel so good about where I’m at in the season.”

Paddack throws

Chris Paddack suited up in full uniform Sunday and threw his first bullpen since landing on the injured list.

Paddack was placed on the IL Tuesday with shoulder fatigue, and the Twins shut him down, giving the starter, who spent much of last season rehabbing from his second Tommy John surgery, a needed break after he had been describing the baseball as feeling like “a dumbbell” throughout the month and his body feeling heavy.

The Twins have yet to lay out publicly what their plan is for Paddack, but he had expressed hope that he could be back before the all-star break to make a start or two.

Briefly

The Twins will have Monday off before returning to action Tuesday against Detroit. Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa and Bailey Ober are scheduled to start against the Tigers. … Former Twin Mitch Garver was hit by a pitch in Sunday’s game and left with a right wrist contusion. Because the Mariners’ other catcher, Cal Raleigh, was the designated hitter, they lost their DH when Raleigh had to move behind the plate.

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OF NOTE – RETAIL

Christina Hennington

Target Corp., Minneapolis, announced the promotions of Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington to chief strategy and growth officer, and Rick Gomez, currently chief food, essentials and beauty officer, as chief commercial officer, both effective July 7. Target’s Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Roath takes on the additional role of chief merchandising officer of food, essentials and beauty in early 2025.

ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONS

CLUTCH, a Minneapolis-based advertising and consultancy agency, announced the following additions: Shaun Hawk, associate creative director; Taylor Enderle, copywriter, and McKenna Mondt, reputation manager.

EDUCATION

The University of Minnesota announced it has named Steven Koester its first chief semiconductor officer in conjunction with the launch of a website devoted to the University’s semiconductor and microelectronics research and education. Koester is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Minnesota Nano Center in the College of Science Engineering.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

U.S. Bancorp, Minneapolis, announced the resignation of Tim Welsh, vice chair of Consumer and Business Banking; Arijit Roy will assume an expanded role leading the U.S. Bank Consumer and Business Banking products organization. … Blaze Credit Union, Falcon Heights, announced Senior Vice President and Chief Project/Learning Officer Christine Cordell was appointed secretary for the National Credit Union Foundation and again selected to serve on the 2024 Filene Research Institute’s Think Tank, a credit-union market research organization. … Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, St. Paul, announced the hire of Radha Chavali as chief information officer, succeeding Teri Laufers, who has retired.

FOOD

Schwan’s Co., a Bloomington-based retail food distributor, announced that Brian Schiegg has been promoted to chief executive officer. He succeeds Dimitrios Smyrnios, who announced his retirement. Schiegg most recently served as president of the company’s Consumer Brands business.

HEALTH CARE

Allina Health, a Minneapolis-based metrowide chain of hospitals and clinics, announced that interim finance executive Doug Watson has been named chief financial officer. He succeeds Ric Magnuson, who announced he was leaving the organization in early 2024.

HONORS

Motion 117 Productions, a video production agency based in Minneapolis, announced winning eight Telly Awards for its work on the “Global Community Impact Project” for Wayzata-based Cargill Inc. Those responsible for projects include Jeff D. Johnson, Lauren Josephine and Chad Amour. Telly Awards honor excellence in video and television production.

LAW

National law firm Spencer Fane announced Phillip J. Ashfield has joined the Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Creditors’ Rights practice group as a partner in the firm’s Minneapolis office. …  Larkin Hoffman, Bloomington, announced it has launched an ancillary service, Larkin Hoffman Public Affairs, to be led by Managing Director Margaret Vesel and based in St. Paul. … Fredrikson, Minneapolis, announced that firm attorney Molly Leisen has been elected vice-chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association Public Utilities Section.

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

Flywheel Exchange, a Minneapolis-based provider of medical imaging data management through AI, announced the appointment of Hooman Hakami as interim CEO. Prior to Flywheel, Hooman co-founded Forte Health Advisors. He succeeds Jim Olson, who stepped down as CEO and board member on May 1.

RECREATION

The Minneapolis Parks Foundation announced Anne Hoyt Taff’s appointment as executive director of the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board’s nonprofit partner, effective July 1. Hoyt Taff most recently served as vice president of partnerships at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation.

SERVICES

Marsden Services, a St. Paul-based provider of janitorial and other facilities services to business, announced the promotion of Kirsten Van Hulzen to chief human resources officer. Van Hulzen joined Marsden in 2023. … C.H. Robinson Worldwide, an Eden Prairie-based global provider of third-party shipping logistics for business, announced the appointment of Damon Lee as chief financial officer, effective July 8; he succeeds Mike Zechmeister, who is retiring. Lee is vice president and chief financial officer of GE Commercial Engines and Services.

SPORTS

The Minnesota Golf Association, Edina, announced the hiring of Holly Noble as its Women’s Golf Manager. Noble is head coach of the Richfield High School Girls’ Junior Varsity and the Holy Angels Girls’ Varsity golf teams. She succeeds Kris Oftedahl, who returns to teaching at Hill Murray High School in St. Paul.

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EMAIL ITEMS to businessnews@pioneerpress.com.

SEATTLE — Over the past week, Byron Buxton has been hitting like an all-star, and Pablo López has been pitching like one.

On Saturday, their combined efforts helped lift the Twins to a 5-1 win over the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park, the 5,000th victory in team history. López threw six innings of one-run ball. Buxton drove in four runs, hitting his fourth home run in his past five games.

It’s certainly a welcome sign for both.

López, predicted to be in the Cy Young Award conversation before the year started, has had an up-and-down season but tweaks — he’s been focusing on both mechanics and his approach — have produced the desired results in his past two starts.

“He’s made some real changes and he’s getting the results,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s making the pitches much more often than previously that he wants to make and he feels good about it. You can see it. You can visually see it.”

Though not quite as dominant as his eight-inning, two-hit shutout the last time out, López was stingy against the Mariners (47-38), giving up just four hits in his start.

Mitch Haniger crushed a curveball left over the plate, tying the game up in the third inning at the time, but that was all the Mariners would manage against López, who seemingly got better as the night went on. He finished his day by sending down 12 of the last 13 batters he faced.

“Two back-to-back like this, it just helps me keeping that trust up and eager to keep going out there and keep this momentum going,” López said.

He found much of his offensive support from Buxton, who drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the fourth inning and then hammered a fastball out to left-center field in his next at-bat. Carlos Correa and Jose Miranda scored on the three-run home run, which helped push the game out of reach in the sixth inning.

“The swing … it looks very synched up,” Baldelli said. “It’s very tight and it’s very impactful. He’s finding the barrel and the ball just really takes off when he’s putting good swings on the ball. He’s in the middle of it. He’s feeling it.”

It was Buxton’s fourth home run in his past five games, a binge that started a day after he finished with three strikeouts in Oakland. After the game, he said, he told strength and conditioning coach Aaron Rhodes that he “was about to get hot.”

“And he just looked at me and I was like, ‘Watch,’ ” Buxton said. “It was just kind of one of those things where just believing in yourself and things will come true.”

In those five games, Buxton has 10 hits and has driven 11 runs as he helps lift up the Twins’ (46-37) lineup.

The only run Buxton did not drive in came in the second inning when Miranda, celebrating his 26th birthday, brought home Max Kepler with a soft single.

“There were a lot of good things on both sides of the ball today,” Baldelli said.

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