Saints catcher Chris Williams was a conspicuous participant for the second straight game Friday night at CHS Field.

While Thursday’s performance fell under the heading of “The Wild and the Wacky,” Williams was back to doing what he is best known for on Friday — hitting the long ball and driving in
runs.

Williams hit a pair of solo home runs and added a two-run single as the Saints beat the Gwinnett Stripers 11-5.

“I’ve been waiting for a day like that for a long time,” Williams said. “I’m not afraid to say I’ve been struggling a little bit this year. You want to do good every day, but there’s a guy on the other side of the field trying to do the same thing.

“You’ve got to keep pushing, keep trying to get better. Even when you don’t want to you’ve just got to keep putting that work in. It’s nice to see that pay off.”

Williams is among a handful of Saints hitters who have had a rough go of it to start the season.

When catcher Jair Camargo was activated from the injured list on June 11, Williams was taken off the active roster and placed on the development list.

“It hurts, but at the end of the day you’ve just got to keep doing your thing,” Williams said. “Your career in baseball doesn’t last forever, and when stuff like that happens it’s time to push the gas pedal down.”

Williams admitted that his confidence took a big hit.

“Baseball beats you up every day,” he said. “I’m glad I have a lot of good friends I can lean on. I messaged some old teammates to get their perspective. Some of the guys from last year, like Elliot Soto, who is a really good friend of mine.

“Just talking to him and trying to get myself to settle down. When you start going bad things speed up. And then you have no chance.”

Williams’ batting average is still an anemic .192, but he’s making better contact of late and the power has returned.

“Earlier in the year, I was just trying to make better contact,” Williams said, “I think that kind of caused me to not take my best swing. When you’re struggling as much as I was, sometimes you just have to say, ‘Screw it,’ and take your best swing every chance you can.

“So that was the biggest thing — how comfortable can I be in the box — and try to swing at the best pitches.”

Williams made a rare start in left field on Friday night, and three batters into the game he made a leaping grab at the wall to take away a two-run home run. Before the inning was over he found himself on the mound, with starting pitcher Louie Varland temporarily taking his place in left.

“That was crazy,” Williams said. “That was the first time I’ve ever pitched in the minor leagues. It was fun, though. I don’t want it to become a habit; I want to keep hitting.”

Williams said he knew something was up when Varland’s pitch count continued to climb and no one was warming up in the bullpen. Williams emerged as the best candidate because Gwinnett had three left-handed hitters coming up and they weren’t likely to hit the ball to left field.

“When hitters face position players, they’re up there hacking,” Williams said. “They’re swings as hard as they can.”

Briefly

Edouard Julien hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning and drove in four runs on Friday.

Former Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves after being released by Washington on Wednesday, and was in the Stripers’ lineup. Rosario tripled in the third inning and finished 1 for 4.

The Saints will throw a bullpen game on Saturday, with Burnsville’s Aaron Rozek serving as the opener.

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Jose Miranda zipped past Joe Mauer and into a tie with Tony Oliva — as well as Mickey Hatcher and Todd Walker — and then into a place all his own on Friday.

Miranda hit a single, home run, double and a single in his first four plate-appearances against the Houston Astros to become the first Twins player to ever hit safely in 10 consecutive at-bats.

Playing as the designated hitter in a game that wasn’t finished before this edition of the Pioneer Press went to press, Miranda tied Joe Mauer with his eighth straight hit when his solo home run just inside the foul pole in left field tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the third.

Miranda then tied the club record with a double into the left field corner that scored Manuel Margot to give the Twins a 4-3 lead in the fifth.

Oliva, Hatcher and Walker each hit safely in nine consecutive at-bats. The record is tracked for at-bats, but Miranda did it in 10 straight plate appearances, as well.

Oliva, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, hit safely in nine straight at-bats Sept. 8-9, 1967. Hatcher did it 27-28, 1985, and Walked did it July 24-25, 1989.

In the seventh inning, he singled to break the record, then scored from second on a single by Max Kepler. Since his last at-bat on July 3, Miranda was 10 for 10 with six runs scored and five RBIs.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last player with hits in 10 straight plate appearances was Corey Dickerson for the St. Louis Cardinals from Aug. 23-25, 2022.

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After yet another unbeaten regular season, the Minnesota Aurora entered this week’s USL W League playoffs feeling they had unfinished business. After all, after the previous two seasons, Minnesota was left without a championship.

The Aurora will come away from this season feeling unfulfilled, too.

Minnesota lost 2-1 to Indy Eleven on the road Friday afternoon, ending its season in the opening game of the playoffs.

Aurora’s Katelyn Duong scored in the 66th minute to tie the game, but Indy Eleven got a goal from Natalie Mitchell in the 83rd minute to put the game away. Taylor Kane was in goal for the Aurora.

Three seasons into its existence, Minnesota has lost a round earlier each year.

After a 11-0-1 record in 2022, Aurora won two playoff games before losing to Tormenta FC in the championship game. After a 12-0-0 record in 2023, Aurora won one playoff game before falling to Indy Eleven in the quarterfinals.

This season, Minnesota was 10-0-2 in the regular season and lost to Indy Eleven (7-1-2 regular season) for the second straight year in the playoffs.

Aurora lost by a goal after having a plus-55 goal differential in its 12 regular-season matches.

“Historical context is not in the present,” first-year coach Colette Montgomery Montgomery said earlier this week on facing Indy Eleven. “We’ve scouted them and know what they do well. We lock in on what to do and bring our game to them. Hopefully we get that unfinished business finished.”

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A man who pleaded guilty to assault in a shooting that injured three people in a home in St. Paul’s Highland Park was sentenced to a seven-year prison term.

Glenn Everett Graddy (Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Corrections)

Officers responded to the shooting about 4 p.m. on June 17, 2022, on Otto Avenue off Interstate 35E and Chatsworth Street. A 45-year-old was shot in the back of his neck, a 35-year-old woman was wounded in the leg and a 30-year-old had gunshot wounds to her elbow and buttocks.

One of the victims told police he was visiting a friend at the residence when a man he knew by a nickname entered the house with a man he didn’t know, according to the criminal complaint. Suddenly, the man he didn’t know shot him.

Another victim said someone kicked open the door to the house and started shooting.

It wasn’t a random encounter, according to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors initially charged Glenn Everett Graddy, now 44, of St. Paul, with three counts of attempted murder. The county attorney’s office said they tried to contact the three victims but weren’t able to reach them.

A first-degree assault charge was added and a plea deal was reached, in which Graddy pleaded guilty to assault, the other charges were dismissed and he received a seven-year sentence last week.

The court found in 2022 that Graddy wasn’t competent to proceed due to mental illness. He was civilly committed, after which a judge said in 2023 that Graddy was competent to move forward with the case.

Graddy has credit for about one year and eight months already served in custody in the case, according to a court record.

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