Tonanye Brown's two-run single keyed a four-run fifth inning that propelled the St. Paul Saints to a 9-5 Northern League victory over Kansas City Saturday night in front of 6,234 at Midway Stadium.

 

The win might be costly for St. Paul. Adam Olow, who set a league record for batting average last year with.376, had to be helped from the field when he apparently injured his ankle sliding into second base in the sixth inning. The extent of the injury was unknown at press time.

 

After Rick Prieto hit the first pitch of the game over the right-field fence, St. Paul scored the next five runs for a 5-1 lead after four innings.

 

Kris Cox and Billy Munoz extended their hitting streaks to nine games.

 

Saints sign host: Jay Crawford, the co-host of ESPN2's "Cold Pizza," signed a two-day contract to pitch for the Saints and was in uniform when the Saints played host to Kansas City in the second of a three-game series Saturday night at Midway Stadium.

 

"I've played baseball for many years and have always wanted the opportunity to do this," Crawford, 39, said before the game. "This should be a lot of fun."

 

St. Paul manager George Tsamis indicated Crawford probably would play in today's game. "It's early in the season and we're always looking for pitchers," he said.
 
Posted on Sun, May. 29, 2005