Sabato hits three homers as Saints launch six in 15-7 rout of Aviators

Aaron Sabato turned Las Vegas Ballpark into his own launching pad and left with a place in St. Paul Saints history. The first baseman went 4-for-5 with a double, three home runs, seven RBI and four runs scored as the Saints blasted six homers and rolled past the Aviators 15-7 in the opener of a six-game series Tuesday night.

The outburst was more than a one-man show. St. Paul collected 15 hits, eight of nine hitters reached base with hits, all nine Saints scored at least once and five drove in a run. The 15-run total came on a night when the Saints were making their first-ever appearance in a Pacific Coast League ballpark, and they made the setting count by overwhelming the Athletics’ Triple-A club with power.

Sabato’s three-homer game tied a Saints franchise record shared by Jose Miranda, Brent Rooker, Spencer Steer, Chris Williams and Kyler Fedko. His seven RBI also matched the club’s single-game mark, previously held by Rooker and Miranda. For a player still working to force his way into the bigger-picture conversation, the performance was the kind that travels fast through a league built on movement, call-ups and second chances.

The game had real swings before St. Paul took control. Las Vegas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, then reclaimed a 6-5 edge after the fifth. From there, the Saints answered with 10 unanswered runs, turning a close early matchup into a runaway by the time the final innings arrived.

That mattered because the opponent was no lightweight. Las Vegas entered the six-game set at 17-12 and had already drawn 107,986 fans through 15 dates at Las Vegas Ballpark, the highest attendance in Triple-A at that point in the season. The series, which ran May 5-10, put the Saints in a high-energy setting against a club carrying early-season momentum of its own.

Instead, St. Paul walked away with a statement win and a record night from Sabato. The Saints improved to 16-17, while the Aviators fell to 18-14, and the gap between a hot streak and something bigger suddenly looks a little narrower after a six-homer barrage in Summerlin.