Mikey Perez made his first appearance with the St. Paul Saints an unforgettable one.
The infielder was called up from Class A Fort Myers on Tuesday and inserted into the Saints’ game against the Omaha Storm Chasers as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning Wednesday, and he delivered a game-winning three-run home run off Andres Nunez in the Saints’ 9-7 victory at Werner Park in Omaha, Neb.
Perez, a former UCLA standout who signed with the Twins in July 2021, capped the Saints’ comeback from a 7-2 deficit after three innings. The Saints began the ninth inning trailing 7-4, and John Andreoli and Braden Bishop had run-scoring singles to bring St. Paul within a run.
With two outs and two runners on base, Perez was summoned to pinch-hit for designated hitter David Banuelos, and the right-handed hitter hit a 1-2 pitch out to left field.
Perez was hitting .269 in 81 games at Fort Myers with eight home runs and 37 RBIs.
Michael Feliz closed the game for the Saints in the ninth, allowing one walk and striking out Angelo Castellano to end the game.
The Storm Chasers roughed up Saints starter Mario Sanchez for all seven of their runs in the first three innings. Sanchez, who entered the game with a 3.48 earned-run average over 67⅓ innings, allowed seven runs on 11 hits — including two homers — in 2⅔ innings.
Saints shortstop Jermaine Palacios was 3 for 4 with two runs, and Michael Helman and Curtis Terry each had solo home runs.
