St. Paul was eliminated from first-half playoff contention Thursday evening after being swept in both games of a doubleheader against Omaha at CHS Field. With the losses, the Saints fell to 40-31 with three games remaining in the first half of the International League season.Game 1Saint Paul knotted at 2-all through three innings before the visiting Storm Chasers put up four runs in the fourth and five more in the sixth to turn a tight game into a 12-4 blowout.Saints first baseman Gabriel Gonzalez was 2 for 3 with a solo home run, with catcher Noah Cardenas also going yard on a 1 for 2 turn at the plate. Both homers were solo shots.Starter Austin Voth (1-3, 3.65 ERA) took the loss after allowing six hits and six runs (five earned) over four innings with a five strikeouts and two walks.Game 2The nightcap was a back-and-forth affair after centerfielder Ben Ross led off the bottom of the first with a homer to left field to give St. Paul an early 1-0 lead.Omaha seized a 3-1 edge in the second, only to see the Saints surge back on a three-run double by third baseman Henry Kusiak to go on top 4-3 after three innings.However, the visitors stashed the win away with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth as St. Pauls bats fell largely silent for the remainder of the contest.Gonzalez went 4 for 4 for St. Paul, scoring once. He was the only Saints player with more than one hit in the second game.Pitcher John Klein, who came on in relief of starter Ricky Castro in the third inning, took the loss after allowing three earned runs on four hits (two homers) in three innings. Klein struck out five batters.St. Paul and Omaha face one another again at 7:07 p.m. Friday.Related Articles Record-setting night for Saints at home against Omaha Graham Brown bursts upon Triple-A in Saints victory Matt Wallner homers again as Saints defeat Mud Hens Saints defeat Mud Hens in slugfest Saints blank Mud Hens for second-straight win