A bus ride from St. Paul to Gary, Ind., in the middle of the night doesn’t sound like a lot of fun.

The St. Paul Saints, though, boarded the bus Thursday night with ear-to-ear smiles plastered on their faces.

“Bus rides seem to be a little bit easier after a win,” Saints starter Eddie Medina said. “Always.”

From Dante Bichette Jr. pumping his fists after a key two-run single to Zack Jones pumping a fastball past Garrett Copeland for the final out, it was a feel-good night all around at CHS Field.

Now the Saints’ goal is to make sure it wasn’t the last home game this season.

If they return home, it will be for the American Association championship series.

To get there, they have to take care of business in Gary, Ind. They headed there armed with a 2-0 series lead thanks to Thursday’s 8-2 victory over the Gary SouthShore RailCats in Game 2 of the North Division playoff series.

St. Paul needs to win just one of a possible three games in Gary’s U.S. Steel Yard and it will be back at CHS Field chasing a league title.

“That’s it,” Medina said. “We want to get back home. We love playing here for this city.”

Saints manager George Tsamis couldn’t have scripted the first two games of the best-of-five series any better. Medina followed Chris Nunn’s lead in Game 1 with a strong outing on the mound.

A fourth-year American Association veteran, Medina shook off a two-run first inning and settled into cruise control. He gave the Saints seven strong innings in which he allowed two runs on five hits and struck out seven.

“He did a really good job,” Tsamis said. “We fell behind early. After that he just cruised through the game. His stuff was pretty good. It was good to come back like that.”

After giving up two runs in the first, Medina came back to the dugout and asked his teammates to pick him up. They did that in a big way in the fourth with a five-run outburst in which they batted around.

Kyle Barrett and Zach Walters had RBI singles, with Brady Shoemaker’s run-scoring sac fly tossed in between. By the time Bichette was celebrating his two-run single, it was 7-2 Saints. What had been a tie game was broken wide open.

“It’s a whole lot easier to hit when guys are on base,” Shoemaker said. “We’ve got a good lineup. You just try to do your part.” Related Articles John Shipley: In what’s been a lousy year, Saints provide a much-needed win

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Even if buses aren’t ideal sleeping conditions, the Saints know their bullpens arms will be well-rested. Thanks to Nunn and Medina both pitching at least seven innings in Games 1 and 2, everyone is available for Game 3, which will be Friday night. Games 4 and 5, if necessary, are set for Saturday and Sunday.

A win in any of those three games will make for an even better bus ride. And another chance to play at CHS Field.

“It doesn’t matter how you it,” Shoemaker said, “just as long as you do it.”