Courtesy of RedWingsBaseball.com
ROCHESTER, NY – The Rochester Red Wings and Syracuse Chiefs split a Saturday afternoon doubleheader at Frontier Field. Danny Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the Wings’ 5-4 first game loss; Lester Oliveros struck out nine in four innings to lead the Wings to a 5-2 game two win and the split.
Game One:
Reynaldo Rodriguez’s hit streak was extended to nine games, reaching base on a single in the second inning. Rodriguez scored on an RBI single by Jose Martinez, giving the Red Wings the early 1-0 edge.
Red Wings starter Mark Hamburger struggled with consistency early, loading the bases in the second and third innings. Hamburger walked three batters in the third, the last of which resulted in a run scoring, tying the game 1-1.
Danny Ortiz hit his second home run of the year in the bottom of the fourth, putting the Red Wings on top 3-1. Later in the inning, Aaron Hicks hit a sacrifice fly to add to the Red Wings lead, making the score 4-1.
The Chiefs had two runners on with one out in the sixth, when Hamburger was replaced by A.J. Achter. Achter walked the only batter he faced to load the bases, prompting another pitching move and Ryan O’Rourke taking over on the mound. O’Rourke struck out Steven Lerud for the second out, then Michael Tonkin was brought in to face Michael Taylor. On a 1-2 pitch, Taylor drilled a two-run single to bring the Chiefs to within a run at 4-3. Two singles later, the Chiefs had taken the lead 5-4.
Hamburger worked 5 1/3 innings and allowed five hits, three earned runs and five walks while striking out four. He threw 106 pitches, 62 for strikes.
The Wings loaded the bases in their half of the sixth with two outs, but reliever Evan Meek got a groundout from Brock Peterson to maintain the Syracuse lead. The Wings had one last chance in the bottom of the seventh. Rodriguez drew a walk leading off, and reached third base with two out but was stranded.
Game Two:
Red Wings starter Lester Oliveros started strong striking out the side in the first inning, then fanning the first two batters he faced in the fourth. The Wings took an early 1-0 lead against Chiefs starter Bruce Billings. Aaron Hicks singled, moved to third on a hit by Doug Bernier, and scored on an RBI single by Reynaldo Rodriguez, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
The effectiveness of Oliveros was the story of the game early on. He struck out seven batters through the first three innings, allowing only a single to Dan Butler in the third inning. Oliveros made two starts in his first pro season, in 2006 while playing for the Detroit organization; Saturday was just his third pro start, and the seventh strikeout set a new career high for Oliveros.
Bernier’s second hit of the game brought home Argenis Diaz in the bottom of the third for a 2-0 Wings lead.
The Wings combined a double by Danny Ortiz, a walk, an error, a hit batter and a RBI single by Diaz to take a 4-0 lead in the fourth. The Diaz hit prompted a pitching change, with Mitch Lively taking over for Billings; Lively walked Hicks with the bases loaded to force in a run, boost the lead to 5-0, and keep the bases full with none out. Lively retired the next three batters to end the inning.
Oliveros worked four innings and allowed just the single, did not walk a batter, and struck out nine. He threw 61 pitches, 40 for strikes.
Logan Darnell took over on the mound to start the fifth inning and worked two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk. Ryan Pressly pitched the seventh inning for Rochester, and walked the first two batters he faced. A sacrifice fly and single brought in a pair of runs for the Chiefs. Pressly struck out Michael Taylor to end the game.
Bernier had three hits for the Red Wings, who out-hit the Chiefs 8-4 in the second game.
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