Courtesy of RedWingsBaseball.com
Aaron Slegers fired 8.0 scoreless innings to earn his league-leading 12th victory and eighth in as many starts as the Rochester Red Wings beat the Toledo Mud Hens 2-0 in the rubber match of the three-game set Sunday evening at Fifth Third Field.
Byron Buxton hit a solo homer to open the scoring in the sixth and ByungHo Park added some insurance with a solo blast in the ninth.
The Mud Hens (46-59) received a solid pitching performance from Anthony Vasquez (5-7) but he suffered the tough luck loss, outdueled by Slegers (12-4).
The Red Wings (62-45) outhit Toledo 7-4 but all four hits for the Mud Hens were singles.
Both starters cruised in the early going. The teams played the first five innings in barely an hour, combining for five hits.
Buxton’s homer on the first pitch of the sixth inning was just inside the left-field foul pole, the second time he’s hit a home run on the first pitch of an at-bat during this rehab stint.
Slegers only faced a Toledo batter with a runner in scoring position three times in the game: with two outs in the sixth, and two at-bats after a sacrifice bunt in the eighth. He retired his final hitter of the game with the tying run 90 feet away with two outs in the eighth. Slegers surrendered four singles and didn’t issue a walk with striking out one. He is the first pitcher in the Twins era (since at least 2003) to win eight starts in a row.
Vasquez was just about as good, allowing just the one run on six hits without a walk while striking out seven over 8.0 innings.
Park’s homer off Jeff Ferrell gave the Wings some breathing room leading off the ninth.
John Curtiss pitched around back-to-back one-out walks in the ninth to secure his fifth save in as many chances for the Red Wings.
With the win, Rochester moved within 2.5 games of Lehigh Valley in the IL’s wildcard race. The IronPigs fell to Durham, 8-2.
Next Home Game: The Red Wings open a crucial three-game with Lehigh Valley (Phillies) on Tuesday, August 1 at 7:05 p.m. at Frontier Field.
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