By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Thank God for Milo. The Golden Retriever gave the 11,197 on hand at Frontier Field Saturday night reason to cheer.
There was little else to applaud.
One night after a controversial call short-circuited a ninth-inning rally, the Rochester Red Wings could not offer any excuses for this their third straight loss.
A season-high five errors including four in a six-run third inning proved to be the difference in a 16-5 loss to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
The IronPigs sent 10 to the plate in the shield-thine-eyes third. Wings starter Kohl Stewart issued a leadoff walk to Jan Hernandez. One out later, Malquin Canelo topped a ground ball to Wings shortstop Drew Maggi. When Maggi couldn’t make the transfer from his glove to throwing hand both runners reached safely.
VIEW MORE JOE TERRITO PHOTOS HERE.
Nick Matera followed with a single. Phil Gosselin walked, and the Red Wings committed three errors on the next four plays.
By the time Hernandez lined out to Wilin Rosario at first to end the inning, the IronPigs had scored six runs – all unearned – to take a 12-1 lead.
Six and a half innings remained, but the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra could have started warming up for their post-game concert.
that wus heavy stick . gib me treat dad. #Milo pic.twitter.com/KIheYUUzjd
— Rochester Red Wings (@RocRedWings) July 13, 2019
The other error? That came in the first inning when Brian Schales cleanly fielded a Deivy Grullon ground ball, stepped on third base for the second out of the inning and then was off target with his throw to Rosario at first. Two batters later, Hernandez connected on his 11th home run of the year – a three-run shot to right center.
Hernandez shouldn’t have even come to the plate in the inning. Three of the four errors in the third shouldn’t have occurred had a routine play been made.
Official scorers “can’t assume a double play,” but one should be able to expect basic plays to be made at the Triple-A level. Those two plays cost the Wings nine runs in a game decided by 11.
The five errors were the most made by the Wings in a single game since April 8th, 2016.
Ronald Torreyes finished 3-for-5 on the night with a pair of doubles and a run scored. Rosario drove in two with a pair of singles. Jaylin Davis connected on his ninth home run of the season.
The Wings teamed up with Milo, “the World’s Best Bat Dog” to raise money for the Wounded Veterans Foundation (WVF). For each bat Milo retrieved Saturday night, $25 dollars went to WVF. Fans also could donate for the opportunity to pet the pup late in the game.
Milo retrieved 15 bats during the game, and t-shirts with Milo on the front were sold in the souvenir stand with part of the proceeds going to the WVF. He helped raise $2,633.
After going 20-10 in the month of June to return to the .500 mark, the Wings have gone 5-7 in July.
Rochester and Lehigh Valley will conclude their four-game set on Sunday. A 1:05 PM first pitch is scheduled.
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