By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A late-inning rally came unglued.
The Rochester Red Wings erased an early-inning deficit before falling to the Norfolk Tides, 9-7 Thursday afternoon at Frontier Field.
DJ Stewart and Ryan Mountcastle connected on back-to-back ninth inning solo shots off Wings reliever Gabriel Moya as the Tides took the finale of the three-game set.
Trailing 5-0 before coming to the plate in the game, the Wings sent nine to the plate in the eighth to tie the game at seven.
“We picked away and made it a game after three,” Wings manager Joel Skinner said. “We battled in the eighth.”
Jaylin Davis plated Wynston Sawyer and Caleb Hamilton with a two-out single to knot the game.
“A moving bat is a dangerous bat,” Skinner said of the Wings right fielder who came into the game with 34 RBI since June 24th. Davis had seven hits in the previous two games against Norfolk.
“In this series, he’s been swinging the bat well,” Skinner added.
Down two strikes early in the count, Davis pulled even before connecting.
“First pitch was pretty good,” Davis said of a 70 MPH curve ball over the middle of the plate. “It floated in there. “I took it, so I was down myself about that. Tried to fight. Tried to make something happen.”
VIEW MORE JOE TERRITO PHOTOS HERE.
Davis took former Wing Sean Gilamartin’s offering through the left side of the infield.
“I didn’t think he was going to try and blow anything by me,” Davis added. “I wanted to stay middle right there. He tried to come in. Not trying to do too much. I think that’s what helped me.
“When I get to two strikes, it’s the team’s at bat right there. The first couple are mine.”
With recent call-ups including to starters Devin Smeltzer and Ian Thorpe, DJ Baxendale made his third start in 24 appearances this season. The first six Tides reached base. Mountcastle drilled a three-run home run. Mason Williams followed with a solo shot as part five-run Norfolk first.
“Obviously the first inning didn’t go his way,” Skinner said of Baxendale who matched his longest outing of the season with three innings “He was able to muster through two more.”
Jake Reed came out of the bullpen and tossed three scoreless innings. The right-hander struck out two and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced.
“We got control of the game back,” Skinner said. “Reed got us some tempo back in the game. Got us off the field, and we were able to change the scoreboard a little bit.”
Nick Gordon connected on a solo shot in the bottom of the first. The Wings used a two-out rally in the third to score score two more. Zander Wiel doubled and scored on an Alejandro De Aza single. Sawyer made it a 6-3 game with a double of his own.
Wiel started the eighth with a walk. De Aza singled, and Sawyer loaded the bases with the second walk of the inning issued by Norfolk reliever Branden Kline. Jimmy Kerrigan brought in a run with an RBI groundout, and Caleb Hamilton delivered with his first Triple-A hit to score De Aza and pull the Wings within two at 7-5.
Moya fell to 1-3. The left-hander allowed two runs in a game for the fourth time in his last five appearances. Moya made the Twins Opening Day roster in 2018 and appeared in 35 games for the parent club. He started this season on injured reserved with shoulder tendinitis. The native of Valenzuela entered the game with an ERA of 7.28.
Gordon finished 3-for-4.
Hitting out of the leadoff spot, Rochester native and former Aquinas Institute star Christopher Bostick walked, was hit by a pitch and scored a run.
The Wings (50-53) will welcome Indianapolis for a three-game series this weekend. A 7:05 first pitch is scheduled Friday night at Frontier Field. Former Hilton Cadet Jon Schwind is a coach for the Indians.
Leave a Reply