By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Sean Maloney, determined to get ahead in the count after issuing a leadoff ninth-inning walk, threw a split-finger fastball over the plate to Luis Lopez. Lopez took advantage, making solid contact for a line-drive single up the middle.
In 113 years of Rochester baseball, there had never been a combined no-hitter. On July 5, 2000, the Red Wings were two outs away from accomplishing the feat.
Syracuse recorded the elusive hit, but Rochester held on for a 3-1 win in front of 5,410 observers at Frontier Field.
Starting pitcher Gabe Molina led the group of four hitless pitchers, striking out nine and allowing just two baserunners – one on a walk and the other on a passed-ball strikeout- in five innings. He was relieved by B.J. Ryan, who allowed two walks but did not allow a hit in two innings. Ryan Kohlmeier, the next man up, tossed a perfect eighth.
“It was a little tough to leave (with a no hitter),” Molina acknowledged to the Democrat and Chronicle, “but we have a quality bullpen.”
Lopez’s hit not only erased the no-hit bid, it put the game’s outcome in doubt when Maloney walked Andy Thompson to load the bases with one out.
The Wings called on Brian Shouse, who walked in a run after recording the second out but recovered by striking out Ryan Freel, to earn the save.
“Any no-hitter is something special,” Maloney remarked. “But I walked the first guy and it’s a cardinal sin for a closer to walk the leadoff guy. The next guy I was just trying to get ahead and throw my split-finger for a strike and he hit it through the hole.”
Rochester earned its first combined no-hitter 11 years later. More on that game in a couple of days.
Red Wings 3, Chiefs 1 | |||||||||||
Syracuse | AB | R | H | BI | Rochester | AB | R | H | BI | ||
Brent Abernathy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jose Herrera | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
Vernon Wells | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Howie Clark | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Chad Mottola | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wayne Kirby | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Luis Lopez | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Karim Garcia | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Andy Thompson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tommy Davis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Kevin Witt | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wady Almonte | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Kevin Brown | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Francisco Matos | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Ryan Freel | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rick Short | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
Cesar Izturis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Willie Morales | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
Jesse Garcia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
Totals | 29 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Totals | 29 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
E- Brown, Freel, Morales. DP- Syracuse 2. LOB- Syracuse 7, Rochester 5. 2B- Clark, Morales 2. HR- K. Garcia (21), Short (1). SH- J. Garcia. SB- Izturis, Kirby.
Syracuse | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||||
Kerry Taylor (L, 5-7) | 8 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Rochester | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||||
Gabe Molina (W, 1-2) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |||||
B.J. Ryan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |||||
Ryan Kohlmeier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Sean Maloney | .1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |||||
Brian Shouse (SV, 2) | .2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
WP- Maloney. PB- Morales.
Time- 2:20. Attendance- 5,410.
Also on this day: Pete Riggan’s go-ahead single in the eighth inning led Rochester past Ottawa in the first game of a doubleheader sweep in 1954… Jim Hutto’s grand slam lifted the Red Wings to a 10-8 win in Toledo in 1971… Jeff Tackett and Shane Turner hit home runs while Curt Schilling allowed just one run in seven innings as the Red Wings defeated Richmond 5-1 in 1989.
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