This Day in Red Wings history: Wings win on field, draw attention off it

By CHUCKIE MAGGIO

The silly met the serious for the Rochester Red Wings during this week in 2002.

An infamous horse rode again at Frontier Field; the team filed for parent club free agency; and the Wings played deep into a late-summer Friday night against rival Buffalo.

Red Wings second baseman Brian Roberts was slated as the latest Rochester athlete to race Zippy Chippy, the losingest horse in thoroughbred racing history at 0-93, on Aug. 23. Roberts replaced outfielder Darnell McDonald, the opponent in Zippy Chippy’s first win of his racing career the year before, after a pulled hamstring prevented a rematch.

Roberts, suffering from the flu, withdrew from the 45-yard race before the game, replaced by outfielder Larry Bigbie. Bigbie lost by about four lengths, improving Zippy Chippy’s record against human athletes to 2-1 (Jose Herrera topped him in a 40-yard dash in 2000).

Bigbie was quick enough to redeem himself in the 12th, scoring from first on Eddy Garabito’s two-out double to lift Rochester in a 5-4 victory.

The hit marked the second walkoff hit in as many nights for the 5-foot-8 Garabito, in the third consecutive home game in which the Red Wings played at least 12 innings. Garabito’s bunt single beat Buffalo in the 13th inning the day prior.

Rochester right-hander Rafael Pina got the start in place of Sean Douglass, who was called up to Baltimore to start the second game of a doubleheader. Pina’s night started rocky when Buffalo scored four runs in the second inning but improved after, as he threw scoreless ball until he left with one out in the sixth.

The Red Wings, who scored twice in the first, regained the lead in the third inning on Darryl Brinkley’s two-out homer to make it 4-3. The score stayed that way until the seventh, when Red Wing Izzy Molina hit a two-out single off left-hander Matt White and Garabito walked to bring Mike Moriarty to the plate.

Moriarity hit a sharp grounder that glanced off second baseman Brandon Phillips’ glove, scoring Molina.

Buffalo tied to force extra innings, when the Red Wings’ patience paid dividends a second time. Bigbie came back from an 0-2 hole to draw a one-out walk in the 13th, followed by Garabito’s 1-0 double into the right field corner that sent fans home satisfied.

The Red Wings scored their sixth win in seven games despite sending a warning shot to the organization that constructed their roster. In a letter sent to season ticket holders, Rochester explained its decision to file for free agency and potentially switch MLB parent teams. The Red Wings expected two to four teams to be available for discussion.

“Filing for free agency does NOT mean we can’t or won’t go back to the Orioles, however,” the letter stated, although the Red Wings ultimately decided to make the Minnesota Twins their parent club starting in the 2003 season.

Roberts, who split time with Baltimore and the Ottawa Lynx in 2003 before becoming a two-time All-Star, never got that race with Zippy Chippy.

Red Wings 5, Bisons 4 (12)
Rochester	AB	R	H	BI		Buffalo	AB	R	H	BI
Garabito 2b	4	1	2	1		Pratt cf	4	1	2	1
Moriarty ss	4	0	1	1		Phillips 2b	5	0	0	1
Figueroa 1b	3	0	0	0		Coste 1b	4	0	2	0
McGuire ph/1b	2	0	0	0		Laker c	6	0	0	0
Brinkley lf	5	2	2	2		Broussard rf	3	1	1	0
McDonald cf	5	0	1	1		Snyder 3b	5	0	1	0
Leon 3b	4	0	0	0		Dunwoody dh	3	1	0	0
Garcia dh	5	0	0	0		Sorenson ss	5	1	1	1
Bigbie rf	3	1	0	0		Gerut lf	3	1	1	1
Molina c	5	1	2	0
Totals	40	5	8	5		Totals	41	4	7	4
Buffalo			0 4 0    0 0 0   0 0 0  0 0 0  – 4
Rochester			0 0 0    0 0 0   0 0 0  0 0 1  – 5
DP – Buffalo 2. LOB – Buffalo 9, Rochester 6. 2B – Gerut, Garabito. HR – Brinkley. HBP – Dunwoody. SF – Phillips. SB – Dunwoody, Brinkley.
T – 3:41.  Attendance – 9,543. Also on this date:Brian Buchanan’s 10th inning single scored Jason Tyner as the Rochester Red Wings won 3-2 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2005. Travis Bowyer picked up the final out and recorded his 22nd save of the season, tying the club’s single-season save record.