By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Luis García had a feeling he’d ended the game as he took his first steps out of the batter’s box and knew for sure by the time he rounded first base.
Another Red Wings game that could have been defined by a lack of hitting with runners in scoring position was instead highlighted by three home runs, including the two-run walk-off homer García sent over the triangle in left-center field in the bottom of the ninth. García’s teammates greeted him at home plate by emptying the dugout water cooler, elated to end a seven-game losing streak by defeating Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5-3 in front of 2,135 raucous fans at Frontier Field.
“The result hasn’t been there,” García acknowledged, “but this team has always stayed together.”
Rochester didn’t truly break out offensively, managing just seven hits and leaving the bases loaded in the fourth inning, leaving eight total men on base. But the Red Wings were lifted by two-out, right field bullpen homers from Brandon Snyder and Daniel Palka in the second and fifth, respectively. Snyder’s blast was his second of the season, Palka’s his fifth.
After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first due in part to a García error and two unearned runs, Red Wings pitching turned in a stout performance. Jefry Rodriguez allowed just one earned run on five hits before leaving with one out in the fourth. Ryne Harper, Andres Machado, T.J. McFarland and Justin Miller combined to surrender only two hits in relief, striking out 12 in 5.2 shutout innings.
Harper inherited a baserunner after Brandon Wagner singled off Rodriguez but stranded Wagner at first base with two strikeouts to close the fourth. He walked Estevan Florial to lead off the fifth, but Tres Barrera caught Florial stealing. McFarland struck out four of the five batters he faced, Armando Alvarez reaching on García’s second error.
García offset his unremarkable fielding day with the walk-off, which was preceded by a Rafael Bautista single. It was the fourth homer of the year for the Nationals’ highly-regarded shortstop prospect, who had just one hit to show for his previous 18 at bats.
“He was coming up and out of his legs a little bit tonight at times,” manager Matthew LeCroy assessed. “Me and (hitting coach Brian Daubach) were talking about it before his last at bat, and he made the adjustment. You can see what happens when he puts it all together. He’s got lightning-quick hands. The ball just really comes off the bat extremely hard at times. He’s just gotta keep putting himself in good offensive counts and being aggressive in the zone and I think you’ll see him be able to advance at the next level and be really good.
“He’s just gotta stay on it. He has to focus on every pitch, on offense and defense. When he does it, you see what happens.”
Rochester was patient, drawing six walks including one each from the top four batters in the lineup. Bautista’s walk even led to a stolen base, the Red Wings’ first stolen base attempt of the year in game No. 15.
The Red Wings issued just two base on balls themselves, a six-walk improvement from Wednesday night’s defeat. LeCroy praised his pitching staff, which has allowed just five runs in the last two games.
“I thought we did an unbelievable job,” LeCroy remarked. “When you look at the last two days, our starters haven’t gone past really four innings and the bullpen has to pick up some innings there way (earlier) than I would like to do. Harper was good. Machado did a nice job; we ran into some traffic there, but McFarland came in and did a really nice job in a big spot against a really good left-handed hitter.
“I just really can’t say enough how proud I am of these guys. They go out and they compete every day. Our pitching staff’s done a good job and they’re hopefully gonna keep going out, putting up zeroes and giving us a chance.”
The Red Wings hadn’t won a game at Frontier Field since August 31, 2019 and, more pertinently, were 1-9 in their last 10. The overall postgame mood was not just one of relief, but one of resolve, that they can replicate the performance this weekend.
“Hopefully this turns the tide a little bit,” LeCroy commented. “I know the spirits in there in the clubhouse are really good right now. Hopefully we can get on a roll and get back in it.”
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