By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
The Rochester Red Wings bid adieu to catcher Tres Barrera and outfielder Yadiel Hernandez before Saturday’s game in Syracuse. The Washington Nationals recalled Barrera and Hernandez, who were each fixtures in Rochester’s lineup during their time in Triple-A, to the majors after placing Alex Avila and Kyle Schwarber on the Injured List.
Tyler Eppler and the Red Wings’ pitchers, however, didn’t require their new-look lineup to provide much run support.
Rochester left 10 runners on base, but Tyler Eppler pitched six shutout innings and Rafael Bautista drove in the go-ahead score to highlight a three-run ninth as the Red Wings defeated the Mets 4-1.
An efficient Eppler only threw 86 pitches, 55 of them for strikes, scattering three hits and striking out six batters. After an inconsistent last month where the righthander one-hit Lehigh Valley in seven innings on June 9 before allowing 15 combined runs to Buffalo in his following two starts, Eppler left with a 1-0 lead.
Drew Jackson erased Eppler’s status as the pitcher of record with a solo home run off Ben Braymer to tie the game in the eighth, but Syracuse reliever Bradley Roney started the ninth by walking Cody Wilson, who stole second and scored on Bautista’s seventh double of the season.
Corban Joseph, newly promoted from Double-A Harrisburg, singled to drive in Bautista and Jake Noll and provide insurance runs. Dakota Bacus earned the victory after recovering from a Brandon Drury double to record the last three outs in order.
Bautista has compiled three three-hit games in the last two weeks; the Red Wings won all three of those games. His batting average has spiked from .179 on June 20 to a current .262 clip.
The Red Wings and Mets conclude their series Sunday evening, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at NBT Bank Stadium.
Leave a Reply