By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Tyler Eppler’s spot start began with an eight-pitch, 1-2-3 inning that suggested he could pitch deep into Wednesday’s game at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field.
Eppler, taking Sean Nolin’s turn in the rotation after Nolin’s contract was selected by Washington, didn’t complete two innings.
The Bisons tagged Eppler for five runs and five hits, chasing the 28-year-old after Tyler White’s two-out double. That crooked number represented the only scoring for either side, as Buffalo blanked Rochester 5-0 to take a 2-0 series lead.
Eppler surged ahead of Richard Urena to lead off the second, grabbing an 0-2 advantage in the count before he induced a groundout to third base. The next five batters reached safely as Christian Colon and Otto Lopez each doubled, Logan Warmoth singled, Eppler hit Kellin Deglan in the knee and Nash Knight slugged a two-run home run to right field.
After breezing through the Bisons in the first inning, Eppler labored through a 41-pitch second frame. The loss was his eighth in 10 decisions. Counterpart Nick Allgeyer was Buffalo’s pitcher of record after surrendering just two hits in five innings.
Rochester’s bullpen performed handsomely, scattering just a Deglan single and two other baserunners in 7.1 shutout innings. The Bisons limited the Red Wings to just four hits, however, recording nine strikeouts.
Keibert Ruiz, Jake Noll and Daniel Palka each tallied a hit, but Rochester’s No. 5-9 hitters batted a collective 1-for-15; Nick Banks, batting sixth after being promoted from Double-A Harrisburg, singled in his Triple-A debut.
The Red Wings reached second base twice, first when Daniel Palka doubled in the fourth and again when Banks advanced to second on Deglan’s passed ball. Each of those instances occurred with two outs, shortly followed by the inning’s conclusion.
Rochester has been outscored 16-0 over the first two games of the series, recording just six hits.
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