By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Daniel Palka hardly lifted the bat from his shoulders this week, walking 10 times over the last three games. The Lehigh Valley IronPigs had committed to pitching to the other eight spots in the batting order, daring anyone other than the Red Wings’ slugger to beat them.
Recognizing this reluctance to throw Palka strikes, manager Matt LeCroy shuffled his lineup card and placed Donovan Casey, who has led off each game during the week-long series and was a .347 hitter in Double-A Harrisburg before his promotion, in the fifth spot behind Palka.
The move served its intended purpose; Palka saw just two called balls all game. He became the unexpected hero in the seventh, slicing a line drive into the right field corner off IronPigs reliever Braeden Ogle to score Keibert Ruiz and give the Red Wings a 4-3 walk-off victory in Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader.
Palka, who went 2-for-4 and also drove in the first run of the game with a first-inning groundout, was pleased to swing the bat again.
“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I don’t think it really worked out in my favor in the beginning, but that’s alright.”
The Red Wings didn’t expect to bat in the seventh after entering the top half with a 3-1 advantage. Starter Luis Reyes carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, retiring 12 consecutive batters after walking Mickey Moniak in the third at-bat of the contest, and was two outs away from throwing Rochester’s first complete game since 2018.
After allowing 10 runs over two appearances in Buffalo last week, Reyes’s latest outing elicited praise from his manager.
“Luis was really, really good, man,” LeCroy remarked. “I couldn’t be more excited for what he did today after his last two outings. He commanded the ball well. Obviously he had a couple walks there, but I really liked his stuff. He’s very consistent and his misses were competitive misses, so really excited for him.”
But while Reyes held the IronPigs to just three hits, he also walked three batters and hit another, throwing just 52 of his 94 pitches for strikes. He was pulled for Aaron Barrett after allowing a one-out T.J. Rivera single followed by a walk to Tyler Heineman, which brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate.
Barrett, who hadn’t hit a batter since Sept. 18, 2020 with Washington, plunked Ruben Tejada with his first pitch to load the bases. Charlie Tilson then tied the game when he deposited a ground-rule double into the grass area in left field, scoring Rivera and Arquimedes Gamboa.
Barrett recovered, aided by third baseman Humberto Arteaga snaring C.J. Chatham’s line drive, to preserve the tie score. Three of Rochester’s four batters reached safely in the ninth, capped by Palka’s single. The victory ensured the Red Wings a series win over the IronPigs.
“We had a couple chances early to really break it open and we didn’t get it done,” LeCroy acknowledged. “But we stayed in there. Luis gave us a good chance. Just a good team effort to come out on top.”
Reyes did not merely star on the mound; he also laced a line drive to right-center field that nearly split the outfielders in the fifth inning, his third professional hit. Jake Noll drove Reyes in three batters later for the go-ahead run.
“That was huge,” LeCroy said of Reyes’s single. “I didn’t realize he could swing it that way.
“Good ballgame that could’ve went the other way, but really happy for the guys; they fought well. Hopefully we can come back out tonight and do the same thing.”
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