By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Victor Robles’s first Red Wings at-bat would have been deemed a success even if he’d stopped at second.
Robles, who the Washington Nationals optioned to Triple-A on Monday after a 1-of-14 slump over the last week dropped his batting average to .203, sent the first pitch he saw from Worcester Red Sox starter Daniel Gossett into the left-center field gap. The fleet-footed 24-year-old took a glance at the outfield as he neared second base and, after slowing a moment, dug for third.
Jeremy Rivera’s relay from shortstop was not only late, it landed in the third base dugout. Robles was awarded home plate on a Little League-esque trip around the bases.
Robles hit the ball hard in three of his four at-bats, though he was left with just the one hit to show for it.
Rivera redeemed himself for the throwing error by snaring Robles’s line drive in the second inning, while Robles’s fly ball to the deepest part of Frontier Field died at the warning track in the seventh. The two-year major league outfielder went 1-for-4 with a strikeout in his first game in Rochester since he injured his elbow diving for a ball with Syracuse on April 9, 2018.
“I think he’s trying to fix some things on the offensive side that he struggled with on the big-league level,” Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy remarked. “He had a nice game. He squared the ball up very good… He’s had a great attitude since he’s been down here, since he got here today.
“We had a nice long talk. He’s ready to get better and do whatever he has to do to get back.”
The new arrival did not bring a new result for Rochester, however. The Red Wings squandered a multi-run lead for the second consecutive night, blew a ninth-inning save opportunity and lost 4-3.
The Red Wings clung to the 1-0 advantage until Daniel Palka tripled in the sixth. It was Palka’s second triple of the season and, after Donovan Casey’s sacrifice fly, the second run initiated by a triple. Rochester’s shutout bid ended a half-inning later, however, when Johan Mieses mashed a game-tying home run to left off Sterling Sharp.
Sharp had allowed just two singles and a hit batsman in 3.1 frames of relief before the homer, his first relief appearance since 2017. Jefry Rodriguez pitched the first three innings, allowing just one hit while walking two batters. Each of Worcester’s three pitchers allowed a run, but Durbin Feltman landed the win.
Nick Banks put the Red Wings back in front with a first-pitch homer off Feltman to lead off the eighth, but Aaron Barrett did not complete the save in the ninth. Franchy Cordero hit a ground-rule double to start the rally before Barrett walked Johan Mieses and Chris Herrmann to load the bases with one out. Jhonny Perada doubled to drive in the eventual game-winning runs, which preceded a 1-2-3 Rochester ninth.
The Red Wings lost a game they led after eight innings for the third time this season.
“We had some situational success in the sixth. Mr. Banks was able to take what he’d been working on with (hitting coach Brian Daubach) for the game tonight. He had a nice game,” LeCroy acknowledged. “We’ve just gotta keep fighting, man, keep grinding it out the last 28 days.”
Leave a Reply