By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
No outfielders were injured in the Rochester Red Wings’ third straight defeat to Worcester, but that was about the only solace they could take on Thursday night.
Victor Robles and Donovan Casey emerged from their fourth-inning outfield collision unharmed, a relief for the Washington Nationals’ front office. Three runs did score, however, and Worcester No. 9 hitter Grant Williams cruised into third base with a triple as a result of the potential third out falling to the Frontier Field grass.
“That ball should be caught,” LeCroy remarked.
The predicament characterized Rochester’s night beyond the first inning. The Red Wings scored two runs on four consecutive singles against Alex Claudio and looked primed for a substantial night, but Worcester instead scored 10 unanswered runs to run away with the contest, 10-2.
Red Wings infielder Ali Castillo pitched the ninth, sparing any additional relievers after Rochester scratched across just three hits over the final eight innings. Seven of the nine Red Sox batters collected hits, while the Red Wings walked 11 batters.
Rochester has now issued 24 walks through the first three games of the week-long series.
Seth Blair earned the victory after three innings of shutout relief, scattering three baserunners while striking out four batters. Zack Kelly retired all six Red Wings he faced as the bridge to ninth-inning hurler Jose Adames.
“We just didn’t make many adjustments,” LeCroy said of his team’s offense. “We had some chances with runners in scoring position but didn’t get that big hit to kind of get back in it.”
Franchy Cordero celebrated his 27th birthday with a 3-for-4 performance, homering to straightaway center field in the seventh. Cordero also walked with the bases loaded in the eighth and took advantage of facing a position player to drive in the final two runs in his last at-bat.
The Red Wings, meanwhile, struck out 11 times after being set down just four times on Wednesday. Casey, in addition to the outfield shakeup, struck out in each of his four at-bats. Robles and Daniel Palka each fanned twice.
Luis Reyes took the loss but left the game with just a 3-2 deficit. Reyes walked five batters but stranded seven runners on base, including the two outs he recorded with the bases loaded in the fifth. Dakota Bacus allowed a four-run eighth, walking a season-high three batters as the game inched out of reach.
Reyes has completed at least five innings in his last four starts after allowing six runs over 3.1 frames in his Red Wings debut.
“I thought Reyes, he battled,” LeCroy assessed. “He didn’t command the ball well, but he made the pitch to get out of it… I thought he pitched really good without his best command. His stuff was there; his command was off, but he could have still easily put up a zero for us.
“We just didn’t mount much of a comeback. The game got away from us in the last couple innings.”
The best outcome the Red Wings can now salvage in this series is a 3-3 split. They host the Red Sox again Friday evening at 7:05.
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