By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Josh Palacios enjoyed his first game against his former team on Saturday.
Palacios, the newest Rochester Red Wing, drove in four runs, including a three-run home run and the walk-off single, in his club debut. Rochester defeated Buffalo 11-10, in 10 innings.
The 26-year-old played his last game as a Bison just six days ago; he was designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays organization on April 11 before being claimed off waivers by Washington on Friday.
“Getting the ‘W’ with the Red Wings, especially against the old team,” Palacios remarked, “is almost like a dream come true.”
The dream almost became a nightmare for Rochester, which led by six runs entering the eighth inning. Buffalo coupled a five-run eighth with a bases-loaded walk in the ninth to force extra innings on a sub-40-degree Easter Eve. The Red Wings survived the slug fest, however, and scored their second walk-off win in as many days.
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Each of Rochester’s three batsmen reached safely in the 10th, not counting “ghost runner” Luis García. The Red Wings stranded runners on first and third in the top of the inning, converting a double play to avoid any runs.
The Red Wings’ season high was previously nine runs. Eight of their 11 runs occurred with two outs.
Jake Noll also drilled a three-run homer off Allgeyer, who the Red Wings tagged for career highs of nine earned runs on 12 hits. The Iowa Cubs managed just one run—a solo homer—and three hits in 11 innings against Allgeyer last week.
“It was just a solid effort,” LeCroy acknowledged, “but it also brings me to the teaching point, is we need to keep adding on. Ten today, it just wasn’t enough. I think our bats, later in the game, weren’t as good as they were early.”
Rochester starting pitcher Jackson Tetreault faltered early, surrendering a Logan Warmoth grand slam in a 35-pitch first inning. Tetreault allowed a leadoff single to Nathan Lukes before inducing a Vinny Capra ground ball that yielded just one out, as Luis García fumbled with the ball and did not attempt to complete the double play. A strikeout that would have ended the inning became just the second out, after which Cullen Large singled and Samad Taylor walked to reach base for Warmoth, who notched the first slam of his professional career.
Tetreault recovered to complete four innings, however, scattering just two additional singles. The Red Wings’ bullpen shut out Buffalo over the next three innings before the crooked number in the eighth. Tyler Clippard was charged with all five runs, walking three batters and allowing two more to hit safely. Reed Garrett threw a wild pitch to score a run and walked Taylor to load the bases before getting Warmoth to ground out, preserving the 10-9 advantage.
Mallex Smith walked to lead off Buffalo’s ninth, chasing Garrett, and Jace Fry eventually loaded the bases on a Lukes single and Capra walk. Fry walked Large on four pitches, scoring Smith.
“We made some mistakes. Too many walks there late,” LeCroy commented. “They made us pay, but at the end we ended up winning. So it’s a good effort.”
Palacios reached base three times in his debut, which carried special meaning as his uncle Rey Palacios, a former major leaguer and Rochester fireman, briefly played for the Red Wings in 1993.
Toronto’s fourth round pick in 2016 out of the University of Auburn, Palacios played in 13 major league games last season. He recorded seven hits in 35 at bats, going 4-for-4 in a rout of the Angels last April 10, before being optioned to Buffalo in May when George Springer returned from a knee injury. He broke his right hand twice last year, first when he was hit by a pitch and again on a swing less than a month later. He recorded five hits, including two home runs, in 21 at bats (.238) last week against Iowa.
Palacios drove in 78 runs between Single-A Lansing and Double-A New Hampshire in 2018, his most potent individual season. The Washington Nationals claimed him off waivers on Friday, interested to see if the left-handed bat can establish himself as a major league player when healthy.
“You saw it today: he’s athletic,” LeCroy said. “He goes up there in attack mode and can drive the baseball. He’s gonna be a nice addition to our team. Hopefully he’ll continue to do what he’s doing, but really, first time with the Nats, with the Red Wings, it’s a really good first impression. Hopefully he can stick with it.”
The Brooklyn native has already recorded more hits with the Red Wings than his uncle; Rey stepped to the plate just once in a Rochester uniform.
“He loved it here, so much that he lives here now,” Palacios noted. “It was nice to see him, and I know he’s got some home-cooked meals for me waiting at home.”
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