By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
The Rochester Red Wings have lost two series this season, each at the hands of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Offense was once again at a premium at Frontier Field, with Rochester on the losing end this time. Lehigh Valley prevailed 4-2, winning their fourth in six games this week, despite Red Wings starting pitcher Cade Cavalli’s five-inning, one-hit, one-run performance.
IronPigs left-hander Ricardo Sánchez completed seven innings for the first time since 2019, surrendering just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out four batsmen. Sánchez required just 63 pitches, with 22 of the 26 batters he faced seeing three pitches or less.
Mark Appel, Jonathan Hennigan and Nick Duron each pitched 0.2 innings, yielding just one unearned run. Duron earned the save after inducing a fielder’s choice to retire lead runner Lucius Fox and striking out Donovan Casey to end the contest.
The Red Wings’ runs were tallied on a double play and groundout. They managed five runs over their last 23 innings against IronPig pitching, leaving 17 runners on base and batting 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position during that span.
“[Sánchez] kept us off balance,” Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy acknowledged. “We swung at a lot of balls. We just didn’t have enough quality at bats. He went through us pretty quickly. Sometimes you’ve gotta tip your cap; the guy had a nice game plan against us and we just failed to execute.”
Cavalli rebounded from being hit hard on Tuesday. He shrugged off a leadoff walk to retire the next nine, including three strikeouts. He scuffled in the fifth, walking Nick Maton to lead off the frame before allowing a Dustin Peterson single and Scott Kingery sacrifice fly, but kept the score tied at a run apiece and struck out Matt Vierling looking to end his day.
“I have my eyes set forward, and there’s a lot to learn from this start just like every other one,” Cavalli said. “Results were good today but I’ve got a lot to do and I’ve got a lot to get better at, and I’m excited about it. Just gonna keep pushing that way.”
LeCroy remarked after Tuesday’s start that he wanted Cavalli to throw more pitches on the inside half of the plate. That became a point of emphasis for Cavalli throughout the rest of the week.
“He still battled some bad counts, for me; there were a lot of 2-1 counts, some offensive counts for the other team,” LeCroy noted, “but he made pitches and he gave us a chance to win. He’s gotta keep learning every time out. He’s a competitor. I love when he pitches for us. He gave us a chance; we just didn’t get it done offensively. It’s hard to really get too picky when he didn’t give up hardly any runs and not many hits. But he wants to be better and he’s gonna work to be the best pitcher he can become. Today was definitely a good positive step for him.”
“Whenever I’m landing my offspeed and I’m going inside, I think it’s very uncomfortable for the hitters,” Cavalli added. “I’ve gotta keep applying that pressure and just carry that on throughout the rest of the year, keep learning from that and see the good results, too. Not only learn from the. bad but also the good. … It was really good when we started throwing inside.”
The Red Wings took four of six the last time they faced the Syracuse Mets, who they visit this week at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse. Rochester totaled 40 runs in that series against the Mets at Frontier Field and looks to regain its offensive firepower.
“Try to get back and win a series,” LeCroy said of the team’s objective when it visits the 315. “[Lehigh Valley]’s had our number. … But they’ve got a good quality club. They’ve got a good lineup; their bullpen has done a really nice job against us. We’ve gotta keep battling.
“I love my team. I love the group. But sometimes you’ve gotta tip your cap to the other club. They played better than us this series and we’ve gotta make some adjustments, come back and get on a roll against Syracuse.”
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