BY JONATHAN SKUZA
ROCHESTER, N.Y.— Israel Pineda made his debut for the Rochester Red Wings and did not disappoint recording five RBI on two hits.
The rookie catcher helped lead Rochester to a decisive 17-0 trouncing of the Toledo Mud Hens Thursday evening.
Pineda recorded his first Triple-A hit and RBI on a two-run double in the first inning to put Rochester ahead 2-0. The Venezuelan native later in the sixth inning achieved another milestone by hitting his first career Triple-A home run. The righty smashed a ball at 108 mph down the left field foul pole for a three-run home run to put the Wings up 10 to cap off his outstanding debut. Pineda was driven in three times and walked twice as well during the game.
“I was very pleased with how he handled the staff,” Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy stated about Pineda’s performance. “I’m proud of him, but at the same time, the one lesson you’ll learn is you got to bring it every day and I’m excited for this because I told him out of the next 25 games, you’re gonna catch probably 23-24 games, so he’s excited.
“I worked on my routine,” Pineda stated about his debut. “I am really happy that we got the win today with the guys. I got a good feel for my routine.”
Nick Banks and Lucius Fox also had notable performances in the offensive clinic for Rochester. Banks recorded four RBI on two hits on Thursday. Fox drove in three on three hits with one of them being an RBI triple in the second inning.
Andrew Stevenson extended his on-base streak to 18 games with a three-hit performance that included a long ball of his own to lead off the eighth inning for Rochester.
Rochester started the game with two back-to-back innings where they scored three runs in each inning to take a 6-0 lead. Rochester didn’t add to its lead until the sixth inning when Jake Alu drove in Stevenson with an RBI single and Pineda hit the three-run blast. The Wings in the eighth inning sent 12 batters to the plate pushing across seven runs to cap off the offensive explosion.
“We had solid approaches,” LeCroy stated. “That first inning for us set the tone. Pineda with a big hit. First Triple-A hit. He had a great game.”
“Really proud of everybody,” LeCroy said. “These guys work and prepare every day and we haven’t had a game like that in a long time. That was one that was well needed after two tough losses.”
Joan Adon got the start for Rochester and pitched a solid five and a third innings of shutout baseball. Adon opened up the ball game setting down the first six batters he faced. The right-hander finished his outing giving up only two hits and walking three batters while striking out three batters as well. The Rochester bullpen finished off the shutout with a strong three and two-thirds innings. The bullpen gave up only two more hits and struck out two Mud Hens.
“I thought he did a good job,” LeCroy stated about Adon’s performance. “He lost it there in the third where he just lost a little command. His misses were not far off, but he made some nice adjustments.”
The 17-0 victory was the largest margin of victory for the Red Wings this season.
Rochester will look to build off the momentum of the offensive display as they continue its series with Toledo Friday at 7:05. Right-hander Logan Verrett is scheduled to take the mound for Rochester.
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