ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Red Wings won their third straight game Friday night, beating the Buffalo Bisons, 6-3, earning their starting pitcher his first win in a long time.
That pitcher, Jake Irvin, hadn’t found himself in the win column since August 1st, 2019, when he was with the now-defunct Hagerstown Suns in the A-Ball South Atlantic League. Injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic had prevented him from going deep into games since, but he went five on Friday, scattering six hits and striking out two on 64 pitches.
“It feels great,” said Irvin, “We have such a great group of guys here, and to do it with them was pretty great, pretty special.”
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All three runs given up by Irvin came in the second inning with two outs. With runners at the corners, Brighton native Ernie Clement sent a grounder through the left side of the infield for an RBI single. The next batter, center fielder Cameron Eden, doubled to score the two runners to extend the lead to 3-0.
After that inning, Irvin made adjustments and then went three more innings, holding the Bisons scoreless. No Bisons runners reached second base against Irvin after the second inning.
“I was trying to be better about hitting certain spots,” said Irvin. “Don’t leave the ball middle-middle and allow guys to take swings on balls on a platter. It was just about getting pitches in precise locations.”
Offensively, Rochester struck back immediately, opening the second with four straight hits, including an RBI single by designated hitter Yadiel Hernandez to bring in right fielder Nomar Mazara. An RBI double by shortstop Franklin Barreto to plate Matt Adams narrowed the score to 3-2. The Red Wings tied it as Hernandez scored on a groundout before taking the lead, 4-3, on a sacrifice fly by Cody Wilson to score Barreto.
Mazara, a veteran of 684 MLB games, went 2-3 with a walk in his first game as a Red Wing, hours after the Nationals announced his signing to a minor league contract. Red Wings manager Matthew LeCroy hopes he helps the team at the plate as he works to return to the Majors.
“Hopefully, we can get him going so he can get back to the big leagues,” said LeCroy.
First baseman Travis Blankenhorn led off the third with his third home run of the season, smacking a pitch by Blue Jays no. 3 prospect Yosver Zulueta into the right field bullpen to extend the lead to 5-3. Another insurance run was scored in the fourth on an RBI single by third baseman Jake Alu.
Although the Bisons would threaten on a few occasions, including getting the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, the Rochester bullpen held them off the 6-3 win.
The three-game winning streak comes after the Red Wings started the season 1-8. Before the current winning streak, the Red Wings had only had 10 or more hits twice. They’ve had 10 or more hits in three straight games, with 45 total over the last three games- the most in professional baseball. It hasn’t been unnoticed.
“Our bats have been a lot better than they were early,” said LeCroy.
The Red Wings continue their series with Buffalo on Saturday, with right-hander Franklyn Kilome scheduled to start. Buffalo’s pitcher has yet to be announced. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
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