By Dan Glickman
Center fielder Derek Hill finished a double short of the cycle and extended his hit streak to 18 games as the Rochester Red Wings defeated the Worcester Red Sox on Tuesday, 11-6.
Hill’s streak is now tied with Josh Palacios‘ 18-game streak last season for the longest in Rochester’s affiliation with the Washington Nationals. The streak leads the International League and is the second-highest active hit streak in organized baseball, behind only Marcus Semien‘s 25-game streak for the Texas Rangers. Hill’s 3-for-6 performance was the second time in three games that the 27-year-old has finished just one away from the cycle- he fell a home run short on Saturday.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JOE TERRITO.
Rochester took the lead, 1-0, on the game’s first pitch, as Hill smashed a Brandon Walter pitch over the center field fence for his sixth of the season.
The Red Wings extended their lead in the third, again thanks to Hill, who led off the inning with a triple before scoring on a groundout by Jake Alu to make it 2-0. The Red Wings added a run each in the following two innings, both on sacrifice flies, to lengthen the lead to 4-0.
Joan Adon allowed only two hits in his five innings of work, striking out six while allowing two runs. Both Worcester runs came in the fifth with the bases loaded on a walk and a pitch to narrow Rochester’s lead to 4-2.
Worcester took the lead in the sixth, tying the game on a two-run home run by former Red Wing Niko Goodrum before Bradley Zimmer hit an RBI triple later in the inning to jump ahead, 5-4.
Rochester wouldn’t remain behind for long, as Alu and Carter Kieboom led off the seventh with back-to-back singles. The following two batters could not reach base, but then first baseman Matt Adams hit his team-leading ninth home run of the season to give the Red Wings the 7-5 lead.
Although Worcester would notch a run in the eighth on a Narciso Crook home run to narrow the lead to 7-6, the Red Wings put the game away in the top of the ninth with four runs to extend the lead to 11-6.
Hobie Harris earned his first win of the year in relief for the Red Wings.
Rochester, which has won 10 of its last 13, continues its series with Worcester on Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. Right-hander Cory Abbott is the probable pitcher for the Wings, with left-hander Chris Murphy expected to start for the Red Sox.
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