By Dan Glickman
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Red Wings started summer with a loss on Wednesday, as pitching and fielding problems in the later innings sent them to a 7-3 defeat at the hands of the Omaha Storm Chasers.
Having tied the game at three after falling behind in the second inning, Rochester walked three and allowed three runs in the seventh. Then, in the eighth, two straight would-be double plays fell apart short due to fielding issues, allowing Omaha to add another run. The Red Wings also struggled at the plate, as 13 straight Red Wings went down in order between the fifth and ninth innings. Although the Wings threatened in the ninth, it was too little, too late.
“In the seventh, everything went the wrong direction,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy. “The seventh was the critical part of the ball game, and we just didn’t get it done.”
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Omaha struck first, getting to Red Wings starter Paolo Espino in the second. With one out and a runner on first, Omaha’s Jermaine Palacios lined a double to left to score Nate Eaton and make it 1-0 for Omaha. Palacios moved to third on the throw home, allowing him to easily score the second run of the inning when Adeiny Hechavarria doubled to right-center the next at-bat. Hechavarria would later score on a Tucker Bradley single to extend the lead to 3-0.
Rochester nearly got on the board the next half-inning, as Matt Adams, Luis Torrens, and Richie Martin had consecutive singles, loading the bases. Second baseman Jordy Barley worked a 2-2 count before sending a screeching line drive toward third, where Palacios snagged the bullet-quick liner to end the inning.
Though the Red Wings couldn’t capitalize on the bases-loaded second, they chipped into the Omaha lead with sacrifice flies in the following two innings.
In the third, center fielder Alex Call singled, stole second, and then moved to third when the throw to second went wide. Jake Alu then lofted a ball to center to bring Call home and make it 3-1.
A similar series of events led to the Wings score in the fourth, as left fielder Travis Blankenhorn led off with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch. He’d score on a sacrifice fly by Luis Torrens, narrowing the gap to 3-2.
The tying run would require no such baserunning feats, as Barley led off the fifth inning with a home run to left, his first in AAA, to tie it up at three. A call-up from A-ball after injuries to starting infielders, it was just his sixth game with the Red Wings, many of them as a defensive replacement. Still, he had kept his approach simple:
“I was looking for one pitch, and I [was able to get a] swing at it,” he said post-game.
“It’s the same game,” he added later.
Barley hasn’t seen much action and will likely be sent down again in the coming days, but LeCroy has been impressed with what he’s seen so far and believes that this won’t be his last stint in the International League.
“I couldn’t be more happy for what he did today,” said LeCroy. “He’s got some tremendous upside, offensively he needs to cut down on some swings and misses, but he had some good swings today.
“He’s got the athleticism, he’s got the tools to be a big leaguer. He just needs to keep working and making sure he’s ready when he’s actually able to come up here and play for an extended period of time.”
The Red Wings struggled at the plate after the home run, and they wouldn’t have another baserunner until an out in the ninth. The same couldn’t be said for Omaha. After finishing the sixth with a rally-killing double play, reliever Amos Willingham saw two of the first three batters reach base in the seventh. Veteran left-hander Sean Doolittle replaced Willingham with runners on first and second. The Storm Chasers loaded the bases with a walk and then took the lead on a wild pitch to make it 4-3 before Logan Porter broke it open with a two-run single to right to extend the lead to 6-3.
An inning later, Omaha added an insurance run thanks to a pair of defensive miscues that turned would-be double plays into mere fielders-choice putouts, allowing Brewer Hicklen to drive in the seventh and final run with a two-out double to left.
The Red Wings threatened in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases against Omaha’s Will Klein, but Klein was able to finish off the game with a strikeout and finally a flyout to center to seal the 7-3 win for the AAA Royals affiliate.
Off the field, the roster shuffling continues for the Red Wings on Wednesday with the call-up of outfielder Derek Hill and left-handed reliever Joe La Sorsa and the activation of infielder Erick Mejia from the injured list.
“I’m really happy for both of them [Hill and La Sorsa],” said LeCroy. “We hope that they do extremely well. It’s always a good sign for us when guys can go to the next level.”
Mejia, meanwhile, is expected to begin playing on Thursday or Friday.
Regardless of who is playing for the Red Wings, their skipper hopes that they can get the wins going again after Wednesday’s loss.
“Hopefully, we’ll snap back out of it tomorrow and get back on a good little roll,” said LeCroy.
The Red Wings (33-36, fifth in the IL East, 12.5 games back) continue their series with Omaha (35-33, sixth in the IL West, 10 games back) on Thursday. Righty Jose Urena (0-1, 6.62) is the Wings’ scheduled starter against Omaha right-hander Jonathan Bowlan (1-5, 7.20 at AA Northwest Arkansas). First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.
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