BY DAN GLICKMAN
After going 3-3 to begin the second half of the season against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Rochester Red Wings return to Innovative Field this week for the first home series of the second half to play the Buffalo Bisons.
Rochester finished its first second-half series on Monday with a doubleheader after being washed out on Sunday. In game one, the Wings lost 13-4 before recovering to win game two, 5-4, on the strength of 2-for-3 performances from right fielder Blake Rutherford and left fielder Jake Alu, including a home run by Rutherford. Paolo Espino earned his fourth win of the season in game two, while workhorse righty Gerson Moreno earned the save in his 32nd appearance of the season- third most in the league and second-most on the team (behind only Jose Ferrer‘s league-leading 34).
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JOE TERRITO.
The 3-3 series with Lehigh was the Red Wings’ first split series of the season- every other series had been a clear series win or loss. Rochester hadn’t split a series since September 9 through 11 of 2022.
With the first series over, the Red Wings find themselves at .500 in the second half of the season as they return from Allentown.
This is the first year that the International League has utilized a split-season schedule, a result of changes done to the league after Major League Baseball’s 2020 takeover of the minor leagues. The teams with the best overall record in each half will play each other at the end of the season for the right to face the Pacific Coast League champion for the AAA title. The Baltimore-affiliated Norfolk Tides took the first-half title in the IL with a 48-26 record, 13.5 games ahead of Rochester’s 34-39 mark.
Despite the under .500 finish in the first half overall, Red Wings fans saw plenty of success at home, as Rochester went 21-16 at Innovative Field during the first half of the season, a huge improvement over their road record of 13-23. Continued winning play at home will be crucial if Rochester hopes to make noise in the second-half playoff race.
On Tuesday, they’ll get their first chance to show they can when they open their series with Buffalo. The Bisons, the AAA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, are 3-2 in the second half and 37-43 on the year overall thus far. In the first half, the Red Wings went 6-6 against Buffalo, taking a 4-2 series win at home in April but losing a 4-2 series in Buffalo in May.
The Bisons are led offensively by on-base threat Spencer Horwitz, 10th in the league with a .417 on-base percentage. Other threats in the lineup include outfielder Rafael Lantigua, who is third in the league in walks (55) and tied for 10th in doubles (19). Fellow outfielder Cam Eden is a major stolen base threat: his 33 stolen bags is fourth in the league.
On the hill, Buffalo is led by right-hander Casey Lawrence. Despite a 2-7 record, the 35-year-old veteran is third in the league in strikeouts with 75. The veteran has won 92 games in his minor league career and seen action in the majors and overseas in Japan and Venezuela.
Three of Toronto’s top 10 prospects, according to MLB.com, are on Buffalo’s roster, led by their no. 3 prospect, pitcher Yosver Zulueta. The right-handed Cuban import was recently named to his second All-Star Futures Game and thus will likely leave the Bisons by the weekend to take part in the showcase in Seattle. Known for his fastball, Zulueta has mainly been used in relief this season, striking out 44 batters in 39 innings pitched. Other top prospects on the Bisons include infielder Addison Barger (no. 6 on MLB.com’s organizational rankings) and right-handed reliever Hayden Juenger (no. 10).
Although Buffalo hasn’t had Brighton High School graduate Ernie Clement since his call-up to Toronto on June 13, the Bisons still have one name that may be familiar to Rochester baseball fans: their hitting coach, Matt Hague. A longtime AAA player, he spent the entirety of the 2017 season with Rochester and hit .297 with 10 home runs.
The full pitching matchups for the series are unknown, but Rochester is expected to start right-hander Jackson Rutledge on Tuesday against Buffalo’s Casey Lawrence (2-7, 5.20). Rutledge, Nationals’ No. 11 prospect according to MLB.com, allowed five runs in 3.2 innings pitched during his AAA debut last week but was 6-1 with a 3.16 ERA in 12 starts for AA Harrisburg before his call-up. The Red Wings have scheduled righty Jose Urena (0-2, 7.17) and righty Joan Adon (2-5, 4.81) to start Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, while Buffalo plans to start Zach Thompson (4-5, 5.48) on Wednesday. Although Buffalo has not yet released their probable starter for Thursday, they have announced that righty Wes Parsons (1-2, 4.42) is scheduled for Friday.
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