BY DAN GLICKMAN
ROCHESTER, N.Y.– The Rochester Red Wings haven’t been shut out in 114 games, going back to the second game of an April 8 doubleheader against Syracuse. The Red Wings kept that streak alive for a 115th game on Saturday, but they couldn’t get into the win column, falling to the Worcester Red Sox, 6-3.
No team in the International League has gone over 100 games without being shut out since at least 2005, and no Red Wings team has done it since at least the 1997 Governors Cup championship team.
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The Red Wings were held scoreless until the eighth inning, largely thanks to the effort of Worcester starter Grant Gambrell, making his AAA debut.
Gambrell went 5.2 innings of two-hit ball, striking out five Red Wings while walking four. Gambrell didn’t allow a base-runner until a Darren Baker walk in the fourth and didn’t allow a hit until a Brady Lindsly single with two outs in the fifth.
“It [was his] first time in Triple-A; he gave us some fits the first couple of times through the order,” said development coach Billy McMillon, managing the Red Wings during a brief absence by Matt LeCroy.
“The first time guys are seeing a people, it’s different from what we see in the reports,” he said. “I think it’s just that the first time through, the guys just weren’t familiar with him.”
Rochester finally got on the board with a two-out rally in the eighth against relievers Justin Hagenman and Nick Robertson. With two men on against Hagenman after a hit by Jake Noll and a walk by Erick Mejia, shortstop Richie Martin singled through the right side to bring in the first run to make it 4-1. After Lindsly walked to load the bases, Cody Wilson singled up the middle to score two more and narrow the score to 4-3.
Worcester then ended the Red Wings rally with an inning-ending lineout and followed up by adding two runs in the top of the ninth on a double just out of the reach of Paul Witt to make it 6-3. Rochester was unable to come back.
On the mound, Jackson Rutledge pitched five innings, allowing five hits, four walks, and four earned runs while striking out seven. Allowing only a hit in the game’s first two innings, issues emerged in the third. On the very first pitch of the inning, Worcester first baseman Niko Kavadas got around on a 95.6 MPH sinker and deposited over the right-center field fence to make it 1-0. Rutledge was able to avoid any more damage in the third thanks to a nice diving stop by Jack Dunn at first and an inning-ending strikeout of Yu Chang, but Worcester added three more in the fourth thanks to a bases-loaded double by Ceddanne Rafaela to make it 4-0.
Despite the loss to send the Nationals’ 13th-rated prospect to 2-3 on the year, his skipper for the night said his start was better than it appeared.
“Rutledge got his five, and that’s what we were hoping,” said McMillon. “The home run and bases-clearing [double] made his night not as good [as it was]; the box score is going to say that it wasn’t good, but he did well tonight.”
Rochester (22-27 in the second half, 56-66 overall, eight games back) now trails Worcester (30-19 in the second half, 69-55, first place) in the six-game series, 3-2. The Wings can still force a series split when the teams conclude their series on Sunday at 1:05. Right-hander Roddery Munoz (0-2, 8.83) is scheduled to take the mound for Rochester, while Worcester’s starter hasn’t been announced.
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