BY DAN GLICKMAN
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – On Saturday, the Rochester Red Wings had a chance to take their series with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. A few, in fact. They weren’t able to take them, though, falling to the Yankees affiliate, 7-2.
None of those opportunities was more significant than the one in the fifth inning. After tying the game, 2-2, on a Richie Martin single, the Wings loaded the bases without anyone out… but came away with nothing else to show for it after a strikeout and a double play. An inning later, Scranton took the lead and never looked back.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JOE TERRITO.
“I think the biggest thing for me is that we did a good job answering by scoring in the first and the fifth, but in the fifth, we had bases loaded and no outs with the three and four guys coming up, and we didn’t score,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy.
“We had an opportunity to blow that open, and we didn’t take advantage of it,” he said. “They scored in back-to-back innings after that, and we just never recovered.”
Rochester ultimately stranded eight runners on base during the night and went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. After the fifth inning, the Wings were outscored, 5-0.
Although the fifth inning was, in LeCroy’s opinion, the biggest of the night, it was by no means the first. That came in the game’s opening inning. After Scranton struck first with a run in the top of the inning, center fielder Derek Hill doubled with one out and later came home on a two-out double by Luis Garcia to tie the game up, 1-1. The score ensured that Rochester’s streak of not being shut out would extend to 121 games- the longest in the International League since at least 2005 and the longest for a Red Wings team since at least 1997.
The Red Wings continued threatening in the inning, with Jack Dunn drawing a walk. First baseman Frankie Tostado followed, hitting a hard grounder toward the right side. Dunn and Scranton second baseman Jamie Westbrook nearly collided on the basepaths, and the ball rolled into the outfield as Garcia rounded to come home and give the Wings a 2-1 lead. However, umpire Tom West called interference on Dunn for the third out of the inning, ending the rally and keeping the game tied at one.
Although there was nothing to suggest the call was wrong, umpiring would remain a point of contention throughout the night. At the plate, the two teams combined to go 9-for-13 in ball/strike challenges against home plate umpire Chris Marco, believed to be a season-high at Innovative Field. On the basepaths, both teams complained to umpires after safe/out calls, including a controversial safe call in the seventh, where West ruled that Tostado had come off the bag, allowing Estevan Florial to reach safely on what was ultimately declared an error. LeCroy came out to argue the play, to no avail.
“I thought he’d missed it,” said LeCroy. “I know it was a tough read because [the throw] had thrown him off the bag, but, you know, they’re humans too. I don’t believe that’s the reason we lost the game.”
On the mound, Roddery Munoz had his best start as a Wing, going four innings and striking out three while allowing two earned run in what LeCroy characterized as a “solid” outing. His performance lowered his ERA by nearly three full runs, and the game was tied when he was pulled early in the fifth inning, although he was responsible for the man at third who scored on a Florial sacrifice fly. Anthony Banda, who came in to replace Munoz, ultimately took the loss after allowing an RBI single to Rodolfo Duran in the sixth.
Rochester (25-30 in the second half, 59-69 overall, 8.5 games back) and Scranton (31-24 in the second half, 65-64 overall, 2.5 games back) conclude their series on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Lefty Alemao Hernandez (1-1, 5.68 ERA) will take the mound for the Wings against Scranton right-hander Mitch Spence (8-7, 4.57).
So its now Sept 14th and its pretty clear that just about everyone has forgotten about the Red Wings 2023. I guess thats OK since this has been a most forgettable season (both halves) With the equally as forgettable Nationals at the helm, almost 80 different players have cycled thru Rochester. Any who are still true baseball fans basically had to cheer for the uniform only because players weren’t around long enough in many cases for anyone to get to know them .
Blankenhorn created a bit of excitement and he ultimately earned his September callup…going from one team going nowhere to another going nowhere.
Thats about it though. The pitching staff was perhaps one of the worst collection of incapable hurlers in my memory. They were hard to watch. With MLB calling all the shots in the ‘new’ International League, the excitement of trying to make the playoffs has disappeared. If you don’t finish 1st out of 20 teams, you go home.
The winners of each ‘half season’ meet in a best of 3. The winner plays the winner of the other AAA league in a one game winner takes all in Vegas. yippee!
The reward the fans get is one team gets to have home games.
For those who have followed the Wings for years, the vibe is totally off. The whole season feels like a series of exhibition games where nothing really matters. There is no buzz. you go to the ballpark, watch a few innings, have a dog and a brew, chat with friends and go home. You don’t read about the game the next morning because no one is covering the games. You know nothing about the Nationals because no one covers them either. they have a zero footprint in this city and we’re stuck with them for 7 more years.
(I guess it was either them or drop back to AA or drop out totally)
Would we be better off with the Mets (who DO get local coverage)? Look at Syracuse. they are worse than us..and we can’t beat them!
Attendance—it was actually better early in the season. the traditional large crowds that usually starting to show after July 4th, never materialized. I’d like to think that at least a part of that is the lousy team with an unpopular parent team.
Innovative Field? Swing and a miss. Terrible name for our ballpark. I still call it Frontier.
Calling the team The Plates on home Thursdays? Please stop. Wear the jerseys as an ad, but don’t refer to the team as the Plates. Thats simply sophomoric and kind of an insult to the legacy of the Rochester Red Wing baseball (what’s left of it) Its a gimmick. I have a shirt and a ballcap. But the team will always be the Red Wings until they are dead and gone. Starting in 2024, I hope this nonsense is put to rest.
Cancelling games instead of making them up as DH’s? More nonsense that reinforces the notion that the games are really meaningless scrimmages. When a game is rained out at the beginning of a 6 game series and it isn’t replayed…whats the deal with that? It has happened twice very recently against Buffalo and Syracuse.
I love Red Wing baseball, but I don’t love what is happening to it along will all AAA ball. This is the first year I have more unused season tickets than games attended. Just couldn’t get into this team.
I’d be interested in knowing how other long time fans of the Wings feel about the state of not only our team but of minor league ball in general. Does it matter anymore? Are you happy with our affiliation? Was watching baseball this summer fun? I’ve had my say (even if its unlikely too many will even see it!)