BY MIKE ROSE
ROCHESTER, NY — It was an up-and-down day for the Rochester Red Wings on Sunday. They would end the day with a split of the doubleheader with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs with Lehigh Valley claiming game one 5-4 while Rochester cruised to a 7-4 victory in game two.
“I thought we gave away the first game of the series with some costly walks and misplays and the same thing in the first game today but game two for me salvaged the series,” Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy said. “It could’ve been a tough day to get swept. I don’t like to use excuses but sometimes being off like this it can happen but it was a good bouncer back win and hopefully this will get us going.
Game one was action-packed early on. Juan Yepez got the scoring started with a first inning blast for Rochester, his second home run of the season. Lehigh Valley answered with three runs in the second behind an RBI single from Scott Kingery and Matt Kroon’s two-run single. An error from Scott Kingery helped the Red Wings respond in the bottom half of the inning eventually tying the game on a bases loaded walk from Yepez.
DJ Herz (Washington Nationals No. 12 ranked prospect) made his Triple-A debut on the mound in game one for Rochester. He labored a bit in the three-run second inning but overall gave Rochester a chance to win it. He turned in four innings allowing three runs on four hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts on the day.
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Errors would ultimately be the Red Wings’ undoing late. Still tied at three in the seventh a pair of errors from Rochester allowed the IronPigs to regain a 4-3 lead. Yepez made the first miscue on a sacrifice bunt attempt from Cal Stevenson to leave runners on first and second with no outs. Later in the inning, Jake Alu misplayed a grounder to second base that allowed the go-ahead run to score.
IronPigs reliever Andrew Bellatti came on to close it out. After hitting the lead off batter he retired Rochester in order to seal the win and an abbreviated series win for Lehigh Valley.
Game two was all Rochester. Alex Call gave the Wings a 1-0 lead, scoring on a double play in the first. After Lehigh Valley answered with two runs in the second, Rochester responded quickly. Darren Baker roped an RBI single to make it a 2-0 lead and Call followed with a three-run shot to left field to blow the game open. Call, who nearly connected on a walk off home run in game one, entered the second game 1-for-16 to open the season for Rochester.
“I think it’s just about getting the right pitch that I’m looking for and being stubborn to my zone and then executing when you get that pitch,” Call said. “I got what I was looking for and put a good swing on it so that was good validation for what you’re working on.”
Rochester would add a run in the third when Alu scored on an error and another in the fourth when James Wood doubled and scored on an RBI single from Travis Blankenhorn to make it a 7-2 game. The offensive outburst was a breath of fresh air for a Red Wings team that had hit the ball hard in the first two games of the home stand but wasn’t seeing results.
“Yeah I mean sometimes it sucks but that’s part of baseball,” Wood said. “But I think the other part is just staying with what you’re doing. We’re putting good swings on the ball so just knowing those are eventually going to drop.”
Wood finished game two 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and a stolen base. Six games into his Triple-A career Wood has reached safely in all six games and recorded a hit in all but one.
“There’s definitely some adjustments but a lot of it is stuff I’ve been working on spring and stuff I learned from last year,” Wood said.
Lehigh Valley added a pair of runs in the seventh but Rochester cruised across the finish line behind two shutout innings from Tim Cate and two innings of work from Rico Garcia.
The Red Wings (3-3) will take tomorrow to enjoy the eclipse before heading to Buffalo Tuesday to take on the Bisons (5-3) for game one of a six-game series. Thaddeus Ward (0-0, 0.00) will make his second start of the season for Rochester while Buffalo is slated for a bullpen game. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Sahlen Field.
With the split season (is that still a thing this year?) will the 3 games that were rained out be cancelled or will they try and replay them as part of DH’s when Lehigh comes back to town…or are are they not scheduled again 1st half?
I really dislike cancelling games. It happened too often last year. (actually if it happens once, its too often)
Anyway, glad to be playing baseball again. The 3 games were sloppy and the teams definitely looked rusty. But a 3-3 record for the Wings, considering how lousy they have been since Washington took over, is acceptable despite a pretty low bar.