BY DAN GLICKMAN
Three home runs in the sixth inning onward led the Rochester Red Wings to an 8-5 victory over the Worcester Red Sox on Sunday, bringing their six game series to an end in a 3-3 split.
Tied 1-1 going to the sixth, a one-out three-run shot to left by centerfielder Alex Call– his eighth of the season- moved the Wings ahead 4-1. Third baseman Erick Mejia added two more runs later in the inning with a two-run homer to right-center to extend the lead to 6-1.
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Two innings later, catcher Brady Lindsly added some insurance with a two-run home run right-center, his first of the season, to make it 8-1. Those two runs would prove precious, allowing the Red Wings to maintain a multi-run lead even after a bottom-of-the-eighth grand slam by Worcester’s Nick Yorke cut their lead to 8-5.
Call led the team at the plate on the day with a 3-for-3 performance, including the home run, two runs scored, three RBI, and two walks. Lindsly had three RBI, while Mejia had two.
On the mound, right-hander Spenser Watkins moved to 3-2 on the year with the win, going seven innings and striking out six while allowing four hits and an earned run. Rico Garcia earned the save, his ninth, with 1.1 innings of no-hit ball, including two strikeouts.
The Red Wings (32-29, third in the International League East in the first half) return to Innovative Field on Tuesday to begin a six-game set with the New York Yankees’ top affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Right-hander Jackson Rutledge (2-3, 6.36) is scheduled to start against a Scranton pitcher to be announced. First pitch is 6:45 p.m. Off the field, the game will feature several promotions, including an appearance by actor Efren Ramirez, best known for his role as Pedro in the cult classic film, Napoleon Dynamite.
Today the starter did his job but once again the bullpen was a nightmare, turning a romp into close game….again.
Splitting a series with a team under .500 and giving up a ton of runs was frankly disappointing.
I have little quarrel with our hitters but it must be frustrating to know that just about every night they need to score at least a touchdown to have a shot at winning. Would be nice if the team flushed the bullpen for the beginning of the 2nd half. going into todays game Wings had allowed 54 runs since June 1st…an average of just under 8 runs per game.