Baker walks off Bisons as Red Wings win fifth straight, 7-6

BY DAN GLICKMAN

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Second baseman Darren Baker wasn’t even supposed to be playing. Rochester Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy had told him that Saturday would be a day off. Then, late Friday, as the 25-year-old grabbed a late snack from Burger King, he got a call from LeCroy that plans had changed: Trey Lipscomb was getting the promotion back to Washington, and he would be in the starting lineup.

“Trey gets called up, and Skip calls after [last night’s] game; I’m in the Burger King parking lot… and he tells me I gotta play today,” said Baker. “I mean, I wasn’t upset, but it’s funny how it works out.”

For the Red Wings, it worked out perfectly, as Baker singled to left field with one out in the 10th inning to bring in “ghost runner” Drew Millas and give Rochester (48-37 overall, 10-2 in the second half, first place) its fifth straight win, 7-6, over the Buffalo Bisons (40-46 overall, 3-9 in the second half).

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It was the Wings’ seventh walk-off win of the season and concluded a comeback from a 6-4 deficit with two innings left to play, as Brady Lindsly smoked a solo shot in the eighth before Alex Call tied the game at six with a shot to left to lead off the ninth.

“No matter what the games look like, we kind of find our way back into it somehow,” said Baker. “We just have to play and never give up.”

Early in the game, it seemed like a comeback wouldn’t be needed. Although starter Brad Lord allowed a run in the second, the Red Wings struck back quickly. Alex Call drew an inning-opening walk in the bottom half of the second. He soon stole second for his 13th stolen base of the season. Buffalo’s James Kaprielian seemed to recover, getting the next two Wings out, but catcher Brady Lindsly got hold of a cutter left down and in, rocketing it to left-center field at 97.7 MPH before it landed at the base of the wall, just short of a home run. Call came around to score on the double, tying the game at 1-1. Carter Kieboom and Travis Blankenhorn hit back-to-back doubles in the third to put the Wings ahead 2-1, and Jackson Cluff singled in Blankenhorn to make it 3-1 later that inning.

Lord, the son of a retired federal wildlife officer, corralled the Bisons for much of his start after allowing the second-inning score, not allowing another hit until the sixth, and leaving the game after 5.2 innings pitched, allowing five hits total, two earned runs, and striking out six.

“Lord made some really good adjustments after the second inning, as he went after them with the fastball,” said LeCroy post-game. “He gave us a nice job pitching with the lead and giving us a shot.”

The right-hander left the game with two on and two out in the sixth, and one of the runs scored to make it 3-2. The Red Wings soon got that run back in the bottom of the inning, as Stone Garrett worked an eight-pitch at-bat with two outs before finally finding a 94.4 MPH fastball in, which he turned on and blasted to left field 423 feet, clearing the outfield fence with ease and registering his first home run of the season while extending the team’s lead to 4-2.

The lead would not hold. In the eighth inning, the Bisons loaded the bases with two outs against reliever Adonis Medina. The righty from the Dominican had allowed only three home runs all season, but Buffalo’s Alan Roden made it four, striking a grand slam blow to center to put the Bisons ahead, 6-4.

But the Wings would fight back. First, in the eighth, Lindsly would knock his second home run of the season, lining a ball into the right field bullpen to make it 6-5. It was part of a 2-for-5, two RBI night for the catcher, who voiced surprise post-game at how deep he hit his earlier double and credited getting good pitches to hit for his RBI.

“The double and the homer were on the same pitch,” said Lindsly. “It’s just a slider down; I’m just grateful they threw it to me.”

The Red Wings were still down one, but that difference disappeared with the first batter of the ninth inning: Alex Call. The left-fielder from Minnesota turned around on a 1-1 sinker and sent it deep to left for his 11th home run of the season, tying the ballgame, 6-6. That was all the Wings could get, though, sending the game to extras.

Rochester and reliever Amos Willingham escaped the tenth scoreless, as Cluff threw out the go-ahead runner at home for the second out of the inning to keep the game tied at six.

Then, finally, came the bottom of the tenth. Millas replaced Lindsly running at second as the so-called “ghost runner” but stayed firmly at second to start when Garrett lined out to begin the inning. Then came center fielder Dylan Crews. The highly-touted prospect went after a 1-1 slider down and hit a sharp grounder to third, but his speed forced a bad throw from Buffalo third baseman Damiano Palmegiani, who sent the ball past the first baseman. The error, Palmegiani’s third of the game, put men at the corners.

That paved the way for Baker, who worked a 3-2 count before singling off a splitter low to left, bringing home Millas to win the game.

It was, to LeCroy, a tribute to the team’s determination.

“We fought and battled like crazy until the end,” he said. “I’m really proud of the guys. They pull for each other. I’m talking about how well this clubhouse’s chemistry is and how hard they fight every night.”

However, the Red Wings won’t have to fight hard the next two nights as they are off for the next two days. They resume play on Tuesday, July 9, at the Worcester Red Sox. Lefty Andrew Alvarez (1-2, 6.52) is scheduled to take the mound at 6:45 P.M. against a yet-to-be-announced Worcester starter. Thanks to scheduling quirks and the upcoming all-star break, the Red Wings won’t return to Innovative Field until Tuesday, July 23.