The Rochester Red Wings snapped their eight-game losing streak on Saturday with a 12-3 victory over the Worcester Red Sox, propelled by a season-high 17 hits, including a 4-for-5 day with two home runs and four RBI for third baseman Brady House.
House, the No. 3 prospect in the Nationals’ system according to MLB.com Pipeline, homered in the second and seventh and also scored three times. Right-fielder Andrew Pinckney and catcher Andrew Knizner also homered, part of a three-hit day for Knizner.
The game was a sharp departure from the earlier games in the series with Worcester (9-9), where the Red Wings (4-14) have struggled both at the plate and on the mound. In fact, the team’s 17 hits on Saturday nearly matched the 18 hits total that the Red Wings had amassed their last three games (including a seven-inning no-hitter on Thursday).
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In stark contrast to the last three games, Rochester jumped ahead quickly. After two outs to start the inning, House and left fielder Franchy Cordero each singled, bringing up Pinckney. On the first pitch, Pinckney caught a 80.3 MPH slider left high in the zone from Jack Anderson and knocked it 105.2 MPH off the bat high into the wind, depositing it over the right-center field fence to give the Wings the early 3-0 lead and Pinckney’s third round-tripper of the season. Next up came catcher Andrew Knizner, who made it back-to-back by catching another Anderson slider up high and sending it over the left-center wall to extend the lead to 4-0.
Worcester struck back in the top of the second, as veteran catcher Yasmani Grandal doubled in a run to cut the Wings’ lead to 4-1. After that, though, the Red Wings pitching staff kept Worcester off the board until the ninth, while adding four more runs in the second (including House’s first of the day), two in the fifth, and two in the seventh. A late rally by Worcester was far from the enough, giving the Wings the win.
A combination of six Rochester pitchers took the mound in the win, with Jack Sinclair starting and going two innings with three strikeouts and an earned run before giving way to Jack Schoff and then Patrick Weigel, who earned the win for two hitless innings and three strikeouts. Clay Helvey, Daison Acosta, and Joan Adon completed the game.
The game wasn’t without loss, however, as Schoff, Acosta, and second baseman Paul Witt (who went 2-for-2) all left with injury. Their current condition going forward is unknown.
Although Rochester has already lost the six-game series with Worcester, they have a chance to finish it on a winning streak on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Right-hander Chase Solesky is expected to face Worcester lefty Shane Drohan.
gotta win one sooner or later.