BY DAN GLICKMAN
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Before the Easter Sunday matchup between the Rochester Red Wings and the Worcester Red Sox, children at Innovative Field participated in an Easter egg hunt.
Sadly for the Red Wings (4-15), the Easter Bunny favored Worcester (10-9), delivering the Boston prospects the 7-0 win while leaving the Red Wings’ offense with zeroes despite a good start from Wings’ right-hander Chase Solesky, with the Red Sox jumping on AAA debutante Matthew Bollenbacher to turn a 3-0 game into a runaway affair.
Solesky, who had struggled early in the season with a 7.20 ERA in his first three starts (10 IP), threw 77 pitchers, 53 of them for strikes, as he went 5.1+ innings, scattering seven hits and striking out five without allowing a walk.
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“We needed him to go as deep as he could for us,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy. “Anytime you can bounce back and face a team a second time in a week… I thought he did a nice job.”
Three of the four runs he gave up- and the only three he gave up while in the game himself- were off the bat of Worcester shortstop Marcelo Mayer, the No. 11 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com Pipeline.
The first run came in the top of the third. Worcester left fielder Corey Rosier had led off the inning with a single before stealing second. Rosier later moved to third when Vaughn Grissom flew out for the second out of the inning. Up came Meyer, who got hold of a 0-1 changeup from Solesky.
Mayer’s hit went up the middle at 100.3 MPH, and Red Wings shortstop Jackson Cluff moved to his left and dived. It seemed he’d make an outstanding diving catch for a second, but the ball ended up just out of his reach, deflecting off the top of his glove and falling safely to allow Rosier to score and put Worcester ahead, 1-0.
Solesky held the Red Sox off the board until the top of the sixth, where Grissom led off with a single to bring up Mayer again. The lefty got to Solesky’s first pitch, an 81-MPH slider low, and rocketed at 107.6 MPH over the center field wall for the two-run home run, making it 3-0. A single and a strikeout later, and Solesky was pulled. In came Matthew Bollenbacher, a recent call-up from Single-A Fredericksburg making his AAA debut.
The Red Sox took advantage of the Virginian immediately, drawing a walk and then getting another man on thanks to a hit-by-pitch before catcher Mark Kolozsvary grabbed hold of an 89.9 MPH fastball left up for a grand slam, the third for the Red Sox in the series. The score had ballooned to 7-0.
“We brought in the young kid from A-ball to help us give some length in the pen,” said LeCroy. “We figured he would have some jitters and be a bit nervous, and he gave up a grand slam there. You know, it’s just one of those things where we were in it, and then we gave up that six spot to their offense.”
Rochester continued to get frustrated at the plate throughout the rest of the game, and a depleted bullpen forced LeCroy to use Cluff in the top of the ninth. The shortstop utilized a knuckleball to throw a scoreless inning, allowing a double but striking out Phillip Sikes looking to end the inning.
The use of Cluff was partly due to injuries and call-ups in recent days. Pitcher Daison Acosta, for example, is day-to-day after an injury in Saturday’s win, as is utility player Paul Witt. Because of recent transactions, Bollenbacher wasn’t the only player who made his AAA debut on Sunday—infielder J.T. Arruda also made his Red Wings debut, going 1-for-3 and making several nice defensive plays at second.
Sunday’s game capped an eventful series that saw, among other things, the Red Wings get no-hit, lose in extra innings, give up 20 runs, and score 12 runs themselves. Worcester’s offense scored 49 runs throughout the series, an average of over eight a game.
Mayer, alongside MLB.com Pipeline No. 2 overall prospect Roman Anthony, was among the Worcester players who menaced the Red Wings throughout the series. The Californian had eight hits, a double, two home runs, and 13 RBI in the six games against Rochester. Anthony, meanwhile, battered the Red Wings for seven hits, a double, two home runs, and five RBI.
“You go one through nine with those guys, they got guys that are going to give you a little run for your money,” said LeCroy. “They have a good team and young guys who can impact the ball. These guys will play in the big leagues and be really good players, it looks like.”
The Red Wings won’t have to worry about the prospect-ridden Worcester lineup again, at least for a while, however, as they’ll hit the road starting Tuesday, going down the thruway to face the Buffalo Bisons in a seven-game series (including a doubleheader on Wednesday to make up for an earlier postponement). Tuesday’s game one is set for 6:05 p.m., with Andrew Alvarez set to take the mound for Rochester.
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