By Dan Glickman
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Former minor leaguer and Penfield native Greg Cullen was in the broadcast booth on Sunday, serving as a color commentator for Red Wings play-by-play man Josh Whetzel. During the game, he observed that you can often tell who won by counting which team gave up more “free 90s.” In other words, the team that gives up more bases due to mistakes- whether from errors, walks, or wild pitches- often loses.
On Sunday, the team that gave up more “free 90s” was the Durham Bulls, and the Rochester Red Wings (12-31) took advantage, ending their series with the Tampa Bay affiliate with a 7-5 win propelled by a fifth inning that saw the Wings score five unearned runs to jump ahead 5-3. The Wings later took advantage of further Durham (28-17) mistakes to add two more in the sixth en route to the team’s second win in its last three, and a recovery after a disastrous ninth inning on Saturday sent them down in defeat.
“Last night was one of those disappointing losses that you really hope doesn’t carry over,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy. “Fortunately for us, the boys came out and got some things going and were able to finish the game. That’s a sign that these guys aren’t gonna quit, no matter how bad it’s gotten here.”
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“Today was a much-needed win just because of what happened last night against a good quality club,” he said. “It shows these guys that we can compete with the better teams.”
Right-hander Seth Shuman started for the Red Wings and had a quality showing on the hill, spreading out six hits across six innings while striking out three to earn his first career AAA win. Only two mistakes marred the day: a solo home run in the first by Tanner Murray and a two-run shot from Brock Jones in the third.
“I obviously gave up those two home runs, but I just kept making pitches and seeing how long I can go out there and give our team a chance to win,” said Shuman.
Shuman’s performance was the Georgia Southern alum’s second against Durham in the series, following a two-hit, six-inning outing on Tuesday.
“It’s definitely interesting facing the same team twice, because you’ve seen all their hitters once and they’ve seen you once, obviously,” he said. “But I attacked them, and our defense made some great plays. Brady [Lindsly] called it a great game behind the plate, as well.”
Durham’s 3-0 lead against Shuman lasted until the bottom of the fifth. That’s when the Red Wings started to get to Durham starter Joe Rock. Paul Witt led off with a single, and catcher Brady Lindsly followed with a single to center. J.T. Arruda then walked to load the bases without any outs.
Second baseman Darren Baker came up, and one of the game’s most important plays resulted. On a 0-1 sinker, Baker dribbled the pitch back towards Rock. Hurrying the play to try and force Witt at home and keep open the possibility of doubling up the speedy Baker at first, Rock ended up with neither, as he sent the throw home well wide of the catcher, allowing Witt to score. To make matters worse for Durham, Rock was late in covering home after the errant throw, allowing Lindsly to score and make it 3-2.
Durham’s troubles continued in the next at-bat, as Daylen Lile knocked a ball towards first only for Bulls’ first baseman Bob Seymour to misplay it, allowing J.T. Arruda to score and tie it at three. After a walk and a strikeout, Rock was pulled, but the incoming Mason Englert gave up a bloop single to Trey Lipscomb to score Baker and Lile, putting the Red Wings ahead 5-3.
“We took advantage of some errors, and the guys kept grinding,” said LeCroy.
The “grind” continued in the sixth, as did Durham’s fielding woes. After a one-out single from J.T. Arruda, Baker singled to center but was able to take second due to a throwing error by center fielder Brock Jones. Lile drove in Arruda in an at-bat later, and Baker soon scampered home on a wild pitch to make it 7-3.
Baker, who struggled this season less than a year after making his MLB debut, went 2-for-4 while reaching on the fifth-inning error, but the stats didn’t tell the whole story—his speed played a role in Durham’s fielding calculus and allowed him to move up when the opportunities arose.
“It’s a huge part for me [and my game],” he said. “There’s a lot of different way to affect the game or help the team win. I feel I’ve got that tool, and I try to use it as much as I can.”
Durham scraped its way back, adding a run in the seventh and ninth. After Tres Barrera reached first on a passed-ball strikeout, Durham got the would-be tying run to the plate in the form of Brock Jones- but Eduardo Salazar got a groundout to finish the game and secure the save.
Despite Sunday’s win, there is no way around it: the Rochester Red Wings have not had a good first 43 games of the season. Although there have been bright spots in players like Brady House, Lile, and Robert Hassell III (who has used a hot May to raise his batting average to .277 when it had been as low as .225 in April), the Wings are firmly in last place in the International League. Their .279 winning percentage is the worst in AAA and is ahead of only the Midwest League’s South Bend Cubs (10-29, .256 winning percentage) and the Colorado Rockies (8-37, .178 winning percentage as of the end of the Red Wings game on Sunday) in full-season baseball.
Rochester’s schedule, however, has not helped matters: 18 of their games—over 40%—have been against either the Lehigh Valley IronPigs or the Durham Bulls, who heading into Sunday had two of the best three records in the league (Durham tied with Jacksonville for second).
As LeCroy points out, a tough schedule isn’t unusual in the International League in general and the International League East in particular.
“We play the best teams every year, a lot- you play the Yankees, you play the Mets, you play the Red Sox, you play the Phillies,” LeCroy said. “I remember last year, the first half of the season, we didn’t play a team that wasn’t .500, and we played a really tough schedule.”
“We stayed in there, but this year we got a younger group,” he said. “We needed to win this game today to prove to these guys that they can play with the bigger boys.”
Rochester heads east to face Syracuse starting Tuesday. The series opener is set for 6:05 p.m., with the Red Wings set to send out Adrian Sampson. The Red Wings’ next home game is on Memorial Day, May 26, for a rare Monday game against the Columbus Clippers at 4:05 p.m.
honest assessment. Even though the team has played tough competition, the opponent helps make that team tough competition by losing all the time. The 2025 Wings are not a good team, no matter what excuse is put out there.
They have major deficiencies in every aspect of the game. Maybe by 2nd half, a few things will have improved.
Our time with DC has been one rocky ride so far.