Wings fall in extras, 5-4, as Father’s Day loss sends losing streak to 12 straight

By Dan Glickman

Baseball is a game of fathers and sons. That was perhaps most on display on Sunday- Father’s Day. Dusty Baker, the legendary player, manager and (perhaps most notably to Rochester Red Wings’ fans) the father of Darren Baker, was on hand to sign autographs. Two more members of the Red Wings- Marquis Grissom Jr. (son of Marquis Grissom) and Yohandy Morales (son of former Cuban national team star Andy Morales)- are also the sons of notable baseball men. Pre-game, several Red Wings players and coaches who are currently fathers brought out their kids or grandkids out for first pitches. Many players used light-blue equipment as part of a baseball-wide promotion for prostate cancer awareness. After the game, many fans took to the field to “have a catch.”

Yes, it was Father’s Day at the ballpark, but the result ended up being the same for the Rochester Red Wings: another loss, as pitching failed to hold off the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in a 5-4 loss in 10 innings. On two different occasions, the Red Wings (22-45) rallied to tie the game, and at one point even held a lead for a half-inning, but it wasn’t enough against Jacksonville (43-26), who scored once in the top of the tenth on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice and then held the Red Wings scoreless in the bottom half to end the game with the would-be tying run standing at third.

It was the Red Wings’ 12^th straight loss.

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“Their team’s hot, ours isn’t,” said Rochester Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy post-game. “That seems to be following us the last two series, we can’t get the shutdown inning when we need it. We can’t stop that bleeding at times, and when we need a big hit, we haven’t been able to do it.”

The loss was even more bitter for the Wings because LeCroy’s observation was truer than ever in the ninth inning on Sunday. The loss came after the team fell behind on a two-out, two-strike double by Maximo Acosta in the ninth against Parker Dunshee, only to tie the game in the ninth on a just-barely-fair hit down the right field line by Nasim Nunez. Nunez later stole second to put the winning run in scoring position. The top three hitters in the Red Wings lineup went down in order without getting the “big hit,” sending the game into extras.

Although starter Seth Shuman started the game dominant with two perfect innings and four strikeouts, trouble struck in the third. Jacksonville catcher Brian Navaretto blooped a ball toward shallow right-center, and three Red Wings converged around the ball. None of them caught it, however, and center fielder Andrew Pinckney bobbled the pick-up, allowing Navaretto to move to third on the error. He’d then score on a sacrifice fly by Albert Almora Jr. Jacksonville added another run later in the inning when Troy Johnston scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.

Rochester struck back in the bottom half. Nasim Nunez notched a one-out single to center and then stole second, and soon came around to score on a single to right center by Lile. Lile himself soon scored when Brady House sharply hit a a fly ball to deep center. Hit with an exit velocity of 105.2 MPH, many in the stadium reacted as if the ball was surely gone, but the wind just kept it in play, causing it to hit the outfield wall and hold House to merely a game-tying double.

House later put the Wings ahead in the bottom of the fifth, singling in Lile after the Louisville native led off the inning with a ground-rule double to move Rochester ahead, 3-2.

Back on the mound, Shuman had settled down after his rough third inning, but in the top of the sixth the Jacksonville offense again got to him. Jakob Marsee, the league’s stolen base leader, singled with one out and soon stole second for his 38^th swiped bag of the season. However, Graham Pauley followed up with a solo shot to right on a 1-2 pitch to tie the game at 3-3.

“I thought he did a nice job giving us a shot,” said LeCroy of Shuman’s day. “He made a mistake there in the sixth for the tie, but he gave us a shot to win. We just couldn’t get that zero.”

Shuman ultimately went six innings of five-hit ball, striking out seven while allowing three earned runs. Holden Powell took over with two innings of one-hit ball before Dunshee pitched the rest of the way.

Up next for the Red Wings is a trip to Lehigh Valley to finish the first half of the split-season schedule. LeCroy says that the split-season format provides a good opportunity to start over.

“These guys are fighting,” he says. “We’re out of it in the first half, but the way these guys have went about their days and competing, I can’t get angry. We’re a young team and make mistakes, but as far as fighting, when the guys fight as they do every single day for me, that’s all I care about.”

“I think we can win some games, we got another week left in the first half, and hopefully we can get some momentum going and come back and get on a roll.”