BY DAN GLICKMAN
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – It was hot in Rochester on Sunday for the final game of the Rochester Red Wings and Buffalo Bisons’ six-game home-and-home series. At first pitch, it was officially 91 degrees, but the thermometer display in right field said it was 95 degrees. At some points, that display showed the mercury over 100. Players were taking special precautions, working light pre-game and drinking plenty of fluids. Regardless of the temperature, however, it was ultimately the Red Wings (31-53, 4-8 in the second half) who beat the Bisons (35-50, 5-7 in second half) and the heat, 3-1, thanks to a home run in the third from Robert Hassell III, good pitching, and a two-RBI day from second baseman J.T. Arruda.
The decisive score came off the bat of Hassell, who got hold of a 1-0 fastball left up very high by Buffalo starter Anders Tolhurst and launched it 397 feet over the center field fence for a go-ahead home run to start the bottom of the third. Arruda would later add insurance in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out soft line drive to center that score Jackson Cluff and extend the lead to 3-1. Arruda’s 2-for-4 day with two RBI came in his first action since June 28, but proved just what the Wings needed on Sunday.
“It’s tough [not playing as much], but it is what it is,” he said post-game. “You got to make the most out of your opportunity and go out and try the best you can to fight, get good [at-bats] and hopefully win the game.”
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JOE TERRITO.
Rochester’s pitching and defense, meanwhile, held off the Bisons, with Bryce Conley earning the win for five innings of three-hit ball and six strikeouts, allowing one earned run. The Wings ultimately held Buffalo to six total hits on the day, with would-be Buffalo rallies getting snuffed out by a pickoff from catcher C.J. Stubbs with two on in the sixth as well as a 1.2 inning save from Marquis Grissom Jr. that saw the Futures Game selection strike out four of the five batters he faced.
“It was a good team effort,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy post-game. “We made some plays on defense, we made all the plays in a solid ball game, and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Earlier, however, the game started chippily- and it meant that LeCroy wasn’t there for most of the contest.
After both sides went hitless in the first, Conley- making his first start at Innovative Field- worked a 1-2-3 inning in the second to bring the Wings up in a scoreless tie. Right fielder Nick Schnell opened the inning getting hit by a pitch from Anders Tolhurst, then moved to second when left fielder Andrew Pinckney singled. Then came third baseman Trey Lipscomb- and controversy. On a 0-1 pitch, the pitch appeared to hit Lipscomb, but home plate umpire Kaleb Martin said it had hit the bat for a foul tip. Lipscomb and LeCroy protested to no avail, but remained in the game. When Lipscomb struck out on the next pitch, however, he said something to Martin that led to an ejection, and LeCroy soon joined him in the clubhouse when he came rushing out of the dugout to protest.
“Lipscomb was hit on the hand,” said LeCroy post-game. “Lip wants to hit, but was clearly hit on the hand. I gave [the umpire] my displeasure about the call. Mainly, I wanted to keep Lip in the game. I’ve been managing long enough to know that once he got struck out he was probably going to get tossed, and I was just taking the fall there too, after it happened.”
The loss of their starting third baseman and their manager didn’t stop the Red Wings, however. They’d jump ahead for the first time later in the inning when Arruda singled to left to bring in Schnell and make it 1-0. The Bisons struck back to start the top of the third, however, as Buffalo first baseman Rainer Nunez got all of a 90.7 MPH fastball left up high and sent it into the UR Medicine advertisement in left-center. The 437 foot shot made it 1-1.
Hassell’s home run in the bottom of the third put the Red Wings ahead for good, and Arruda’s second RBI added some insurance, but it ultimately fell to the bullpen to hold it. Four pitchers combined to hold the Bisons scoreless, most notably Grissom, who had his second straight scoreless outing. Coming in with two men on and one out in the eighth, the 23-year-old righty struck out the next two batters to end the eighth, ending what would be Buffalo’s last major scoring threat.
“The late game situation is what we work hard for,” said Grissom post-game. “I like the pressure, I’ve been doing it for most of my pro career. I just want to be in those late games. Just have to be ready to go and be excited for those late game [situations] and embracing instead of shying away from it.”
In the final inning of Sunday’s game, he embraced it well until the end, sending the Bisons down 1-2-3 in the ninth to secure his second AAA save.
The Red Wings continue their home stand on Tuesday, when they begin a series with the Worcester Red Sox. Right-hander Cade Cavalli (3-2, 5.27) is set to take the mound against lefty Kyle Harrison (0-2, 7.880 at 6:45 p.m.
2 straight good efforts by the pen gives the Wings a split of the series and returns a little sanity to the 100 Acre Woods. The record is still a poor 4-8 but one good series this coming week could change that. Woosox are also off to a bad start so there is hope.
Nice that Grissom has had a couple of back to back effective outings.