Wings continue onward after shakeup for parent Nationals, but still can’t crack Worcester in 11-5 loss

BY DAN GLICKMAN

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – After a tumultuous few days for the Washington Nationals organization, the Rochester Red Wings came into Tuesday’s series-opening 11-5 loss to the Worcester Red Sox little-changed. Oh, sure, there’d been a few transactions, including the arrival of MLB veteran catcher Francisco Mejia, but the removal of Nationals manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo hadn’t changed the Red Wings.

They still took the field wearing home whites, center fielder Robert Hassell III hit lead-off as he had the last few games, and despite rumors that he would get the call-up to become the interim manager of the parent club, Matt LeCroy remained managing in the Rochester dugout. Mike DeBartolo may now be the interim general manager of the parent club, and former big leaguer Miguel Cairo has been uplifted from bench coach to interim manager, but in Rochester, it’s full steam ahead.

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“I had some conversations [Monday] with some of the higher powers, and they wanted us to stay the course,” said LeCroy, who added he has been in touch through text with Cairo and hopes to speak with him by phone sometime in the coming days. “They wanted to make sure I address the club of playing the game the right way. They know that we do that here, they know we work. There could be some changes ahead, maybe some philosophy changes, but right now, we’re going to continue to do what we do here- coach, work, and play the game.”

“They’ve been very pleased with our group other than the wins and losses, but as far as guys getting better, I feel like the guys are progressing in the right direction,” said LeCroy.

Sadly for the Red Wings (31-54, 4-9 in the second half) and their fans, one thing that hasn’t changed is the wins and losses that happen when Rochester play games against the Worcester Red Sox (45-42, 4-9 in the second half), who still seem to have their number. After going 1-11 against the Boston AAA affiliate in the first half of the International League’s split-season, perhaps the Red Wings thought that their fortune would turn against a Worcester team that had opened the second half flat, going 3-9 heading into this series and now lacking top prospects that had menaced the Red Wings earlier in the season, such as Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer. Although Rochester took an early 3-1 lead in the first, that turnaround against the WooSox didn’t happen, as Worcester outscored them 10-2 the rest of the way.

After a two-out rally against Red Wings’ starter Cade Cavalli gave Worcester an early 1-0 lead, the Red Wings struck back in the bottom half. With one out, first baseman Yohandy Morales got hold of a 2-1 slider left in by Worcester lefty Kyle Harrison and launched it at 104.7 MPH to center for a solo home run to tie the game at one. The home run, Morales’ third in AAA this season and his first at Innovative Field, was followed up by a double for Andres Chaparro. Then came Nick Schnell, who jumped on the first pitch he saw and blasted it over the right-center field fence to put the Wings ahead, 3-1. Schnell would ultimately end the game with a 3-for-4 stat line, finishing with three RBI and a triple short of the cycle.

“He’s been a really nice addition since coming up from Double-A, he’s been getting some really big hits for us since he’s been here,” LeCroy said of Schell, who has hit nine home runs since the call-up.

The rest of the game after that, though, was all Worcester. The WooSox put up two on Cavalli in the second to tie the game at three, then jumped ahead with four runs in the third, including a two-run shot by designated hitter Nathan Hickey that went over the REMAX sign pavilion in right, a distance of 412 feet. By the time the Red Wings scored again in the bottom of the fifth on a Schnell double, the score had moved to 9-4. Morales latter cut the score to 9-5 with another solo shot in the seventh, but a two-run eighth for the Red Sox put the game out of reach for good.

Vaughn Grissom, who has vexed the Red Wings through much of the season, went 4-4 with three RBI to lead Worcester. Schnell and Morales combined six of the Red Wings’ eight hits.

The Red Wings and Red Sox continue their series on Wednesday with a 1:05 p.m. game. Rochester expects to send out right-hander Chase Solesky (4-5, 4.98). Worcester had been expected to send out longtime minor league righty Robert Stock (5-3, 3.05), but other reports have since said that rehabbing Red Sox starter Tanner Houck will make the start instead.

It’s something that LeCroy says the team is looking forward to- a chance to test themselves against a big leaguer.

“As a manager, as a player, when a rehab guy comes down, you want to prove that you can hit against that type of high-caliber player,” he said. “It’ll be a challenge, but I like our group and they all fight. Maybe we can get him out of there early before he locks in.”