
By Dan Glickman
The Rochester Red Wings opened their first series after the All-Star break with an 11-4 win at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, taking advantage of four home runs and three-hit nights from Yohandy Morales, Nick Schnell, and Andrew Pinckney.
Pinckney put up all of the Red Wings (35-56, 8-11 in the second half) early scoring with two home runs: a 356-foot solo shot in the second against IronPigs (54-38, 8-10 in the second half) starter Gabe Mosser to put the Wings up 1-0, and then later a two-run homer against Moser in the sixth to tie the game at three. The IronPigs then jumped ahead 4-3 in the bottom half of that inning, but that would be the last run Lehigh Valley would score all game.
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The Red Wings, however, kept coming. Morales hit his sixth AAA home run of the year in the seventh, a two-run shot to jump the Wings ahead 5-4. Schnell added to the lead later in the inning, blasting a ball at 109.2 MPH 412 feet over the center field wall to score three and make it 8-4.
Rochester scored three more runs in the eighth, with Robert Hassell III doubling in Darren Baker and Nasim Nunez before scoring himself on a two-out Schnell single that capped a 3-for-4, four RBI night for the right fielder, including a triple in the fourth and his home run in the seventh.
On the mound, Bryce Conley started the game and went five innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out four. Parker Dunshee earned the win in relief, allowing a run on two hits in the sixth to move to 2-4 on the season. Rehabbing National Orlando Ribalta, Eduardo Salazar, and Zach Bryzykcy had a scoreless inning each to cover the rest of the way.
The Red Wings continue their series with Lehigh Valley on Saturday at 6:35 p.m. Cade Cavalli is scheduled for the Wings against fellow righty Mick Abel.
The kind of performance we have been searching for this season. Power, stolen bases, good ‘d’ and adequate pitching. Plus 2 out clutch hitting. Wings now 3 under .500 and I’m hoping that somehow they can get to .500 soon so that the baseball can be enjoyable the rest of the way for the fans, who have suffered thru a truly miserable season.
There are guys in this lineup who can get it done. Just need to put it all together. Parent team is still a mess and will most likely finish on the bottom of the division and near bottom of the league. Only Rockies and Bucs are with them as bottom feeders.