Red Wings continue charge in Scranton with 9-0 win

BY DAN GLICKMAN

The Rochester Red Wings again battered the pitching staff of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Saturday, winning 9-0 for their fourth straight victory in Pennsylvania.

The win moves the Red Wings to 2.5 games (22-16 in the second half, 67-44 overall) back of Durham and Worcester for the International League second-half title and knocks Scranton (23-13 in the second half, 60-50 overall) to a half-game back.

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Facing rehabbing Yankees lefty starter Carlos Rodon, the Red Wings jumped ahead immediately, with shortstop Seaver King connecting on a 1-1 fastball, sending it 403 feet to center to give Rochester the 1-0 lead. The Red Wings put up two more on Rodon in the third, as Leandro Pindea doubled with one one and then King drew a walk. Up came Phillip Glasser, who caught a sinker and sent it in to the right-field corner, allowing him to power around for his first triple of the season and bring in both runners to up the score to 3-0.

Although the RailRiders swapped out pitchers not long after Glasser’s triple, the Red Wings continued to score throughout the game, adding a sacrifice fly by Pineda in the fourth, an RBI single by Sam Peterson in the fifth, home runs by Pineda and Yohandy Morales (a two-run shot for his 23^rd of the season) in the sixth, and a solo shot by Trey Lipscomb (his 20^th of the season) in the ninth.

The Red Wings have scored 40 runs during the current four-game winning streak, but even if the Red Wings had scored only one run on Saturday, it would have been enough, as the Red Wings’ seven pitchers combined for the shutout victory. Red Wings pitchign combined to strike out 12 RailRiders on the night, while scattering seven hits and a walk. Erik Tolman, who pitched a perfect second, was credited with the win to move to 2-2 on the season.

The win ensures Rochester has now won the six-game series with Scranton, 4-1. The Red Wings will try to end it with a 5-1 split when they take on the RailRiders on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. Rochester has not yet announced a starter, but Scranton expects to send out right-hander Brenden Beck.