BY DAN GLICKMAN
The Rochester Red Wings carried a no-hitter until there were two outs in the seventh inning on Wednesday as they beat the Omaha Storm Chasers, 7-2, to take their fifth straight win.
The victory in Nebraska keeps the Red Wings (28-19 in the second half, 73-47 overall) one game behind the Indianapolis Indians for the lead in the International League’s second half.
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In yet another bullpen game for the Red Wings, Jared Simpson opened play by going three perfect innings, striking out four. Luis Perales followed him up, striking out four over two perfect innings of work and earning the win to move to 7-5. Riley Cornelio came next, and while he allowed the first Omaha baserunner on a walk to Alejo Lopez with two outs in the sixth, he kept the no-hitter going until Abraham Toro singled to right with two outs in the seventh. It would be the first of three straight singles against Cornelio, allowing a run to score.
The Red Wings, however, had already built up a big lead, scoring seven before the Storm Chasers (23-22 in the second half, 56-63 overall) even had a hit. Leandro Pineda opened the scorebook with a home run in the top of the third to make it 1-0, and then Yohandy Morales later added a second run with a double. Pineda again helped get a run in the top of the fourth when Cayden Wallace scored on a groundout, and later in the inning Seaver King hit his 11th AAA home run to raise the score to 5-0.
A Wallace single in the fifth and an error to bring in Pineda in the sixth upped the Red Wings lead to 7-0, more than enough to withstand the two runs that Omaha scored. In total, five Rochester pitchers (Simpson, Perales, Cornelio, Jack Sinclair, and Kyle Nicolas) allowed five hits, two earned runs, and three walks on the night while striking out 14.
A weird quirk did happen for the pitchers, however: they had to hit. Starting catcher Riley Adams had to leave the game after the top of the fourth inning, and the only other catcher on the roster – Max Romero – was the designated hitter. By moving Romero to catcher, the Red Wings gave up the DH, forcing Perales to bat in the fifth – he struck out looking. It is not yet known why Adams left the game or what his status going forward is.
Among the team’s actual hitters, King led the way with a 3-for-4 night including his two-run home run, and also drew a walk. Pineda was 2-for-4 with two RBI including his solo home run.
Rochester will aim to win its sixth straight on Thursday at 7:35 p.m., when right-hander Zak Kent takes the mound against Omaha righty Henry Williams.
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