BY DAN GLICKMAN
It’s been awhile, but the Rochester Red Wings have finally returned to their historical perch: atop the International League. Coming back from a 2-1 deficit with two outs in the eighth, Rochester won its first league title since 1997 on Thursday with a 3-2 win in game three of the International League Championship Series over the homestanding Memphis Redbirds at Autozone Park, taking the series two games to one.
“This is special for me,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy post-game. “I’ve been here for the last six years, we’ve had some tough seasons, and me and Dauby (hitting coach Brian Daubach) and Mikey (strength and conditioning coach Mike Warren) have been here the longest, and nothing could make me happier than for us to win a championship for Naomi (Silver), Dan (Mason) and the Rochester Red Wings fans. The community has had our backs for the last five or six years, and for us to deliver tonight… I’m happy for all of those guys.”
The win was partly because of an unexpected hero in infielder Cortland Lawson, who wasn’t even supposed to be playing. He’d been one of the last players to earn a call-up to Rochester from AA Harrisburg in the final days of the season, and had seen action in only six games in the regular season for the Wings. He wasn’t in the starting lineup on Thursday, either.
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“I was just trying to stay ready the whole day, just in case my name was called,” he said post-game.
However, in baseball as in life, fate brings unexpected happenings – and Lawson’s name was indeed called. Sam Petersen had to leave mid at-bat during the sixth inning after seemingly pulling something after a foul ball, and Lawson was brought in with an 0-2 count. While the 26-year-old Virginian struck out in that at-bat, his arrival into the game meant that, come the eighth inning, it would be him at the plate with the game tied after a key double by Andrew Pinckney but two outs and Memphis’ relief ace, Matt Svanson, on the mound.
And on the second pitch of the at-bat, Lawson saw a sinking fastball from Svanson and got around on it and sent it up the middle. Pinckney sprinted home, scoring what would ultimately be the game and series-winning run.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play there at the end, and I ended up doing just that, got Pinckney in,” he said.
Lawson’s hit, and the Pinckney RBI double that preceded it, broke up what had been to that point a game of missed chances for the Red Wings.
Although the Wings jumped to an early lead when Riley Adams singled in Seaver King in the first, after that Rochester struggled to capitalize on scoring opportunities for much of the game: they had two men in scoring position with no outs in the third, only for the next three batters to go down. They also got a man to third in the fifth with two outs, but Trey Lipscomb was caught off the third-base bag during an attempted steal play by Cayden Wallace that went awry. In the seventh, Max Romero Jr. reached second on a single and then a wild pitch, only to be left stranded there.
For a period, it looked like those missed opportunities would doom the Red Wings. On the mound, a series of Red Wings did well in a bullpen game (a common story this season, LeCroy pointed out post-game), but with just one run on the board, the margin of error was almost non-existent. For the first few innings, Rochester was able to live with that – Zak Kent had the start and threw three hitless innings, and then Matt Kranick threw a perfect fourth.
But the Redbirds got to Jake Bird in the fifth inning, as left-fielder Zach Levenson launched a low sweeper at 106.4 MPH over the left-field fence to tie it at one. Joe Glassey came in later to put out the fire, and then Erick Mejia struck out the side in the sixth, but back-to-back doubles off Clayton Beeter in the seventh put Memphis ahead 2-1 thanks to a Bligh Madris RBI.
The Red Wings’ season was down to just six outs, and it soon was down to four, as Svanson struck out Wallace and Adams in quick succession to start the eighth. The 6’5” righty, who has had 41 games of MLB experience, finished the regular season with a 1.54 minor league ERA.
But the Red Wings still had outs to play with, and Leandro Pineda doubled with two outs in the eighth to start the unexpected rally. Up came Pinckney, who by his own admission struggled against Svanson’s stuff.
“I’m not really good with sliders, but they left one in the middle after I chased two of them in the dirt,” said Pinckney. “I just wanted to stay through it and try and just get a hit, a single, to try and score the run, but I ended up getting a double out of it.”
That double, into the right-center field gap, tied the game at two, and brought up Lawson, who had his unexpected date with destiny. With three straight hits against one of the league’s best relievers, the Red Wings had grabbed a 3-2 lead. While Kyle Nicolas had to work around two walks in the eighth, the workhorse reliever of Eddy Yean returned to his closer role in the ninth and put Memphis down in order, clinching the pennant for the Wings.
“I felt like we had the best team all year long, and we played a tough game against a tough opponent… and those Never-Say-Die Wings… we scored two big runs and were able to finish it up,” said LeCroy.
Thursday’s victory gave Rochester its 20th International League title and the first under the current playoff format, but there is still one more thing left to win: a AAA title. Such contests have been played on-and-off through the decades, but the Red Wings haven’t won one since the legendary 1971 team defeated Denver in what was then known as the Junior World Series. Even then, the series only involved two of the then-three AAA leagues.
The Red Wings will try to make history when they head to the one-game AAA National Championship in Las Vegas on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 10 P.M., with the game set to air nationally on MLB Network. Their opponent from the Pacific Coast League will be the Oklahoma City Comets (Dodgers), who defeated the Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics) in three games in the PCL Championship Series. The Red Wings, thanks to having the best record in AAA, will be the home team. No starters have been announced, but LeCroy said that Jarlin Susana, a flame-throwing prospect who made his AAA debut in the final week of the regular season, will likely make an appearance.
Great article, you guys kept all if us fans up to date on the Wings.
Thank you for that!!!