Red Wings Report

The Red Wings are 3-1 on the young season. Opening day lineup: Jason Pridie, cf; Matt Tolbert, 2b; Luke Hughes, 3b; David Winfree, rf; Dustin Martin, lf; Trevor Plouffe, ss; Alejandro Machado, dh; Matt Macri, 1b; Drew Butera, c.

Thursday

Rochester hit four home runs to defeat Syracuse 7-4. All four players who homered were in New Britain on opening day last year--Dustin Martin, Trevor Plouffe, Luke Hughes, and David Winfree. The score was tied after seven, but Hughes hit a two-run shot and Winfree a solo to give the Red Wings a lead they would never relinquish. Martin and Plouffe each had two hits in the game, as did Jason Pridie and Matt Macri. Jason Jones pitched four innings, giving up two runs on five hits and three walks, striking out four. Mike Gosling got the win in relief, with Tim Lahey pitching a scoreless ninth to get the save.

Friday

Rochester won its second straight game by defeating Syracuse 9-2. Leading 1-0 after three, the Red Wings put together a small-ball rally in the fourth, scoring four times on two singles, a walk, a hit batsman, and two infield outs. The Wings added another in the fifth on an RBI triple by Trevor Plouffe, and scored three times in the sixth on doubles by Luke Hughes and David Winfree. Winfree, Plouffe, and Dustin Martin each had two hits for the Red Wings. Rochester starter Kevin Mulvey cruised through 3.2 innings, but then perhaps tired, loading the bases on two singles and a hit batsman before getting the last out in the fourth, and opening the fifth with two walks, a hit batsman, and a two-run single before being replaced with two on and none out. Armando Gambino worked out of the jam, pitching three innings and giving up only a walk. Jose Mijares pitched the final two innings, giving up only a single and striking out two.

Saturday

The Red Wings lost their home opener, falling to Syracuse 3-0. Syracuse scored single runs in the third, sixth, and ninth. Rochester had its chances, putting a runner on third base in each of the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, but could not score. The Wings were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base. David Winfree and Matt Macri each hit two doubles in the game. Anthony Swarzak started and pitched four innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits. He struck out four. Sean Henn pitched 2.2 shutout innings despite giving up two hits and two walks.

Sunday

A five-run eighth gave Rochester an 8-4 victory over Syracuse. Syracuse had taken a 3-1 lead in the fourth on a three-run homer by Justin Maxwell. The Red Wings closed to 4-3 after five on a two-run double by Luke Hughes but the score stayed there until the eighth. Rochester opened the inning with a Matt Tolbert double, a Hughes single, and a David Winfree double to tie the score. Dustin Martin was intentionally walked to lead the bases, but then came unintentional walks to Trevor Plouffe and Alejandro Machado to plate two runs. A Matt Macri sacrifice fly and a Brock Peterson pinch-hit single drove in two more. Tolbert, Hughes, and Machado each had two hits for the Red Wings. Reid Santos pitched five innings and did well outside of the three-run homer, giving up a total of four runs on five hits. Ben Julianel pitched two scoreless innings of relief.  Jose Mijares pitched a perfect eighth to get the win, and Tim Lahey pitched a perfect ninth to get the save.

Notes: Australian Luke Hughes had never seen snow before arriving in Rochester Tuesday...The Red Wings have now won on opening day in six consecutive seasons, but had not been 2-0 since 2004...The 2010 PBS series "Minor League" has been expanded from 13 half-hour episodes to 13 hour-long episodes...At the home opener, the first ball was thrown out by Rochester police officer Anthony Di Ponzio, who was shot in the head while on duty ten weeks ago...The Twins are giving Tommy Watkins some time in the outfield. It did not go well Saturday, when his fielding error gave Syracuse its first run and a lead it did not relinquish.