Red Wings Report

Rochester is 37-40, fifth in the IL North, 7.5 games behind Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Tuesday

The Red Wings led 6-1 after seven, but lost to Columbus 7-6 in ten innings in Rochester. Columbus scored in the first on three singles. Rochester took a 3-1 lead in the fourth when Steven Tolleson singled, Justin Huber walked, Danny Valencia doubled, and Rochester got two RBI ground outs. The Red Wings stretched the lead to 4-1 in the sixth when David Winfree walked and scored on a Dustin Martin triple. Rochester got two more in the seventh on a double by Trevor Plouffe and singles by Steven Tolleson, Danny Valencia, and David Winfree. In the eighth, however, a tiring Anthony Swarzak allowed a single and a walk with one out. Rob Delaney came in, and could not get the job done. Two singles and two home runs brought in a total of six runs in the inning, and put the Clippers ahead 7-6. Steven Tolleson hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to send the game to extra innings. In the Columbus tenth, two walks and a single produced the game-winning run. Matt Macri opened the bottom of the tenth with a double, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple, and there was no further threat. Tolleson, Valencia, and Martin each had three hits, with Tolleson scoring three times. Anthony Swarzak pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits. The loss went to Juan Morillo, who pitched the last two innings.

Wednesday

A four-run fourth boosted Columbus to a 9-5 victory over the Red Wings.  Rochester took a 1-0 lead in the first when Tommy Watkins doubled and scored on a couple of ground balls.  The Clippers took a 2-1 lead in the second on a double, a single, a walk, and an error, but the Red Wings tied it in the bottom of the second on Danny Valencia single and a Brock Peterson double.  In the fourth, however, Columbus batted around, scoring four times on a home run, a double, three singles, and a passed ball.  Rochester got one back in the fifth when Drew Butera hit his first homer of the year to make it 6-3.  The Clippers, however, got single runs in the sixth, seventh, and ninth to take a commanding 9-3 lead.  The Red Wings put together a two-out, ninth-inning rally to make the final score look better--Dustin Martin walked, and Peterson, Butera, and Watkins all singled to produce two runs.  Watkins had three hits and Peterson and Butera each had two.  Philip Humber took the loss, giving up six runs (four earned) on nine hits in 3.1 innings.  No reliever particularly distinguished himself, although Tim Lahey did strike out three in 2.2 innings in which he gave up one run and two hits.

Thursday

The Red Wings again put together a ninth-inning rally, but this time it meant something, as they scored three in the ninth to defeat Columbus 8-7.  The Clippers scored four in the top of the first on three doubles, two singles, and an error, but Rochester got three of them back in the bottom of the first when Tommy Watkins and Alexi Casilla singled and Justin Huber hit a three-run homer.  While each team had chances to score, there were no more runs until the sixth, when the Red Wings took a short-lived 5-4 lead on an error and singles by Brock Peterson, Watkins, and Casilla.  In the seventh, however, Columbus scored three times on three walks and a bases-clearing double to go ahead 7-5.  It looked as if that would be enough, but Rochester opened the ninth with back-to-back homers by Justin Huber and Danny Valencia to tie the score.  With one out, Dustin Martin doubled, Peterson was intentionally walked, Jeff Christy was unintentionally walked to load the bases, and Watkins delivered a single to drive home the winning run.  Watkins, Casilla, Huber, and Valencia each had three hits, with Huber driving in four runs.  Martin contributed two hits.  Jeff Manship gave up four runs (three earned) on ten hits in six innings.  Rob Delaney pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win.

Friday

A four-run eighth put away a 6-1 Rochester victory over the Clippers.  The Red Wings got two on in each of the first two innings, but did not score until the third, when singles by Steven Tolleson, Danny Valencia, and Matt Macri combined with a throwing error to produce two runs.  Columbus got one back in the fourth on a double and a single.  The two teams then combined to put only one runner on base until the bottom of the eighth, when Rochester got its four-run inning:  Alexi Casilla doubled and Tolleson singled, Justin Huber drove in one with a sacrifice fly (Tolleson to second) and Valencia singled to drive in another, and Macri doubled and Tommy Watkins singled to each drive in one more.  The Clippers got two on with two out in the ninth, but Jesse Crain recovered to get a strikeout and preserve the victory.  Brian Duensing got the winning, giving up only one run on six hits in eight innings.  Jesse Crain pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up a hit and a walk.

Saturday

The Red Wings came from behind late to defeat the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 6-5 in Rochester.  The Yankees got a run in the first on a single, a stolen base, and another single.  The Red Wings took a 2-1 lead after two on a home run by Trevor Plouffe, a single and a stolen base by Matt Macri, and a Drew Butera double.  Justin Huber homered in the third to build the lead to 3-1.  There was no more scoring until the seventh, when the Yankees sent ten to the plate and scored four times to take a 5-3 lead.  The Yankees got only three hits in the inning (two doubles and a single) but were aided by four walks and a wild pitch.  They missed a chance for more by leaving the bases loaded, however, and that miss would come back to haunt them.  In the bottom of the seventh, Rochester cut the lead to 5-4 on a walk to Macri, another double by Butera, and a ground out.  In the eighth, Danny Valencia homered to tie the score.  With one out in the ninth, David Winfree walked and went to third on a Jason Pridie single, and Alexi Casilla then singled to bring him in with the winning run.  Steven Tolleson, Plouffe, and Butera each had two hits.  Kevin Mulvey pitched 6.2 innings, and did better than his line of five runs on eight hits would indicate, as most of the runs came when he was tiring in the seventh.  Rob Delaney was unscored upon in 1.1 innings, although he walked in one of Mulvey's runs in the seventh.  Tim Lahey pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win.

Sunday

A four-run eighth lifted Rochester to a 6-2 victory over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  Justin Huber hit a solo homer to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead in the second inning.  Austin Jackson answered with a solo shot of his own to tie the score in the fourth.  Rochester had no more hits until the sixth, when singles by Jason Pridie, Alexi Casilla, and Huber gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead.  Rochester put runners on second and third with one out in the seventh, but did not score again until the eighth.  Alexi Casilla reached on a two-base error and Steven Tolleson reached with a bunt single.  A wild pitch put runners on second and third, leading to an intentional walk to Danny Valencia.  Trevor Plouffe hit a sacrifice fly to score one, and Brock Peterson hit a three-run homer to put the game away.  The Yankees got a double and single to score one in the ninth, but that was as close as they came.  Peterson had three hits and Huber two.  Anthony Swarzak got the win, giving up a run on only two hits in seven innings.  Jesse Crain pitched the last two innings to get the save.

Monday

Game 1

It's tough to win when you don't score, as the Red Wings found out as they had their four-game winning streak snapped by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5-0.  The Yankees got two doubles and a single to take a 2-0 lead in the third.  Rochester got two runners on for the only time in the sixth on a leadoff walk and a two-out single, but a ground out ended the threat.  Two singles and a homer gave the Yankees a three-run sixth, and that was that.  The Red Wings again could not solve Ivan Nova, getting only two hits, with Matt Macri's two-out, seventh-inning double the only extra-base blow.  Philip Humber went all the way, giving up five runs on eight hits in six innings of work.

Game 2

It's almost as tough to win when you only score one, as Rochester discovered as they fell to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 3-1.  The Red Wings had a couple of early threats, getting a leadoff double by Jason Pridie in the first and singles by David Winfree and Matt Macri in the second, but the Yankees scored first, when a walk, a double, a ground out, and a sacrifice fly resulted in two second-inning runs.  The Yankees built the lead to 3-0 in the third on a solo home run.  A Danny Valencia double and an error put runners on first and third with one out for Rochester in the fourth, but they again failed to score.  The Red Wings' only run came in the seventh:  Dustin Martin singled to open the inning, and a walk to Macri and a Brock Peterson single loaded the bases with none out.  Trevor Plouffe delivered a one-out single to score one, but that was it, as the last two batters failed to even make contact and the game was over.  Rochester outhit the Yankees 7-3 on the game, with the seven hits scattered among seven different players.  Jason Jones had the six-inning, complete-game loss.

Statistical notes:  The Red Wings are tied for sixth in runs, tenth in doubles, second in triples, and tenth in home runs.  They are seventh in walks and seventh in stolen bases.  They are tied for seventh in OBP, tenth in SLG, sixth in AVG, and tenth in OPS.

Red Wings pitchers are thirteenth in ERA, thirteenth in fewest hits allowed, tied for sixth in fewest home runs allowed, and twelfth in fewest walks allowed.  They are tied for seventh in strikeouts and thirteenth in WHIP.

Dustin Martin is tied for third in games (74) and fifth in stolen bases (17).  Jason Pridie is tied for second in at-bats (288).  David Winfree is tied for fourth in doubles (19).  Kevin Mulvey is tied for second in starts (15), tied for first in shutouts (1) and tied for third in innings (89.2).  Jason Jones is tied for second in starts (15).

Notes:  Bill Smith was in town for the Columbus series... Jeff Manship was promoted to Rochester, making his debut in the Thursday game...Red Wings pitching coach Bobby Cuellar has been named a coach for the World team in the All-Star Futures game...Rochester broadcaster Josh Whetzel will call the play-by-play for the AAA All-Star game...Jason Pridie returned to Rochester Friday.  He took the roster spot of Reid Santos, who was placed on the disabled list.  MiLB.com says he has a strained hamstring; the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports it as a sprained ankle...Five former Red Wings were inducted into the International League Hall of Fame Saturday:  Harry Walker, Red Schoendienst, Bill Short, Steve Demeter, and Ed Stevens...The Red Wings are 20-23 at home this season...As you know, Jesse Crain was sent down to Rochester, and Bob Keppel promoted to Minnesota...Denard Span was 2-for-6 in his two-game rehab stint in Rochester.