Red Wings lose in ninth inning collapse
- rolek16
- May 1
- 3 min read
By: Ryan Oleksyn / Sports Writer
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Rochester Red Wings fell to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs by a final score of 4-2 on Wednesday. Rochester held a 2-0 lead going into the ninth inning, but the IronPigs stormed back, tallying four runs in the inning and three coming via a home run.
"If we don't play perfectly, we're finding ways to lose," Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy said. "I wish I had the magic sauce to change the way that things are going, but we have to keep going, and hopefully we can get into May and change it."
Red Wings starter Seth Shuman set the tone early in the game. His final line was five innings, one hit, zero runs, two walks and five strikeouts.
"He’s got a good mix, he’s an athlete, he was a quarterback in college so he’s got some fight in him," LeCroy said. "Like to see him when he's pitching for us."
The Red Wings led off the game with a blistering triple into centerfield from Daylen Lile. However, the two, three and four hitters would all be set down, and Rochester stranded the runner in scoring position. The Red Wings lineup has now been scoreless in the first inning for nine consecutive games.
Lile is the ninth-ranked prospect in the Washington Nationals system and was drafted in the second round of the 2021 MLB draft. The 22-year-old was just called up before the contest and tallied his first hit in the Triple-A level on his first swing with Rochester.
"Feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders," Lile said. "It's the same game, still baseball, so just go out there and have fun.”
In the following inning, Rochester struck first blood thanks to an Andrew Knizner double to score Andrew Pinckney. It was Knizner's third double and ninth RBI of the season, and Rochester jumped out in front 1-0.
Video credit: @RocRedWings on X.
In the third inning, third baseman Brady House sent a hanging curveball into the left field bullpen. It was House's fifth home run and 16th RBI of the season. It extended Rochester's lead to 2-0 over Lehigh Valley.
Video Credit: @RocRedWings on X.
"He's got a tremendous skill set. If he can be more consistent, he’s going to be a really nice addition to our big league team," LeCroy said. "Hopefully he continues to stay hot, and as the weather gets better, he gets even hotter."
The Red Wings had runners at first and second in the sixth inning. But with two down, Rochester's catcher, Andrew Knizner, would be in another RBI opportunity. But he struck out, and the IronPigs were able to keep the deficit to two runs.
In the following inning, Rochester once again began the inning with runners on first and second. But were once again denied on the scoreboard, and the lead remained 2-0 in favor of the Red Wings.
Red Wings reliever Jack Sinclair would be in charge of getting the final three outs in the ninth with a 2-0 lead. Sinclair struck out the leadoff batter, but Lehigh Valley strung together three consecutive singles. With two runners on and the IronPigs trailing by one, Cade Fergus drilled a hanging slider from Sinclair 438 feet over the wall. The IronPigs led for the first time all night, and that homer was Fergus's fourth of the season and brought his RBI total to nine on the season.
Joel Kuhnel was now in charge of saving the game for Lehigh Valley. Kuhnel set the Red Wings down 1-2-3 and secured the win for the IronPigs. The pitching outcomes for the contest were Max Lazar getting the win, Sinclair receiving the loss and Kuhnel earning the save.
With the loss, Rochester remains in 10th place in the IL East with a record of 6-22. With the win, Lehigh Valley improves to 21-8 on the season and now sits tied for first place with Jacksonville in the IL East.
The Red Wings will once again host the IronPigs tomorrow at 11:05 a.m. Andry Lara (9.00, 0-2) will be on the bump for Rochester, and Kyle Tyler (3.42, 2-2) will take the ball for Lehigh Valley.
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