By: Dylan O'Loughlin
ROCHESTER, NY --- The Rochester Red Wings headed into the third game of the series against the Scranton Wilkes/Barre RailRiders down 0-2 and scoreless through two games. Rochester's Travis Blankenhorn sixth inning three-run homerun initiated a comeback that saw five unanswered Red Wings runs amounting to a 5-4 victory.
"We've been really struggling offensively for a couple of games and it kind of seemed it was going in that direction early," Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy said. "But you know we needed that hit from Blank (Blankenhorn) and I think he gave us life and gave us a little swagger going into the seventh and we were able to do it."
Leading the way for Rochester hitting was Darren Baker who went 2-4 with an RBI. Four other Red Wings were able to register a hit as well including two home runs, one from Blankenhorn and the other from the bat of Jackson Cluff.
It was a slow start to the game as neither team got on the board through two innings. Scranton/WB drew first blood in the third though after an RBI single from Jorbit Vivas to send Greg Allen home. That was the only run scored until the sixth inning.
After a few innings of great pitching from both sides, the RailRiders struck again. This time it came from the hands of Jose Rojas. Rojas, with runners on second and third, sent a ball out of the park to increase the score to 4-0 on a three-run homer for Scranton/WB.
The Red Wings were on the verge of going scoreless for the third game in a row, something that hasn't happened since 2002. But in the bottom of the sixth they put an end to that streak. The bottom started off with a single by Baker. That's when drama ensued.
After Baker, next up to bat was Jack Dunn. After the single, Dunn sent a fly ball that dropped deep in left field. It looked to be a triple that would send Baker home, officially ending the 24-scoreless-inning streak. The play however, got called a ground-rule double as the ball got stuck under the wall in left field, preventing Baker from scoring.
"Yeah, the guy in left field was shading me damn near centerfield," Dunn said. "So, off the bat, I tried to get to third and I saw the ball into there. You know, I haven't played a lot of left field, but I don't know how the ball could get stuck under there, but they made the call, and you know, Blank ended up hitting a homer, so it didn't really matter."
At the plate next was Blankenhorn, and he delivered. After a questionable call that could have potentially taken the Red Wings out of the game, Blankenhorn hit a three-run homerun that sent all runners home and made it a 4-3 game.
That momentum carried into the seventh for the Red Wings. After a great defensive inning, the Red Wings were right back at the plate. First up was Jackson Cluff and he couldn't have started the inning better for Rochester as he hit a homerun to tie it 4-4. After the homerun, designated hitter Carter Kieboom got walked and after he was able to steal second to get into scoring position. That's when Baker got to the plate and hit a ball in right field for an RBI single to send Kieboom home and take the lead 5-4.
"I had to face Sauer (Matt) a little bit last year, so I had some familiarity," Baker said. "I was really trying to at least get him over and give Dunn a chance, but thankfully it got ahead."
The RailRiders weren't done yet though. After Red Wings pitcher Nash Walters walked a couple batters and pitcher Rico Garcia hit Allen with a ball, the bases were loaded with two outs. The pressure didn't get to Rochester though as they were able to make a play and got the out at first to prevent any runners from scoring.
In the ninth, it was much of the same for the RailRiders as they were not able to get anyone on base. Rochester's Baker got two out of the three outs including the game-sealing out, a caught pop fly in left field to claim the victory. The resiliency of the Red Wings helped obtain their first win of the series.
"I mean that's a testament of our group," LeCroy said. "I believe in every player and the chemistry in that clubhouse and was really good in the dugout, and I knew at some point we were going to get out of it. We stay as positive as we can as a coaching staff, we work just as normal as we normally do and don't panic. Blank, I mean that was a big hit and I think everyone needed it. It carried over into the seventh and I think hopefully this will get us going again."
The two teams have officially reached the halfway point of the series as the Red Wings trail the RailRiders 2-1. Rochester looks to even up the series tomorrow for one of the most anticipated games of the season as Gerrit Cole heads to town and is on the mound for Scranton/Wilkes Barre. On the Red Wings side, on the mound will be RHP Joan Adon (3-5, 6.35). First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.
Comments