By CRAIG POTTER
Tommy Field and Zack Granite pace the offense behind Jose Berrios’ pitching.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Jose Berrios pitched the Rochester Red Wings to a 3-1 victory over the Pawtucket Red Sox to earn a split in the abbreviated weekend series Sunday afternoon before 3,835 frigid fans at Frontier Field.
Tommy Field drove in all 3 runs for the Red Wings as Zack Granite made his International League debut, after missing the first 23 games due to a strained left oblique, by scoring the first and third runs for the Red Wings.
“You know he was dying to play,” said Red Wings manager Mike Quade. “He just makes things go. He got off to a good start…We haven’t stolen a whole lot of bases, I think that will change,” he added with a smile.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for awhile,” Granite said. “It’s good to get going and hopefully keep it going.”
Granite played 5 games with Single-A Ft. Myers before being assigned to Rochester.
“They wouldn’t let me leave Ft. Myers without everything being good,” Granite said. “I feel really good right now.”
The PawSox took a 1-0 in the top of the first inning against Berrios on back-to-back doubles.
However, the Wings responded in the home half as Granite led off with a single and scooted around to third on a single by J.B. Shuck. Field then ripped a double to left to score the two runs.
Rochester tacked on an insurance run in the third as Granite led off with a single and stole second. With one out, Field laced a single to score Granite with the final ran of the game.
“I’m here to score runs,” said Granite, who has been a leadoff hitter for most of his career. “If I can do that then I’m doing my job.
“I like to steal bags. That’s my thing. I try to pick a good pitch to run on. That’s what happened and I was safe today.”
Berrios hurled 6.2 innings, scattering 6 hits while striking out 4 batters.
“To be honest, I didn’t think his command was great (today),” said Quade. “His stuff, obviously, was plenty good enough to pitch as well as he did today. But he was behind more than I’ve seen him…but we’ll take that outing all day long.”
Alex Wimmers pitched the ninth, allowing 2 runners to reach base, but he struck out 2 and got a ground out to second baseman Field to end the game.
“It was a good win to finish this (homestand),” Quade said.
*NOTES – RHP Justin Haley (right biceps tendinitis) ended his Minnesota Twins rehab assignment. He made one rehab appearance with Rochester on Friday…The Red Wings rank second in the IL with a 3.14 ERA, though the team has given up 17 unearned runs, which is third most in the league…All the fans in attendance were given a rain check for another game in appreciation of them coming out in the 43 degree temperature Sunday…The Red Wings hit 24 home runs in April, the most by a Wings club since at least 1998. The Wings tallied just nine home runs in April last season…Class A Cedar Rapids OF Lewin Diaz is the Twins minor league Player of the Week…in five games for the Kernels, he hit .474 (9-for-19) with four doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, one walk and four runs scored. Diaz has played in 27 games for the Kernels this season, hitting .282 (29-for-103) with 11 doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI. The 20-year-old was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent in July of 2013…The Red Wings hit the road for the next 7 days with 3 games against Lehigh Valley and 4 versus Pawtucket. They return home on Monday night, May 15 against Lehigh Valley.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – redwingsbaseball.com
Videos
Tarp taken off the field – https://youtu.be/Om1kgqsnhPw
Zack Granite interview – https://youtu.be/7YYNBfpGhuI
Mike Quade interview – https://youtu.be/X9um0pMGU54