Ronald Torreyes homers twice in return to the Rochester lineup.
By Nick Sciarratta and Ben Blakely / Rochester Red Wings
ROCHESTER, N.Y — Ronald Torreyes smacked two home runs in his first game since May 4, but Pawtucket scored twice runs in the ninth to deal the Rochester Red Wings a 7-5 loss Friday evening at Frontier Field. The game featured a combined 26 hits and 38 runners left on base.
The Wings missed an opportunity to reach .500 for the first time this season with the defeat as they fell to 38-40 on the year.
Pawtucket struck first in the top of the first inning off Wings starter Chase De Jong. After a two-out double by Chad De La Guerra, Bryce Brentz hit a two-run home run to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.
The Red Sox extended their lead in the top of the second on a RBI single by Tzu-Wei Lin, making the score 3-0. De Jong escaped further trouble on a double play to second in which Gorsky Hernandez was called for interference.
The Wings offense gained a spark in the bottom of the third. With one out, Ronald Torreyes hit his fourth homer of the year, a solo variety to left field to make the score 3-1. This was Torreyes’ first game at Frontier Field since being placed on the temporary inactive list May 4.
Rochester was not finished in the inning, as Drew Maggi and Nick Gordon followed Torreyes with a single and a double. Brent Rooker knocked in Maggi and Gordon with his 39th and 40th RBI of the year with a single to center, tying the game 3-3.
After giving up back-to-back singles in the top of the fourth, Cody Stashak came in to relieve De Jong. Stashak shut the door with consecutive strikeouts to end the inning.
De Jong finished with 3.1 innings pitched, giving up nine hits and three earned runs. He walked two and struck out three, throwing 69 pitches with 44 strikes.
Rochester broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Wynston Sawyer singled after a 10-pitch at-bat. Torreyes continued his hot night with his second homer of the night after the single. The two-run homer to left gave Rochester a 5-3 lead. The multi-homer game is Torreyes’s first of his career.
Pawtucket gained one back in the top of sixth on a RBI double by former Wing Juan Centeno, making the score 5-4 Wings. After a walk, Rochester made their second call to the bullpen, bringing in Ryan Eades. Stashak finished with 2.1 innings, giving up three hits and one earned run. He walked two and struck out five.
Eades recorded a strikeout with runners on first and second to keep the game 5-4.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Red Sox brought in reliever Jenrry Mejia. Stankiewicz finished with 5.0 innings, giving up nine hits and five earned runs. He struck out three and recorded 93 pitches, 63 for strikes.
With two outs in the top of the eighth, Andrew Vasquez came in to relieve Eades with two outs and runners on first and third. Vasquez’s first pitch was a wild pitch that allowed Cole Sturgeon to score from third, tying the game 5-5. Vasquez struck out Chad De La Guerra to keep the game tied.
Eades finished with 2.0 innings pitched, giving up two hits and one earned run while striking out three.
Pawtucket took the lead in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Juan Centeno, giving Pawtucket a 6-5 lead. The Red Sox tacked on another run on another Vasquez wild pitch, making the score 7-5.
*NOTES — The Minnesota Twins have announced the following roster move: DELETE: LHP Lewis Thorpe was recalled by Minnesota…Brent Rooker extended his on-base streak to 16 games with his first inning double. Drew Maggi extended his on-base streak to 8 games with his third inning single…The teams meet again Saturday at 7:05 pm for Batman Night with Cory Michael Smith – “The Riddler” from the FOX series “Gotham,” plus post-game Bat-fireworks. Gates open early Saturday at 5:30 pm.