By CRAIG POTTER
Aaron Slegers pitches and Mitch Garver bats Rochester to a 7-1 victory over the Mud Hens.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Aaron Slegers won his 11th game, in 15 decisions this season, in pitching the Rochester Red Wings to a 7-1 victory over the Toledo Mud Hens before a paid crowd of 9,116 on Sunday afternoon at Frontier Field.
The victory was the Wings 7th in the 8-game homestand, third straight win, and pushed them to 16 games over .500 for the first time this season at 58-42.
“We had some early runs and a little bit of breathing room for a change,” said Red Wings manager Mike Quade.
Rochester opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the first. Mitch Garver blasted a one-out solo homer, his 14th round-tripper, over the right field fence. Matt Hague followed with a double down the left field line, then stole third. He scored on a wild pitch.
The Wings posted a 2-out rally in the second for 4 runs. Niko Goodrum started it with a walk and crossed the plate on Garver’s double.
“I think I just get ready a little bit more,” Garver said of the day games. Two weeks ago on Sunday afternoon against the Syracuse Chiefs, Garver became the first Red Wing to blast 3 home runs in a game at Frontier Field.
“Something about day games I like.”
Hague then laced a RBI single to center, and Kennys Vargas followed with a 443-foot home run to right field.
“It’s amazing how many runs you can score with two outs,” said Quade with a smile.
The Mud Hens scored a run in the sixth off Slegers on three hits. However, Red Wings manager Mike Quade want to see how Slegers would respond in the seventh as he retired 3 of the 4 hitters he faced. Slegers scattered 4 hits, walked 1, and struck out 7 batters.
“I didn’t think he was really strong early,” said Quade. “I thought he got his act together in the middle innings and pitched really well.
“I wanted to see him get through the seventh…You want to see how they rebound, especially after a tough inning…He responded pretty darn well.”
Rochester got that run back in the home seventh. Daniel Palka, who played in his first game since breaking his index finger on his left hand on May 27, ripped a 1-out single. Walks to Tommy Field and Leonardo Reginatto loaded the bases. Engelb Vielma grounded out as Palka scored the seventh run.
Wings relievers Drew Rucinski and Jake Reed pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Toledo loaded the bases with two outs against Reed, but he struck out Argenis Diaz to end the game.
“He’s got great stuff,” Quade said of Reed. “He just hasn’t had the command in the last few outings that we’ve seen. The last three sliders in the game to Diaz is kind of what we’re looking for.”
The Red Wings hit the road for the next 7 days with 4 games in Indianapolis and 3 games in Toledo before coming home on Tuesday, Aug. 1 for a 3-game series against Lehigh Valley.
“Good way to finish the homestand,” Quade said. “We go on a pretty important tough road trip.”
*NOTES – In roster moves on Sunday, OF Daniel Palka was reinstated from disabled list; OF Ryan Strausborger was placed on the disabled list with planter fasciitis in left foot…Double-A Chattanooga infielder Jonathan Rodriguez was named the Twins Minor League Player of the Week…in six games for the Lookouts, Rodriguez hit .429 (9-for-21) with two doubles, three home runs, six RBI, five walks and seven runs scored…the 27-year-old was signed by the Twins as a minor league free agent in January, spending the previous eight seasons in the Cardinals minor league system…in 85 games for the Lookouts this season, he is hitting .315 (97-for-308) with 21 doubles, 14 home runs and 52 RBI…Matt Hague’s double in the first inning was his 100th hit of the season in the Wings’ 100th game. His stolen base was his sixth this season, a career high…The Red Wings improved to 43-9 when scoring the first run of the game to lead the IL in that category…The 3-day attendance figure surpassed 30,000 for the second time this season, and the first time since 2011 that the Red Wings drew more than 30,000 over a 3-day period.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – www.redwingsbaseball.com
Videos
Mitch Garver interview — https://youtu.be/DHEYxyqKioc
Mike Quade interview – https://youtu.be/v2vYxEOG1ac