Rochester squanders a 5-1 lead in the loss to the Mud Hens.
TOLEDO, OHIO — Former Rochester Red Wing John Hicks came up with the game-winning hit to propel the Toledo Mud Hens to a 6-5 victory on Saturday night.
Hicks had a walk-off double in the 12th inning to secure the come-from-behind victory. Efren Navarro scored the game-winning run after he reached base on a walk.
The Mud Hens tied the game 5-5 when Matt den Dekker hit an RBI single, driving in Tyler Collins in the eighth.
Logan Kensing (2-2) got the win with two innings of scoreless, two-hit relief while Nik Turley (4-4) took the loss in the International League game.
In the losing effort, Rochester got contributions throughout its order, as six players picked up at least a pair of hits. ByungHo Park homered and doubled, driving in two runs.
The Wings scored 3 runs in the first inning and added two more in the fourth for a 5-1 advantage. Rochester failed to capitalize on some good scoring chances, leaving a total of 13 runners on base in the game.
Despite the loss, the Red Wings are 4-2 against the Mud Hens this season.
The rubber match in the series is Sunday evening with a 6:05 start. The Red Wings return to Frontier Field on Tuesday, Aug. 5, in a key 3-game series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. All games are a 7:05 pm starts.
*NOTES — Rochester was just 3-for-its-last-35 with runners in scoring position before going 3-for-its-last-3 in the 10th inning Friday night…The Red Wings were 11-15 in May and began June 6-9 before finishing the month 13-2. Prior to the run, Rochester was on the verge of having a losing record in back-to-back months for the first time since April (10-16) and May (14-15), 2013. Now, the Wings have won 19 games in two straight months for the first time since July (23-9) and
August (19-15), 1990. The Wings were 28-31 prior to games on June 14, 12.5 back in the North and 7.0 back in the wild card. They’re 33-13 since…Matt Hague has hit in all seven games since receiving a day off on July 21, batting .433 (13-for-30) with five doubles, a home run, 2 RBI and 7 runs scored. He is third in the International League this season with 110 hits and fifth with a .298 average. Hague was the league MVP in 2015 and is the only player in IL history to lead the league in hits three different seasons. Since June 15, Hague leads the league with 14 doubles. He has already set a career-high with 7 stolen bases.