By Craig Potter
Eddie Rosario smacks a 2-run homer to help Rochester beat the Chiefs, 5-3.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Red Wings got timely hitting and excellent pitching to beat the Syracuse Chiefs, 5-3, on Friday night before 5,820 fans at Frontier Field.
“We had contributions from all over, and again we played good defense to backup our pitching,” said Red Wings manager Mike Quade.
The Chiefs took the lead with a run in the first inning against starter Jason Wheeler.
In the bottom of the first inning, Tommy Field was called out on a close play by first base umpire Derek Mollica. While manager Mike Quade argued the call with Mollica, hitting coach Chad Allen was ejected by home plate umpire Jantzen Visconti.
However, the Red Wings pulled ahead in the second on a leadoff single by Kennys Vargas and a home run by Eddie Rosario.
The game remained that way until the sixth when Wings starter Jason Wheeler gave up a triple, single and double, which tied the game. Aquinas graduate Chris Bostick then lofted a sacrifice fly to left to plated the go-ahead run. Bostick finished the game 1-for-3.
D.J. Baxendale came on in relief with the bases loaded and 2 outs. He got a popout to second baseman Jorge Polanco to escape without further damage. The Wings scored in the bottom of the frame to regain the lead as Baxendale picked up his first triple-A victory.
“He’s done a good job since he’s arrived,” said Quade. “It’s not a role he’s accustomed too. We’re going to give him a chance to get accustomed to it.
“I just thought at that point that that matchup was good.”
The Red Wings responded in the home half with 3 runs of their own.
“When you give up two, you always like to answer one way or the other,” Quade said.
Rosario started the rally wuth a single. Adam Brett Walker walked and Darin Mastroianni laced a RBI single to knot the game at 3-3. Wilfredo Tovar ended his 0-for-18 hitting streak with a double to score the fourth run. James Beresford then sent a sacrifice fly to center to account for the final run.
“Tovar had a huge RBI base hit. He’s been struggling so that was really great to see,”said Quade.
Bostick displayed his versatility as he played his third different position in his third consecutive game versus the Red Wings. Bostick batted fourth and played third base tonight, where he finished the game 1-for-3, while in the twinbill on Thursday, he played Game 1 at second base and Game 2 in left field.
The defense shined with a couple of great catches in the outfield. Walker made a terrific sliding grab in left field in the second inning on Jason Martinson, and Mastroianni made a diving catch in right field in the seventh inning on Brian Goodwin.
The win keeps Rochester (48-35) 2.5 games behind North Division leader Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (50-32), and a half game ahead of Lehigh Valley (47-35).
*NOTES — OF Darin Mastroianni, sent to the Red Wings on a major league rehab assignment June 17, made his first appearance and had two hits, an RBI and a run scored…Minnesota Twins slugger Miguel Sano ended his rehab assignment with the Red Wings on Friday as he went back to the Twins, and minnesota optioned 1B/DH Byung-Ho Park to Rochester…The start of the game was delayed 1 hour and 25 minutes due to a couple of storm cells passing through the area.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – redwingsbaseball.com
Videos
Rain delay – https://youtu.be/IbAh8CUWYAc
Clearing tarp – https://youtu.be/307FL9VgvSo
Manager Mike Quade interview – https://youtu.be/ZI_sPMTV0Xs