Rochester hangs on for a 9-7 win after building a 7-0 advantage over the Mud Hens.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Red Wings withstood another late rally by the Toledo Mud Hens and held on for a 9-7 victory on Sunday afternoon before 7,920 fans at Frontier Field.
“The offense put us in a great position,” said Red Wings manager Mike Quade as the Wings built a 7-0 lead after 7 innings.
Rochester got on the scoreboard first with a run in the second. Eddie Rosario led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Wilfredo Tovar. Tommy Field scored Rosario with a single.
The Wings put together a 3-run rally in the 5th. Adam Brett Walker started the uprising with a double to left. Carlos Paulino then singled to put runners on first and third. James Beresford singled home Walker with a hit to right. After a sacrifice bunt by Logan Schafer, walks to Jorge Polanco and Kennys Vargas force in Paulino. Beresford crossed the plate on a slow roller down the first base line by Rosario.
Starting pitcher Logan Darnell worked out of a jam in the 5th when the Mud Hens had runners on second and third with none out. Darnell got Casey McGehee to hit a grounder to first baseman Beresford, who threw home to catcher Paulino for the tag out.
“The guy kind of hit it in a perfect spot for me to make that decision,” Beresford said.
Tyler Collins then hit a grounder to Beresford who threw to shortstop Tovar for the force at second, then took the return throw to complete the double play and end the inning.
“It happened pretty quickly because he hit it so hard,” said Beresford.
Getting out of the inning without yielding a run proved huge later on when the Mud Hens rallied late.
The Wings tallied 3 runs in the 7th and added 2 runs in the 8th, which proved to be critical. Rosario doubled home 2 runs in the 7th as Tovar’s sacrifice fly plated Rosario.
In the 8th, a walk to Walker, a RBI double by Beresford proved to be the game-winning run, Schafer singled home Beresford for a 9-2 lead entering the 9th.
“Our offense was fantastic. We had so many good at bats,” Quade said. “Just a great day offensively.”
Darnell scattered 7 hits, 2 coming in the top of the 8th plus a walk to load the bases. The Mud Hens averted a shutout with a pair of sacrifice flies.
“It was a good outing. I felt good today,” Darnell said. “I was able to control the inside and outside part of the plate with my fastball, which was good. I usually hang my hat on the outside corner but today I was able to go in a lot. The change-up was pretty good.
“I had some great defense behind me.”
David Martinez relieved Darnell to start the 9th. He was tagged for 5 hits and 5 runs as the Hens drew closer.
“The bullpen struggled,” Quade said. “David struggled, obviously.”
Third baseman Tommy Field had to fight the strong wind as a pop-up started out of bounds, then was blown into play where he made a diving catch for the first out of the 9th.
“The inner diamond defense was fantastic,” said Quade. “It’s great to have good pitching but it’s always good to have good defense behind him. When you get into a little trouble as a pitcher, if you’ve got confidence in your defense, they can get you out of it just as you can.”
Nick Greenwood made his Red Wings debut and recorded the final out, on a comebacker to the mound, with the tying runs on base.
“Greenwood has a good change-up, and that was the final pitch of the game to get us out of it,” said Quade.
*NOTES – Sunday’s attendance of 7,920 brought the season’s average attendance to 5,092. The weekend series drew 28,896 to moved ROchester to 9th in the IL in average attendance, and the only team averaging in the 5,000 range. Rochester passed Norfolk and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in average attendance following the weekend series…Over the past 4 games in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, the Wings have yielded a total of 21 runs, while managing to split those 4 games.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – redwingsbaseball.com
Videos
Logan Darnell interview – https://youtu.be/qEIoTVQCWdA
James Beresford interview – https://youtu.be/vcx_A3sNYbM
Manager Mike Quade interview – https://youtu.be/m3_sNXWqcCI