A trio of Rochester pitchers combine for the 2-0 victory over the Bisons.
By CRAIG POTTER
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Red Wings – playing as the Hop Bitters, a tribute to the 1879-1880 Rochester professional ball club – blanked the Buffalo Bisons, 2-0, Saturday night before 8,327 fans at Frontier Field.
Dietrich Enns, Alan Busenitz, and Nick Anderson combined on a 4-hitter in blanking the visitors from the Queen City.
Enns threw 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up just 3 hits, 2 walks and striking out 5 batters.
“His arm was working good, his release point was good, he mixed his pitches up and his command was good,” Wings manager Joel Skinner said. “You put all that together and good things happen.”
Busenitz took over with two outs and two on in the sixth, and struck out Jason Leblebijian to end the threat. He added 2 more scoreless relief innings, allowing one hit and striking out 4 hitters.
Anderson worked the ninth inning, setting down the side in order while fanning a pair for his third save.
The Hob Bitters got on the scoreboard in the fourth when Kennys Vargas beat the shift by ripping a single to left. When the ball was bobbled, Vargas hustled his way to second and eluded the attempted tag. He scampered home on a single by Wynston Sawyer.
“His baseball awareness is really good,” Skinner said. “He’s not the fastest guy on the team, for sure, but he’s a good base runner. He’s aware and not afraid to take a chance.
“He saw that the play was not a clean chance out there, and then he made a nice slide to the inside to avoid the tag.”
On his next at bat, Vargas beat the shift as he lined a single over the third baseman’s head, as he had moved to play where the second baseman normally plays, while that guy had moved to short right field.
“His deal is to go up there and be aggressive and try to get the ball on the barrel,” Skinner said. “Where they stand, it doesn’t matter. He’s a strong you kid and when he hits it clean, he hits it through shifts, over shifts, and over the fence.”
Rochester added an insurance run in the 5th when Jermaine Curtis led off with a single off the pitcher and stole second. Nick Gordon plated him with a 2-out basehit to right.
The two teams play a double header on Sunday starting at 1:05 pm.
*NOTES — With the Bisons batting in the 5th inning, a fan sitting along the third base side, caught a foul ball in his full beer cup…Minnesota Twins RHP Ervin Santana’s next rehab start has been scheduled at Double-A Chattanooga, rather than in Rochester Monday as originally thought. Santana is coming back from finger surgery…Express Mart Thruway Cup Series: The Red Wings are now 6-7 in the season-long competition for the Thruway Cup…The Red Wings lead the International League with a 3.03 ERA this season. The staff has thrown 7 shutouts, including 4 in the last 10 outings, and allowed 3 or fewer runs in 24 of 44 games…The Hop Bitters nickname recalled the 1879-1880 Rochester Hop Bitters of the National Association. The team was called the Hop Bitters as an homage to a 19th-century medical potion created by John D. Doyle. The medical beverage was purchased by Asa T. Soule in 1872, who increased the alcohol content, named it hop bitters, and went on to become wildly rich with the product. He used some of his income to purchase an Albany-based team and move it Rochester. The game commemorated aspects of the early days of “base ball,” including batter introductions being made from atop a dugout instead of over a PA, demonstrations of the 19th-century version of the game by historical reenactors, and spelling base ball with two words.
*More to come