By CRAIG POTTER
Buffalo edges Rochester, 2-1, as the IronPigs win to pick up a game in the wild card hunt.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Red Wings dropped a 2-1 game in 11 innings to the Buffalo Bisons Friday night before a paid crowd of 9,564 at Frontier Field.
“This is the kind of stuff we’ve been involved with all year,” said Red Wings manager Mike Quade. “Somehow, some way the kids usually find a way to get it done, and we didn’t tonight.
“This club is playing a lot better than they were and we’ve just got to find a way to score some more runs, that’s for sure.”
With Lehigh Valley’s come-from-behind 4-3 victory in Pawtucket, the Red Wings’ wild card spot lead dropped to 2 games over the IronPigs. Both teams have 10 games remaining in the regular season. LV holds the tie-breaker as the IronPigs won the season series, 13-9.
The Bisons scored first in the top of the third after a Michael Saunders double, off Rochester starting pitcher Stephen Gonsalves, plated Jon Berti with the run.
The Red Wings’ offense struggled to get something going offensively against Bisons hurler Luis Santos. In the first 5 innings, Santos allowed just one hit, a single by Matt Hague in the second inning.
“We weren’t quite as crisp execution-wise a couple of times and that is going to cost you and it comes back to haunt you,” said Quade.
Rookie Levi Michael picked up his first Triple-A hit in style. In the bottom of the sixth inning, he belted a solo home run 399-feet over the left center wall to tie the game, 1-1.
“He just crushed that ball,” Quade said. Michael, the smallest player on the squad at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, hit 6 homers for Chattanooga before being called up.
Gonsalves threw 6 innings, scattering 7 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 6 hitters. Nik Turley and Michael Tonkin each came on to pitch 2 innings of scoreless relief.
The Red Wings did threaten in the bottom of the seventh. Niko Goodrum ripped a double that put the go-ahead run on second base with two outs. But the Red Wings were unable to cash in on this opportunity.
Rochester also put a runner on to open the ninth when Hague drew a walk. ByungHo Park smacked a long flyball out to the warning track for the first out. With two outs, Anthony Recker ripped a double. Quade sent Hague home in an attempt to score the winning run. However, he was thrown out at home to send the game into extra innings. The Bisons right fielder made a great move to cut off the ball on one hop and relayed it home for the out.
“It would have been nice to have some speed available at the time, but that just wasn’t the case,” Quade said of the former Bison, who just turned 32 on Aug. 20.
Yohan Pino (0-5) was tagged for a run in the 11th on a sacrifice fly by Dwight Smith Jr. for Buffalo. However, the fly ball went between left fielder Daniel Palka and Michael. Palka caught the ball flat-footed and his throw to the plate sailed over catcher Anthony Recker.
“Palka’s got a very strong arm,” Quade said. “The one thing that is difficult for the outfielders is that when a ball is hit that high, you need to get behind the ball and close on it when you have that much time. Both of them had ample opportunity to get behind the ball and have some momentum going into it. They both know that and it is a difficult thing to master the timing going into that.
“The way you teach it and the way it’s done sometime in a game doesn’t always…but it’s not easy. I thought we had a legitimate shot at it, for sure.”
The Wings went down in order in the bottom of the frame.
Mound action
Both starting pitchers had to be alert in the early going. Buffalo starter Luis Santos knocked down leadoff hitter J.B.Shuck come-backer with his pitching hand and threw him out. Then the second Wings batter, Leonardo Reginatto, lined a shot through the box that Santos snared with his glove.
Rochester starter Stephen Gonsavles had to be very agile as not only did the ball come his way off the bat of Jon Berti in the third, but also the broken bat. Gonsalves jumped to avoid the bat, but the ball ended up just out of his reach as well as Berti got the infield single and later scored the first run of the game.
*NOTES – In the Express Mart Thruway Cup Series, Rochester is now 21-11 in the season-long competition for the Thruway Cup. With a record of 11-6 against Syracuse and 10-5 against Buffalo, the Red Wings have clinched the Express Mart Thruway Cup for 2017. The Cup will be presented formally on the field to manager Mike Quade during pre-game ceremonies the weekend of Sept. 1-4…Twins Executive Vice President, Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey is in town for the series, along with Director of Minor League Operations Brad Steil…Lehigh Valley overcame a 3-0 deficit to Pawtucket as the PawSox walked in the go-ahead run in the 4-3 IronPigs victory Friday night in Rhode Island…Felix Jorge became the 24th starting pitcher used by Rochester this season, most in the International League. Jorge also is the 40th different pitcher used by the Red Wings this year, a team record…The series resumes Saturday night with fireworks to follow the game.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – www.redwingsbaseball.com
Videos
Matt Hague thrown out – https://youtu.be/e8seo6ZSzfo
Engelb Vielma picked off – https://youtu.be/ZwUjBXvZoCs
Mike Quade interview – https://youtu.be/DxQz1SolcK0