The Columbus Clippers notch a 4-1 victory over Rochester as Lehigh Valley beats Norfolk.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — The Rochester Red Wings lost, 4-1, to the Columbus Clippers on Thursday afternoon, and in the process saw their 2-game lead cut in half as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs defeated the Norfolk Tides, 6-1.
Erik Gonzalez homered and had two hits, and Adam Plutko allowed just 6 hits over 7 innings to pace the Clippers.
Plutko (6-12) allowed 1 run while striking out 6 and walking 1 to earn the win.
Columbus got on the board first in the third inning when Michael Martinez ripped an RBI double and Lonnie Chisenhall lofted a sacrifice fly.
Rochester answered in the top of the fourth when Niko Goodrum hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Matt Hague, to pull within one.
The Clippers later tacked on a run in both the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Gonzalez hit a solo home run, while Richie Shaffer hit an RBI single in the sixth.
Drew Rucinski (2-6) went 2.1 innings, allowing 2 runs and 2 hits. He also struck out 1 and issued 1 walk.
Despite the loss, Rochester won the series against Columbus this season, 4-2.
*NOTES — In roster moves, RHP Yohan Pino was transferred from Double-A Chattanooga; and RHP Aaron Slegers had his contract selected by Minnesota (26th man for doubleheader)…O-HI-YES: Rochester had struggled in Ohio before last season. The Red Wings dropped 13 consecutive games in the Buckeye State at one point from 2013-15. The Wings lost the first four games in the state in 2015 but have gone 9-4 since then. Rochester has won the season series vs. Columbus in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2006 and 2007… Rochester is 52-14 when scoring first and leads the International League with an .788 winning percentage when plating the first run this season. The Red Wings had scored the game’s first run a league-low 24 times (18-6) through June 10. Since then, Rochester has scored the first run in 42 of 64 games while going 34-8 in those, though the Wings have dropped 4 of their last 9 games when scoring first.