By CRAIG POTTER
Niko Goodrum belts a 2-run homer to propel Rochester to a 4-3 win over the Norfolk Tides.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Red Wings moved into a tie for the International League’s wild card berth, with Lehigh Valley, following a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Norfolk Tides on Sunday afternoon before a paid crowd of 9,651 at Frontier Field.
Both teams (69-52) have 21 games left in the regular season, but the IronPigs won the season series from the Wings, 13-9, to own the tie-breaker, should the teams finish with identical records.
Niko Goodrum provided the game-winning hit with his 10th home run of the season, a 2-run, 397-foot blast over the centerfield wall. Kennys Vargas was on base via a single.
“Niko has been pretty darn consistent,” said Red Wings manager Mike Quade.
The Tides grabbed the lead in the first inning with a solo homer off starter Tim Melville. However, the Wings answered right back as Zack Granite singled and eventually crossed the plate on Vargas’s sacrifice fly.
Norfolk went up 3-1 with a pair of markers in the fourth on a leadoff walk, double, RBI ground out, and RBI single.
Rochester got one run back in the fifth when Engelb Vielma reached on an error, and scored on Daniel Palka’s single. That set the stage for Goodrum’s homer in the sixth.
Melville threw 6.2 innings as he scattered 4 hits, walked 3, and struck out 6 batters.
“Melville continues to pitch really, really well,” Quade said.
Nik Turley and Alex Wimmers combined to shut down the Tides the rest of the way.
“Turley gets kind of his first taste of that type of situation,” said Quade as he entered the game with 2 outs and a runner on second in the seventh. “We were anxious to see if he’d throw strikes, and he did.
The league’s final scheduled off day is Monday before the Red Wings begin a 6-day road trip to Columbus and Louisville. They return to Frontier Field on Monday, Aug. 21 to take on North Division leader Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a 4-day series.
*NOTES – The Red Wings fans helped raise over $5000 for suicide awareness/prevention resources through a cap and jersey auction, as part of the Wings of Hope initiative with the Villa of Hope and Sharing Kindness. Jason Wheeler, a Red Wing at the start of the season but now a member of the Norfolk Tides, organized the promotion while still a member of the Wings…Daniel Palka extended his hit streak to 9 games…For the first time since 2008, the Red Wings drew over 40,000 spectators for a 4-day series…Stephen Gonsalves became the 22nd different starting pitcher used by Rochester this season, tied with Louisville for the most in the IL…In pre-game ceremonies, the Red Wings inducted the members of the 2017 Class to the Walk of Fame…Over the last 6 seasons, the Red Wings have gone 18-5 against the Tides at Frontier Field, including the 2-2 split this season. The Wings have not lost a home series to Norfolk since 2002.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – www.redwingsbaseball.com
Videos
Niko Goodrum interview – https://youtu.be/3lvm5pTVD3s
Mike Quade interview – https://youtu.be/keq2ldr86a8