Rochester moves to within a game of first place.
By Nick Grasso / Rochester Red Wings
ALLENTOWN, PA. — The Rochester Red Wings defeated the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 2-0, on Sunday night in extra innings after neither team scored a run through the first nine. With the win, Rochester now owns a 5-2 record in extra inning games this season.
The Wings sit in a fourth place tie with Worcester (both 44-40) in the International League East Division, one game behind tri-leaders Durham, Lehigh Valley, and Jacksonville (all 45-39).
RHP Logan Verrett had a stellar outing for the Wings, pitching for seven innings while holding the IronPigs scoreless on just three hits. Verrett threw 97 pitches in the win, good for his second most in a game all season. Rochester fought the low scoring battle with three pitchers while Lehigh Valley sent seven different pitchers to the mound.
RHP Patrick Murphy took over after Verrett and held Lehigh Valley scoreless in the eighth, as the game remained a 0-0 contest heading into the ninth.
Rochester scored the game’s first run in the top of the 10th on an RBI single from 2B Adrian Sanchez. They made it 2-0 when LF Josh Palacios logged an RBI double that brought home Sanchez. They would prove to be the winning runs.
With the game on the line in the bottom of the 10th, LHP Matt Cronin took the mound and went three up, three down as the Wings secured their 44th victory of the season.
SS Ildemaro Vargas went 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles, bringing his season total for doubles to 10, while 2B-1B Jake Noll ran his hit streak to 10 straight games with a single. Palacios stole his 19th base of the season and his third in the last four games.
After splitting the series with Lehigh Valley, the Red Wings will enjoy a day off on Monday before hosting the Omaha Storm Chasers at Frontier Field on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.