By Craig Potter
Rookie Daniel Palka belts his first homer at Frontier Field for the game-winning hit.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Red Wings got a home run from rookie Daniel Palka, and a 2-run single by catcher Carlos Paulino, to spark a 4-run fourth inning en route to the 4-0 victory over the Norfolk Tides on Saturday night before 10,883 fans at Frontier Field.
It was Palka’s third homer since joining Rochester on July 7. The ball sailed 392 feet over the fence in right field.
“If he hits it 381 feet (to right), I’m happy with that,” said Red Wings manager Mike Quade with a smile.
In his debut at Lehigh Valley, Palka went 3-for-5 with 2 solo homers, a double, and scored 3 runs. He hit 21 homers while at Double-A Chattanooga.
Wilfredo Tovar extended the lead to 2-0 with a double that scored Byung Ho Park. Paulino plated the final two runs with a single, scoring Tovar and Buck Britton.
Though starting pitcher Andrew Albers gave up 8 hits, he recorded the key outs to keep the Tides off the scoreboard in his 6 innings of work. He walk 2 and struck out 2 batters.
“That’s what he does,” Quade said. “You’re rarely going to see him throw 6-7 innings or more. He does all the things a veteran has been doing for years…You just sit and watch him get through it, most of the time.
“We keep and eye on his pitch count, especially with the bullpen that we’ve got. If he can give you 6 or 7 innings, I’m pleased.”
D.J. Boxendale and Ryan O’Rourke combined to retire 9 of the 10 hitters they faced in closing out the whitewash.
“I don’t care if we shut somebody out if we use 5 guys,” Quade said with a chuckle.
The series concludes on Sunday afternoon with a 1:35 start.
Rochester (55-40) kept pace with both International League North Division leader Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (59-35) and Lehigh Valley (55-39) and trail the Yankees by 4.5 games and the IronPigs by a half game in the standings. These currently are the 3 best records in the IL.
*NOTES – Wilfredo Tovar’s RBI single extended his hitting streak to 7 games…Norfolk (35-59) has just 14 victories from the Tides starting pitchers thus far this season…Daniel Palka’s home run in his first at bat for the Red Wings was the first since Terry Tiffee did it in 2004 in his first plate appearance for Rochester…The Red Wings opened the scoring for just the 3rd time in the last 17 games. The Wings are 37-14 when scoring first and 18-26 when the opposition scores the first run…Carlos Paulino was name the Red Wings Star of the Game with his 2 hits and 2 RBI.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – redwingsbaseball.com
Videos
Daniel Palka interview – https://youtu.be/9nP9dqzOaOs
Manager Mike Quade interview – https://youtu.be/_RsHhdwZtFQ