Stephen Gonsalves strikes out 11 hitters, including Boston IF Dustin Pedroia on a rehab assignment.
By CRAIG POTTER
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Stephen Gonsalves hurled 5.1 innings of shutout ball, scattering 4 hits, walking 4, while striking out 11 batters.
Gonsalves, Alan Busenitz, and John Curtiss combined for the 2-0 shutout over the Pawtucket Red Sox on Friday night before 7,477 fans at Frontier Field.
Many of the spectators came to see Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedrioa, who is with the PawSox on a rehab assignment.
Gonsalves struck him out in his first appearance at the plate.
“It was a cool experience; I had the juices flowing a little bit early and he really had some good takes in the later at-bats and drew two walks,” Gonsalves said. “It was cool to face him and kind of check him off my list.”
Pedrioa was the DH in Friday’s game and is slated to play second base in Saturday night’s and Sunday afternoon’s contests. He drew 2 walks and struck out twice in 4 plate appearances. Each walk loaded the bases for the PawSox, but they were unable to score.
Gonsalves is 3-1 record with a 2.99 ERA and 27 strikeouts since being called up from Double-A Chattanooga. After allowing 6 runs and not making it out of the second inning at Scranton-Wilkes Barre on May 11, Friday’s performance was a positive development.
“My curveball and slider worked for me real good,” Gonsalves remarked. “Fastball came in early; I kind of lost it towards the end. But normally my go-to’s been my changeup and that’s what happened last time I faced these guys. Didn’t have it today but I think I kind of caught them off guard having my curveball.”
“He threw the ball well,” said Red Wings manager Joel Skinner. “There were a lot of strikeouts tonight on both sides. It’s just a situation where he kept pumping it in there and kept them off-balance. His pitch count got a little high (94), but like every starting pitcher, he gave us a chance to win today.”
For Skinner, Pedoria’s appearance had no impact on managing the game.
“That’s their side of the field. We deal with that too; we had May pitch two days ago,” he said. “But it’s just part of the roster situation that gives these guys a chance to come down from the major leagues and get some reps. It’s good for the fans when guys like that come down here; they get to see them in person. But other than that, no.”
Gonsalves worked out of a bases loaded situation in both the third and fifth frames. In the third, he picked off Aneury Tavarez, who had singled, while trying to steal second.
However, the PawSox proceded to load the bases on a walk, single, fielder’s choice, and a walk to Pedroia. But Gonsalves fanned Rusney Castillo to end the threat.
In the fifth, a single and two walks, again the second to Pedrioa, filled the bases. Gonsalves recorded all 3 outs in the inning via strikeout to once again dodge the bullet.
The Red Wings turned a 2-out error in the third inning into a run. Zack Granite was safe on the miscue, took third on Ryan Lamarre’s single and scored on Jake Cave’s basehit.
Catcher Willians Astudillo provided an insurance run in the fourth with a 342-foot homer over the left field fence.
The Red Wings faced Boston hurlers Austin Baddox and Tyler Thornburg, who are with the PawSox on rehab assignments. Both pitchers threw one inning eith each giving up one hit and striking out one.
*NOTES — Minnesota Twins 3B Miguel Sano will join the Red Wings Saturday on a rehab assignment…Syracuse Chiefs centerfielder Rafael Bautista, who was injured Thursday in a collison with rightfielder Hunter Jones in the 7th inning against the Red Wings, torn all 3 ligaments in his knee and will need 12 months to recover…The series with the PawSox continues Saturday at 7:05 pm and the homestand concludes Sunday at 1:05 pm.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – redwingsbaseball.com