Rochester erupts for 8 runs in the 6th inning to capture the nightcap, 9-0.
ALLENTOWN, PA. — The Rochester Red Wings earned a split with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs with a 9-0 shutout in the nightcap Saturday at Coca-Cola Park. The IronPigs won the opener, 2-1.
In Game 1, the Wings scored first with a run in the second. ByungHo Park doubled to right, moved to third on a ground out, and came home on Leonardo Reginatto sacrifice fly.
The Pigs tied the game with a run in the third, and scored what proved to be the game-winner in the fourth when Rhys Hoskins scored on a forceout.
Hoskins scored after he led off the inning with a single and advanced to third following singles by Andrew Pullin and Pedro Florimon.
In the top of the second, Rochester grabbed the lead on a double play that scored ByungHo Park. Lehigh Valley answered in the third inning when J.P. Crawford scored on a ground out.
Pat Venditte (8-1) got the win with two innings of scoreless relief while Rochester starter Tim Melville (2-1) took the loss.
In Game 2, Rochester (43-36) took a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the fifth. The Wings broke the game open with an 8-run sixth inning on 6 hits, 2 walks, a hit batsman, and 3 IronPig errors. Granite had a RBI triple, Matt Hague ripped a 2-run double, and Engelb Vielma also contributed a 2-run single in the rally.
Michael Tonkin picked up the win in relief of starter D.J. Baxendale. Jake Reed earned a hold as Mason Melotakis hurled the seventh inning as the four-some combined for the 6-hit shutout.
The series continues Sunday with a 6:35 start.
*NOTES — Friday’s postponement was the 11th of the season for the Red Wings, joining April 6 and 7 at Syracuse, April 15 vs. Syracuse, April 23 at Charlotte, May 2 and 5 at Buffalo, May 6 vs. Pawtucket, May 14 at Pawtucket, May 25 vs. Durham and June 16 at Pawtucket. Rochester also has had five pre-game or in-game weather delays in 2017…The Rochester bullpen has allowed more runs (4) in the last two games than it did over the previous 13 games, covering 44.2 innings. Still, Red Wings relievers have pitched to a 1.17 ERA (7 ER, 54 IP) with 32 hits, 12 walks and 54 strikeouts in the last 15 games since June 15. Since the beginning of May, Red Wings relievers have pitched to a 2.23 ERA (49 ER, 198 IP) with 153 hits, 64 total runs, 30 walks and 193 strikeouts…Rochester and Lehigh Valley entered the twinbill tied for the best record in the International League when scoring first (.789, 30-8), but the Wings dropped to 31-9 for a .775 percentage with the split.