Rochester takes the first game 10-6, but fall to the Chiefs 7-6 in the nightcap.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Syracuse Chiefs and Rochester Red Wings split a Sunday afternoon doubleheader at Frontier Field. The Wings got home runs from Ben Paulsen and Tommy Field in a 10-6 game one win, but the Chiefs used three homers to take the second game 7-6 despite a pair of home runs from Daniel Palka.
Game 1
The Red Wings responded after the Chiefs had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with 4 runs in the home half.
Tommy Field started the rally with a one-out single. With two gone, Kennys Vargas drew a walk and Dan Palka followed with a RBI single to even the score.
Mitch Garver beat out an infield hit to load the bases. Ben Paulsen ripped a double to left-center clearing the bases.
Rochester added 2 runs in the second as J.B. Shuck laced a one-out single. Field then blasted a home run for a 6-1 advantage.
Garver doubled and scored in the third. The Wings iced the game away with on Vargas’s 3-run homer in the fourth. Field and Matt Hague were on base via walks.
Southpaw Jason Wheeler started on the mound for Rochester and pitched 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 4 Chief hitters.
Syracuse tallied 3 runs in the 6th off reliever Alan Busenitz.
Game 2
Red Wings starter Aaron Slegers struggled in the first inning, as the Chiefs strung together six hits – including a two-run home run by Brandon Snyder – for a 4-0 lead.
Rochester chipped away at the deficit in the bottom of the second against Chiefs starter Taylor Hill. Kennys Vargas led off with a single and scored after an RBI double by Daniel Palka. Two batters later Niko Goodrum hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Palka from third and bringing the score to 4-2.
Slegers pitched consecutive scoreless innings, but ran into trouble in the top of the fourth giving up an RBI single to Jhonaton Solano making the score 5-2. Buddy Boshers was brought in with two runners on and got a groundout to end the inning.
Slegers pitched 3.2 innings allowing 11 hits, five earned runs, one walk and six strikeouts. He threw 92 pitches, 65 for strikes.
Palka led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run projected at 445 feet, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
Raul Fernandez took over on the mound for the start of the fifth inning, making his Red Wings home debut.
Fifth inning solo homers by Adrian Sanchez and J.B. Shuck made the score 6-4 with the Chiefs still in the lead, and the Wings pushed for more in the fifth. With runners at first and second and two outs, Matt Grace came out of the bullpen to face Palka – who delivered an RBI single that brought the Wings to within a run at 6-5.
The Chiefs added a run on a solo home run by Matt Skole making the score 7-5, and Alex Wimmers took over for Fernandez on the mound.
Wings catcher John Ryan Murphy was ejected by home plate umpire Dan Merzel during an at-bat in the sixth inning, with a count of 1-2.
Palka homered off Joe Nathan in the bottom of the seventh inning, his second of the game and fourth of the season. Ben Paulsen followed with a single to put the tying run at first with two outs, but Nathan got a long flyball out from Goodrum to end the game.
The Red Wings are off Monday and begin a 6-game road trip on Tuesday in suburban Atlanta against the Gwinnett Braves.