Niko Goodrum collects 3 hits and drives in 6 runs to pace Rochester to a 10-5 victory.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Trailing 5-0, the Rochester Red Wings stormed back late in the game to hand the Louisville Bats a 10-5 defeat on Saturday night.
The win, combined with Lehigh Valley’s 5-3 loss to Charlotte, boosted the Red Wings (73-53) lead over the IronPigs (70-56) to 3 games in the chase for the International League’s wild card berth. Both teams have 16 games remaining in the regular season.
Niko Goodrum smacked a two-run single in the eighth inning, part of a three-run inning, that gave the Red Wings a 6-5 lead. Matt Hague added an RBI single later in the frame. Goodrum secured the win with a 3-run homer in the ninth as he finished the contest with 6 RBI.
Alex Wimmers (6-3) got the win with two innings of scoreless relief of starter Chris Heston. Jake Reed pitched 1.1 scoreless innings for his fourth save of the season.
Former Red Wing Adam Brett Walker tripled and doubled, scoring a pair of runs while also driving home a couple for the Bats.
With the win, Rochester improved to 4-1 against Louisville this season. The series concludes Sunday afternoon.
*NOTES — In roster moves, RHP Aaron Slegers was returned to Rochester; RHP Kohl Stewartwas transferred to Single-A Ft. Myers; and RHP Yohan Pino was transferred to Double-A Chattanooga…Rochester is 53-14 when scoring first and leads the International League with a .791 winning percentage when plating the first run this season. The Red Wings had scored the game’s first run a league-low 24 times (18-6) through June 10. Since then, Rochester has scored the first run in 43 of 66 games while going 35-8 in those, though the Wings have dropped four of their last 10 games when scoring first.