By Craig Potter
Rochester edges the PawSox, 3-2, following a protest over the 8th inning pitching change.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Red Wings edged the Pawtucket Red Sox, 3-2, on Wednesday night before 7,791 fans at Frontier Field, but the victory may not be complete.
Pawtucket Red Sox manager Kevin Boles protested the game in the eighth inning, saying the umpire crew chief (Max Guyll) said the right-hander (Pat Light) was to come in, but then the left-hander (Ryan O’Rourke) was brought in to face the PawSox lefty batter Marco Hernandez.
“On the pitching change, he (Guyll) called for the right-hander,” Boles said. “The umpire was adament, bring in the right-hander…then all of a sudden the lefty comes out, and it looks like Mike was able to talk him into that with the lefty.
“So my question is, I look to the home plate umpire (Eric Gillan), what do we have here? It’s supposed to be the righty…It got jumbled up, let’s put it that way…The righty was called for and all of a sudden the lefty is out there, which can’t happen.”
Boles added, “I’m going off of the umpire, it’s the righty…As far as what Mike Quade did, it wasn’t that it was that the umpire made the decision and said, ‘Look, it’s the right-hander.’ He made that call, then all of a sudden the lefty is out there.
“I can’t look Marco Herandez in the face and say it’s okay for the lefty-lefty matchup, and so the lefty went out there, the righty didn’t come out there to pitch to one hitter, so I made sure I got my words in, put the protest in play.”
Red Wings manager Mike Quade said he always points to the bullpen, indicating he is going to make a pitching change, then raises which ever hand he wants for that pitcher, in this case the lefty O’Rourke. Quade had both a lefty and righty warming up.
“Max said you pointed with your right hand,” said Quade, who has 20 years managing experience. “I was pointing at the bullpen…That’s the first time someone’s called me on that one…Technically, I did what I’m supposed to, he disagreed. I brought the left-hander in right away.
I pointed to the bullpen (with my right hand), I want my left-hander (raising my left hand). I’ve done that all my life.”
Therein lies the gist of the protest, was the righty signaled first, then the lefty-hander was brought in. The decision is now in the hands of the International League office.
“I kind of knew what they were talking about,” said O’Rourke, who was standing on the mound, then started throwing warmup pitches to catcher John Ryan Murphy to stay warm while the discussions were going on. “I saw a left arm go up and started walking out to the mound. Things kind of unfolded from there.”
However, the IL office might rule that the indication of the right-handed pitcher was a mistake by the umpire and that Quade wanted the left-handed pitcher to come in, which then was corrected as the lefty (Ryan O’Rourke) did enter the game, therefore the protest could be denied.
Pawtucket concludes its trips to Rochester on Thursday with an afternoon game starting at 1:35. It is not known at this time that if the protest is upheld, would the game resume from that point at 1:35 on Thursday, or be completed at a different date?
Marco Hernandez laid down a bunt down the first base side. Rochester first baseman Reynaldo Rodriguez fielded the bunt and appeared to tag Hernandez on the backside, but the out call was not made. Hernandez was credited with an infield single.
Quade argued the play and ended up being ejected from the game.
Light(s) out
Rochester pitching coach Stu Cliburn took over the reigns and brought in right-handed pitcher Pat Light to face Chris Marrero, who is second in the IL with 20 home runs.
Light, who just was traded from the Boston Red Sox organization to the Minnesota Twins organization, walked Marrero to load the bases with none out. He then retired the next three former teammate hitters, including the final two via strikeout, to escape unscathed.
“It was really weird going against my old teammates,” Light said. “I added a little bit different stuff to it where I’m not pitching the way I normally pitch. Kind of pitched a little bit differently to screw those guys. I enjoyed it.”
When Quade came out of the dugout to make the pitching change, then the confusion as to which pitcher should be in there, Light said, “I was trying to speed up getting ready. I wasn’t ready yet and I thought I might have to come in there…Lucky they let the lefty come in there and I had more time to get ready.”
The trade was the first in Light’s career as he had spent the entire season with Pawtucket.
“I’ve been with the Red Sox my whole career,” said Light. “It’s the first time I’ve had to face teammates, except for spring training.”
*NOTES – The last major league protest over rules that was upheld was the George Brett pine tar bat call that happened on July 24, 1983. That game was completed on Aug. 24, 1983…Wilfredo Tovar’s first-inning home run was the first in 479 at bats over 148 games. His last HR came on June 6, 2015 while playing for Las Vegas…Tonight’s attendance brought the Red Wings season average up to an even 6,000 fans per game.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – redwingsbaseball.com
Videos
Pat Light interview – https://youtu.be/YIfO_lfW1jE
Ryan O’Rourke interview – https://youtu.be/pHob2whXP7M
PawSox manager Kevin Boles interview – https://youtu.be/IdZLQwvkk5Y
Manager Mike Quade interview – https://youtu.be/B1XrcQfKgPY