Nick Buss collects three of the five Rochester hits in the 5-3 loss to the Knights.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Red Wings four-game win streak came to a halt Tuesday night as the Charlotte Knights came from behind to top the Wings, 5-3, at BB&T Ballpark.
Rochester (4-4) had control of the game in the early innings. After a Jake Cave RBI double in the first and RBI from Willians Astudillo and Gregorio Petit in the second, the Wings had jumped out to the quick 3-0 lead.
Petit drove home a run with a sacrifice fly – the Wings fifth (!) over the last two games.
The Knights erased the 3-0 deficit sending nine men to the plate in the fourth inning. Chicago White Sox rehabbing catcher Kevan Smith had a two-run single to tie the game before ex-Red Wing Daniel Palka drove home the go-ahead run with a long fly ball single to right field off starter Dietrich Enns .
Enns (0-2) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits and four walks.
Other than a solo homer from Jose Rondon in the eighth inning, the bullpen kept the Wings in the game.
The combo of DJ Baxendale (2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 SO) and Nick Anderson (2.0 IP, H, R, 2 SO) held the Charlotte offense in check in a hitter-friendly ballpark.
Unfortunately, the Wings couldn’t capitalize as they managed only four baserunners from the 3rd inning on and finished 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. For the series, they are 0-for-16 in such situations.
Three of the five hits for Rochester came off the bat of Nick Buss who finished 3-for-3 with a run scored.
The Wings can still win the three-game set with a victory in the finale on Wednesday night. Right-hander Myles Jaye will get the ball for the Red Wings.
*NOTES — The Wings pulled off a hidden-ball-trick in the 4th inning. After a single to left field, Wings third baseman Jermaine Curtis held the ball until Kevan Smith began to take his lead at third base and quickly applied the tag…Rochester drew 11 walks Monday night, the most by the Red Wings since drawing 12 in a 10-inning win at Pawtucket on May 6, 2016. The 11 base on balls are the most by the Wings in a nine-inning game since the team drew 12 in a loss at Charlotte on June 1, 2013…The Red Wings have not lost a season series against the International League South since 2011, going a combined 110-70 (.611) against the four teams in the division over that stretch…Kennys Vargas has enjoyed hitting in Charlotte, batting .444 (8-for-18) with a double, four homers, three walks, nine RBI, and five runs scored in five games since the start of 2016. He hit a home run in three straight games at BB&T Ballpark from May 16-18, 2016 and has a homer in four of five career games at the park…Rochester and Lehigh Valley ended the season tied atop the Wild Card standings with identical 80-62 records but the IronPigs won the tiebreaker with a 13-9 head-to-head record against the Red Wings. The Wings became the first team in league history to win 80 games in back-to-back seasons and not make the playoffs either year. No Red Wing club had won at least 80 games in a season and missed the playoffs since the current Governors’ Cup format began in 1933 and it’s now happened two years in a row.