By Craig Potter
Rochester falls, 7-6, for the 2nd straight 10-inning loss to Durham, after rallying to tie the game.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – For the second consecutive game against the Durham Bulls, the Rochester Red Wings gave out presents (runs) to the visitors from North Carolina.
After falling behind 6-1, the Wings staged a 5-run rally in the 8th inning to tie the score. Jorge Polanco belted a 3-run homer that knotted the count at 6-6.
James Beresford drove in the other 3 runs with a first-inning sacrifice fly that plated Darin Mastroianni, who had triple to lead off the game, and added a 2-run single in the 8th.
However, a passed ball by catcher John Ryan Murphy, who entered the game in the top of the 10th, led to the Bulls scoring a run and holding on for the 7-6 victory.
“After the passed ball, I had a tough decision to make whether to walk (Dayron Varona) and pitch to the nine-hole guy,” said Red Wings manager Mike Quade as reliever Sean Burnett was brought in to face Varona.
“Burney’s been so good I thought I’d let a veteran guy try and do his thing. He gave up a base hit and that was that.”
Bulls’ first baseman Casey Gillaspie likely would not have scored on the single if not for the passed ball.
“Probably not, but they may have taken a shot,” Quade said. “I shy away, especially with young pitchers, from loading the bases.”
The next batter hit a come-backer to the Burnett for the final out.
Scrooge (miscues) had played his hand.
“You don’t know what run is going to beat you, what play is going to beat you, you’ve got to keep playing,” said Quade. “Mistake-free baseball will usually get you a lot, and it didn’t happen tonight.”
Durham squandered a 4-1 advantage on Monday night, but erupted for 5 runs in the 10th to notch a 9-5 win. Polanco delivered the 2-run single in the 9th that tied that game also to send it into extra innings.
Pat Dean started on the mound for the Red Wings and went 6 innings, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits while striking out 2 batters.
“Dean had one bad inning and settled down and pitched okay,” Quade said. “Now his pitch count is where it needs to be to give us seven or eight (innings).”
Despite the defeat, Rochester (56-42) remains 4.5 games behind International League North Division leader Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (60-37), but fell to 1.5 games behind second place Lehigh Valley (57-40).
The series continues on Wednesday morning with first pitch at 11:05 a.m.
*NOTES – James Beresford went 1-for-4, improving his current hitting streak to 8 games. He also made a couple of great defensive plays at third base…Pitcher Nick Greenwood will get a spot start for Rochester on Wednesday morning in place of Logan Darnell, who is sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – redwingsbaseball.com
Videos
Jorge Polanco interview – https://youtu.be/nvYuXNacckE
Manager Mike Quade interview – https://youtu.be/0_MFZEWnBe8