Rock Cats win pitcher's duel at Dodd

New Britain 2 at Connecticut 1

W: Y. Pino (4-4, 4.26); L: D. McKae (6-5, 4.14); SV: B. Julianel (22)
HR: None.

There haven't been too many pitching duels for the New Britain Rock Cats, but they won one Friday night against the Connecticut Defenders.

Yohan Pino worked 7 solid innings, allowing only 1 run, earned, on 2 hits and pair of walks while fanning two. For their state rivals, Dave McKae also allowed 1 earned run on 8 hits and no walks while striking out 3 over seven innings. It was the unearned run that did him in.

Adam Witter walked in the bottom of the 2nd inning for the Defenders, as did Eddy Martinez-Esteve. Following a fly out to Carlos Sosa, and a pop out to Ryan Rohlinger, Simon Klink singled to drive in Witter. A throwing error by David Winfree in right field put runners on second and third, but Pino got Kyle Haines to ground out, ending the threat.

Drew Butera was hit with a pitch in the top of the 3rd, and a throwing error by Rohlinger allowed Matt Moses to reach on a force attempt. The runners would advance on the play and following a pop out to Steve Tolleson, Luke Hughes would ground out, plating Butera.

Danny Valencia doubled in to the top of the 4th and two outs later was singled in by Felix Molina. Molina would try to steal 2nd, but was caught, retiring the side.

Dustin Martin would get on base on a ground bunt single in the top of the sixth and Valencia would double again, but Martin was taken down at home as the Defenders saved the extra run.

Rob Delaney replaced Pino in the bottom of the 8th and allowed a single to Haines. He'd not be able to advance however as Delaney made quick work of the other three batters he faced.

Ben Julianel gets the job done as closer but he likes to make it interesting. After getting Pablo Sandoval to pop out, Witter and Martinez-Esteve took walks off of him. Carlos Sosa would go down on strikes and a wild pitch would advance the runners. Rohlinger then ground out, stranding his teammates and ending the contest.

Valencia was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run. Winfree was 2-for-4 with a double. Molina was 1-for-3 with a RBI and Tolleson, Hughes and Martin were all 1-for-4, Hughes with a RBI, the other two being one hit wonders.

Butera was 0-for-2 at the plate with a run.

The save was Julianel's 22nd of the season.

Game two of the series is Saturday night at the Dodd. First pitch is set for 6:35 PM with Ben Snyder (1-2, 7.66) on the hill for Connecticut, while the Rock Cats counter with Jeff Manship (1-5, 4.50).

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Note: While there has been no word as to which Rock Cat will be replacing Brian Duensing on the Rochester Red Wings staff, it is expected that the outgoing Cat will be replaced in New Britain by Jose Mijares.

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Rochester 3 at Scanton/WB 7

W: J. Karstens (6-4, 3.80); L: B. Duensing (5-11, 4.32)
HR: SWB: M. Carson (6), A. Gonzalez (3).

Brian Duensing's last start prior to his departure for Beijing was less then memorable as the Rochester Red Wings blew a 3 run lead and ended up losing 7-3.

Duensing allowed 5 runs, all earned on 10 hits and a walk and fanned only 2 in 6.1 innings to record his 11th loss of the season.

Adam Everett would get things rolling for the Wings with a soft line drive to center. Darnell McDonald then doubled to move Everett to 3rd. Garrett Jones would go down on strikes before Randy Ruiz doubled in the pair to give the Wings a two run lead.

Matt Macri would walk in the top of the 2nd and after a pop out to Alejandro Machado, advanced to second on a Ryan Jorgenson single. Jason Pridie's single moved Macri to 3rd and following a coaching visit to the mound, Everett would knock a line drive to right to plate him.

Matt Carson homered for the Yankees in the bottom of th 4th. Juan Miranda singled and Cody Ransom walked. One out later. JD Closser singled to load up the bags. Chris Stewart then sent a ball to Everett at short that saw Miranda come home. Nick Green sacrificed in Ransom to tie up the game.

Alberto Gonzalez singled in the bottom of the 5th and advanced to second on McDonald's throwing error. Carson's sac-bunt moved him to 3rd. Miranda's line drive to right plated him to give the Yankees the lead.

Macri would double with two outs in the top of the sixth, but could not convert as Machado ground out to send the Wings back on Defense.

Following a strike out to Bernie Castro, Alberto Gonzalez homered in the bottom of 7th. That would finish it for Duensing with Julio Depaula taking over. Depaula would take Carson out on strikes, but walked Miranada. Ransom then doubled to score Miranda and a Broussard line drive single brought in Ransom.

Everett and Garrett Jones were both 2-for-4 at the plate, Everett with a run and a RBI. Macri was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, a double and a run

Howie Clark (1-for-4) and Pridie (1-for-5) were the one hit wonders, while McDonald and Ruiz were 1-for-4 with doubles, Ruiz with 2 RBIs as well; Machado and Jorgensen were 1-for-3, Machado with a double, Jorgensen with a walk.

Jeff Karstens took the win for the Yankees, his sixth of the season, allowing 3 runs, earned on 9 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 5.

The two teams rematch Saturday at 7:00 PM.

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Reliever Carmen Cali (5-0, 3.38 ERA) will make the spot start Saturday night against Kei Igawa (9-5, 3.80) .

Manager Stan Cliburn entered Friday's game with 999 wins as a minor league manager; Cliburn has a 1,252-1,206 overall managerial record, with 253 of those wins in the Independent Texas/Louisiana League from 1995-1999. Dave Machemer is the only former Red Wings manager to have 1,000 or more minor league wins on the active manager list.

Friday's game ended a streak in which the Red Wings had hit at least one home run in 12 straight games (19 home runs during a 12-game stretch). Alejandro Machado just missed extending the homer streak, doubling off the top of the fence in the ninth inning. Rochester hit 12 home runs during the just completed eight-game homestand, out-slugging the IL home run leaders (Toledo) 8-4 during a four-game series. The 96 home runs Rochester has hit so far this season is the most in one season since 2005 (139).

The Twins lost OF Carlos Gomez after he was injured colliding with the outfield wall making a catch. Gomez needed to be carted off the field after injuring his back, and was taken to a hospital for tests.

Wings, Hens split first half of series

Monday: Toledo 6 at Rochester 4

W: E. Bonine (10-2, 4.30); L: J. DePaula (1-5, 6.39); SV: B. Neal (24)
HR: TOL: B. Clevlen 2 (19), T. Perez (11). ROC: G. Jones (12), J. Pridie (9).

The Toledo Mud Hens took game one of their 4-game series against the Rochester Red Wings, 6-4, at Frontier Field. Brett Clevlan homered twice for the Mud Hens.

The Mud Hens wasted no time going after Wings starter Julio DePaula. Clevlan would hit his 18th yarder of the year over the left field fence in the top of the first to put the Hens on the board.

The top of the second saw Kody Kirland and Dane Sardinha hitting back-to-back singles. A double by Fredy Guzman brought in Kirkland and a sac-fly by Timo Perez scored Sardinha. Guzman would then steal 2nd, but Clevlen went yard again for number 19, making it 5-0 Hens

Garrett Jones would homer for the Wings in the bottom of the stanza to give them their first run of the night.

Casey Daigle would replace DePaula for the top of the 3rd. Despite giving up a single to Clete Thomas and a walk to Mike Holliman, he'd get out of the inning without allowing further damage.

The Wings made a stab at catching up in the bottom half of the stanza with Alejandro Machado doubling to lead off. Jeff Christy reached on a Holliman throwing error and Jason Pridie reached on a fielders choice when Jeff Larish threw the ball to Dane Sardinha in an attempt to get Machado out at the plate. Sardinha would miss the ball however, and Machado scored. Howie Clark and Darnell McDonald both ground into force outs that scored Jeff Christy, to make it 5-3 Hens.

Timo Perez would homer in the top of the 4th to give the Hens their sixth run.

Eddie Bonine would work 7.1 innings, allowing 4 runs - 2 earned - on five hits while striking out 5. Jason Pridie would homer off him in the bottom of the 8th, which also ended his tenure on the mound.

Pridie was 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI. Jones as 1-for-4 with a run and a RBI. Randy Ruiz and Matt Macri both hit singles, while Machado was good for a double and a run.

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Sunday night’s win was the 10th time this season the Red Wings have won a game in their final at-bat. (10-8 record). Since Rochester changed affiliations to the Minnesota Twins in 2003, the Red Wings have a 73-49 record in games decided in last at-bats.

LHP Brian Duensing is scheduled to make one more start for the Red Wings (July 25 in Scranton) before leaving the team on July 28th. Duensing will join the USA Olympic Team in preparation for next month's Summer Games in Beijing.

The Red Wings were held to six hits, after racking up 10 or more hits in each of their last three games.

DePaula is headed back to the Bullpen as is Danny Graves. Phil Humber returns to the rotation to take over Graves role, while Casey Daigle will take over for De Paula.

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Tuesday: Toledo 0 at Rochester 13

W: F. Liriano (9-2, 3.13); L: V. Vasquez (6-10, 5.04)
HR: ROC: H. Clark (3).

Francisco Liriano worked seven innings scattering a pair of hits and a pair of walks while fanning 10 in route to a blanking of the visiting Toledo Mud Hens by the Rochester Red Wings. Carmen Cali worked the final two innings, allowing a pair of hits and a pair of walks, but no runs.

Jason Pridie tripled to lead off the bottom of the first. Howie Clark hit his third home run of the season to bring in two.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Clark reached on a fielding error and following a fly out by Darnell McDonald, Garrett Jones reached on a force attempt. Hens starter Virgil Vasquez would miss-field a ball, allowing Ruiz to reach and Clark to score. Matt Macri then double to bring in Jones. After a break for a coaching visit on the mound, Trevor Plouffe sacrificed in Ruiz. Alejandro Machado doubled to plate Macri. Ryan Jorgenson followed that up with a walk, but Jason Pridie would line out to end the inning.

Clark doubled in the bottom of the 4th and McDonald singled him in. A throwing error by Jeff Larish put McDonald at 2nd. He'd move to 3rd on a fly out by Jones, and come home on Ruiz's sac-fly. Macri would double before Jeremy Johnson came in to replace Vasquez. Plouffe would double off the new hurler to plate Macri before Macado went down on strikes.

Liriano struck out the first three batters he faced and would not allow a hit until Erick Almonte doubled in the 3rd. He'd walk Clevlen in the fourth, but strike out two in the fifth, with Clete Thomas grounding out.

Pridie doubled in the bottom of the 5th and made his way to 3rd on a Clark single, but McDonald and Jones went down on strikes to strand him.

Plouffe doubled in the second half of the sixth inning and came home on a throwing error by Mike Hessman that also allowed Machado to reach.

Liriano would allow a walk to Clevlan and a single to Larish in the top of the 7th, but got Hessman to fly out and Thomas to strike out to finish of his stint on the mound.

Brian Rogers took over the pitching chores for the Hens in the bottom of the 8th. Jones would take a walk off him to start things off and move to second on Randy Ruiz ground out. Macri then walked and Plouffe singled to score Jones. After Machado ground out, Ryan Jorgensen doubled to drive in Macri and Plouffe to finish off the Wings scoring.

Clark was 3-for-5 with 3 runs and a pair of RBIs. Plouffe was 3-for-4 with a pair of runs and 3 RBIs, and Macri was 2-for-4 with a walk, 3 runs and one run scored. Jorgensen was also 2-for-4 a the plate with a walk, a double and a pair of RBIs.

McDonald was 2-for-5 with a run, while Pride went 2-for-6 with a double and a triple, and one run. Ruiz was 1-for-3 with a run and a RBI, while Machado was 1-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Jones was the only Wing without a hit, but he had one walk and a pair of runs to make up for it.

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In his last 10 starts Liriano is 9-0; Liriano at Frontier Field is now 6-2 and has allowed just five earned runs in his last 47.2 innings pitched at Frontier.

The Red Wings have not yet had a roster transaction in the month of July. The Red Wings' last transaction was June 30 when outfielder Denard Span was promoted to Minnesota and infielder Howie Clark was activated from the disabled list. The last time Rochester went an entire month without promoting a single player from their roster to the Major Leagues was April 1991. Rochester had eight transactions that month but none of them were Major League promotions (4 DL, 2 players released, 1 free agent signing and one Double-A promotion).

Outfielder Garrett Jones hit his 12th home run of the season Monday night, his 70th as a Red Wing. Jones is the first Rochester player to hit 70 home runs during his Red Wings career since Terry Crowley hit 87 home runs from (1968, 69, 71, 76-77). Jones’ 70 home runs put him 10th all-time on the Red Wings home run list and 5 away from tying Allie Clark for 9th all-time (75 home runs).

The Wings will receive a pitcher from New Britain to replace Olympic bound Brian Duensing. The top candidates are reported to be Ryan Mullins (7-6, 3.99 earned-run average) and Anthony Swarzak (3-7, 5.74).

Photos of Jason Pridie and Trevor Plouffe courtesy of Nancy Zinni at Sandlot Swashbucklers.

Wings, Tide split series

While I was busy with a recent attack of death by baseball, I've been ignoring some of the game reports and none so much as the Rochester Red Wings. Hopefully, I'll be able to get caught up and back on track shortly.

Friday: Norfolk 11 at Rochester 5

W: R. Keisler (1-1, 4.36); L: D. Graves (3-4, 5.92)
HR: NOR: J. Fiorentino (2). ROC: R. Ruiz (14).

Danny Graves got off to a bad start Friday night, with the Norfolk Tide rolling over him for six runs en-route to an 11-5 win over the Rochester Red Wings.

Tike Redman opened with a double and Eider Torres followed that up with a single, then stole 2nd. Oscar Salazar popped out, and Graves would walk Mike Costanzo to load the bags. Luis Terrero's line drive single brought in Redman and Torres. A wild pitch by Graves advanced Costanzo and Terrero, leading to Jeff Fiorentio's single that plated the Tide's third baseman. Omir Santos then singled to drive in Terrero. A coaching visit to the mound did little calm Graves and he allowed a single to Chris Roberson. Fiorentino would be taken out at home as he tried to run in from second, but Santos ended up at 3rd on the play. Roberson then stole 2nd and a Luis Herandez ground ball single to left brought in the two runners. Batting around the order, Redman would fly out to retire the Tide for the time being.

Jason Pridie doubled and came home when Trevor Plouffe reached on a fielding error by Salazar. Darnell McDonald would ground into a double play however and Garrett Jones went down on strikes, so the Wings did not do much to get themselves out the early hole they were in.

Philip Humber would take over the mound for the top of the 2nd inning and keep the Tide off the board for one. Fiorentino would go yard in the top of the 3rd however. Despite a double to Santos and a walk to Roberson, Humber would get Hernandez to fly out and Redman to pop out to send the Wings to the plate.

The Red Wings pitchers had not allowed a homer in 29 innings before Fiorentino's round tripper.

Ryan Jorgenson would single in the bottom of the 3rd, and two outs later move to 2nd on McDonald ground ball single to 3rd. Jones would send a grounder to third to plate Joregenson before Ruiz flew out to end the inning.

The top of the fourth saw Mariano Gomez replace Humber on the mound. Torres would greet him with a bunt single, then steal 2nd. Salazar would line out and Costanzo would strike out before Torres stole 3rd, then came home on a throwing error by catcher Ryan Jorgensen.

Matt Macri singled and Howie Clarke tripled in the bottom of the stanza to plate him. Sergio Santos would ground out, driving in Clark, making the score 8-4 Tide.

It would stay that way until the bottom of the 8th when Randy Ruiz extended his hitting streak to 24 games with his 14th home run of the season. The Wings would come no closer however.

Norfolk took 3 more runs off reliever Tim Lahey on three hits and a pair of walks.

Macri finished off the game 3-for-4 at the plate, with a run, Jones was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Ruiz, Clark and Jorgensen were all 1-for-4, with runs; Ruiz and Clark with RBIs as well. Pridie was 1-for-5 with a double and a run.

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Saturday: Norfolk 7 at Rochester 6

W: A. Mitchell (9-5, 4.62); L: R. Barrett (3-4, 3.06); SV: J. Miller (2)
HR: NOR: O. Salazar (11), M. Costanzo (10). ROC: G. Jones (11).

The Norfolk Tide rallied late and hung on for a one run win over the Rochester Red Wings Saturday at Frontier Field. Randy Ruiz would see his hitting streak ended at 24 games, going 0-for-4 at the plate as the designated hitter.

Jason Pridie singled in the bottom of the 1st, but Howie Clark would ground into a double play. Darnell McDonald doubled however and Garrett Jones hit his 11th home run of the season to give the Wings an early 2 run lead.

Matt Macri would take a walk in the bottom of the second, then steal 2nd base. Following a ground out to Trevor Plouffe, Jeff Chisty singled to plate Macri. Pridie then tripled to drive in Christy for make it 4-0 Wings.

Starting pitcher Kevin Mulvey would deal through the first five innings. The sixth would start with Tike Redman grounding out before Eider Torres singled, and stole 2nd. Oscar Salazar put his 11th home run of the year over the left field wall to put give the Tide two. Mike Costanzo doubled. Mulvey would get Luis Terrero to pop out following a coaching visit to the mound, but Jeff Fiorentio singled, moving Constanzo to 3rd. Former Red Wing Chris Heintz then singled to bring in Costanzo to make it 4-3 Wings. A passed ball by Christy would move the runners and a line drive to center by Roberson brought in two more before Luis Hernandez would line out to bring the Wings up to bat.

Macri would double in the bottom of the stanza and come home on Santos' single to tie up the contest.

Mulvey would finish up allowing 5 run, 4 earned on six hits and a walk. He'd fan only two over six innings. Ricky Barrett would be called to take over for the 7th inning. After putting 2 outs on the board, Salazar would single and Costanzo would put his 10th home run over the right center field wall to give the Tide seven.

The Wings would answer back with Jeff Christy singling, then being replaced by pinch runner Tommy Watkins. Pridie's ground bunt single moved Watkins to 2nd and Clark's sac bunt advanced the runners. Darnell McDonald then sacrificed in Watkins, but the Wings were still one run shy and would stay that way as Kameron Mickolio and Jim Miller kept the Rochester batters quiet for the final two.

Pridie was 3-for-5 at the plate with a triple and a RBI, while Christy was 2-for-3 with a run and a run scored. Clark, McDonald, and Jones were all 1-for-3, Clark being the only one without a run, while McDonald had 1 RBI and Jones had two, as well as a walk. Macri was 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and a pair of runs, while Santos finished up 1-for-4 with a run scored.

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Jason Pridie's second inning triple was his 12th of the season, the most for a Red Wing since Tim Hulett in 1989 who finished with 12 triples on the year.

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Sunday: Norfolk 6 at Rochester 7

W: B. Korecky (5-3, 3.53); L: J. Miller (2-4, 3.14)
HR: ROC: A. Machado (1).

The Norfolk Tide would turn, so to speak, as the Rochester Red wings found a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth to snag a win for the home town crowd.

As with Saturday's game, the Wings would jump out to an early lead. Jason Pridie would walk, then steal 2nd. Howie Clark would fly out, but Darnell McDonald drew a walk as well. A passed ball by Tide catcher Omir Santos moved Pridie to 3rd and Garrett Jones would sacrifice him in.

Trevor Plouffe would double with one out on the board in the bottom of the 2nd. Alejandro Machado then went yard to score Plouffe, making it 3-0 Wings.

Singles to Tike Redman, Eider Torres and Oscar Salazar put a run on the board for the Tide in the top of the 3rd.

The wings would take it back in the bottom of the fifth, with McDonald doubling and moving to 3rd on Randy Ruiz's single one out later. Matt Macri's sacrifice fly brought in the Wings' left fielder.

Following a pitching change for the Wings, with Mariano Gomez replacing Duensing, the teams exchanged sixth inning runs. Jeff Fiorentio crossed the plate on a Hernandez single for the Tide, while Jeff Christy walked and came home on a Jones line drive to right.

Tim Lahey took over for the 7th, and allowed a double Costanzao. Luis Terrero's ground out moved him ot 3rd and a sac-fly by Santos put him over the plate.

In the 8th, Carmen Cali would see Redman reach on a throwing error by Alejandro Machado. Bobby Korecky would replace Cali and give up a single to Torres that plated Redman, cutting the Wings lead to one.

Fiorentino would double in Terrero in the ninth and come home on a Roberson single, but this time, the Wings had the answer.

Jones would walk and be replaced by pinch runner Tommy Watkins. Watkins then stole 2nd and came home on a Plouffe double. Machado then singled to drive in Plouffe, giving the Wings the win.

Ruiz and Plouffe were both 3-for-5, Plouffe with a pair of doubles, a pair of runs, and a RBI. Machado was 2-for-5 with a run and 3 RBIs. McDonald was 1-for-4 with a walk, a double and a run while Pridie, Jones and Christy each had singles. Pridie added a walk and run, while Jones had a pair of RBIs. Christy had a pair of walks and a run.

The Red Wings host the Toledo Mud Hens starting on Monday. With the win, the Tide and Wings split the series, 2 games each.

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Brian Duensing is expected to named to the US Olympic Baseball Team on Monday, as a replacement for LHP Clayton Richard of the White Sox organization. Duensing played for Team USA's gold medal winning squad in last November's World Cup competition. Team USA will play Canada in four games in North Carolina Aug. 1-4; the first Olympic contest is Aug. 13 against Korea in Beijing. (RD&C) Former Miracle/Rock Cat/Red Wing Terry Tiffee is currently part of the USA squad as a member of the LA Dodgers organization.

Elizabethton (Appalachian League, Rookie) right handed pitcher Shooter Hunt is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for July 12-18. Hunt, 21, pitched 6.0 innings allowing just two hits while striking out 12 batters on July 16. In three professional starts this season he is 0-0 with a 0.64 ERA with 28 strikeouts (two walks) in 14.0 innings. Hunt was drafted 31st overall in the 2008 First-Year Player draft out of Tulane University.

Holy Johnson Batman! Wings split weekend games with Bulls

Saturday: Rochester 9 at Durham 8 (13 innings)

W: T. Lahey (5-5, 5.17); L: K. Birkins (2-2, 5.19)
HR: ROC: J. Pridie 2 (7). DUR: D. Johnson (14).

When we left our heroes last, Randy Ruiz was attempting to equal Omir Santos 21 game hitting streak from earlier this season. Without much ado, let me tell you that in fact, he did accomplish this feat, going 2-for-4 on Saturday with a double, a walk, a run and a run batted in.

The Rochester Red Wings took a win as well, which is always nice, although it took them 13 innings to overcome the Durham Bulls.

Danny Graves took the start for the Wings, and Durham took advantage of him early. After getting Dan Johnson to fly out, he'd walk Chris Richard, then advance him to 2nd on a wild pitch. Joel Guzman ground out, but Nathan Haynes singled to scored Richard. Haynes then stoled 2nd and scored on Andy Cannizaro's fly ball to center. Mike DeFelice knocked a grounder to right to follow Cannizaro on base and Fernando Perez's grounder brought in Cannizaro, due to a throwing error by Graves, who had fielded Perez's hit. Jon Weber then reached on a catching error by Ruiz allowing DeFelice to score. Weber would steal 2nd before Elliot Johnson struck out swinging to retire Durham with a 4-0 lead.

Dan Johnson then homered off Graves in the bottom of the 3rd to give the Bulls a 5-0 lead.

Jason Pridie singled out to center, then stole 2nd base in the top of the fourth. Following a fly out to Trevor Plouffe that moved him to 3rd, Darnell McDonald ground out, plating Pridie to put the Twins-to-be on the board.

Haynes tripled in the bottom fo the sixth and Mike DiFelice sacrificed him in one out later. A follow up single to Perez would do it for Graves, who was replaced by Carmen Cali, who got Weber to strike out to end the inning. Graves left after allowing 6 runs, 4 earned on 9 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 5 over 5.2 innings.

Meanwhile, Durham's Jeffrey Niemann and Dale Thayer gave up only a pair of hits and 4 walks to the Wings over the first eight innings. Things were looking bleak with the Wings down by five coming into the ninth.

Scott Dohmann replaced Thayer on the mound and allowed a lead off double to McDonald. Jones would go down swinging, but Ruiz singled out to center to plate McDonald. Howie Clark singled and Matt Macri doubled to bring in Ruiz putting another run on the board before Sergie Santos flew out to left. Ryan Jorgensen then took a walk and was replaced by Tommy Watkins as a pinch runner. Jason Pridie then hit a grand slam to put the Wings on top by one.

Bobby Korecky was called in to close out the game, and allowed a single to Perez instead. Weber's sac bunt moved him to 2nd and Elliot Johnson's ground out pushed him to 3rd. Dan Johnson then singled him in to tie up the game again. Richard would reach on a fielding error by Ruiz before Joel Guzman was called out on strikes.

Pridie homered in the 11th to put the Wings on top again, but the Bulls came right back with Perez singling and moving to 2nd on Weber's sac bunt. Elliot Johnson would go down on strikes before Ricky Barrett went in to replace Korecky. Dan Johnson took a single off him to score Perez, tying up the game again.

Howie Clark would single in the 13th and move to 3rd on Matt Macri's sac bunt. Calvin Medlock would replace Durham's Kurt Birkins on the mound and Santos would double off of him to plate Clark for the game winning run. This time, the Bull stayed down after Weber was ejected for arguing a called strike out with the umpire and took Bulls Manager Charlie Montoyo with him. Elliot Johnson would double, but Dan Johnson ground out and Richard flew out to end the inning and the game.

Pridie lead the team, going 4-for-7 with 3 runs, a pair of homers and 5 RBIs. Clark was 2-for-5 with a walk and a pair of runs.

Ruiz’s hitting streak is tied for the longest in Triple-A this season. (The only Red Wings hitting streak longer is outfielder Luis Mercedes' 22-game hitting streak that stretched over two seasons. Mercedes had a 21-game hitting streak August 4-24, 1991 when he was suspended by International League for the last 11 games of the 1991 season for throwing his helmet and hitting Syracuse third baseman Tom Quinlan in the mouth during the August 24th game. Mercedes would extend his hitting streak to 22-games on Opening Day April 9, 1992.

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Sunday: Rochester 3 at Durham 9

W: M. Prochaska (3-4, 6.70); L: B. Duensing (5-10, 4.28)
HR: ROC: J. Pridie (8).

Brian Duensing fell to 5-10 on the season after allowing 4 runs, earned, on six hits and 4 walks while fanning 4 over 4 innings. The Durham Bulls were equal opportunity opponents though and also took advantage of Casey Daigle and Carmen Cali in their 9-3 drubbing of the Rochester Red Wings.

Fernando Perez tripled in the bottom of the 1st then came home, one out later, on Joel Guzman's sac fly to put the Bulls on the board.

The Wings answered right back however, with Trevor Plouffe singling and moving to 2nd on Jeff Christy's ground out. Tommy Watkins then singled to plate Plouffe, tying up the game.

Dan Johnson (hereinafter referred to as D.J.) took a walk in the bottom of the 3rd and Chris Richard singled to move him to 2nd. Following an Andy Cannizaro fly out, Elliot Johnson (E.J.) doubled out to left to score D.J. Nathan Haynes sacrificed in Richard, and a Josh Johnson (J.J.) single plated E.J.

Randy Ruiz extended his hitting streak to 22 games, doubling in the top of the fourth then moving to 3rd on a wild pitch by Mike Prochaska. Matt Macri's ground out would push him over the plate, to make it 4-2 Bulls.

Pridie would homer - this 8th of the season and 3rd in two days - over the right field wall in the top of the 5th to make it 4-3 Bulls.

Durham didn't want the upstart Wings to get any bright ideas about a rally though, so Richard took a walk off Daigle in the bottom of the 5th then, one out later, moved to 3rd on E.J.'s single. Haynes would ground out to score Richard before J.J. struck out swinging.

The bottom of the seventh would see Cannizaro reach with 2 outs on the board on a fielding error at third by Trevor Plouffe. E.J. then reached on Sergio Santos fielding error. Carmen Cali would be called in to pitch and E.J. would steal 2nd. Haynes then singled to plate Cannizaro and E.J., making it 7-3 Bulls.

Perez would single and steal 2nd in the bottom of the 8th, and Weber singled to move him to 3rd. Philip Humber was called in to replace Cali and got Guzman to ground out before he intentionally walked D.J. Richard ground into a force out that allowed Perez and Weber to score and took D.J. out at second. Cannizaro would strike out to retire the side.

This time, there would be no ninth inning heroics, although Dale Thayer did allow a double to Santos before getting Plouffe to fly out to end the contest.

Matt Macri and Jeff Christy were the only two Wings without at least a single in the game, while Santos was 2-for-4 at the plate with a double.

Ruiz’s hitting streak is the longest in Triple-A this season. With Saturday’s win the Red Wings moved to 9-6 in extra-inning games this season. Rochester has won six of their last seven extra-inning games and the 15 extra-inning games played are the most of any team in the IL.

Minnesota Twins shortstop Adam Everett's scheduled rehab stint with the Class A Ft. Myers Miracle began Sunday, with three at-bats in the first game of a doubleheader. The infielder is scheduled to play in three games during the Miracle’s upcoming home stand, then play a couple of games for the Red Wings in Rochester.

The teams now head into the All-star break. Rochester's next game is July 17th when they kick off an 8-game homestand with a four-game series against the Norfolk Tides at Frontier Field. First pitch is due out at 7:05 PM.

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Peterson puts 2 over the wall as Cats down Defenders, 5-3

Connecticut 3 at New Britain 5

W: R. Mullins (7-6, 3.90); L: J. Waddell (0-2, 3.67); SV: B. Julianel (16)
HR: CT: E. Martinez-Esteve (4), P. Sandoval (1). NBR: L. Hughes (15), B. Peterson 2 (9).

New Britain's AA All-star game representatives came up big for the Rock Cats, but it was Brock Peterson who lead the home town team to 5-3 Independence Day victory over the Connecticut Defenders at New Britain Stadium.

David Winfree's 17th double of the season lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning for the Cats. Felix Molina pushed Winfree to third with a fly-ball single and Butera's ground ball would plate him for the Rock Cats' run.

The Defenders answered back though when Pablo Sandoval went yard on Jeff Manship, his first home run of the year clearing the right field wall. Eddy Martinez-Esteve followed that up with a single before Manship took Adam Witter out on strikes. Simon Klink then doubled out to right to score Martinez-Esteve putting the Defenders up by one.

It would not stay that way for long as Peterson clocked his 8th yard ball of the season over the left field fence in the bottom of the stanza, tying up the score.

With one out on the board in the bottom of the sixth, Brian Dinkelman took a walk. Peterson smacked his 24th double of 2008 out to left and Dustin Martin followed that up with 18th double for the Rock Cats, driving in Peterson to put the Cats on top.

The Defenders did not like that however, so Martinez-Esteve bashed a ball over the left field fence off Ryan Mullins in the top of the 8th to tie the contest up again.

Luke Hughes responded in the bottom of the inning with his 15th home run of the year to give New Britain the lead again. Following a line out to Dinkelman, Peterson sent number 9 over the center field wall for the insurance run.

Manship finish up allowing 2 earned run on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 in seven innings. Mullins picked up the win, allowing 1 run on 1 hit while fanning 2 in one inning. Ben Julienel picked up his 16 save of the season to finish off the game.

Peterson finished up 3-for-4 with 3 runs including the pair of homers, and 2 RBIs. Martin (1-for-4) and Winfree (1-for-3) both had doubles, Winfree picked up a run as well while Martin had a run scored. Drew Butera was 1-for-3 with a run score, while Matt Moses and Felix Molina shared the one hit wonder of the game title.

The two teams play the second of the four game series Saturday at 7:05 PM.

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The Rock Cats made three roster moves, place two players on the disabled list and recalling pitcher Jay Rainville from Fort Myers of the Florida State League.

Infielder Steve Tolleson has been placed on the Cat's disabled list, retroactive to June 30. The 24-year-old University of South Carolina product broke a bone in his right index finger last month and has been unable to play at full capacity since. The Knoxville, TN, resident has been among the league leaders in batting this year and, with a .335 BA, is currently tied with teammate Luke Hughes for third best in the circuit. His strong play earned Tolleson a spot on the 2008 Eastern League All-Star team, but the injury will prevent him from participating.

Pitcher Frank Mata joins Tolleson on the Rock Cats' disabled list with a pulled right hamstring. The 24-year-old Mata, a native of Barcelona, VZ, appeared in 6 games out of the New Britain bullpen this season, compiling a 1-0 record and 6.75 ERA;

Pitcher Jay Rainville, a 22-year-old native of Providence, RI, will rejoin the New Britain roster today from the Ft. Myers Miracle of Florida State League. The Naples, Fl, resident began the season with the Rock Cats, compiling a 5-6 W-L record and 7.00 ERA before his June 16th assignment to Ft. Myers. In three Florida State League appearances, the big righty was 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA. He is expected to start Saturday for the Rock Cats against the Connecticut Defenders. (Press Release)

Buffalo 1 at Rochester 8

W: B. Duensing (5-8, 4.02); L: J. Halama (4-2, 5.66); SV: C. Cali (2)
HR: ROC: G. Jones (8), T. Plouffe (3).

The Rochester Red Wings swung a hot bat Friday Night, thrilling the Independence Day crowd at Frontier Field with a 8-1 win over the Buffalo Bisons.

Brian Duensing picked up his fifth win of the season, allowing only 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 over six innings.

Garrett Jones homered to lead off the bottom of the second inning for the Wings. Following a fly out to Randy Ruiz, Howie Clark singled. Matt Macri doubled to put runners on second and third before Bisons' starter John Halama unleashed a wild pitch. Clark would scamper home, but Macri would be taken out at 3rd on the play. Sergio Santos ground out ended the inning, with the Wings up by two.

With one out on the board in the 4th, Jones, Ruiz, Clark and Macri all singled, plating two. Santos sacrificed in Clark to make it 5-0 Wings. Ryan Jorgensen would single, but Tommy Watkins lined out to end the inning.

Trevor Plouffe added to the total with his 3rd AAA home run, going over the left field wall.

In the 7th, Tommy Watkins reached on a throwing error and Plouffe doubled a line drive out to right. Darnell McDonald would ground out and former Twin Juan Rincon would walk Garrett Jones. Rincon then got Ruiz out on strikes, but Clark singled to plate Watkins and Plouffe, making it 8-0 Twins. Randy Newsom would replace Rincon, who would be charged with two runs, neither earned, on 3 hits and 2 walks over 1.2 innings.

Todd Linden would draw a walk off Carmen Cali in the top of the 9th. Morgen Ensberg then doubled. Jason Cooper's ground out scored Linden, but Brad Snyder's soft ground out kept Ensberg pinned at 3rd, and Yamid Haad ground out to end the game.

Clark was 4-for-4 for the Wings with 2 runs and 3 RBIs, Jones was 2-for-3 with a walk, 2 runs and a run scored. Plouffe was 3-for-5 with a pair of runs and a run scored. Macri finished up 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, a double and a RBI. Jorgenson was the one hit wonder of the game.

The final game of the set is Saturday at 7:05 PM with lefty Francisco Liriano (5-2, 4.07 ERA) taking on Bisons right hander Jeff Harris (3-5, 5.09).

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With his single in the fourth inning, Randy Ruiz extended his hitting streak to 13 games and is hitting .392 over that stretch. He has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games.

Garrett Jones' home run in the 2nd inning was his eighth of the season and the 66th of his Red Wing career, tying him with Luke Easter and John Valle for 10th all-time on the Red Wing home run list.

Friday's crowd of 11,416 was the largest Fourth of July crowd since 1980, when the Wings daily records began.

Former Twins prospect Terry Tiffee was named to the Pacific Coast League All-star sqad, representing the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. Tiffee leads the PCL in hitting (.383) and was promoted to the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this season.

Rock Cats win two, Red Wings Rocked

New Britain 1 at New Hampshire 0

W: K. Aselton (4-2, 4.47); L: R. Ray (3-1, 0.92); SV: B. Julianel (15)
HR: None.

Surprise! Surprise! The New Britain Rock Cats took both sides of a double header from the New Hampshire Fishing Cats, ending the Fisher's win streak.

In game one, lefty Kyle Aselton fired off six innings, scattering five hits and fanning 3. Ben Julianel picked up the save in the last inning and also preserved Aselton's shut out.

The only Rock Cats run came in the top of the 4th when Brock Peterson took a walk, then moved to 2nd on David Winfree's ground out. Felix Molina's line drive to right plated him.

Luke Hughes would go 2-for-3 in the contest, but did not factor into the scoring. Molina was also 2-for-3, with 1 RBI.

Rob Ray took the loss, allowing 1 run on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 over 6.1 innings.

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New Britain 3 at New Hampshire 2

W: J. Manship (1-2, 4.50); L: D. Harang (2-3, 4.76); SV: B. Julianel (15)
HR: NBR: E. Lis (9).

In game two, the Cats jumped on the board early when Dustin Martin smacked double out to center off Julio Pinto. Brian Dinkelman's ground out moved him to 3rd, before Erik Lis took a walk. Danny Valencia ground into a force out which plated Martin. Valencia would then be caught stealing 2nd.

The Fishers responded in the bottom of the 2nd with Kyle Phillips doubling. Eric Nielson and Anthony Hatch would go down on strikes before Ryan Klosterman's grounder drove in Phillips. Klosterman would move to 2nd on Erik Lis's throw. Scott Campbell then singled out to left to plate Klosterman, before Jeff Manship would get Andrew Pinckney out on strikes.

Those would be the only 2 runs Manship would give up, on 4 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 8 over six innings.

Pinto would work five innings, giving way to Daryl Harang in the sixth. Rocky Palacios would single his way on to base and then be replaced by pinch runner Steve Tolleson. Two outs later, Erik Lis would blast a ball over the right field wall for his 9th home run of the season.

Martin had the only multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 at the plate. Lis, Palacios and Toby Gardenhire were both 1-for-2, Lis with a walk, a run and 2 RBIs. Felix Molina was 1-for-3.

Having had enough of Fishing for a while, the Rock Cats head over to First Energy Stadium to try their paw against the Reading Phillies. Monday's game is set for 7:05 PM.

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Pawtucket 10 at Rochester 0

W: D. Hansack (4-8, 4.39); L: B. Duensing (4-8, 4.25)
HR: PAW: J. Van Every 3 (21), J. Lowrie 2 (5), G. Velazquez (3).

There is no mercy kill rule in baseball, so Mother Nature felt sorry for the Rochester Red Wings and instituted her own, chasing the teams off the field in the 8th inning.

The chances of a Red Wings comeback was probably pretty slim in any case.

Brian Duensing allowed 4 runs, earned, on 3 hits and a pair of walks over 5 innings. Casey Diagle and Julio DePaula fared even worse, as the Pawtucket bats knocked out ten runs on 8 hits over the Wings.

Meanwhile, offensively only Darnell McDonald and Randy Ruiz had the only hits for the Wings, with McDonald getting a double.

The Red Wings now welcome the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs to Frontier Field, for a 7:05 PM game on Monday. It will be a battle of the lefties as Francisco Liriano (4-2, 4.44) is the probable starter for the Wings against Lehigh's Travis Blackley (3-4, 4.66).

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The Twins called up Denard Span and placed OF Michael Cuddyer (finger) on the DL Sunday afternoon. Span started Sunday in right field for the Wings, but came out of the game in the top of the third inning and was congratulated by his teammates in the dugout. He had a 5:12 PM flight from Rochester to Minneapolis.

Beloit OF Ben Revere brought a 22-game hitting streak into Sunday afternoon's contest against Cedar Rapids; Revere was not in the starting lineup Sunday.

A tale of two shut outs

New Hampshire 6 at New Britain 1

W: R. Ray (3-0, 0.78); L: J. Manship (0-2, 5.40)
HR: None.

Once again, the New Britain Rock Cats proved to the New Britain declawed cats, as they managed only 5 hits against New Hampshire's Rob Ray.

Sure Rob Ray's a good pitcher, but the recently promoted FSL hurler looked unstoppable as he worked 9 innings of shut out baseball, allowing only 5 hits and fanning 10.

Scott Campbell doubled off former Miracle Jeff Manship to start off the proceedings. Aaron Mathews singled to move him to 3rd before Travis Snider was called out on strikes. J.P. Arencibia singled to score Campbell, putting the Fisher Cats on the board.

Manship catches on quick however and set on to to work 6 innings, allowing only 2 more hits the entire time and going on to fan 4 more, for a total of 5.

Jason Miller would take over in the 7th, but it was in the 8th that New Hampshire rocked him. Ryan Klosterman doubled. J-Mill then hit Campbell with a pitch. A throwing error on the pick off attempt moved the pair of runners to 2nd and 3rd. Mathews line drive out to left plated the pair. Snider drew a walk, and Arencibia singled out to center to score Mathews before Brian Jeroloman was taken out on strikes. Eric Nelsen then flew out before former Miracle Kyle Phillips doubled to drive in 2 more.

Felix Molina was 2-for-3 while Steve Tolleson, Brock Peterson and Danny Valencia were all one hit wonders, Tolleson with three (3!) strike outs on the side.

The Rickity Cats will try to find some offense against New Hampshire on Wednesday night at 6:35 PM as the series continues at New Britain Stadium. Left Ryan Mullins (6-5, 3.47) will throw out the first pitch. New Hampshire counters with southpaw Brett Cecil (2-1, 3.59)

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Rochester 0 at Louisville 8

W: M. Maloney (7-4, 4.55); L: B. Duensing (4-7, 4.10)
HR: LOU: A. Rosales 2 (4).

The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is located in Louisville Kentucky, and so the Rochester Red Wings evidently felt they did not need to bring bats with them, they could just buy new ones at the gift shop.

Unfortunately, the Wings have yet to take a tour. Rochester was shut out by the Louisville Bats' Matt Maloney and two relievers, managing - much like their Double A affiliate - only 5 hits in the contest. Meanwhile the Bats wasted little time breaking out their sluggers against Rochester starter Brian Duensing.

Jerry Hairston doubled to get things started off for the home town team and Andy Green followed him onto base with a single that served to plate Hairston. Following a ground out to Drew Anderson and a fly out to Aaron Herr, Ryan Hanigan walked putting two runners on. Adam Rosales then slugged his 3rd home run over the left field wall to give the Bats a 4 run lead.

In the bottom of the 6th Anderson singled with one out on the board. A wild pitch moved him to 2nd, just in time for Aaron Herr to double him in. Following a ground out to Harigan, Rolases put his second home run ball of the night over the left field fence, making it 7-0 Bats.

With Julio DePaula on the mound in the bottom of the 8th, Chris Dickerson would double with two outs on the board. Jerry Gil drew a walk before Luis Boilvar's line drive scored Dickerson.

Randy Ruiz was 1-for-4 at the plate with a double, while Darnell McDonald, Garrett Jones, Trevor Plouffe and Ryan Jorgensen all shared the one hit wonder title.

The two teams play at 12:05 game Wednesday and one can only hope that the Wings send someone out to buy them some bats early Wednesday morning. Lefty Adam Pettyjon (7-1, 4.48) will throw out the first pitch, while southpaw Francisco Liriano (3-2, 4.14) will counter for the Wings.

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The Red Wings starting pitchers have struggled the last five games; in 24.2 innings of work, the starters have allowed 24 runs (22 earned) on 36 hits, while walking four and striking out 18.

The Wings were blanked for the seventh time this season.

Rookie LHP Mariano Gomez has been a bright spot out of the Rochester bullpen, with a 2-1 record with one save and a 1.99 ERA in 31 games. Gomez has not allowed a run in 22 of his 31 appearances, and has allowed just two of his 12 inherited runners to score.

Former Twins and Wings right-hander Juan Rincon signed a Minor League deal with the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, and will report to Buffalo later this week.

From a bit of mail in the Extra Bases blog: "They started out a couple guys (Aaron Hicks, et al) at Ft Myers (in the GCL) who could/should be in Elizabethtown or maybe even Beloit." I love people who have naver seen these kids play sit there and make these assessments. Hicks is currently hitting 3 for 10 with a walk and one run in three games. This qualifies him for Elizabethton? Beloit? The world is full of GMs who have never seen a single game. Oh - I know - maybe they could call him up to Rochester so he could help the Wings! There you go. And take Ladendorf and his .231 average with along as well.

Dogs pound Manship, Cats, 10-4

New Britain 4 at Portland 10

W: M. Bowden (6-3, 2.20); L: J. Manship (0-1, 11.25)
HR: NBR: E. Lis (7). POR: M. Wagner 2 (6).

Jeff Manship got a rude reception in his first AA game Thursday night. The Miracle ace gave up 5 runs on 8 hits and 1 walks while striking out 6 over just 4 innings, as the Portland Sea Dogs demolished the New Britain Rock Cats 10-4.

Sea Dog Tony Granadillo singled with one out on the board in the bottom of the first. Jeff Corsaletti reached on a failed force attempt, with a throwing error by Brock Peterson moving the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Mark Wagner then took Manship yard over the left field fence to give the Sea Dogs an early 3 run lead.

The Cats answered back in the top of the 2nd, with Erik Lis putting his 7th home run over the right field wall. Brock Peterson would get on base on a fielding error by John Otness. Matt Moses would ground into a force out however, and would move to 3rd on a throwing error by Michael Bowden on the pick off attempt. David Winfree would hit a fly ball single to right to score Moses.

Manship would get Mickey Hall out on strikes before giving up a walk to Ryan Khoury. Iggy Suarez then singled, moving Khoury to 3rd. Bubba Bell tripled the runners in before Granadillo would go down on strikes and Corsaletti would ground out.

The Cats would get a single out of Brian Dinkelman in the top of the 3rd, but left him stranded. In the bottom of the stanza, Mark Wagner put a single shot home run, his sixth of the season, over the left center field wall. Andy Pinckney would fly out before Otness singled. Hall would go down on strikes again, but Khoury doubled a line drive out to left to plate Otness.

By the bottom of the fourth, Manship had figured out if you don't get them out on strikes, you're not going to get them out, and so struck out 2 of the three batters he faced.

Moses would get as far as 3rd in the top of the 4th, and Danny Valencia would find himself there in the top of the fifth, but the Cats couldn't convert.

Jason Miller took over for Manship in the 5th. With two outs on the board, Otness doubled. Hall would single to drive him in, then stoled 2nd base. Khoury would draw a walk, and the pair would orchestrate a double steal. Iggy Suarez then singled out to left to bring in the pair. Suarze would try to stretch it for 2, but was taken down at second, ending the inning.

The Cats finally found some offense in the top of the 8th, with Winfree singling his way onto base. Felix Molina followed him onto the bags with a grounder. A fielding error by Corsaletti proved costly as it allowed Drew Butera to reach, and Winfree and Molina to score. Dinkelman would get plunked with a pitch, but Dustin Martin's force out retired the side before they could take a sizable chunk out of Portland's lead.

Hall would single off Miller in the bottom of the stanza and Khoury drew a walk. Suarez would go down on strikes before Bubba Bell's single scored Hall for the Dogs' 10th run of the night.

New Britain takes on Connecticut on Friday with Ryan Mullins (6-4, 3.23) getting the start against Nate Bump (0-3, 5.70).

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Rochester 9 at Indianapolis 3

W: B. Duensing (4-6, 3.69); L: J. Chavez (1-2, 3.89)
HR: ROC: D. McDonald (10).

The Rochester Red Wings used a pair of big innings late in the game to overcome the Indianapolis Indians 9-3.

Sergio Santos, Trevor Plouffe and Alejandro Machado all singled to load the bases with one out in the top of the 7th. Ryan Jorgensen then doubled to clear the bags, then moved to 3rd on the throw. He'd be plated by Denard Span.

Randy Ruiz would single in the top of the 8th, and move to 3rd on Santos double. Plouffe walked to fill up the bags again, and Machado tripled to clear them off giving the Wings 7 runs in two innings.

Brian Duensing worked 7 innings, giving up just 2 runs on six hits and 3 walks while striking out 5. Tim Lahey finish off the last two allowing 1 run on three hits.

Santos was 4-for-5 at the plate with a pair of runs, Machado was 2-for-3 with a run and 3 RBIs, Plouffe and Span were both 2-for-4, Plouffe with 3 runs and a walk and Span with a walk and a run scored. Darnell McDonald was 2-for-5 with a run, and a RBI.

Nancy has an excellent first hand write up at Sandlot Swashbucklers (with pictures), so pounce on over there and have a look.

The two teams rematch on Friday at 7:15 PM with Frankie Liriano (3-2, 3.78) on the mound against Pittsburgh prospect Bryan Bullington (3-6, 5.70).

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Infielder Chris Basak was traded to the New York Yankees organization for cash considerations after the game on Tuesday. Basak was batting .260 with six home runs and 17 RBI in 56 games for Rochester.

A season ago, Rochester and Indianapolis split the season series 4-4. The Red Wings were 3-1 at Frontier Field and 1-3 at Victory Field.

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Duensing, Rochester overcome Lehigh Valley

Rochester 4 at Lehigh Valley 1

W: B. Duensing (3-5, 3.62); L: L. Walrond (1-5, 3.27)
HR: None.

Brian Duensing held the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs to only 5 hits over 7 innings allowing no runs, no walks. He fanned 3. Meanwhile the Rochester Red Wings offense put up four runs in route a win.

Chris Basak would open up the top of the fourth with a walk, but would be picked off by pitcher Les Walrond. Darnell McDonald singled and Garrett Jones hit a line drive double out to right. Brian Buscher would then sacrifice in McDonald for the first Wings run.

In the top of the 5th, Jose Morales would be hit with a pitch. Jason Pridie bunt his way onto base, and Sergio Santos hit line drive to center to load the bags. Tommy Watkins would ground into a double play that would plate Morales, to make it 2-0 Rochester.

Back-to-back singles to Randy Ruiz and Morales and a bunt by Pridie loaded the bags again in the top of the 7th. Santos singled in Ruiz for the Wings third run.

Steven Kline would be on the mound in the top of the 8th, when Jones and Buscher hit back-to-back singles. Steve Green would replace Kline, who would be ejected from the game by the home plate umpire. Ruiz singled to bring in Jones, making it 4-0 Wings.

Bobby Korecky would replace Duensing for the 8th and the 9th. Andy Tracy singled to lead off the bottom of the 9th for the Lehigh valley home team. Following a line out to Jon Knotts, Jason Jaramillo and Brennan King knocked back-to-back singles to load the bags. A sac-fly by Rich Thompson brought in Tracy to break up Rochester's shut out. Casey Smith would ground out to end the contest.

Ruiz was 3-for-4 on the night with a run and a run scored, Santos was 2-for-4 with a RBI, and McDonald and Jones weer 2-for-5 with a run each. Jones's double would be the only extra base hit.

The Wings return to Frontier Field to host the Durham Bulls for a four-game series starting on Tuesday. Francisco Liriano (1-2, 4.22) will be on the mound for the Wings.

Howie Clark (abdominal strain) was not place on the DL, but is unavailable for at least the next few days.

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The New Britain Rock Cats rested on Monday. They begin a 3-game series against the Altoona Curve Tuesday at 6:35 PM at New Britain Stadium.