Cats, Wings end seasons on a winning note

Binghamton 1 at New Britain 3

W: K. Aselton (8-6, 4.24); L: M. Antonini (1-3, 3.74); SV: R. Delaney (5)
HR: None.

The New Britain Rock Cats finished up their 2008 regular season with a win over the Binghamtom Mets, 3-1 at New Britain Stadium. Former Miracle Kyle Aselton picked up is eighth AA win while Rob Delaney recorded his 5th AA save.

Aselton and Binghamton's Michael Antonini worked four scoreless innings, engaging in a pitchers duel for the earlier part of the game. Toby Gardenhire would end that when he singled on a ground ball to first, then moved to 3rd, one out later, on Rocky Palacios' line drive to right. Brandon Roberts would ground into a force out that nabbed Palacios at 2nd, but Gardenhire crossed the plate for the first Rock Cats run.

Jose Mijares would take over in the sixth for Aselton, who left the game having given up only 3 hits and a walk while striking out 9. MiJares would allow a double to Fernando Martinez in to sixth, but struck out Shawn Bowman and Mike Carp to keep the B-Mets off the board.

Dustin Martin knocked a line drive to left with 2 outs on the board in the bottom of the sixth. A wild pitch by Antonini moved him to second. Danny Berg's line drive to center sent the former Mets' prospect home to give the Rock Cats two.

Jonathan Malo would single off Mija in the top of the 7th with one out on the board. Mijares then walked Salomaon Manriquez. After a fly out to Peeter Ramos, Emmanuel Garcia singled a ground ball out to right that deflected off Gardenhire at first, scoring Malo for the lone B-Mets tally. Armando Gabino would replace Mijares at that point, getting Jose Coronado to fly out to retire the side.

Casey Hoorelbeke replaced Antonini for the bottom of the 7th, allowing a single to Felix Molina and a walk to Palacios. Roberts' bunt singled advanced the pair. Brian Dinkelman ground into a force out which took Molina out at home, but Matt Tolbert followed that up with a line drive that brought in Palacios, making the score 3-1 New Britain.

Delaney would walk two and allow a single in the top of the 9th, but got Martinez to fly out with the bases loaded to end the contest.

Molina finished up the game 2-for-3 with a walk, while Gardenhire was 2-for-4 with a run. Roberts ended the game 1-for-3 at the plate with a RBI, while Palacios, who was also 1-for-3, added a walk and a run.

Tolbert, Martin and Berg were all 1-for-4 in the contest, Tolbert and Berg with a RBI each, and Martin with a run.

New Britain finished their season with a 64-77 record, fifth in the six team North Division, having won their last 3 and 7 of their last 10.

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Rochester 9 at Buffalo 6

W: D. Graves (4-6, 6.30); L: B. Slocum (3-7, 4.85)
HR: BUF: T. Crowe (5), C. Gimenez (3). ROC: G. Jones (23), J. Pridie (13), M. Macri (11).

Danny Graves picked up his fourth AAA win of the season for the Rochester Red Wings who downed the Buffalo Bisons, 9-6 at Frontier Field to end their 2008 season on a winning note.

Former Miracle Garrett Jones hit a 3 run home-run in the ninth inning, his 23rd of the year, to propel the Wings to victory over the Cleveland farm team. Jason Pridie and Matt Macri hit solo shot home runs; Pridie's 13 of the year came in the 2nd inning while Macri's 11th yard ball came in the 8th inning.

Howie Clark was 3-for-4 at the plate, as was Jones, Clark with a pair of runs, and Jones with one run and 5 RBIs.

The win gives the Wings a 74-70 Record for the season, 3rd place in the North Division, 14 games behind the wildcard Pawtucket Red Sox.

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Burlington 7 at Beloit 3

W: J. Augustine (4-2, 3.77); L: S. Hunt (1-4, 5.46)
HR: BUR: C. Robinson (17), K. Martin (9).

Shooter Hunt gave up 4 runs, all earned, on 4 hits and 4 walks, striking out only one to suffer his fourth loss at the Low A level. The highly touted prospect lasted only 2 innings before giving way to Henry Reyes.

The playoff bound Burlington Bees topped Beloit 7-3, taking 3 more runs Reyes on 5 hits and a walk over the next five innings. Reyes would strike five during his time on the mound.

Chris Cates was 2-for-4 at the plate but did not factor into the scoring. Juan Richardson and Allan de San Miguel were 1-for-3 each at the plate, Richardson with a run and a run scored, and Dirty with a pair of RBIs. Greg Yersich, playing at 1st, was 1-for-4 in the contest with a run, while Ramon Santana was 0-for-4 at the plate, but picked up a run after he reached on a fielding error.

The Snappers end their season with a 71-67 overall record, and were five games behind Cedar Rapids for the league's wild card spot.

A number of players from the Snappers will be attending Fall Instructional League as they look to make he jump for Low to High A in 2009 including Reyes, Hunt and Richardson, plus Midwest league MVP Ben Revere. Snapper's field manager (and former Miracle catcher) Nelson Prada, who guided the Snappers to a .500 second half, will manage the four week fall league at the Lee County Sportscomplex.

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Outfielder Dustin Martin and infielders Danny Valencia and Steve Tolleson will join pitchers Jeff Manship, Rob Delaney, Tim Lahey and Anthony Slama on the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. Rochester Red Wings field manager Stan Cliburn will manage the Twins affiliated Desert Dogs who open their season Tuesday, October 7th, against the Mesa Solar Sox.

Wings walk off home runs wins it in ninth

Indianapolis 4 at Rochester 5

W: B. Korecky (6-4, 3.18); L: M. Thompson (2-3, 5.40)
HR: ROC: G. Jones (17), H. Clark (6), S. Santos (5).

The Rochester Red Wings used long ball to take a 5-4 win over the Indianapolis Indians Monday at Frontier Field. The Wings claim the series, 3-game-to-one.

The Tribe got on the board first with Luis Cruz singling, then moving to 2nd on a Nyjer Morgan sac-bunt. After a fly out to Luis Ordaz, Tom Shearn let go of a wild pitch that sent Cruz to 3rd. Andrew McCutchen's single plated Indy's right fielder. Neil Walker did just that, walk, before Ronny Paulino's line drive scored McCutchen. Matt Kata lined out to bring the Wings up to bat.

But the Wings wouldn't put those bats to use until the bottom of the fourth when Howie Clark and Garrett Jones put back-to-back home runs over the right field wall to tie up the contest.

Kata and Brian Bixler hit back-to-back singles to lead off the top of the 6th, and Jason Delaney would move the pair on a sac bunt. Cruz doubled the runners in. Ricky Barrett would replace Shearn on the mound at the point. Cruz would be caught stealing and after Barrett gave up a walk to Ryan Mulhern, took Luis Ordaz down on strikes.

Sergio Santos double in the bottom of the 7th. Brock Peterson would go down on strikes before Evan Meek came in to replace tribe starter Daniel McCucthen. Jeff Christy lined out, but Jason Pridie double to score Santos. Alejandro Machado's then drove in Pridie with a single to center to tie the contest up again.

Mike Thompson would take over for Meek in the bottom of the ninth with the game still tied. It did not stay that way for long as Santos put a fly ball over the left center field wall to give the Red Wings the win.

Bobby Korckey missed out on the save, picking up his sixth win of the season instead.

Machado moved his hitting streak to 20 games, going 2-for-4 at the plate with a RBI. It is the first time an IL team has had two players with 20+ game hitting streaks in the same season since 2005 when Scranton first baseman Ryan Howard and outfielder Shane Victorino each had 20+ game hitting streaks. Howard had a 24-game hitting streak and Victorino had a 22-game hitting streak.

Pridie, Clarke, and Santos were also 2-for-4 at the plate, Pridie and Clark with a run and a RBI each, Santos with a pair of runs and a RBI. All had extra base hits with Pridie and Santos doubling and Clark and Santos going yard.

Garrett Jones was 3-for-4 with a run and a run scored. It was Jones 75th as a Red Wing, tying Allie Clark for 9th all-time. Steve Bilko is eighth with 77 homers.

The Wings now welcome Syracuse for two, with Tuesday's contest schedule for a 7:05 PM start. They will then head to Buffalo for a pair before going to Syracuse to play the back half of the home-and-home series.

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From MiLB.com:

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Red Wings lost their first game last week, then won the last six in a row to improve to 60-63 overall. The Wings are fourth in the IL's North Division.

THE PENNANT CHASE: The Red Wings have been virtually eliminated from the Governors' Cup race.

WHO'S HOT AND WHO'S NOT: OF Jason Pridie is hitting .462 in his last 10 games with six RBIs and 10 runs scored. ... 3B Luke Hughes has batted .302 with two homers, eight RBIs and seven runs in his first 11 games with the Red Wings. ... 3B Matt Macri has hit .147 in his last nine games and begins the week in a 2-for-18 funk.

STREAKING, PART II: 2B Alejandro Machado begins the week with a 19-game hit streak, the fourth-longest streak in the IL this season. But it's the second-longest streak for the Red Wings this season, as DH Randy Ruiz collected hits in 24 straight games from June 22 to July 18. During his streak Machado has hit .431 with two homers, 11 RBIs and 18 runs scored. On the season Machado is batting .375 with two homers, 20 RBIs and 21 runs in 34 games.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Mr. Triples came through." -- Red Wings manager Stan Cliburn told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle on Aug. 9 after Jason Pridie's triple in the bottom of the ninth scored the tying and winning runs in a 6-5 victory over Indianapolis. Pridie leads the IL and the Minor Leagues with 16 triples this season.

Peterson takes win over Bowie

New Britain 3 at Bowie 2

W: A. Gabino (6-5, 3.11); L: G. Casadiego (5-5, 3.34); SV: B. Julianel (23)
HR: NBR: B. Peterson 2 (13).

A pair of home runs by Brock Peterson helped the New Britain Rock Cats to a 3-2 win over the Bowie Baysox, concluding the road series which Bowie took, 3 games to 1. New Britain returns home to fireworks Friday night at New Britain Stadium.

Jeff Manship worked six innings allowing only 2 runs, 1 earned on 3 hits and a walk while fanning 4 but would get the no decision. Manship would put two outs on the board in the first inning before allowing a single to Luis Montanez. A passed ball by Drew Butera moved Montanez to 2nd, and Nolan Reimold's line drive to left, combined with a Danny Valencia throwing error, plated him.

Valencia would single in the top of the 4th as would Erik Lis, who sent the speedy Valencia to 3rd. Brock Peterson then drove Valencia in with a grounder to third to tie up the game.

Sebastien Boucher would get plunked by a pitch in the bottom of the sixth, then moved to 3rd on a Carlos Rojas single. A wild pitch by Manship allowed Boucher across the plate for the Baysox second run.

Peterson answered back by hitting is 12th home run of the year over the left field fence in the top of the 7th.

Armando Gabino replaced Manship for the bottom of the seventh inning, and Gerardo Casadiego replaced Zach Clark in the top of the 8th. Singles to Rojas and Montanez and a walk to Reimold loaded the bases for Bowie in the bottom of the eight, but after Steve Torrealba popped out, Mike Rodriguez would ground into a force out and Toby Gardenhire would relay the ball to Butera, who took Rojas out at home. Jeff Nettles would fly out to get the Cats out of the inning unscathed.

Peterson would launch his 13th home run over the center field wall in the top of the ninth.

Ben Julianel came in to close the game and gave up singles to Blake Davis and Matt Wieters. But he'd take Rojas and Montanez out on strikes to end the game.

Peterson was 3-for-4 at the plates with a pair of runs and all three Rock Cats RBIs. Valencia and Gardenhire were 1-for-4 each, Valencia with a run, and Lis was 1-for-3 with a walk.

The Rock Cats will now face off against the B-Mets for three, with the first pitch due out at 7:05 PM. Aside from Fireworks, ESPN will be at the park filming a commercial for their upcoming SportCenter AM show. (Rock Cats)

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Pawsox slip past Wings late

Rochester 6 at Pawtucket 7

W: J. Switzer (5-1, 5.37); L: B. Korecky (5-4, 3.36)
HR: ROC: R. Ruiz (17), R. Jorgensen (8). PAW: C. Carter (23).

The Pawtucket Red Sox rallied past the Rochester Red Wings in the ninth inning to win 7-6 at McCoy Stadium Thursday night.

Carmen Cali, making a spot start, was jumped on early by Jeff Bailey who took a double off of him to lead off the bottom of the first. Jeff Natale ground out, but Bailey moved to 3rd on the play and scored on Keith Ginter's single. Chris Carter then went yard over the right field fence for his 23 home run of the season to give the Pawsox two more. A pair of fly outs would Cali out of the first inning.

Randy Ruiz blasted his 17th home run of the season over the right field wall to put Rochester on the board in the top of the 2nd.

Bailey doubled in the bottom of the second and came home on a Natale line drive single to make it 4-1 Pawsox.

In the top of the 4th, Howie Clark hit a ground rule double. Following a fly out by Garrett Jones, Ruiz singled out to center to drive in Clark, cutting the Pawsox lead to two.

Danny Graves would take over for Cali in the bottom of the 4th and would work the next three, allowing the Pawsox only 1 hit.

Ryan Jorgensen's 8th home run for the Wings in the top of the 5th cut the Pawsox lead to one. Jones would doubled in the top of the sixth and come home on Ruiz ground ball to center to tie up the contest. After Macri went down on strikes, Luke Hughes would single, moving Ruiz to 2nd. Trevor Plouffe and sent a ground ball to right field to plate Ruiz, putting the Wings on top.

Keith Ginter took a walk off Mariano Gomez in the bottom of the seventh inning and moved to second on Chris Carter's ground out. George Kottaras singled to center to drive in Ginter and the game was even again.

With Jon Switzer on the mound in the top of the ninth, Ajejandro Machado singled. Clark doubled to move him to 3rd and after a coaching visit to the mound, Garrett Jones singled to plate Machado. Randy Ruiz would get hit by a pitch, but the Wings would leave two runners stranded as Macri popped out and Hughes flew out to bring the Pawsox up to the plate.

Bobby Korecky would be called in to close the game, but issued a walk to Bailey. Natale would bunt into a force out, but Korecky then hit Ginter with a pitch. A throwing error by Macri allowed Carter to reach and Natale to scored to even up the contest again. But the Pawsox were not done. George Kottaras took a single off Korecky to score Ginter, putting the Pawsox on top and ending the game.

Ruiz finished up 3-for-4 with a pair of runs and 3 RBIs. Jones was 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a run and a run scored. Clark was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a run. Machado and Plouffe were both 1-for-4, Machado with a run, Plouffe with an RBI; Jorgenson was 1-for-3 with a walk, a run and a run scored.

Pridie, Macri and Hughes were all 1-for-5, Pridie with a double.

The Wings will look for a split in the series Friday night at 7:05 PM. Francisco Liriano (10-2, 3.82) is scheduled to take the start for Rochester, but word has it that won't happen, that Frankie is going to Minnesota. Stay tuned for further updates...

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TwinsBaseball.com reported that second baseman Alexi Casilla will not immediately undergo surgery to repair the torn ligament in his right thumb, but the option for surgery has not been completely ruled out.

Photos of Randy Ruiz and Garrett Jones by Nancy Zinni.

Swarzak, Rochester down Pawtucket

Rochester 8 at Pawtucket 3

W: A. Swarzak (1-0, 1.80); L: D. Pauley (12-4, 3.40); SV: B. Korecky (17)
HR: ROC: R. Ruiz (16), G. Jones (14). PAW: J. Natale (1).

Anthony Swarzak picked up his first win at the AAA level, allowing only 3 runs - one earned - on 4 hits and 3 walks. He'd strike out 2 over five innings. Coupled with an offensive explosion, the Rochester Red Wings took an 8-3 win over the Pawtucket Red Sox Wednesday afternoon.

Swarzk would be a little shaky to start, hitting Jeff Bailey with a pitch. Jeff Natale reached on a force attempt when Matt Macri missed a catch, moving Baily to second. Brandon Moss would line out before Chris Carter singled to score Bailey. Dusty Brown would sacrifice in Natale for the Pawsox second run. Keith Ginter singled and Jeff Corsaletti walked, but after a coaching visit to the mound, Swarzak would take Gil Valazquez out on strikes to give the Wings a chance at the plate.


Randy Ruiz made the most of that chance by doubling and Matt Macri singled him in to give the Wings their first run. Ruiz then homered in the top of the 4th, his 16th of the year going over the left field wall, to tie up the game.

Alejandro Machado singled in the top of the 5th, then stole 2nd. Darnell McDonald walked and Garrett Jones reach on a force attempt when Valazquez failed to field the ball. Machado would score on the play, putting the Wings on top. Ruiz then ground into a double play that plated McDonald for the insurance run.

Natale would hit his first home run of the season off Swarzak in the bottom of the fifth, launching a ball over the left field wall.

Jose Vaquedano replaced David Pauley on the Pawsox mound for the sixth inning and Julio DePaula came in for Swarzak.

After getting Matt Macri to pop out and Trevor Plouffe and Jeff Christy to strike out in the sixth, Vaquedano would be replace by Michael Tejera in the 7th. With two outs on the board, Sergio Santos walked. Jones then knocked his 14th home run over the right center field wall, give the Wings another pair of runs.

Eric Hull replaced Tejera in the eighth. Jason Pridie tripled off Hull in the top of the ninth. Back-to-back singles to Alejandro Machado and Sergio Santos put Pridie over the plate and Jones would single in Machado, to make the score 8-3.

Bobby Korckey took over for DePaula in the eighth and stuck around to get Corsaletti to fly out and Valazquez and Jonathan Van Every to strike out to end the contest.

The save would be Korckey's 17th of the season.

Machado finished up 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs; Jones and Ruiz were 2-for-5, Jones with a run and 3 RBIs and Ruiz with a pair of runs and 1 RBI. Macri and Plouffe were 1-for-4 with Macri contributing a RBI, while Pridie and Clark were each 1-for-5, Pridie with a run. Santos was 1-for-1 with a walk, a run and a run scored.

McDonald also provided a run, although he was 0-for-1 with a walk at the plate.

The series continues on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. with Michael Bowden (0-2) on the mound for the Pawsox against Rochester's Carmen Cali (5-0).

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The Minnesota Twins will place infielder Alexi Casilla on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday, with a torn tendon in his right thumb. To replace Casilla on the 25-man roster, the Twins will reinstate infielder Adam Everett from the 15-day disabled list. Everett missed 58 games (May 22-July 29) during his recent stint on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain. He also missed 10 games with the same injury April 15-May 3.

Randy Ruiz photo courtesy of Nancy Zini.

Runs, rain finish off Hens

Photo courtesy of Nancy Zinni at Sandlot Swashbucklers.

Toledo 1 at Rochester 6 (5 innings)

W: K. Mulvey (4-8, 3.87); L: C. Lambert (10-6, 3.42)
HR: TOL: M. Hollimon (14). ROC: G. Jones (13), S. Santos (4).

Mother Nature helped the Rochester Red Wings take a win over the Toledo Mud Hens Thursday morning when rain interrupted the game after five innings of play.

Kevin Mulvey would pick up the win, his 4th of the season, after giving up 1 run, earned, on 4 hits while fanning 2.

Mike Hollimon launched is 14th home run of the season over the right field all off Mulvey in the top of the 2nd inning.

Sergio Santos answered back with a homer of his own, his fourth of the year, which went over the left field wall off Chris Lambert.

The bottom of the fifth saw Alejando Machado double, and move to 3rd on a Jeff Christy bunt. Jason Pridie would go down on strikes, but Adam Everett, playing on a rehab assignment, singled to score Machado. Darnell McDonald also singled, driving in Christy before Jones ripped his 13th home run of the season over the right field wall.

An announced crowd of 11,314 would wait out the 1 hour, six minute rain delay before the game was finally called.

Everett and McDonald had singles for the Wings, while Machado and Christy picked up doubles.

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Jason Pridie struck out three times, ending a nine-game hitting streak in which he batted .419 (18-for-43) with three doubles, two triples, six home runs, 12 RBI and 10 runs scored. Pridie had five-multi hits games during this nine-game hitting streak.

Pridie had just one home run on June 1st (first 59 games played) but has hit 10 home runs in his last 42 games. Pridie is the only Red Wings player to hit two home runs in a game this season (has done it twice).

This is the second time that Mulvey and Lambert have locked horns in 2008. In the first matchup, on May 3 in Toledo, Lambert allowed four hits in a 4-0 Hens win.

Minnesota Twins infielder Adam Everett joined the Red Wings on a Major League rehab assignment. Everett was placed on the disabled list May 22 with a right shoulder strain. Everett is batting .300 (6-for-20) for both the Gulf Coast League Twins and the Ft. Myers Miracle on this rehab assignment.

The Red Wings won their first four-game series vs. Toledo at Frontier Field since July 28-31, 2001 (Toledo has a 20-12 record at Frontier Field since 2001). Rochester has not won a season series from Toledo since 1997.

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.

Rock Cats, Red Wings, both defeated

Connecticut 5 at New Britain 2

W: J. Martinez (6-6, 2.36); L: Z. Ward (2-5, 3.45); SV: J. Hedrick (3)
HR: None.

In the hopes of getting something going, the New Britain Rock Cats held a players only meeting last week. It does not appear to have been profitable. The Connecticut Defenders took another game from the Cats, this time 5-3.

Zach Ward took the start, working five, and was largely successful, allowing only 2 runs, earned, on seven hits and 4 walks while striking out 5.

The two runs came in the second when Carlos Sosa and Ryan Rohlinger both singled. Simon Klink's ground out moved the runners, and a sac-fly brought in Sosa. Kyle Haines walked before Brian Copeland singled to drive in Rohlinger.

The top of the sixth saw Kyle Aselton to the mound. He'd get Klink to strike out, before Rosario reached on a fielding error by Cat's third baseman Danny Valencia. Rosario stole second, and Kyle Haines then doubled to plate him. Copeland singled to plate Haines.

New Britain answered back with Brian Dinkleman getting on board on a bunt single. Brock Peterson's grounder to left moved him to 3rd, and he'd be plated by Dustin Martin's grounder to center. Valenica's sac fly brought in Peterson before Lis stuck out to end the inning.

Klink walked in the 8th and following a strike out by Rosario, moved to 3rd on Haines grounder to right. Copeland ground out to plate Klink. Hanes tried to come home on Pablo Sandoval's ground ball to center, but was taken out the plate, for the Defender's 3rd out.

Dinkelman doubled in the bottom half of the inning and advanced to 3rd on a fielding error by Sosa. Peterson then singled to drive in Dinkleman, finishing off the scoring in the game. Despite getting Valencia all the way to 3rd the Cats could not capitalize, falling short once again.

Dinkelman, Peterson and Lis were all 2-for-4 in the contest, Dinkelman with a pair of runs, and Peterson with a run and a run scored. Drew Butera was the one hit wonder of the night, while Matt Moses, David Winfree and Luke Hughes all went without.

The Cats will try the road again, heading over to Harrisburg Tuesday for a 6:35 PM game against the Senators. Rock Cat Yohan Pino (2-3, 3.93) is expected to face Senator Bobby Brownlie (7-0, 3.45) on the mound.

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Rochester 3 at Charlotte 7

W: D. Carrasco (1-1, 2.38); L: C. Daigle (1-4, 3.60)
HR: ROC: G. Jones (9). CHA: J. Bourgeois (7), N. Hall (1).

Casey Daigle gave up four runs on 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out one to give the Charlotte Knights a 7-3 win over the Rochester Red Wings.

Both teams got 10 hits, the Wings just couldn't put them all together.

A Sergio Santos double in the top of the 3rd, plus singles to Ryan Jorgensen and Jason Pridie saw the Red Wings score their first run.

Jorgensen doubled in the top of the fifth, then used ground outs by Pridie and Trevor Plouffe to cross the plate for the Wings second run. Garrett Jones would go yard in the top of the sixth to finish off the the Wings three runs.

Danny Graves allowed 3 runs on 7 hits while striking out 1 over six inning in the start.

Jones was 3-for-4 in the contest with a run and a RBI, Pridie was 2-for-4 with a run scored and Jorgensen was 2-for-3 with a double and a run. Matt Macri and Randy Ruiz shared the one hit wonder title, while Santos picked up a double and a run on his one hit.

Ruiz’s 16-game hitting streak is the longest by a Red Wing since outfielder Jason Tyner had a 17-game hitting streak May 4-24, 2006.

The teams rematch on Tuesday for a 7:15 PM start.

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From MiLB.com:

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Red Wings won their final four games last week and five of seven overall to improve to 43-48. The Wings have moved into fourth in the IL's North Division, 14 games behind first-place Pawtucket. Rochester trails third-place Syracuse by 5 1/2 games but has a 2 1/2-game lead over fifth-place Buffalo.

WHO'S HOT AND WHO'S NOT: 3B Matt Macri has hit .364 in his last 10 games with three home runs, 11 RBIs and four runs scored. He begins the week in a 7-for-17 groove (.417). ... OF Darnell McDonald has hit just .091 in his last 10 games and begins the week in a 2-for-26 funk. ... IF Sergio Santos has batted just .133 in his last nine games and has only one hit in his last 17 at-bats.

RUIZ ROLLS: 1B Randy Ruiz probably was sad to see June end after hitting .360 for the month with eight home runs, 22 RBIs and 21 runs scored in 29 games. The eight home runs tied for second-best in the month, and the 22 RBIs were tied for fourth-best in the IL. On the season, Ruiz is hitting .300 with 11 home runs, 49 RBIs and 42 runs; he leads the team in homers and is tied for first in RBIs.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "The reports we're getting is that [Francisco Liriano's] slider has depth at the plate and we saw that. It's a lethal mix. When he's right like this, he's a Major Leaguer." --Buffalo manager Torey Lovullo to the Buffalo News on July 5 after the southpaw allowed the Bisons just three hits in six shutout innings. Liriano has won six of his last seven starts, and his last two starts he has surrendered just seven hits while fanning 16 in 13 shutout innings. On the season he is 6-2 with a 3.80 ERA.

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.

New Hampshire weasels their way past Rock Cats

New Hampshire 4 at New Britain 2

W: S. Richmond (5-8, 4.92); L: K. Aselton (3-2, 5.03); SV: Z. Dials (10)
HR: None.

Kyle Aselton's second AA start went some what better than the first, but he still ended up taking the loss as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats doubled up the New Britain Rock Cats, 4-2.

Jacob Butler and Ryan Patterson both singled to start off the top of the 2nd. Scott Campbell then took a walk off Aselton to load the bags. Eric Nielsen would single out to left to bring in two. The New Britain lefty then got Ryan Klosterman and Chris Gutierrez out on strikes before Aaron Mathews singled to score Campbell. Nielsen would be taken out at second on the throw to retire the side without further damage.

The top of the fourth saw Campbell take a walk, and Nielson double for the visitors. Campbell would try to come home but would be taken out at the plate. Ryan Klosterman then singled to plate Nielson for the fourth Fisher Cats run.

Brock Peterson would draw a walk in the bottom of the 4th, then move to 2nd on an Erik Lis ground out. Following a fly out to Danny Valencia, Dustin Martin singled out to right to drive in Peterson. Aselton would work 5 inning allowing all four runs on 8 hits and a pair of walks while striking out 7.

Frank Mata and Armando Gabino worked an inning each, with Mata allowing a pair of hits, and Gabino one hit while fanning 2. Rob Delaney would finish up the last 2, allowing only 1 hit and walking 1 while striking out 1.

Scott Richmond worked 7 innings for the Fisher Cats allowing only the one run on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5. Daryl Harang would strike out Felix Molina and Peterson in the bottom of the 8th.

Lis would lead off the bottom of the 9th with a walk, and Valencia singled out to center. A wild pitch moved Lis to 3rd. Dustin Martin would strike out before Zachary Dials came in to replace Harang. David Winfree singled to score Lis but Toby Gardenhire would ground out and Drew Butera would strike out, cutting the rally attempt short for the host Rock Cats.

Five different Cats singled for New Britain who was held largely offenseless in the contest.

The two teams rematch tomorrow a New Britain Stadium. Former Dunedin Blue Jay Rob Ray (2-0, 1.29) will take the start against Jeff Manship (0-1, 11.25), who will look to redeem himself after a very tough first AA outing.

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Rochester 8 at Louisville 5

W: C.Daigle (1-3, 2.61) L: D.Herrera (0-3, 2.52) Sv: B.Korecky (9)
HR: LOU: K. Barker (10).

The Rochester Red Wings were feeling muscular at the bat cave as they downed the Louisville Bats 8 to 5.

Denard Span singled to lead off the for the Wings, but was taken out a 2nd when Jason Pridie hit into a force out. Darnell McDonald's ground out moved Pridie to second. Garrett Jones then singled to plate Pridie for the Wings first run.

Michael Griffin would double off Kevin Mulvey with one out in the bottom of the 3rd, then move to 3rd on Jarry Hairston's ground out. Chris Dickerson would walk before Drew Anderson singled to drive in Griffin, tying up the game.

The Wings responded it the top of the 4th with McDonald singling and moving to 2nd on a throwing error. Garrett Jones doubled him in. Randy Ruiz would be hit by a pitch, and Tommy Watkins would lay down a sac-bunt to move the runners. After a strike out to Trevor Plouffe, Alejandro Machado doubled to score the pair.

Kevin Barker would homer in the bottom of the stanza for the Bats, who now trailed the Wings 4-2.

Following a fly out to Griffin, Hairston would single and Dickerson take a walk off Mulvey. Anderson then tripled to score two, and would come home on a passed ball by Jeff Christy to put the Bats on top.

The Wings would not get it together until the top of the 8th when Span reached on a fielding error then moved to 2nd on Pridie's ground out. Daniel Herrera would take over the pitching for Lousiville at that point. Jones singled to plate Span, which prompted another pitching change with Josh Roenicke taking over on the mound. Ruiz and Watkins hit back to back singles to drive in Jones. A wild pitch moved Watkins to 2nd, and Plouffe would triple to score Ruiz and Watkins to finish off the Bats.

Jones would got 3-for-4 with a double, 2 runs and 3 RBIs. Span was 2-for-5 with a run, while Machado was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Bobby Korecky picked up his 9th save of the season for the Wings, while Casey Daigle took the win on .1 innings worth of relief.

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The Minnesota Twins announced Sunday that they will activate infielder Nick Punto from the 15-day disabled list prior to Tuesday night’s game in San Diego. Punto was originally placed on the disabled list with a left hamstring strain on May 10 (retro to May 8), was activated on May 30th and again placed on the D.L. on June 6 after re-aggravating the left hamstring strain. To make room for Punto on the 25-man roster, the Twins have optioned infielder Matt Macri to Triple-A Rochester.

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.

Wings sweep Knights

Charlotte 3 at Rochester 4



W: K. Mulvey (3-6, 4.07); L: T. Ohka (1-8, 5.46); SV: J. DePaula (1)
HR: CHA: J. Bourgeois (2). ROC: G. Jones (5), D. McDonald (5).

Garrett Jones 5th home run of the season, a single shot in the 7th inning, gave the Rochester Red Wings a 4-3 win over the Charlotte Knights, and a sweep of the four game series.

Tommy Watkins doubled in the 1st inning, moved to 3rd on a sac-bunt and was sacrificed in by Darnell McDonald to put the Wings on the board. Charlotte answered back in the top of the 2nd when Chris Getz singled. Jason Bourgeois then put a Kevin Mulvey pitch over the left field wall to give the Knights the lead.

Rochester tied it up in the bottom of the 3rd when Chris Basak singled. A throwing error by second baseman Juan Uribe allowed Basak to advance to 3rd. Jason Pridie then sacrificed him in for the equalizing run.

Charlotte claimed the lead again in the top of the 5th when Thomas Collaro doubled, and moved to 3rd on Jerry Owen's ground out. Uribe then hit a line drive to plate Collaro.

McDonald put his 5th homer to the season over the center field wall to tie up the game again.

Mulvey, who notched his 3rd win of the season, allowed all three Charlotte runs on 5 hits. He fanned 9 over 7 innings.

Watkins was 2-for-4 in the game with a run, McDonald had 2 RBIs. Morales saw his 11-game hitting streak snapped as he went 0-for-3 in the contest.

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The Minnesota Twins have claimed lefthanded pitcher Craig Breslow off waivers from the Cleveland Indians. In seven appearances with the Indians this season, he was 0-0, 3.24 (8.1 ip, 3 er), allowing 10 hits with five walks and seven strikeouts. Breslow is expected to be at the Metrodome in time for tomorrow night's game vs. the New York Yankees and will wear uniform number 49. To make room for Breslow on the 40-man roster, the Twins have transferred righthanded pitcher Pat Neshek to the 60-day disabled list. The Twins will make an additional roster move prior to tomorrow night's game to make room on the 25-man roster.

Red Wings win at home

Charlotte 6 at Rochester 7

W: T. Lahey (3-4, 3.22); L: D. Day (0-3, 4.66)
HR: CHA: B. Eldred (18). ROC: G. Jones (4).

It took extra inning to make the hometown crowd happy on Memorial Day, but the Red Wings slipped past the Charlotte Knights in 10. Tim Lahey would pick up his 3rd win o fthe season on the mound, working 2.1 innings without a run or walk, and fanning 4 during that time.

Charlott got on the board in the first inning, when Chris Gentz tripled to start off the game with a boom, and Jason Bourgeois doubled him in. Bourgis would steal 3rd, but Brad Eldred was allowed on first as Bourgeois was taken out at the plate to save the run. Francisco Liriano would strike out Danny Richter - batting 3rd - and Thomas Collaron - batting sixth - to end the inning.

The Red Wings made a definitive statement in the 3rd when Tommy Watkins reached on a fielding error. Jason Pridie doubled and Darnell McDonald tripled to bring in two and take over the lead. Brian Buscher singled in McDonald before Garrett Jones hit his fourth blast of the season over the left field wall, making it 5-1 Wings.

Charlotte would answer back in the top of the fifth. With two outs on the board, Jared Price doubled. Liriano then allowed back-to-back singles to Getz and Beourgeois to drive in one. Richter walked to load the bases, and Eldred when yard for a grand slam over the left center field wall.

Rochester would tie it up in the bottom of the 7th when Tommy Watkins singled, then came home on McDonald's double to center field.

Brian Buscher drew a walk to get on base in the bottom of the 10th. Felix Molina would come into the game as a pinch runner for him and moved to second on Garrett Jones single. Randy Ruiz then singled out to right to bring in Molina for the game winning run.

Jones was 3-for-5 with a run and 2 RBIs, Jose Morales was 2-for-4 but did not factor into the scoring. Watkins, Pridie, McDonald and Ruiz were all 2-for-5, Watkins with 3 runs, Pridie and McDonald with one each, while McDonald had 3 RBIs as well. Ruiz had but 1 RBI, the game winner.

Morales singled off Broadway in the second inning, pushing his hitting streak to 10 games. Morales added another single in his next at-bat, and is now batting .306 for the season.

With the win the Red Wings reached the 20 win mark for the season (52 games). The last time Rochester went this many games into the season to get their 20th win was 2001 when it took until their 54th game (June 2 20-34 record).

The four game series continues tonight at 7:05 eastern time at Frontier Field. Philip Humber (1-5, 5.89) will take the start on the mound for the Red Wings.

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Wings, Cats both fail

New Britain 1 at Portland 4

W: M. Bowden (4-3, 2.47); L: A. Swarzak (2-2, 4.29); SV: D. Bard (1)
HR: None.

Anthony Swarzak surrendered three runs, earned, in the sixth inning to give the Portland Sea Dogs a win Friday night.

The New Britain Rock Cats could only manage two hits in the contest, with Dustin Martin recording one and Toby Gardenhire the other.

Steve Tolleson reached on a fielding error to start out the contest. He then stole 2nd base and moved to 3rd on a throwing error by catcher John Otness. Brock Peterson hit into a ground out that brought Tolleson home, but that was about the extent of the Rock Cat's offense.

Martin would single in the top of the 2nd off starter Michael Bowden. Gardenhire took a single off Daniel Bard in the top of the 8th.

Zach Daeges singled in the bottom of the sixth and Aaron Bates would get plunked by a pitch to follow him onto the basepaths. Bubba Bell (seriously, that's his name) singled to load the bags and Sandy Madero would double off Swarzak to drive in two. Otness would sacrifice in Bell.

Tony Granadilo singled in the bottom of the third and came home on Jeff Coursaletti's triple.

The currently de-clawed Cats will try to find some offense to back up Jay Rainville (3-5, 7.53) as the two teams rematch at 1:00 PM Sunday.

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Rochester 1 at Pawtucket 9

W: D. Pauley (6-2, 3.09); L: J. DePaula (1-1, 4.44)
HR: None.

The Rochester Red Wings managed 7 hits Saturday, but could only put one run on the board, settling for a 9-1 thumping at the hands of the Pawtucket Red Sox.

Brandon Moss and Keith Ginter both singled for the Red Sox affiliate in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Chad Spann would ground into a force out, but it brought Moss home, and the Pawsox took the early lead.

Garrett Jones got on base on a walk in the top of the 4th, moved to 3rd on a Jose Morales line drive, and was sacrificed in by Serio Santos, tying up the game.

Kevin Mulvey worked five innings for the Red Wings, allowing just the one run on six hits and 2 walks while striking out 2. The problems would start with former Miracle Julio DePaula in the sixth.

Chris Cartier greeted DePaula with a single, and Moss then doubled. Ginter got plunked by a pitch, which load up the bags. DePaula then walked Spann, which forced in a run. Former Twins farmhand Gil Velazques singled to drive in Moss. DePaula would finally get an out, striking out Jon Van Every. Jeff Bailey then walked to force in another run before Carmen Cali was brought into the game. George Kottaras would ground into a double play to end the inning, but the Pawsox were not done.

Joe Thurston walked in the bottom of the 7th then moved to second on Chris Carter's single. Moss would pop out, but a wild pitch by Cali moved Thurston to 3rd and Carter to 2nd. Ginter was then intentionally walked with Heath Totten coming in to replace Cali. Spann's sacrifice brought in Thurson for the second out, and Valazquez lined out to finish off the 7th.

With one out on the board in the 8th, Jeff Bailey and George Kottaras took back-to-back walks. Thurston's double drove in Bailey. Carter was then issued an intentional walk, Moss would ground into a force out, but Kottaras scored on the play. Spann's line drive to center brought in Thurston and Moss, to finish off the Pawsox pounding.

Darnell McDonald and former Miracle Jose Morales were both 2-for-4 in the contest. Morales had a pair of strike outs as well.

The series wraps up Sunday with a 6:05 contest. Brian Duensing (2-4, 3.81) will get the start for the Red Wings. He will be facing Boston pitcher Clay Buchholz will make a rehab start in the game.

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Fans across the country will once again have the opportunity to vote online for their favorite players to be selected to the Triple-A All-Star Game. This year’s contest will be held at Louisville Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky on July 16 at 7:05 p.m. EDT and will match selected outstanding players from the International League and the Pacific Coast League. Fan balloting will be held from June 5-27 and will account for one-third of the total vote along with ballots cast by members of the media and each club’s field manager, coaches, and general manager (Press Release).