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.

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.