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.

Cats, Wings both lose

New Britain 4 at Bowie 6

W: Z. Clark (2-1, 3.57); L: J. Manship (1-6, 5.04); SV: J. Manon (27)
HR: None.

Since his promotion to the New Britain Rock Cats, Jeff Manship has picked up only one win. Sunday was not his day either as the gave up 6 runs, all earned, on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5.

The Bowie Baysox wasted no time jumping on the Notre Dame grad, with Jonathan Tucker doubling out to center. A sac bunt moved him to 3rd before and Nolan Reimold's follow up single scored him to put the home team on the board first.

Blake Davis singled in the bottom of the 3rd. After Manship took Tucker and Rojas down on strikes, Davis would steal 2nd, then 3rd. Reimold singled him in for the second Baysox run. Matt Wieters walked, moving Reimold to 2nd. Ryan Finan singled out to center to plate Reimold, to give the Orioles' AA affiliate a 3-0 run lead.

Zach Clark would give up a walk in the top of the first to the Rock Cats, a double in the second, a single in the 3rd, and double in the 4th. The Cats just couldn't put anything together until the top of the 5th when Rocky Palacios singled then moved to second on Brandon Roberts ground out. Brian Dinkelman then double Palacios in for the first New Britain Run.

The Baysox answered back in the bottom of the fifth with Wieters taking a walk. Finan struck out, but Jeff Nettles drew a walk as well. Mike Rodriguez singled Wieters and Brian Peterson's follow up single drove in Nettles. Zach Ward would replace Manship on the mound at the point, and allow a ground ball single to Davis that brought in Rodriguez before getting Tucker to ground out.

David Winfree reached in the top of the sixth on Peterson's throwing error. Matt Moses and Danny Valencia hit back-to-back to singles to load up the bags. Felix Molina's ground out to would score Winfree, and Palacios doubled in Moses and Valencia.

Clark would give up a double to Dinkleman in the top of the 7th, but Wilfredo Perez would replace Clark on the mound, getting Martin to line out and Winfree to pop out to leave the runner stranded.

Davis would single in the bottom of the 7th and Jonthan Tucker hit a ground rule double. Carlos Rojas would hit into a fielder's choice however, as the Winfree threw the ball to Palacios to take Davis down at home, saving the run.

New Britain would see nothing more out of Bowie in the eighth or ninth, while Ben Julianel only allowed a single to Nettles in the eight to finish of the Baysox. The 6-4 score would stand, with Clark improving to 2-1 on the season.

Dinkelman finish up 3-for-4 for the Cats with a pair of doubles and a RBI, plus the only Rock Cats walk. Palacios was 2-for-4 with a double, a run, and 2 RBIs. Martin, Winfree, Moses and Vancia were all 1-for-4, with the last three also having a run, while Martin and Winfree hit for doubles.

The Rock Cats nap on Monday, they being a three-game series in Erie against the Sea Wolves on Tuesday.

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Indianopolis 6 at Rochester 4

W: T. Gorzelanny (2-1, 2.57); L: D. Graves (3-5, 5.96); SV: M. Salas (3)
HR: ROC: L. Hughes (2).

Danny Graves gave up four runs in the first inning and the Rochester Red Wings would not recover, falling 6-4 to the Indianapolis Indians at Frontier field.

Nyjer Morgan singled, but was taken out on Brian Bixler's force out. Andrew McCutchen then doubled Bixler in, and came home on Neil Walker's single to center. Ronny Paulino and Ryan Mulhern hit back-to-back doubles to add two more runs. After a brief pause during which Cliburn & Company had a word with their stater, Graves would get Jason Delaney out on strikes and Luis Cruz on a fly out.

Graves would work the next three in relative comfort. He'd walk Bixler in the top of the fifth and after getting McCutchen and Walker to fly out, would give up a single to Paulino. That finished it for Graves and Casey Daigle came in to get the final out.

Delaney tripled in the top of the sixth of Daigle however and Cruz took a walk, then stole 2nd. Carlos Maldonado would sacrifice in Dalaney and Morgan's double brought in Cruz to give the tribe six.

Christy would walk for the Wings in the bottom of the sixth. Jason Pridie singled and following a fly out to Alejando Machado, Howie Clark would single to load up the bags. Garrett Jones would go down on strikes, but Luke Hughes doubled to clean off the bases, putting the wings on the board.

Luke Hughes second AAA homer gave the wings one more run in the bottom of the ninth but it was brief rally as Matt Macri ground out and Trevor Plouffe and Brock Peterson flew out to end the contest.

Daigle worked 3.1 innings allowing 2 earned runs on 4 hits and a walk while strike out 3. Julio Depaula pitched the ninth for the Wings.

Clark would go 3-for-4 with a run, while yard bird Luke Hughes was 2-for-4 with a double, a run and 4 RBIs. Pridie and Machado were each 1-for-4, Pridie with a run, leaving Machado to become the one hit wonder.

The two teams play at 12:05 pm matinee game on Monday. Tom Shearn (7-2, 2.88) will take the start on Monday against Indy's Daniel McCutchen (5-8, 3.73).

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Alejandro Machado now has a 18-game hitting streak, the second longest streak by a Red Wing this season (Randy Ruiz, 24-game hitting streak).

Red Wings closer Bobby Korecky recorded his 20th save of the season Friday night. With that save Korecky becomes the first Red Wings pitcher to ever post 20 or more saves in back-to-back seasons (saves became an official stat in the International League in 1969). If Korecky can over take Toledo’s Blaine Neal for the IL lead in saves (currently Neal has 25) he will become the first ever pitcher to lead the International League in saves in back-to-back season. Korecky holds the Red Wings record for saves in a season with 35 set in 2007.

Outfielder Jason Pridie leads the IL with 16 triples. Pridie is the first Red Wing to hit 16 triples in one season since Ray Pepper hit 20 in 1931. The last Red Wings player to lead the IL in triples was outfielder Wayne Kirby (tied with Scranton shortstop Jimmy Rollins with 11) in 2000. The last time a player in the IL had more than 15 triples in a season was 2005 when Shane Victorino of Scranton had 16. The Red Wings record (since 1929 when the Rochester became the Red Wings) for triples in a season is 20 by Pepper in 1931, but the franchise record is 28 set by William Lush back in 1895.

Cats, wings both winners

New Britain 7 at Bowie 2

W: Y. Pino (5-5, 4.75); L: C. Tillman (7-4, 3.67); SV: R. Delaney (1)
HR: NBR: D. Winfree (15), S. Tolleson (6). BOW: J. Tucker (6).

A big 9th inning gave the New Britain Rock Cats a lot of insurance, but solid pitching and a first inning home run by Steve Tolleson saw the Cats take a win over Bowie in Prince George's stadium.

Brian Dinkelman drew a lead off walk, and Tolleson put a Chris Tillman pitch over the left field wall for his sixth home run of the year, to give the Cats an early 2 run lead.

Sebastien Boucher would reach on a fielding error by Dinkelman and Carlos Rojas took a walk. After Nolan Reimold went down on strikes, Matt Wieters singled out to left to score Boucher, cutting the Cats lead to one.

Dinkelman's bunt single in the top of the sith got him to 2nd base when combined with a throwing error by Wieters. Tolleson and Dustin Martin followed up with back-to-back singles of their own that plated Dinkelman. A wild pitch moved Martin to 2nd. Winfree would ground out however, and after an intentional walk to Matt Moses, Danny Valencia and Felix Molina both struck out to give the Baysox a chance at the plate.

Jose Mijares came into replace Yohan Pino for the bottom of the sixth. Pino left after allowing only one run, unearned, on six hits and a pair of walks, while striking out 4.

Mijares immediately allowed a solo shot home run to Jonathan Tucker to make it 3-2 Rock Cats. That's all they'd get off the Venezeluan speed baller through, despite a single to Boucher and a walk to Rojas.

Drew Butera drew a single off Chad Thall in the top of the 8th. Toby Gardenhire moved him with a sac-bunt, and Dinkelman's ground out put him on 3rd. Tolleson doubled him in. Martin would single putting two men on before David Winfree went yard, his 15 of the year going over the left field fence to finish things off for the cats.

Pino win was his fifth of the season. Rob Delaney picked up his first AA save on two innings worth of work.

The two yard birds, Tolleson and Winfree, were 3-for-5 each, Tolley with a double of pair of runs and 3 RBIs, Winfree with a run and 3 RBIs as well. Martin finished up 2-for-5 with a run and a run scored, Dinkelman was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs. Butera was 1-for-4 with a run. Gardenhire finished up 1-for-3 to become the one hit wonder of the contest.

The Cats finish off Sunday at 6:05 at Prince George's Stadium. Zach Clark (1-1, 4.03 ERA) takes the start for the Baysox while the Cats will send RHP Jeff Manship (1-5, 4.50 ERA) to the hill. They nap on Monday and begin a 3 game series in Erie against the Sea Wolves on Tuesday.

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Indianapolis 5 at Rochester 6

W: M. Gomez (4-2, 2.35); L: J. Chavez (1-4, 3.84)
HR: IND: R. Mulhern (9), L. Ordaz (3). ROC: H. Clark (5).

The Rochester Red wings took an early lead over the Indianapolis Indians, then managed to hang on for a 6-5 win at Frontier Field.

Jason Pridie led off with a walk and Alejandro Machado singling him to 3rd. Howie Clark's grounder to right plated Pridie and move Machado to 3rd. Garrett Jones would hit into a ground out that served to score Machado, giving the Wings two.

Anthony Swarzak pitched six scoreless innings for the Rock Cats. He'd return for the seventh and allowed a home run to Ryan Mulhern. Luis Cruz then singled and after a coaching visit to the mound, Nyjer Morgan doubled to drive in Cruz, tying up the game.

Tim Lahey replaced Swarzak in the top of the 8th, and allowed a single to Neil Walker who was then doubled in by Ronny Paulino. Matt Kata's ground out sent Paulino to 3rd. and a Jason Dalaney single plated him to put the Indians up on top.

Machado walked in the bottom of the 8th off Juan Perez, who then saw Clark put one of his pitches over the right field fence for a two run homer, Clark's fifth yard ball of the AAA season.

Luis Ordaz homered off Mariano Gomez in the top of the 9th and it looked like the Indians may have had the game wrapped up.

Jesse Chavez came in to close out the game however, and allowed back to back singles to Trevor Plouffe and Sergio Santos. Jeff Christy's ground bunt took Plouffe out at 3rd, but Pridie tripled, sending Santos and Christy over the plate to end the game.

Gomez would get the win, his 4th of the season. Machado and Clark were both 2-for-3 with a walk each, Machado with a pair of runs, Clark with just one, but with 3 RBIs. Pridie went 2-for-4 at the plate with a triple a run and a pair of RBIs. Santos was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run. Plouffe was the one hit wonder on the night, finishing up 1-for-4 at the plate, and Jeff Christy, despite being 0-for-4 at the plate, chipped in with a run.

The homestand continues as Danny Graves (3-4, 5.85 ERA) takes the start for the Wings Sunday, tossing out the first pitch at 1:35 PM. The Indians will counter with LHP Tom Gorzelanny (1-1, 2.01).

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Alejandro Machado now has a 18-game hitting streak, the second longest streak by a Red Wing this season (Randy Ruiz, 24-game hitting streak).

1B Brock Peterson was promoted to Rochester from Double-A New Britain Saturday. Peterson was batting .264 with 14 home runs and 67 RBI in 109 games for the Rock Cats. Peterson will wear uniform #17. OF Brandon Roberts was promoted to New Britain from Class-A Ft. Myers.

The six game winning streak is the longest of the season for the Wings.

This is the first time Rochester has won 10 straight home games since July 16-August 5, 1992, when they won 12 straight at Silver Stadium.

Saturday's post-game Diamond Dig was postponed when a steady rain started right after the game, and rescheduled for Aug. 23. The fireworks were also postponed, and rescheduled for Aug. 27.

Cats fall to Bowie, Wings slip by Indians

New Britain 1 at Bowie 10

W: D. Hernandez (7-4, 2.55); L: R. Mullins (7-9, 4.63)
HR: BOW: M. Wieters 2 (9).

Brock Peterson would take a walk in the top of the six off Bowie's David Hernandez. David Winfree tripled him in. That was pretty much it for the Rock Cats' offense.

Ryan Mullins would take the start and work six inning for the New Brtian Rock Cats. He'd give up four runs, all in the fifth inning.

Blake Davis took a walk and Jonathan Tucker singled. Carlos Rojas single out to left scored the pair. Following a Nolan Reimold fly out, Matt Wieters launched his 8th home run of the season over the center field wall to two more.

The six runs, four earned, that Frank Mata allowed were largely inconsequential as New Britain seemed disinterested in hitting the ball, managing only five against 3 Bowie pitchers.

Aside from Winfree, who finished up 1-for-4 with a triple, Steve Tolleson and Dustin Martin were also 1-for-4, both end up as the one hit wonders of the contest. Drew Butera and Brian Dinkelman were 1-for-3 each with a double down at the bottom of the order.

Game three of the four game series is Saturday night at 7:05 PM. RHP Chris Tillman (7-3, 3.63 ERA) Will throw out the first pitch for Bowie, while the Rock Cats send RHP Yohan Pino (4-5, 5.04 ERA) to the mound.

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Indianapolis 2 at Rochester 3

W: K. Mulvey (5-8, 3.78); L: R. Ohlendorf (2-3, 4.29); SV: B. Korecky (20)
HR: IND: M. Kata (8), N. Morgan (1).

The Rochester Red Wings managed to slip by the Indianapolis Indians, 3-2 at Frontier Field Friday night.

The Indians would claim first blood when Nyjer Morgan homered, his AAA first of the year over the right field wall.

The Wings answered back in the bottom of the second with Trevor Plouffe doubling then coming home on a Jeff Christy single.

In the bottom of the fourth, Luke Hughes singled before Matt Macri went down on strikes. Plouffe then doubled Hughes in.

Matt Kata claimed his 8th home run off Kevin Mulvey in the top of the fifth, knocking the solo-shot over the right field wall. Jason Pridie and Alejandro Machado hit back to back singles in the bottom of the inning. Sergio Santos bunt pop would double Machado off first, but Garrett Jones singled to drive in Pridie. Jones would try to go to second, and was taken out on the throw, but the run stood for the game winner.

Mulvey allowed 2 runs on six hits and 3 walks while striking out 7 over 6.2 innings. Ricky Barrett and Bobby Korecky worked the mop up chores, with Korecky earning his 20th save in the process.

Plouffe would finish up 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, a run and a run batted in. Jones went 3-for-4 at the plate with a RBI, while Pridie and Machado were each 2-for-4, Pridie with a run. Hughes (1-for-4) added a run, and Macri and Christy went 1-for-3 each, Christy with a RBI, leaving Macri to be the one hit wonder of the game.

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Cats fall to Bowie; Wings upend Iron Pigs

New Britain 5 at Bowie 7

W: F. Romero (7-3, 3.04); L: J. Rainville (8-9, 6.50); SV: J. Manon (26)
HR: NBR: D. Martin (8). BOW: J. Tucker (5).

A three-run home run by Jonathan Tucker in the fifth inning helped lift the Bowie Baysox to a 7-2 win over the New Britain Rock Cats Thursday night.

Back-to-back doubles by Carlos Rojas and Nolan Reimold in the bottom of the first inning saw Sebastien Boucher, who'd led off with a single, and Rojas cross the plate to give the Orioles' affiliate an early 2-0 lead.

David Winfree singled his way onto the basepaths. Dustin Martin would strike out, but Felix Molina and Matt Moses hit back-to-back singles that plated Winfree. Drew Butera then doubled the pair of runners in to make it 3-2 Rock Cats in the top of the 2nd. Toby Gardenhire would take a walk, but Steve Tolleson went down on strikes and Brian Dinkelman ground into a force out to end the inning.

Brock Peterson doubled to lead off the top of the 3rd, then moved to 3rd on a wild pitch by Brad Bergesen. Winfree would strike out before Dustin Martin put his eighth home run of the season over the right field fence. That made it 5-2 Rock Cats and signaled a pitching change that brought Felix Romero out to the mound. The new hurler would get Felix Molina to ground out and Matt Moses to strike out to end the top of the set.

The bottom the fifth saw Rojas doubled and Reimold single. Matt Wieters' sac-fly plated Rojas. Ryan Finan took a walk before Jay Rainville got Steve Torrealba to fly out. Jeff Nettles then gave up a double that scored Reimold. Tucker would go yard at that point, bring in 3 for the game winning run, plus an insurance marker.

The Cats would only manage six hits in the contest, all limited to the first 2.1 innings, with Peterson, Winfree, Martin, Molina and Moses, all going 1-for-4 with a run. Peterson would add a double, Martin a pair of runs scored and Moses an RBI. Butera finished up 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.

It was Rainville's ninth loss of the season. Jason Miller would work the last three inning, giving up a pair of hits while fanning one.

The two teams rematch Friday at Prince George's Stadium for a 7:05 PM contest. RHP David Hernandez (6-4, 2.60 ERA) throws out the first pitch for Bowie against Rock Cats LHP Ryan Mullins (7-8, 4.56 ERA).

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Lehigh Valley 7 at Rochester 11

W: J. DePaula (2-5, 6.33); L: T. Blackley (5-9, 5.47); SV: B. Korecky (19)
HR: LHV: J. Knott (18), A. Tracy (18). ROC: G. Jones (16), L. Hughes (1).

Garrett Jones and Luke Hughes each hit 2-run homers in the 3rd inning to help propel the Rochester Red Wings over the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs Thursday at Frontier Field.

Andy Tracy doubled in Jason Jaramillo in the top of the first to give the Iron Pigs one run early. Hughes, Matt Macri and Trevor Plouffe all hit singles in the bottom of the 2nd to tie up the contest.

Jason Pridie would lead off the bottom of the 3rd with a triple and Alejandro Machado would single him in. Michael Cuddyer double to plate Machado before Jones went yard to make it 5-1 Wings. Howie Clark singled and Luke Hughes put his first AAA home run over the center field wall to make it 7-1 Cats.

Tracy and Jon Knott hit back-to-back solo shot home runs off Phillip Humber. It was the 18th of the year for both players. Oscar Robles and Joey Hammond both singled before Humber got Rouse to pop out. T.J. Bohn singled to plate Robles, which finished up Humber's tenur on the hill. Julio DePaula would replace him getting Brandon Watson to pop out before walking Rich Thompson to load the bags. Jaramillo would ground out however to leave the runners stranded.

For some reason, the Iron Pigs left Travis Blackley on the mound for the bottom of the fourth. Machado would single and Cuddyer double. Jones grounder to center scored the pair. Clark's single moved Jones to 3rd and, following a strike out to Hughes, Macri would sacrifice him in. Plouffe would take a walk before the Pigs finally trotted Jason Anderson out to the mound to get Jeff Christy to strike out and end the inning.

Hughes singled in the bottom of the 6th and one out later, Trevor Plouffe doubled him to 3rd. A sac fly by Christy got the Aussie across the plate for the final Wings run.

The Pigs would take 3 off of Carmen Cali in the top of the 9th, with Bohn tripling and Watson doubling him in. Thomspon singled. Jaramillo hit into a ground out, but Tracy singled to bring in Watson. Knott's grounder scored Jaramillo before Bobby Korecky came in to replace Cali, getting Robles to fly out and Hammond to strike out to end the contest.

Hughes would finish off 3-for-4 with a walk, 3 runs and a pair of RBIs. Machado was 4-for-4 in the designated hitter roll with pair of walks, a pair of runs and a run scored. Pride, Jones and Clark were all 2-for-5, each with a run except for Jones, who had two. Pridie added a walk and a triple, and Jones recorded 4 RBIs. Plouffe was a modest 2-for-4 with a walk, a double and a RBI, while Macri and Christy were both 1-for-4, missing out on the one hit wonder title by picking up a RBI each.

The Indy Indians come to Frontier Field on Friday, August 8, for a 7:05 PM contest. RHP Kevin Mulvey (4-8, 3.85 ERA) gets the start for the Twins against Indians RHP Ross Ohlendorf (1-1, 4.61).

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Alejandro Machado now has a 16-game hitting streak, batting .426 (26-for-61) during the streak. It's the second longest streak by a Red Wing this season (Randy Ruiz, 24-game hitting streak).

Jason Pridie hit his league-leading 15th triple.

The Wings won their eighth straight home game.

Luke Hughes had three hits, three runs scored and two RBI, and is now hitting .323 at Triple-A.

Despite the Red Wings' 58-63 record they’ve outscored their opponents 577-559.

Twins OF Michael Cuddyer continued his rehab assignment with the Wings; Cuddyer had a pair of doubles and a walk in five plate appearances.

Brian Duensing is blogging about Beijing and the Olympics. You can read his exploits on MLB Blogs.

Humber, Severino named pitcher, player of the week

International League names Philip Humber pitcher-of-the-week

2-0, 2.30 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 15.2 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 19 SO

After a particularly bad start on July 1, one that sent his ERA up to 6.00, the Twins took Philip Humber out of the Rochester rotation for the second time this season. Humber spent more than two weeks in the Rochester bullpen, putting together a scoreless outing in three of his five appearances. Entering this week, Humber -- one of the key pieces in the Johan Santana trade -- had not struck out more than six batters in a start. He had not reached the eighth inning a single time. In two starts this week, Humber accomplished both feats twice, and now has won his last three starts to improve to 7-7 on the season. Since the Triple-A All-Star Break, Humber has allowed just five runs and struck out 25 batters in 22 and 2/3 innings.

Adan Severino honored by Appalachian League

.529 (10-19), 6 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2 SB, .737 SLG

Adan Severino's transition to wood bats was a slow one, as the outfielder had grown quite fond of aluminum after a big season with the Miami Hurricanes in 2008. Entering the week, Severino's professional career was in full slump mode, as the Miami native was hitting just .154 through his first 18 games. However, with 10 hits in five games since, Severino finds his average up an even 100 points and his OPS up nearly 200 points. It's the result of three multiple-hit games, including a four-single affair on July 30. Severino also stole two bases uncontested this week, and with a pair of walks, brought his on-base percentage north of .400 for the first time.

Franchise

As expected, the Minnesota Twins announced that they have recalled lefthanded pitcher Francisco Liriano and selected the contract of first baseman/designated hitter Randy Ruiz from Triple-A Rochester.

Liriano was 10-2, 3.28 (118.0 ip, 43 er), allowing 102 hits with 31 walks and 113 strikeouts and an opponents' batting-average-against of .231 (102-for-441) in 19 starts for the Red Wings this season. In his last 11 starts with Rochester, he was 10-0, 2.67 (70.2 ip, 21 er) with 13 walks and 80 strikeouts.

Ruiz batted .320 (133-for-416) with 33 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs and 68 RBIs in 111 games with the Red Wings this season. He led the International League in hits, was tied for the league lead in batting, and was second in doubles and extra-base hits (53). Ruiz led the club in games, hits, doubles, home runs and RBIs, and was second in at-bats. He will wear uniform number 56.

To make room for Liriano and Ruiz on the 25-man roster, the Twins have designated righthanded pitcher Livan Hernandez and outfielder Craig Monroe for release or assignment.

Newcomer Thomas Shearn, a free agent signee, too the start in Friday's night contest instead of Liriano, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and pair of walks while striking ou 5 over five innings. The Wings fell late to the Pawtucket Red Sox 8-7.

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.

Bowie boinks Cats; Wings Zinked in Pawtucket

New Britain 1 at Bowie 9

W: F. Romero (6-3, 3.25); L: R. Mullins (7-8, 4.49)
HR: BOW: M. Wieters (6), S. Torrealba (4).

Four different Bowie pitchers scattered nine hits over nine innings, holding the declawed New Britain Rock Cats to only 1 run.

After blanking the Cats on Monday, the Baysox wasted no time going after the Rock Cats starter Ryan Mullins. Matt Wieters doubled to lead off the second inning, and Steve Torrealba went yard, sending his fourth home run of the season over the left field fence. Despite singled to Jeff Nettles and Sebastien Bouchers, and a walk to Alex Cintron, the Cats were able to keep Bowie in check for the remainder of the inning.

Louis Montanez singled in the bottom of the 3rd and came home on a Nolan Reimond double, coupled with a throwing error by shortstop Toby Gardenhire that sent Reimold to 3rd. Wieters singled to bring in the runner and Torrealba drew a walk. Nettles ground into a double play however, and Jonathan Tucker went down on strikes to end the inning.

Zach Ward replaced Mullins in the bottom of the 4th, and walked Boucher. Alex Cintron singled out and tried to stretch it for a double. Boucher would make it to 3rd, but Cintron would be taken out at 2nd. Carlos Rojas went down on strikes before Montanez's line drive plated Boucher. A wild pitch move Montanez to 2nd and Reimold took a walk before Weiter launched his sixth home run of the season over the left field fence, adding 3 more to the Baysox total.

Despite an attempt by Dustin Martin to get some scoring going in the first inning, and getting David Winfree all the way to 3rd in the top of the fourth, nothing would happen for the Rock Cats until the top of the 6th. Winfree singled and advanced to 2nd on a balk by Felix Romero. Erik Lis' ground out saw him to 3rd and a Brock Peterson triple plated the Cats' outfielder. Peterson would be left stranded though as Steve Tolleson and Toby Gardenhire both went down on strikes.

Frank Mata would take over the mound from Ben Julianel in the top of the 8th and hit Rojas with a pitch to lead out. Montanez ground into a force out that took Rojas down, but Reimold followed up with a single. Wieters sent a grounder out to right to score Montanez to give the Baysox their ninth run of the night.

Winfree was 3-for-4 for the Cats with a run, Martin was 2-for-3 with a walk. Tolleson and Palacios, both 1-for-4, and Hughes, 1-for-5, had hit singles for the Cats, while Peterson finished up 1-for-4 with a triple and a RBI.

Game three of the four-game series is Wednesday at Price George's Stadium, with the first pitch due at 7:05 PM.

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Rochester 3 at Pawtucket 5

W: C. Zink (13-3, 2.76); L: R. Barrett (3-5, 3.21); SV: C. Smith (13)
HR: PAW: G. Velazquez (6).

Charlie Zink lead the Pawtucket Red Sox to yet another win over the Rochester Red Wings, although the Wings did manage to wiggle three runs from the stingy Mr. Zink.

Kevin Mulvey took the start for the Red Wings and the Pawsox jumped on him in the first inning with Jeff Baily doubling then moving to 3rd on a wild pitch. Mulvey then hit Jeff Natale with a pitch, but got Brandon Moss to hit into a force out. Bailey would score on the play that took Natale out at second base, but a throwing error by 2nd baseman Trevor Plouffe allowed Moss to advance to 2nd. Mulvey would then get Chris Carter to fly out and George Kottaras to line out to strand Moss.

Jason Pridie would double in the 3rd and Alejandro Machado followed up with a single. Matt Macri singled to bring in Pridie and Garrett Jones also singled to plate Machado. Randy Ruiz then doubled to drive in Macri. Jones would try to go home as well and would be taken out at the plate on the throw, which moved Ruiz to 3rd. But Howie Clark ground out, ending the inning.

That would be it for the Wings though as Zink allowed 9 hits and a walk while striking out 2 over seven innings for his 13th win of the season.

Former Red Wing Gil Valazquez homered, his sixth of the year, for the Pawsox in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the Cat's lead to one.

Jeff Corsaletti doubled in the bottom of the 7th and that would do it for Mulvey, who left the mound after allowing six hits and striking out 4 in 6.1 innings. Ricky Barrett took over, and allowed a single to Valazquez that plated Corsaeltti. Jonathan Van Every tripled to drive in Velazques, putting the Pawsox on top. Tim Lahey was then invited to step to the mound, and after a brief coaching visit, saw Jeff Bailey smack a line drive out to left to score Van Every for the insurance run.

Barrett would pick up both the blown save, his 2nd of the season, and the loss, his fifth.

Pridie, Machado and Ruiz were all 2-for-4, Pridie and Machado with runs and Ruiz with a RBI. Macri and Sergio Santos were both 1-for-4, Macri with a run and a RBI. Jones was 1-for-3, with a walk and a RBI.

The series continues Wednesday afternoon with newly promoted Anthony Swarzak making his first AAA start for the Wings. He will face David Pauley (12-3, 3.39). First pitch is due at 12:05 PM at McCoy Stadium.

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The Red Wings' 20-37 record away from Frontier Field this season is the 2nd worst road record in the International League (Richmond has the worst road record 19-35). Rochester has lost nine of their last 11 road games.

Despite the Red Wings' 52-60 record they’ve outscored their opponents 526-525.

Jason Pridie photo courtesy of Nancy Zinni.

Cats bats silenced by Bowie

New Britain 0 at Bowie 7

W: B. Bergesen (13-3, 2.68); L: J. Rainville (7-8, 6.50)
HR: BOW: B. Davis (4).

Once again, the New Britain Rock Cats proved themselves clawless as they failed to find any sort of comprehensive offense against the Bowie Baysox.

Bowie's Brad Bergesen went the distance for the Orioles farm team, scattering six hits over nine innings while fanning three. The Concord, California, native pick up he 13 win of the season, he has lost only 3 eastern league games in 2008.

Jay Rainville took the start for the listless Cats, and allowed a walk to Sebastien Boucher to lead off. Carlos Rojas doubled and Luis Montanez sacrificed in Boucher. Nolan Reimold then singled to plate Rojas, giving the Baysox an early lead.

With one out on the board in the bottom of the 5th, Jonthan Tucker singled and Blake Davis launched a ball over the right field wall for his fourth home run of the season, extending Bowie's league to 4.

In the bottom of the 8th, Rojas singled with one out on the board, Montanez then tripled to plate Rojas and send Rock Cats field manager Bobby Cuellar out to the mound. He'd lift Jay Rainville in favor of Kyle Aselton. The 6'5" lefty would walk Reimold and allow a single to Matt Wieters that brought in Montanez. He'd then unleash a wild pitch to advance Reimold to 3rd and Wieters to 2nd. Mike Rodriguez singled out to center to drive in Reimold.

Erik Lis was 4-for-4 at the plate and had a double in the 7th inning. Tolleson and Hughes were both 1-for-4, Tolleson with a single in the 3rd and Hughes with one of two singles in the ninth (the other belonging to Lis). It was the only time during the contest the Cats would get two hits in the same inning.

Game number two of the four game set is Tuesday at 7:05 PM at Prince George's Stadium. Baysox southpaw Rommie Lewis (1-5, 4.03) will step onto the hill for the first pitch. New Britain counters with lefty Ryan Mullins (7-7, 4.28).

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Scranton/WB 4 at Rochester 7

W: P. Humber (6-7, 5.38); L: A. Horne (2-3, 5.63); SV: B. Korecky (16)
HR: SWB: C. Ransom (20), B. Broussard (7).

Phil Humber and Casey Daigle held the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees to six hits over 7.3 innings and the Rochester Red Wings did the rest as the Wings picked up a 7-4 win at Frontier Field.

Alan Horne did not fair nearly so well. The Marianna, Florida, native surrendered 5 runs on a pair of hits and 5 walks in 1 innings worth of work.

Horne started off by walking Jason Pridie, who then stole 2nd. Adam Everett took a walk as well. Horne got Darnell McDonald to pop out but Garrett Jones tripled to clear off the bags. Randy Ruiz hit into a ground out before another walk was issued, this time to Howie Clark. Matt Macri lined out to end the inning.

Horne return for the bottom of the second to walk Trevor Plouffe and Jeff Christy. He'd then allow a single to Pride, which plated Plouffe before the Yankees would replace him on the mound with Chris Britton. Britton allowed a single to Everett that brought in Christie and after getting McDonald and Jones out on strikes, allowed a line drive single to Ruiz that brought in Pridie.

Scranton would get on the board in the top of the 4th, with Alberto Gonzalez singling and Cody Ransom hitting his 20th home run of the season, over the center field wall, making the score 5-2, Rochester.

Brian Bruney would replace Britton in the top of the 5th and hit Ruiz with a pitch. There would be an small disagreement regarding Bruney's actions and he would be ejected by umpire Mike Estabrook, as was Ruiz.* Billy Traber stepped onto the mound for the Yankees and Sergio Santos replaced Ruiz at first base. Clark would ground out and Macri single to advance Santos to 3rd. Plouffe then ground into a force out that scored Santos and took Macri out at 2nd, to add another run to the Wings total.

Steve Jackson replaced Traber in the bottom of the 7th, and Clark would reach on a Ben Broussard fielding error. Macri ground out, but Plouffe drew a walk. Christy followed that up with a single to plate Clark, giving Rochester 7 runs. Pridie would single to load the bags, but Everett ground into a double play to end the inning.

Chris Stewart doubled for the Yankees in the top of the 8th. Gonzalez would fly out to move him to 3rd and then pair of wild pitches by Daigle would plate Stewart.

In the 9th, Broussard took his 7th home run of the season off Daigle and J.D. Closser walked. But the Red Wings would bring in Bobby Korecky who got Eric Duncan out on strikes and Chris Stewart and Brett Gardner to both pop out to end the contest.

Pridie finished up 2-for-4 with a walk, a pair of runs and a RBI; Jones was 2-for-5 with a triple and pair of RBIs. Everett was 1-for-4 with a walk, a run and a run scored. Macri was also 1-for-4 but qualifies as a one hit wonder, as did McDonald, who was 1-for-5. Plouffe twas 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, a run and a RBI, while Christy was 1-for-1 with 3 walks, a run and a run scored.

Santos, 0-for-2 and Clark 0-for-3 with a walk, each had a run as well.

Rochester now travels to Pawtuckett for a four game series against the Pawtuckett Paw Sox starting Tuesday at 7:05 PM.

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Tommy Watkins will have surgery on his left shoulder to replace a torn labium on Tuesday morning. He is expected to remain in Rochester through the end of the season.

Brian Duensing was presented with his USA Olympic Baseball team cap and jersey in a pregame ceremony Sunday. Wings GM Dan Mason surprised Duensing with a gift from the front office: a plane ticket for Duensing's wife Lisa to join him in Beijing. His Red Wings teammates have put together a silent auction that will take place at the Aug. 8 home game; proceeds will help offset hotel costs for Duensing's wife.

RHP Anthony Swarzak has been promoted from Double-A New Britain and start Wednesday's game in Pawtucket.

Right-hander Tom Shearn was signed to a free-agent contract. He started the season with Triple-A Louisville and went 6-2 with a 4.53 earned-run average before being sold to a team in Korea.

Adam Everett's rehab assignment expired Monday. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, if Minnesota does not activate the infielder, the ballclub will either have to designate him for assignment or get Everett to agree on a longer rehab stint.

Former Red Wing Jason Tyner was released by the Buffalo Bisons.

Former Red Wing/Rock Cat/Miracle Denard Span, now with the Minnesota Twins hit his first big-league home run Monday night.

Photo of Sergio Santos courtesy of Nancy Zinni.

Pridie named International League Player of the Week

The International League announced today that Rochester outfielder Jason Pridie has been named the League's Batter-of-the-Week for the period from July 21-27. He is the fourth members of the Red Wings to win an IL weekly award in 2008 joining fellow Red Wings Darnell McDonald (April 28-May 4), Denard Span (May 12-18), and Francisco Liriano (June 30- July 6).

Pridie tied for the League lead with 4 homers and 6 extra-base hits this week while hitting .375. He was 2nd in the IL in RBI (9) and slugging percentage (.844), while he was 3rd in hits (12). Tuesday Pridie hit his League-best 13th triple, which he followed up Wednesday with his second two-homer game of the season. Pridie has been remarkably balanced in his ability to collect extra-base hits. Included in his total count of 38 extra-base hits are 13 doubles, 13 triples, and 12 home runs. His fourth long ball of the week came last night against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, a two-run blast that accounted for half of his RBI total in the ballgame. It was also Pridie's fifth multi-hit game in seven days. Pridie is now 2nd on the Red Wings with 109 hits on the year, and 3rd with 12 home runs.

24-year-old Jason Pridie is in his first full year at the Triple-A level. He got his first taste of the classification last season with Durham, hitting .318 with 10 HR and 39 RBI in 63 games. In November he was traded by Tampa Bay to Minnesota in the same deal that brought Delmon Young to the Twins. Pridie is a native of Phoenix, AZ.

          G  AVG  H   AB  R 2B 3B HR RBI SLUG BB SB
Week:     7 .375  12  32  5  1  1  4   9 .844  0  0
Season: 105 .257 109 424 59 13 13 12  48 .434 19 19

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.

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.