Rochester Drops Sunday Finale, Series Against RailRiders

The Rochester Red Wings dropped their series finale against Scranton/WB Sunday afternoon, 6-4, losing the six-game series against the RailRiders four games to two. CF James Wood extended his on-base streak to a team-leading 19 games with a single in the fifth, and C Drew Millas put together a multi-hit performance that included a double, an RBI and a run scored.

The RailRiders got out to an early lead in the bottom of the first after singles by 2B Caleb Durbin and 1B T.J. Rumfield put runners on first and third with one out. Rumfield attempted to steal second base in the very next at bat, causing an errant throw that sailed into center field, scoring Durbin from third base while Rumfield moved to third to put the RailRiders up 1-0. A pair of walks to C Carlos Narvaez and 3B Jeter Downs loaded the bases, and LF Greg Allen ripped a single through the right side to score Rumfield and give Scranton/WB a 2-0 lead after an inning of play.

Scranton/WB padded their lead in the bottom of the third. An errant throw on a ground ball from T.J. Rumfield put a runner on second to lead off the inning, Rumfield’s second time reaching base in as many tries, and Narvaez replaced him at second with a double to give the RailRiders a 3-0 lead.

The Red Wings would get on the board in the top of the fourth, kicking off the inning with a walk from DH Joey Gallo and RF Travis Blankenhorn single, setting the Wings up with runners on first and second with no one out. After Drew Millas advanced Gallo to third on a ground ball force out to second base, RF Stone Garrett grounded into a fielder’s choice, and an ensuing throwing error allowed both Gallo and Millas to score to cut into the RailRiders’ lead, 3-2.

The RailRiders added to their lead in the bottom frame of the fifth inning, stringing together three consecutive singles with two outs from Durbin, DH Everson Pereira, and Rumfield, that allowed Durbin to come around and cross the plate to increase the RailRiders lead to 4-2.

This back and forth game took another turn as the Red Wings responded in the top half of the fifth inning. Wood led off with a single into left field, and Gallo followed suit with his second walk of the day to set Rochester up with runners on first and second with one out. Millas extended the inning with a double into left field, scoring Wood to cut the lead back down to one run, 4-3.

Neither team was able to score in the sixth, and Rochester went back to work in the top of the seventh inning. After Baker reached on an error, 1B Carter Kieboom ripped a double into center field, setting Rochester up with runners on second and third and no one out. Two batters later, Gallo loaded the bases with his third walk of the game. Blankenhorn followed suit with a walk of his own after challenging a sinker that was called a strike on the inside part of the play, resulting in a four pitch at bat that scored Baker from third, tying the game at four apiece after six and a half innings of baseball.

With one out in the seventh, Pereira roped a single up the middle for his second knock of the game. He then moved to second on a ground out, and Narvaez was intentionally walked to ensure a possible double play. The following batter, Scranton/WB attempted a double steal and induced an errant throw into left field, allowing Pereria to come around and score to give the RailRiders a 5-4 lead. RF Taylor Trammell then singled through the left side to score Narvaez, making the score 6-4 heading to the eighth.

The score remained the same heading to the ninth, and the Wings came to bat for the final time down by a pair of runs. Three consecutive outs sealed a 6-4 win for Scranton/WB, handing Rochester their second series loss of the season.

RHP Spenser Watkins started the final game of the series for the Red Wings, his second start of the week against Scranton/WB. The right-hander tossed 5.0 innings and allowed three earned on seven hits while striking out four and walking three. RHP Luis Reyes took over in the sixth and allowed one earned run on one hit across 1.1 innings while walking one batter. LHP Tim Cate entered in the bottom of the seventh with one out, and recorded the final two outs of the inning, allowing an earned run on one hit with a walk and a strikeout. RHP Amos Willingham closed out the game by pitching 1.0 scoreless inning and allowed just one hit, while walking and striking out one across five batters faced.

Sunday afternoon’s Diamond Pro Player of the Game goes to C Drew Millas. The switch-hitting catcher turned in the Wings’ only multi-hit performance of the afternoon, going 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. He is now hitting .389 (14-for-36) with four home runs, four doubles, 11 RBI, and five runs scored across nine games in May.

Rochester will take Monday off and travel back home to begin a six-game series against the Buffalo Bisons beginning Tuesday night. This is the second time this season the Wings have taken on Toronto’s top affiliate and the first time at Innovative Field. First pitch Tuesday is set for 6:05 p.m.

Find the box score attached here.