Rochester Pitching Blanks Toledo In Series Opener

Two days after suffering their largest shutout defeat in over 30 years, the Rochester Red Wings picked up a shutout win of their own with a 2-0 series-opening victory against the Toledo Mud Hens Tuesday night. DH Travis Blankenhorn picked up a pair of extra-base hits in the game, including a two-run home run over the right-field fence that accounted for the only two runs of the night. RHP Joan Adon tossed the first 5.0 innings of the first shutout by Wings pitching since June 18, 2023, against Scranton W/B, as four Rochester relievers combined to allow just five hits from the Toledo offense.

Through the first two innings, both teams remained scoreless in a pitching duel. Entering the bottom of the third inning, still tied at zero, 2B Darren Baker led off the inning with a line drive down the left-field line, turning on the jets and stretching it into a triple, the Red Wings second of the season. Two batters later, Travis Blankenhorn roped a two-run home run over the right field wall to give the Red Wings a 2-0 lead.

Following Blankenhorn’s home run, the two clubs remained locked in a pitchers duel between both bullpens. Toledo would call on four different arms after RHP Devin Sweet exited in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Both teams combined for eight hits from the fourth inning on, but neither could cross the plate. RHP Jacob Barnes closed the door with 2.0 hitless innings, earning his first save of the season, which solidified a 2-0 Red Wings win.

RHP Joan Adon started on the mound Tuesday night for the Red Wings. In his second Triple-A start of 2024, Adon finished with 5.0 innings pitched, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out six. This ties RHP Jackson Rutledge (3/31 at SYR) for the most innings pitched by a Wings starter this season. Adon was replaced by RHP Amos Willingham in the sixth inning, who threw 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out four batters. LHP Richard Bleier celebrated his 37th birthday by taking the ball with one out in the seventh and escaping the inning unscathed after inheriting two baserunners. RHP Jacob Barnes tossed a hitless eighth and ninth with a strikeout and a walk, extending his scoreless appearance streak to six games to begin the season. This marks the first time Rochester has shut out Toledo since May 24 of last season.

The Diamond Pro Player of the Game in the series opener against Toledo goes to DH Travis Blankenhorn. He finished the game 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and a double, marking his first game with multiple extra-base hits since August 10, 2023, against Lehigh Valley. He has now collected an extra-base hit in three of his last four games and a hit in eight of his last nine.

Rochester and Toledo are set to face off in the second game of the series in a Wednesday matinée matchup. RHP Jackson Rutledge (1-0, 3.86) toes the rubber for the Red Wings and will face off against Toledo’s RHP Keider Montero. First pitch is scheduled for 11:05 a.m.

Find the box score attached here.