Saints Top Red Wings In Wild High-Scoring Affair

The Rochester Red Wings dropped the opening game of a six-game slate at St. Paul Tuesday night, 15-9. CF Alex Call homered for a third consecutive game, his sixth of the season that tied him with RF Travis Blankenhorn for the team lead. The Wings' offense combined to pound a season-high 15 hits in the contest, including multi-hit performances from six players.

St. Paul kicked off the scoring in their first turn at-bat in the bottom of the first. CF DaShawn Keirsey Jr. ripped a triple into the right-center field gap with one out, and later came around to score on a ground out from C Jair Camargo to give the Saints a 1-0 lead.

After working a single and a walk to put two runners on in the second inning, the Saints would add to their lead when 3B Diego A. Castillo singled to right-center field, bringing 1B Yunior Severino home to make it a 2-0 ballgame. Following a steal of second by Castillo and a walk to RF Anthony Prato, Keirsey Jr. lined a single past 2B Darren Baker to score SS Will Holland. The Saints continued to apply pressure, as Camargo squibbed a broken-bat single through the right side of the infield to plate Prato, giving St. Paul a 5-0 advantage heading into the third inning.

After Rochester left the bases loaded in the top half of the third, the scoring barrage from the Saints continued. The first two St. Paul batters in the bottom half of the inning would reach on walks, and DH Yoyner Fajardo took advantage of the scoring chance with a three-run blast to increase the lead to 8-0. Following the homer, another pair of walks were issued, and Keirsey Jr. lined a double into the center field gap that tacked on another run for St. Paul, giving them a 9-0 advantage after three innings of play.

The Red Wings’ offense joined the fray in the fourth, when Alex Call sent an 0-2 fastball 336 feet over the right field wall to cut the St. Paul lead to 9-1. The homer was his sixth of the season, pulling him even with Travis Blankenhorn for the team lead.

Darren Baker kicked off the top of the fifth by grounding a single into left field off rehabbing RHP Jhoan Duran and was followed by a LF James Wood double that was just able to sneak by 2B Tony Kemp to put runners on second and third with no outs. Blankenhorn then muscled a bloop single into center field just past the outstretched glove of Keirsey Jr. to plate Baker and add another run to Rochester’s total. Two batters later, DH Carter Kieboom roped a double into the right-center field alley to plate Wood and trim the Saints’ lead down to six runs, 9-3.

St. Paul responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Holland was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and moved to third base on a single from Castillo. With runners at the corners, Prato laced a ground ball that deflected off Wings’ RHP Robert Gsellman and skirted into right field to score Holland and push the Saints' lead to seven. A wild pitch moved runners to second and third for LF Matt Wallner, who roped a double into the right field corner to give St. Paul a 12-3 lead.

Kemp started the Saints’ half of the sixth with a walk and came around to score two batters later on a triple from Holland. Castillo followed with a sacrifice fly, and Wings’ pitching was able to escape the remainder of the inning unscathed and keep their deficit at 11 runs, 14-3.

The Red Wings began to claw their way back in the seventh. 1B Juan Yepez opened the inning with a walk and moved to third on a Blankenhorn double. Call also reached on a walk, loading the bases for 3B Jack Dunn. The Georgia native drew a free pass of his own to score Yepez, the third Rochester batter to walk in the inning. C Brady Lindsly hustled out an infield single in the following at-bat, sending Blankenhorn home for the Red Wings' second run of the inning.
SS Jackson Cluff continued the rally by roping a double off the right-field wall that scored Call but was tagged out between first and second. The scoring continued for the Wings, as Baker reached on a ground ball to third that was bobbled at first base. Wood was then the fourth Red Wing to reach via a walk in the seventh, and the team batted around as Yepez scored a pair on a ground ball past the diving Holland at shortstop. A flyout would end the inning, but Rochester was able to cut the St. Paul lead down to 14-9 going into the bottom of the seventh.

Following two scoreless frames, the Saints added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Fajardo dunked a single in the middle of a trio of Red Wings, and Holland doubled to put runners on second and third. Castillo hit a sacrifice fly to center that allowed Fajardo to score, increasing their lead to 15-9.
The Red Wings kicked off the ninth with a single off the bat of Baker, followed by Wood’s second walk of the game. St. Paul pitching was able to retire the middle of the order without allowing a run, stranding two runners on base with a final score of 15-9 in favor of the Saints.

RHP Jackson Rutledge took the hill for the Red Wings in his fourth start of the season and first in his career against St. Paul. The Nationals 2019 first-round pick tossed 2.0 innings, allowing nine earned on six hits while walking five and striking out a pair. RHP Robert Gsellman was the first reliever out of the pen for Rochester. The former New York Met hurled 2.2 innings of one-run ball on three hits while walking two and fanning three batters. LHP Richard Bleier came on with two outs in the fifth, surrendering a run but escaping the inning. The southpaw also pitched the sixth and exited allowing a total of two earned on two hits with a walk. RHP Stephen Nogosek finished the last 2.0 innings, allowing one earned on two hits while walking two and striking out three.

The Diamond Pro Player of the Game Tuesday night goes to 1B Juan Yepez, who drove in two Rochester runs while adding a double, a single, and two walks in a 2-for-4 night. The former St. Louis Cardinal is now tied with James Wood for the team lead with 15 walks, and is tied for the second-most RBI on the team (15) with Alex Call. The Venezuela native has also logged a hit in four straight games, dating back to April 19 against Toledo.

Rochester continues their series at St. Paul in game two of the six-game set on Wednesday night. RHP Spenser Watkins will get the ball for the Red Wings for the third start of his campaign, and the Saints counter with RHP Joe Gunkel. First pitch is slated for 7:37 p.m.

Find the box score attached here.