Red Wings Soar Over RailRiders For Third-Straight Win
A night after Innovative Field saw its biggest regular season Red Wing crowd in stadium history, 12,168 Rochester faithful packed the stadium again Saturday night to see Rochester beat Scranton/WB, 7-3. SS Jack Dunn kicked off the night by crushing the first pitch he saw out of the leadoff spot
A night after Innovative Field saw its biggest regular season Red Wing crowd in stadium history, 12,168 Rochester faithful packed the stadium again Saturday night to see Rochester beat Scranton/WB, 7-3. SS Jack Dunn kicked off the night by crushing the first pitch he saw out of the leadoff spot in the first for his sixth home run of the season. RHP Spenser Watkins picked up his third-straight win on the mound, and LHP Joe La Sorsa turned in his 11th consecutive scoreless appearance in relief, the most by a Rochester pitcher this season.
This marks the first time Rochester has drawn back-to-back home games with at least 12,000 fans since September 4 and 5 in 2009, also against Scranton/WB.
The Red Wings bats came alive early in the bottom of the first when Jack Dunn smashed the first pitch he saw over the left field fence to give Rochester a quick 1-0 lead. The 388-foot solo shot was his sixth of the season, tying his career-high set in 2023 with Rochester and Double-A Harrisburg.
Rochester kept their foot on the gas in the bottom of the third when 3B Carter Kieboom chipped a ball to shallow right field that stuck under the fence for a ground-rule double. Dunn then singled to left field with one out to bring Kieboom around to score and extend the lead to 2-0 in favor of the Red Wings.
Scranton/WB responded in the top of the fourth with a lead-off single from CF Jasson Dominguez. 1B Ben Rice smoked a single to the center field gap and brought the top Yankee Prospect around to score to cut into the Rochester lead 2-1. In the ensuing at-bat, C Carlos Narvaez doubled to left field to bring the tying run home. DH T.J. Rumfield then drove a ball off the center field wall that plated the go-ahead run and made the score 3-2 Scranton/WB.
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RF Travis Blankenhorn worked a walk to start the bottom of the sixth inning for the Red Wings. The next batter, C Riley Adams, grounded a ball to second and reached first due to a fielding error. Following a groundout and a forceout that moved Blankenhorn to third, CF Alex Call put a ball into the left-field corner for a double and tied the game at 3-3. Kieboom then worked a walk to load the bases, and with the help of a wild pitch, 1B Juan Yepezreached home to take the 4-3 lead for Rochester.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Adams scorched a ball down the third base line for a base hit. Yepez kept the inning alive with a ground ball that squeaked into center field, which advanced Adams to scoring position. Next, Call lined a ball to right field for a single, a fielding error on the play allowed Adams to come around and score, pushing the Red Wings' lead to 5-3. Kieboom then stroked a ball that trickled to the center field wall for two bases, allowing Yepez and Call to reach home, making it a 7-3 Red Wings lead.
Rochester held the lead heading into the top of the ninth inning. Scranton/WB recorded one hit but was unable to cross the plate to secure a 7-3 Red Wing victory. Rochester now holds a 3-2 series lead heading into the finale.
Spenser Watkins got the ball to start for Rochester on Saturday night. The former Detroit Tiger draft pick made his 14th appearance of the year and recorded his second-straight quality start, with five strikeouts and allowing three earned runs and four hits during his 6.0 innings. RHP Luis Reyes took over to start the seventh inning for Rochester. He struck out two batters in his 1.1 scoreless innings and did not give up a hit or a walk. Joe La Sorsa wrapped up the night for Rochester, pitching the final 1.2 innings, where he tallied one strikeout and allowed a hit.
Saturday Night’s Diamond Pro Player of the Game goes to 3B Carter Kieboom. The Washington Nationals 2019 first-round pick finished 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles, two RBI, two walks and a run scored. This marks his first game with two doubles since August 24, 2019, against Albuquerque with Triple-A Fresno.
Find the box score attached here.
Rochester returns to action on Sunday against Scranton/WB in search of their sixth series win of the season. RHP Jackson Rutledge is slated to start on the mound for the Wings against RailRiders RHP Yoendrys Gomez. The first pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.
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