Red Wings Fall In Finale, Split Series In Allentown
The Red Wings dropped the series finale Sunday afternoon in their final game of the 2024 campaign against Lehigh Valley, 13-2. The IronPigs came out victorious in the final three games of the series, and Rochester won the first three to ensure a split. 2B Jake Alu went 2-for-3 at
The Red Wings dropped the series finale Sunday afternoon in their final game of the 2024 campaign against Lehigh Valley, 13-2. The IronPigs came out victorious in the final three games of the series, and Rochester won the first three to ensure a split. 2B Jake Alu went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and his second home run of the year to lead the Wings on offense and made his first career appearance on the mound. RHP Ty Tice and RHP Orlando Ribalta combined to toss 2.2 innings and allow an earned run on two hits to support the Wings in relief.
In the first inning, CF Darren Baker sent a 2-2 changeup back up the middle for a lead-off single to get the day started for the Wings and extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Jake Alu worked a four-pitch walk and then DH Travis Blankenhorn was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. 1B Carter Kieboom grounded into a double play to the second baseman, but Baker scored from third to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead.
CF Cal Stevenson walked with the lead-off at-bat for Lehigh Valley in the bottom half of the first inning. SS Scott Kingery roped a base hit into shallow right field to put two runners on with no outs before 1B Darick Hall walked to load the bases. 3B Buddy Kennedy grounded into a double play of his own but scored Stevenson in the process to tie the game at 1-1.
Lehigh Valley worked three straight one-out walks to load the bases in the second frame. On a wild pitch, RF David Dahl crossed the plate to give the IronPigs a one-run advantage with still one out. The Wings intentionally walked Stevenson to load the bases again before Kingery popped out for the second out. Darick Hall worked a full count and was also hit by a pitch to force 2B Jim Haley across for the 3-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Haley doubled from the lead-off spot to build on the IronPigs’ momentum. After a strikeout, Stevenson walked to add a second base runner for Lehigh Valley before Kingery launched his 23rd home run, a three-run shot to make the score 6-1 in favor of IronPigs. Darick Hall followed with a base hit to center field that set up Kennedy with still one out. He went the other way with a 1-0 fastball for a double that plated Hall to push the difference to 7-1. Kennedy, who had reached third on the previous play’s throwing error, scored after LF Kody Clemens grounded out to second for the IronPigs’ eighth run of the contest.
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Jake Alu hammered a 1-0 sinker deep to right center for a solo home run in the fifth to help Rochester cut into the 8-2 Lehigh Valley lead. The 375-footer came off the bat at 103.6 MPH, his ninth hardest hit ball all year, and marked the New Jersey native’s second with the Red Wings this year.
In the bottom of the fifth, Dahl walked to kick off the inning before Jim Haley smoked his eighth homer of the season to extend the Lehigh Valley advantage to eight runs. The two-run shot reached a speed of 108.2 MPH off the bat and traveled 355 feet for his eighth of the year, making the score 10-2.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley worked back-to-back walks to put two runners on for Clemens who smashed the first pitch he saw over the wall in right-center. The three-run shot, his 11th of the season with the IronPigs, pushed the difference to 13-2 in favor of the IronPigs.
The Red Wings looked to overcome a massive deficit in their final at-bats but fell short despite a lead off base hit from SS Jackson Cluff. Rochester split their final series with Lehigh Valley in 2024 and finished the season 11-10 in 21 games against the Philadelphia Phillies top affiliate.
RHP Thaddeus Ward got the ball to start in the series finale against the IronPigs on Sunday afternoon. In his 24th start, the Florida native went 1.2 innings, allowing one hit, three earned, and six walks. Ty Tice faced the final batter of the second inning and threw 1.2 scoreless innings of his own, giving up just one hit and punching out two batters himself. RHP Garvin Alston made his second appearance of the series in the bottom of the fourth and turned in 1.2 innings of four hits and two walks for five earned runs but included three strikeouts. Right-hander Orlando Ribalta entered in relief to start the sixth inning for 1.0 inning, in which he allowed a hit but no runs. RHP Rico Garcia took over in the seventh to go 1.0 inning scoreless with one hit and one strikeout. Jake Alu made his first appearance on the mound in his career to finish the game for Rochester, during which he allowed three hits and two walks for three earned runs.
The Diamond Pro Player of the Game goes to 2B Jake Alu in Sunday’s series finale against Lehigh Valley. The infielder went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a double to lead the way for the Wings at the plate. Alu also made his pitching debut in the bottom of the eighth to finish the afternoon for Rochester’s bullpen. This is his first game with two-extra base hits since a two-double day on June 11, 2023, at Worcester.
Rochester will take Monday off to travel to Scranton/WB for the second half of their two-week road trip. The first pitch on Tuesday will be at 6:35 p.m.
Find the box score attached here.
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