Wings Fall to Bulls, 7-3

The Rochester Red Wings fell to the Durham Bulls, 7-3, Saturday night, snapping a two-game winning streak. Four bullpen arms allowed just one earned run through 7.1 innings of relief, while RF Blake Rutherford collected his second three-hit game with Rochester this season.

Durham struck first Saturday night, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. DH Curtis Mead blooped a double into right field that allowed 1B Jonathan Aranda to score. SS Tristan Gray tacked on a second run two batters later with a sacrifice bunt, Durham’s third of the season, that brought in Mead. The Bulls tacked on a run in the top of the second inning, extending their lead to 3-0 when RF Ruben Cardenas launched an RBI double to score LF Niko Hulsizer.

3B Austin Shenton further cushioned Durham’s lead with a two-out, two-run double in the second that put the Bulls ahead 5-0. Rochester responded in the bottom half of the inning, getting a run on the board on an RBI groundout from CF Derek Hill. An error on Aranda the ensuing at-bat from LF Jake Alu plated 3B Jack Dunn, cutting the Rochester deficit to 5-2.

The Bulls tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth inning, moving the lead to 7-2. Aranda hit into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded, scoring Hulsizer from third base. 2B Osleivis Basabe followed the RBI up with a sacrifice fly out that plated Cardenas. The Wings added a third run in the bottom of the ninth inning on an RBI groundout from Alu, but were unable to finish off the comeback, falling for the second time in five games against Durham.

LHP Anthony Banda (0-2, 7.88) started on the mound for the Wings, working 1.2 innings while allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out three and walking two, taking the loss. RHP Tommy Romero entered first out of the bullpen, logging his longest scoreless outing since 9/11/2022 against SYR. The Florida native worked 3.1 innings on the mound, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out a pair. RHP Hobie Harris and RHP Roddery Muñoz each worked a scoreless inning of relief, striking out two batters without allowing a hit. RHP Joel Peguero pitched the final two innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out a batter.

RF Blake Rutherford earned Saturday’s Diamond Pro Player of the Game honors after going 3-for-4 with a trio of singles in the loss, registering Rochester’s lone multi-hit performance. This marked the eighth time this season between Rochester and Double-A Harrisburg that Rutherford has collected at least three hits in a game.

Rochester finished 4-for-6 on ABS Challenges, while the Bulls went 2-for-5.

Rochester wraps up their six-game series against Durham tomorrow as they look to seal the series win. RHP Wily Peralta is set to make the start for the Wings, with LHP Jacob Lopez on the bump for the Bulls. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

Find the box score attached here.