Wada sharp, but Red Wings rally to topple Tides
Rochester rallied from a two-run 9th inning deficit before plating five 14th inning runs in a 9-4 victory over the Tides Monday afternoon at Harbor Park.
With the Tides leading 4-2 entering the ninth, the Red Wings rallied against Tides closer Jairo Asencio to send the game to extra innings. After a one-out walk to Brian Dinkelman, Eric Fryer lined a double to center field to put runners at second and third. Eduardo Escobar followed with a single to center, plating both Dinkelman and Fryer to knot the score at 4-4.
The game stayed tied until the 14th inning before Rochester broke the game open against Tim Alderson (4-3). Jermaine Mitchell broke the deadlock with a solo home run, and Dinkelman followed with a solo homer of his own to put the Red Wings up by two. Three straight singles then loaded the bases for Chris Parmelee, who plated three runs with a double into left-center field to give Rochester a 9-4 advantage.
A.J. Achter (1-1) earned the victory with three shutout innings of relief, as Rochester's bullpen combined to allow one run on three hits in nine innings of work.
The rally spoiled a strong outing from Tides starter Tsuyoshi Wada, who was denied his third straight victory. Wada yielded one run on five hits in a season-high seven innings, striking out three while walking one. The 32-year-old southpaw has now posted a 0.48 ERA (1-ER, 18.2-IP) with 20 strikeouts and three walks over his last three starts, over which he's held opposing batters to a .203 average (14-for-69).
Danny Valencia homered and singled to lead Norfolk, which finished its season-long 11-game homestand with a 6-5 record.
The loss was Norfolk's first this season when leading after seven innings of play. The Tides had been 51-0 when taking a lead into the eighth inning.
The Tides open up an eight-game road trip Tuesday night in Toledo, with first pitch from Fifth Third Field slated for 7:00. Josh Stinson (6-5, 3.87) will make the start for Norfolk against right-hander Shawn Hill (4-12, 5.59).
Notes: Jermaine Mitchell had five hits, the first opposing player to collect five hits against the Tides since Russ Canzler accomplished the feat while playing for Durham in 2011…The win denied Norfolk manager Ron Johnson his 1,400th career managerial victory (Johnson is 1,399-1,392)…The five runs allowed by Alderson snapped an 11.1 scoreless inning streak for the right-hander…Norfolk's bullpen had allowed two earned runs or less in each of its last 15 games…Jason Pridie, who entered play leading IL outfielders in fielding percentage, made 10 putouts in right field…Yamaico Navarro recorded the final out of the 14th inning in his first professional pitching appearance.