It was a fairly successful week for the Wings, though they finished with a 3-3 record. That is because they did so without their best starter (Anthony Swarzak) and closer (Sean Henn), both of whom were recently promoted to Minnesota. Moreover, they split four games on the road against Norfolk, the class of the International League.
After a much needed day off, Rochester kicked off a long set in Virginia on May 21st, and won in 12 innings on the strength of Kevin Mulvey‘s pitching and a 12th inning David Winfree home run. The win snapped an eight game winning streak for the Tides, but that team responded with victories over Rochester the next two days.
On Friday, the Wings fell behind 3-0, came back to tie it in the eighth, then relinquished the lead in the bottom of that inning. Reid Santos lasted only four innings, and Juan Morillo took the loss in relief. Rochester recorded only three hits and as many errors in the sloppily played game.
In Saturday’s game, Red Wings starter Phillip Humber put his team at a disadvantage early, walking four batters and hitting three in a five-inning outing. The Tides took advantage by scoring four runs, but Rochester center fielder Jason Pridie tied the score in the eighth with a two-run homer. Pridie had two hits in the game, as did Brock Peterson. Once again, the game went into extras, but this time Norfolk came out on top in the tenth. Reliever Bobby Keppel, in his fourth inning of duty, allowed a two-out RBI single that won the game for the home team.
The game also featured the Red Wings debut of Ben Hendrickson, who was activated from the disabled list. The 6’4″ Minnesotan threw a scoreless inning before handing the ball off to Keppel in the seventh. It is hoped that he will help stanch a bullpen that’s been rather porous of late, allowing runs in five of the last seven games.
On Sunday, Rochester managed a series split by defeating Norfolk 6-2. All six runs were scored in the top of the first inning, highlighted by a Trevor Plouffe grand slam. Brian Duensing threw seven innings of shutout ball, striking out five and walking none. The Wings’ ten hits were spread out among eight different players–Tommy Watkins and Alexi Casilla had two each–and Justin Huber walked three times.
After finishing the Sunday matinee, Rochester boarded a bus bound for the Flower City, where they have thus far played two games against the Durham Bulls. Durham took three out of four last week in North Carolina, and continued the trend on Memorial Day with a 3-2 victory over Rochester. Morillo was saddled with the loss, the consequence of giving up an RBI single in the eighth inning. Jason Jones allowed eight hits and two runs in six innings pitched, and Pridie scored both Rochester runs.
The Red Wings got one back yesterday, Tuesday the 26th, on a rainy day at Frontier Field. Winfree came through with another home run, this one a three-run job in the 8th, breaking a 2-2 tie and providing the ultimate 5-2 margin of victory. Plouffe also homered, and Mulvey struck out six in seven innings for his second consecutive strong start.
At the present, Rochester is 22-21, third place in the North division. After finishing their series with the Bulls, the team will take on Lehigh Valley, which has struggled thus far, and Gwinnett. Their success this season will likely be predicated by the bullpen. Already, the team has played 20 games with a margin of one or two runs.
Hendrickson, who has accumulated over 700 Triple-A innings since 2004, should be of use in this regard. Also on a positive note, Morillo has walked only seven batters in fifteen innings thus far; this, after walking 56 in 59.2 innings last season in Colorado Springs. Stepping into the closer’s role has been Keppel. Offensively, the Wings got back catcher Jose Morales this week after Delmon Young returned from the bereavement list. Morales’ OPS in 14 games with the Wings is .713, while in 22 games with the Twins, he’s hit .839. Even so, he’s a decided upgrade over Drew Butera.
Lastly, all Red Wings fans should make a point of reading Jim Mandelaro‘s excellent coverage at the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, and also his blog, Extra Bases. There, Jim had a provocative post last week about the team’s attendance woes. Rochester is one of the oldest, most successful baseball cities in the country, in the minors or the majors. A combination of poor play, hard times and… what else?, have contributed to uncharacteristic numbers of empty seats over the last few years. Blame management? Blame the Twins? Hard to say.
Topics: Alexi Casilla, Anthony Swarzak, Ben Hendrickson, Bobby Keppel, Brian Duensing, Brock Peterson, David Winfree, Delmon Young, Drew Butera, Jason Jones, Jason Pridie, Jim Mandelaro, Jose Morales, Juan Morillo, Justin Huber, Kevin Mulvey, Minnesota Twins, Phillip Humber, Reid Santos, Rochester Red Wings, Sean Henn, Tommy Watkins, Trevor Plouffe, Upstate Update
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