By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER — Mike Ford connected on a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the first to give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a lead it did not surrender, and the Rochester Red Wings fell for the first time in four games 6-2 to the RailRiders, Thursday afternoon.
Willians Astudillo collected half of the Wings hits with an RBI double in the bottom of the first and a solo shot in the eighth. The Wings three-game winning streak coming into the contest was the longest since Rochester took three straight from July 1st to July 3rd.
Chase De Jong suffered the loss in his first appearance as a member of the Twins organization. The right-hander allowed five runs (all earned) on six hits over 3.2 innings.
RailRiders solve Wings ‘Pen
Rochester relievers had thrown 11.1 straight scoreless innings in the series entering play Thursday. DJ Baxendale hurled 2.1 without giving up a charged run. Luke Bard hurled a scoreless frame running the streak to 14.2 before Devyn Bolasky came home on a Mark Payton one-out double in the eighth. The Wings bullpen came into the game with an ERA of 2.87 (123 ER, 385.1 IP). The ‘Pen ERA was 2.19 on May 28th before letting up 45 earned runs in 98.2 innings in July. Over his last six relief appearances, Baxendale registered an ERA of 1.69 (2 ER in 10.2 IP).
“They’ve done a great job,” Wings manager Joel Skinner said of his bullpen. “That’s been the strength of our team this year is our pitching staff. They’ve been doing a wonderful job. The guys get after it. They want the ball. It could have gone upside down. We tried to get back into it. Astudillo hits a home run. We were down a grand slam.”
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De Jong’s uneven debut
Recently acquired from Seattle, De Jong gave up Ford’s tater in the first but looked ready to settle in when he retired the side in order in the second. Even in the third when Scranton loaded the bases, the second round pick in the 2012 draft (Toronto) appeared calm as he induced a can of corn from Ford and struck out Bruce Caldwell to get out of the jam. Then the fourth inning happened: Abiatal Avelino led with a triple. Bolasky and nine-hole hitter Francisco Diaz put together back-to-back one-out singles. When the frame ended, the RailRiders had a 5-1 advantage. For a Wings club hitting .184 (81-for-441) with runners in scoring position since June 2nd, that was all but insurmountable.
“He got out of that inning,” Skinner added. “He did pitch with men on base all day, but he did control the damage to the least amount.
“He pitched with traffic the whole time he was out there. You’re only allowed so many jams it seems like. It’s just the way the game works. They had the one frame early where they had the two-run homer which was quick and that’s just how it happens.”
Roster Moves Continue
De Jong was acquired from Seattle in a deal which included 1B Ryan Costello for left-hander Zach Duke. Byron Buxton‘s injury woes continue. The 2012 first-round pick was placed on the DL for the fifth time on July 31st.
Gonsalves Gets Next
The Wings (49-59) head out on the road where they have the second-most wins in the International League with 30 (26 losses) when they travel to Pawtucket (49-58). Gonsalves (7-3/3.04) is 3-0 in his last eight outings – a stretch in which he has given up four earned runs over 46.1 innings.
Sheffield on the Move
The RailRider starter allowed one run on three hits over 5.2 innings. Not too long after the southpaw exited, his name was overheard on the Michael Kay Show being televised on the Frontier Field press box. Sheffield’s name was mentioned as a possible call up for the New York Yankees. If there is a reason why Sheffield stays in Triple-A, it may be his last four outings where he has not been able to get out of the sixth inning.
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