GAME STORIES JULY 1-15, 2008

Sunday 7/13/08
WINGS TAKE BREAK AFTER BUMMER ROADTRIP The Durham Bulls defeated the Rochester Red Wings 9-3 Sunday at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Randy Ruiz hit a fourth inning double, to run his hitting streak to 22 games - tying a club record. The loss wrapped up a poor roadtrip for the Wings, who won just two of the eight games. The Wings will open an eight-game homestand Thursday night at Frontier Field. Fernando Perez continued his hot hitting with a 2-for-4 performance, which included a triple, two runs, a walk and a stolen base. Elliot Johnson was also stellar, going 2-for-3 with a double four runs batted in and a stolen base. Jason Pridie hit his third homer in two games, launching a two-out blast in the fifth for Rochester's final run. Mike Prochaska (3-4) earned the win in five innings of work, allowing six hits, three runs and a walk while striking out two. Brian Duensing (5-10) took the loss for Rochester in four innings of work, giving up six hits, four runs and four walks with four strikeouts. Duensing has now lost five of his last seven starts

Saturday 7/12/08
PRIDIE RALLIES WINGS TWICE IN STUNNING WIN OVER BULLS Jason Pridie homered in consecutive at-bats, helping the Red Wings to a 9-8 win over the Durham Bulls in 13 innings Saturday night. Sergio Santos' RBI double brought home Howie Clark with the final run, making a winner out of Tim Lahey (5-5), the sixth Rochester pitcher of the night. Pridie's ninth inning grand slam off Scott Dohmann had capped a six-run rally that put Rochester in front, 7-6, but Durham tied the score off Bobby Korecky in the bottom of the ninth. Pridie's solo homer in the 11th put the Wings ahead again, but Durham posted one run to tie the score at 8-8. Pridie had four hits in the game. Randy Ruiz hit a one-out single to keep the ninth inning rally going, extending his hitting streak to 21 games. The Wings committed four errors on the night, and were out-hit 17-11 by the Bulls. Rochester won their fifth straight extra innings contest, improving to 9-6 in extra innings games in 2008.

Friday 7/11/08
BULLS EDGE WINGS 2-1 (DBulls.com/RedWingsBaseball.com) - The Durham Bulls put an end to their six-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Rochester Red Wings Friday at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Randy Ruiz hit a seventh inning home run, providing Rochester's only run and extending his hitting streak to 20 games. The Bulls got a run in the first inning against Julio DePaula (1-4) with a Fernando Perez single, a Jon Weber double and a Dan Johnson groundout. In the fourth, Perez singled to drive home Nathan Haynes for a crucial insurance run. Perez was 2-for-4 on the evening with a run scored and one driven in. Mitch Talbot (8-7) recorded a quality start as he went 6.2 innings, allowing a run on five hits while striking out six Red Wings. DePaula took the loss in 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks with three strikeouts.

Thursday 7/10/08
RUIZ, WINGS TRAMPLE BULLS (DemocratandChronicle.com/RedWingsBaseball.com) - On the heels of being swept by Charlotte, the Wings opened a four-game road series against the Durham Bulls with a 14-1 romp Thursday night. Rochester (44-52), paced by another solid effort from Francisco Liriano, totaled 18 hits, led by home runs from Randy Ruiz, Darnell McDonald and Sergio Santos. The Wings are 4-1 against the Bulls (49-46) this season, outscoring them 71-26. Rochester has scored 10 or more runs in four of its last seven trips to Durham. With two outs in the first, McDonald and Garrett Jones each singled, then scored on Ruiz's homer, giving the Wings a 3-0 early lead. Ruiz extended his hit streak to a season-high 19 games, the second longest in Triple-A this season. Howie Clark and Matt Macri singled to keep the inning going before both scored on a Santos double. Santos scored on Ryan Jorgensen's single, making it 6-0. Jason Pridie led off the top of the second with a double. McDonald belted a homer over the 32-foot-high wall in left field, making it 8-0 Wings with no outs. Clark singled and advanced to third on a throwing error by third baseman Joel Guzman. Santos singled and reached on another error by Guzman, allowing Clark to score and make it 9-0.The Bulls were temporarily able to stop the bleeding, holding the Wings scoreless in the next three innings. But Liriano (7-2) prevented Durham from gaining ground, allowing only three hits over seven innings. He retired batters in order in three innings, striking out eight. Liriano, the International League Pitcher of the Week, is 7-0 in his last eight starts and has a 21 1/3 scoreless innings streak. In the top of the sixth, Pridie singled, went to third on a throwing error, then scored when McDonald grounded out to first.Clark and Macri hit back-to-back doubles in the seventh, with Clark scoring. Tommy Watkins scored on McDonald's ground out in the eighth to make it 12-0. Durham got on the board in the eighth, when Fernando Perez doubled with two outs, then scored on a triple by Jon Weber. The Wings capped the scoring when Clark singled, then scored on Santos' homer in the ninth. In the previous four game losing streak, Rochester batted just .205 (23-for-112) as a team and was just (2-for-24) .083 with runners in scoring position.

WINGS DROP TWO; RUIZ STREAK TO 18 (DemocratandChronicle.com/RedWingsBaseball.com) - After the Rochester Red Wings earned a four-game sweep against the Charlotte Knights at Frontier Field in late May, the Knights returned the favor with a four-game sweep at their home ball park to finish the season series. Rochester managed just six hits in two seven-inning games as they were swept in a doubleheader on Wednesday night, 4-1, 4-0, at Knights Stadium.The Red Wings scored a total of five runs in the four-game sweep by Charlotte. Charlotte starter Jack Egbert (3-6) shut Rochester down in Game 2, pitching a two-hit shutout with no walks and seven strikeouts. The right-hander retired 14 batters in a row from the second until the seventh inning.Rochester starter Brian Duensing (5-9) breezed through the first three innings before getting tagged for three runs in the bottom of the fourth as the Knights (44-50) sent eight batters to the plate. Nicholas Blasi capped the inning with a sharp two-run single to left field that scored Royce Huffman and Javier Castillo for a 3-0 lead. In Game 1, Kevin Mulvey started for the Wings (43-52), and the right-hander made a costly throwing error in the second inning and gave up a home run in the fifth inning, which accounted for all four Charlotte runs. After allowing a one-out single to Cole Armstrong and hitting Royce Huffman with a pitch, Mulvey fielded a swinging bunt from Javier Castillo, but threw the ball away while attempting to throw Castillo out at first. Armstrong and Huffman scored on the play for a 2-0 Charlotte lead and Castillo reached third on the error. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Fernando Cortez to push the lead to 3-0. Rochester second baseman Trevor Plouffe cut the lead to 3-1 with a solo home run, his fourth of the season, in the top of the third inning. Clayton Ricard improved his record to 6-0 for the Knights, pitching six innings, allowing four hits, one earned run while walking one and striking out five. Fernando Cortez pushed the Knights lead back to three runs with a solo home run, his second home run of the season, in the bottom of the fifth inning for a 4-1 lead. Mulvey (3-8) pitched 42/3 innings, allowing four hits, four runs, one earned, while walking one and striking out three. He hasn't earned a win since he defeated the Knights on May 29 at Frontier Field. Red Wings designated hitter Randy Ruiz pushed his hitting streak to 18 games. Ruiz had a single in the first game and went 2-for-3 with his 24th double of the season in Game 2. Rochester's All-Star right fielder Darnell McDonald went a combined 0-for-7 in the two games and is in a 4-for-55 slump over his last 13 games. After being rained out on Tuesday, the two teams were set to begin the doubleheader at 5:15 p.m., but a two-hour, 47-minute rain delay forced the start of the first game to be delayed until 8:02 p.m.

Monday 7/7/08
KNIGHTS TOP WINGS AGAIN The Red Wings dropped their second straight game to the Charlotte Knights Monday night, losing by a score of 7-3 in a contest that was close until the seventh inning. Garrett Jones homered for Rochester, one of his three hits in the game. Rochester starter Danny Graves left after six innings of a 3-3 game. Jones' ninth homer of the year tied the score in the top of the sixth. Charlotte took the lead against Casey Daigle on a home run by Noah Hall. The Knights put the game away against Daigle (1-4) and Carmen Cali with a three-run eighth that included two hits, two walks and a throwing error by Daigle. Jason Pridie and Ryan Jorgensen each had two hits for the Wings; Randy Ruiz singled in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.

Sunday 7/6/08
WINGS DROP ROADTRIP OPENER IN CHARLOTTE The Charlotte Knights took advantage of poor defensive play by the Red Wings, and defeated Rochester 9-1 Sunday night. The game start was delayed by rain, then called off after seven innings of play. Randy Ruiz doubled and extended his hitting streak to 15 games, and scored the only run for the Wings. Charlotte's Danny Richar hit a three-run homer off starter Julio DePaula in the first inning, after a pair of Red Wings errors contributed to the scoring. Charlie Haeger scattered seven hits and allowed just a run in the second, when Ruiz doubled, moved to third on a groundout by Howie Clark, and scored on Macri's sacrifice fly. With the bases loaded for tthe Red Wings in the fifth, Haeger (7-7) used just 10 pitches to strike out Darnell McDonald, Garrett Jones and Ruiz to end the inning. The Knights picked up four more runs off Philip Humber, who relieved DePaula (1-3). Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko doubled and drove in a run s part of his rehab assignment with the Knights.

Saturday 7/5/08
WINGS WIN AGAIN, BLANKING HERD The Red Wings won their fourth straight game, topping the Buffalo Bisons 2-0 Saturday night at Frontier Field. Francisco Liriano turned in another sharp performance, holding Buffalo hitless for the first four innings. Rookie Frank Herrmann was a late substitute starter for Buffalo, making his Triple-A debut in place of scheduled starter Jeff Harris. Herrmann drew Wings lefty Liriano, coming off his best start of the year: a seven inning, four hit, scoreless start Monday night in which he struck out nine Lehigh Valley batters. Liriano began the game in dominating fashion, striking out three of the first six batters he faced, while no-hitting the Bisons through the first four innings. The Wings helped their starter out when Darnell McDonald singled to center field, scoring Trevor Plouffe to give Rochester a 1-0 lead. Rochester appeared poised to add to their lead with runners on first and third with one out in the fourth with Sergio Santos at the plate. However, Santos struck out looking, and Randy Ruiz was caught stealing home plate for an inning ending double play. The Bisons tested Liriano in the fifth, when Chris Gimenez doubled off the left field wall to open the inning for Buffalo's first hit. . Liriano struck out Morgan Ensberg and Jason Cooper, followed by a brief scare: a stop in play, and manager Stan Cliburn and trainer Tony Leo sprinting out to the mound to check on Liriano after he threw a pitch to Jason Tyner. Liriano appeared to have slipped on the mound, but waved off staff and quickly got Tyner to ground out, ending the inning. Ryan Jorgensen blasted his sixth home run of the year off Herrmann in the fifth, pushing the Wings' lead to 2-0. Back-to-back singles in the top of the sixth set up another threat for the Bisons, and started action in the Rochester bullpen. But Liriano induced a double play grounder from Michael Aubrey, and struck out Todd Linden to keep Buffalo off the board. Liriano finished his day having thrown 98 pitches in six innings, striking out seven and walking one. Casey Daigle took over for Liriano, and retired all six Bisons he faced. Bobby Korecky pitched the ninth, getting two quick outs before yielding a single to Linden. A groundout ended the game, preserving the win and earning Korecky his 12th save. Herrmann was taken out after the seventh inning in favor of Jeff Stevens. Herrmann gave up eight hits and two runs while striking out four.

Friday 7/4/08
DUENSING AND CLARK SHINE IN WINGS WIN Brian Duensing pitched six shutout innings, allowing only four hits and Howie Clark went 4-for-4 with three RBI to pace the Wings offense in their 8-1 victory over the Buffalo Bisons at Frontier Field in front of 11, 416 fans Friday night. The Wings go for the sweep of the four-game series against the Bisons Saturday night at 7:05 pm at Frontier Field Garrett Jones got Rochester on the board in the 2nd with a solo home run into the Wings bullpen in right field. The Wings tacked on another run in the inning. After a single by Clark and a double by Matt Macri put runners on second and third with one out; a wild pitch by Bisons starter John Halama allowed Clark to score making the lead 2-0. Duensing escaped a jam in the first, the inning that has plagued him all year long, and cruised through the next four innings allowing only one hit. Of the 59 runs allowed by Duensing this season, 26 have come in the first inning. The Wings added on in the fourth, a pair of singles by Jones and Randy Ruiz with one out set the stage for RBI singles by Clark and Macri. Sergio Santos added a sacrifice fly to score Clark increasing the Wings lead to 5-0. Trevor Plouffe hit his third home run of the season and his second in as many nights in the fifth. Duensing (5-8) found himself in trouble in the sixth. A walk and a single put runners on first and second with no one out. But Duensing beared down, getting a strikeout and two flyouts to end the threat and keep the Herd off the board. Clark collected two more RBI in the seventh with a bases-loaded single off the glove of Bisons' shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, pushing the Red Wings lead to 8-0. Carmen Cali took over in the seventh and retired six straight, before allowing a ninth inning run to Buffalo. Cali picked up his second save.

Thursday 7/3/08
PLOUFFE HOMERS TO CLINCH WINGS WIN Trevor Plouffe's solo home run in the 13th inning gave the Red Wings their second straight extra innings win over the Buffalo Bisons, a 7-6 decision in Buffalo Thursday night. The two teams open a two-game set at Frontier Field Friday night. Plouffe blasted a pitch from Bubbie Buzachero over the wall in left-centerfield with one out in the 13th, rescuing the Wings from a game in which they took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning. Casey Daigle and Ricky Barrett combined for two shutout innings of relief, with Barrett (3-3) getting the win. Julio DePaula set down the Bisons in order in the 13th, striking out Todd Linden to end the game and earn his second save. Kevin Mulvey turned in a fine start, allowing five hits and two runs in seven innings and leaving with the game tied at 2-2. Matt Macri's three-run homer in the eighth put the Wings ahead 5-2, and an insurance run scored in the ninth inning on an error by catcher Chris Gimenez. Tim Lahey pitched a scoreless eighth, but hit a batter and gave up a double to open the Buffalo ninth inning. Mariano Gomez took over for Lahey and allowed a single and bases loaded walk to bring Buffalo within two runs at 6-4. Bobby Korecky relieved Gomez, but an RBI single and run-scoring groundout tied the score at 6-6 and sent the two clubs into extra innings for the second straight night. Tommy Watkins, Garrett Jones and Macri each had three hits for the Wings.

Wednesday 7/2/08
WINGS WIN IN 12 Matt Macri singled home the winning run in the top of the 12th inning, and left fielder Tommy Watkins threw out the tying run at home in the bottom of the inning as the Red Wings defeated the Buffalo Bisons 5-4 Wednesday night. Rochester is now a half-game behind Buffalo (40-47) for fourth place in the division. With Rochester ahead 5-4 in the bottom of the 12th, Buffalo put runners on first and second with one out. Reliever Carmen Cali struck out Todd Linden for the second out but Jordan Brown followed with a single to left field. Watkins played the ball cleanly off the grass and threw a bullet to home plate to retire Michael Aubrey and end the game. The Red Wings loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the inning for Macri, who hit an infield single down the third-base line to score Darnell McDonald and give Rochester a 5-4 lead.It was the fourth game this season between the two teams that went to extra innings. Each team has won twice. Rochester took a 4-3 lead in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Trevor Plouffe to score Sergio Santos but Buffalo tied the score 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth on a solo home run by Brad Snyder off of Red Wings closer Bobby Korecky. The Red Wings trailed 3-1 after four innings but Ryan Jorgensen hit a solo homer to lead off the fifth and Macri added a solo shot in the sixth to tie the score at 3. Rochester reliever Mariano Gomez entered in the eighth inning and loaded the bases with no outs after two walks and an error. Gomez got the next batter to pop out to shallow left field before being pulled for Tim Lahey, who got Chris Gimenez to ground into a double play to end the inning. Plouffe had a run-scoring single in the third to give Rochester a 1-0 lead. Todd Linden hit a two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the inning to give the Bisons the lead. Snyder homered in the fourth to give Buffalo a 3-1 lead. Rochester starter Danny Graves allowed all three runs on six hits over five innings while walking two and striking out two. Reliever Ricky Barrett struck out four over two hitless innings.

Tuesday 7/1/08
IRONPIGS TRAMPLE WINGS The Lehigh Valley IronPigs pounded out 17 hits in a 12-5 rout of the Red Wings Tuesday night at Frontier Field. Tommy Watkins had three hits and two RBI for Rochester. The Wings head to Buffalo for a two-game set before returning home for games against Buffalo Friday and Saturday nights. Red Wings starter Philip Humber was looking to follow up his outstanding June 26 start in Louisville, in which he tossed five shutout innings and struck out six. Humber allowed a leadoff hit then got three outs to end the first inning, but his troubles started quickly in the second. Jon Knott led off the second with a double, and T. J. Bohn's double with two outs brought in Knott for a 1-0 IronPigs lead. Lehigh Valley batted around in a nightmarish third inning for Humber (4-7), an inning in which he allowed seven runs and six hits - including homers to Jason Jaramillo and Rich Thompson. The 'Pigs batted around before Julio DePaula retired Tracy to end the inning, with Lehigh Valley holding an 8-0 lead. The Red Wings managed just a single by Alejandro Machado against Les Waldron (2-7) through four innings. The Wings offense had struggled the last four games, hitting just.176 (21-for-119) as a team. In the fifth, the Wings' bats finally came alive against Waldron. Randy Ruiz singled with one out, starting a three-run inning that featured run-scoring hits by Sergio Santos, Machado and Watkins. The Iron Pigs added to their lead in the 6th when Oscar Robles hit a two-out double, scoring Knott and Tracy for a 10-3 lead. Watkins factored in the scoring again in the seventh, drilling an RBI double to make it 10-4. Lehigh Valley scored a pair of runs against Carmen Cali in the eighth inning, and Rochester picked up another run in the eighth on a run-scoring hit by Santos. Mariano Gomez pitched a scoreless ninth inning. Knott ended the night with four hits and three runs scored against his former Rochester teammates.

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