GAME STORIES MAY 16-31, 2008

Saturday 5/31/08
YANKS GET BEST OF WINGS IN EXTRAS Depite Francisco Liriano pitching six plus innings of one-run baseball, the Rochester Red Wings lost, 5-2 in 10 innings, to the IL North Division-leading Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees on Saturday night at Frontier Field. To make matters worse, the Wings finished up the month of May with a 10-20 record. It was their first 20-loss month since August 2002 when they went 11-20. Even though it was a poor result for Rochester, things started out well to begin the game. It seemed a lot like May 30 for Darnell McDonald as he, for the second night in a row, homered in the first inning to give the Wings a 1-0 lead. The blast that sailed far into the picnic area in left field off of Yankees starter Jeff Karstens also accounted for his third home run in three consecutive nights. The first was a sixth inning center field shot on May 29 against the Charlotte Knights. The Yankees (36-21) got to Liriano fairly fast as well. After Justin Christian led off the inning with a single, Eric Duncan dipped a double into center to score Christian, two batters later, from second. The run knotted the game at 1. Rochester (23-34) regained the lead again in the fourth, taking a 2-1 lead. After two singles to center by Randy Ruiz and Jose Morales and a Sergio Santos walk to load the bases, Chris Basak hit a one-out, sac fly to score Ruiz.After that inning, Karstens exited in favor of Scranton reliever Heath Phillips. Karstens allowed two runs on six hits as well as walking and striking out two. Liriano came out a few innings later. He finished pitching 6 1/3 innings while allowing just one run on three hits. He also struckout seven and yielded just one walk. Unfortunately for Liriano, his chance for his first win of the season didn't last long. Reliever Bobby Korecky came in for Liriano after he had struck out the first batter of the sixth. On the next batter, Korecky gave up a double to Nick Green. The next batter, Duncan, got a single that advanced Green to third. Green scored after Korecky threw a wild pitch, tying the score at 2. After that inning Korecky calmed down. The next inning he pitched was scoreless and he exited with 1 2/3 innings pitched, two hits and one walk. The relief appearance was Korecky's first with the Wings since April 23 due to being called up to the Minnesota Twins. He was sent back down on May 30. Julio DePaula came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning and held Scranton to just one hit that inning. The Red Wings had a chance to win in the ninth but couldn't capitalize. After both Morales and Santos struck out to start the inning, but after that Basak reached on an error, Watkins singled and Jason Pridie made it to first on a wild pitch strikeout to load the bases. McDonald struckout after Pridie to end the threat. In the top of the tenth, the Yankees took the opportunity the Wings didn't use. Chris Stewart started the inning with a lead-off double. He was replaced by pinch runner Bernie Castro, who advanced on a sacrifice by Brett Gardner. Castro scored when DePaula threw a wild pitch that went under the glove of Morales. The run put the Yanks up, 3-2. The next few batters added insult to injury. After Alberto Gonzalez singled, Jason Lane belted a home run to make the score, 5-2. After that at-bat, DePaula (1-2) exited and was replaced by Mariano Gomez, who finished up the inning. David Robertson (2-0) earned the win for Scranton Wilkes-Barre after pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings with two hits and six strikeouts.

The Red Wings pitching staff has allowed seven home runs in their last six games prior to Saturday (54 innings). Despite this trend Rochester is currently 2nd in fewest home runs allowed (37) in the International League (only Richmond has allowed less, 25). Rochester has not led the IL in fewest home runs allowed in a season since 1976, when they allowed a league low 77 runs...Friday's crowd of 10,566 was not only the largest crowd of the 2008 season so far, but also the largest May crowd in Frontier Field history. Since Frontier Field opened in 1997, the Red Wings have drawn just five crowds of over 10,000 for a May date....The Minnesota Twins reinstated infielder Nick Punto from the 15-day disabled list Saturday. To make room for Punto on the 25-man roster, the Twins have designated infielder Howie Clark for release or assignment.  ....Seen on the Scene: Tommy Watkins and Darnell McDonald were guest instructors for a youth clinic in Brockport Saturday morning....Heath Totten, Brian Buscher, Julio DePaula and Randy Ruiz were the instructors for the annual Knot Hole Gang Clinic, presented by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. The clinic took place on the field before the game.... RHP Scott Baker made a rehab start for Class A Ft. Myers on Saturday, tossing five innings. Baker allowed seven hits and three runs while striking out four.

Friday 5/30/08
YANKEES TOP WINGS 6-3 Eric Duncan's three hits and three RBI paced the first place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees over the Red Wings 6-3 at Frontier Field Friday night. The loss snapped Rochester's four-game win streak. Brian Buscher had three hits, and Darnell McDonald homered for the Wings. The Wings struck first on McDonald's home run in the first inning. McDonald hit the first pitch he saw from Scranton starter Jeff Marquez to left field for a 1-0 Wings lead. Randy Ruiz came across the plate for the Wings in the second inning on a bizarre play. After Scranton catcher Chris Stewart attempted to tag Ruiz, the ball popped out of Stewart's mitt, allowing Ruiz to score and the Wings to go up 2-0. The Red Wings increased their lead to 3-0 later in the inning, when Jose Morales scored on an RBI groundout by Tommy Watkins. The top of the third inning saw the Yankees get on the board against Wings starter Brian Duensing. Eric Duncan homered to center, cutting the Wings lead to 3-1. The Yankees had another scoring opportunity later in the inning with runners on first and second with two outs. However, Ben Broussard flew out to left field, which brought the inning to a close The Yankees scored again in the top of the fifth. Bernie Castro lead off the inning with a single, and Brett Gardner followed with a double to left field. Alberto Gonzalez drove Castro in on a sacrifice fly, which made the score 3-2 in favor of Rochester. However, Duensing recorded back-to-back strikeouts of Jason Lane and Broussard to end the inning without any further damage. In the bottom half of that inning, the Wings loaded the bases with no outs, thanks to singles by Watkins and Jason Pridie, and a McDonald walk. The Wings failed to take advantage of the situation, as Buscher's grounder in front of the plate turned into a double play, and Ruiz grounded out to end the inning. Casey Daigle relieved Duensing in the top of the sixth. Daigle began the inning well, striking out lead off batter Nick Green. However, after a Greg Porter double, Watkins misplayed a fly ball hit by Duncan. Porter scored on the play, knotting the game up at 3-3. . Scranton took the lead on another fielding miscue by Rochester later in the inning. Bernie Castro hit a fly ball to center field, which Pridie misjudged, allowing Duncan to cross the plate to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. Scranton increased their lead to 5-3 in the top of the eighth. After Porter singled to lead off the inning, Chris Stewart advanced Porter to second on a sacrifice bunt. A wild pitch by new Red Wings pitcher Tim Lahey allowed Porter to move to third. Duncan drove Porter in with a RBI single, Duncan's third of the game. The Yankees scored another run later in the inning. After a Castro single, Lahey intentionally walked Gardner to load the bases. After striking out Gonzalez for the second out of the inning, Lahey walked Lane, allowing Duncan to cross the plate, making the score 6-3 in favor of Scranton.

Friday's paid attendance was 10,566, the largest of the season so far...RHP Bobby Korecky was optioned to Rochester from Minnesota Friday. Korecky appeared in nine games for the Twins, going 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA. Prior to his promotion to Minnesota, Korecky was 2-1 with five saves and a 0.68 ERA in 10 games for Rochester. Korecky was optioned to Rochester to make room for LHP Craig Breslow, who was claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Indians. Breslow was 0-0 with a 3.24 ERA in seven appearances for Cleveland. Korecky was in uniform for Friday's game.. Garrett Jones went 0-for-3 with a walk, snapping his seven-game hitting streak Jones has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games...The Red Wings had won nine of their last 10 games (includes the 2006 playoff games) vs. Scranton at Frontier Field before Friday....Seen on the Scene: Tommy Watkins getting a late breakfast at a jam-packed Unkl Moe's on West Avenue...

Thursday 5/29/08
WINGS SWEEP, WIN FOUR STRAIGHT Garrett Jones' seventh inning solo blast over the four-deck billboard wall in right field proved to be the difference in a 4-3 Wings win over Charlotte, at sun-drenched Frontier Field in front of 9,638 fans on Thursday afternoon. It was Rochester's fourth straight win, giving the club a sweep of Charlotte; the first place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees come to town Friday for a four-game set with the Wings. Red Wings starter Kevin Mulvey earned the win throwing seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out nine. The nine strikeouts ties a Red Wings season high. The Wings used fundamental baseball in the first to jump out to an early 1-0 lead. Tommy Watkins led off with a double off the left-center field wall. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jason Pridie and scored on a sac fly to left field by Darnell McDonald. The Knights struck right back in the top of the second. Jason Bourgeois hit a two-run home run off of Mulvey to take a 2-1 lead. Rochester capitalized on a couple of Charlotte miscues in the third to tie the game at two. Chris Basak led off the inning with a single. Watkins followed with a line drive to Knights second basemen Juan Uribe, who caught the ball but threw it away as he tried to double-up Basak at first base. The throw rolled into the Wings dugout allowing Basak to move to third with one out. The next batter, Pridie, got a second life when Charlotte's catcher Jared Price couldn't corral his foul pop to the left of home plate. Two pitches later, Pridie took advantage with a sac fly to center to plate Basak. After a Sergio Santos error following the Bourgeois home run, Mulvey settled down and retired the next nine batters he faced, four via the strikeout before the Knights got to him with a two-out RBI single by Uribe in the fifth. McDonald brought the Wings back with a towering solo home run over the center field wall in the sixth. His fifth round-tripper of the year tied the game at three. Jones led off the seventh with his fifth home run of the year to put the Wings ahead 4-3. Mariano Gomez relieved Mulvey in the eighth and worked an inning and a third, allowing only one hit. Julio DePaula earned the save by striking out Thomas Collaro on a check-swing with runners on first and third to end the game. A couple of streaks were brought to a halt on Thursday. Jose Morales went 0-for-3, snapping his 11-game hitting streak. Also, Wings pitching was able to keep Knights third-basemen Danny Richar off the bases, snapping his streak of 37 straight games of reaching base safely.

The Minnesota Twins have claimed lefthanded pitcher Craig Breslow off waivers from the Cleveland Indians.  In seven appearances with the Indians this season, he was 0-0, 3.24 (8.1 ip, 3 er), allowing 10 hits with five walks and seven strikeouts.  Breslow is expected to be at the Metrodome in time for tomorrow night’s game vs. the New York Yankees and will wear uniform number 49. To make room for Breslow on the 40-man roster, the Twins have transferred righthanded pitcher Pat Neshek to the 60-day disabled list.  The Twins will make an additional roster move prior to tomorrow night’s game to make room on the 25-man roster.

Wednesday 5/28/08
WINGS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT Finally, the third time was the charm for the Rochester Red Wings as they defeated the Charlotte Knights, 6-3, on Wednesday night. Chris Basak helped the Wings' cause with a two-run double in the fifth inning. The win extended the Wings' winning streak to three, the longest that they've had thus far this season. The Knights started the scoring in the third inning against Wings' starter Danny Graves. After Jerry Owens stroked a double into left field, Juan Uribe, who is on a rehab stint, lined the ball past the outstretched glove of shortstop Sergio Santos. Rochester's 1-2 hitters had something in store as well. In the bottom of the same frame, Tommy Watkins led off the inning with a double in the left-center field gap. Jason Pridie followed with a sharp liner directly to second baseman Danny Richar. Richar made a fantastic stop but threw the ball past first baseman Brad Eldred, allowing Watkins to score. The run tied the game at 1. The Wings tacked on three more runs in the fifth inning. After Santos led-off with a single, Ryan Jorgensen followed with a looping single over Uribe to put runners on the corners.Basak followed them with double to bring both Watkins and Jorgensen. Basak crossed the plate two batters later when Pridie singled under Richar's glove. Richar would have his revenge in the top half of the sixth as he belted a one-out home run into the left field bullpen. Eldred then walked up to the plate and took the next Graves offering deep into the right field picnic area. The two home runs put the score at 4-3, in favor of the Wings. After striking out the next batter, Graves was removed for reliever Ricky Barrett. He finished with 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, while striking out three. Rochester squandered an opportunity in the bottom of the sixth. After Garrett Jones reached on a double, Ruiz walked and Santos reached on a botched throw, the bases were loaded with no outs. After that, Charlotte starter Wes Whisler (5-3) was removed for Adam Russell. Russell proceded to strikeout Jorgensen, Basak and forced a Watkins groundout to end the threat. The Wings scored an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh. After Pridie grounded out, Darnell McDonald reached on a walk. The stole second and scored when Jones sneaked a single up the middle, incresing the wings lead to 5-3. Pridie added another run in the eighth with an RBI triple the bounced off the base of the right field wall to score Watkins, making the final score, 6-3. Graves (2-0) notched his second win of the season while Tim Lahey earned his seventh save of the season by pitching 2 1/3 innings without allowing any runs or hits.

Double-A New Britain scored three in the seventh inning to beat Connecticut 3-2 Wednesday afternoon, despite getting out-hit 7-4. 1B Brock Peterson scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly by 2B Steve Tolleson....Seen on the Scene: Wings pitcher Casey Daigle and his wife, Team USA star Jennie Finch, seen having lunch at a Mexican restuarant in Henrietta Wednesday...Stan Cliburn now has an 183-167 record as manager of the Rochester Red Wings. Stan needs just 17 more wins to be only the sixth manager since 1963 to compile 200 wins in his first three seasons (Joe Altobelli 1971-73, 241 wins; Greg Biagini 1989-91, 237 wins; Darrell Johnson 1963-65, 230 wins; Marv Foley 1995-1997, 228 wins and Phil Roof 2003-05 216 wins)...Brian Buscher had his 15-game hitting streak at Frontier Field snapped after an 0-for-4 night.

Tuesday 5/27/08
PITCHING, OFFENSE LEAD WINGS TO WIN Philip Humber (2-5) tossed six scoreless innings, Randy Ruiz had four hits and Sergio Santos drove in three runs in the Red Wings' 12-0 win over the Charlotte Knights Tuesday night at Frontier Field. The Wings' offense pounded out 16 hits, and set a season high for runs scored in a game. The Red Wings struck first in the bottom of the second inning. Brian Buscher led off with a single off Charlotte starter Jack Egbert (0-4). A Ruiz double and an intentional walk of Jose Morales set the tone for Santos, who doubled a 0-2 pitch off the left field wall for an early 2-0 Red Wings lead. Chris Basak's ground out scored Morales and Rochester was up 3-0.Buscher started a two-out rally for the Red Wings in the bottom of the third inning with a double. Garrett Jones brought Buscher in with an RBI double down the right field line for a 4-0 Rochester lead. The Wings got on the board again in the bottom of the fourth inning when Morales led off with a walk. After Basak reached first base on a hit by pitch, and Tommy Watkins singled to center field, Jason Pridie came to the plate with the bases loaded. Pridie took advantage of the situation, hitting a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Morales for a 5-0 Wings lead. However, the bulk of the damage was done in the bottom of the fifth. Buscher led off the inning with a single, followed by a walk to Jones. Ruiz singled to center field, scoring Buscher. After Morales flew out to left field for the first out of the inning, Jones scored on a wild pitch by Egbert for the second run of the inning. A Watkins single brought in Ruiz, and a throwing error by Charlotte third baseman Josh Fields led to Santos crossing the plate for the fourth run of the inning, giving the Wings a 9-0 lead. Egbert was relieved by Dewon Day in the middle of the fifth inning. Egbert pitched four and two-thirds innings, giving up ten hits, nine runs, and striking out two. Humber pitched arguably his best outing of the season, giving up no runs despite allowing a leadoff runner in four innings. He threw six innings, giving up three hits and striking out five before being relieved by Casey Daigle. Daigle tossed two innings, striking out three and walking two; Carmen Cali struck out Richar to end the game and preserve the shutout. The Wings posted three more runs in the eighth against Scott Sauerbeck, with Santos plating a run on a fielder's choice and Watkins drawing a bases loaded walk. Darnell McDonald's run-scoring ground out brought home the final Rochester run.

Morales stroked an 0-2 pitch to right field in the eighth inning, extending his hitting streak to 11 games ...Twins legend Tony Oliva signed free autographs before the game, and will also sign on Wednesday. "Tony-O" collected 1,917 hits and retired with a .304 career average. He is the only player to win batting titles in his first two seasons a. His prowess as a hitter was demonstrated in the fact that he led the league in hits five times, Oliva, the 1964 American League Rookie of the Year, began his coaching career in 1976. He now works as a hitting instructor in the Twins’ minor league system. He had his number 6 retired July 14, 1991, was selected to the Twins’ 25th Anniversary Team in 1986 and 40th Season Anniversary All-Time Team in 2000, and was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame on August 12, 2000...The Red Wings are now 16-8 record when the Wings score four runs or more in a game, but only a 5-24 record when scoring three or fewer runs.

Monday 5/26/08
WINGS WIN IN 10 With one out in the bottom of the tenth inning, Randy Ruiz singled to center field, scoring Felix Molina to lead the Red Wings to a 7-6 victory over the Charlotte Knights Monday afternoon at Frontier Field. The bottom of the tenth began inconspicuously, with Darnell McDonald flying to left field for the first out. Brian Buscher, who Molina replaced as a pinch runner, then reached base with a walk from Dewon Day. A Garrett Jones single set the stage for Ruiz, who hit a ball just in front of Charlotte center fielder Jason Bourgeois for the game winning hit. Charlotte came out swinging against Wings starter Francisco Liriano, when Chris Getz led off with a triple and scored on a double by Jason Bourgeois. Liriano notched a pair of strikeouts to help get out of further damage in the first. Rochester moved the tying run to third with one out in their half of the first, but Knights starter Lance Broadway got two quick outs to end the Wings first. Liriano had a one-two-three second inning, helped by a nice catch from centerfielder Jason Pridie. The Wings lost another scoring chance in the second, loading the bases with one out. But Ruiz was out by a mile trying to tag and score on Chris Basak's flyball out, and the double play ended the inning. McDonald made sure the Wings got on the board in the third, smacking a triple to right-center. The hit scored Tommy Watkins and Pridie, putting Rochester ahead 2-1 with none out. Buscher laced a single on an 0-1 pitch from Broadway to bring in McDonald and make it 3-1 Wings; Jones followed Buscher with a home run into the visiting bullpen, and Charlotte trailed 5-1. With two outs in the top of the fifth, Charlotte re-took the lead by scoring five runs off Liriano, four coming from a Brad Eldred grand slam. Liriano exited the game after throwing six 2/3 innings and allowing seven hits and six earned runs, walking one and striking out four. Liriano had given up a two-out triple in the seventh, but Mariano Gomez came out of the bullpen and retired Danny Richar to keep the Wings within one run. McDonald tied the game in the seventh, blasting a double over the head of centerfielder Bourgeois. McDonald's hit scored Watkins, who had singled with one out. The Wings had a great chance to win in the ninth, after Jones doubled off Matt Anderson to start the inning. Ruiz drilled a long fly ball to the warning track in left, whch was tracked down by Fernando Cortez; Jones broke for third instead of tagging at second, and was nearly doubled off the base. Anderson got two flyouts to strand Jones and send the game in extra innings. Tim Lahey (3-4) pitched two scoreless innings, striking out four and walking none.

Red Wings mascots Spikes and Mittsy took part in both the Rochester and Greece Memorial Day parades Monday..Wings pitcher Kevin Mulvey and Rochester's "Mr. Baseball," Joe Altobelli, celebrated birthdays Monday...Jose Morales singled off Broadway in the second inning, pushing his hitting streak to 10 games. Morales added another single in his next at-bat, and is now batting .306 for the season. With a win today the Red Wings reached the 20 win mark for the season (52 games). The last time Rochester went this many games into the season to get their 20th win was 2001 when it took until their 54th game (June 2 20-34 record).

Sunday 5/25/08
WINGS LIMP HOME AFTER LOSS TO SOX The Pawtucket Red Sox banged out 11 hits, while the Wings managed just four hits in an 11-1 loss in Pawtucket Sunday night. Jose Morales singled in the eighth inning, boosting his hitting streak to nine games. Pawtucket's Chris Carter hit a two-run homer in the first off starter Brian Duensing, and Chris Basak's RBI single in the third pulled Rochester to within a run at 2-1. But Pawtucket added a pair of runs in the fourth, before knocking Duensing out of the game in the fifth. Duensing was tagged for eight earned runs on nine hits, including two home runs. Duensing walked two and struck out five. Julio DePaula allowed a three-run homer to Dusty Brown in the sixth inning to make it an 11-1 game. Boston's Clay Buchholz made a rehab start for Pawtucket and went four plus innings, allowing three hits, a run, and two walks to go with three strikeouts. Ricky Barrett struck out the side in the seventh inning for Rochester, and Casey Daigle pitched a scoreless eighth inning with one strikeout.

Saturday 5/24/08
SIXTH INNING MELTDOWN DOOMS WINGS A pair of bases loaded walks were the "lowlight" in a 9-1 Red Wings loss in Pawtucket Saturday night. Wings starter Kevin Mulvey scattered six hits and allowed one run in five innings, leaving the game with the scored tied at 1-1. Julio DePaula (1-1) relieved Mulvey to start the sixth and had a nightmare inning, allowing three hits, three runs and two walks while also hitting a batter. A tie game became a 4-1 Pawtucket lead, and the Sox tacked on a single run in the seventh and four more in the eighth. Chad Spann knocked in five runs for Pawtucket, and starter David Pauley struck out six in six innings to improve his record to 6-2. Sergio Santos drove in the lone Red Wings run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. Darnell McDonald and Jose Morales each had two hits for Rochester

Friday 5/23/08
FOUR-RUN SIXTH + GRAVES GOES SIX = WINGS WIN Danny Graves pitched six innings, and Tommy Watkins' two-run single was part of a four-run rally as the Rochester Red Wings topped Pawtucket 6-4 Friday night. Graves (1-0) allowed three runs on four hits, sticking around long enough to benefit from his teammates' sixth inning rally . The Wings trailed the Red Sox 3-2 when they put together a one-out rally that combined a walk, four hits, a hit batter, and a fielding error to take a 6-3 lead. Watkins grounded a two-out, bases loaded single up the middle to drive in a pair. A Garrett Jones groundout had tied the score, and Jose Morales singled in the go-ahead run. Brian Buscher homered, his seventh of the season, off starter Devern Hansack in the fourth. Mariano Gomez struck out three and allowed a run in 1 1/3 relief innings; Tim Lahey picked up his sixth save with 1 2/3 perfect innings.

Thursday 5/2/08
OUCH! WINGS LOSE OPENER (PawSox.com/RedWingsBaseball.com) - The Rochester Red Wings dropped the opener of their four-game series in Pawtucket Thursday night, losing 11-3 to the Red Sox. Brian Buscher doubled and knocked in two runs for the Wings. Jeff Bailey hit a solo homer a single and a grand slam. Gil Velazquez chipped in with 2 hits. The PawSox have won 3 in a row and 12 of their last 15 games. Michael Tejera bounced back from his last outing with 5 shutout innings to improve to 3-3. Rochester starter Philip Humber (1-5) lasted 3 2/3 innings. Casey Daigle, Heath Totten and Ricky Barrett also pitched for the Red Wings

The Twins placed SS Adam Everett on the DL Thursday with a right shoulder strain. To replace Everett on the 25-man roster, the Twins promoted infielder Matt Macri from Triple-A Rochester.  In 29 games with the Red Wings this season, Macri was batting .263 (26-for-99) with 10 doubles, two triples, one home run and nine rbi.  He is expected to join the team in Detroit for Friday night’s game vs. the Tigers and will wear uniform number 18...INFFelix Molina has been promoted from Double-A New Britain to Rochester.

Tuesday 5/20/08
WINGS LOSE GAME, SPAN The Rochester Red Wings rallied to tie the game with two runs in the ninth inning, but Syracuse plated a run in the 10th to top the Wings 3-2 Tuesday. Chris Basak drove in the tying run in the ninth, and Tommy Watkins had three hits. After an off day Wednesday, Rochester opens a four-game series in Pawtucket Thursday night. The Red Wings also learned after the game that the club will be without outfielder Denard Span, who has a broken finger and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. Syracuse brought a 2-0 lead into the top of the ninth inning, only to see it disappear when the Red Wings got to reliever Brandon League in his third inning of work, tying the game at 2-2. Jose Morales knocked in Garrett Jones to make it 2-1 Syracuse, and Basak's clutch single tied the game at 2-2. After Jordan De Jong put the Wings down in order in the top of the tenth inning, the Chiefs put runners on second and third with two outs. Russ Adams then came up and laid down a bunt, scoring Wayne Lydon for third, and propelling the Chiefs to a 3-2 win. Carmen Cali, who replace Tim Lahey after Lahey allowed a leadoff hit, got two outs before the game ending play. Francisco Liriano turned in his second straight strong start for Rochester, throwing seven innings and allowing eight hits and two runs. Liriano walked one and struck out three.

Monday 5/19/08
WINGS, CHIEFS SPLIT TWO ON MONDAY (DemocratandChronicle.com/RedWingsBaseball.com) The Rochester Red Wings won just their fifth game in the month of May, clinching the nightcap of a doubleheader against host Syracuse 7-6 Monday in extra innings. In the opener, the Chiefs' shutout the Red Wings in the completion of Sunday's suspended game 5-0. The Red Wings won the seven-inning nightcap in the eighth inning when Randy Ruiz drove in Tommy Watkins with a sacrifice fly after Matt Macri doubled. Tim Lahey (2-3) picked up the win in relief after losing the Red Wings lead in the seventh. Carmen Cali earned his first save with the Wings (18-28). Ruiz's three-run homer in the first inning gave the Wings a quick lead in the second game. Syracuse (27-18) rallied back with two runs in the bottom of the inning, as left-hander Brian Duensing allowed four of his six total hits.Duensing allowed three runs over five innings, throwing just 64 pitches. Rochester took a 5-2 lead in the second and extended out to a 6-2 advantage in the fifth.Former Red Wing John Parrish pitched four innings, allowing four hits, five runs and striking out five. Chip Cannon started the Chiefs rally in the bottom of the fifth, hitting a solo home run.In the next inning, Julio DePaula replaced Duensing, walked Pedro Lopez, and allowed back-to-back hits as Syracuse pulled to within one, 6-5. Rochester's fourth double play of the game got DePaula out of the jam.The Wings failed to add to their lead in the top of the seventh and it would cost them, as Cannon tied the game in the bottom of the inning.

In the opener, only one Wings runner got as far as third as Mike MacDonald earned the win in relief, pitching three-hit ball over five innings. The first game was the completion of Sunday's suspended game in Cooperstown Sunday's game started 30 minutes late due to a chilling rain that started around noon. The contest featured a first pitch by Baseball Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk. The Chiefs picked up a run in the bottom of the first off Wings starter Kevin Mulvey, on Adam Lind's run-scoring sacrifice fly. The rains came down harder right after Syracuse batted in the first, but the Wings managed hits by Jose Morales and Sergio Santos. Chiefs starter Kane Davis worked out of the jam. Mulvey was clearly having trouble gripping the ball in the bottom of second, as the steady rain became a factor for all of the players. After walking Pedro Lopez to load the bases with two outs, the umpires called for the tarps and some fans headed for cover, sensing they had seen all the baseball they would get for the afternoon. International League President Randy Mobley addressed the crowd a few minutes later, and confirmed the suspension of the game. After earning IL batter of the week honors earlier Monday, Denard Span was stymied, going 0-for-9 with 4 strikeouts over the two-game set.

Saturday 5/17/08
WINGS LOSE IT LATE Wayne Lydon's one-out, two-run double in the 10th inning rallied the Syracuse Chiefs over the Red Wings 3-2 Saturday night. Jose Morales had put Rochester ahead in the 10th with an RBI double, his third hit of the game. The two clubs travel to Cooperstown Sunday afternoon for the Cooperstown Classic, a regular season game helping to celebrate the International League's 125th season. Reliever Mike Gallo hit Randy Ruiz to open the tenth inning, and Chris Basak came in to run for Ruiz. Garrett Jones followed with a single, and Morales scorched a line drive double to the right-centerfield alley to bring home Basak. A one-out single and a hard-hit grounder that was ruled an error on Jones at first base gave the Chiefs two runners on in the bottom of the 10th, and Carmen Cali relieved Tim Lahey (1-3) to pitch to Wayne Lydon. Lydon hit a low line drive to left on an 0-1 pitch, bringing home Eric Nielsen and Marcos Cabral and ending the game. The Red Wings had picked up a run in the second off Chiefs starter Kane Davis, when Tommy Watkins knocked in Sergio Santos with a single . Play resumed after a brief rain delay in the second inning, with Wings starter Danny Graves scattering three singles over the first three innings. The Chiefs posted three singles in the fourth against Graves, with Chip Cannon's hit driving in the game-tying run. Mariano Gomez took over for Graves in the fifth inning; Gomez spun 2 2/3 scoreless, hitless innings followed by a scoreless inning from Julio DePaula. Lahey took over for DePaula with two outs in the eighth, and struck out Adam Lind to end the inning. The Wings had a shot in the ninth against Brandon League, when Watkins singled and Denard Span walked to open the inning. Jason Pridie's groundball out moved the runners up a base, but Watkins was thrown out at home by third baseman Chip Cannon on a ball hit by Matt Macri. Buck Coats singled off Lahey with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but a double play started by Macri quickly ended the Chiefs' attempt at winning in regulation frames.

Friday 5/16/08
WINGS CLIPPED BY COLUMBUS Howie Clark and Brian Buscher extended their hit streaks as the Rochester Red Wings were edged by the Columbus Clippers, 5-4, on Friday night at Frontier Field. With the loss, the Red Wings lost the regular season series 7-1 to the Clippers. It's the first time that has happened since 2005 when the Clippers won the series 5-3. "They're a better team than us, that's the bottom line," said Stan Cliburn about the season series against Columbus. "They've got a lot of veteran guys and that's a big reason why they beat us."Clark got his hit out of the way early when he powered a two-out double to the left-center field gap in the first inning, which extended his streak to seven games. "I'm just going through the phases," said Clark, who was called up to the Twins after the game. "I'm feeling comfortable up there but it's all for naught when games turn out like this." The Clippers snatched the lead in their second chance to bat off of Wings' starter Phil Humber. As the first batter of the second inning on an 0-1 count, Alex Escobar drilled a line ball to dead center that banked right near the 402' sign for a home run.Buscher, who had a seven-game hitting streak entering the game, followed suit of Clark by extending his streak to eight. In a big way. In the fourth inning, after Clark reached on a single to left field, Buscher blasted a home run that bounced off the awning of the Patio Enclosures Power Alley Grille in right center field, giving the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. That lead didn't last long as the Wings surrendered it in the top of the fifth when, after Tommy Murphy reached on a walk, was doubled in by Pete Orr. On the play, Orr doubled down the left field line and after Jason Pridie relayed the ball to shortstop Sergio Santos, Santos skipped the ball into the stands, which allowed Orr to go home. The two runs gave the Clippers a 3-2 advantage. In the sixth inning, Buscher picked up his second hit of the night, a double that went to the wall in left-center. The next batter, Randy Ruiz, singled just past the glove of shortstop Ray Olmedo to score Buscher, tying the score at 3. Humber was pulled in the sixth inning in favor of reliever Ricky Barrett. Humber left pitching 6 2/3 innings while allowing three runs on six hits, walking three and struck out one. "I felt better with the way I threw it and I was very happy I kept us in it," said Humber, who was 1-4 entering this start. "I had a better mental approach. I went in there and was a little more aggressive." His counterpart, Clippers starter Mike O'Connor, left after the sixth inning and allowed three runs as well. The Clippers almost broke the tie in the top of the eighth. After Ryan Langerhans reached on a walk, he stole second and advanced to third by tagging up on a ball to right field. The batter after Langerhans advanced to third, Larry Broadway laid down a suicide squeeze bunt attempt on a 1-0 count. Barrett (2-3) quickly fielded the ball and flipped it to Wings' catcher Jose Morales, who blocked the plate for the out. Unfortunately for the Wings the inning was far from over. After Broadway reached on the fielder's choice, Barrett was taken out in favor of reliever Casey Daigle. Daigle proceeded to walk Yurendell de Caster and then threw two wild pitches to advance Broadway and de Caster to third and second, respectively. The next batter, Garrett Guzman hit a bleeding single through the gap in the middle to score both Broadway and de Caster. The runs put the Clippers on top, 5-3. The Red Wings squeezed out another run in the eighth after Denard Span singled, stole second and crossed the plate after Clark grounded out to third. The run inched the Wings closer, 5-4. In the bottom of the ninth, Ruiz started off the inning with a quick liner that glanced off the glove of second baseman Orr. He was pinch run for by Tommy Watkins. After Garrett Jones struck out, Morales roped a ball into right, advancing Watkins to third. The next batter, Santos, hit into a 6-4-3 game-ending double play.

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