Rochester, N.Y. — The Rochester Red Wings (38-26 in the second half, 83-54 overall) began perhaps their most critical series of the second half of the season on Monday with a 3-1 victory over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (36-26 in the first half, 73-63 overall), putting them a game up in the second half International League playoff race.
It was a low-scoring game with little room for error, and the victory came about thanks to good defense (including a home run robbery by center-fielder Andrew Pinckney), clutch hitting (including two RBI hits from Sam Petersen), and a combined pitching performance by seven Red Wings pitchers that saw them strike out 13.
“Really, really great pitching, proud of how they fought after we lost a tough game last night,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy post-game. “Our pitchers just made 13 Ks, allowed only one run, and then Petey got the big hits. That’s a good team effort. We played a pretty good clean game on defense, with the highlight that homer that Pinckney robbed.”
That robbery in the fifth inning, which kept the game tied at five, was big at the time and became even more important as the game remained continued. READ MORE.