Rochester, N.Y. — A hanging cutter from Matt Krook was turned into a towering eighth-inning two-run home run by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (38-27 in the second half, 75-64 overall) second baseman Marco Luciano to send the Rochester Red Wings (39-28 in the second half, 84-56 overall) down in defeat, 5-3, on Friday.
“They took advantage of a bad pitch there late with the two-run home run,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy post-game. “They got the big hit, and we didn’t.”
The homer, Luciano’s 15th of the season, silenced an ESL Ballpark crowd of 8,229. The Red Wings were unable to mount any comeback over the final two innings.
The loss sends the two squads into a near-tie for the International League second half playoff race, but if the season were to end now it would be Scranton advancing due to having a slightly better winning percentage. There are eight games left to play, including two with Scranton. READ MORE.