GAME STORIES AUGUST 1-15, 2008

Friday 8/15/08
BISONS STAMPEDE WINGS 14-7 (DemocratandChronicle.com/RedWingBaseball.com) - The Buffalo Bisons sent 12 men to the plate in the fifth inning, doubled four times and scored eight runs in a 14-7 rout of Rochester Friday in Buffalo. Jason Pridie had his 21-game hitting streak stopped after going 0-for-4 with a run scored; Garrett Jones hit a two-out, ninth-inning grand slam for his 19th home run of the year. The Red Wings (64-65) had their four-game winning streak snapped and haven't been over .500 since an opening day win. Rochester grabbed an early lead thanks to two Buffalo errors in the first inning. Pridie drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a throwing error, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error by Laffey for a 1-0 Rochester lead.Buffalo responded in the bottom of the first. Michael Aubrey hit a two-out single off of Red Wing starter Danny Graves and Todd Linden followed with a two-run home run for a 2-1 lead. Buffalo (58-68) tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third inning with RBI doubles from Aubrey, who finished 4-for-4, and Trevor Crowe. Casey Daigle and Mariano Gomez were rocked in relief as Aubrey, Crowe, Brad Snyder and Andy Cannizaro each doubled to highlight the eight-run fifth inning. Tim Lahey pitched two scoreless innings to finish up for the Wings.

The Red Wings have now hit at least one home run in seven straight games. The 119 home runs Rochester has hit so far this season is the most they’ve hit in one season since 2005, when they hit 139.... The loss ennded the Red Wings' seven-game winning streak vs.Buffalo, including five straight wins at Dunn Tire Park. Rochester had outscored Buffalo 41-21 during the seven-game winning streak. From 2000-2002, the Red Wings had just a 5-19 record at Dunn Tire Park, but since the Red Wings changed their affiliation to the Twins in 2003 Rochester has a 28-24 record in Buffalo... The Twins moved back into a tie for first place after Friday night's win. Minnesota is now 42-22 at home, with a record of 26-8 since June 1st… Francisco Liriano is now 3-0 with a 1.45 ERA (18.2 ip, 3 er) with 11 hits, seven walks and 15 strikeouts in three starts since his call-up on August 1...the Twins have scored 21 runs for Liriano in his three starts.

Thursday 8/14/08
WINGS TOP BUFFALO 7-4 (Bisons.com/RedWingBaseball.com) - Matt Macri and Garrett Jones each homered, powering the Red Wings to a 7-4 victory over the Buffalo Bisons Thursday afternoon in Buffalo. at Frontier Field. Jones had four hits, including his 18th homer of the season. Buffalo fell down 5-0 after three and a half innings as Rochester collected eight hits of lefty Scott Lewis in his Bisons debut. That deficit proved too large as the teams traded runs throughout the rest of the contest. The Bisons comeback effort was loud, however. After Andy Cannizaro singled home a run in the bottom of the fourth, Jared Head blasted a two-run homer in the sixth inning that flew over the auxiliary scoreboard in left-centerfield. Head had 10 home runs and 43RBI in 83 games with Single-A Kinston before his promotion to the Bisons on Thursday. He finished the game 1-3 with a walk. Linden's blast was a solo shot to lead off the seventh. The outfielder was sitting on a 3-1 pitch from reliever Julio DePaula and hit the ball into the tent area in right-center. Linden now has 11 homers on the season, tied with Brad Snyder for the team lead. Rochester scored solo runs in the seventh and eighth to respond to the Bisons comeback effort. The Herd also left 12 runners on base include three in the fourth and a pair in the first, sixth and seventh innings. Lewis (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) in four innings. Jeff Harris threw three innings (one run) in his first action with the team since late June. Rookie Anthony Swarzak improved to 3-0, and Bobby Korecky picked up his 22nd save.

Outfielder Garrett Jones hit his 18th home run of the season Thursday and his 76th as a Red Wing. Jones is the first Rochester player to hit 70 home runs during his Red Wings career since Terry Crowley hit 87 career home runs 1968, 69, 71, 76-77). Jones’ 76 home runs moves him into 9th all-time on the Red Wings home run list, and one home run shy of Steve Bilko for 8th all-time (77 home runs).

Wednesday 8/13/08
MACRI POWERS WINGS PAST CHIEFS Matt Macri hit two, two-run home runs in the Red Wings' 5-3 victory over the Syracuse Chiefs Wednesday night at Frontier Field. The Wings wrapped up an 8-1 homestand; Jason Pridie boosted his hitting streak to 20 games, while Alejandro Machado went 0-for-4 to end his 21-game streak. In the second, Macri broke out of a 3-for-26 slump with a two-run home run off Chiefs starter Brian Wolfe into the Wings bullpen in right field putting the Wings ahead 2-1. Wolfe was originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1999, but has been in the Toronto organization since 2006. Wolfe has split time between Toronto and Syracuse this year, going 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 17 appearances as a relief pitcher in the big leagues. The Wings tacked on three more runs against Wolfe in the fourth. After Luke Hughes doubled home Garrett Jones, Macri visited the Syracuse pen this time with his second home run of the night increasing the lead to 5-1. Wings starter Kevin Mulvey, who has pitched well of late despite his 5-8 record, kept Syracuse in check for 6.2 innings. The Chiefs worked him for a run in the first on a Russ Adams double to right that gave the Chiefs an early 1-0 advantage. Syracuse got another run in sixth but it could have been worse for the Wings. A base hit and a walk put runners on first and second with no outs. After getting Hector Luna to line out to center, Travis Snider knocked home a run on a single that barely alluded the glove of Jones at first base. But Mulvey beared down getting a strikeout and a flyout to end the threat and preserve the 5-2 lead. The Chiefs got a little closer in the seventh, when second-baseman Macri let a groundball, that would have been the third out in the inning, squirt through his legs and in to center scoring Pedro Lopez from second. Carmen Cali entered the game after the error and retired Adams for the final out of the inning. Mulvey went 6.2 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out four. Mulvey has not lost a decision since July 9th in Charlotte and has allowed more than four earned runs only once the entire season. Bobby Korecky worked 1 2/3 innings, and picked up his 21st save of the season.

Jason Pridie became the third Red Wings hitter to have a 20-game hitting streak this season (Randy Ruiz, 24-game hitting streak earlier this season and Alejandro Machado). Prior to this season the last Red Wing to have a 20-game hitting streak was outfielder Mark Smith in 1993. Rochester looks to become the first current member of the IL to have three hitters with 20-game hitting streaks in one season....The Red Wings offense has turned it up on this nine-game homestand batting .308 (91-for-295) as a team. Rochester finished with an 8-1 record on the homestand and outscored their opponents 53-32. The Red Wings entered play leading the the IL with a .276 team batting average; the last time Rochester led the IL in team batting average was 1992.... Red Wings pitcher Brian Duensing pitched 1.1 innings scoreless innings vs. South Korea Wednesday, striking out two batters for team USA in Beijing. USA lost their first game of the Olympics by a score of 8-7....Wings GM Dan Mason wil be a guest on the John DiTullio Show this Friday morning at 11:30 AM on Sportsradio 1280 WHTK. Dan will discuss the "Swings with the Wings" promotion presented by HealthyBlue from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. Click here for more details on how you can take batting practice with the Red Wings on Aug. 23.

Tuesday 8/12/08
WINGS ROUT CHIEFS; HITTING STREAKS ALIVE
By Josh Narotsky The Rochester Red Wings defeated the Syracuse Chiefs by the score of 11-3. The win moved the Wings into third place in the International League North. One of the key stories entering the game were the hitting streaks of Jason Pridie and Alejandro Machado. Pridie extended his streak to 19 games with a single in the second inning, and Machado followed suit in the seventh, when a single extended his streak to 21 games. The Wings struck first in the first inning. Luke Hughes' single down the right field line off Chiefs starter Brett Cecil (L, 1-2) drove in Howie Clark for a 1-0 Rochester lead. Rochester appeared to be on the verge of scoring again in the third inning with the bases loaded and no outs. However, Trevor Plouffe lined into a double play, and Sergio Santos struck out looking to end the inning without any runs from the Wings. Syracuse took the lead in the fourth, when Travis Snider hit a towering two-run home run off Rochester starter Philip Humber (W, 8-7) to make the score 2-1 in favor of the Chiefs. Humber faced a setback early on when the second batter he faced, Buck Coats, hit a line drive off the pitcher's foot. Despite this, Humber pitched a otherwise solid game, throwing 7 1/3 innings, striking out 11 and giving up three runs on eight hits. The 11 strikeouts were a new season high for any Red Wings pitcher. He was relieved by Mariano Gomez, who struck out one in 1 2/3 innings work. "It was a gusty performance for Humber to stay on the mound after that ball hit him," said manager Stan Cliburn. Cecil threw four innings for the Chiefs, giving up one run on six hits, while striking out five. He was replaced by Jonah Bayliss in the middle of the fifth inning. Bayliss threw one inning, giving up two hits and one run, before being relieved by Brian Tallett at the beginning of the sixth. Tallet went one inning as well, surrendering one run on one hit, before giving way to Sean Stidfole after giving up three runs off three hits. Rick Bauer, who threw one inning, giving up three runs off one hit, replaced Stidfole at the beginning of the ninth inning. The Wings retook the lead in the fifth. Clark crossed the plate on Santos' single to tie the game at two, which brought up Brock Peterson, who had yet to record a hit since being called up from Double-A New Britain on Saturday. However, Peterson made his first Red Wings hit an important one, when he hit a go-ahead double to put Rochester ahead, 4-2. Rochester added to their lead again in the sixth, when Garrett Jones' sacrifice fly brought Pridie home to make the score 5-2 in favor of the Wings. The seventh inning saw an offensive outburst from the Wings. Plouffe scored when first baseman Kevin Melillo's throw from a Pridie ground ball was late. Then Machado, who had yet to record a hit, stroked a two-run single to center, scoring Santos and Jeff Christy. The clutch hit, which kept his hitting streak alive, gave the Red Wings an 8-2 lead. "That hit really opened up the game for us. Machado is a real gamer, so it was good to see him come through," said Cliburn. Syracuse added one more run in the eight, when Russ Adams doubled to bring in Coates to cut the Rochester lead to 8-3. However, the Wings added onto their lead once again in the eighth, scoring three runs. The big hit of the inning came from Peterson, whose two-run shot gave Rochester an 11-3 lead.

Infielder Sergio Santos hit the 19th walk-off home run in Frontier Field history Monday afternoon in the bottom of the ninth inning. Santos is the second Red Wing (Matt Macri June 28) to hit a walk-off home run this season and the 16th person to accomplish this feat. Since Rochester changed affiliations to the Twins in 2003, the Red Wings have had 15 walk-off home runs (Wings had only four walk-off home runs the first six years of the stadium).....Outfielder Bobby Kielty signed a free-agent contract with the Minnesota Twins and has been assigned to Rochester. Kielty started season with Pawtucket batting .228 with three home runs and 18 RBI in 28 games for the Paw Sox. ...A bizarre incident took place after the fifth inning, when occasional grounds crew member and MySpace celebutante Jimmy The Disco Raker performed on the field. After a clearly friendly exchange with Wings skipper Stan Cliburn on the field, Jimmy started raking and dancing to "Shake Your Booty." Security guards surrounded the interepid Disco Raker and tried to make him leave the field. An exasperated Jimmy interrupted his act, but not before removing his blue jacket to reveal a Tommy Watkins number 8 jersey. Check Wednesday's Pics of the Day for a look at the ruckus.

Monday 8/11/08
SANTOS' SHOT TOPS TRIBE Sergio Santos hit a walk-off home run on the first pitch he saw from Mike Thompson (2-3) to lead off the bottom of the ninth as the Rochester Red Wings beat the Indianapolis Indians 5-4 at Frontier Field on Monday afternoon. Santos' home run came after he started a important 6-4-3 double play to end an Indians threat in the eighth inning. Wings starter Tom Shearn, making his third start for Rochester, entered the game coming off a seven inning shutout in game two of a doubleheader against Lehigh Valley on August 6th. It was Shearn's fourth career shutout and first since 1998 when he was pitching in A-ball with the Astros organization. The Tribe got to Shearn in the third inning; RBI singles by Andrew McCutchen and Ronny Paulino put the Indians up 2-0. The Wings evened the score in the fourth on back-to-back blasts from Howie Clark and Garrett Jones off Indians starter Daniel McCutchen, who came over from the Yankees organization in the Xavier Nady deal on July 26th. Shearn ran into trouble again in the sixth inning. After back-to-back singles and a sac bunt put runners on second and third with one out, Luis Cruz doubled off the wall in left field scoring both runners and putting the Tribe ahead 4-2. Wings skipper Stan Cliburn took the ball from Shearn after the double and turned it over to Ricky Barrett. Jeff Christy gunned down Cruz trying to steal third and Barrett caught Luis Ordaz looking to end the inning. Shearn went 5.1 innings allowing four runs on six hits while striking out five. The Wings came back once again in the seventh. Santos started the inning with a double to left but was still there with two outs in the inning. But the two hottest Wings, Alejandro Machado and Jason Pridie, came through with two, two-out RBI's tying the game at four. Machado and Pridie each extended their hitting streaks in the ballgame. Machado now sports a 20-game streak, while Pridie's had a hit in 18 consecutive games. The Tribe threatened in the eighth inning. The first two batters of the inning reached against Barrett before he was pulled in favor of closer Bobby Korecky. Korecky got Ryan Mulhern, who took the spot of Nyjer Morgan in the sixth, to pop up a sacrifice bunt attempt before inducing the 6-4-3 inning ending double play. Korecky (6-4) worked a scoreless ninth setting the stage for Santos' heroics.

Alejandro Machado Machado is the second Red Wing to have a 20-game hitting streak this year (Randy Ruiz had a 24-game hitting streak 6/22-7/18). It is the first time an IL team has had two players with 20+ game hitting streaks in the same season since 2005 when Scranton first baseman Ryan Howard and outfielder Shane Victorino each had 20+ game hitting streaks. Howard had a 24-game hitting streak and Victorino had a 22-game hitting streak ...Garrett Jones' home run Monday was his 75th as a Red Wing, tying Allie Clark for 9th all-time. Steve Bilko is eighth with 77 homers...Wings manager Stan Cliburn will be a guest on the John DiTullio Show Tuesday morning at 11:30 AM, on Sportsradio 1280 WHTK and WHTK.com. Stan will be discussing the "Swings with the Wings" promotion presented by HealthyBlue from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. Click here for more details on how you can take batting practice with Stan and the Red Wings on Aug. 23.

Sunday 8/10/08
INDY TOPS WINGS, ENDS WIN STREAK The Indianapolis Indians scored four first inning runs, on the way to a 6-4 win over the Red Wings Sunday afternoon at Frontier Field. The Indians snapped Rochester's six-game winning streak, and 10-game home win streak. Alejandro Machado (19 games) and Jason Pridie (17 games) both extended their hitting streaks for the Wings. The two teams play a 12:05 pm matinee game Monday. The Indians scored four runs off Wings starter Danny Graves. The big hit of the inning came when Ryan Mulhern's double to left field scored Neil Walker and Ronny Paulino. Graves settled down after the first inning, striking out two and giving up only one hit over the next three innings, before being replaced by Casey Daigle. Graves threw four and two-thirds innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, while striking out three. In the first inning, Machado singled off Indinanapolis starter Tom Gorzelanny, extending Machado's hitting streak to 19 games. However, Gorzelanny was untouchable after that, striking out nine while allowing only two hits through the first five innings. Gorzelanny was replaced by Marino Salas in the middle of the fifth inning. His final line was five and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs on five hits, while striking out 10. The sixth inning saw more scoring from the Indians. Jason Delaney set the pace by leading the inning off with a triple, and Indinanapolis responded by scoring two runs for a 6-0 lead. The Wings began to work their way back into the game in the sixth inning. After a Pridie single, which extended his hitting streak to 17 games, and a Howie Clark single, Luke Hughes came to the plate with two outs. A routine fly ball to left field appeared as if the inning would end without the Wings scoring. However, Indinanapolis left fielder Nyjer Morgan lost the ball in the sun, allowing for three runs to score to narrow the Indians lead to 6-3. Julio DePaula finished up on the mound. for the Wings. Luke Hughes homered in the ninth for Rochester. Brock Peterson, who was called up from Double-A New Britain Saturday, made his Red Wings debut, starting at first base and going 0-for-4 at the plate.

Alejandro Machado now has a 18-game hitting streak, the second longest streak by a Red Wing this season (Randy Ruiz, 24-game hitting streak)...Red Wings closer Bobby Korecky recorded his 20th save of the season Friday night. With that save Korecky becomes the first Red Wings pitcher to ever post 20 or more saves in back-to-back seasons (saves became an official stat in the International League in 1969). If Korecky can over take Toledo’s Blaine Neal for the IL lead in saves (currently Neal has 25) he will become the first ever pitcher to lead the International League in saves in back-to-back season. Korecky holds the Red Wings record for saves in a season with 35 set in 2007...Outfielder Jason Pridie leads the IL with 16 triples. Pridie is the first Red Wing to hit 16 triples in one season since Ray Pepper hit 20 in 1931. The last Red Wings player to lead the IL in triples was outfielder Wayne Kirby (tied with Scranton shortstop Jimmy Rollins with 11) in 2000. The last time a player in the IL had more than 15 triples in a season was 2005 when Shane Victorino of Scranton had 16. The Red Wings record (since 1929 when the Rochester became the Red Wings) for triples in a season is 20 by Pepper in 1931, but the franchise record is 28 set by William Lush back in 1895.

Saturday 8/9/08
NINTH INNING RALLY EXTENDS WINGS' WIN STREAK Jason Pridie's two-RBI triple in the bottom of the ninth extended the Wings' winning streak to six games overall and 10 straight at Frontier Field as the Red Wings beat Indianapolis 6-5 Saturday night. Pridie's triple came after Luis Ordaz hit a ninth inning home run that put the Tribe ahead 5-4. Trevor Plouffe started the rally with a single to lead off the ninth off Indianapolis closer, Jesse Chavez (1-4). Sergio Santos followed with a base hit of his own putting runners on first and second with no outs. However, Jeff Christy's sacrifice bunt attempt was unsuccessful as the Indians were able to cut down Plouffe at third. Luckily that made no difference. Christy was able to score the winning run from first as Pridie's line drive got over the outstreched glove of right-fielder Matt Kata. Anthony Swarzak, making his first career start at Frontier Field and his third overall since being called up from New Britain on July 28th, got himself into trouble in the first. Swarzak allowed the first two hitters to reach on a walk and base hit, before bearing down and retiring three straight batters to keep the Indians off the board. Swarzak had pitched well in his first two starts for the Wings, going 2-0 with a 2.25 era and seven strikeouts in 12 innings of work. The Wings gave Swarzak some runs to work with in the bottom of the first against Indians stater Jimmy Barthmaier. Pridie reached on a walk to start the inning before a hard rain swept through the Rochester area delaying the game for the second straight night for 32 minutes. When play resumed, Alejandro Machado executed a perfect hit-and-run with a single through the vacated spot at shortstop, extending his hit streak to 18 games, and putting runners on first and third with no outs. Clark brought home the game's first run with a base hit to right scoring Pridie. Garrett Jones followed with an RBI groundout putting Rochester ahead 2-0 after an inning. The Wings threatened to extend the lead with a two-out rally in the fifth inning. Pridie extended his hit streak to 16 games with a two out single up the middle. Machado followed with a swinging bunt between the pitchers mound and third base and Clark walked to load the bases for Jones. But Jones grounded weakly to second base ending the threat.

The Indians finally got to Swarzak in the seventh inning. Ryan Mulhern hit a blast over the left field scoreboard cutting the Wings lead in half. After a single by Luis Cruz followed the home run, Nyjer Morgan doubled to the gap in left-center scoring Cruz and tying the game at two.Swarzak was pulled in favor of Tim Lahey after the seventh. Swarzak allowed two runs on six hits while striking out three in his seven innings of work. The Tribe got to Lahey for two runs in the eighth on RBI hits by Ronny Paulino and Jason Delaney putting Indianapolis ahead by a 4-2 count. But the lead did not last long. After a Machado walk to lead off the bottom of the eighth, Clark mashed a home run down the right field line knotting the game at four. Ordaz's home run came off Mariano Gomez with one out in the ninth. Gomez would strike out the side in the inning and earn his fourth win of the year.

Alejandro Machado now has a 18-game hitting streak, the second longest streak by a Red Wing this season (Randy Ruiz, 24-game hitting streak)....1B Brock Peterson was promoted to Rochester from Double-A New Britain Saturday. Peterson was batting .264 with 14 home runs and 67 RBI in 109 games for the Rock Cats. Peterson will wear uniform #17. OF Brandon Roberts was promoted to New Britain from Class-A Ft. Myers... The six game winning streak is the longest of the season for the Wings....This is the first time Rochester has won 10 straight home games since July 16-August 5, 1992, when they won 12 straight at Silver Stadium..

Friday 8/8/08
HOT WINGS KEEP STREAK GOING The Rochester Red Wings edged the Indianapolis Indians 3-2 Friday night at Frontier Field; the red-hot Wings have now won nine straight home games and five in a row overall. Kevin Mulvey turned in a stellar start, with solid relief help from Ricky Barrett and Bobby Korecky. It didn't take long for Indianapolis to strike after rain showers delayed the start of the game 46 minutes. Nyjer Morgan took the first pitch he saw from Mulvey and drove it over the right-field wall for a leadoff home run. The Wings looked to answer right back in their half of the first. Jason Pridie and Alejandro Machado singled to start the inning; Machado's single extended his hitting streak to 17 games. With Michael Cuddyer at the plate, Pridie was picked off trying to steal third. Cuddyer walked, bringing Garrett Jones to the plate with runners on first and second. Jones roped a line drive that hit Cuddyer in the left foot as he was on his way to second base. Cuddyer was not only ruled out on the play, but he would be removed from the game and replaced by Sergio Santos. Howie Clark flew out to end a crazy, scoreless first inning for the Wings. Rochester got a run off Indians starter Ross Ohlendorf, the former Yankee relief pitcher who was traded to Pittsburgh in the Xavier Nady deal, with a two-out rally in the bottom of the second. Trevor Plouffe doubled to right and was brought home on an RBI single by Jeff Christy, evening the score at one. Mulvey settled down nicely after giving up the leadoff home run to Morgan. He allowed only one hit and struck out five over the next four innings. The Red Wings took the lead in the fourth. Plouffe's second double of the night drove home Luke Hughes from first putting the Wings ahead 2-1. Matt Kata led off the the fifth with a solo home run that knotted the game at two. Mulvey then gave up back-to-back singles with one out in the inning but struck out Brian Bixler and Andrew McCutchen to escape further trouble and keep the game tied. The Wings came right back in the bottom of the fifth with another two-out RBI, their third of the game. Pridie and Machado set the table; but a botched bunt by Santos resulted in a double play, as third baseman Neil Walker made a diving catch on the popped up bunt then threw out Machado, who had strayed too far off the first base bag. But Jones delivered, picking up his teammates by lacing a single to right scoring Pridie and making the score 3-2. Plouffe made a fine defensive play in the seventh to preserve the lead for Rochester. With one out, a runner on third, and the infield in, he snared a sharp groundball to his left getting the out at first and keeping the runner at third. After the play, Mulvey was pulled in favor of Ricky Barrett, who got Morgan swinging to end the inning. Mulvey went 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits, while striking out seven. Barrett added 1 1/3 innings, with Korecky pitching the ninth for his 20th save. Cuddyer, with the Wings on a rehab assignment from Minnesota, left the ballpark on crutches during the game; initial reports indicate x-rays were taken on his left foot.

Alejandro Machado now has a 17-game hitting streak, It's the second longest streak by a Red Wing this season (Randy Ruiz, 24-game hitting streak)....The Red Wings silent auction raised $4,948 for Brian Duensing's wife, Lisa, to pay for hotel and travel expenses in Beijing....The top-three selling items were a 2009 Red Wing season seat ($270), a game-used Justin Morneau bat ($255), and a Paul Molitor bat ($250)...The Red Wings have played very well at Frontier Field this season (36-23 record). Rochester is tied with Louisville for the 3rd best home record in the International League. Rochester is one of only six teams in the IL with a .500 or better record at home this season.... Want to hang out with Wings pitchers Carmen Cali and Ricky Barrett at the Crescent Beach this Sunday after the game? Find out the details in our Special Events section.....Our final Preferred Care magnet giveaway is August 31, featuring the Frontier Field "ballpark personality" that YOU vote for! Find out more, and cast your vote before Monday, in our Fun and Games section.

Thursday 8/7/08
WINGS' OFFENSE KEYS ROUT The Rochester Red Wings pounded out 19 hits off four Lehigh Valley pitchers, trouncing the IronPigs 11-7 Thursday night at Frontier Field. Alejandro Machado had four hits, and Garrett Jones knocked in four runs for the Wings. The Iron Pigs scored in the top of first, when Andy Tracy's RBI double off Rochester starter Philip Humber drove in Jason Jaramillo for a 1-0 Lehigh Valley lead. Machado singled in the first off Lehigh Valley starter Travis Blackley to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. Rochester evened up the score in the second inning. Trevor Plouffe's single up the middle drove in Luke Hughes to make the score 1-1. The third inning saw a huge scoring output from the Wings, as they scored six runs for a 7-1 lead. The two big hits of the inning came when Jones hit a towering two-run shot landing beyond the Wings bullpen in right field. Two batters later, Luke Hughes followed suit with a two-run home run. The Iron Pigs, however, wasted no time in chipping away at Rochester's lead. Andy Tracy and Jon Knott led off the fourth with back-to-back home runs to make the score 7-3. After a T.J. Bohn RBI single made the score 7-4, Humber was replaced by Julio DePaula. Humber threw 3 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, while striking out one. In his last three starts prior to Thursday, Humber was 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA. Rochester continued the high scoring trend in their half of the fourth inning. A single by Jones drove in Machado and Michael Cuddyer for a 9-4 Wings lead. The lead grew to 10-4 when Matt Macri's sacrifice fly scored Jones. When Blackley was finally lifted, he had a nightmarish line of 3 2/3 innings pitched with 15 hits allowed and 10 earned runs. The Wings added to their lead in the sixth, on a run-scoring sacrifice fly by Jeff Christy. Julio DePaula (2-5) struck out three in 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, with Casey Daigle adding two more scoreless innings. Carmen Cali pitched the ninth inning, yielding three runs before giving way to Bobby Korecky. Korecky got two outs to secure the Wings win and pick up his 19th save.

Alejandro Machado now has a 16-game hitting streak, batting .426 (26-for- 61) during the streak. It's the second longest streak by a Red Wing this season (Randy Ruiz, 24-game hitting streak)...Jason Pridie hit his league-leading 15th triple...The Wings won their eighth straight home game...Luke Hughes had three hits, three runs scored and two RBI, and is now hitting .323 at Triple-A...Despite the Red Wings' 58-63 record they’ve outscored their opponents 577-559 ...Twins OF Michael Cuddyer continued his rehab assignment with the Wings; Cuddyer had a pair of doubles and a walk in five plate apearances...The Twins' Class A Ft. Myers Miracle pitchers combined to allow just one Tampa runner to cross the plate, in 2-1 and 1-0 wins over the Yankees on Thursday afternoon. Anthony Slama worked a perfect ninth for his 23rd save of the season in game one; the trio of Cole Devries, Jose Lugo and Blair Erickson combined on a five-hit shutout in game two. The Miracle picked up their league-leading 12th shutout of the season... At Double-A New Britain, LHP Jose Mijares pitched Wednesday night, working his way back from an off-season car accident. Mijares pitched in five games for Rochester last season....New Britain INF/OF Eric Lis dislocated his left shoulder during infield practice on Tuesday, and is out for the season.

Wednesday 8/6/08
WINGS SWEEP 'PIGS IN TWINBILL Luke Hughes laced the game-winning hit in the eighth inning as the Rochester Red Wings edged the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 3-2, in the first game of a doubleheader at Frontier Field. In the second game, Tom Shearn (1-0) pitched a complete game two-hitter, leading the Wings to a 5-0 shutout and a sweep of the twinbill. In the first game, the Wings stole their first run in an error-filled first inning. Jason Pridie reached on an error but was caught stealing. Michael Cuddyer, down on a rehab assignment, reached two batters later when shortstop Joey Hammond let the ball go through his legs. Cuddyer then took three bases when catcher Jason Jaramillo threw the ball past first base. That made the score,1-0. The 'Pigs quickly tied the score at 1 in the second when former Red Wing Jon Knott bombed a home run, his 17th of the season, to deep center that banked off the Segar & Sciortino batter's eye neon sign. Unfortunately, the trouble for Tim Lahey, who made his first professional start in 164 appearances, didn't end there. After allowing the home run, the bases quickly were loaded, without any outs, after two consecutive walks and a single. When T.J. Bohn came to bat, Lahey induced a double play, allowing just Chris Snelling to score. He got Casey Smith to ground into the final out. Kris Benson, Lehigh Valley's starter, made a mistake of his own in the bottom half of the frame. With two outs, Trevor Plouffe knotted the score at 2 when he knocked a full count pitch into the visiting bullpen for his fifth home run of the year. After Lahey settled down over the next few innings, he was pulled in favor of Danny Graves. Lahey finished his first professional start pitching three innings while allowing two runs on three hits. He also struck out two batters. From there, Graves cruised. He pitched three full innings without allowing a run and yielded just two hits. Ricky Barrett came in his place to start the seventh inning. Benson pitched well for the IronPigs as well. After the shaky first few innings, he settled and held the Wings at bay. His final tally, before former Wing J.D. Durbin came in, was six innings pitched, while giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits. Barrett finished the regulation seven innings without allowing a run and was relieved by Mariano Gomez (3-2). In the bottom of the eighth, after starting the game 0-for-3 with a strikeout, Alejandro Machado laced a lead-off double into left field, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. After that, Cuddyer walked and, just two batters later, Howie Clark was intentionally walked to load the bases with just one out. That set the stage for Hughes who laced the ball through the left side of the infield to score Machado. Durbin (0-7) took the loss for the IronPigs after pitching one and a third and allowing the game-winning run.

Game Two The Wings put the second game in their advantage quickly. In the bottom of the first, with two outs, Garrett Jones doubled off 'Pigs starter Gary Knotts to score Jason Pridie, giving the Wings a 1-0 edge. Meanwhile, Wings' starter Tom Shearn sailed through the first three innings as he compiled four strikeouts while allowing just a hit in those three frames. In the third inning, Rochester tacked a few more on the board. Alejandro Machadro recorded a double, extending his hitting streak to 15 games, and Jones blasted a two-out home run into the Patio Enclosures Power Alley Grille. Jones and his teammates weren't done yet. In the fifth, the Wings added two more to make the score, 5-0. Jeff Christy hit a lead-off double and scored when Pridie hit a double of his own. Pridie scored on a Machado sacrifice fly to right. As far as Jones, he scorched another double, his third hit of the night. Shearn continued his dominance as well, entering the seventh having allowed a total of two hits without a walk, striking out seven, and pitching a shutout. Shearn (1-0) added another strikeout in the seventh inning bringing his total to eight in his complete game victory.

Twins Senior Adviser to the General Manager Terry Ryan and Minor League Infield/Baserunning Coordinator Paul Molitor are in town for the week... C Ryan Jorgensen (back) is still out of the lineup, with rookie Jeff Christy catching both ends of Wednesday's doubleheader...Twins OF Michael Cuddyer started a rehab assignment with the Wings; in the first game Cuddyer went 1-for-3 with a walk, a strikeout and a run scored. In the second game, Cuddyer went 0-for-3. Aug. 10 is a possible target date for Cuddyer to return to Minnesota....Denard Span collected four RBI and robbed the Mariners' Adrian Beltre of a go-ahead homer as the Twins dropped the Mariners, 7-3, on Wednesday afternoon.

Monday 8/4/08
WINGS SNAG WIN, HEAD HOME FOR NINE GAMES The Red Wings wrapped up their roadtrip by pounding out 14 hits, in a 4-3 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Monday night. Alejandro Machado drove in two runs, and rookie Anthony Swarzak picked up his second Triple-A win in as many starts. The two teams meet Tuesday night at Frontier Field in Rochester, kicking off a nine-game homestand for the Wings. While starters Brian Mazone and Swarzak gave up their share of hits early on, the game was scoreless until the fifth. That's when the Red Wings put three runs on the board, and the IronPigs answered with a pair of runs. Jason Pridie and Howie Clark had RBI singles in the fifth, sandwiched around an RBI sacrifice fly from Machado. Lehigh Valley's Brandon Watson and Jason Jaramillo each hit solo homers off Swarzak. Rochester added a run in the seventh off Mazone (9-9), when Machado doubled to score Pridie from first with an insurance run. The hit extended Machado's hitting streak to 13 games. Swarzak (2-0) worked seven innings. He allowed eight hits and two runs, walking one and striking out five. Bobby Korecky worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning, but allowed two singles to start the bottom of the ninth. Korecky made a nice play to field T.J. Bohn's sacrifice bunt attempt, but juggled the ball for an error - allowing Bohn to reach first to load the bases. Chris Snelling's RBI sac fly made it 4-3, and moved the tying run to third with one out. Korecky was pulled in favor of left-hander Ricky Barrett, brought in to face a pair of left-handed hitters. Watson reached on an infield hit, with the tying run holding at third on the play; Barrett then fanned Rich Thompson for the second out. That brought up Jaramillo, who worked the count to 3-1 before grounding out to Machado at second, ending the threat and the game. Barrett picked up his second save with the effort. Pridie finished the night with three hits, two runs scored, an RBI, a walk and a stolen base. Oscar Robles had four hits for Lehigh Valley.

C Ryan Jorgensen (back) missed the series...Twins OF Michael Cuddyer will be in the lineup for the Wings Tuesday night at Frontier Field, as he starts a rehab assignment that will last for at least four games, with Aug. 10 a possible target date for Cuddyer to return to Minnesota....Former Mets and Pirates pitcher Kris Benson is the scheduled starter at Frontier Tuesday, with former Wing J.D. Durbin on the mound for the Pigs Wednesday...Reliever Tim Lahey makes a spot start Tuesday night for Rochester...RHP Philip Humber was named the International League Pitcher-of-the-Week on Monday, for the week of July 28-August 3. Humber was 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA in two starts. In 15.2 innings of work, Humber allowed just four runs on 11 hits while walking just four and striking out 19. Humber is the fifth Red Wing to win an IL weekly award joining OF Darnell McDonald, OF Denard Span, LHP Francisco Liriano and OF Jason Pridie. Rochester’s five weekly awards winners match Pawtucket for the most awards in the IL this season. This is the first time Rochester has had five award winners in one season since 2004.

Sunday 8/3/08
WINGS LOSE LATE The Lehigh Valley IronPigs used an eighth inning rally to top the Red Wings 5-3 Sunday night. Howie Clark had three hits, including a key two-run single. The series concludes Monday night in Allentown; The Wings return home to open a nine-game homestand Tuesday night at Frontier Field. The Wings faced rookie RHP Carlos Carrasco, the top prospect in the Phillies organization according to Baseball America. Carrasco made his Triple-A debut Sunday against Rochester starter Kevin Mulvey. The Wings racked up four hits against Carrasco in the first three innings, and picking up a run in the third to go ahead 1-0. One of the hits, a double by Alejandro Machado, boosted Machado's hitting streak to 12 games. Machado scored when Andy Tracy was charged with an error on a ball hit by Garrett Jones. Mulvey was helped by good defense, preventing a run in the second. Clark and Trevor Plouffe teamed up to nail Oscar Robles at home on a hit by Joey Hammond. Robles later knocked in a run in the fourth to knot the game at 1-1; Robles drove in another run in the sixth to put the Pigs ahead 2-1, but Rochester pushed across two runs on Clark's seventh inning single to jump back into the lead 3-2. Mulvey worked six innings, and Mariano Gomez took over in the seventh and allowed an unearned run with two outs to even things up at 3-3. But Lehigh Valley scored two runs against Carmen Cali in the eighth inning, a nightmarish outing in which Cali walked three (one intentionally) and allowed two hits. The Wings had a great shot in their half of the eighth after Luke Hughes tripled to start the inning, but Lehigh Valley goot out the inning without allowing a run.

The Red Wings' 22-40 record away from Frontier Field this season is the worst road record in the International League....After Saturday night's win, starter Philip Humber improved to 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA in his last three starts. In 20.2 innings of work, Humber has allowed just four runs on 16 hits while walking just six and striking out 24. Humber has seen his ERA drop from 5.89 to 5.05 in those three starts...Twins OF Michael Cuddyer is expected to begin a rehab assignment with the Red Wings Tuesday night at Frontier Field...Francisco Liriano pitched six shutout innings Sunday, striking out five while allowing three hits and three walks as the Twins beat the Indians, 6-2, to move back into first place in the American League Central...TwinsBaseball.com has a Sunday feature on the role that Red Wings players have had in Minnesota this season. Click here to read it now... Double-A New Britain closer Ben Julianel and his 23 saves are the subject of this week's Rock Cats Report; you can read it in the Press Box section...Ft. Myers Miracle (Florida St. League) catcher Wilson Ramos is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for July 27-August 2...Ramos, 20, hit .433 (13-for-30) with three doubles, a home run, four runs scored and 10 rbi in six games...Ramos entered the season as the Twins third ranked prospect by Baseball America...Ramos was signed as a non-drafted free agent, July 7, 2004.

Saturday 8/2/08
HOT HUMBER EVENS RECORD, NOTCHES WIN FOR WINGS (DemocratandChronicle.com/RedWingsBaseball.com) Philip Humber won his third consecutive start as the Rochester Red Wings defeated Lehigh Valley 4-1 Saturday. Humber (7-7) struck out nine to finish one shy of his season high. The right-hander went a season-high eight innings, allowing six hits, one run and two walks. Rochester (54-62) scored first as Alejandro Machado doubled in Sergio Santos with two out in the top of the third. Santos led off the inning with a single. Machado extended his hitting streak to 11 games. The 30-year-old infielder, who joined the team on June 14 after being activated off the disabled list , is batting over .400 with seven doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI. Oscar Robles tied the game for Lehigh Valley, scoring from second on Mike Rouse's fourth-inning double past Howie Clark in right field. Rouse was tagged out at third to end the inning. Lehigh Valley starter Travis Blackley retired 11 straight before allowing his first walk in the seventh inning. Blackley gave up three walks in the seventh and Luke Hughes scored the go-ahead run when Santos walked. Jason Pridie hit a full-count, two-out one-hopper to right field with the bases loaded to give Rochester a 4-1 cushion. He was picked off on the following play to end the inning. Wings left fielder Garrett Jones saw his 10-game hitting streak and six-game RBI streak end. Jones went 0-for-4. Blackley (5-8) allowed four runs on four hits over 61/3 innings. He struck out four.

Friday 8/1/08
PAWSOX STUN WINGS (PawSox.com.com/ RedWingsBaseball.com) Pawtucket rallied for 6 runs in the eighth, and scored the game winner in the ninth on a walkoff home run by Jeff Corsaletti to nip Rochester 8-7 Friday night. Garrett Jones and Alejandro Machado each extended their hitting streaks to 10 games for Rochester. The Wings led early behind the strong starting effort of newcome Tom Shearn, who struck out five in five innings, allowing three hits and one run and departing with a 4-1 lead after five. Rochester added three more runs in the eighth inning for what seemed like a secure 7-1 lead. Corsaletti came on as a pinch hitter in the eighth and delivered a single off Julio DePaula that helped extend the huge comeback. Chris Carter and George Kottaras hit back to back homers off DePaula to get the rally started. Gil Velazquez hammered a 3-run shot against his former team, off Tim Lahey. Velazquez has hit 4 of his 7 home runs against Rochester in 2008. Corsaletti's two-out, game-winning homer came on a 1-0 pitch from Casey Daigle (1-5). Dusty Brown homered in the fifth for the only PawSox score until the eighth inning. Hunter Jones (7-2) got the win for Pawtucket.

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