By: Aiden Locke
ROCHESTER, NY --- A pitchers duel came down to the bottom of the tenth inning as the Rochester Red Wings beat the Omaha Storm Chasers 3-2. MLB.com's 42nd ranked prospect Brady House delivered a walk-off RBI double to seal the win for Rochester.
In the bottom of the tenth inning, Jake Alu entered the game as the ghost runner for Rochester. House was the first man up in the tenth and lined a heater to right center field for an extra-base hit that sealed the game for Rochester. Alu scored with ease, bringing a Gatorade bath House's way. House went 3-for-5 in the game.
"I think in that certain situation, anything to the right side would have done the job to get the runner to third," House said. "I was just trying to aim for right field and it ended up bringing him (Alu) home so that's even better."
Jackson Rutledge took the mound first for Rochester and put together one of his best starts of the season. Rutledge hasn't been credited with a win since June 23rd and wasn't able to earn the win on Wednesday. Despite this, the big right handed pitcher went seven innings striking out nine and allowed just two hits and two walks. The win slipped away in the third when Rutledge walked Omaha leadoff man John Rave which two-hole hitter Nate Eaton followed with a home run off Rutledge.
"Today Rutledge gave us a chance," Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy said. "He kept us in it and we managed to scratch and claw our way into some offense."
Omaha starter Noah Cameron impressed in his first Triple-A outing as well. He went 6.2 innings, allowing seven hits, one earned run and struck out ten batters.
Rochester's offense couldn't solve Cameron until the end of his outing. Rochester threatened with two base runners in the fifth and sixth innings but couldn't bring them in to score.
"If you can keep it close, you can do some smaller things like if they don't make a play or if they have a big walk, things can change," LeCroy said. "We just continued to claw and we found a way... and we have this season."
Rochester's offense picked it back up in the seventh with a double from seven-hole hitter Stone Garrett who secured a double. After back-to-back outs from outfielder Jack Dunn and infielder Jackson Cluff, leadoff man Dylan Crews drew a walk to place runners on first and second base. Newcomer José Tena was next up. Tena who made his second start for Rochester lined a single to left field. Garrett rounded third and with a bang-bang play at the plate was able to score. A collision between Garrett and Omaha catcher Rodolfo Durán led to a loose ball and Crews advancing to third and Tena on second.
"Just trying to compete, Rut (Rutledge) kept us in the game, he only gave up two through seven (innings) so him holding them at bay for the most part gave us a chance and we just competed, got in their pen (bullpen) and put up some runs," Garrett said.
Garrett has been a big piece of the Red Wings puzzle in July. He hit .370 (20-for-54) with three home runs, five doubles, nine RBI and an OBP of .453.
Errors have been an issue for Omaha during the two games in this series. Five errors haunted Omaha in their 15-4 loss on Tuesday night and with four more errors on Wednesday afternoon, the Storm Chasers committed nine errors in less than 24 hours.
"Billy (third base coach Billy McMillion) said during the pitching change, a base hit to the outfield and we were probably going to go," Garrett said. "Base hit, you know I was just trying to get home and it was a bang-bang play and he (Durán) ended up dropping the ball when I slid."
Rochester catcher Drew Millas was the final batter of the seventh inning, grounding out to Omaha first baseman Devin Mann. Crews and Tena were left stranded at the end of the seventh.
Rochester's bullpen stepped up late, continuing the great performance. Adonis Medina, Rico Garcia and Orlando Ribalta all saw action and combined for just two hits and two walks allowed. Ribalta was credited with the win.
Rochester's bats did damage late finishing with 12 hits on the day. Omaha's offense was virtually shut down after the third, getting just four hits and four walks.
These two teams square off once again on Thursday evening where Thad Ward is set to take on Chandler Champlain. First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 back at Innovative Field.
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