By: Zach Harnischfeger
ROCHESTER, NY--- The Red Wings squared off against the Scranton Wilkes/Barre RailRiders on Father's Day to wrap up a six-game homestand. The Red Wings entered the game on a three-game winning streak and were looking to win the series. Dominate pitching and a hot offense led the Wings to an 8-1 victory and a series win.
Jackson Rutledge made his 13th appearance on the bump for the Red Wings and earned his third win of the season. He tossed seven innings allowing one run on two hits while walking two and striking out three. This was his first time going seven innings in Triple-A and his first time since June 15, 2023, with Double-A Harrisburg Senators.
"We got to work this week, really the whole crew," Rutledge said. "Chaves did a good job of kind of keeping me rolling and then making adjustments of not getting stuck on that back leg a little bit and getting a little bit more forward momentum going and just letting my body work naturally and fluidly. And stop being so stiff."
The Red Wings sent seven men to the plate in the bottom of the first and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Jack Dunn led off the inning with a bunt single and then stole second and third. After a Travis Blakenhorn walk, Harold Ramirez singled and drove in Dunn making it 1-0. This was Ramirez's first hit and RBI as a Red Wing.
Later in the inning, Alex Call brought home Blankenhorn on a walk, his 35 RBI of the season, to make it 2-0. The next batter, Jackson Cluff, drove in Ramirez on a sacrifice fly to give the Red Wings a 3-0 lead.
Former Red Wing Jeter Downs got the RailRiders on the board in the top of the third with a solo home run making it a 3-1 game. This was Downs' eighth homer of the season and third against the Red Wings,
The Red Wings added on to their lead in the bottom of the fifth. Erick Mejia led off the inning with a walk and then stole second, his ninth stolen base of the season. The next batter Dunn drove in Mejia on a single to extend the Red Wings lead to 4-1. Later in the inning, Ramirez earned his second hit and second RBI of the game, a single, to drive in Dunn making it a 5-1 game.
"I was looking for a really good pitch to hit," Ramirez said. "I know I got a man on third and I just want to make some contact to bring that runner in."
In the bottom of the sixth, Brady Lindsly singled and brought home Alex Call to extend the Rochester lead to 6-1. Two batters later, Mejia drove in Cluff on a sacrifice fly making it a 7-1 game. Rochester added another run in the bottom of the eighth on a RBI single by Lindsly, his second hit and RBI of the game, extending the lead to 8-1. The RailRiders were set down quickly in the top of the ninth, sealing the game.
The Red Wings had 15 total walks in the last two games. Head coach Matt Lecroy has been pleased with the team's discipline at the plate.
"That's what we have been preaching to them," Lecroy said. "We battled in our at-bats and a couple of guys had really nice long at-bats. We struggled against him last time and we made some adjustments. This is something we need to build on and continue to do and keep putting pressure on teams to make them use as many pitchers as possible."
The Red Wings improve to 36-31 with the win and are now on a four-game winning streak. The Red Wings are off on Monday and then travel to Syracuse for a six-game series against the Mets. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 6:35 p.m. Andrew Alvarez (0-1, 7.04) is expected to start on the mound for the Wings.