By: Aiden Locke
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Two huge home runs proved to be the difference in a 6-5 Rochester Red Wings victory over the Worcester Woo Sox. The Red Wings displayed a good balance of pitching, fielding, and scoring as they picked up a solid win against a great Worcester club that is tied at the top of the second-half standings (29-18) with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Catcher Brady Lindsy hit his first Triple-A home, a 413 ft two-run shot on just 45 minutes notice that he was going to be in the lineup.
"I mean I don't hit those a lot so it feels good anytime, but definitely getting the first one out of the way here in Triple-A is a great feeling," Lindsly said.
Lindsly was one of the stars of the game for Rochester also having a clean and composed game behind the plate.
The first four innings saw the brunt of the scoring with eight of the game's 11 total runs coming before the fifth. The first three innings however were a back-and-forth battle with the two teams tied up at two heading into the fourth inning. The fourth inning is where the game ended up being won with a monster four-run haul for Rochester, which gave them just enough to be able to hold come the ninth. Designated hitter Matt Adams would crush a three-run shot which would end up being the difference for the Red Wings. Adams who had hit just 4-for-45 since his last home run came through huge in this contest.
"Getting back to playing the baseball we know we can play which we did tonight, I think it's huge. I think that momentum is going to carry over into the weekend and we'll see where we get to tomorrow," Adams said.
Red Wings Manager Matthew LeCroy wasn't with the team tonight, leaving development coach Billy McMillon to assume managing duties against a club he used to manage. McMillion wasn't worried about the lack of run production after the fourth inning which saw the Red Wings final runs scored on the night.
"That's just kind of baseball. We got the hits early and had the lead. Guys are still up there battling and some things just didn't really go our way but we still had good at-bats throughout," McMillon said.
The Red Wings were in complete control going into the top of the ninth where Gerson Moreno came in to close out what was an all-around solid showing from the Rochester pitching staff. He got off to a sizzling start putting away the first two batters he faced. Shortstop David Hamilton got a potential rally going for Worcester with two outs hitting a single and eventually scoring off the bat of second baseman Enmanuel Valdez. Moreno was now under significant pressure with runners on the corners with a 6-5 lead. He was able to put right fielder Bobby Dalbec with a six-four play to end the game.
The Red Wings will now look ahead to Saturday night with the series tied 2-2 and will look to pick up another win to take control of the six-game series. First pitch is expected to be thrown at 6:05 p.m.
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