STAFF REPORTS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Pawtucket Red Sox rallied in the ninth inning to defeat the Rochester Red Wings 6-5 Wednesday night at Frontier Field, before a July 4th crowd of 11,898. The teams will play again Thursday with a special 5:05 p.m. start; all tickets are just $5 and it’s the final Bark in the Park canine promotion.
Pawtucket threatened in the first inning against Wings starting pitcher Stephen Gonsalves but couldn’t push across a run after he allowed the first two batters to reach base safely. Following a single and a walk, Gonsalves worked a flyout and then got Adam Lind to ground into an inning-ending double play to end the threat.
After retiring 11 consecutive batters to begin the game, Pawtucket starter Jaylen Beeks allowed two runs in the fourth. Following a two-out single from Gregorio Petit, a home run that left the park at 114 miles per hour off the bat of Kennys Vargas gave Rochester a 2-0 lead. It was the 11th homer of the season for Vargas, tops on the team.
The power continued for Rochester in the fifth after Cameron Rupp lifted a ball that carried over the left-field fence to increase the Wings lead to 3-0. The homer was Rupp’s third with the Wings.
Beeks was replaced by Fernando Rodriguez after allowing a single to LaMonte Wade in the sixth inning. Beeks allowed three runs on five hits while striking out eight. He threw 91 pitches, 58 strikes.
Following the shaky first inning, Gonsalves retired 14 of the last 16 batters that he faced. He was replaced by Nick Anderson to begin the seventh inning. Gonsalves went 6.0 innings allowing no runs on three hits while walking one and striking out six. He threw a season-high 104 pitches, 68 for strikes.
In the eighth, Anderson surrendered a two-run home run to to Mike Miller that sailed over the right field wall, cutting the Rochester lead to 3-2. John Curtiss came on with one out in and one on in the inning. Curtiss set down two of the three batters he faced to preserve the 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, Wade drilled a triple to score Byron Buxton and push the lead to 4-2. A sacrifice fly from Petit plated Wade to make the score 5-2.
Anderson allowed two runs over 1.1 innings pitched while recording a pair of strikeouts. Curtiss walked batters in each of his two innings, and loaded the bases in the ninth inning – before Rusney Castillo delivered a pinch-hit two-run single to bring the PawSox back within a run at 5-4. After a mound visit from pitching coach Stu Cliburn, Tzu-Wei Lin knocked in a pair of runs with a single to give Pawucket the lead for the first time in the game. That prompted an exit by Curtiss in favor of Jake Reed; Curtiss had been a perfect 8-for-8 in save chances coming into the game; Reed fanned Kyle Wren with two runners on to send play to the bottom of the ninth.
The PawSox out-hit the Wings 8-6.
Winning pitcher: Rodriguez (3-1)
Losing pitcher: Curtiss (2-2)
Save: Brasier (12)
Losing pitcher: Curtiss (2-2)
Save: Brasier (12)
Box Score: Click here for the box score and play-by-play narrative.