Red Wings Sweep Twin Bill In Twin City

After Friday night’s contest between the Rochester Red Wings and St. Paul Saints was postponed due to inclement weather, the Red Wings completed their second doubleheader sweep of the season Saturday, beating the Saints 3-2 in game one and 8-7 in game two. C Drew Millas launched his first homer of 2024 to give Rochester the lead in the top of the seventh in game one, and LF Darren Baker extended his on-base streak to a team-leading 15 games after going 3-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base.

Game two was a high-scoring affair, highlighted by three hits from CF James Wood, who extended his hitting streak to seven games, and DH Travis Blankenhorn’s seventh home run of the season. LF Darren Baker also reached base for the 16th consecutive game and drove in the game-winning run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly.

GAME ONE:

Rochester got an early jump on the Saints, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. LF Darren Baker began the rally with a leadoff line-drive single to center field and logged his team-leading ninth stolen base of the season to put himself in scoring position. Baker scored easily from second two batters later, when 1B Juan Yepez knocked a single to center field.

The 1-0 score remained over the next two innings, as the Red Wings’ bats quieted and Rochester squashed a Saints’ scoring opportunity in the bottom of the third, stranding runners at the corners.

The top of the fourth brought some action when DH Travis Blankenhorn launched what would have been his seventh home run if not for Saints’ CF DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who raced across the warning track to leap over the left-center field fence and snag the towering fly ball. The Red Wings ended the inning scoreless.

St. Paul immediately capitalized on the home run robbery in the bottom of the fourth, matching the Wings with a run of their own. Saints’ runners reached first and second after C Jair Camargo was hit by a pitch, and RF Yoyner Fajardo worked a walk. A batter later, LF Alex Isola roped an RBI single that brought Camargo around to score from second and tie the game.

Rochester broke the 1-1 tie in the seventh and final inning to take a 3-1 advantage. Leading off the frame, C Drew Millas gave the Wings the lead with a 100.6 MPH line-drive solo homer to right-center field, his first of 2024. Two batters later, SS Jack Dunn reached base on a fielding error, and a ground-ball single from 2B Jackson Cluff moved him to second. Dunn and Cluff simultaneously stole second and third base in the next at-bat, but Dunn was later picked off at third base. Darren Baker then hit an infield single to shortstop to advance Cluff to third, and he came around to score on a line drive single to center field off the bat of CF James Wood for an insurance run.

St. Paul rallied in the bottom half of the inning but ultimately fell short. Isola sparked the Saints’ offense with a line drive double to center field to lead off the inning. Three batters later, 2B Anthony Prato singled on a live drive to left field, advancing Isola to third. Next at bat, DaShawn Keirsey Jr. brought home Isola to score with a ground-ball single to center field. The final out left Prato stranded at third as Rochester sealed a 3-2 win to even the series at two games apiece.

RHP Thaddeus Ward took the bump for Rochester in game one, making his fifth start of the season. The Sunshine State native turned in 5.0 solid innings, allowing one earned on two hits while striking out three and issuing four walks. RHP Amos Willingham took over to start the sixth and finished the game with 2.0 innings of work, allowing one earned on two hits with three strikeouts to earn the win, his first since July 27, 2023, at Worcester.

Game one’s Diamond Pro Player of the Game goes to C Drew Millas. In his first game back with Rochester since he was optioned by Washington on Friday, the switch-hitting catcher launched a go-ahead, solo home run in the top of the seventh inning to seal the victory. This was his first home run with Rochester since July 27 of last season at Worcester, making him the seventh different Red Wing to launch a home run in 2024.

He also threw out two base runners behind the plate for the first time since July 4, 2023, against Buffalo, the 11th time in his career with two or more caught-stealing.

Find the box score for game one attached here.

GAME TWO:

Following a scoreless first inning, the Saints opened the scoring in the bottom half of the second. LF Matt Wallner led off the frame with a ground-rule double that bounced into the seats down the left-field line. A batter later, 1B Chris Williams clubbed a single to center field that allowed Wallner to come around and score, giving the Saints a 1-0 lead.

The Red Wings responded in the top of the fourth inning. CF James Wood started the rally with a scorching 110.8 MPH single through the right side of the infield and later advanced to second on a walk by 1B Juan Yepez. DH Travis Blankenhorn proceeded to ground into a fielder’s choice, but everyone was ruled safe on the play due to a mishandled throw. With a no-out, bases-loaded opportunity, 3B Carter Kieboom dribbled an infield single, allowing Wood to score and tie the ballgame at one. The following batter, SS Jack Dunn, plated the go-ahead runs for the Red Wings as he lined a double the opposite way to right field, scoring two on the play. With one out in the inning, C Brady Lindsly tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly to left field for his eighth RBI of the season, making it 4-1 in favor of Rochester heading into the bottom half of the fourth.

After a quick 1-2-3 inning from RHP Joan Adon, LF Darren Baker lined a lead-off single to right field. Baker would swipe second for his tenth stolen base of the season with Wood at the dish, who tapped a soft single in the infield grass, setting up runners at the corners with no one out. The Red Wings put on a double steal, with Wood beating the throw at second and Baker motoring home to score Rochester’s fifth run of the game. Travis Blankenhorn then lofted a slider to the Home Run Porch in right-center field for his seventh long-ball of the season, a 415-foot, two-run shot that increased the Red Wings’ lead to 7-1 after four and a half innings of play.

The Saints would not go down without a fight, mounting a rally of their own in the bottom half of the fifth. 2B Tony Kemp walked to begin the inning, and C Patrick Winkel laced a double off the right-field wall to put runners on second and third with no outs. SS Diego A. Castillo took advantage, scoring Kemp and moving Winkel to third on a single. A batter later, RF Yoyner Fajardo lined an RBI double the opposite way to left field, tacking on another run for St. Paul. Another walk loaded the bases, and CF Dashawn Keirsey Jr. shrunk the Red Wings’ lead to three with a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Castillo. DH Michael Helman would then tie the ballgame with one swing, slugging a three-run homer to left-center field to knot the game at seven runs a piece.

Rochester immediately reclaimed their lead in the sixth inning. 2B Jackson Cluff picked up his second double of the season, and Brady Lindsly followed with a single. With runners at the corners, Darren Baker lifted a fly ball to left field, and Cluff tagged from third on the play for a sacrifice fly that put the Red Wings back ahead, 8-7.

Rochester’s bullpen held the Saints scoreless across the final two innings, inducing a double play in the seventh to end game two with a final score of 8-7 in favor of Rochester. The doubleheader sweep gives them the advantage in the series, three games to two.

Joan Adon made his fourth Triple-A start of the season in game two. The right-hander logged 4.0 innings of work, allowing six earned on six hits while walking three and striking out two. RHP Adonis Medina inherited a bases-loaded, no-out situation and finished the inning responsible for one earned run on one hit with a strikeout. LHP Richard Bleier took over in the sixth and allowed a hit and a strikeout before handing the ball to RHP Rico Garcia for the seventh. He also allowed a hit while striking out one, securing his second consecutive save.

Diamond Pro Player of the Game in the back half of the twin bill goes to CF James Wood. The Nationals No. 2 prospect went 3-for-4 in the win while scoring a pair of runs with two stolen bases. The IMG Academy product has now hit safely in a team-leading seven consecutive games since April 20, tied for the fourth-longest hitting streak in the International League.

Rochester looks to secure their second series victory of the season in the finale against St. Paul Sunday afternoon. Red Wings’ RHP Jackson Rutledge and Saints RHP David Festa are set to square off for the second time in the series. First pitch is scheduled for 3:07 p.m.

Find the box score for game two attached here.