Red Wings Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short 

Late Red Wing rally was not enough to overcome a five-run deficit in the ninth, dropping the fifth game of the series 7-4. Both offenses were on fire in Saturday night’s contest, combing for 27 hits and eight extra-base hits. DH Travis Blankenhorn and LF Stone Garrett led the way for the Red Wing offense, finishing a combined 6-for-8 with a home run, two doubles, an RBI, and two runs scored. LHP Tim Cate spun two scoreless innings in relief, his fifth scoreless relief appearance in the month of July.

The IronPigs came out of the gates firing Saturday night and put up three runs in the first half-inning of the contest. SS Scott Kingery drilled the third pitch of the game into the right-center field gap for a lead-off single. The next at-bat, LF Buddy Kennedy blooped a single into shallow right to put the first two batters of the game on base for Lehigh Valley. After a strikeout, DH Kody Clemens pulled a 3-1 sinker 380 feet into the Rochester bullpen for his eighth home run of the season, making it 3-0 IronPigs.

Rochester did not wait to respond with CF Dylan Crews smoking the fourth pitch he saw off the base of the right field wall for a lead-off triple, his first as a Red Wing. Two batters later, RF Alex Call sliced his fourth double of the series down the line in right. Crews trotted home from third to cut into the Lehigh Valley deficit, 3-1.

After two scoreless innings, Lehigh Valley extended their lead in the top-half of the fourth. 2B Jim Haley beat out an infield single to lead-off the inning. Then, RF Simon Muzziotti had a flyball drop in the left field corner for a double. Haley was cut down at the plate courtesy of a great 7-5-2 relay, keeping the score at 3-1. The defensive heroics would not continue as the next batter, C Cody Roberts, lined a single into shallow left, bringing home Muzziotti from second, pushing the IronPig lead to three.

The Iron Pigs picked up right where they left off, scoring two runs in the fifth. 3B Rodolfo Castro led off the inning with a ground ball single through the right side of the infield. The switch-hitting third baseman advanced to second on a Kody Clemens ground out and then, 1B Carlos De La Cruz pounded a single the other way for the second hit in three batters for Lehigh Valley. Castro hustled home from second, making it 5-1 IronPigs. Jim Haley smacked a single past a diving SS Jackson Cluff, moving De La Cruz up to second to put runners on first and second for Simon Muzziotti. The Venezuela native pushed a single the other way into shallow left field, becoming the fourth IronPig to record a single in the inning. De La Cruz scored with ease from second, extending the Lehigh Valley lead to five.

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Lehigh Valley kept the bats hot, putting a number on the board for the third straight inning. Scott Kingery led off the inning with his second single of the contest. Two batters later, the Phillies’ second round draft pick in 2015 stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error. Rodolfo Castro worked a walk to put runners on the corners for Kody Clemens. The Texas native chopped a curveball to first, Kingery beat the throw home and everyone was safe, extending the Lehigh Valley lead to six, 7-1.

Rochester mustered up a response in the bottom of the sixth. Travis Blankenhorn crushed his third home run in the past two games and his fourth of the series 415 feet over the center field wall, making it 7-2. The lefty’s 23rd home run this year left the bat at 104.6 mph, his eighth hardest home run of the season.

Down to their last three outs and chasing five runs, the Red Wings’ rally fell short. C Drew Millas laced a single into shallow center to lead off the inning. Then, Stone Garrett lined a single into right, pushing Millas up to third and Stone would advance to second on a throwing error. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, a Jackson Cluff ground out brought Millas home from third to make it, 7-3. The next batter Dylan Crews grounded out to short for the second out of the inning, Garrett scored from third without a throw to cut the Lehigh Valley lead to three. The Red Wing rally would end there as Rochester drops the fifth game of the series, 7-4.

LHP Andrew Alvarez got the start for Rochester in the fifth game of the six-game series. The southpaw allowed four runs on seven hits across 3.1 innings, while striking out one and walking two. RHP Joan Adon was the first out of the bullpen for the Red Wings. The Dominican Republic native tossed 2.2 innings, allowing two earned on five hits, while walking one and striking out two. RHP Amos Willingham took the mound in the seventh inning. The Georgia Tech product spun a scoreless inning, allowing two hits while striking out one. LHP Tim Cate was given the ball for the eighth. The Connecticut native tossed two scoreless innings to close out the game, allowing two hits while walking one and striking out one.

The Diamond Pro Player of the Game Saturday night is DH Travis Blankenhorn for the second-straight night. The Pottsville, Pennsylvania native finished 3-for-4 with a home run, double, RBI, and run scored. Blankenhorn has recorded an extra-base hit in seven straight games, tied for longest in the International League this year and longest by a Red Wing since Zander Weil had eight in 2019. Since his extra-base hit streak started on July 20, the lefty outfielder’s .517 (15-for-29) batting average, 1.138 slugging percentage, and 1.708 OPS leads all Minor Leaguers (min. 25 AB) over that stretch.

Rochester looks to salvage a series split Sunday afternoon. The Red Wings will send RHP Brad Lord to the mound for his sixth Triple-A start. First pitch set for 1:05 pm.

Find the box score attached here.

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