IL1 Rochester Red Wings

Homers Shock Wings in Game One

Published on September 12, 2006 under International League (IL1)
Rochester Red Wings News Release


Mike Hessman hit a pair of home runs, bringing the Toledo Mud Hens back from a three-run deficit to beat the Red Wings 6-3 Tuesday on a cold, rainy night at Frontier Field. Toledo leads the Governors Cup finals series 1-0; the second game of the best-of-five championship series is Wednesday night at Frontier Field. Mike Smith struck out 10 in seven innings, and Terry Tiffee had three hits for the Red Wings.

Red Wings starter Smith, facing the Hens for the first time this season, got three quick outs in each of the first two innings as the light rain present at game time increased steadily.

Toledo starter Colby Lewis struck out two in the first inning, but allowed the Wings to get on the board in the second. Garrett Jones, the top hitter in the playoffs so far, worked Lewis for a walk. Jones went to third on Tiffee's double into the left field corner, setting up Kevin West's RBI single and a 1-0 Rochester lead. The Wings were poised for more runs, but Dustan Mohr made a sliding catch in shallow center to take a hit away from Glenn Williams.

After Mohr struck out, Hessman singled to left and went to second base on a passed ball. But Smith fanned Brent Dlugach and David Espinosa to send play to the bottom of the third. Rookie catcher Jose Morales, one of three Triple-A rookies in the starting lineup for Rochester, punched a single to start the inning. One out later Tommy Watkins singled up the middle, setting up a run-scoring single by Jones for a 2-0 Red Wings lead.

The Mud Hens staged a two-out rally in the fourth, with a walk and a single putting runners at second and third. Catcher Mike Rabelo faced Smith with a chance to put the Hens on the board, but Smith got Rabelo to swing on a fastball high and away for the inning-ending strikeout - Smith's sixth of the game.

The rain continued in the fifth, and so did Smith's aggressive pitching. He caught Mohr looking on a breaking ball for a strikeout, but then Hessman lofted an infield fly that Tiffee dropped in the rain for an error. Dlugach walked to put runners at first and second, setting up the defensive play of the game. Ryan Raburn singled to center, and Toledo manager Larry Parrish didn't hesitate to wave Hessman around third and toward home. Wings centerfielder Andres Torres fielded the ball cleanly, then fired a one-hop bullet to Morales - who was barrelled over while tagging Hessman out, hanging onto the ball after a violent collision for a dramatic end to Toledo's at-bat.

The Wings made it 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth; Torres walked then stole second base, and scored from second on Quinton McCracken's run-scoring single. Smith fanned two more in the sixth, and opened the seventh by making Mohr the 10th strikeout victim of the night. But Toledo's league-leading power lineup finally got to Smith when Hessman - with 24 regular season home runs - homered to left field to pull the Hens to within two runs at 3-1. Nice defensive plays by Smith and Williams sent play into the bottom of the seventh, when Lance Davis came on in relief of Lewis.

Smith finished with 10 strikeouts while allowing four hits and a walk over seven innings, with Beau Kemp coming on to pitch the eigth. Kemp hit his first batter, Raburn, with a pitch, gave up a double to Ryan Ludwick, then uncorked a wild pitch to let Raburn score. Jack Hannahan followed with a single to tie the game at 3-3. When Kemp walked Rabelo, he was pulled in favor of Bobby Korecky. Korecky got a fly ball from Mohr for the second out, but Hessman lofted a two-strike, three-run homer high off the foul pole in left field to put the Hens up 6-3.

In the bottom of the ninth inning against closer Lee Gardner, the Wings put runners at first and second. Alex Romero hit a one-out single, and Morales walked to bring the tying run to the plate. But Torres flew out to center field and Watkins struck out swinging to seal the deal for Toledo.

NOTES: Thursday's Game Three in Toledo and Saturday's Game Five (if necessary) will be shown live on Time Warner Cable Channel 98...Friday's Game Four if necessary will be shown live on WB-16...For hotel and ticket information for fans making the trip to Toledo, call the Red Wings office at (585) 454-1001 and press zero, between 9 AM-5 PM...On Tuesday the Wings placed INF Donaldo Mendez on the temporary inactive list, and added rookie RHP Kevin Slowey to the roster ...Slowey will face RHP Chad Durbin in Game Two Wednesday...LHP Glen Perkins will take on RHP Eulogio De La Cruz in Game Three Thursday.

PLAYOFF PIECES: The Red Wings have faced the Toledo Mud Hens franchise just once in the Governors' Cup playoffs. In 1980 the Red Wings played the Mud Hens in the IL divisional series and lost three games to one. Former Red Wings manager Dave Machemer (managed Rochester in 1999 to a 61-83 record) played for Toledo and batted .533 (8-for-15) with a double, two stolen bases, and three RBI in the series. Machemer went 3-for-4 with two RBI in the game four clincher....Rochester has struggled against Toledo since 2000: 20-36 record, including just a 3-13 record vs. the Mud Hens at Frontier Field since 2002....The Rochester Red Wings are the Minnesota Twins' sixth Triple-A team in a championship series since 1961. The 1980 Toledo Mud Hens, 1993 Portland Beavers, 1995 Salt Lake Buzz, 2000 Salt Lake Buzz, and 2002 Edmonton Trappers are the other Tr! iple-A teams that have played in a Triple-A championship series as a Twins affiliate. The 2002 Edmonton Trappers became the first Twins Triple-A affiliate to win a championship (Pacific Coast League)....In 1995, Colorado Springs (Rockies) beat Salt Lake in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Five for the PCL title. Salt Lake was managed by Phil Roof; Quinton McCracken scored the game-winning run for Colorado Springs.

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International League Stories from September 12, 2006


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