Late Homer Lifts Salt Potatoes over Plates
June 29, 2025 - International League (IL)
Rochester Red Wings News Release
The Rochester Plates and the Syracuse Salt Potatoes met for the finale of their six-game series, on a bright Sunday afternoon in Downtown Rochester. Looking to take game two of the Duel of the Dishes, the Plates fell to the Salt Potatoes 5-3. SS Jackson Cluff logged a multi-hit game including a homer, and RHP Joan Adon struck out five through 2.0 innings of relief work in the loss.
Following two shutout frames, 2B Darren Baker jumpstarted the offense for the Plates with an infield single. Baker then swiped his 17th base of the season and his 74th with Rochester, putting himself into scoring position. With Baker on second, C C.J. Stubbs ripped a line-drive double to right field, bringing Baker home to give the Plates a 1-0 lead. SS Jackson Cluff followed with his third home run of the season, sending a 381 foot blast to right center, extending the Rochester lead to 3-0.
Looking to spark a comeback in the fourth, the Salt Potatoes put two aboard after 2B Pablo Reyes and DH Drew Gilbert were both hit by a pitch. LF José Azocar reached on a fielder's choice that advanced Reyes to third. With one out, RF Gilbert Celestino reached on an error, scoring Reyes and putting Celestino on second base. After plating their first run, 3B Luis De Los Santos lined a sharp double to left field, sending Celestino home to cut the deficit to one.
Syracuse continued their momentum in the top of the fifth inning, as C Francisco Alvarez crushed a 109.6 mph line drive to center field for a two-out double. Pablo Reyes immediately followed that by roping a ball into the left-center field gap, and legging out an RBI Triple, tying the game 3-3.
Both bullpens came in and shut down the bats of the opposing team, until the top of the ninth, when SS Yonny Hernandez worked a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and to third on a long fly ball to right field. Francisco Alvarez came on with two out, and the go-ahead run on third, and drilled a two-run homer to center field. The Venezuela native's second homer in as many games travelled 412 feet, and gave the Salt Potatoes a 5-3 lead.
The Plates looked to spark a comeback in the bottom of the ninth, as RF Nick Schnell drew a two out walk, and swiped second base. Schnell would be stranded on second, and Syracuse closed out the series finale, winning 5-3. They retain the coveted Golden Fork until 2026, and clinched their fifth win of the six-game series.
Rochester's LHP Andrew Alvarez got the start in the series finale, tossing 5.0 innings while allowing three runs, one earned, on six hits, with two strikeouts and a walk. RHP Holden Powell followed and delivered a scoreless 1.0 inning, surrendering one hit and two walks. In the top of the seventh, RHP Joan Adon took over for Powell, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings. Within those two innings, Adon gave up just one hit while fanning five batters. RHP Carlos Romero took the mound to start the ninth and pitched 1.0 inning. The Venezuela native allowed a two-run homer on the only hit he allowed and issued a walk.
SS Jackson Cluff earned this afternoon's Player of the Game. The BYU product went 2-for-3 at the plate, kickstarting Rochester's offense with a two-run homer to right-center in the third inning while adding a single in the fifth. His 381-foot blast marked his third home run of the season and the 33rd of his career. In four of the six games over the course of the series, Cluff collected three hits in nine total at-bats (.333).
The Red Wings will travel 66 miles West to Buffalo to begin the first half of a home-and-home six-game set at Sahlen Field on Tuesday night. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 6:45 from downtown Buffalo.
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