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IL Rochester Red Wings

Mud Hens Out-Slug Red Wings in Series Finale

April 21, 2024 - International League (IL)
Rochester Red Wings News Release


The Rochester Red Wings ninth-inning rally fell short Sunday afternoon, splitting their series against Toledo with an 8-7 loss. Four Wings hitters combined to launch five solo homers, including the fifth and sixth of the season for RF Travis Blankenhorn, his first multi-homer game since July 6, 2022, with Syracuse. This marked the first time a Red Wings team logged five solo home runs in one game since at least 2005.

After a scoreless first inning, the Red Wings jumped out to an early lead over the Mud Hens in the bottom of the second inning. Travis Blankenhorn led off the inning for Rochester and mashed a 435-foot, 106.4 MPH home run for his fifth of the season, giving the Red Wings a 1-0 lead. With one out, 2B Jake Alu hit his first home run of the season, another 435-foot rocket to extend the Red Wings lead to 2-0. Both homers are tied for the farthest by a Red Wing this season.

The Mud Hens bounced back in the top of the third inning after being held scoreless through the first two. With one out in the inning, DH Akil Baddoo lined a single to left field, followed by a walk to LF Justyn-Henry Malloy. An errant throw after the walk allowed Baddoo to move to third base. With runners on first and third, 3B Jace Jung stepped up to the plate and gave the Mud Hens a lead with one swing of the bat, crushing his fourth home run of the season, a 444-foot, three-run blast to put Toledo ahead 3-2.

Rochester could not answer Toledo in the bottom of the third inning, but made noise once again in the bottom of the fourth. 1B Juan Yepez stepped up to the plate and tied the game at 3-3 with a leadoff 405-foot home run, his fourth of the season. Two batters later, with one out in the inning, CF Alex Call joined the home run parade with his fifth of the season to give the Red Wings a 4-3 lead.

Toledo would not stay behind for long. The fifth inning began with a walk to Jace Jung and a single off the bat of 1B Keston Hiura to put two runners on with no outs. Red Wings pitching recorded two straight outs, but CF Ryan Vilade rocketed a 104.6 MPH double to center field, scoring both Jung and Hiura, giving the Mud Hens a 5-4 lead. Vilade's double was quickly followed up by an RBI single off the bat of 2B Corey Joyce to extend Toledo's lead to 6-4.

The Red Wings cut into their two-run deficit in the bottom of the fifth inning. C Brady Lindsly opened the frame with a leadoff walk, and with one out, LF Darren Baker hit a line drive double to center field, scoring Lindsly from first base to put the Red Wings down 6-5.

Toledo pulled away once again in the top of the sixth inning. After two straight outs to start the inning, a single by Keston Hiura setup RF Bligh Madris, who hit the sixth home run in the contest, the second for the Mud Hens, a 391-foot shot to right field to give Toledo an 8-5 lead.

Travis Blankenhorn gave the Red Wings an offensive burst down by three runs in the sixth, leading off the bottom half with a solo home run, his second of the game, cutting the Toledo lead to 8-6.

The Red Wings threatened to do further damage in the bottom of the eighth. A double play with the bases loaded kept the score at 8-6 heading into the ninth inning.

After holding Toledo scoreless in the top half of the ninth, the Red Wings came to the plate for their final at-bats, down by a pair of runs. An error on a Jack Dunn ground ball opened the inning for the Red Wings, but two quick outs put their backs against the wall. Another error allowed Darren Baker to reach base and Dunn to score to cut the Toledo lead to 8-7. A DH James Wood single represented the winning run, moving the tying run, Baker, to second base. However, the Red Wings would fall short, leaving a pair of runners on base to end the game.

RHP Joan Adon took the mound to start the series finale. The Dominican Republic native finished his afternoon with 4.2 innings pitched, allowing six earned on nine hits while walking and striking out four batters. RHP Adonis Medina replaced Adon in the top of the fifth inning, and was able to get out of a jam. Medina got two more outs in the top of the sixth inning and finished with 1.0 inning pitched, allowing one run on one hit and one walk while striking out two. LHP Richard Bleier took over in the top of the sixth inning. The southpaw veteran tossed 1.0 inning, allowing one earned run on three hits with no walks. RHP Amos Willingham entered for the Red Wings in the seventh and threw 1.1 innings, allowing one hit while striking out two batters. RHP Rico Garcia replaced Willingham to start the ninth inning and did not allow a hit while walking one to keep the Toledo lead at two runs.

The Diamond Pro Player of the Game goes to RF Travis Blankenhorn. He finished the game going 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs and a walk. This was Blankenhorn's first multi-home run game since July 6, 2022, with the Syracuse Mets. He has now logged 10 extra-base hits in his last nine games dating back to the first game of a twin bill on April 13 at Buffalo, most in the International League over that span.

Rochester will take Monday off before heading to St. Paul for a six-game set against the Triple-A squad of their former parent club (MIN), beginning Tuesday. RHP Jackson Rutledge will square off against Saints RHP David Festa in the opener. First pitch is set for 7:37 p.m.

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