IL1 Rochester Red Wings

Red Wings vs. IronPigs - Game Notes - August 1, 2013

Published on August 1, 2013 under International League (IL1)
Rochester Red Wings News Release


TONIGHT'S GAME: After their season-high 7-game win streak was snapped Wednesday, the Red Wings will look to bounce back in game 3 of their 4-game set Thursday (7:05 p.m.) against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA... Despite the loss, their first since an 8-1 setback to LHV last Tuesday, the Wings remained a game up in the IL North as Pawtucket fell to Norfolk, 3-0... Still, the Wings are 20-7 in their last 27 games and 41-22 since May 27 -- the 2nd best mark in the IL over that span... Rochester, who dropped 3 of 4 in Allentown back in mid-May, has won 8 of their last 10 against the IronPigs including a 4-game sweep at Frontier Field from May 27-30 which started this remarkable run... LHV is now 6-11 over their last 17 games and find themselves 4.0 GB of ROC in the division and 3.5 GB of the Wild Card.

A MONTH TO REMEMBER: Despite a loss in the final game of July on Wednesday, the Red Wings finished the month of July, 20-8!... It is the Wings' first 20-win month since August, 2008 (20-9) and first 20-win July since going 23-6 in 1997 en route to their last Governors' Cup championship... This is only the 6th, 20-win month for Rochester since 1980... The Wings moved from 11.0 GB in the division, after a loss to Syracuse in game one of a DH on July 2, to a one-game lead in the IL North over Pawtucket at the end of the month... This is the latest the Wings have had sole possession of first place in the division since June 28, 2006... The Wings finished the month with a .268 batting average (3rd best in the IL) -- their highest mark in a month since last July (.269) and Wings hurlers pitched to a 4.02 ERA (3rd worst in the IL) -- but the lowest ERA of any month this season.

BUTERA DEALT; PINTO ADDED: After the Twins traded Wings catcher Drew Butera to the Dodgers on Wednesday, C Josmil Pinto was promoted from New Britain (AA) to take his spot on the Wings roster... Pinto, making his Triple-A debut, hit .308 with 14 HR and 68 RBI in 103 games with the Rock Cats this season... The 68 RBI is already a career-high for the 24-year-old in his 8th pro season and the 14 HR matches the career mark he set in 2012... A 2013 EL All-Star, Pinto hit a robust .394 (43-109) with 6 HR and 56 RBI with runners in scoring position at Double-A... Pinto, added to the Twins 40-man roster in November, hit a combined .295 with 14 HR and 60 RBI in 105 G between FTM (A+) and NBR (AA) last season as he was named a Florida State League All-Star and a Baseball America High Class-A All-Star... Butera was hitting just .218 with 2 HR and 10 RBI in 27 G with the Red Wings this season... He missed 60 games after being HBP on his left hand by Buffalo's Ramon Ortiz on the very first pitch he saw this season.

FOR STARTERS: LHP Andrew Albers (L; 8.0 ip, 5 h, 2r/er) turned in the Red Wings 11th complete game this season on Wednesday -- the most CG by any team in all of baseball this season and 7 more than any other team in the IL... For Albers, it was his 2nd straight CG and 3rd of his season as he lowered his ERA to 2.86 (6th in the IL) and took over the league-lead with 116 strikeouts this season... The Wings rotation is now 5-1 with a 2.78 ERA (18 ER/58.1 IP) over the last 8 games. In 4 of those 8 GS, Wings starters have worked into the 8th inning .. If you take out Nick Blackburn's lone outing for the Wings last Tuesday vs LHV (5.0ip, 10h, 6r/er) before going on the DL Saturday, the rotation is 7-1 with a 2.33 ERA (18 ER/69.2 IP) since July 21... Monday, RHP P.J. Walters (W; 7.0 ip, 7 h, r/er) capped off a perfect trip through the Wings rotation as the starters went 5-0 with a 2.45 ERA (10 ER/36.2 IP) from 7/25-29... The last time Wings starters went a perfect 5-0 thru the rotation was Aug. 29-Sept. 2, 1998

¨LHP Logan Darnell, who is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA (2 ER/13.0 IP) over his last 2 GS -- including his 1st career Triple-A win on 7/22 vs. LHV (6.0ip, 4h, 0r, 0bb, 2k), will make the start for the Wings tonight.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Wings extended their season-high errorless streak to 11 G and 100 innings on Wednesday... The Wings haven't committed an error since James Beresford's fielding error in the 7th inning on 7/20 @ SYR... The Wings committed just 8 E in July (leading to just one unearned run in the entire month) and have only made 14 since June 16 - a span of 44 G... ROC has the best fielding % in the IL (.984) and have made the fewest errors in all of MiLB this season (66)... The last time the Wings committed multiple errors in a game was June 15 vs GWN (3 E)... Rochester is on pace to make just 84 E in '13 -- it would be their lowest total since at least the 1980 season... Since '80, the least amount of errors committed in a season by a Wings team was 93 in '03.

CLOSING TIME: After Michael Tonkin's 8th save of the season on Tuesday, the Wings are now 21-for-22 in save opps. since the beginning of June after going just 15-for-26 in save chances the first two months of the season... The only blown save over that span came from LHP Blake Martin on 7/12 @ PAW... The Wings, who led the league with 48 SV a season ago, currently rank 2nd in the IL (IND) with 36 SV despite the fact no Wings pitcher has more than 8 on the year. RHP Shairon Martis, who had just one career SV prior to this season and Tonkin, who had just 15 career SV (none at Triple-A) prior to 2013, share the team lead with 8 SV apiece (T-12th in the IL)... Combined the two are 16-for-17 in SV opps allowing just one run in 27.1 IP (0.33 ERA) with 11 h, 4 bb & 26 k in their save chances.

¨The Wings have used a closer-by-committee approach as already a tied for franchise record 11 different Red Wings have recorded a save for the Wings in 2013... The 2012, 2009 and 1995 clubs also had 11 hurlers record a save.

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International League Stories from August 1, 2013


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