Rochester Red Wings Game Notes - Friday, July 20 at Durham (Rays)
Published on July 20, 2012 under International League (IL1)
Rochester Red Wings News Release
FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012 w DURHAM BULLS ATHLETIC PARK
GAME #100 - ROAD GAME #50 - 7:05 P.M.
ROCHESTER RED WINGS (50-49) at DURHAM BULLS (45-55)
RHP ESMERLING VASQUEZ (3-4, 3.38) vs. RHP LANCE PENDLETON (4-4, 4.24)
NO BULL ABOUT IT: The Rochester Red Wings tonight enter their 4-game series at Durham (Rays) as a winning team for the first time since April 22, continuing their 8-game roadtrip that started with a 4-game set at Norfolk (Orioles). The Red Wings took 3 of 4 at Harbor Park to open the trip, winning the final 3 games after losing the series opener. Rochester returns to Frontier Field on Tuesday for a brief 4-game homestand against International League North Division rival Syracuse (Nationals).
a The Red Wings are 4 games into a stretch of playing 16 of 20 games on the road through August 5. Rochester will, however, play 18 of its final 29 games at Frontier Field beginning August 6.
A WINNING TEAM!!: At 50-49, the Red Wings have a winning record for the first time since being 9-8 after an April 22 win vs. Lehigh Valley (Phillies). Rochester hasn't logged a winning record this late in the season since the 2007 club finished 77-67.
a Since sitting a season-worst 10 games below .500 at 20-30 on May 28, the Red Wings are 30-19.
a Going back further, Rochester is 36-26 beginning May 15. The Wings are also 41-33 beginning May 3, playing better than .500 baseball for more than half the season.
CAN'T LIE ABOUT JULY: The Red Wings are a league-best 13-4 in July, having won 3 in a row, 7 of their last 8, 8 of their last 10, and 11 of their last 13. The Top 5 teams in July:
Rank Team Record
1. 13-4
2. 0 10-6
Buffalo (Mets) 10-6
4. Indianapolis (Pirates) 10-7
5. Columbus (Indians) 9-7
Gwinnett (Braves) 9-7
a The Red Wings' 3-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the IL. A victory tonight would give the Wings a season-high 4-game winning streak for the 5th time.
a The Red Wings are tied for 5th with Columbus in the IL Wild Card standings, 4.5 games back. They trail Pawtucket (55-45), Empire State (54-45), Buffalo (51-48), and Norfolk (51-49). They are also 5.0 games back of first-place Lehigh Valley (55-44) in the IL North.
ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS: With 45 games remaining, the Red Wings are already just 3 wins shy of matching last year's win total of 53 and 4 short of eclipsing it. The Red Wings are off to their best 99-game start since the 2007 club went 52-47. A look at the 100-game records for the past few seasons:
Season Record In relation to .500
2012 50-49 (+tonight) ??
2011 38-62 -24
2010 37-63 -26
2009 48-52 -4
2008 46-54 -8
2007 53-47 +6
a The Red Wings last had a winning season in 2008, finishing 74-70. That club had a 54-63 record through August 3 and went on to win 20 of its final 27 games to get over the .500 mark.
SEASONS OF LOVE: By going 6-2 against Norfolk, the Red Wings won their 3rd season series of 2012. They also went 6-2 against Louisville and 5-3 against Charlotte (White Sox). The Red Wings had only one season series victory in all of 2011, going 5-3 against Louisville. They had none in 2010. The 2009 club had 6.
ROAD WARRIORS: Rochester has won a season-high 3 straight road games. It's their longest road winning streak since a 3-gamer July 26-28, 2011. The Red Wings last won at least 4 consecutive games on the road April 8-19, 2011, when they won 4 straight.
a By taking 3 of 4 at Norfolk this week, the Red Wings won just their 3rd road series. They also swept a 2-game set at Syracuse to open the season and took 3 of 4 at Louisville (Reds) June 14-17.
a In yesterday's series finale, the Red Wings scored a season-high 14 runs en route to a 14-8 victory. They also banged out a season-best 18 hits for the 3rd time. The Wings trailed 7-2 through 4 innings, marking the largest deficit overcome to win this season. All 9 hitters in the lineup recorded at least one hit and 8 of the 9 registered an RBI. Danny Lehmann was the lone hitter without an RBI.
a The 14 runs scored yesterday were Rochester's most since plating 15 in the first game of a June 7, 2010 doubleheader vs. Toledo (Tigers). The Red Wings won 15-3 in 7 innings in that game.
FOUR!!: The Red Wings have scored 4 or more runs in a season-high 8 straight games, accomplishing the feat for the first time since an 8-game streak August 9-16, 2008.
a The Red Wings last went at least 9 consecutive games with 4 or more runs scored August 2-11, 2005, when they had a 9-game streak.
a The Red Wings still rank last in the IL with 364 runs scored, 34 behind the next closest team Lehigh Valley, which has 398.
PITCHING IN: The Red Wings lead the IL with a 3.27 ERA (56 ER/154.0 IP) in 17 games in July, ahead of Charlotte's 3.51 ERA (55 ER/141 IP) in 16 contests. Rochester ranks 7th in the IL with a 3.90 ERA overall.
a The Red Wings bullpen has allowed just one run in 16.1 innings in the last 3 games, good for a 0.55 ERA in that span.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
0 Opponent Time Probable A0 TV/Radio
Saturday, July 21 at Durham 7:05 p.m. LHP Luke French (1-5, 6.61) vs. WHTK 1280 AM
Sunday, July 22 at Durham 5:05 p.m. RHP Jeff Manship (5-1, 2.37) vs. RHP Jim Paduch (5-7, A0 WHTK 1280 AM
Monday, July 23 at Durham 7:05 p.m. RHP Liam Hendriks (7-0, 1.74) vs. RHP Matt Torra (8-6, A0 WHTK 1280 AM
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