Rochester Red Wings Game Notes - March 28 at Jacksonville
IL Rochester Red Wings

Rochester Red Wings Game Notes - March 28 at Jacksonville

Published on March 28, 2026 under International League (IL)
Rochester Red Wings News Release


Rochester Red Wings (1-0) vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (0-1)

Saturday - 6:35 p.m. ET - VyStar Ballpark - Jacksonville, FL

Radio: Fox Sports 1280/iHeartRadio TV: Bally Sports Live

LHP Mitchell Parker (NR) vs. RHP Bradley Blalock (NR)

NEVER SAY DIE WINGS: Kicking off the season in Jacksonville for the first time since 1967, the Rochester Red Wings used a five-run sixth inning, 10 total walks, and a spectacular diving play in the ninth inning by 3B YOHANDY MORALES to propel themselves past the Jumbo Shrimp in a thrilling Opening Day matchup, 8-7...1B ABIMELEC ORTIZ led the way offensively, reaching base five times in five plate appearances with two hits and three walks...RF ANDREW PINCKNEY also picked up a pair of hits and RBI, going 2-for-5 out of the seventh spot in the lineup...the Red Wings bullpen limited Jacksonville's offense to just two hits across 5.0 frames to finish the contest, including 1.2 scoreless frames from RHP TREVOR GOTT and RHP JACKSON RUTLEDGE'S first career save...Rochester looks to make it two-in-a-row to kick off their 2026 campaign, sending LHP MITCHELL PARKER to the mound tonight against Jumbo Shrimp right-hander Bradley Blalock...

Last night's victory marked the Red Wings' first Opening Day win since 2019 (4-2 win at LHV)...eight runs scored are the most by Rochester in their season opener since 2017 (10).

ABIMELECTRIC: In his first game with the club, 1B ABIMELEC ORTIZ became the first Red Wing since at least 2004 to reach base five times on Opening Day...the Bayamon, Puerto Rico native went 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI, three walks, and three runs scored in five plate appearances...he is the first Red Wing to reach base five times in five plate appearances via two hits, and three walks since Stone Garrett on 8/20/2024 at LHV...

Coming off a career-high 130 games played in 2025, Ortiz is now 12 games shy of 500 total appearances in his professional career.

WALK IT LIKE I TALK IT: The Red Wings offense worked 10 base-on-balls in last night's victory, including at least one from seven of nine hitters in the starting lineup...1B ABIMELEC ORTIZ drew three free passes, and SS ZACK SHORT logged a pair...this marked the most walks by a Red Wings team since they logged 11 on 7/4/2024, and the most on Opening Day since 2012 (10).

LET ME BE FRANK: DH CHRISTIAN FRANKLIN reached base twice last night, going 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI, a walk, and a run scored...his double in the sixth came off the bat at 110.6 MPH, the hardest-hit two-bagger by a Red Wing since Nick Schnell on 8/26/2025 (112.1 MPH), also at Jacksonville...

Franklin became the first Red Wings designated hitter to bat leadoff on Opening Day since Pete Stanicek in 1990.

PINCK-ING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF: RF ANDREW PINCKNEY was one of two Red Wings to turn in a multi-hit performance in last night's victory, going 2-for-5 with a pair of singles and two RBI...the 2025 Rochester Red Wings MVP carried a .283/.358/.474 slash line away from home a season ago, with 12 home runs and 41 RBI...

Pinckney's next appearance with Rochester will be his 150th with the club since his Triple-A debut in 2023.

BULLY-PEN: The Red Wings bullpen limited Jacksonville to two earned on two hits across the final 5.0 frames last night...RHP TREVOR GOTT kicked things off with 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with a strikeout in his first appearance with the Red Wings...RHP ORLANDO RIBALTA turned in a scoreless eighth and picked up the victory, his first since 9/19/2024 vs. IOW, with Rochester...RHP JACKSON RUTLEDGE picked up his first career save in his first career opportunity after turning in a scoreless ninth...he is the first Red Wing to log a save on Opening Day since Tyler Duffey in 2019.

Check out the Rochester Red Wings Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from March 28, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central