Rochester Red Wings Game Notes - Wednesday, August 22 vs. Lehigh Valley
August 22, 2012 - International League (IL1)
Rochester Red Wings News Release
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2012 w FRONTIER FIELD
GAME #132 - HOME GAME #67 - 7:05 P.M.
LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS (70-62) vs. ROCHESTER RED WINGS (66-65)
RHP TOM COCHRAN (7-5, 4.45) vs. RHP NICK BLACKBURN (2-0, 2.57)
OINK OINK: The Rochester Red Wings tonight begin a 3-game homestand and series against International League North Division rival Lehigh Valley (Phillies), keeping their slight post-season hopes alive with 13 games remaining in the regular season. The Red Wings are 4.5 games back of IL Wild Card-leading Pawtucket (71-61), while Lehigh Valley is 1.0 game back. Neither Rochester nor Lehigh Valley plays Pawtucket during the rest of the regular season.
a Beginning with tomorrow's game vs. Lehigh Valley, each of Rochester's final 12 games can be seen on Time Warner Cable Sports (TWCS) Channel 26.
a The Red Wings are 20 days into a stretch of playing 27 days (28 games) in a row. They are 11-9 thus far with 7 days (8 games) remaining through next Tuesday. Rochester and Buffalo (Mets) play a doubleheader Sunday at Coca-Cola Field.
a The Wings are also 4 games into a stretch of playing their final 17 contests against IL North opponents and they are 1-3 thus far. Rochester is just 26-41 against its division rivals overall. The Wings went 40-24 outside the IL North.
ROSTER NEWS: The Minnesota Twins yesterday recalled righthander Liam Hendriks, who was originally scheduled to start tonight's game. Taking his place is righthander Nick Blackburn, whom the Twins outrighted on Monday. The 30-year-old Blackburn went 4-9 with a 7.39 ERA in 19 starts with the Twins. He went 0-4 with a 6.11 ERA (24 ER/35.1 IP) in 6 starts in his most recent stint after being recalled from Rochester July 18.
a Blackburn has made 4 starts with the Red Wings in 2012, including 2 rehab outings. He is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in the 4 starts.
a Hendriks departs the Red Wings with a team-leading 9 wins and league-leading 2.20 ERA.
BAD TIME FOR A SKID: The Red Wings have lost 4 of their last 5 and are 7-9 since their season-best 7-game winning streak July 29-August 5. Despite the recent downturn, the Red Wings are still 46-35 since sitting a season-worst 10 games below .500 at 20-30 on May 28. Going back further, Rochester is 52-42 beginning May 15.
WINNING WAYS: At 66-65, the Red Wings are off to their best 131-game start since 2007, when they were 71-60. The Red Wings in 2012 are looking for their first winning season since the 2008 club went 74-70. Rochester needs to win 7 of its final 13 games to finish above .500.
FIELD DAY: The Red Wings have just 6 games remaining at Frontier Field, where they are 41-33. The 41 wins along Morrie Silver Way are the club's most since going 46-26 in 2008. Beginning July 24, the start of a 4-game series vs. Syracuse (Nationals), Rochester has won just 6 of its last 16 games at Frontier Field.
a The Wings, meanwhile, have won 9 of their last 11 on the road and 13 of their last 19 away from Frontier. The Wings are 0-3 at Buffalo and 2-4 at Syracuse, the 2 remaining road cities left on the 2012 docket. Rochester is 25-32 in true road games overall.
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE: The 2 lowest scoring teams in the IL are squaring off for the next 3 nights at Frontier Field. The Red Wings have scored a league-low 503 runs while Lehigh Valley has scored 508. The next closest team is Louisville (Reds) with 528.
a The Wings have been shut out in 2 of their last 3 games. Rochester has scored 81 runs in 20 games in August for an average of 4.1 per game, down from a 4.8 average in July (139 runs in 29 games).
AIN'T NO VALLEY HIGH ENOUGH: The Red Wings are 6-7 thus far against Lehigh Valley and would have to sweep this 3-game set to win the season series. Rochester last won a season series against Lehigh Valley in 2008, when it went 11-5 against the IronPigs.
a The Wings are 4-1 against the IronPigs at Frontier Field in 2012.
LET'S GET IT STARTED: Red Wings starting pitchers have just 2 wins in the last 9 games, both of which have come from Esmerling Vasquez Wednesday vs. Indianapolis and Monday at Pawtucket. Wings starters are 2-4 with a 3.98 ERA (19 ER/43.0 IP) in that time, though 2 were abbreviated starts from the rehabbing P.J. Walters. The last Wings starter other than Vasquez to earn a win was Liam Hendriks August 12 at Lehigh Valley.
a With Hendriks now a Twin, the last Red Wing on the current roster to post a victory other than Vasquez is Shairon Martis August 3 at Toledo.
SLAMA THE DOOR SHUT: Righthander Anthony Slama has recorded 97 saves in his 6-year professional career, including 33 with the Red Wings at the Triple-A level. Slama has a team-leading 11 saves in 2012 despite missing 58 games with a right leg contusion.
a Slama has allowed just 3 runs (2 earned) in 26.2 innings for a 0.68 ERA. He also has 45 strikeouts in for an average of 15.2 per 9 innings. The 28-year-old has appeared in 117 games with the Red Wings over 4 seasons, posting a 2.24 ERA in that time.
A GRANDIOSE OCCASION: Wilkin Ramirez on Monday hit the Red Wings' 3rd grand slam of the season, joining the feats of Rene Rivera July 30 at Columbus (Indians) and Evan Bigley August 4 at Toledo (Tigers).
a The Red Wings have 3 grand slams in the last 22 games after going 427 consecutive games without one. Their most-recent grand slam prior to 2012 came August 10, 2009, when Justin Huber turned the trick at Buffalo.
a Rochester hasn't hit a grand slam at Frontier Field since Trevor Plouffe accomplished the feat August 30, 2008. That grand slam drought is currently at 287 games.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
0 Opponent Time Probable Starters TV/Radio
Thursday, August 23 vs. Lehigh Valley 7:05 p.m. RHP Scott Elarton (5-11, 5.48) vs. RHP Shairon Martis (2-3, 6.75) TWCS 26/WHTK 1280 AM
Friday, August 24 vs. Lehigh Valley 7:05 p.m. RHP Tyler Cloyd (12-1, 2.27) vs. RHP P.J. Walters (3-1, A0 TWCS 26/WHTK 1280 AM
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