IL1 Rochester Red Wings

Rochester Red Wings Game Notes - Wednesday, August 8 vs. Empire State (Yankees)

August 8, 2012 - International League (IL1)
Rochester Red Wings News Release


WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2012 w FRONTIER FIELD

GAME #118 - HOME GAME #57 - 7:05 P.M.

EMPIRE STATE YANKEES (64-52) at ROCHESTER RED WINGS (59-58)

LHP MIKE O'CONNOR (2-6, 3.84) vs. RHP SHAIRON MARTIS (2-1, 6.32)

SUMMER-TIME FUN AT FRONTIER: The Rochester Red Wings tonight play the 3rd game of their 4-game series against Empire State (Yankees), continuing a 6-game homestand that started with a 9-2 loss in the opener and a 3-1 setback in 11 innings last night. Following 2 more with the Yankees, the Red Wings will welcome Pawtucket (Red Sox) to town for a brief 2-game set Friday-Saturday and then hit the road for a 2-game trip to Lehigh Valley (Phillies) Sunday-Monday.

a Thursday's game against Empire State will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable Sports (TWCS). Friday's and Saturday's tilts with Pawtucket will also be shown live on TWCS.

a Friday's game will feature Boston Red Sox righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is scheduled to make a rehab start for the PawSox.

PERSONNEL NEWS: Righthander P.J. Walters tomorrow will make his 4th rehab start with the Red Wings since being placed on the 15-Day Disabled List June 14 with right shoulder inflammation. The Alabama native started the season with Rochester and had his contract purchased by the Twins May 10. He is 2-1 with a 2.64 ERA in 9 starts, including 3 rehab assignments, with the Wings. Walters is 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA in 7 starts with Minnesota.

LET'S GET BACK ON TRACK: The Red Wings have lost 2 in a row since their season-best 7-game winning streak. Despite the downturn, the Wings are still a league-best 22-13 beginning July 1. A look at the best records in the International League since the start of July:

Rank Team Record

1. 22-13

2. Columbus (Indians) 21-14

3. Charlotte (White Sox) 19-15

4. Indianapolis (Pirates) 20-16

T5. Norfolk (Orioles) 18-16

18-16

a The Red Wings are 39-28 since sitting a season-worst 10 games below .500 at 20-30 on May 28. Going back further, Rochester is 45-35 beginning May 15 and 50-42 beginning May 3.

WINNING WAYS: At 59-58, the Red Wings are off to their best 117-game start since 2007, when they were 63-54. The 2011 club was 25 games under .500 at 46-71 at this point last season and finished 53-91. The 2010 team was 35 games below .500 at 41-76 at this juncture and went on to finish only 49-95.

A BAD HOME RUN: The Red Wings have lost 4 games in a row at Frontier Field and a loss tonight would match their longest losing streak at Frontier of 5 games from April 25-May 2. Rochester is still 36-28 at Frontier Field overall, a record that includes a 4-4 mark as the "road" team against Empire State.

a The 36 home wins are Rochester's most since 2009, when they went 36-36 along Morrie Silver Way. A victory tonight would give the Wings their most wins at Frontier since going 46-26 in 2008.

CLOSING IN: Gene Glynn will manage his 500th career game tomorrow vs. Empire State. The Waseca, Minnesota native skippered 381 minor league games over 5 seasons from 1986-92 before returning to the managerial ranks in 2012 with the Red Wings. Glynn has a career record of 249-249.

a Glynn is the 5th manager of the Red Wings since they became the Triple-A affiliate of the Twins in 2003, joining Phil Roof (2003-05), Rich Miller (2005), Stan Cliburn (2006-09), and Tom Nieto (2010-11).

EXTRA! EXTRA!: The Red Wings have played 39 innings in their last 3 games, including a 19-inning contest Sunday at Toledo (Tigers) and last night's 11-inning affair vs. Empire State. The Wings have played 10 extra-inning games overall, and they are 6-4 in those tilts.

a Including a 12-inning game July 31 at Columbus, Rochester has played extra innings 3 times in its last 7 games.

a The Red Wings didn't play their first extra-inning game this season until their 19th contest, the first game of an April 26 doubleheader vs. Syracuse (Nationals). That marked their longest streak to a start a season without an extra-inning game since 2003, when they played 11 innings in their 31st game May 7 at Durham (Rays).

a The Wings played 12 extra-inning games last year, going 4-8 in those contests.

HOPE THIS DOESN'T JINX IT: The Red Wings join Buffalo (Mets) as the only teams in the IL that haven't lost a game when leading after 8 innings. Rochester is 46-0 in such games while Buffalo is 47-0.

a On the flip side, the Wings have posted 3 wins when trailing after 8 innings, tied for the 2nd-most such victories in the league with Charlotte and Louisville (Reds). Gwinnett (Braves) leads the IL with 5 wins when trailing after 8 innings.

START ME UP: The Red Wings have gone 4 straight games without a win from their starting pitcher. The last starter to record a victory was Shairon Martis Friday at Toledo. Even with Liam Hendriks's 7.0 scoreless innings last night, Red Wings' starters have a 8.10 ERA (12 ER/13.1 IP) in the last 4 games.

PEDRO VOTED FOR: Shortstop Pedro Florimon was voted as having the Best Infield Arm in the International League in Baseball America 's 2012 Best Tools survey of managers and coaches. All Best Tools winners are listed in the August 21 edition of the publication.

a Florimon has missed the last 6 games with a sore left wrist. He initially sustained the injury July 24, when Syracuse's Eury Perez slid into him on a stolen-base attempt in the first inning.

a Florimon was the Red Wings' sole representative at the Triple-A All-Star Game in Buffalo. He started at shortstop, played 5 innings, and struck out in both of his plate appearances.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

0 Opponent Time Probable A0 TV/Radio

Thursday, August 9 vs. Empire State 7:05 p.m. RHP John Maine (5-3, 5.23) vs. RHP P.J. Walters (3-1, A0 TWCS/WHTK 1280 AM

Friday, August 10 vs. Pawtucket 7:05 p.m. RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-2, 3.21) vs. RHP Eric Hurley (0-0, 11.25) TWCS/WHTK 1280 AM

Saturday, August 11 vs. Pawtucket 7:05 p.m. RHP Nelson Figueroa (8-4, 3.97) vs. LHP Pedro Hernandez (1-1, 6.16) TWCS/WHTK 1280 AM

Check out the Rochester Red Wings Statistics



International League Stories from August 8, 2012


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