IL1 Rochester Red Wings

Span gives Wings win in 10

Published on August 4, 2007 under International League (IL1)
Rochester Red Wings News Release


Denard Span drilled a two-out, full count single in the 10th inning, scoring Jose Morales with the winning run to give the Red Wings a 2-1 win over the Pawtucket Red Sox Saturday night. Dave Gassner tossed eight shutout innings for the Wings, and Bobby Korecky picked up the win in relief after allowing the tying run in the ninth.

Morales opened the 10th inning with a single against Craig Breslow (1-2) , and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Tommy Watkins. Trent Oeltjen drew a walk, and Gil Velzaquez popped out after a 10-pitch at-bat. That set the stage for Span, who worked a 3-2 count after taking a pair of close pitches that were both called balls by home plate umpire Pete Pedersen.

The Wings picked up a pair of first inning hits against Paw Sox starter Mike Burns but didn't score, and put another runner on in the third after a one-out bunt hit by Span. But Burns picked Span off first, then got a groundout from Matt Tolbert to keep the Wings scoreless.

Rochester starter Gassner, who set down 14 straight at one point during his win Monday against Scranton, had allowed just one hit until Joe McEwing singled in the fifth inning, on a ball just under the glove of a diving Watkins at shortstop. Gassner followed with a walk to George Kottaras, but Watkins made a nice back-handed pick at short to start an inning-ending double play and send the scoreless contest into the sixth.

Former big leaguer Junior Spivey, in his first game with Pawtucket after playing in the independent Atlantic League this season, drilled a line shot up the middle in the sixth. Gassner made a great play to snag it while on his knees, but Gassner's throw was off line and Spivey was safe on an infield hit. Spivey collided with first baseman Glenn Williams in the baseline, and Williams held his left shoulder after the collision but stayed in the game.

Burns finished his night after throwing eight innings and just 85 pitches, allowing four hits, no walks and striking out one. In the Pawtucket eighth, Kottaras led off with a single - the first time a leadoff batter reached base against Gassner in the game. Kottaras moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and Gassner walked Ed Rogers intentionally - a move that worked perfectly when Spivey hit into a third to first double play started by Velazquez.

Pawtucket brought lefty reliever Craig Breslow in for the top of the ninth, and Breslow walked Span to open the frame. Tolbert put down a perfect sacrifice bunt into the dirt in front of home to put Span at second, and Darnell McDonald grounded out to second to put Span at third with two outs. Breslow, who had held left-handed hitters to a .208 average this season, went to 3-0 on the left-handed hitting Garrett Jones before Jones ripped a single up the middle to plate Span for the first run of the game.

The Paw Sox tied the score in the ninth against Korecky, and almost won the game on the same play. McEwing had a two-out, opposite field hit down the first base line that scored Jed Lowrie with the tying run. Brandon Moss tried to score the winning run on the play, but a perfect set of throws by right fielder Oeltjen and Tolbert and a perfect blocking of the plate by Morales combined to cut down Moss and send the game into extra innings.

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International League Stories from August 4, 2007


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