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MOOSIC — In 2014, the RailRiders struggled against Rochester dropping 11 of the 16 contests between the teams.
Unfortunately for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the problems against the Red Wings continued on Monday at PNC Field. SWB squandered a few golden opportunities and Rochester battered RailRiders starter Conner Kendrick in a 6-4 Red Wings win.
Kendrick, a 22-year-old left-hander, hadn’t had an appearance above Class High-A and had an ERA of 5.78 for Tampa last season. After allowing a leadoff double to Aaron Hicks in the first inning, Kendrick settled down retiring the next three batters.
“You step on the mound in Triple-A you get a little adrenaline going in your veins and you want to sit back and take a deep breath and realize it’s just a game,” said Kendrick, who found out he would be pitching Monday night on Sunday and arrived to the area on Sunday night. “Everything’s the same on every level it’s just a little bit harder competition.
“Once I got the adrenaline out and settled down a little bit I felt good but I got to the second and got a little wild.”
The second was more shaky for Kendrick as he walked the bases loaded with two outs. Then Hicks (3-for-5, 4 RBI) got to him again, picking up a two-run single to put Rochester in front 2-1. Kendrick needed 33 pitches to get through the second inning in which seven Red Wings came to the plate.
“That’s one of the big no-no’s in pitching is two-out walks,” Kendrick said. “I’m not going to be able to live that one down for a while.”
The youngster needed just seven pitches to get through the third inning to set the Red Wings down 1-2-3. But he couldn’t get any outs in the fourth facing three batters, giving up three hits and needing to throw 21 pitches before being pulled for Danny Burawa.
Kendrick was charged with five runs in 3-plus innings pitched. Burawa allowed a two-run triple to Hicks as two inherited runners scored and the Red Wings opened a 5-1 lead.
Red-hot Tyler Austin got the RailRiders a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning driving in Rob Refsnyder with a two-out single. Austin, who now has six hits in his last eight at-bats over two games, punched in another run-scoring single in the fifth inning. That highlighted a two-run frame that pulled the team within 6-4.
Despite going 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position, the team had trouble picking up runs in scoring situations.
The RailRiders wasted a scoring opportunity in the third inning after Slade Heathcott led off with a triple and was stranded there as Ramon Flores grounded out, Refsnyder struck out and Kyle Roller flied out. After Cole Figueroa followed Austin with an RBI hit in the fifth, SWB left the bases loaded.
“It’s a little early to (panic) about what happened in the game but you have good day, bad day,” designated hitter Jonathan Galvez about the wasted opportunities. “But you just have to keep working on it and see what happens.”
Galvez, who finished 1 for 4 with an RBI, had a run-scoring single in the fourth.
Red Wings 6, RailRiders 4
Rochester`AB`R`H`BI
Hicks rf`5`0`3`4
Rosario cf`5`0`0`0
Pinto c`4`0`0`0
Peterson dh`4`0`0`0
Rodriguez 1b`4`0`0`0
Ortiz lf`3`3`2`1
Martinez 3b`4`1`1`0
Beresford 2b`3`2`1`1
Bernier ss`3`0`1`0
Totals`35`6`8`6
RailRiders`AB`R`H`BI
Heathcott cf`4`1`2`0
Flores rf`5`0`0`0
Refsnyder 2b`4`1`1`0
Roller 1b`2`1`0`0
Austin lf`4`0`3`2
Figueroa 3b`4`0`2`1
Romine c`3`1`1`0
Galvez dh`4`0`1`1
Noonan ss`4`0`0`0
Totals`34`4`10`4
Rochester`020`310`000`—`6
RailRiders`100`120`000`—`4
E: Pinto (1, catcher interference). DP: Rochester 2, RailRiders 0. LOB: Rochester 6, RailRiders 9. 2B: Hicks (1), Martinez (1), Romine (2). 3B: Heathcott (1), Hicks (1). HR: Ortiz (1). SB: Hicks (1). Outfield assists: Hicks (Austin at 3rd)
Rochester`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Hamburger`4.2 `9`4`4`2`2
Achter (W, 1-0) `1.1 `0`0`0`2`1
Thielbar (H, 1)`.2 `1`0`0`1`0
Pressly (H, 1)`1.1`0`0`0`0`1
Tonkin (S, 2)`1.0`0`0`0`0`1
RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Kendrick (L, 0-1)`3.0`5`5`5`3`1
Burawa `2.0`2`1`1`0`2
Moreno `2.0`0`0`0`1`4
Pinder`2.0`1`0`0`0`3
Kendrick pitched to 3 batters in the 4th
WP: Hamburger
Umpires: HP: Tom Honec. 1B: Jonathan Bailey. 3B: Carlos Torres.
T: 2:59. Att: 3,173.