@Rochester
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Toledo 6, Rochester 3
Red Wings starter Mike Smith had the Mud Hens swingin’ in the rain at Rochester's Frontier Field. |
That didn’t faze Smith, who allowed just one run, a homer by Mike Hessman, and four hits in a seven-inning gem that included 10 strikeouts.
Rochester built a 3-1 lead, but the bullpen couldn't hold it.
In the eighth, Hessman hammered a pitch from Bobby Korecky off the left-field foul poul for a three-run homer that climaxed a five-run rally and lifted the Hens to a 6-3 win before a stunned crowd of 3,374.
“We kept saying: 'Keep battling,''' Hessman said. "We weren't getting blown out. We knew we were in striking range.''
@Rochester
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Rochester 6, Toledo 1
“ALL SQUARE,’’ blared the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. |
22-year-old Kevin Slowey (MLN FAB 50 Baseball 2006 No. 28), who held the Cuban national team to one run over five innings while pitching for Team USA in an Olympic qualifier in Havana, was summoned to Rochester and activated to start game two against the powerful Hens.
Slowey slowed down Toledo’s momentum, allowing just one run in 7 2/3 innings. Garrett Jones cranked a three-run homer and Rochester rolled 6-1 to even the series at 1.
Kevin Cameron pitched the final 1-1/3 innings for Rochester. The hit-or-miss Mud Hens, struck out seven times, the first time in the postseason they failed to fan in double digits.
"We didn't strike out enough," joked outfielder David Espinosa.
@Rochester
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Rochester 10, Toledo 4
The momentum shifted squarely to Rochester even after the home field shifted to Toledo. |
The Red Wings pounded 17 hits, the most ever allowed by Toledo in a postseason game, and the most for the Wings in 23 years, en route to a 10-4 laugher.
Rochester took command of the series 2-1.
"We ain't done nothing yet,'' Cliburn said cautiously. "The last game seems to be the toughest. We've come this far, let's finish it off.''
Wings starter Glen Perkins (MLN FAB50 Baseball 2006 No. 44), the Twins’ No. 1 draft pick in 2005, overcame a two-run homer by the Hens’ Josh Phelps in the first inning as the Wings’ bats exploded. Phelps’ homer would be a prelude of things to come.
“We’ve played too long to just lie down,’’ left fielder Ryan Raburn said.
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