Esmerling Vazquez worked 7 2/3 innings in a solid relief appearance, and
Pedro Florimon returned to the lineup with a hit and two RBI to lead the Red Wings to a 5-2 win over the Empire State Yankees Thursday at Frontier Field. The Wings welcome the Pawtucket Red Sox Friday night for a 7:05 p.m. contest, with Boston pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka making a rehab start and fireworks after the game.
Rochester starter P.J. Walters, making a rehab start here, was unable to make it out of the first inning. A leadoff double followed by a home run gave the Yankees an early 2-0 lead; two hits and a walk sandwiched around two outs led to Walters exiting the game and Vazquez relieving. Walters had retired all six batters he faced on just 18 pitches; Thursday,Walters threw 33 pitches over seven batters.
In the bottom of the second, the Wings scored four runs to take the lead. Eduardo Escobar scored Clete Thomas on a double. Rene Rivera then scored Escobar on a ground rule double and Rivera scored when Florimon put down a two-strike sacrifice bunt. Brian Dinkelman brought in the fourth run of the inning with a single, making the score 4-2 after a sluggish first inning.
Florimon added another run for the Wings when he scored Escobar on a single, extending the Wings' lead to 5-2.
Vazquez (7-5) worked all the way to the ninth inning in relief of Walters, notching seven strikeouts and coming out after issuing a one-out walk. The crowd recognized the stellar relief effort with a standing ovation. Daniel Turpen took over for Vazquez and allowed a single to Darnell McDonald, but then got a fly out and strikout to pick up his first save.
