Scott Diamond pitched seven strong innings to lead the Red Wings to a 3-2 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Sunday afternoon, at frigid Frontier Field. The game time temperature was 39 degrees. The Wings improved to 9-8 for the season; the club won just nine games in the entire month of April 2011. After an off day Monday, the Red Wings open a three game home series against Syracuse and mega-prospect Bryce Harper at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday.
After a 16-pitch, one-two-three inning by Rochester starter Diamond, the Wings scored one run in the bottom of the first against Austin Hyatt to take an early 1-0 lead. Ben Revere led off the inning with a bloop single, and Matt Carson hit an RBI double to score Revere.
The Wings added to their lead in the bottom of the third when Ray Chang led off with a single, followed by another single by Revere. Brian Dozier laid down a sacrifice bunt to load the bases. Carson hit a sacrifice fly to score Chang, followed by a single by Joe Benson to score Revere making the score 3-0 Wings.
Lehigh Valley entered the scoring when Andres Blanco reached first on a Dozier error, followed by a Domonic Brown single. With runners on first and third Hector Luna grounded into a 5-3 double play, but scored Blanco in the process. Cody Overbeck hit an RBI single scoring Brown making the score 3-2 Red Wings.
Diamond, who entered the game with the sixth lowest ERA among league starters at 1.47, turned in another sparkling performance. Over seven innings, Diamond allowed four hits and two unearned runs, which dropped his ERA to 1.07. He struck out four, walked none and hit one batter.
Casey Fien took the mound for Rochester in the eighth inning, and retired the side in order. In the ninth, Fien got help from a terrific catch by Benson, to take away an extra base hit from Kevin Frandsen which would have probably brought home the tying run.
