The Red Wings dropped a 7-2 contest to the Norfolk Tides Friday night at Frontier Field. The teams play again Saturday at 7:05 p.m. game with fireworks following the game.
Rochester starter Kyle Gibson started the night off on a good note with a one-two-three first inning but in the second the Tides jumped to an early lead and continued to slowly tack on runs over the next four innings. They scored one run in the top of the second off a consecutive double and triple. In the third they added two more thanks to three straight hits, and in the fourth they tacked on one more with a solo home run by John Hester. An error by shortstop Toby Gardenhire and wild pitch by Gibson in the fifth allowed the Tides to add two more runs, bringing their total to six runs.
Meanwhile the Wings were only able to respond with one run against Tides starter Brad Bergesen. Back-to-back walks from Steve Holm and Jeremy Reed started the bottom of the third inning. Then Gardenhire then knocked Holm in on a single, which extended his hitting streak to eight games.
Left-hander Michael Tarsi, just up from Double-A New Britain, made his Triple-A debut in the sixth inning when he took over for Gibson. The worksheet for Gibson: five innings, nine hits, six runs (four earned), no walks and five strikeouts. Tarsi pitched two innings and didn't allow a run or a hit, while walking two. Carlos Gutierrez then came in to pitch the eighth, allowing two hits but no runs and two strikeouts. Jake Stevens came in to pitch the ninth, and gave up a solo shot to Brandon Snyder.
The Red Wings got another run back in the bottom of the seventh, when Rene Tosoni doubled then was knocked in on a single by Aaron Bates, bringing the score to 6-2. In the bottom of the eighth, the Wings had two on with one out but were unable to score. That was the theme of the night, as the Wings stranded six runners in scoring position.
