Bullpen Blows Up in Red Wings Loss

Shairon Martis took the mound for the Red Wings and didn't get off to the start he had envisioned. Chris Dickerson launched a solo home run off of Martis on what was only the fourth pitch of the game, giving the Yankees the early 1-0 lead. Martis then settled in as he retired the next three batters in order, striking out two of them, to end the top of the first inning.

The Red Wings' offense responded in the bottom half of the inning as Eduardo Escobar roped a one-out single to left field to jump-start the offense. Matt Carson then delivered with a two-run home run to center field to give Rochester the 2-1 lead after one inning of play.

A scoreless second inning led to the top of the third inning, where Martis found himself in a bit of a jam. With runners on the corners and only one out, Martis forced Corban Joseph to fly out to left field. With the runner tagging from third, Evan Bigley showed off his impressive arm by nailing the runner at home plate for the third out of the inning, keeping the 2-1 lead intact. The Red Wings would then go down 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the inning as Mike O'Connor tossed another strong inning for the Yankees.

The pitchers duel between Martis and O'Connor continued into the sixth inning, when Martis appeared to be showing signs of fatigue. After allowing a leadoff single to Ramiro Pena, Martis then retired the next two batters before walking consecutive batters to load the bases. With two outs and the bases loaded, Martis persevered and forced a fly-out to center field to end the top of the sixth inning with the Red Wings still leading 2-1. In the bottom of the sixth, the Red Wings again struggled to find a spark as they went down 1-2-3 for the fifth consecutive inning, but still held the lead.

With one out in the top of the seventh, the righthander Martis allowed his second solo home run of the game to Melky Mesa, tying the game at 2, and the score remained that way after seven innings of play.

Deolis Guerra came on to relieve Martis in the top of the eighth inning. After allowing a leadoff single to Dickerson, Guerra retired the next three batters to work through the inning and preserve the 2-2 score.

On the first pitch in the bottom of the eighth, Clete Thomas cranked a solo home run off the scoreboard in right field to give the Red Wings the 3-2 lead going into the ninth inning.

In the top of the ninth, Guerra started the inning by allowing consecutive doubles, tying the game at 3. Kyle Waldrop then came on to relieve Guerra, but he was unable to stifle the Yankees offense as well. Waldrop allowed a two-run single that keyed a five-run inning for the Yankees, giving them the 7-3 lead, before Luke French came on to record the final out of the top of the ninth.