Red Wings Shut Out, 3-0

The Syracuse Chiefs topped the Rochester Red Wings 3-0 Saturday, in the Red Wings home opener at Frontier Field. The paid attendance of 12,216 was the fourth largest opening day crowd in Frontier Field history. Anthony Swarzak drew the home opener assignment for the Wings, after impressing here last year: in seven starts as a Triple-A rookie, Swarzak posted a 5-0 record with a 1.80 ERA. All five of Swarzaks 2008 wins were on the road. Swarzak drew big league veteran Kip Wells, making his first International League starts since 2001; Wells has spent all or part of the last 10 season in the big leagues. Swarzak worked around a pair of first inning singles but avoided trouble. After Luke Hughes was hit by a Wells pitch with two out in the bottom of the first, David Winfrees deep fly ball backed Chiefs center fielder Corey Patterson to the warning track before he made the catch to end the inning. Swarzak made quick work of the Chiefs in the second innning, inducing a ground out and striking out two to set down the side in order. Wells followed by inducing a ground out and striking out two to retire the Wings in order in the bottom of the second. After he walked Pete Orr to start the third, Swarzak gave up a one-out hit to Alex Cintron. Tommy Watkins bobbled the ball in left which allowed Orr to score, giving Syracuse a 1-0 lead with the unearned run. After getting the first Rochester hit of the game in the fourth inning with a line drive to right center, Matt Tolbert was thrown out by Patterson trying to stretch a single into a double. David Winfree later doubled down the left field line with two outs in the inning, but was stranded at second. The errors continued for the Wings in the top of the fifth as Luke Hughes over-ran a ground ball at third that would have been the third out. Bobby Keppel, who relieved Swarzak at the beginning of the inning, walked Brad Eldred to load the bases but got Ryan Langerhans to ground out softly on a check-swing to Drew Butera who touched home for the third out. Swarzak (0-1) went 4.0 IP, surrenering one run (0 ER) on three hits, while striking out four in his first loss in a Red Wings uniform. Matt Macri hit a one-out double down the left field line and advanced to third on a ground out to short by Watkins in the fifth. The Wings could not cash in however, as Butera struck out swinging to end the inning. Keppel ran into trouble in the sixth, walking the lead off batter and giving up a RBI double to Patterson which gave Syracuse a 2-0 lead. Sean Henn relieved Keppel with one out and Patterson on third. After giving up a two-out walk, Henn got the red-hot Cintron to ground out to Trevor Plouffe to end the threat and keep the deficit at two runs. Tyler Clippard relieved Wells in the bottom of the sixth. Wells (1-0) pitched 5.0 shutout innings, giving up three hits while striking out five to earn the victory. Rochester was threatening again in the bottom of the sixth against Clippard, after Hughes walked and Winfree doubled to deep left. But with two outs and men in scoring position, Dustin Martin popped out to short to end the inning. Henn gave up a one out double to deep left, but struck out Langerhans and Justin Maxwell to end the threat in the top of the seventh. The Wings put a runner in scoring position again with one out in the seventh, when Macri doubled for the Wings fifth hit of the day. Watkins poked a single through the left side of the infield, giving Rochester runners at the corners for Drew Butera. But Buteras hard hit grounder was converted into a double play, and the game moved to the eighth with Syracuse holding a 2-0 lead. Henn worked out of yet another jam in the top of the eighth. With a man on first and two outs, Roger Bernadina hit a bloop single over the head of Plouffe. But Henn got Cintron to ground out once again to keep the score in tact. The Chiefs tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth when Eldred doubled to deep left to score Kory Casto from first. Eldred was thrown out trying to stretch the double into a triple. Jason Bergmann shut the door on the Wings in the ninth to earn his first save of the season.