Yanks Hit Three HR's, Beat Wings

A pair of two-run home runs powered the first place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees to a 7-3 win over the Rochester Red Wings Monday night at Frontier Field. Jason Pridie had two hits and a stolen base for the Wings, and Alejandro Machado and Drew Butera drove in the Rochester runs. The Scranton lineup that Wings right-hander Jason Jones faced was packed with power: it included the leagues top three RBI producers, and four players in the starting lineup who have hit .350 or better against right-handed pitchers. Former number one pick Ian Kennedy came into Monday in the leagues top 10 among pitchers, with a 2.00 ERA in three starts; Kennedy had held right-handed hitters to a .139 batting average so far this season. In his last start April 19, Jones was tagged for seven hits and four earned runs in five innings against Scranton. After breezing through the first inning Monday, Jones ran into some bad luck. Trevor Plouffes throwing error got past first baseman Matt Macri allowing the Yankees number one prospect, Austin Jackson, to take first. Luis Nunez cashed Jackson in with a two-out single and Scranton led 1-0. Plouffe made up for his error in the bottom of the inning with a screamer up the middle, followed by a drive into right field by Alejandro Machado. Plouffe was able to score and Machado took third on a throwing error by Shelley Duncan. Shelley Duncan redeemed his error with a two-run shot off Jones in the third inning. Rochester had several scoring chances against Kennedy, putting runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but no runs were scored. Jones recovered from the rough start and, after Duncans homer, retired thirteen straight batters until Luis Nunez had a base hit in the seventh. Kennedy put two runners on in the fifth, then came out of the game after throwing a pitch to David Winfree. Kennedy appeared to have a hand or finger injury. Zachary Kroenke came in to replace Kennedy and struck out Winfree, then mowed down the next six Wings batters he faced. Jones went a season-high 6 2/3 innings, striking out six - also a season-best. Ben Julianel relieved Jones, and the Yankees tacked on a pair of runs in the eighth on Juan Mirandas two-run homer, and another run on an RBI groundout by Nunez. John Rodriguez hit a ninth inning homer to complete the Scranton scoring. The Wings staged one more rally, loading the bases against Anthony Claggett with none out in the bottom of the ninth. Butera drilled a two-run single that made the score 7-3. WINGS THINGS Notre Dame footballs all-time leading rusher Autry Denson threw out the first pitch; Denson was in town for his Run For Your Goal Foundations Superstar Experience Week. The experience features a number of events including a celebrity basketball game.. For more information visit www.superstarexperience.com...Wings infielder Matt Macri, also a Notre Dame grad, caught Densons first pitch ..Denson and Wings pitcher Anthony Swarzak both attended Nova High School in Davie, FL. Other notable Nova grads: music producer Scott Storch, and pro wrestler Steve Williams - better known by his in-ring name, Stone Cold Steve Austin....Luke Hughes hit a three-run home run that cleared the scoreboard in left field, in the 4th inning of Saturday’s game. He became only the fourth player in Frontier Field history to accomplish that feat: Scranton outfielder Tony Barron and Red Wings catcher Tim Laker each did it in 1997, while Charlotte designated hitter Scott Morgan did it in 2003...Rochester is averaging 5,149 fans per game through the first nine April home dates of the 2009 season. It’s the highest average attendance for the month of April since 1998 when Rochester averaged 5,566 fans per April game (12 dates).