Diamond, Martin Lead Wings To Win

Norfolk got the early lead in the top of the second. A fielding error by shortstop Toby Gardenhire on a stolen base got Rhyne Hughes to third base. He was then knocked in on a groundout by John Hester. The run was unearned for Rochester starter Diamond.

But Norfolk's lead was shortlived. The Wings tied the game in the bottom of the third when Gardenhire led the inning off with a single. The single brought his hitting streak to nine straight games. Steve Holm then worked his way to a walk. Jeremy Reed hit a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position, then Jeff Bailey hit a fly ball to center that Norfolk centerfielder Matt Angle had to dive for. Gardenhire scored on the play, to tie the game at 1-1. In the bottom of the fourth the Wings took the lead with a solo home run by Dustin Martin. It was his fourth home run of the season.

The Red Wings added three more runs to their lead in the bottom of the seventh. Holm led off the inning with a walk, then was knocked to third on a groundout by Reed. Bailey was then hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Rene Tosoni then reached first on an error by first baseman Brandon Snyder. Holm scored on the play and Bailey went to third. Aaron Bates then knocked Bailey in for the second run of the inning on a long fly ball to right field. Martin then hit a double to knock Tosoni in, giving the Wings a 5-1 lead.

Diamond pitched a solid eight innings, allowing just the unearned run, with four hits, one walk, and six strikeouts. It was the furthest he had gone in a game all season by two innings. He threw 92 pitches, with 62 strikes, and seemed to improve as the game went along. It took him only four pitches to retire the side in the eigthh inning. With the win he improved to 3-5 with a 4.75 ERA. His ERA dropped from 5.55. Kyle Waldrop came in to pitch the ninth.