Mulvey, Wings Shutout Bisons

Dustin Martins seventh inning sacrifice fly broke a 0-0 tie and provided the Rochester Red Wings all the offense they needed as the Wings defeated the Buffalo Bisons 1-0 on Wednesday. Kevin Mulvey and three other pitchers combined to throw a seven-hit shutout. Mulvey went 5.2 IP surrendering no runs on four hits and two walks while striking out a season-high seven batters but earned a no-decision after leaving with the score tied in the sixth. Mulvey took the mound for the Wings on Wednesday still searching for his first victory of the season. Mulvey pitched well in his last outing, striking out five while allowing two runs on four hits in five innings pitched, but earned the no-decision. He left the game with a 5-2 lead but the bullpen couldnt hold on to give him the victory. RHP Nelson Figueroa got the call for the Bisons also in search of his first win of the season. Figueroa only lasted two innings in his last outing, surrendering three runs on two hits against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees back on April 16th. Figueroa was promoted to the Mets after his last start and went 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA for the big club. Jason Pridie led off the game with a single to left center, extending his hitting streak to ten games. It would be the only offense the Wings would be able to muster through the first four innings of the game as Figueroa mowed down 11 Rochester hitters in a row. Mulvey matched Figueroas dominance through the first four, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out four through the first four frames. He ran into some trouble in the fifth however. After walking the leadoff man, Jesus Feliciano laid down a perfectly placed bunt single to give the Bisons runners on first and second with no outs. Mulvey was up to the challenge however, striking out the next two batters and getting Cory Sullivan to fly out to shallow left to end the inning. Martin ended Figueroas streak of 11-straight retired with a bloop single to shallow left. Figueroa recovered nicely however, getting Matt Macri to ground into the 1-6-3 double play before retiring David Winfree to end the fifth. Mulvey retired the first two batters he faced in the sixth but gave up a two-out single to Wily Mo Pena and was pulled after reaching his target pitch count. Mike Gosling relieved Mulvey and got Mike Lamb to ground out to end the inning. After Figueroa shut down Rochester again in the sixth, Gosling ran into some serious trouble in the top of the seventh. Nick Evans and Feliciano led off the inning with consecutive singles. Gosling made a heads up play to nail the lead runner at third when Michael Niceas attempted a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Gosling walked the next batter to load the bases with one out. Buffalo was not able to capitalize however as Trevor Plouffe and Matt Tolbert combined to turn a nice 6-4-3 double play to end the inning without any runs crossing the plate. Pridie sparked the Wings offense with a leadoff double in the seventh and gave the Wings their first runner in scoring position of the game. Pridie advanced to third on a swinging bunt single by Luke Hughes. Martin was able to cash Pridie in and break the deadlock with a sacrifice fly to deep center field. Figueroa had faced the minimum number of batters (18) through the first six innings of the game prior to the seventh. Bobby Keppel relieved Gosling in the top of the eighth and retired the side in order. Gosling (4-0) went 1.1 IP surrendering two hits and one walk but got out of that bases loaded jam in the seventh to earn himself a tie for the International League lead with four victories this season. Sean Henn relieved Keppel in the ninth. Henn allowed one hit in the ninth but preserved the one-run lead to earn his first save of the season.