Red Wings nearly erase seven-run deficit but can't finish rally

The Rochester Red Wings nearly erased a seven-run deficit but fell 8-7 to the Worcester Red Sox on Thursday night at Polar Park.

Trey Lipscomb and Yohandy Morales both homered for Rochester, which trailed 8-1 after Worcester scored five runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth against starter Jackson Kent.

Lipscomb’s solo shot in the third briefly gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead. Rochester’s momentum was short-lived, however, as Worcester turned a triple play later in the inning before erupting for five runs in the bottom half. A string of hits and a bases-clearing double by catcher Andrew Knizner helped Worcester build a 5-1 lead. In the fourth, Nick Sogard‘s ground-rule double and Mickey Gasper‘s RBI infield single pushed the lead to seven runs.

Morales began the comeback with his 21st homer of the season, a solo shot to center off reliever Tyler Uberstine in the sixth inning. Rochester continued to chip away in the seventh when Andrew Pinckney, Harry Ford and Joey Wiemer strung together three straight singles. Wiemer drove in Pinckney, and Lipscomb grounded into a force play that allowed Ford to score, trimming the deficit to 8-4.

In the eighth, Rochester sent eight batters to the plate against Alec Gamboa and scored three runs, loading the bases twice. Pinckney reached after striking out on a wild pitch, Ford walked and Wiemer hit a run-scoring single to center. Lipscomb followed with an RBI single, and Cayden Wallace’s infield hit kept the inning alive. Phillip Glasser then drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Wiemer, cutting the deficit to one. However, Morales grounded out to third to end the threat with the tying run on third.

Uberstine earned the win for WooSox with three innings of relief, allowing one run on one hit and striking out three. Jackson Kent took the loss after allowing eight runs (six earned) on eight hits over five innings, walking three and striking out two. The Red Wings bullpen steadied the game as Konnor Pilkington and Robert Cranz combined to hold Worcester scoreless over the final three innings.

Wiemer finished with two hits and two RBIs, while Lipscomb went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and his 16th home run. Pinckney collected three hits and scored twice as Rochester out-hit Worcester 13-9 but went 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine.

Information gathered from milb.com.

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Red Wings nearly erase seven-run deficit but can’t finish rally