Shackelford led the team with two hits
By Brody Tisdale
INDIANAPOLIS – Despite forcing extra innings with a little league home run by Vinny Capra after grounding into a force out in the bottom of the ninth on a play riddled with errors, the Rochester Red Wings outlasted the Indianapolis Indians in 11 innings on Saturday night at Victory Field, 7-4.
After Derek Hill tripled to score the automatic runner at second, designated hitter Matt Adams blasted a two-run home run off John O’Reilly (L, 3-8) to effectively seal the victory for Rochester in 11 innings. The 11-inning affair was the longest game since a 10-6 loss in 12 innings vs. St. Paul on April 11.
Rochester (66-79, 32-40) opened the scoring with a three-run frame in the second inning. The three-run lead came on a three-run home run by catcher Brady Lindsly.
The Indians (69-78, 36-37) stormed back with a three-run frame of their own in the fourth inning. Nick Gonzales roped a line-drive single before Canaan Smith-Njigba smacked an RBI double to score him. Three consecutive walks led to a bases-loaded walk, a balk by Odalvi Javier scored the tying run.
With no outs and the bases loaded in the fifth inning, Hill grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to retake the lead. The Indians evened the score when Capra came around to score a little league home run after errors by Jeter Downs and Lindsly. Orlando Ribalta (W, 1-0) earned the win in his Triple-A debut with 2.0 scoreless innings, tossing a 1-2-3 11th inning.
The Indians cap the 2023 season with the series finale of their six-game set with the Red Wings on Sunday afternoon at Victory Field at 1:35 PM ET. In a rematch of Tuesday night, RHP Max Kranick (0-1, 2.84) will take the hill for Indianapolis against Rochester’s LHP Mitchell Parker (0-1, 17.05).
Originally posted on milb.com