Thursday March 28th, 2024 11:18AM

Soroka’s shutout highlights Stripers split in Rochester

By AccessWDUN Staff

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Mike Soroka tossed a 7-inning complete-game shutout to lead the Gwinnett Stripers to a 1-0 win in game one Monday night at Frontier Field, but the Rochester Red Wings earned a split of the doubleheader with a 2-1 victory in game two.

The 20-year-old SorokSoroka’s Shutout Highlights Split in Rochestera, Atlanta’s No. 3 prospect according to MLB.com, held Rochester to three hits and three walks while striking out four in a 91-pitch, 57-strike outing. It was his first career shutout and second career complete-game effort, the first since a 7.0-inning outing on June 28, 2016 with Class-A Rome at Kannapolis.

Ronald Acuna Jr. used his speed to manufacture Gwinnett’s lone run in game one. After drawing a leadoff walk from left-hander Dietrich Enns in the fourth inning, he stole second and third bases – his second and third steals of the game – to reach third with none out. Rehabbing Atlanta Braves catcher Tyler Flowers then grounded out to short, scoring Acuna for a 1-0 lead.

Soroka made that lead stand up, issuing only one walk and no hits over his final three innings. He retired 12 of the last 13 batters in the game.

Enns (L, 0-3) also went the distance for Rochester, losing despite 7.0 innings of one-run baseball.

Game two saw the Red Wings capitalize on four first-inning walks from right-hander Lucas Sims to take a 1-0 lead. Sims walked Nick Buss, Leonardo Reginatto and Jake Cave to load the bases, and with one out, walked Brock Stassi to force in a run. He recovered afterward, striking out Taylor Featherston and James Ramsey to end the inning.

Rochester raised the lead to 2-0 against Sims in the second as Jermaine Curtis doubled and scored on a single by Reginatto.

Sims (L, 0-1) exited after 3.1 innings with two runs on three hits, six walks and four strikeouts. Relievers David Peterson and Elian Leyva combined on 3.2 scoreless, one-hit frames to keep the Stripers in the game.

Shut out by D.J. Baxendale over the first four innings, Gwinnett ended the shutout against John Curtiss in the fifth. Jaff Decker drew a one-out walk and scored a batter later on Tyler Smith’s double down the left field line. Smith made it to third base with two outs, but Curtiss (W, 1-0) struck out Jose Bautista to end the inning.

Sean Kazmar Jr. led off the seventh with a single, but never advanced past first base as lefty Casey Crosby (S, 1) retired the next three batters.

Smith finished with the Stripers’ only multi-hit game of the twin bill, going 2-for-3 with the RBI double. Bautista, making his Stripers debut, went a combined 0-for-6.

Reginatto went 2-for-3 with an RBI double for the Red Wings in game two. The teams combined for just 13 hits over 14 total innings.

The Stripers (6-10) and Red Wings (6-8) continue the series Tuesday night at Frontier Field, first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Left-hander Max Fried (1-0, 2.45 ERA) is set to start for Gwinnett, while Rochester will counter with right-hander Myles Jaye (0-1, 9.35 ERA). Dave Lezotte has the play-by-play call on 97.7 FM The Other Side of the River beginning at 6:05 p.m.

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