Rochester Red Wings finally play home opener

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — It took more than three attempts but the Rochester Red Wings did not strike out today with fantastic weather for their home opener at Innovative Field.

The team took the field on Saturday after postponing their first game in Rochester this year four times due to poor weather.

Red Wings general manager Dan Mason often describes opening day feeling like Christmas morning but things were a little different this year.

“It felt more like Groundhog’s Day than Christmas Day this week,” said Mason. “It was a frustrating week not only for us in the office and the players, but our fans too. Everybody’s itching to get back to the ballpark and have some fun. It’s a great celebration. Spring is finally here. Baseball is finally back and so are the Wings.”

The Red Wings lost their home opener for the seventh straight year, falling to Lehigh Valley 5-4. The Wings scored four runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by a Jack Dunn three-run triple.

But the IronPigs scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning, and then Scott Kingery hit an RBI triple in the sixth to put Lehigh Valley in front for good.

“The guys were ready,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy after the long delay. “It’s just that baseball is a game that you don’t like to have that many consecutive games off because you could lose feel pitching-wise and then hitting, you could be in a good spot and those couple of days kind of get your timing off. I think we’ll be in a good spot going forward. I think today was the icebreaker to get back on the field and hopefully we’ll see better results tomorrow”

The Red Wings will play a doubleheader on Sunday, with the first game starting at 1:05 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst.