During the 2022 season, I’ll have occasional reports on games I’ve attended of the Rochester Red Wings, the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

Three things stick out in my head from last night’s Wings victory over Scranton:

1. Luis Garcia continues to impress. The SS accounted for both of the Red Wings’ runs in the victory. First, he took Scranton Luis Gil deep in the first inning on a solo shot. It was a home run to right of which there was no doubt. As soon as the bat hit the ball, the very sound it made could tell you it was going to be gone. Later, he tripled in the fourth before scoring on a Jake Noll sacrifice fly. For a hot second, the thought on everyone’s mind was that maybe we’d see a cycle. While that wasn’t to be (he struck out his other two ABs), it says something about how Garcia’s season has gone thus far that it felt as if it were a possibility. He’s now hitting .351/.406/.650 with 6 HR.
   
   One worry about Garcia has been his fielding. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why he has not yet been called up. No such fielding issues existed on Thursday, as he cleanly handled everything hit at him and made some nice throws to get a few close putouts at first.
   
   What’s more, Garcia just brings an energy to the lineup. Whenever he has stepped to the plate this season, there is just a vibe that something good could happen. There have been other more touted and more talented prospects to come through Rochester, but in the still-young “Nationals Era,” Garcia is unmatched.
   
   
2. Of course, a team doesn’t win a 2-0 game unless the pitching does well. And for the most part, that was true on Thursday. Outside of one runner reaching third in the 4th only to be left stranded and a hairy 7th inning that saw Scranton load the bases with two outs before Alberto Baldonado came in and forced an inning-ending groundout, the Wings pitching held up. Particular praise should go to the starter, Jackson Tetreault. Tetreault struck out four while going 5.2 innings of three-hit ball. He also picked off a man. This was by far his best start of the season, and hopefully is a good sign of things to come.
   
   Aside from a poor performance by Patrick Murphy in the 7th (0 IP, H, 2 BB), the bullpen was completely shutdown, culminating in an easy 1-2-3 inning by Carl Edwards Jr. to get the save. Sam Clay and Reed Garrett also had scoreless frames.
   
   
3. Finally, the time of game last night was one of the shortest 9-inning games I’ve been to in person in a long time. In the stadium, it was announced as two hours and 13 minutes. On MiLB.com, they say it was two hours and 15 minutes. Regardless, it was a quick game. While part of this was because of the low-scoring pitching duel that occurred, some credit must also be given to the increased emphasis on the pace of play and pitch-clock rules in Minor League Baseball this year. The dead time between pitches is severely cut, the action happens more, and it all happens quicker. And yet, despite worries by some, it is not discernibly lesser for it. The faster pace isn’t stopping pitchers from pumping out fastballs in the mid-to-high 90s, nor is it stopping hitters from hitting. It just all happens overall in about a half-hour to an hour less time. That said, one does have to wonder if team executives may get worried that the shorter game times may hurt concession sales! I’m sure, though, that that is a problem that people like Red Wings GM Dan Mason would love to have should those shorter game times mean that more and more people overall come to games once the weather warms up.

The Red Wings continue their series against Scranton through the weekend, including a double-header on Saturday.