Jim Mandelaro

ROC

The first person Logan Darnell texted after Monday night's no-hitter was Trevor May, the former Red Wings pitcher now with the Minnesota Twins.

"After all," Darnell said, "he was part of this, too. It's kind of sad that he's not here."

May was thrilled.

"Boom! That's awesome!" he texted back from Houston.

May and Darnell combined on the oddest no-no in Wings history (and maybe baseball history). May no-hit the Durham Bulls for three innings on July 24 in Durham before rain forced the game to be suspended until Monday in Rochester.

That's where Darnell took over, tossing six no-hit innings in a 3-0 Wings win. May walked two batters, and Darnell walked one, but those were the only Bulls runners in a game that encompassed two cities, two months and two pitchers.

How odd was it? The Wings were the road team at Frontier, and the game will go down as a no-hitter in Durham.

Just another manic Monday. The Wings held off the first-place Bulls 5-4 in Game 2 before 8,718 — many of them Buffalo Bills fans who came to get an autograph from No. 1 draft pick Sammy Watkins.

"We needed that," said manager Gene Glynn, whose club was coming off a 4-6 road trip. "And to have a no-no is really something."

It was for Wings catcher Dan Rohlfing. He caught the entire no-hitter, 18 days apart. In between, he recorded a save by pitching a scoreless 15th inning in Louisville on Aug. 3.

"I've had a pretty busy week," he said with a smile.

It's the 22nd no-hitter in Rochester history and the second combined one. The first came July 6, 2011, when Jeff Manship, Jake Stevens, Kyle Waldrop and Jim Hoey beat Lehigh Valley 7-0 at Frontier Field.

Darnell walked Hak-Ju Lee with one out in the ninth Monday, then induced Justin Christian to hit into a 5-4-3 game-ending double play. Chris Colabello caught James Beresford's wide throw and tagged Christian as the crowd roared its approval.

"That was a great play," said Darnell (6-5), whose only other no-hitter came in high school. "A great way to end it."

Colabello's RBI double gave Rochester a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning, and doubles by Doug Bernier and Josmil Pinto made it 3-0 in the eighth.

The Wings built a 5-0 lead in Game 2 behind Colabello's solo homer and Josmil Pinto's two-run triple. But Wil Myers cranked a grand slam in the fifth inning off Virgil Vasquez. Lester Oliveros struck out the side in the sixth, throwing 96 mph heat, then put the Bulls down in the seventh and final inning.

JMAND@DemocratandChroncle.com

Twitter.com/jmand1

Game Night

Matchup: Red Wings vs. Durham Bulls, Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.

When/where: 7:05 Tuesday night at Frontier Field. Gates open at 6.

Radio: WHTK-AM (1280).

Starting pitchers: Red Wings LHP Sean Gilmartin (2-3, 3.57) vs. Bulls LHP Enny Romero (5-11, 5.01).

Tickets: $12, $10.50 and $8. Call (585) 423-9464.