IronPigs outlast Red Wings in 6-4 series-opening win

Paul McIntosh and Dylan Carlson supplied the thump that let Lehigh Valley survive an early lead change and leave Rochester with a 6-4 win in the series opener. The IronPigs answered every early punch, then leaned on Tucker Davidson and a calmer final stretch to close out the road victory.

The game started at full speed. Bryan De La Cruz put Lehigh Valley on the board with an RBI single in the first inning, but Rochester quickly flipped the script with Yohandy Morales’ RBI double and a two-run single from Harry Ford. The Red Wings’ lead did not last long. Dylan Moore brought home a run with a sacrifice fly in the second, then McIntosh launched a two-run homer in the third to push the IronPigs back ahead.

Rochester kept pushing and briefly tied the game again in the bottom of the third on another Ford RBI single, turning the opener into the kind of back-and-forth contest that can unravel a visitor’s night. Instead, Lehigh Valley settled in behind its lineup depth. McIntosh’s homer was the first big reset, and Carlson added his own power to give the IronPigs the extra cushion they needed after Rochester’s early counterpunches.

From there, the contest changed shape. What began as a slugfest became a late-inning test of execution, and Lehigh Valley got the steadier work when it mattered most. Davidson earned his fourth win by helping steady the game after the early exchange of runs, and the IronPigs kept Rochester from finding another decisive burst.

The result mattered because it showed how Lehigh Valley can absorb damage on the road and still finish cleaner than the home club. In a game where Rochester scored early, tied the score twice and kept pressing through the first three innings, the IronPigs answered with veteran power and enough pitching stability to turn a messy start into a 6-4 series-opening win.