Red Wings hold off Knights’ furious rally to win 10-9 opener

Andrew Pinckney’s three-run homer in the second inning gave Rochester an early jolt, and the Red Wings needed every bit of that cushion to survive a wild 10-9 road win over the Charlotte Knights at Truist Field. Rochester opened the Triple-A second half on June 23 with its 14th series opener of the season, built a 10-2 lead and then held on after Charlotte ripped into the margin late.

The Red Wings did most of their damage in a seven-run seventh. Seaver King and Yohandy Morales each drove in two runs, giving Rochester a layered attack behind Pinckney, whose second-inning blast was his 10th homer of the season and his fifth in seven career games in Charlotte. Rochester finished with only five hits.

Charlotte still made Rochester sweat. The Knights outhit the Red Wings 12-10 and spent the final innings cutting into the deficit until they were within one run in the ninth. With two outs and runners at second and third, Mario Camilletti was thrown out at first on a play that would have tied it, ending the comeback bid.

Rochester’s bullpen and defense had to finish a game that kept threatening to break open in the wrong direction. The official box score credited Tommy Penrod and Joan Adon Perales among the Red Wings’ pitchers, with Perales working five innings and allowing two runs. The same box score also listed a Trey Lipscomb throwing error and a pitch timer violation by Penrod.

The win moved Rochester to 46-28 and 1-0 in the second half, after the club ended the first half two days earlier with a 9-6 loss to Toledo on Father’s Day. Charlotte dropped to 0-1 in the second half after opening a six-game home series against the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate.