Red Wings outslug IronPigs 13-11 in wild Triple-A shootout
Rochester erased a 7-2 deficit with a nine-run third, then held off Lehigh Valley's late push for a 13-11 win at ESL Ballpark.
The game flipped in a third inning that looked more like a home-run contest than a Triple-A ballgame. Rochester trailed 7-2 after Lehigh Valley poured six runs across in the second, then answered with a nine-run burst that turned a packed Wednesday night at ESL Ballpark into a full-blown shootout and left the Red Wings ahead for good.
Lehigh Valley had struck first on Carter Kieboom’s RBI single, then broke the game open in the second behind Christian Cairo, who reached base five times with two hits and three walks while scoring three runs. The IronPigs’ early cushion reached 7-2, but Rochester immediately ripped the momentum away. Dylan Crews launched a two-run homer and later added a two-run double, Yohandy Morales blasted two homers in the inning, and Trey Lipscomb also went deep as the Red Wings sent the ballpark into a frenzy. By the end of the third, Rochester had surged in front 12-7.
That sequence decided the tone, but it did not end the fight. Rochester used six extra-base hits overall, and its nine-run third was the difference in a 13-11 win that matched the chaos of the night. Lehigh Valley kept answering, cutting into the margin again in the seventh when Steward Berroa helped produce a pair of runs. In the ninth, the IronPigs put the tying run at the plate after RBI singles from Robert Moore and Dylan Carlson, but the comeback died on a final pop-up.
Jack Sinclair steadied Rochester out of the bullpen and earned the win, improving to 2-0 after 1.1 hitless innings. Génesis Cabrera was hit hard in the loss, charged with eight runs on six hits and two walks in one-third of an inning as the Red Wings’ third-inning avalanche buried him and the IronPigs’ lead.
The victory came one night after Rochester opened the homestand with a 3-0 win, giving the Red Wings back-to-back home victories over Lehigh Valley during ROC THE LILAC WEEK. Rochester and Lehigh Valley were set to meet again Thursday at 6:05 p.m. at ESL Ballpark, with the Red Wings carrying a 22-19 record and the IronPigs sitting at 19-22 after one of the week’s wildest offensive showdowns.
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