Riley Adams' three-run homer lifts Rochester past Buffalo, 6-3

Rochester did not just beat Buffalo on Wednesday afternoon. It won the game by living off the long ball, and the Red Wings’ biggest swings landed at exactly the right times in a 6-3 decision at ESL Ballpark.

Dylan Crews opened the scoring with a 382-foot shot, Andrés Chaparro followed with a homer that left the bat at 106.3 mph, and Riley Adams delivered the blow that mattered most, a 410-foot three-run drive in the sixth inning that turned a tight game into a lead Buffalo never recovered from. Crews’ blast also made him the first Red Wing with multiple home runs this season, a small but telling marker for a lineup that suddenly has real thump from the top and middle of the order.

Buffalo tried to answer in kind. RJ Schreck’s two-run homer tied the game at three, briefly giving the Bisons the kind of momentum that can flip a Triple-A day game fast. But Rochester kept finding the next punch. Chaparro drew a walk to start the sixth, Yohandy Morales reached, and Adams punished Buffalo for leaving a pitch where he could extend his arms. That was the swing that mattered most because it separated a competitive game from a rescue mission.

The final 4.2 innings belonged to the bullpen. Seth Shuman, Julian Fernández, Jack Sinclair and Eddy Yean combined to hold Buffalo scoreless over that stretch, allowing just two hits and making the sixth-inning lead feel much larger than three runs. That kind of clean finish mattered just as much as the power display. Rochester has shown earlier this month that it can win 3-1 with pitching and grind out a 5-0 shutout of Lehigh Valley, but this one was different: it was a reminder that when the Red Wings’ bats get airborne, the rest of the roster can protect the margin.

At 9-8, Rochester stayed right in the middle of the International League East race, while Buffalo slipped to 8-9 after its 5-3 loss the night before. The bigger takeaway is harder to ignore. Rochester is still capable of winning in different ways, but this was a case study in how dangerous it looks when the Red Wings choose power as the shortcut.