Rochester beats Syracuse, extends first-place lead on Star Wars Night

Seaver King broke the game open with a 417-foot third-inning homer, and Rochester did the rest from there, beating Syracuse 5-3 on Star Wars Night while protecting its place at the top of the International League East. The win mattered as much in the standings as it did on the scoreboard: Rochester entered at 34-21, held first place, and was only 0.5 games ahead of Memphis and Nashville in the first-half race.

That is the edge the Red Wings have spent May building, and it showed again against Syracuse. Rochester’s fourth consecutive series win was its first run of four straight series victories since 2019, a sign that this stretch has been about more than one hot week. The club went 20-5 in May, its best monthly total since June 2019, and carried a 9-1 record over its previous 10 games into the final days of the month.

King’s swing was the loudest moment of the night. The 23-year-old shortstop from Athens, Georgia, a former No. 10 overall pick by Washington in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest, launched his second Triple-A home run and kept forcing the conversation about how long Rochester can keep its current lineup intact. He entered June hitting .330 with an .411 on-base percentage and a .571 slugging percentage, along with eight home runs, 40 RBI and seven stolen bases in 2026.

Abimelec Ortiz matched King’s impact in the box score, finishing with three hits and an RBI of his own. His May was one of the most productive months in the league, with 29 RBI, second-most in the International League and tied for eighth in Minor League Baseball. Ortiz also carried a nine-game hitting streak, his longest since 2023 and the longest by any Red Wing in 2026, with five multi-hit games during that run.

Rochester added breathing room in the sixth inning with a sequence involving Andrew Pinckney, Joey Wiemer and Robert Hassell III, another reminder that the Red Wings are not living off one big swing. Their pitching staff has been carrying real weight too, entering June first in the International League in shutouts with five, saves with 19 and holds with 43, while also ranking third in WHIP and fourth in batting average against. For a team trying to hold first through the grind of the first half, that mix is exactly how you stay in front.