Rochester outlasts Lehigh Valley in 11 innings, wins series 4-2

Christian Franklin set the tone on the second pitch of the game, sending a 385-foot leadoff homer out at Coca-Cola Park and giving Rochester an early jolt in a finale that kept refusing to settle down. Eleven innings and multiple lead changes later, the Red Wings were still standing, escaping Lehigh Valley 7-6 on Sunday afternoon in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Rochester kept building around Franklin’s start. Brady House drove in two runs, including the one that put the Red Wings ahead in the top of the third inning, and Yohandy Morales went 2-for-3 while collecting his 40th RBI of the season. Franklin finished 3-for-6 with two runs and an RBI, finishing a triple shy of the cycle and giving Rochester the kind of top-end production that can turn a tense road game into a series-clinching win.

Lehigh Valley kept fighting until the end. The IronPigs tied it in the ninth on Keaton Anthony’s RBI single, forcing Rochester to find another answer in extra innings before finally finishing the job in the 11th. That sequence made the afternoon feel less like a routine regular-season game and more like a pressure test, with each swing carrying real weight.

The win gave Rochester a 4-2 series victory over Lehigh Valley and its third series win against the IronPigs this season. It also pushed the Red Wings to 14 games over .500 at 38-24, while they remained in first place in the International League. After dropping a 4-2 decision to Lehigh Valley on Friday, June 5, Rochester responded by taking control of the series finale and leaving Allentown with the better record and the louder statement.

With Memphis’ result that day helping keep the first-half race tight, every late inning mattered, and Rochester played like a club that knows it cannot afford to give away any ground. Franklin, House and Morales all delivered in the highest-leverage moments, and the Red Wings answered Lehigh Valley’s comeback with enough offense to keep their hold on the league lead intact.