Rochester walks off Worcester in 10, regains first place in IL race
Rochester turned a 10-inning walkoff into first place, as Trey Lipscomb’s bunt capped a 3-2 win and pushed the Red Wings to 42-25.
Rochester did more than beat Worcester on Saturday night. It closed a 3-2, 10-inning win at ESL Ballpark, reclaimed sole possession of first place in the International League first-half race and put another stamp on a season that keeps holding up under pressure. The Red Wings improved to 42-25, moved 17 games over .500 for the first time since finishing 2017 at 80-62, and backed into the top spot after Memphis lost earlier in the night.
The finish fit the stakes. Trey Lipscomb, who had already put together a two-hit night with an RBI, laid down the sacrifice bunt in the 10th that helped set up the winning run. That was the kind of low-drama, high-value play that separates a first-place club from a good one in June, especially with a playoff race packed tight enough that every extra base and every out matters.
Rochester also kept Worcester from ever getting comfortable after the early innings. The Red Wings’ relievers held the Red Sox scoreless from the fourth inning on, and Zak Kent was the last hand on the wheel, throwing two scoreless innings to finish it off. In a game played in 2 hours, 40 minutes before 10,280 fans, Rochester won by playing cleaner baseball in the highest-leverage moments.
The broader picture is why this one carries more weight than a standard walkoff. Rochester had a chance to win six straight series for the first time since 2016, and a first-half title would send the club to its first postseason berth since 2013. The Red Wings have now won 27 games since May 1, the best mark in Triple-A and second-most in MiLB behind Bowling Green, which tells you this is not a short hot streak that just happens to be happening in June.
Lipscomb’s recent surge has become part of that push. He went 3-for-4 with his 11th home run of the season on Friday, a 108.0 mph shot that traveled 449 feet off the videoboard in left-center. Then he followed it with the small-ball execution that decided Saturday’s game. Rochester swept the pressure of a first-place chase with a veteran’s calm, and that is the kind of win that changes how a division race feels.
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