Red Wings use Five-Run Sixth, Take Down Lehigh Valley 6-3

Red Wings use Five-Run Sixth, Take Down Lehigh Valley 6-3

Pinckney blasts first homer of the year, Chaparro adds on two RBI singles

In the second of the six-game road trip to face Lehigh Valley (7-4), Rochester (6-5) rode the bats of 1B Andrés Chaparro and LF Andrew Pinckney to a 6-3 victory. Chaparro knocked in a run in back-to-back at bats, while Pinckney hit a three-run shot for his first homer of the year to break the game open in the sixth. Last week’s International League Pitcher of the Week LHP Andrew Alvarez followed up his 10 strikeout performance with a strong outing of 5.0 innings while allowing two en route to his second consecutive victory.

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The first three innings of baseball were dominated by pitching, until C Harry Ford led off the top of the fourth with a slow grounder to the left side, and beat the throw to first for an infield single. A base from RF Dylan Crews put runners on first and second, and after a double play, Ford was standing 90 feet from home with two outs. Andrés Chaparro then battled on a 1-1 sinker and dropped a soft fly ball into shallow right-center, just beyond second baseman Robert Moore, allowing Ford to score and giving Rochester a 1-0 lead.

The Red Wings offense clicked in the top of the sixth. Dylan Crews and DH Abimelec Ortiz started the inning with a pair of walks, giving Andrés Chaparro a chance to stay hot. The Venezuelan right-hander laced a line drive single up the middle to score Crews and send Ortiz to third. 3B Yohandy Morales kept the rally going by poking a grounder past the second baseman to score Ortiz and move Chaparro to third, making it a 3-0 Rochester lead. Andrew Pinckney wanted to join in on the hit parade, and launched a ball to left field that left no-doubt for his first homer of the year. Lehigh Valley prevented any further damage and kept the Red Wings lead at 6-0.

The IronPigs inched their way back into the game in the bottom half of the sixth inning. SS Christian Cairo led off with a walk that tied him for the International League lead, and LF Felix Reyes put one over the fence in left-center field for his third homer of the season. The two runs were all that Lehigh Valley could muster, as a walk, double play, and strikeout ended the inning 6-2 in favor of Rochester.

There was no offensive action in the contest until the bottom of the ninth, where Lehigh Valley tried to give their home crowd something to cheer for. DH Bryan De La Cruz hit a sharp grounder to third that took a tough hop, allowing him to reach first safely and was ruled a single. A wild pitch advanced De La Cruz to second, and CF Pedro León moved him to third on a single past the sliding shortstop. 1B Liover Peguero brought in De La Cruz from third, despite an excellent glove-flip play from 2B Phillip Glasser to get the out at first. A groundout to first ended the IronPigs comeback hopes, and submitted the Red Wings 6-3 victory in Allentown.

Southpaw Andrew Alvarez made his third start of the season, and logged a solid outing after being named International League Pitcher of the Week for his 10 strikeout performance against Scranton/WB last week. Alvarez allowed two earned over 5.0 innings of work, punching out six while allowing two hits and three walks, earning the win. With the win tonight, Alvarez is now at 25 in his MiLB career. RHP Seth Shuman entered in the fifth inning and didn’t allow a hit over his 2.0 innings while striking out a pair and walking one, and RHP Orlando Ribalta pitched a perfect eighth inning while adding on a strikeout. RHP Jackson Rutledge came on with a four-run lead in the ninth, but ran into some trouble. He allowed a pair of base knocks that turned into one earned run, but was able to hold the lead and end the game.

LF Andrew Pinckney receives Player of the Game honors Wednesday night. The former Alabama standout provided one of Rochester’s biggest offensive moments of the night, crushing a three-run home run as part of a 1-for-4 night at the plate. Pinckney’s blast marked his fifth home run against the IronPigs since his Triple-A debut on August 27, 2024, tied for his most against a single team (5 vs. SWB).

Rochester looks to take a commanding 3-0 series lead over Lehigh Valley Thursday night. The Red Wings will send southpaw Mitchell Parker to the mound, and the IronPigs will counter with RHP Alan Rangel. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. for the third consecutive night.

Find the box score attached HERE.

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