Red Wings Run Away With Saturday Matinee Victory

Red Wings Run Away With Saturday Matinee Victory

Wallace Drives in Three, Rochester One Win Away From Postseason

The Rochester Red Wings (44-30, 89-58) used five runs over the first five innings and two more in the final four frames to piece together a 7-3 victory over the Buffalo Bisons (33-38, 68-78) Saturday afternoon at Sahlen Field. 3B Cayden Wallace powered the offense with two doubles and three RBI, while 2B Trey Lipscomb went 2-for-4 with his 94th RBI of the season. A win keeps the Red Wings atop the International League second half with one game remaining. The Red Wings entered the day tied with Indianapolis and a half-game ahead of Syracuse. A Rochester win, paired with losses by Syracuse and Indianapolis later Saturday night, would clinch a playoff spot for the Red Wings for the first time since 2013. Should either of those teams win Saturday, Rochester needs a victory Sunday to wrap things up.

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Kicking things off for the Red Wings in the top of the first, SS Seaver King smoked a line drive the other way to right that banged off the top of the wall for a leadoff double. He moved to third on a groundout in the following at-bat and came around to score on a two-bagger down the left-field line from Cayden Wallace. He moved 90 feet away from home plate on another groundout to second in the following at-bat. With two outs, RF Leandro Pineda cashed in with an RBI single through the right side to increase the lead to two. The knock increased Pineda’s on-base streak to 36 consecutive games.

Buffalo threatened in the bottom half with runners on the corners, but could not cut into the lead. C Maxwell Romero Jr. promptly logged the Red Wings’ third double of the game to lead off the top of the second, a screaming line drive into the left-center-field gap. Three batters later and with two outs, Lipscomb drove in his 94th run of the season with a base hit down the left-field line that scored Romero. Lipscomb was thrown out at second trying to become the first Red Wing since 1949 with 30 homers and 30 doubles in a season, but not before Rochester took a 3-0 lead.

RF Yohendrick Piñango got the Bisons on the board with a long, towering solo shot in the bottom of the fourth. The 425-foot blast made the score 3-1 heading to the fifth.

1B Liover Peguero was up first in the fifth for Rochester and reached base on a fielding error. Lipscomb then singled two batters later, and Wallace promptly cleared the bases with his second double of the ballgame. The Red Wings carried a 5-1 lead into the halfway point.

Cayden Wallace drew a leadoff walk in the eighth and stole second during the next at-bat. He moved to third on a groundout before scoring on a wild pitch to extend Rochester’s lead to 6-1.

LF Sam Petersen opened the ninth with a double to center and came home when Maxwell Romero Jr. lined an RBI single to center. Buffalo came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth and plated two runs, but it was not enough as the Red Wings locked up a 7-3 win.

RHP Zak Kent took the mound first for Rochester Saturday afternoon. The Virginia native turned in 4.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out three and walking one. RHP Joe Glassey worked 1.0 scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out three of the four batters he faced. RHP Clayton Beeter followed with 1.0 hitless inning, striking out two and walking two. RHP Max Kranick handled the seventh with 1.0 hitless inning, one strikeout and one walk. RHP Kyle Nicolas worked 1.0 scoreless inning, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one. RHP Jake Bird came on for the ninth, and allowed two runs through 0.1 before being replaced by RHP Gus Varland. The right-hander locked up the final two outs with a strikeout.

3B Cayden Wallace is Saturday afternoon’s Red Wings Player of the Game. He went 2-for-3 with two doubles, three RBI, a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored through the top of the eighth. Wallace drove in Rochester’s first run with an RBI double in the first and added two more with his second double of the game in the fifth.

The Red Wings close out the 2026 regular season Sunday afternoon in Buffalo. LHP Connelly Early will take the ball for Rochester in what will be his second and final rehab start. With a chance to win the second half, the first pitch is slated for 12:05 p.m. at Sahlen Field.

Find the box score attached HERE.

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