BY DAN GLICKMAN
ROCHESTER, N.Y – On the night that Rochester’s orchestra played post-game, the Red Wings offense played a symphony of hits in an 11-6 win over the Buffalo Bisons on Saturday, with a six-run seventh providing the crescendo.
The 14 hits were the most for the Wings since June 13, when they had 16 against Scranton. Every Red Wings hitter reached base at least once and the leadoff man reached in seven of the eight innings Rochester hit.
The win was a bounce-back victory after a 19-3 loss the night before against Buffalo. That loss saw the Wings allow their most runs since Sept. 15, 2021.
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“We really needed to bounce back,” said Red Wings manager Matthew LeCroy. “The guys showed up today, put some really good at-bats early, and kind of set the tone.”
“I really loved the way we responded.”
At least one of his players shared the sentiment.
“To set the tone early in the game was good for us after a tough loss last night,” said third baseman Jake Alu, who was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk in a win.
The victory ensures that the Red Wings will at least tie the six-game set with their thruway rivals. Rochester is currently 5-2 in home series this season, and one of those losses was in a short season-opening series that was not the standard six-game set that has become custom in AAA since Major League Baseball’s takeover of the minors starting in 2021.
The Red Wings got on the board in the bottom of the first against Buffalo starter Paxton Schultz. Second baseman Darren Baker, making his second appearance since coming back from injury, led off the inning with a sharp single into center. Third baseman Jake Alu followed in the next at-bat with a hit into the right field corner. Baker appeared to score, and Alu seemed to have a triple, but umpires ruled that the ball had gotten lodged underneath the padding of the right field fence and forced Baker to return to third and placed Alu at second with a double. Alu, for his part, seemed skeptical of the post-game.
“I got to check that one out on video,” Alu said post-game. “[Buffalo right fielder Jordan Luplow] seemed to pull it out really easily. It would have been nice to have a triple and an RBI, but it worked out, and we got the W in the end.”
Baker later scored on a groundout by designated hitter Franmil Reyes to move Rochester ahead, 1-0.
Rochester added two more the next inning, as center fielder Erick Mejia smashed a one-out, two-run home run into the Red Wings bullpen in right field to make it 3-0. His second home run in the last three days and his third overall for the Red Wings this year was part of a 2-for-3 night for Mejia, who also got on base with a walk and scored twice.
“He’s done it before, he’s been in the big leagues, he’s been a solid hitter in AAA,” said LeCroy. “He was out for a while before he got here, but he’s really starting to get some at-bats together.”
Buffalo struck back in the third with a two-out three-run shot by shortstop Otto Lopez, tying the game at 3-3.
Rochester moved ahead again in the bottom half of the inning, albeit painfully. With one out and Alu at second after a walk and a steal, Reyes sent a ball down the left-field line. The ball disappeared into the corner, and Reyes legged out the RBI triple to put the Wings ahead, 4-3. Later in the inning, right fielder Blake Rutherford lofted a ball to right. Luplow caught it, and Reyes took off for home. The ball appeared to reach Buffalo catcher Tyler Heineman first, but Reyes snuck his leg under the tag to get the run and extend the Red Wings’ lead to 5-3. Even as Heineman argued with the umpire’s safe call, Reyes grabbed his leg in pain. He ultimately was helped off the field and replaced as designated hitter by Jacob Nottingham.
“We know it’s the leg or the foot, but he’ll get evaluated in the morning,” said LeCroy. “He made a good play to get the three (bases) down the left field line, but unfortunately, I think his leg got stuck in an unfortunate position.”
Buffalo earned a run back in the fifth on a solo shot by Spencer Horwitz to cut the lead to 5-4, but that would be the end of the scoring for them until the ninth inning. The fifth was also the final inning of work for Peralta, who earned his second win of the season after spreading out five hits over the five innings, striking out five.
“Wily gave up a couple homers,” said LeCroy. “But he held the lead and got the W.”
Daniel Mengden replaced Peralta and allowed a hit and a walk in two innings. Those baserunners threatened the Rochester lead in the top of the seventh until first baseman Matt Adams made what LeCroy called a “big, big play.”
With runners on second and third and one out, Otto Lopez laced a hard grounder toward first. Adams was able to glove the ball and step on first for the first out, but then was able to catch Bisons center fielder Cam Eden between second and third. Adams threw the ball to Baker, who was able to put down the tag on Eden and end the inning with the rare 3-4 double play to end the Buffalo threat.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Red Wings put the game away seemingly for good, scoring six runs on six hits as they batted around on Buffalo pitching to leap to an 11-4 lead. Although Buffalo would later score two runs in the ninth, it was too little and too late as Rochester took the 11-6 win.
Rochester (6-5 in the second half, 40-44 overall, two games back for league lead) finishes its series with Buffalo (5-5 in the second half, 39-46 overall, 2.5 back) on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Right-hander Paolo Espino (4-2, 8.64) is scheduled to face right-handed Buffalo veteran Casey Lawrence (2-7, 4.89). The Red Wings head to Syracuse after the All-Star Break to play the Mets starting Friday, July 14.
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