BY DAN GLICKMAN
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – It’s become a bit of a cliché: the Red Wings fell behind only to jump ahead en route to a 7-5 win against the Charlotte Knights on Sunday, with Trey Lipscomb again hitting a home run to give the home team a lead for good.
That two-run home run from Lipscomb, his team-leading 25th of the season, came in the bottom of the third, turning a 3-3 tie to a 5-3 lead after the Tennessee alumnus crushed a hanging sweeper from Jonathan Cannon well over the left field fence. Officially, Statcast said that the home run was 411 feet, but many in the ballpark thought it was even longer.
The go-ahead home run came just a day after he’d hit two home runs in a 5-2 victory. In August, the right-handed utility player has hit .375 with seven home runs and 21 RBI in 64 at-bats. It’s been a continuation of how he’s done all year.
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“He’s having a career year,” said Red Wings (26-19 in the second half, 71-47 overall) manager Matt LeCroy.
It’s an accurate statement: his 25 home runs is the most he’s ever had in organized baseball, and his .298 batting average is the best since he hit .299 across just 24 games in A-ball in 2022. His OPS of .890 is over .100 over his next-best mark.
Lipscomb, though, is just one of a larger team. Shortstop Seaver King and right-fielder Leandro Pineda both homered as well, with Pineda’s two-run shot in bottom of the second tying the game at three. King’s solo shot in the sixth provided needed insurance to up the Red Wings lead to 6-4. Maxwell Romero Jr. also contributed by doubling before a throwing error by right-fielder Rikuu Nishida allowed Riley Adams to score in the second to open scoring, and Philip Glasser brought in the team’s seventh and final run on a single in the eighth.
On the mound, meanwhile, the Red Wings had another bullpen day, and while Zak Kent struggled and allowed three earned runs to Charlotte (22-23 in the second half, 64-56 overall) and the day’s closer, Kyle Nicolas, allowed a run in the ninth, the team held on, completing a series where only one traditional starter – Chandler Champlain – started any games. Despite the disadvantage in having a thin rotation, the Red Wings won the series, four games to two.
“I’m super proud of the whole club, especially the pitchers, we had one starter on the rotation this week, and for them to put up 40-something innings and to pitch the way they did, I’m really happy for them,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy.
The pitching corps was doubtless aided by a strong offense that averaged over six runs per game. Among them is King, who went 10-for-24 (.417) at the plate in the series, including two home runs.
It’s something he’s provided ever since his call-up in May.
“King, when he came up, he was a big jolt that we needed, he deserved to be here, he made a big difference,” says LeCroy.
But to the Georgian, it’s all a case of routine, and having a short memory – he had a throwing error in the top of the eighth in Sunday’s game, but contributed to the rally that eventually brought home the seventh and final run by drawing a walk just a few minutes later.
“You just try to lock it back in and you get on base,” said King, who went 2-for-4 on the day with a double and his home run but also reached on a walk and a strikeout that went wild, allowing him to “steal first” on the errant pitch.
There has been some speculation that King’s time in Rochester may soon be over. The No. 4 prospect in the Nationals system according to MLB.com Pipeline, many fans and commentators have wondered if King may soon earn a call-up. All-Star CJ Abrams, himself a former Red Wing, has begun a shift towards second base, and while the Nationals are expected to use Nasim Nunez at short for now, some have speculated that they will call upon King to take over for the light-hitting Nunez.
King, for his part, is trying to keep it off his mind and focus on playing baseball – wherever he may be.
“I love playing the game, so wherever it is, I’ll play,” he said. “When that time comes, it comes, but I’m not worried about it.”
The Red Wings, now two games out of first place in the second-half International League playoff race, next head to Nebraska to face the Omaha Storm Chasers in a six-game set. It’ll be Rochester’s first visit to Omaha since 1990. Game one is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. eastern on Tuesday, with the pitching matchup still to be announced.
“I hope we can continue this nice stretch and go to Omaha to take a series there,” says LeCroy.
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