BY DAN GLICKMAN
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – After a 9-7 victory over the Buffalo Bisons that saw four home runs – including a new team record for long-balls in one season – and later (after the results of other games) the Rochester Red Wings move into first place of the International League second half, the home clubhouse deep in the bowels of ESL Ballpark was full of noise that could be heard from the hallways.
“Hayes-y! Hayes-y! Hayes-y!” came the chorus of voices.
“Hayes-y” would be catcher Kyle Hayes. He’s not a name that would ring many bells for Red Wings fans, but he has been with the team for months. That’s because he is often found on the Development List – practicing with the team and catching bullpen sessions.
What’s the Development List? It’s a relatively new part of the minors that was only introduced after the COVID-19 pandemic that serves as a place for players to remain with minor league teams while not being on the official roster, often so that they can focus on developing their talent and improve in areas they are weak in. It also allows for a sort of “taxi squad” for a player to join the club without having to come from one of the other farm teams if there is a short-term opening during a brief absence for a regular player.
That’s why Hayes found himself in the lineup on Sunday: fellow catcher Riley Adams was out of town for the birth of his first child, and Max Romero Jr. had caught all of the previous night’s game. And so, the 28-year-old Virginian found himself batting eighth. He’d had only three professional home runs before Sunday, and was 2-for-12 at the AAA level in the limited action he’d seen with Rochester. Before his most recent arrival off the Development List, he hadn’t had any at-bats since August 6.
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“It’s definitely not like riding a bike, it’s definitely a little tough, but it’s a good reminder just to stay loose and have fun and not think too much,” said Hayes of his unexpected call to action.
Ready or not, though, in baseball anyone can be a difference-maker – and on Sunday, that “anyone” was Hayes, who hit a 386-foot three-run home run to left in the bottom of the second to give the Red Wings a 4-2 lead after starting the inning down 2-0. He’d later add another run on an RBI single in the fifth.
“I[‘ve been] making sure I’m prepared every day, because in this moment, I wanted to make the most of it,” he said post-game, just minutes after his teammates gave him a celebratory shower.
“I’m super-proud,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy. “This kid doesn’t get to play much, and the nhe gets an opportunity to get in there, and he hits a big home run and adds another RBI.
Hayes wasn’t the only one to hit the ball over the fence. In the bottom of the fourth, Yohandy Morales hit a solo shot into the the Red Wings bullpen in right field for his 25th home run of the season and the 175th of the season – setting a team record for a single season and passing the previous record set in 2019. Seaver King later added the 176th in the fifth with a solo shot, his 14th in AAA this year, while Cayden Wallace tallied his eighth as a Red Wing in the sixth – part of a three-hit day where he finished a triple short of a cycle.
The Red Wings would need all of those home runs, as Buffalo proved hard to put away – they scored four runs in the sixth to narrow the Rochester lead to 8-7, and nearly tied the game before Eddy Yean was able to get Yohendrick Pinango to pop out to end the inning with men on second and third. Wallace’s home run in the bottom of the inning brought about the final score.
“We came out, did what we needed to do offensively, and then when they got back into the game there in the sixth, we got a big run,” said LeCroy.
Not long after the Red Wings won, the Indianapolis Indians fell to the Columbus Clipper, 9-6, allowing Rochester to move into first in the International League’s second half standings. Whether the Red Wings continue to hold that position will depend on what happens in Syracuse, where they’ll begin a series with the Mets on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m.
No starters have been announced at this time. The team will return to Rochester on September 7 to begin its final homestand, against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The question is who will be on the team then: Tuesday is September 1, the first day of expanded rosters in Major League Baseball. Two members of the Red Wings will likely be called up, with some speculating that Trey Lipscomb, Morales, Yean, or other players could be summoned to Washington.
LeCroy, for his part, doesn’t know.
“I have no clue,” he said on Sunday. “I’m sure I’ll learn tomorrow, but right now it’s all up in the air.”
He understands though that, playoff race or not, it’s all part of being a AAA manager.
“Selfishly, you want them here, because they got a good group, but from a development standpoint, the people that go up usually deserve a chance to go up, and you see them growing,” said LeCroy. “But then there are the guys who come up to replace them, they get an opportunity to show people what they can do with AAA, and maybe that leads onto next season’s team. People are stepping up.”
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