Rochester, N.Y. - On a rainy Sunday afternoon at ESL Ballpark, the Rochester Red Wings hit four home runs against the Buffalo Bisons, and despite a four-run sixth inning, the Herd dropped their fourth of six in the last of the set, 9-7.
Sean Keys started the scoring in the top of the first, blasting a two-out solo home run through the rain and over the 402-foot marker in center field off Rochester starter Zak Kent. It was his 14th homer of the season and his first since his two-homer game on August 21 against Lehigh Valley.
Another two-out rally in the second knocked Kent out of the game. Lenyn Sosa singled, Nick Goodwin walked, then C.J. Stubbs delivered Buffalo’s second run with an RBI single into center field.
After allowing only a walk in the first inning, Buffalo starter Grant Rogers faced trouble in the bottom of the second, when Rochester scored four runs. A hit batter and a single set up Liover Peguero for an RBI double, then Kyle Hayes put the Herd behind with a three-run homer.
In the bottom of the third, Rochester manufactured two runs. With runners on the corners, Leandro Pineda grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice, then Hayes flared a ball to left for an RBI single, making it 6-2 Rochester.
Peyton Williams began the fourth by hitting a home run on the first pitch from new Red Wings reliever Riley Cornelio, his third in 13 games with the Herd. However, Yohandy Morales answered right back with a one-out solo shot of his own in the bottom half, and Rogers’ day ended a batter later.
After tossing a quality start on Tuesday against the Herd, Rogers managed just 3 2/3 innings on Sunday, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits, three walks and two home runs while striking out two.
With Lazaro Estrada in relief in the bottom of the fifth, Seaver King extended Rochester’s lead with a two-out solo homer, making it 8-3 Red Wings.
Buffalo got a rally going in the top of the sixth against Justin Lawrence. A Davis Schneider walk and a Williams single brought Sosa to the plate, and he delivered an RBI double down the left-field line. With the score 8-4, a line drive by Nick Goodwin snuck past a diving Johnathon Thomas in center field and rolled to the fence, where the ball got stuck in the padding. Goodwin was gifted an automatic two-run double to draw Buffalo within two.
Eddy Jean then entered for Rochester, and Buffalo continued its onslaught with a two-out push. Keys hit an opposite-field RBI double to left to cap off a four-spot.
Rochester brought Buffalo’s deficit back to two with a two-out solo home run by Cayden Wallace against Daniel Guerra in the bottom of the sixth.
The Herd drew a pair of one-out walks against Yovanny Cruz in the top of the eighth, but Phillip Glasses put away a pair of balls hit in the air to left to end the threat.
Gus Varland put up a 1-2-3 ninth to close Buffalo out.
The Bisons will return to Sahlen Field in Buffalo for a six-game series against the Worcester Red Sox starting on Tuesday. First pitch for game one is at 6:05 p.m. The Herd has yet to announce their starter. You can listen to the action on The Bet 1520 AM, the Audacy app, and bisons.com starting at 5:45 p.m. with Pat Malacaro and Duke McGuire.