On a dreary Sunday afternoon in the Flower City, the Rochester Red Wings (35-22, 80-50) logged seven extra-base hits en route to their 15th series victory of the season and 80th win overall, 9-7 over the Buffalo Bisons (29-27, 64-67). C Kyle Hayes homered for the first time at the Triple-A level, and later added a run-scoring single to finish 2-for-4 with four RBI. 2B Cayden Wallace finished a triple shy of the cycle and reached base four times as part of a 3-for-3 performance. Eight different Red Wings pitchers combined to strike out 15 Bisons hitters, led by RHP Zak Kent and LHP Matt Krook with three apiece.
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Following a quick 10-minute rain delay to kick things off, LF Sean Keys got things started quickly for Buffalo in their first trip to the plate. After two quick outs, the Huntington, NY native connected on a full-count fastball and sent it over the wall in straightaway center field to give the visitors a quick 1-0 lead.
Buffalo held the Red Wings off the board in the bottom half, and went back to work in the top of the second. A flyout and a strikeout kicked off the inning, before 3B Lenyn Sosa drove a single up the middle to keep the inning alive. SS Nick Goodwin worked a walk in the following at-bat, and former Red Wing C C.J. Stubbs came through with an RBI single to center to push the Bisons lead to 2-0.
Rochester responded immediately with a hit-by-pitch to Cayden Wallace and a walk from RF Leandro Pineda to kick things off in the home half of the second. 1B Liover Peguero took advantage of the scoring situation, ripping an RBI double down the left field line that scored Wallace and moved Pineda to third. Kyle Hayes then stepped up to the plate with still no outs in the inning. After falling behind in the count 0-2, the Virginia native turned on a splitter and sent it soaring in the visiting bullpen in left for a go-ahead three-run home run to make the score 4-2. It was his first Triple-A home run and the 174th by a Red Wing in 2026, tying a franchise record set in 2019.
Buffalo was held scoreless for the first time of the afternoon in the third. 3B Trey Lipscomb ripped a double into the left-center field gap to kick off the home half, his 29th two-bagger of the season to match his homer total. Cayden Wallace then put runners on the corner via a single to right, and Leandro Pineda cashed in with a fielder’s choice to swell the Red Wings lead to 5-2. After a single from Peguero put a pair of runners on, Kyle Hayes drove in his fourth run of the afternoon on a bloop single to the left side to give Rochester a 6-2 advantage after three innings.
Bisons 1B Peyton Williams answered right away to kick off the top of the fourth, smoking a line drive solo homer over the right field fence to cut the Red Wings lead to 6-3.
Red Wings DH Yohandy Morales responded to the solo homer with one of his own in the home half of the fourth, a solo shot the other way that came off the bat at 103.7 MPH and gave Rochester a four-run advantage. The home run was Morales’ 25th of the year, and franchise record 175th by a Red Wing this season.
The top of the fifth came and went without a score, and the Red Wings added to their lead with another solo home run in the bottom half. SS Seaver King put a charge into a fastball and drove it 426 feet to center field and off the batters eye, his 14th Triple-A homer to give Rochester a 8-3 lead.
Buffalo battled back in the top of the sixth, opening the frame with a walk from 2B Davis Schneider and a single from Peyton Williams. Lenyn Sosa followed with an RBI double down the left field line, and Nick Goodwin drove both runners home with a ground-rule double to center to trim Rochester’s lead to 8-6. After back-to-back strikeouts, Jay Harry was hit by a pitch and Sean Keys delivered an RBI double to left that scored Goodwin and pulled the Bisons within one. A popout ended the inning with Rochester still in front, 8-7.
Rochester answered in the bottom half of the sixth. After back-to-back strikeouts opened the inning, Cayden Wallace launched a solo home run 389 feet to left field to extend the Red Wings lead to 9-7. The ball left his bat at 100.0 MPH and marked his eighth Triple-A homer and 26th overall this season. Leandro Pineda followed with a walk, but Buffalo escaped the inning without any further damage.
Rochester kept Buffalo off the board in the top of the ninth to close out the afternoon. The Red Wings retired the side in order, preserving their two-run lead and securing a 9-7 victory.
Zak Kent took the ball first for Rochester Sunday, and allowed two earned on three hits across 1.2 innings of work while striking out three and walking one. Southpaw Matt Krook took over in the second, and turned in 1.1 hitless innings with three strikeouts and a walk. RHP Riley Cornelio emerged to start the fourth, allowing a solo homer with a pair of strikeouts in 1.0 inning. RHP Kyle Nicolas was the fourth pitcher to enter the game for Rochester, turning in a hitless inning of his own with a strikeout and a walk. RHP Justin Lawrence followed in the sixth, allowing four earned runs on three hits across 0.2 innings while striking out two and walking one.
Sunday afternoon’s Player of the Game goes to C Kyle Hayes. The backstop finished 2-for-4 with four RBI from the eighth spot in the order, recording his first Triple-A multi-hit game. Hayes entered Sunday with two hits and no RBI through his first 12 Triple-A at-bats, and doubled his hit total while collecting his first four RBI at the level.
The Red Wings will take their scheduled off-day Monday before traveling east to Syracuse for their final six-game set of 2026 against the Mets. Rochester heads into the series opener with a 12-6 record against their Thruway rivals, with the first pitch Tuesday night set for 6:35 p.m.
Find the box score attached HERE.
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