On a wonderful night in Central New York — the most beautiful place in the United States today, according to meteorologists — the Rochester Red Wings (81-52, 36-24) split a doubleheader with the Syracuse Mets (70-64, 32-27). The Wings blanked the Mets 5-0 in game one while dropping an extra-innings affair in game two, 7-4. RHP Issac Lyon tossed five scoreless innings in game one, while Trey Lipscomb hit a historic home run in game two in the split-game effort.
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GAME 1:
After four quiet innings featuring great defensive plays from both squads, including a beautiful diving grab from 3B Seaver King for the final out of the fourth, Rochester finally put something big into motion offensively the next frame.
RF Sam Petersen led off the top half of the fifth with a bloop single into left-center and then proceeded to move up 180 feet on a double off the bat of King, which set up second and third for LF Philip Glasser. The contact-heavy Glasser hit a sharp groundout into the hole at shortstop, allowing King to move up a base and Petersen to trot home, giving the Red Wings a one-run advantage.
But as usual, with this Red Wings team, they had more runs on their mind. With the Mets' infield drawn in with just one out, and SS Trey Lipscomb at the dish, the Wings elected to put on a hit-and-run, executing it to perfection. King’s early jump from third allowed him to beat out the wide throw from Syracuse’s second baseman on a grounder courtesy of Lipscomb, who ended up on second base at the conclusion of the play. After everything was said and done, it was 2-0 Wings at the end of five innings of play.
Rochester delivered the knockout blow in the very next inning. CF Andrew Pinckney started things off with a six-pitch walk, before moving up a bag on a hard-hit single under the leaping Pinckney and into the vacant right side of the infield, placing runners at first and second with one out for RF Sam Petersen. The former Iowa Hawkeye deposited a first-pitch cutter the opposite way and into the Red Wings' bullpen for a three-run dinger, giving the Wings a commanding 5-0 lead after six innings.
While the Red Wings' offense put on a show, the pitching staff was having a game of its own; RHP Paxton Schultz closed out the game, allowing Rochester to take game one 5-0. The shutout was the first the Red Wings had thrown in a seven-inning doubleheader since April 30, 2022, against Syracuse.
Acting manager Mario Lisson gave the starting nod to RHP Issac Lyon for game one of this doubleheader. The 22-year-old silenced a red-hot Syracuse lineup through five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, walking five, and fanning five. More impressively, Lyon, who was just in his second career Triple-A start, landed 39 of his 63 pitches for strikes. RHP Kyle Nicolas got the callout of the bullpen in the sixth. The flame-throwing reliever retired the side on strikeouts before giving way to RHP Paxton Schultz, who faced four Syracuse batters, shutting down the Mets relatively easily to end the game and solidify the shutout for the pitching staff.
The Rochester Red Wings player of the game for the first leg of this doubleheader is RHP Issac Lyon, the St. George, Utah native, who fired five scoreless frames on just 63 pitches. Lyon now has a 2.08 ERA through his first two Triple-A starts.
The box score for game one is attached HERE.
GAME 2:
The start of Game Two mirrored the opener, with neither team getting on the board through the first four innings. That all changed in the fifth when LF Johnathan Thomas led off with a single and stole second, but the stolen base wouldn’t matter because SS Trey Lipscomb drilled a first-pitch sinker 104 mph over the right-field fence for his 30th homer of the season. The blast tied Lipscomb with Terry Crowley (1977) for the most home runs by a Red Wing in a season since 1977.
The game finally took a different avenue from game one in the home half of the fifth inning as Syracuse finally responded in kind. DH Nick Lorusso reached on a one-out double before moving to third on a base hit courtesy of CF Jose Ramos, setting up first and third for C Kevin Parada, who tapped one to 3B Buddy Kennedy and he made a beautiful charging barehand grab, but his throw was dug up by 1B Liover Pegeuro for the second out of the inning, but it did score a run to cut the Red Wing lead to one.
Syracuse added another in the inning when SS Zack Short hit a double into right field, scoring Ramos and knotting the game up after five innings of action.
The game headed to extras in the eighth inning, with extra-inning rules in effect. DH Cayden Wallace started as the ghost runner on second as C Riley Adams stepped up to the plate. The veteran catcher worked an eight-pitch at-bat, which ended with a 443-foot missile off the 315 Bullpen bar for a two-run homer that gave Rochester the late 4-2 lead.
Syracuse just wouldn’t go away, following a quick first out to the inning with the ghost runner on second, Zack Short walked, then RF DeAndre Smith singled to right field, loading the bases for 3B Vidal Brujãn, who lasered a double into right-center field, tying the game once again at four apiece.
After the Red Wings failed to capitalize on the ghost runner opportunity in the top half of the ninth, Syracuse produced a one-out first-and-second opportunity for C Hayden Senger, who smoked a ball over the right-field fence for a walk-off three-run home run, giving the Mets the 7-4 win.
The Rochester Red Wings player of the game in the second leg of this doubleheader is C Riley Adams. The former Toronto Blue Jays farmhand went 1-for-3 with a crucial extra-innings two-run home run in the losing effort.
LHP Matt Krook got the opening assignment for the Wings in game two of this twin-billing. The southpaw tossed two innings, allowing a run while striking out two, maintaining his ERA as a starter at 0.00. RHP Ben Grable got the third inning; he bulldozed the three Mets he faced, retiring the side in order while registering two strikeouts on just 12 pitches thrown. Making his Triple-A debut in the fourth inning was RHP Joe Glassey, the 25-year-old faced just four batters, striking out one in a scoreless frame. The fourth man out of the right-field bullpen was RHP Justin Lawrence, who tossed one inning, allowing two runs on three hits before giving way to RHP Jake Bird. The former Yankee farmhand continued his dominance of Triple-A hitters, logging yet another scoreless appearance, his fourth in a row. RHP Yovanny Cruz came in for the seventh inning, throwing a scoreless frame, while striking out one, sending the game into extras. As Rochester took the lead in the top half of the eighth inning, RHP Eddy Yean was awarded the bottom half, his International League-leading 55th appearance of the season. The righty allowed two runs on two hits, two walks, and one strikeout. RHP Gus Varland got the call for the ninth inning. The hard-throwing reliever gave up three runs, two earned on one hit, one hit by pitch, while striking out one.
Both squads will be back on the field Saturday night for a standard nine-inning contest, with the Red Wings looking to bounce back in the win column against their I-90 rivals. Rochester will send RHP Zak Kent to the mound, while Syracuse will counter with RHP Jonah Tong. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at NBT Bank Stadium.
The box score for game two is attached HERE.
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