Omaha Storm Chasers vs Rochester Red Wings

Rochester struck first in the top of the second. Riley Adams led off with a hard-hit double to left, and after advancing to third on a groundout, scored on a Maxwell Romero Jr. two-out single to right for a 1-0 lead.

Seaver King crushed the first pitch of his at-bat deep to left field in the third inning, making it 2-0 Red Wings.

Omaha answered emphatically in the bottom half. Singles from Luca Tresh and Peyton Wilson set the stage for Abraham Toro, who ripped a two-RBI double to left-centre to tie the game at 2-2. Jack Pineda followed with a double to score Toro for a 3-2 lead, and Brett Squires doubled to move Pineda to third. Matthew Lugo's sacrifice fly plated Pineda, capping a four-run inning that put Omaha ahead 4-2.

Romero cut the lead to one with a 405-foot solo home run in the fourth, his sixth of the season at Triple-A level.

Omaha stretched the lead back to three in the fifth. After singles from Toro and Squires, Carson Roccaforte recorded his first career Triple-A hit — an RBI single scoring Toro. Drew Waters singled to bring Squires home, making it 6-3 Storm Chasers.

Cayden Wallace answered for Rochester with a solo homer in the sixth, trimming the deficit to 6-4.

Rochester tied the game in the seventh. Trey Lipscomb doubled with one out, and Riley Adams smashed a two-run homer to the opposite field — his 13th of the season — knotting the score at 6-6.

Romero then took centre stage. Leading off the eighth, he crushed a 409-foot go-ahead home run to give Rochester a 7-6 lead. Liover Peguero doubled and Leandro Pineda walked before Phillip Glasser delivered an RBI single to score Peguero, extending the lead to 8-6.

Omaha did not go quietly. Brett Squires drove in a run with an RBI single in the ninth to cut the lead to 8-7, but Liover Peguero fielded the final groundout to seal the Red Wings victory.

• Maxwell Romero Jr. (Rochester) — Player of the Game. Went 3-for-3 with two home runs (his 6th and 7th at Triple-A), three RBI, two walks and two runs scored in his 21st game at the level.
• Riley Adams (Rochester) — 2-for-4 with a double, a two-run game-tying home run (13th of season), two runs scored and two RBI.
• Abraham Toro (Omaha) — 2-for-5 with a two-RBI double and two runs scored.
• Brett Squires (Omaha) — 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored.

LHP Matt Krook made his first start since September 2022, striking out two over 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk. RHP Cole Henry was tagged for four runs on four hits in just 0.1 innings of relief.

Seven different Rochester pitchers combined on the mound. RHP Justin Lawrence (1-0) earned his first win as a Red Wing with a perfect 1.0 inning featuring three strikeouts. RHP Eddy Yean struck out two in his IL-leading 48th appearance of the season. RHP Gus Varland closed the door, allowing one run on three hits while striking out one in the ninth.

Omaha out-hit Rochester 14-11 and neither team committed an error, but the Red Wings made the decisive hits count. Rochester's five home runs accounted for seven of their eight runs. The Storm Chasers left seven runners on base, including two in the ninth after Squires' RBI single brought the tying run to the plate.

Rochester improved to 27-19 in the second half (72-47 overall) and extended its winning streak to four games. Omaha fell to 23-21 in the second half (56-62 overall). The six-game series at Werner Park continues Wednesday night (7:35 p.m. CT), with LHP Jared Simpson starting for Rochester against Omaha's RHP Lucas Braun.

A classic back-and-forth Triple-A slugfest decided by the long ball. Romero's pair of homers — particularly the go-ahead shot in the eighth — proved the difference in a game where both teams combined for 25 hits and zero errors. Rochester's power display and seven-man bullpen effort gave them the edge in a series opener that lived up to its billing.

Sources: MiLB.com official recap (Alarico Valentini), Betmana.co.uk provider match data, TheSportsDB.com.