Rochester Red Wings vs Charlotte Knights

Charlotte jumped out to an early lead. In the first inning, 2B Rikku Nishida singled and 1B Ryan Galanie followed with another single. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and former Red Wing DH Joey Wiemer brought Nishida home with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 Knights lead.

The Knights doubled their advantage in the second. LF Dru Baker and RF Caden Connor hit back-to-back singles, and Nishida drove in Baker with his second hit of the night to make it 2-0.

Rochester’s bats were quiet through five innings, but Lipscomb sparked the comeback in the bottom of the sixth with an opposite-field home run to the right-field railing, his 23rd of the season, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

The breakthrough came in the seventh. RF Leandro Pineda led off with a single through the infield. SS Seaver King and DH Phillip Glasser drew consecutive walks to load the bases. Pineda scored on a force out to tie the game 2-2. Lipscomb then crushed a three-run home run to the foul pole patio in right field, putting the Red Wings ahead 5-2.

Lipscomb’s second home run of the night — a three-run shot in the seventh — flipped a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead. After mustering just one hit through the first five innings, Rochester exploded for five runs across the sixth and seventh frames, capitalising on Charlotte’s walks and Lipscomb’s power display.

• Trey Lipscomb (ROC): 3-for-4, 2 HR (23, 24), 4 RBI, 2 R. Player of the Game. Now slashing .429/.429/.786 against Charlotte pitching this season.
• Leandro Pineda (ROC): 2-for-4, 1 R. Started the decisive seventh-inning rally with a single.
• Jared Simpson (ROC): 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 5 K. Dominant in relief after Eddy Yean’s short start.
• Luis Perales (ROC): 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 K, 1 BB. Continued the bullpen’s scoreless stretch.

Rochester used six pitchers on the night. Starter RHP Eddy Yean went just 1.2 innings, allowing five hits and two runs. The bullpen then combined for 7.1 scoreless innings, striking out 13 while scattering four hits. LHP Erik Tolman (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 BB) picked up his third win of the season. RHP Kyle Nicolas (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K) and RHP Gus Varland (1.0 IP, perfect) closed it out.

The Red Wings managed only seven hits to Charlotte’s eight but made them count, scoring five runs despite being out-hit. A Charlotte error proved costly in the seventh when it helped load the bases.

Victory No. 70 on the season keeps Rochester’s strong campaign rolling at 70-47 (25-19 in the second stage). Charlotte drops to 64-55 (42-34). The teams meet again on Sunday 16 August at 1:05 p.m. ET for the sixth game of this seven-game series, with Rochester chasing a third straight win and a series victory. RHP Jonathan Cannon is expected to start for Charlotte.