Cortland Lawson’s first Triple-A hit sailed over the right-center-field fence and into the bullpens at Sahlen Field. His second rolled through the left-center gap to the warning track. By the time his third dropped into left, an early throwing error was a footnote and Lawson was the center of Rochester’s runaway night.
Lawson went 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple and a walk Wednesday as the Red Wings erased deficits of 3-0 and 4-3, then pulled away for a 12-4 win over the Buffalo Bisons.
The decisive swing came in the fifth. Rochester had just fallen behind for a second time when Lawson drove Josh Stephan deep to right-center, beyond a retreating Daz Cameron, for a game-tying homer and his first hit at Triple-A.
Seaver King attacked Stephan’s next pitch and crushed it just to the right of straightaway center. The back-to-back home runs gave the Red Wings their first lead, 5-4, and started an eight-run stretch that Buffalo never interrupted.
It was a sharp reversal for Lawson, whose second-inning throwing error put Josh Kasevich aboard and helped open the door for Buffalo’s first two runs. He struck out looking in his first trip to the plate, too, as Stephan set down Rochester’s first nine hitters.
The Red Wings broke through in the fourth. King was hit by a pitch, Buddy Kennedy singled and Trey Lipscomb lined an RBI single to center. Cayden Wallace followed with another run-scoring single, and Leandro Pineda’s forceout brought Lipscomb home with the tying run.
Buffalo answered immediately. Shawn Ross tripled with two outs in the bottom half, and Rhylan Thomas singled him home for a 4-3 lead.
That advantage lasted only until Lawson and King came back to the plate.
Kennedy doubled after their home runs and scored on Riley Adams’ two-out single, stretching Rochester’s lead to 6-4. Stephan was charged with six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings and fell to 0-6.
Wallace supplied separation in the sixth. With two outs and the bases loaded, he dropped a single into right field, scoring Lawson and Johnathon Thomas for an 8-4 lead. Wallace finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs.
The lineup kept pressing in the seventh. After a run scored on Liover Peguero’s double play, Lawson ripped a sharp drive through the left-center gap. The ball reached the fence as Sam Petersen scored, and Lawson slid into third with his first Triple-A triple. King followed with an RBI single to make it 11-4.
Lawson added a ninth-inning single, completing a night in which his first three Triple-A hits helped turn an early three-run hole into an eight-run victory. King went 2-for-4 with his 15th home run, a walk and a hit-by-pitch, while Kennedy had two hits, including a double, and scored twice.
Rochester’s pitching staff made the comeback stand in a game handled by seven arms. Paxton Schultz entered with two aboard in the second and retired Thomas to stop the inning. Before the game, Schultz described the flexible approach that has followed him through different assignments.
“You know, I’ve always said I’ll do whatever role they want for me, need for me.”
— Paxton Schultz, Red Wings Relief Pitcher
Joe Glassey took over with two runners aboard in the fourth, struck out Cameron to end the threat and followed with a scoreless fifth. He earned the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings and two strikeouts. Max Kranick added two scoreless innings, and Rochester’s seven pitchers combined to issue only two walks, both by Clayton Beeter.
Schultz said that depth has created trust throughout the bullpen.
“Oh, it’s amazing. Like, a lot of big league time and experience in that pan right now, and we’re just, whoever gets the ball, we have confidence in them, and we’re just, we’re taking the moment, and whatever we need, we’re ready to go.”
— Paxton Schultz, Red Wings Relief Pitcher
Rochester finished with 14 hits and scored in five of the final six innings, but the night belonged to the newcomer at the bottom of the order. Lawson made his first two Triple-A hits count: one erased Buffalo’s last lead, and the other helped bury it.