Seaver King and Leandro Pineda supplied the swings Rochester needed Thursday night, turning a tie game into a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Bisons and moving the Red Wings closer to October baseball.
King broke the tie with a two-out RBI single in the fifth inning, and Pineda drove a ball to the left-center-field fence for an insurance double in the sixth at Sahlen Field. With five scoreless innings from the bullpen behind them, those two runs were enough to lower Rochester’s magic number to three for its first playoff berth since 2013.
King finished 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Pineda went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI, giving Rochester’s lineup production that reached beyond the decisive moments.
Manager Matt LeCroy had spoken before the game about the importance of getting King going during the playoff push.
“And then Seaver, who’s been scuffing a little bit, drove the ball to center field, and he got a base hit up the middle. So hopefully that’ll get him going, because we really need him to win this thing.”
— Matt LeCroy, Red Wings Manager
King delivered when the Red Wings needed him most. Liover Peguero opened the fifth with a broken-bat single, moved into scoring position on a wild pitch and remained there as Buffalo starter Richard Gallardo recorded two outs. King lined a breaking ball over shortstop and into left-center, scoring Peguero without a play for a 2-1 lead.
Rochester added breathing room an inning later. Cayden Wallace singled and advanced to second on Riley Adams’ groundout before Pineda drove Gallardo’s offering deep into the left-center gap. The ball carried beyond Rhylan Thomas’ reach and struck near the fence, allowing Wallace to score easily as Pineda pulled into second standing up.
The Red Wings had applied pressure from the beginning. Trey Lipscomb singled in the first, and Wallace ripped a ball past third and into the left-field corner. Lipscomb raced home without a throw, giving Wallace the first of his two hits and Rochester a 1-0 lead.
Wallace went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, making the middle of the order a persistent problem for Gallardo. The Buffalo right-hander allowed three earned runs over six innings without issuing a walk.
Buffalo’s best chance to take control came in the second against Isaac Lyon. Yohendrick Piñango doubled, Jay Harry singled and Peyton Williams walked to load the bases with nobody out. Lenyn Sosa followed with a grounder to Wallace, who started a 5-4-3 double play. Piñango scored, but Rochester traded the tying run for two outs, and Lyon struck out Nick Goodwin to leave Harry at third.
The Bisons threatened again in the fourth when Daz Cameron walked and Harry singled, putting runners at the corners with one out. This time, Peguero started a 3-6-1 double play to keep the game tied.
LeCroy’s pregame hope was that Lyon would give Rochester a chance to let its offense decide the game.
“You know, if Lyon can do what he’s been doing, we should have a chance to hopefully keep us in the ballgame and win it.”
— Matt LeCroy, Red Wings Manager
Lyon did exactly that, allowing one earned run over four innings while striking out four and walking two.
Eddy Yean took over in the fifth and earned the win with two scoreless innings, improving to 3-2. He faced his biggest trouble when Thomas and Josh Kasevich opened the sixth with singles, but Cortland Lawson, King and Peguero turned Rochester’s third double play before Yean retired Piñango.
Gus Varland, Kyle Nicolas and Justin Lawrence each added a scoreless inning. Lawrence worked around a two-out walk in the ninth and induced a foul pop from Sosa to earn his third save.
Rochester collected 10 hits without committing an error. More importantly, King and Pineda found the openings in a close game, and the pitching staff made sure those openings were enough.