Sometimes, baseball hands you a rough start—but the Rochester Red Wings proved that no lead is safe. In a wild comeback on Wednesday night at ESL Ballpark, the Red Wings exploded for nine runs in a single inning, turning an early deficit into a thrilling 13-11 victory over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
The game didn’t start the way Rochester hoped. Lehigh Valley struck first in the opening frame when Carter Kieboom singled to right, driving in Steward Berroa. But the Red Wings answered quickly in the bottom half: Harry Ford walked, and Dylan Crews crushed a two-run homer to center field, giving Rochester a 2-1 lead.
The momentum swung hard in the second inning. The IronPigs erupted for six runs, chasing Rochester starter Andry Lara from the mound. Robert Moore tied the game with an RBI single, and Berroa followed with a ground-rule double that scored Caleb Ricketts. Dylan Carlson added an RBI single, Otto Kemp brought home Berroa with a groundout, and then Christian Cairo and Ricketts drew consecutive bases-loaded walks to force in two more runs. Suddenly, the IronPigs led 7-2.
But the Red Wings didn’t flinch. They began chipping away in the second inning when Ford singled to right, scoring Levi Jordan. Then came the third inning—and it was pure magic. Yohandy Morales led off with a solo homer, cutting the deficit to 7-3. Trey Lipscomb and Christian Franklin followed with RBI singles, making it 7-5. Ford then smashed a ground-rule double, driving in Lipscomb and Jordan to tie the game at 7-7. Crews stepped up next, lacing a two-run double to score Franklin and Ford, giving Rochester the lead. And just for good measure, Morales capped the nine-run outburst with his second homer of the night—a two-run shot to right-center—making it 12-7.
Lipscomb added a solo homer in the fourth inning, extending the lead to 13-7. The IronPigs kept fighting, with Berroa delivering a two-run single in the seventh and Moore and Carlson adding RBI singles in the ninth. But reliever Erik Tolman shut the door, securing the win for Rochester.
Offensively, the Red Wings were relentless. Morales finished 3-for-5 with two homers and three RBI. Crews went 2-for-5 with a homer, a double, and four RBI. Ford contributed a double and three RBI, Lipscomb added a homer and a single with two RBI, and both Franklin and Jordan collected two hits each. It was a 14-hit team effort that turned a rough start into a memorable comeback—and a reminder that in baseball, anything can happen.