Victor Robles launched 2 homers and Jake Noll collected 4 RBI in the series opener.
By Caktus AI / Rochester Red Wings
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Red Wings mustered the most runs in a game since 6/5/21 at Worcester to beat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 18-10, in the first game of a six-game series. CF Victor Robles recorded his first career multi-homer game, and six different Wings batters finished with multi-hit performances. Rochester now moves to 5-7 in series-opening games this season.
Scranton/WB jumped on the board first in the top of the first inning, tagging LHP Anthony Banda for two runs on three hits. C Carlos Narvaez drove in DH Oswald Peraza and 3B Andrés Chaparro when his RBI double went all the way to the wall in center field. Rochester took no time to record their first run on Tuesday night, waiting just three pitches before LF Derek Hill collected his seventh home run of the season.
For the second straight game and for the fourth time this season, Hill smashed a leadoff home run 387 feet over the left field wall. After a RailRiders error allowed 2B Jake Alu to second base, Victor Robles tied the game on an RBI double that drove in Alu. RF Nomar Mazara then gave the Wings their first lead of the evening thanks to a sacrifice flyout to left field that plated Robles. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre quickly answered, tying the game at 3-3 when SS Jesús Bastidas singled in 1B Francy Cordero.
The RailRiders regained the lead on a fielder’s choice ground out from Peraza that plated 2B Jamie Westbrook. The back-and-forth affair continued in the bottom of the third inning when Robles slapped an opposite field home run 344 feet, tying the game at 4-4. Though Scranton/WB drove in a fifth run in the top of the fourth inning to give them a 5-4 lead, the Wings responded with six runs in the bottom half of the inning, the most runs they’ve scored in the fourth inning since 2017. First, PH Jake Noll collected an RBI double to tie the game, marking his first hit of the season.
The very next batter, Hill snuck an RBI single through the middle of the infield to give Rochester a 6-5 advantage. 3B Carter Kieboom followed up by driving in his 14th and 15th RBI of the season, and 1B Travis Blankenhorn capped off the inning with an RBI single that drove in two more runners and snapped an 0-for-6 skid, to give the Wings a 10-5 lead. Robles continued his perfect day at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning with a 397-foot home run — his second of the day — to extend the lead to 13-5. Scranton added back two runs courtesy of a home run from CF Estevan Florial in the top of the sixth inning, and added on three more in the top of the seventh, bringing the score to 13-10.
Rochester tacked on five insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to solidify the win. After three straight walks and a fielder’s choice, Noll drove in DH Franmil Reyes with an RBI single, his fourth hit of the night. With the bases loaded and two outs, Alu delivered a 422-foot grand slam, extending Rochester’s lead to eight. RHP Gerson Moreno pitched a clean ninth to give the Wings an 18-10 win. This was Moreno’s 11th consecutive appearance without allowing an earned run.
LHP Anthony Banda started Tuesday night’s win for the Wings, working 2.1 innings while allowing four runs on five hits and striking out three in the outing. RHP Tommy Romero (3-3, 5.60) came first out of the bullpen and threw three innings of two-run baseball, while striking out two and walking two batters. Four pitchers worked the final 3.2 innings of work, allowing four runs, while striking out seven and giving up four hits.
CF Victor Robles is Tuesday night’s Diamond Pro Player of the Game after he went 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double, five RBI and a walk. He hit two home runs in a game for the first time in his professional career and became the second Red Wing this season to drive in at least five runs.
The Red Wings will return to action Wednesday night for the second game of their series against the RailRiders. RHP Wily Peralta is scheduled to start against RHP Randy Vasquez, with first pitch is set for 6:45 p.m.