A cold Tuesday night resulted in the Rochester Red Wings second doubleheader of 2025 Wednesday, this time in Moosic against the Scranton/WB RailRiders. The Red Wings picked up the victory and snapped their five-game skid in the first half of the twin bill, 7-4, but fell in game two on a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh, 4-3. CF Robert Hassell III and C Drew Millas paced the game one offense from the top two spots in the lineup with a combined five hits and four RBI, including a bases-clearing triple off the bat of Millas. LHP Konnor Pilkington picked up the victory on the mound, tossing 1.2 perfect innings of relief with three strikeouts following 3.1 frames from RHP Chase Solesky. Game two proved to be a pitcher’s duel, with LHP Andrew Alvarez tossing a strong 5.0 innings while holding the RailRiders to two runs. Offensively, CF Andrew Pinckney connected on a two-run shot which would be Rochester’s only run extra-base hit of the contest.

Game 1:

After working out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first, Chase Solesky induced two quick outs in the bottom half before issuing a walk to 1B T.J. Rumfield. LF Dominic Smith then picked up his first hit of 2025, a single through the right side that moved Rumfield to third base. With runners on the corners and still two outs, C Alex Jackson took three-straight balls out of the zone and jumped on a 3-0 fastball, depositing it 363 feet and over the left field fence to give the RailRiders an early 3-0 lead.

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LF Trey Lipscomb worked a six-pitch walk to lead off the top of the second, and 2B Darren Baker followed suit with a single to put a pair of runners on with no outs. After a strikeout, SS Jackson Cluff found a hole between first and second to load the bases with one out for the second consecutive inning. A second strikeout brought Drew Millas to the plate once again, and the Missouri-born backstop skied a fly ball to right field that was lost in the sun and dropped in for a bases-clearing triple. Scranton/WB was able to escape the inning with no further damage and send the ballgame to the second inning tied at three apiece.

Millas’ triple was his third of the season, tying his 2024 & 2023 Triple-A total in just eight games. He is the only Red Wings catcher with three triples in a season since Chris Herrmann collected four in 2014.

The bottom of the second and third innings proved to be scoreless, and Darren Baker got things going for the Red Wings in the fourth with a base-on-balls. RF Andrew Pinckney then singled, and Jackson Cluff laid down a sacrifice bunt which led to an error that skipped down into the right field corner. Both Baker and Pinckney came around to score on the play to give Rochester a 5-3 advantage. Coming to the plate for the third time, Robert Hassell III extended the lead to three runs with an opposite field RBI single that allowed Cluff to scamper home for the Red Wings' sixth run of the game. In the ensuing at-bat, Hassell stole second and then took third when the throw sailed into center field. 3B Brady House finished the job and capped off a four-run frame with an RBI groundout down the third base line to make the score 7-3 after three-and-a-half innings of play.

The score remained the same as the RailRiders came to bat in the bottom of the seventh. CF Duke Ellis led off the inning with a walk and immediately took second on defensive indifference. He moved to third on a groundout the next at-bat, and came in to score on a sacrifice fly from 2B Jorbit Vivas to make the score 7-4. With two outs and the bases empty, T.J. Rimfield laced a double over the head of Andrew Pinckney in right field. An infield single by Dominic Smith was knocked down by Darren Baker, but put runners on the corners for Alex Jackson. RHP Patrick Weigel induced a fly out to left field, solidifying a 7-4 Red Wings victory in game one.

Chase Solesky took the ball to start the front half of Wednesday’s twin bill. The Florida native turned in 3.1 innings of work, allowing three earned runs on six hits with one strikeout and walk apiece. He was replaced with one out in the fourth by southpaw Konnor Pilkington, who struck out two batters to escape the inning with no damage and added a third strikeout to kick off a hitless fifth. RHP Cole Henry took over in the sixth, and worked himself in and out of a bases-loaded jam unscathed on one hit with a pair of strikeouts and walks. Patrick Weigel came in to close things out in the seventh. The right-hander allowed one earned run on two hits, while issuing one walk.

Game one’s Player of the Game goes to C Drew Millas. The switch-hitting backstop picked up two hits, including a bases-clearing triple, finishing 2-for-4 with three RBI. He is the first hitter at any level of affiliated baseball, including MLB, with three triples in 2025.

Find the box score for game one attached here.

Game 2:

Neither team crossed the plate in the first inning of game two, and Scranton/WB got things going offensively in the bottom of the second. 1B T.J. Rumfield opened the frame with a single and moved into scoring position at second via another single from LF Cooper Hummel. Both runners moved up a base on a groundout from DH Dominic Smith to put runners on second and third for C Ronaldo Hernandez. The backstop smoked a base hit back up the middle to score Rumfield and put the first run of the game on the board. With runners still on the corners and one out, 3B Braden Shoemake grounded into a fielder’s choice that allowed Hummel to cross the plate and double the RailRiders' lead to 2-0 after two innings.

Kicking things off for Rochester in the ensuing half inning, C Andrew Knizner worked a seven-pitch walk. CF Andrew Pinckney followed, and hammered the fourth pitch he saw over the left-center field fence for his second career Triple-A home run and first of 2025, tying the game at two apiece. The homer traveled 428 feet and came off the bat at 110.7 MPH, Rochester’s hardest-hit home run since James Wood laced a 111.7 MPH shot on May 11, 2024, also at Scranton/WB.

Pitching took control and kept the score the same until the Red Wings came to bat in the top of the sixth. 2B Paul Witt drew a walk to lead off the inning, and was pinch-run for by Darren Baker. Following a lineout, Baker took second to put himself in scoring position. Brady House moved Baker to third with a single, and a soft ground ball from 1B Juan Yepez resulted in a fielder’s choice that allowed Rochester’s third run of the ballgame to cross the plate and give them a 3-2 lead heading to the bottom of the sixth.

LF Cooper Hummel led off the following frame with a walk. After a strikeout, Ronaldo Hernandez laced a hard ground ball to the left side which ultimately resulted in a throwing error that put Hummel on third and Ronaldo on first. 3B Braden Shewmake then laid down a safety squeeze that led to another fielding error, allowing Hummel to score and tie the game at three. With two outs, RF Ismael Munguia singled to left field, but LF Stone Garrett cut down the would-be go-ahead run at the plate on a perfect one-hop throw to keep the game tied heading to the seventh.

The Red Wings went quietly in the top half, and Scranton/WB went back to work in their final at-bat of the scheduled seven innings. With one out, 2B Jorbit Vivas singled and T.J. Rumfield walked to put a pair of runners on base. After another walk to Cooper Hummel loaded the bases, Dominic Smith connected on a hard base hit past second base to push in the winning run for the RailRiders, 4-3.

Red Wings Opening Day starter LHP Andrew Alvarez took the ball in the back half of the twin bill. The southpaw worked 5.0 strong innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits, while striking out four and walking three. RHP Joan Adon took over to start the sixth, and covered 1.1 innings allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out and walking three. RHP Daison Acosta entered with the bases loaded in the seventh and surrendered the game-winning hit.

CF Andrew Pinckney earns Player of the Game for the back half of the twin bill. The University of Alabama product went 1-for-2 in the contest, and launched his first home run of the season 110.7 MPH off the bat for the Red Wings second-hardest homer over the last two seasons. He is the fourth Rochester hitter to homer in 2025, and first to do so on the road.

Rochester and Scranton/WB will meet Thursday night for game three of their six-game set, with the series tied at one game apiece. RHP Andry Lara is slated to make his third Triple-A start against RailRiders RHP Jake Woodford. The first pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m.

Find the box score for game two attached here.

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