Red Wings Fall Short against Buffalo in Saturday Matinée
IL Rochester Red Wings

Red Wings Fall Short against Buffalo in Saturday Matinée

Published on April 18, 2026 under International League (IL)
Rochester Red Wings News Release


With the series knotted at two games apiece, the Rochester Red Wings (10-10) fell in game five to the Buffalo Bisons (10-10) on a cloud-covered Saturday afternoon, 6-3. DH Yohandy Morales extended his hitting streak to six consecutive games with three singles at the plate, giving him four multi-hit performances in the last week. RF Andrew Pinckney notched two extra-base hits to provide the power, including the Red Wings first triple of the season in the fifth.

Following a scoreless first, SS Tyler Fitzgerald got the Bisons offense going in the top of the second with a one-out single. LF Rafael Lantigua took advantage of a hitter's count in the following at-bat, driving a 2-0 fastball through the hole at shortstop to put a pair of runners on. Two batters later and with two outs, C William Simoneit notched a single of his own the other way to right that brought home Fitzgerald for the first run of the ballgame. The lineup then turned over and CF Carlos Mendoza made it back-to-back two-out singles, scalding a hard ground ball through the left side that cashed in Lantigua to make the score 2-0.

Yohandy Morales and 2B Trey Lipscomb strung together back-to-back one-out singles in the ensuing half-inning, putting runners on the corners for Andrew Pinckney. The 2025 Red Wings MVP sent a chopper to first base that resulted in a force out, but allowed Morales to score and cut the lead in half, 2-1.

Buffalo kept things rolling in the top of the third. 3B Charles McAdoo drove a line drive up the middle for a single, and stole his fourth base of the season two pitches later to put himself in scoring position with 1B Riley Tirotta at the plate. The very next pitch, Tirotta connected on a fastball and sent it over the center field wall for a two-run homer, making the score 4-1 Buffalo.

The fourth was scoreless, and Rochester held Buffalo scoreless in the top of the fifth. Andrew Pinckney sliced a line drive into the right field corner to lead off the bottom half of the inning, and turned on the jets all the way to third for the Red Wings first triple of the season. SS Zack Short came through in the ensuing at-bat, skying a fly ball deep enough into center to allow Pinckney to tag up and cross the plate and make the score 4-2.

Buffalo shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald dropped down a bunt for a single to lead off the top of the sixth, and stole second three batters later. William Simoneit then connected on an RBI double into left-center field and up against the fence, allowing Fitzgerald to trot home with the Bisons fifth run.

Buffalo came to bat in the eighth still up by three runs. After two quick strikeouts, 2B Josh Rivera worked a walk to set the table for William Simoneit once again. The backstop roped a deep fly ball that dropped in the left-center field triangle for his second RBI double of the day, making the score 6-2.

CF Robert Hassell III led off the home half of the eighth with his third double of the season, and moved to third when Yohandy Morales picked up his third hit of the afternoon. A double play followed which allowed Hassell III to score from third and cut the Bisons lead to 6-3, but Buffalo escaped the remainder of the inning unscathed.

Rochester held the Bisons scoreless in the top of the ninth, and came to the plate in the bottom half in search of three runs to push the contest to extra innings. 1B Abimelec Ortiz walked, but was stranded at second to solidify a 6-3 loss.

RHP Andry Lara took the ball for Rochester in what was his third start of 2026. The right-hander out of Coro, Venezuela worked through 5.0 full innings, allowing four earned on eight hits while striking out six and walking one. RHP Trevor Gott was first out of the bullpen in the sixth, and covered 2.0 frames while allowing one earned on two hits with a pair of strikeouts and a walk before handing the ball to southpaw Erik Tolman. The California native pitched the eighth, allowing one earned on a hit with two strikeouts and one walk. RHP Seth Shuman finished things off in the ninth with a perfect frame on just 10 pitches.

Saturday afternoon's DH Yohandy Morales is your Red Wings Player of the Game. The Miami product picked up three hits for the third time this season, going 3-for-4 with a trio of singles and a run scored. Through the first five games of the series, Morales is hitting .556 (10-for-18) with a .722 SLG and 1.278 OPS.

The Red Wings and Bisons will meet one final time Sunday afternoon, with Rochester in search of a series split. RHP Riley Cornelio will take the mound in the finale, against veteran southpaw Josh Fleming. The first pitch will be at 1:05 p.m. for a second consecutive day.

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International League Stories from April 18, 2026


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