Justin Lawrence struck out Max Schuemann with the bases loaded in the ninth, as the Rochester Red Wings held off the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 6-4, on Sunday at ESL Ballpark.
The RailRiders (38-29, 75-66) now trail Rochester (41-28, 86-56) by two games in the International League East standings with six games left.
Leandro Pineda’s RBI single gave Rochester a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Oswaldo Cabrera answered with a two-run homer to center in the top of the second to give the RailRiders a 2-1 advantage.
The Red Wings tied it in the bottom of the second, when Seaver King scored on a fielder’s choice.
Cabrera added his second home run in the top of the fourth to give the RailRiders a 3-2 lead, but Rochester once again answered in the bottom half of the inning with Buddy Kennedy’s sacrifice fly.
Liover Peguero’s RBI single to right gave the Red Wings a 4-3 advantage in the bottom of the fifth.
Two innings later, Peguero added a two-run double to left for a 6-3 lead.
J.C. Escarra’s RBI single to left cut the deficit to 6-4 in the top of the eighth, but that’s as close as the RailRiders got.
The RailRiders close out the regular season at home with a six-game series against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, starting Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at PNC Field.