Marco Luciano’s eighth-inning home run proved the difference as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders beat the Rochester Red Wings, 5-3, on Friday in the fourth game of the pivotal series at ESL Ballpark.
The RailRiders and Red Wings are essentially tied for first place in the International League with eight games remaining in the regular season, though Scranton/Wilkes-Barre holds a .003 percentage points lead due to two fewer games played.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre opened the scoring in the second.
Oswaldo Cabrera worked a one-out walk and scored on a double from Yanquiel Fernández for a 1-0 lead. It was Fernández’s 20th double and 83rd RBI this year.
Rochester tied the game in the bottom of the third on a Trey Lipscomb RBI single and took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on a run-scoring groundout.
The RailRiders tallied two in the fifth to regain the lead. Jarred Kelenic singled home Ernesto Martínez Jr., and a squeeze bunt from Max Schuemann plated Kenedy Corona for a 3-2 lead.
Cayden Wallace lofted a game-tying home run to right in the bottom of the sixth, tying the game at 3.
Luciano’s 15th RailRiders home run of the year gave Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a 5-3 lead in the seventh.
Kyle Carr started for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and allowed a run on one hit over 2.1 innings. Xavier Rivas (1-2) worked five innings of relief for the win, allowing two runs on three hits with five strikeouts. Travis MacGregor retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth on five pitches for his first save of the year.
Adam Kloffenstein will start Saturday’s game for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Rochester’s Chandler Champlain. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
The RailRiders are on the road through Sunday and open the final homestand of the season Tuesday against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.