{"id":171216,"date":"2026-04-20T22:05:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/171216\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T22:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:05:15","slug":"after-6-4-win-against-buffalo-on-a-cold-sunday-red-wings-head-to-scranton-with-winning-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/171216\/","title":{"rendered":"After 6-4 win against Buffalo on a cold Sunday, Red Wings head to Scranton with winning record"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Riley Cornelio struck out nine as the Red Wings won their series finale with the Buffalo Bisons on Sunday. (Photo: JOE TERRITO\/Rochester Red Wings)<\/p>\n

BY DAN GLICKMAN<\/p>\n

ROCHESTER, N.Y. \u2013 Fred Costello, the long-time organist for the Rochester Red Wings, isn\u2019t afraid of having a little bit of fun when the action demands it. So when a light snow started falling during Sunday\u2019s cold and wintry game between the Red Wings and the Buffalo Bisons \u2013 a game that had already been delayed at the start for almost an hour by bad weather \u2013 he soon started playing Christmas music.<\/p>\n

It was a merry one for the Red Wings, though who took advantage of an excellent start by Riley Cornelio<\/a> and six runs across the three middle innings to defeat Buffalo, 6-4, to secure a 3-3 series split and head above .500 with an 11-10 record. The 25-year-old righty went five innings, allowing three hits, a walk, and one earned run while striking out nine.<\/p>\n

Cornelio, who grew up in Colorado, was used to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt good, I definitely had some cool games when I was growing up and stuff,\u201d he said post-game. \u201cBut ultimately I was just trying to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe really had it,\u201d said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy<\/a>. \u201cHe was really good, he gave up a run there late there, but he was pretty dominant. His slider was really good, with lots of swings and misses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The performance by Cornelio was especially important as it came after the call-up of lefty Andrew Alvarez<\/a>, who with Cornelio has anchored the start of the Wings rotation for much of the season. Alvarez was sent back down after earning a win in relief for the Nationals on Sunday, but it\u2019s likely he may return to the big club in the future.<\/p>\n

In contrast to Cornelio, Andrew Pinckney<\/a> \u2013 who was born and raised in Alabama before playing for the Crimson Tide collegiately \u2013 says he\u2019s gotten a bit used to the cold from his time in Rochester, but that it still bothers him. That didn\u2019t stop him from an important day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.<\/p>\n

And those two RBIs were important ones, coming with the bases loaded but two outs in the fourth of what was at the time a scoreless game. Facing a 2-2 count against lefty Josh Fleming<\/a>, Pinckney found a changeup low and golfed it into the air. It hung for a bit, and many thought a fielder would get to it to end the inning \u2013 but they didn\u2019t. It dropped harmlessly into center, allowing Dylan Crews<\/a> and Andres Chaparro<\/a> to score to make it 2-0. Phillip Glasser<\/a> followed, singling in Riley Adams<\/a> from third to expand the lead to 3-0.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t trying to do too much and swing for the fences,\u201d said Pinckney of the at-bat. \u201cI was trying to get a single and try and get some runs across.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pinckney \u2013 who\u2019d earlier hit a double that ended in the bottom of the second with Riley Adams getting thrown out at home \u2013 later reached base for a third time in the sixth inning, albeit in a most unusual way.<\/p>\n

With the Wings now up 4-1 after Crews brought home Yohandy Morales<\/a> with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, Pinckney stepped to the plate to lead off the bottom of the sixth against Jesse Hahn<\/a>. He struck out, but the ball got by Buffalo catcher Adam Hackenberg<\/a>, who then threw away the ball when he tried to record the out at first, allowing Pinckney to end up at second. He\u2019d later come around to score on a Harry Ford<\/a> single and an error by Bisons shortstop Josh Rivera<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely not the way you want to get on second base, but yeah, it was a dropped third strike and I ran hard and ended up on second and ended up scoring,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The play to bring in Pinckney was one of two straight errors for Rivera, who threw away a grounder from Crews immediately after to allow Ford to score and make it 6-2.<\/p>\n

While a shaky appearance by Eddy Yean<\/a> in the ninth allowed Buffalo to add two runs to the final, Rochester held on for the win.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The 2026 Red Wings have so far generally hovered around .500, usually staying just over. At 11-10, they are a half-game back of Syracuse and Worcester for the International League East division lead for the first half, but three games back of the Memphis Redbirds for the league-wide lead that would earn them a playoff spot.<\/p>\n

Befitting their relatively average record so far, the Red Wings have not excelled at much, but are rarely among the league\u2019s worst at anything either. They rank fifth in the 20-team league in batting average (.252) and eighth in hits (169), but are 13th in runs scored (95) and 16th in home runs (15). The team\u2019s on-base-plus-slugging, or OPS, is 13th (.713).<\/p>\n

The pitching has been more uneven, with a 5.76 ERA that is 19th in the league, but a better-than-average opponent batting average of .245 \u2013 good for the eighth best in the IL. Cornelio\u2019s 2.45 ERA, meanwhile, is tied for ninth in the league among qualifying pitchers, and he is tied with Alvarez for sixth in strikeouts, with 27. In fact, the staff\u2019s 203 strikeouts is the sixth-best in the IL, overall. A major issue has been the long-ball: the Wings\u2019 staff has allowed 28 home runs, the fourth-most in on the circuit. And like last season<\/a>, the Red Wings\u2019 relief corps has been a weakness: the team\u2019s 7.62 ERA in the seventh inning or later is not only the worst in the league, but a full point behind the Iowa Cubs\u2019 6.54 late-inning ERA, which is the second-worse.<\/p>\n

And yet, the Red Wings remain above .500 and in the race for a playoff spot early in the season. It\u2019s a marked improvement over last year\u2019s squad, which had only four wins come April 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really happy about where we\u2019re at as a team,\u201d says LeCroy. \u201cWe\u2019ve started to come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Up next is a road trip to the Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, who sit at .500 with a 10-10 record. The Yankees affiliate may be bolstered by some rehabbing players from the majors, as Anthony Volpe<\/a> and Gerrit Cole<\/a> (who had an appearance in Rochester during a previous rehab assignment<\/a> in 2024) have both recently spent time with New York\u2019s AA affiliate and may soon make a jump on their road back to the show.<\/p>\n

Regardless, LeCroy expects it to be a tough series \u2013 but one he\u2019s looking forward to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always a tough place to play and a tough team to play,\u201d he says. \u201cBut hopefully we can go in there and battle and win the series.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rochester\u2019s opening game in Scranton is Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. The Wings expect to send out Japanese lefty Shinnosuke Ogasawara<\/a> against Yankees right-handed farmhand Brendan Beck<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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