Rochester kept the bats buzzing and came out on top in a wild one at Omaha, while Harrisburg, Wilmington, Fredericksburg, and the DSL Nationals all finished on the wrong side of the scoreboard Wednesday.
The Red Wings won 8-7 by launching five homers, and Max Romero Jr. was right in the middle of it. Romero went 3-for-3 with two runs, two walks, two home runs, and three RBI.
Justin Lawrence was the pitcher of record when Romero’s second blast put Rochester ahead 7-6, and he earned the win. Matt Krook set the tone out of the bullpen with two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out two.
Lawrence followed with a clean inning, and Tyler Varland picked up his fourth save despite giving up one run on three hits in the ninth.
Riley Adams also left the yard for Rochester, finishing 2-for-5 with two runs, a double, a homer, and two RBI. Cayden Wallace and Seaver King joined the home run barrage, and Branden Lipscomb chipped in with a 2-for-5 night that included a run, a double, and his 10th stolen base.
Harrisburg’s game at Akron went to extra innings before the Senators fell 8-6 in 10. Alex Clemmey was hit for six runs on seven hits over 4⅔ innings, with five walks, three strikeouts, and two homers allowed.
He left with Harrisburg down 6-4. The Senators pushed it to extras on RBI singles from Branden Boissiere and Ethan Petry, but Robert Cranz gave up a two-out, two-run homer in the 10th and took the loss.
Petry finished 3-for-4 with a run, a homer, and three RBI, while Boissiere went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, a sacrifice fly, and two strikeouts. The club also announced roster moves: RHP Thomas Schultz was placed on the 7-Day I.L., and RHP Blake Brown was activated from the Development List.
Frederick beat Wilmington 4-1 after scoring once in the third and three times in the fourth. Austin Amaral opened with a scoreless inning, working around a hit and a walk.
Mikey Tepper took the loss for Wilmington, allowing all four Keys runs on three hits and three walks in four innings. Jacob Walsh accounted for the lone Wilmington run, going 2-for-4 with a run, a homer, and an RBI; his single in the second ended the no-hit bid, and his seventh-inning homer broke up the shutout.
Jorgelys Mota added a double, and Yeremy Cabrera singled as part of Frederick’s four-hit night.
Kannapolis also won 4-1, handing Fredericksburg the loss behind a rough inning from the bullpen. Marlon De La Cruz turned in four scoreless innings for the FredNats, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out seven and working out of trouble with a wild pitch.
Josiah Gray followed with a run in his first appearance since September 2025, his fourth since June 2024. Jacob Weaver then gave up three runs over three innings to take the loss.
Christhian Vaquero was the brightest spot offensively, going 2-for-3 with a run, a double, a homer, and a stolen base. Dashyll Tejeda added two singles, including an outfield assist at home plate.
The rest of Fredericksburg’s lineup managed just three hits in 26 at-bats with one walk and 11 strikeouts.
The DSL Nationals wrapped up their season with a 6-4 loss. Ranger Sarit took the defeat after allowing five runs, one earned, on two hits, three walks, and a hit batsman over 2⅔ innings.
Euris Acosta and Luis Tarifa each went 1-for-3 with two runs scored, and the D-Nats scored four times on four singles while taking advantage of three errors. Luis Suarez added an RBI, two stolen bases, and an error.
In Other News...
Nationals May Have A Surprising Plan For Luis Perales
The Nationals appear to be taking a patient approach with their upper-level pitching depth, at least for now, as they hold back top prospect Seaver King in Triple-A Rochester for more development time. That leaves the organization looking at other ways to get arms into the big leagues, and Luis Perales has emerged as an intriguing name to watch after arriving from the Red Sox in the trade pipeline.
Perales has been used in a variety of roles in the minors, which gives Washington some flexibility if it decides to bring him up before much longer. With the current rotation structure seemingly intact, his first taste of major league action could come in a different role than some might expect, depending on how the Nationals map out the rest of the staff and the roster in the days ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals May Have An Unexpected Catching Answer Developing In Triple A
Maxwell Romero Jr. has made a noticeable jump since landing at Triple-A Rochester in July, giving the Nationals something worth tracking behind the plate. The 2022 draft pick has hit .292 with seven home runs in 21 games, and the underlying numbers back up the surge enough to make him more than a brief hot hand. His hard-hit and barrel rates have been eye-catching, the kind of production that can force a team to take a closer look at a catcher who was not previously on the front-burner in Washingtons system.
Romeros rise still comes with real questions attached, though, and that is what makes the coming months interesting for the Nationals. The swing has produced damage, but the contact quality has also come with a whiff-heavy profile and shaky in-zone results, leaving open the possibility that the bat could look very different once pitchers make the next adjustment. For a club always looking for answers at catcher, he has at least put himself into the conversation, even if the shape of that answer is not settled yet. [Read more 🡒]