ROCHESTER, N.Y. – For seven of the nine innings on Saturday night against the Buffalo Bisons, the Rochester Red Wings were clearly the better team. Recovering from a three-run first, they’d scrapped their way back to tie it, 3-3, heading into the ninth. Sadly for the Wings, baseball games are nine innings, and at the end of the ninth, they’d fallen to their thruway rivals, 4-3, in front of a crowd of 10,954.
“The latter part of the game for us, that’s been a sore subject,” said Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy. “The guys fought, we were really hoping to get a win for that big crowd, but we just came up short.”
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As has happened often this season, the final scores came against the Rochester bullpen. Facing Ryan Loutos with one out, shortstop Josh Kasevich singled to right-center. Center fielder Nick Schnell ran to cut it off, but booted the ball, allowing Kasevich to move to second on the error. Kasevich then advanced to third on a groundout. It appeared Loutos would get out of it against Phil Clarke, but the catcher singled a 3-2 liner to left to score Kasevich with what was ultimately the game-winning. Due to the error, the run was unearned.
“It was a tough error there in the ninth inning,” said LeCroy. “It allowed the guy to go to second, and we just couldn’t keep the guy from scoring.”
The unearned run was the first of any kind the Red Wings (56-84, 29-39 in the second half) had given up since the first, which Buffalo (59-80, 29-37 in the second half) started with three consecutive hits. A double from left fielder Jonatan Clase started the inning, followed by an RBI double from rehabbing designated hitter Anthony Santander and a single from center fielder RJ Schreck that moved Santander to third. Although second baseman Buddy Kennedy then flew out, right fielder Riley Tirotta then brought home Santander to make it 2-0. The next batter, Kasevich, also singled, making it 3-0.
But then something interesting happened: Conley became unhittable. He got the next two batters in the second out, and then proceeded to throw four perfect innings before walking Schreck to lead off the sixth, and he never allowed a hit before leaving the game after the sixth.
“I was really worried in the first,” said LeCroy. “He didn’t really have much finish to his pitches, but then he cruised through the rest of the game.”
As Conley held off any additional Buffalo runs, the Rochester offense slowly chipped away at the deficit. Third baseman Trey Lipscomb doubled in Jose Tena with two outs in the third to earn the Red Wings their first run and cut into the Buffalo lead, 3-1. An inning later, Tena added another run, hitting a sharp line drive to left to bring in Jackson Cluff to make it a one-run game. Tena ultimately ended the night 3-for-4 with a walk, raising his AAA average to .309 on the season.
In the sixth, the Red Wings tied it up thanks to an unlikely source: catcher C.J. Stubbs. With only five home runs across three levels of baseball this season, including only three in AAA, Stubbs was batting in the nine-spot of the lineup. But the right-handed hitter got a hold of an Easton Wood changeup down in the zone and golfed it at 109.6 MPH over the center field wall for his fourth AAA home run of the season, tying it up at three.
That, however, would prove to be the last run for the Red Wings. Although they got a man into scoring position later in the sixth and had Jackson Cluff reach base on a hit-by-pitch to lead off the eighth, they never scored again, allowing for the unearned run in the ninth to make all the difference.
The Red Wings conclude their home schedule on Sunday, hosting Buffalo at 1:05 p.m. Right-hander Chase Solesky (5-5, 5.29) is expected to take the mound for Rochester. The Bisons have yet to announce a starter.
sometimes a bad night just compounds. Schnell struck out all 5 AB’s. looking terrible in just about every AB. then his 9th inning error cost the Wings the game. A most forgettable game for sure.
A huge crowd went home unhappy. That has happened a lot this season.