Jarlin Susana spent the first two innings of his Triple-A debut pitching near the edge, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first and stranding a leadoff double in the second. Buffalo finally pushed him over it in the third, turning another stretch of traffic into the decisive rally of Rochester’s 7-1 loss Friday at Sahlen Field.
The Bisons scored four runs in the inning, all charged to Susana, and held the Red Wings to two hits. Rochester’s only run came on Trey Lipscomb’s groundout in the sixth before Buffalo put the game away with three more in the eighth.
Susana walked Rhylan Thomas to begin the third and allowed a single to Daz Cameron. Jay Harry followed by driving a 1-2 pitch the other way, lining it inside the left-field line and into the corner. Thomas and Cameron scored as Harry pulled into second with a two-run double.
Susana issued another walk but nearly contained the damage, getting a groundout and a strikeout before leaving with two outs. Paxton Schultz entered and Peyton Williams greeted him by ripping a double down the right-field line, scoring both inherited runners for a 4-0 Buffalo lead.
The final line attached all four runs to Susana, who allowed four earned runs over 2 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out three in his first start at the level.
Schultz steadied the game from there. He worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, struck out three and did not issue a walk, giving Rochester’s lineup time to find a way back. It never found much against CJ Van Eyk.
The right-hander held the Red Wings to one earned run and two hits across seven innings, striking out two and walking one. Rochester did not put a runner in scoring position until the sixth.
Cortland Lawson opened that inning with Rochester’s only extra-base hit, a double to left, then moved to third on Seaver King’s lineout to center. Lipscomb’s soft groundout brought Lawson home and cut the deficit to 4-1, but that was the extent of the rally. Lipscomb supplied Rochester’s other hit, drew a walk and drove in its only run; the other seven Red Wings starters went hitless.
The quiet night stood in contrast to the identity general manager Dan Mason described before the game, one forged by a changing roster that had remained in contention deep into the season.
“And yet somehow this team continues to scratch and claw its way to winning games.”
— Dan Mason, Red Wings General Manager
There was little room to scratch back Friday. Van Eyk retired the next four batters after Lipscomb’s RBI, and Chad Dallas covered the final two innings without allowing a run.
Chandler Champlain kept the deficit at three through his first three relief innings before Buffalo struck again in the eighth. RJ Schreck sent a towering drive to right-center that carried into the bullpens for his eighth home run. Nick Goodwin immediately followed with a drive over the wall in center, giving the Bisons back-to-back homers and a 6-1 lead.
After a flyout, two walks and a strikeout, Cameron lined an RBI single to center to complete the three-run inning and establish the final margin. Champlain was charged with three earned runs over 3 2/3 innings, with four strikeouts and two walks.
The loss arrived amid the late-season atmosphere Mason said had begun to resemble something beyond an ordinary September series.
“Those games, there was an intensity to each and every one of those games that you don’t get necessarily throughout the regular season, but it’s starting to feel like the weather’s getting a little crisper, a little more fall-esque, and people are starting to feel like there’s that playoff atmosphere, and hopefully the guys will play well this week, and we’ll see what happens.”
— Dan Mason, Red Wings General Manager
On Friday, Buffalo owned that atmosphere. The Bisons outhit Rochester 10-2, and one difficult inning in Susana’s debut supplied all the separation they needed.