Rochester’s season ended in the harshest possible way, with a championship-game loss that turned on one bad inning after a night of mostly spotless pitching. The Triple-A club carried a 2-0 lead into the eighth and had every chance to finish the job, but the bullpen finally cracked, and the game slipped away in a 5-3 defeat in 10 innings.
For a long stretch, Rochester looked built to close out the title. Jack Cebert opened with two scoreless innings and two strikeouts, handing off a 2-0 cushion.
Jarlin Susana followed with two more shutout frames, firing 104 mph fastballs and working around three of the Dodgers’ top prospects - Josue De Paula, James Tibbs III, and Mike Sirota - without allowing a run. Joe Glassey, Max Kranick, and Erick Mejia each added scoreless innings after that, and Rochester’s defense stayed clean throughout.
The offense gave the pitchers just enough support. Liover Peguero homered for one of the two runs in regulation, and Leandro Pineda drove in the other with a hit with runners in scoring position.
Outside of that, Rochester went 1-7 with runners in scoring position, with the lone other success coming on an infield hit. The club also had a chance to win it in the ninth with a runner in scoring position and one out, but couldn’t land the decisive blow.
Then came the eighth, and the game changed fast. Eddy Yean entered with the lead and immediately walked James Tibbs III.
A wild pitch advanced the trouble, and Mike Sirota brought in a run before Alek Thomas bunted him to second. Thomas later scored on a double to force a 2-2 game, and Yean left with two outs after the blown save.
Kyle Nicolas came on and struck out Hyeseong Kim to strand the inherited runner, then worked 1 1/3 innings overall, including a clean ninth.
Rochester still had life in the bottom of the ninth. Max Romero singled to start the inning, Cortland Lawsom walked, and Seth Halvorsen had to fight to keep the game alive.
A near wild pitch was somehow handled, and then Seaver King smashed a 100.1 mph shot that was caught to save the game. That left runners on the corners with one out and Trey Lipscomb up in a spot that could have ended it, but he popped out to center.
International League Manager of the Year Matt LeCroy then turned to Clayton Beeter for the 10th, despite other bullpen options being available. The move backfired immediately.
Beeter walked the first batter, issued another walk to load the bases with the ghost runner in place, and Alek Thomas followed with a bases-clearing double. Beeter didn’t record an out and was charged with three runs in the inning.
LeCroy went to Matt Krook to clean up the mess, and Rochester got the game to the bottom of the 10th down 5-2. Cayden Wallace reached on an infield single that would have been an out with replay, but the rally never fully materialized. Riley Adams ended up driving in the final run on a double play ball, and that was that.
It was a brutal finish, but it doesn’t change the bigger picture: Rochester went 90-58, had the best record in all of Triple-A baseball, and won in the postseason before reaching the championship game as the home team because of that record. The ending stung. The season was still a special one.
In Other News...
Nationals Just Raised The Stakes On A Massive Offseason
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What makes this winter so important is that the Nationals are not just looking for a quick patch, they are weighing roster construction, long-term fit and how much ownership is willing to spend to reshape the group. The bullpen remains a major area to watch, and several young players will also have their roles examined as the organization tries to line up the present with the future. For a team trying to move from encouraging to established, the decisions made over the next few months could say a lot about how aggressive Washington intends to be. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Are Sending A Clear Message With These Farm System Changes
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Among the departures are Triple-A pitching coach Fernando Nieve, Double-A manager Delino DeShields and Double-A pitching coach Rigo Beltran, with additional staff turnover also touching senior advisor Dave Jauss, outfield and baserunning coordinator Chris Prieto, infield coordinator Jason Wood and Single-A strength and conditioning coach Jordan Chen. For a club trying to turn prospect depth into big-league help, these kinds of staffing decisions matter as much as any roster move, because they can hint at where the front office thinks the system needs a new voice, a new approach, or both. [Read more 🡒]
James Wood Has Become A Real Nationals Concern Late In Seasons
James Wood has quickly become one of the Nationals most important bats, the kind of middle-of-the-order presence who can shape the tone of an offense for months at a time. He finished among the clubs top three in major offensive categories and picked up his second All-Star selection, a strong sign that his overall rise is real and not just a hot stretch.
Still, there is a late-season pattern here that Washington has reason to keep watching. Wood has now shown a notable drop-off in the second half in consecutive seasons, with the power disappearing and the slugging taking a hit, and this years slide was complicated by a left oblique strain that limited his availability for about a month. For a team trying to build around young core pieces, the question is no longer whether Wood can do damage, but whether he can carry that impact through the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]