By: Brayden Peters
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bisons' pitching unit saved the day as Buffalo edged out the Rochester Red Wings 2-1. Buffalo's pitchers threw a combined 10 strikeouts in the victory while only surrendering seven hits, one earned run and a walk. Reliever Luis Quinones threw four of the Bisons' strikeouts.
add a graph somewhere toward the beginning about Quinones specifically since you mentioned him in the lead. talk ab the context of his strikeouts, stuff like that
Jake Bloss was given the start on the mound for Buffalo. It marks his first start and appearance as a Bison after the Toronto Blue Jays acquired him in the Yusei Kikuchi trade with the Houston Astros. Bloss, who is ranked as the Blue Jays' third-best prospect according to MLB.com, finished the day throwing two strikeouts while giving up three hits and a walk in 2.2. innings pitched.
He has gotten accustomed to his new home.
"I mean, it's a cool spot, Buffalo," Bloss said. "I like it a lot. I went to Niagara Falls the other day, like it's a cool spot. Guys here are awesome..."
Quinones and Bloss weren't the only ones finding the strike zone. Relievers Hayden Juenger, Brandon Eisert and closer Mason Fluharty added strikeouts to their names as well. Juenger and Fluharty ended the day with one punch out each while Eisert had two.
"As we progress, they've gotten better and better, and I think a key was, you know, trusting their stuff and not being afraid of contact," Bisons manager Casey Candaele said. "You know, a little bit early in the year we were, you know, pitching to strike everybody out and not understanding, like, how to do that. I think as it's progressed, Drew Hayes (Bisons pitching coach) and Anthony Gomez (Bisons bullpen coach) have done a good job of getting our younger pitchers to understand that you do have to be close to the zone and around the zone and in the zone and strike the ball to strike guys out."
Buffalo's offense ended the day with five hits as Josh Kasevich and Jonatan Clase combined for four of them. Clase went 2-for-4 at the plate while striking out once and both of his hits were doubles. As for Kasevich, he ended the day going 2-for-4. He also had a day defensively, as he recorded four putouts and had three assists.
"I've seen him play before and seen him in spring training, and he's a quality defender," Candaele said. "He makes every routine play and he'll make some tough plays too. He goes about his business defensively as it's important to him as offense."
Rochester's offense was more productive in the hitting deparment compared to Buffalo, as the Red Wings recorded eight hits. Dylan Crews and Darren Baker accounted for four of Rochester's hits. Crews went 2-for-4 in the batter's box with a dinger, giving him an RBI. As for Baker, he went 2-for-4 while getting struck out twice.
Andrés Chapparo's home run streak and five-game hitting streak came to an end today. He went 0-for-3 while getting a base on balls and striking out twice. However, he did make history with his four-game home run streak. The last Red Wing to do so was current Minnesota Twins centerfielder Byron Buxton, who hit four consecutive dingers from August 24 to August 27 in 2016.
Brad Lord got the start at pitcher for the Red Wings. He pitched in five innings and threw four strikeouts while surrendering two hits, one run and three walks. The bullpen threw a total of three strikeouts while allowing three hits, an earned run and three walks.
Buffalo drew first blood in the second inning, thanks to Nick Raposo, who the Blue Jays claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. He singled to drive in Alan Roden, who got a base on balls.
"Yeah, I was just trying to get a pitch like, up," Raposo said. "I know he's (Lord) trying to get it in. He did get in a little bit. Just trying to stay to the middle field..."
The Bisons extended their lead in the sixth inning. Gabriel Cancel got walked with the bases loaded to allow Joey Votto to score, increasing the lead to 2-0.
It took until the eighth inning for the Red Wings to get on the board. Dylan Crews homered out towards left field to help Rochester cut into the Bisons lead. It was Crews' second home run in as many days and he now has 20 RBI on the season.
The Red Wings had a chance in the ninth inning to snatch the lead. They had two runners on base at second and first with two outs. However, a line drive to Kasevich from Jack Dunn put the nail in the coffin to give Buffalo the victory.
Buffalo moves up to a 54-58 overall record and a 17-21 second half record. They also move up to fifth in the IL East and are now 3-2 in the series against the Red Wings. Rochester falls to a 59-52 overall record and a 21-17 second half record. They remain in third in the IL East.
The Bisons will look to win their final series against the Red Wings when they host them on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Buffalo's starting pitcher is to be determined. Kyle Luckham (1-2, 9.24) will get the start on the mound for Rochester. In his last outing against the Omaha Storm Chasers Monday, he struck out two batters while allowing six hits, six earned runs and four walks in 4.2 innings pitched.
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