By: Brayden Peters
BUFFALO, N.Y. --- The Buffalo Bisons couldn't top the Rochester Red Wings to secure a series win, falling 10-8. The Red Wings' offense was on fire between the third and fifth inning as they took advantage of two relievers that have struggled for the Bisons this season.
Adrian Hernandez came into the third inning with a 1-1 record and an 18.00 ERA. He struggled against the Red Wings in the first game of the series on Wednesday allowing two runs, one of which was earned, and three walks while recording a strikeout in 1.1 innings. He also threw two wild pitches.
Today in one inning pitched, Hernandez gave up six hits, five runs, with four of them earned while striking out one batter. He also threw two wild pitches, one of those pitches hitting Dylan Crews in the head. Hernandez was credited with the loss, dropping his record to 1-2.
"I think he has just lost a feel for his changeup right now and, maybe his fastball a little bit," Buffalo Bisons manager Casey Candaele said. "You know, it could come back at any time. So, you know, it's just a matter of getting the ball again and going out there."
Eric Pardinho replaced Hernandez in the fourth inning. Heading in, Pardinho had a 1-1 record with a 9.82 ERA. He finished his day surrendering two hits and two runs, one of which was earned in two innings pitched. He didn't throw a strikeout and didn't walk anyone, but one of his pitches did hit Crews in his right forearm.
Andrew Bash was given the start on the mound for the Bisons. He threw three strikeouts while giving up three hits, one earned run, and a walk in two innings pitched. Outside of Hernandez's and Pardinho's performances, the rest of the bullpen for Buffalo allowed one hit, two runs in which one of them was earned, six walks and five strikeouts.
Buffalo's defense had a tough day backing up their pitchers, as they recorded four errors on the day, with two of them coming in the ninth inning. That ties for the highest number of errors that Buffalo was credited within a game this season.
"It's just, you know, you got to focus," Candaele said. "And I don't think any of the errors were that difficult to play. It's just maintaining focus and seeing the ball in your glove."
The Bisons' offense got their bats on the ball, recording eight hits, two of which were homers from Alan Roden and Damiano Palmegiani. Josh Kasevich and Will Robertson were the only Bisons to have a multi-hit game, as Kasevich had three hits while Robertson had two.
Rochester's offense recorded a total of 12 hits. Stone Garrett, Jack Dunn, Joey Gallo and Jackson Cluff combined for six of the Red Wings hits, as all four batters had a pair of hits. Eight of the nine batters in the batting order for the Red Wings all got hits.
Kyle Luckham was named the starting pitcher for the Red Wings. In 2.1 innings pitched, he allowed five hits, four earned runs, and three walks while striking out three batters. Rochester's bullpen only gave up six hits, four earned runs, and five walks while striking out five batters.
Rochester got on the board first in the second inning as Cluff grounded out to drive in Garrett from third base. He walked to get on base earlier in the inning.
Riley Tirotta helped Buffalo tie the game in the second as he doubled to send Rafael Lantigua home all the way from first base. Lantigua got walked to get on base.
The Red Wings broke the tie in the third inning. Andrés Chaparro singled to drive in Darren Baker, who got on base thanks to a fielding error by Hernandez. With the single, Chaparro extended his on-base streak to seven games, which is tied with Crews for the highest on the Red Wings. Brady House gave some insurance to Rochester's lead as he drove in Chaparro on a single, making it a 3-1 game in favor of the Red Wings.
The bats continued to stay hot for the Red Wings in the third. Dunn allowed Gallo to score on a single, increasing the Red Wings' lead to 4-1. Gallo singled beforehand to get on base.
Buffalo's offense exploded in the bottom of the third. The Bisons hit back-to-back solo home runs from Roden and Palmegiani, cutting the deficit to one run. With Roden's homer, he now has 20 RBIs this season. Buffalo then tied the game after Gabriel Cancel was walked with the bases loaded, allowing Robertson to cross home plate.
"It was awesome," Palmegiani said. "I mean, Alan (Roden) hit an off-speed which was cool, because then maybe I can anticipate something else. But realistically, I just went in there with the same approach as I always do and got myself in a good position to take a good swing. So then, me and Alan got to celebrate after."
Rochester continued to find success against Hernandez. In the fourth inning, Baker doubled to allow Cluff and Crews to score, breaking the tie and giving the Red Wings a 6-4 lead. Cluff got on base after singling and Crews was hit by a pitch from Hernandez that sent him to first base.
Cluff extended the lead in the fifth inning as he hit a single that plated runners Garrett and Dunn. The Red Wings tacked on another run to their lead in the eighth with the bases loaded as Brady Lindsly was walked, allowing Chaparro to score. He got walked prior to get on base.
Buffalo were able to score in the eighth inning after going scoreless from the fourth to the seventh inning. Joey Votto, who came in to pinch hit for Tirotta, grounded out into a double play that helped Kasevich score. He singled to get on base.
Gallo helped Rochester get into double digits on the scoreboard in the ninth. He hit a single that allowed Baker to cross home plate, who got on base after a fielding error by Lantigua.
Buffalo attempted to mount a comeback in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Robertson hit his second double of the game to help Phil Clarke and Roden score, cutting the Red Wings' lead to 10-7. Both Clarke and Roden got on base after getting walked. Then, Kasevich hit a single to drive in Robertson, making it a 10-8 game in favor of Rochester.
Lantigua proceeded to hit a single to get on base to put Kasevich in scoring position. Votto was then walked by closer Rico Garcia. Cancel had a chance to get a walk-off hit to give the Bisons the series win. However, Garcia came up in the clutch as he struck out Cancel to secure the 10-8 victory for the Red Wings.
The Bisons fall to a 54-59 overall record and a 17-22 second half record. They sit in fifth in the IL East. Rochester improves to a 60-52 overall record and a 22-17 second half record. They currently sit in third in the IL East and tied the series 3-3.
This was the final series between both teams in this thruway rivalry. The last three seasons, Buffalo won the season series against the Red Wings. This season, it was the opposite as Rochester has won it 15-9 for the first time since going 9-8 against the Bisons in the 2018 season.
"They had a good team this year, and we have been successful against them in the past few years," Candaele said. "But, you know, they have some good, talented players. They did what they needed to do."
The Bisons will head to PNC Field on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. to take on former Bison Cam Eden and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. The starting pitcher for both teams is to be determined. Rochester will head back home to Innovative Field and look to keep the momentum going when they host the Syracuse Mets on Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. It is unknown who will be the starting pitcher for both teams.
Comments