For the third time in as many starts, Scott Diamond held the opposition to four hits across an even seven innings as the Buffalo Bisons downed the Rochester Red Wings with a 5-2 victory at Frontier Field on Monday.
With a worn down bullpen behind him, the Canadian lefty walked two and punched out a pair of Red Wings while allowing a lone run. Diamond’s 11th quality start lowers his ERA to 3.33 and boosts his record to 6-7.
Darrell Ceciliani powered the Bisons’ offense by driving in three of his brothers.
The leadoff got Buffalo’s struggling attack going with a double to begin the game. With the bases loaded and two out, Ceciliani scampered home on a wild pitch to put the Herd up 1-0 early.
The Bisons pushed their lead to three in the fourth inning with a couple of walks wrapped around a single to load the bags once again. Ceciliani then took an 0-2 pitch from Logan Darnell and ripped it off of the glove of third baseman Tommy Field and into left, plating both Domonic Brown and Tony Sanchez.
The Red Wings answered back with their only run of the game in the bottom half of the inning. The damage could have been worse, but Buffalo’s outfield arms were both fast and accurate.
With none out in the fourth, Ceciliani took a fly ball in left that looked like a sure sacrifice fly, and fired it home on a hop to gun down Jorge Polanco. Carlos Paulino, on the next at-bat, drove a ball to the corner in right but the relay from Brown to David Adams to Andy Burns at third was perfect again and ended the inning.
Wilfredo Tovar lined a ball over the head of Melky Mesa to the wall in center in the eighth, but Buffalo’s defense completed the 8-4-5 relay to nab the shortstop diving into third.
The Herd added an insurance run in the ninth as Jesus Montero drove in his 48th run of the year with a soft liner into shallow center field, cashing in Burns from third base.
Ryan Tepera came on in the ninth and made things a little more interesting than manager Gary Allenson would have liked. The hard-throwing closer gave up two hits and a walk to load the bases with none out.
Tepera then locked in to strike out slugger Adam Walker, who is only one home run shy of the International League lead, on five pitches.
Paulino followed up with a sac fly to make it a 5-2 contest before Buck Britton flied out Ceciliani to end the game.
BISONS NOTES:
Monday’s effort was the first time in 16 games this season that the Herd scored more than four runs in a Scott Diamond start…Tony Sanchez has reached base safely in each of his last 19 games…Jesus Montero has had multiple hits in nine of his last 12 games…Toronto’s Franklin Morales threw an inning of scoreless relief as part of his rehab…Casey Lawrence is slated to come up from Double-A New Hampshire on Tuesday to make his first start for the Bisons since April 21.
from Bisons.com via IFTTT
