A three-run triple by Darrell Ceciliani, six-shutout frames by Scott Diamond, and a 2.1 inning save by Danny Barnes led the Herd to a 4-3 win against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Friday.
14,216 fans packed Coca-Cola Field for the final fridaynightbash! of 2016, as the Buffalo faithful watched the Herd end a five-game losing streak, taking the first game of a four-game series against Lehigh Valley. Friday began the final homestand of the season for the Bisons.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, a single by Andy Burns and single by Jio Mier, celebrating his 26th birthday, was followed by a Dalton Pompey walk. With the bases loaded, Darrell Ceciliani ripped a three-run triple to give the Herd a 3-1 lead. Matt Dominguez followed it up with a first-pitch RBI single against starter Dave Buchanan.
“I had a couple not-so-great at bats to start off the game,” Ceciliani said postgame. “I chased a couple pitches, and missed a couple pitches, so I was just trying to stay in the strike zone, be aggressive early, look for something out over the plate. I was just try to get something to the outfield, and at least push one run across.”
“Ceciliani’s been locked in since he came down here,” manager Gary Allenson said postgame. Ceciliani rejoined the Herd on Aug. 19 after a stint with the Blue Jays, and he is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak. “He’s doing a pretty good job getting swings against lefties. He’s not an automatic out, which a lot of lefties are.”
Lehigh Valley took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth, as Max Stassi picked up an infield RBI single. Bisons’ starter Scott Diamond escaped further trouble, when catcher Erik Kratz picked Cam Perkins off third base, and Jesmuel Valentin flied out to end the inning.
A strong outing for Scott Diamond allowed the lefty to record his ninth win of the year. He yielded just one earned run on six hits, increasing his team-lead in innings pitched to 159.0 and quality starts to 15. Diamond escaped a bases-loaded, no one out jam in the second, benefiting from a force out at home plate and an inning-ending double play.
Dustin Anotlin relieved Diamond for the seventh, allowing a two-run home run into the right field Bully Hill Party Deck to Cody Asche, making it a 4-3 Buffalo ballgame. A double to Darin Ruf brought Danny Barnes out of the bullpen, who struck Andrew Knapp out to end the inning.
The ninth inning got interesting, as the tying run reached third base in the form of pinch-hitter Cedric Hunter, who doubled and moved to third on a fly ball. Both Lehigh Valley shortstop J.P. Crawford and manager Dave Brundage were ejected for arguing balls and strikes after Barnes punched out Crawford. With two away in the ninth, Barnes fanned Cody Ashe to end the ballgame, earning his fifth save of the year.
“[Danny] Barnes going 2.1 [innings] for the save.” Allenson said. “I told Steamer [pitching coach Bob Stanley], the last guy I saw do that was [Hall of Famer Rich “Goose”] Gossage in a ’78 playoff game. So maybe he has a new nickname.”
IronPigs’ starter Dave Buchanan survived five innings, stranding two runners on in the fifth, his final inning of work. He allowed seven hits and three walks, as he falls to a game below .500, with an 8-9 record at Triple-A this year.
“In the three years I’ve been here, we’ve faced [Dave] Buchanan more than any other pitcher,” Allenson said of the IronPigs’ pitcher. “It’s like he’s on our team. He came out the first four innings or so and he was locked in. We ended up working that one inning there, with Ceciliani with the triple.”
The win follows a road trip to forget, when the Herd went 1-7 against Rochester, Charlotte and Gwinnett, officially being eliminated from playoff contention.
Game two of the Bisons’ four-game set with the ‘Pigs will take place on Saturday, with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m. from Coca-Cola Field. A pitching matchup of Chris Leroux and Anthony Vasquez will combine with Superhero Night and postgame fireworks. Gates open at 4:30 p.m.
BISONS NOTES:
The Bisons are now 33-33 at home this year… Danny Barnes surrounded his first hit to a lefty in the ninth inning, breaking a 0-38 streak on the year. He has 19 punch outs against southpaws this season. Dustin Antolin allowed an earned run for the first time in his last 11 outings.
from Bisons.com via IFTTT
