STAFF REPORTS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — In one weekend at Coca-Cola Field, the Bisons swept their way from the bottom of the IL North division standings to right up near the top.
Buffalo used a dominate pitching performance from Ryan Borucki and a five-run second inning to defeat the Syracuse Chiefs, 6-1, on Sunday afternoon from Coca-Cola Field. The victory gave the Herd a four-game sweep of their Thruway rival.
The Bisons entered the series on Thursday four games back of the first place Chiefs and now are tied with Syracuse, just a half-game back of Pawtucket for the top of the division.
Borucki was brilliant in his first start at Coca-Cola Field since Fan Appreciation Night last season. He struck out the first two batters he faced and then got out of the only jam of the game when he got former Bisons’ MVP Matt Hague to ground out with two runners on base. From there, the southpaw retired 19 of the final 21 batters he faced, including 10 straight from the fourth inning into the seventh.
Borucki struck out five, but more importantly prevented the Chiefs from making any solid contact. The only two hits he allowed were singles. The performance lowered the southpaw’s era by over a run and a half, from 5.95 to 4.39.
The Bisons got all they needed offensively with one big rally in the second inning as the Herd batted around to knock Syracuse starter Austin Voth from the contest. The Chiefs starter walked Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire around a Rowdy Tellez single to load the bases with no outs. Darnell Sweeney followed with a first-pitch line-drive single into center to score the first two runs of the game.
Two batters later, Roemon Fields bounced one through the infield to cash in two more runs before Dwight Smith Jr. finished the rally with another RBI-single. Smith Jr. was able to plate Fields because he stole second base for his 50th career stolen base with the Bisons.
Fields is the eighth player in the modern era to have 50 stolen bases with the team.
Syracuse tried to rally against the Bisons bullpen getting their first run in the eighth inning and loading the bases with only one out. Carlos Ramirez came on to strike out Mark Reynolds and Hague to end the threat and pick up his first save of the season.
The Bisons will now welcome in another Thruway rival when Rochester comes to town on Monday for the start of a three-game series.
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