STAFF REPORTS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Bisons improved to 8-2 in their last 10 games at Coca-Cola Field thanks to a 4-3 Sunday matinee victory over the RailRiders. The win completes a three-game sweep of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and pulls the Herd’s record on the season back to .500 at 16-16.
The clutch hit on Sunday belonged to Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who snapped a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning with a two-out RBI single. Following an infield hit from Devon Travis and a walk by Danny Jansen, Gurriel Jr. roped a 1-1 fastball from reliever Cody Carroll past the shortstop and into left field. Zack Zehner came up throwing for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but Travis was able to slide around the tag, just brushing his stretched-out hand across the plate.
Before that, there wasn’t much going for the Bisons offense until Jason Leblebijian clobbered his team-best fourth home run of the season into the protective netting in left field. Prior to that, the Herd had just one hit, but Leblebijian’s blast pulled Buffalo even at 1-1.
The Bisons took the lead an inning later when Anthony Alford used his speed to disrupt the RailRiders defense. After walking, Alford stole second and went to third on an errant throw. Rowdy Tellez cashed in the run two batters later with an RBI-single.
The win for Buffalo went to Tim Mayza, who retired all five batters he faced with a pair of strike outs. Pressed into the starter’s role, Taylor Guerrieri gave the Herd four solid innings, retiring 10 of the first 11 batters he faced. Justin Shafer, just promoted last night from Double-A New Hampshire, worked through a jam in the ninth inning to earn his first career Triple-A save.
The Bisons’ homestand continues Monday with the first of four games against the Syracuse Chiefs. First pitch is at 6:05 p.m.
