STAFF REPORTS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rowdy Tellez hit an opposite field home run and drove in three to lead the Bisons to an 8-5 victory over the Syracuse Chiefs on Monday night from Coca-Cola Field. The win is the Herd’s fifth straight and improves the team’s home record to 11-5 on the season.
Tellez drove in the Herd’s first run of the contest with a first-inning sacrifice fly, but it was the ball that left the yard in the seventh that proved to be the game winner. With the game tied at five and already two outs in the inning, the slugger was facing an 0-2 count to Chiefs’ reliever Austin Adams. But Tellez stayed alive by fouling off two pitches before getting one that he liked, a fastball up in the zone. Tellez powered the ball the opposite way to left, just clearing the wall for his second home run of the year.
The Bisons added a pair of insurance after Tellez’s home run, one with a little bit of controversy. Adams hit Danny Jansen with his next delivery after the home run. Calmer heads prevailed and both benches were warned. The Herd made Adams pay on the scoreboard though, as Jansen moved to second on an error and scored when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. dropped a bloop double just inside the left field foul line.
The Bisons tacked on an eighth run in the eighth on a solo home run from Jason Leblebijian, his second in as many days.
The 8-5 final seemed relatively tame after the way Monday’s contest began. The score was 5-4 Buffalo after just two and a half innings of play. The Herd responded to the Chiefs two-run first by scoring two of their own in the stanza. After Tellez’s sac fly, Tim Lopes and Jansen combined on a double steal with Lopes easily swiping the plate.
The Bisons scored three more in the second on a two-run triple by Lopes and an RBI grounder from Tellez.
The win for Buffalo went to Dusty Isaacs in his Triple-A debut. Just up from New Hampshire, the righty threw two shutout innings in relief of Chris Rowley. Rowley yielded four earned over six innings of work.
Al Alburquerque worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his third save of the season.
The Bisons will host the Chiefs again on Tuesday night at 6:05 p.m.
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