STAFF REPORTS
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits and Bisons pitchers combined to strike out 14 batters, but the only runs on the scoreboard belonged to the Stripers in a 2-0 Gwinnett victory on Tuesday night from Coca-Cola Field.
The Stripers scored solo runs in the first and second innings and then forced the Herd to leave 10 men on base to secure the first game of a three-game series in Downtown Buffalo.
The Bisons actually outhit Gwinnett 9-6, but went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Guerrero had three of those hits himself, with singles in the first, third and eighth innings, but he was left stranded on base each time. The top prospect in all of minor league baseball is now hitting .389 with a .555 on-base pct. in his first week with the Bisons.
The Herd’s best chance to score actually came in the sixth inning when they strung together three straight hits. But when Alford singled to left field, Dalton Pompey didn’t see manager Bobby Meacham put up the stop sign at third. Instead of having the bases loaded, Pompey was tagged out between third and home for the second out of the inning. Tim Lopes then struck out with two men on to end the inning.
Sean Reid-Foley started for the Herd and racked up eight more strikeouts in five innings to give him a team-high 94 punchouts on the year. However, the righty suffered his fourth loss of the season after allowing a two-out RBI-single to Rio Ruiz in the first and a run-scoring double from Alex Jackson into the left-field corner in the second.
Murphy Smith was excellent in relief for the Bisons. He retired nine of the 10 batters he faced, four via the strikeout.
The Bisons host the Stripers again Wednesday night with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch from Coca-Cola Field.
