STAFF REPORTS
Coming off a heartbreaking walk-off loss the night before, the Buffalo Bisons bounced back Sunday afternoon with some late-inning action of their own.
Searching for their first hit of the game since the fifth inning, first baseman Jordan Pattersonconnected and brought home Billy McKinney on a RBI single in the eighth as the Herd won the rubbermatch, 4-3, of their five-game series against the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium.
Facing Darwinzon Hernandez – who had retired the side on three straight strikeouts in last night’s appearance – Patterson sent a 2-2 fastball to right field to cap off a 2-for-4 day at the plate and his 38th RBI of the year. The hit helped the Herd avoid their third straight loss after securing a win in game one of Friday’s doubleheader.
But along with the timely hit, the Bisons bullpen came through down the stretch as the combination of Zach Jackson and new reliever Bryan Baker held down the fort.
After building a 3-0 lead with Patrick Kivlehan‘s two-run home run in the third and a RBI-groundout from Bo Bichette in the fourth, Buffalo saw their lead erased later in the bottom of the sixth. With Corey Copping on the mound, Chris Owings‘ RBI double and Jantzen Witte‘s two-run double tied the game in an instant.
That’s when Jackson took the mound in the seventh, and by the end, recorded his team-high seventh win of the season. The Tulsa native struck out a game-high five batters in his appearance, three coming in the eighth alone.
With the Red Sox having both the tying and go-ahead runs on first and second with one out in the eighth, Jackson ended the rally by retiring Witte and Cole Sturgeon on back-to-back strikeouts to keep Buffalo’s one-run lead.
After the offense quickly went down against Trevor Kelley in the ninth, Baker came in for the Herd.
Called up from New Hampshire (Double-A) overnight, the former Colorado 11th round pick in 2016 retired his first two batters before Lin and Owings reached base on a walk and a base-hit. With the go-ahead run at the plate, Baker regrouped and struck out Travis to earn his first save at the Triple-A level.
Although he finished with a no-decision, Thomas Pannone had a solid four-inning outing to start the Herd’s afternoon. In his first start with Buffalo after a brief promotion to Toronto prior to the All-Star Break, the southpaw allowed only two hits and a walk and struck out four batters on 60 pitches (41 strikes). Against Pannone,- who retired seven of his last eight batters – the Red Sox had an opportunity to take an early lead in the second with runners on the corners before Sturgeon struck out to end the frame.
