WORCESTER, MA – The Buffalo Bisons were on the wrong end of a back and forth contest against the Worcester Red Sox, losing the opening game of the series 9-8 at Polar Park on Tuesday night.
Mitch White made a Major League injury rehab start for Buffalo, his second since being placed on the 15-day Injured List by the Toronto Blue Jays. The righty surrendered a lead-off home run to David Hamilton in the bottom of the first inning that game the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.
However, the Bisons answered right back in the top of the second on a Spencer Horwitz RBI single that scored Ernie Clement and tied the game 1-1. It was the seventh run driven in by Horwitz in the last two games. Worcester would come right back with a pair of runs in the home half of the second for a 3-2 lead.
White finished after 2.2 innings of work, using 56 pitches in the start. The 28-year-old ended his evening with a fly out off the bat of Wilyer Abreu and the Herd trailing 3-2. Davis Schneider’s team leading fourth home run in the top of the fourth inning evened the score 3-3.
Jordan Luplow made an impact in the top of the fifth after the WooSox answered with another two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Luplow belted a grand slam an estimated 412 feet to give Buffalo a 7-5 lead halfway through the game. It was the outfielder’s first homer of the season and increased his RBI total to 11 this year.
A two-run triple by Ryan Fitzgerald in the last of the fifth scored Daniel Palka and Greg Allen, once again tying the score, this time 7-7. Fitzgerald finished with two hits and three RBIs in the victory.
Worcester would take the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth with two more runs. Abreu hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Bobby Dalbec, while Jorge Alfaro drove in a run to make the score 9-7 in favor of the WooSox.
Tanner Morris’ first hit of the night came in the top of the eighth and scored Wynton Bernard to trim the Herd deficit to 9-8. However, A.J. Politi would come out of the Worcester bullpen to record the final five outs and preserve the one-run lead.
Bernard finished the night with two hits and a pair of walks across his four plate appearances. He also scored two runs in the loss and stole his fourth base of the season.
The second game of the series between Buffalo and the WooSox is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday night. Yosver Zulueta will make the start for the Bisons.
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