Buffalo, N.Y.- The Buffalo Bisons used the strength of 13 hits, as well as eight errors committed by the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, for a 13-3 victory on Saturday night at Sahlen Field. The victory was Buffalo’s first in the second half of the season.
In the bottom of the first inning, Buffalo struck first thanks to a pair of errors on the same play. Leo Jimenez led off for the Bisons with a single, and a batter later, Michael Stefanic recorded a base hit. Will Robertson reached base on a fielding error by Josh Breaux, which allowed Jimenez to score, and Stefanic scored off a throwing error by Rodolfo Castro, handing Buffalo a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the third, the IronPigs responded. Nick Dunn led off the inning and recorded his first home run of the season to cut the Bisons’ lead in half, 2-1.
In the bottom of the third, Buffalo continued to capitalize on the IronPigs’ mistakes. Riley Tirotta started the inning reaching base on a walk. Three batters later, Ali Sanchez hit a ground-rule double that scored Tirotta, extending Buffalo’s lead, 3-1. Moments later, Phil Clarke grounded out, but not before Orelvis Martinez scored, making it 4-1. Rainer Nunez continued Buffalo’s efforts with a single, and thanks to a throwing error, Sanchez crossed the plate, increasing the Bisons’ advantage to 5-1.
In the fourth, Buffalo kept their foot on the gas. Stefanic reached base on a fielder’s choice and later crossed the plate following a Wil Crowe wild pitch, giving the Bisons a 6-1 lead. Four pitches later, Piñango tallied a double that dragged Tirotta home, raising Buffalo’s lead to 7-1.
Defensively, Buffalo was led by right-handed pitcher Lazaro Estrada. Estrada pitched 5.2 innings, allowing just three hits, one run, striking out seven, and earned his second victory this year. The 26-year-old was one out away from recording his second quality start of the season when Jacob Barnes replaced him.
In the sixth inning, Buffalo continued to take advantage of Lehigh Valley’s defensive blunders. Stefanic tabbed a double, while Robertson and Tirotta reached base on back-to-back errors, which led to Stefanic scoring, enhancing the Bisons’ lead to 8-1. Piñango reached base on a walk for his third time on the evening, which loaded the bases. Five pitches later, Phil Clarke hit a grand slam that boosted Buffalo’s dominance to 12-1.
Robertson continued Buffalo’s rout in the seventh with an RBI single, enlarging the Bisons’ lead, 13-1.
In the top of the eighth, Lehigh Valley showed some life. Justin Crawford led the inning off with a double, and two batters later, Gabriel Rincones Jr. reached base on balls. Oscar Mercado and Garrett Stubbs both individually hit RBI-singles to cut the Bisons’ lead, 13-3.
In the top of the ninth, Lehigh Valley grounded into three consecutive 5-3 outs, ending the contest, 13-3 in favor of Buffalo.
The Bisons and IronPigs will close out their six-game series with a Sunday afternoon contest at Sahlen Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. The game can be heard on The Bet 1520 AM, the Audacy App, and Bisons.com starting at 12:45 p.m. with Duke McGuire and ‘Voice of the Bisons’ Pat Malacaro.
