The Buffalo Bisons and Lehigh Valley IronPigs battled through rain and windy conditions on Wednesday night, but eventually the inclement weather forced the game to be completed after eight innings with IronPigs prevailing 8-5 over Buffalo.
The top third of the Bisons’ batting order all contributed in the loss, combining to go five for 10 with three runs scored, two RBIs, and a walk. Davis Schneider and Alan Roden each had two hits at the top of the batting order, while Joey Loperfido added an RBI base hit with a walk and sacrifice bunt.
Lehigh Valley would strike for two runs in the bottom of the third inning to jump out to a 2-0 lead over the Bisons. Cal Stevenson’s solo home run to left field gave the home team a one-run lead. It would be doubled by an Otto Kemp RBI single. The base hit allowed Kemp to secure his 40th RBI of the season.
Damiano Palmegiani brought the Bisons within a run, 2-1, with an RBI base hit in the top of the fourth inning. His sixth RBI of the season scored Roden after he led off the inning with a base hit to right field. Roden has now reached base safely in all 11 games he has played for Buffalo since being optioned down by Toronto.
Buffalo’s lone lead of the night came thanks to three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Ryan McCarty’s first career Triple-A hit was a leadoff triple against Lehigh Valley starter Andrew Painter. The base hit ended Painter’s night, turning the game over to Seth Johnson. Schneider’s RBI base hit to left field scored McCarty to tie the game 2-2. Rainer Nunez’s lone base hit of the night was a two-run double that gave Buffalo a 4-2 lead.
However, the IronPigs would answer back for four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and never trail again. Stevenson added two more RBIs with a base hit to center field to help cap the inning and give Lehigh Valley a 6-4 advantage. Former Bisons infielder Rafael Lantigua scored a run after leading off the inning with a walk. He also stole a base before scoring his second run of the game.
Lehigh Valley would add two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend the lead to 8-4 against the Bisons. Buddy Kennedy and Garrett Stubbs had back-to-back base hits that helped double the Buffalo deficit.
Loperfido’s RBI single to center field scored Josh Rivera, cutting the IronPigs lead to 8-5. The Bisons outfielder leads the team with 24 RBIs on the season. It came while rain continued to fall at Coca-Cola Park. The rain started right before first pitch and never relented. However, the heaviest rain began late in the game. The tarp was placed on the field before the top of the ninth inning, and after a 30 minute delay the game was completed after eight innings.
The Bisons and Lehigh Valley will meet for game three of the series at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday night. You can listen to all of the action with the ‘Voice of the Bisons’ Pat Malacaro and Dave Popkin starting at 6;25 p.m. on The Bet 1520 AM, the Audacy app, and Bisons.com.
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