Paw Sox Rally Late, Defeat Bisons 2-1
August 2, 2015 - International League (IL1)
Buffalo Bisons News Release
Jeff Francis threw seven shutout innings and struck out four, but took the no-decision. He currently has a 19-inning scoreless streak.
For the second consecutive game, the Bisons starting pitcher hurled a terrific game and had the team in position to win. But for the second consecutive game, the bullpen struggled to close the game out.
Pawtucket rallied in the late innings to defeat the Bisons, 2-1, in the series finale despite a stellar pitching performance from Jeff Francis on Sunday afternoon at Coca-Cola Field in front of an announced crowd of 11,226. The Herd has now lost consecutive games after holding a seventh-inning lead and trail Scranton/Wilkes-Barre by 4½ games in the International League.
"There you go," said manager Gary Allenson. "We're pretty good at that lately. Just have to press on."
Buffalo surrendered its lead on an error and lost the tie on a close play at the plate. Allen Craig hit a sharp single to right field, but Caleb Gindl's throw home skipped past Sean Ochinko and Chamberlain and sailed into the Sox dugout.
The play allowed Devin Marrero to score from third base and tie the game. On the next at-bat, Garin Cecchini's soft grounder to Jon Berti allowed Sandy Leon to score from third on a close play to take the 2-1 Pawtucket lead.
"That's a potion for disaster," Allenson said of the eighth inning. "They made us pay for it. We threw a ball we couldn't keep on the field of play for one run and couldn't come up with the ball out of our glove on a close play."
Joba Chamberlain made his Coca-Cola Field debut with the Bisons, but struggled from his first pitch in the eighth inning. He gave up two consecutive walks and a single before being removed from the game with only 1/3 of an inning pitched. He threw two walks and gave up two runs (one earned) in his first loss with the Bisons.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Bisons threatened Berti's leadoff single, but he was later thrown out on a questionable decision stealing second base. Luke Scott later grounded out with the bases empty to end the game.
"Sometimes, I feel like I'm not watching the game," Allenson said of Berti's steal. "Looked like his hand was already on the bag there. I guess he got tagged on the back or the butt. Just one of those calls that seems to go against the club that's losing by a run."
The Herd's inability to hold a late-inning lead again as of late overshadowed yet another brilliant starting pitching performance. Francis hurled seven shutout innings and only gave up six hits and two walks. He also struck out four in his sixth shutout of the season. He also lowered his ERA to 1.41 as well.
Francis credits his fast-paced style and keeping the opposition off-guard with various off-speed and fastball combinations for his success on Sunday.
"It's part of what I do," Francis said. "It keeps the defense in the game and gives the hitters less time to think about it. I think I try to use that to my advantage whenever I can."
Francis currently has a 19-inning scoreless streak, dating back to July 2 against Syracuse. The veteran nearly lost the streak in the fourth inning of Sunday's game, but he was bailed out by an MVP-type play by an MVP-caliber player.
With runners on the corners and two outs in the inning, Humberto Quintero hit a sharp line drive towards the first base line, but Matt Hague made a brilliant diving stop and made the out to preserve the tie and the streak.
Hague, however, did more damage on the field than he did with the bat. Hague went 0-for-3 with a run scored. It is the first time all season he has failed to produce a hit over a three-game span. He still leads in the IL batting race with a .343 average. The Herd only produced four hits on Sunday.
"We have to straighten it out and start swinging the bats," Allenson said. "We have a tough road trip ahead of us. We'll see what we're made of in this next week."
The Bisons have an off day on Monday before returning to action for a six-day road trip, beginning in Charlotte on Tuesday. Scott Copeland is projected to start Tuesday's game, which will begin at 7:05 p.m.
Bisons Bits: Alex Hassan went 0-for-3, snapping his streak of six straight multi-hit contests ... Luke Scott was activated from the disabled list and grounded out in his only at-bat of the day
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