Bisons Fall in 2026 Season Opener to RailRiders, 8-0
IL Buffalo Bisons

Bisons Fall in 2026 Season Opener to RailRiders, 8-0

Published on March 27, 2026 under International League (IL)
Buffalo Bisons News Release


The 39th Opening Day a Sahlen Field saw plenty of sunshine, but the scoreboard and the thermostat fell short in the Bisons first game of the 2026 season. A five-run third inning from the RailRiders propelled Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to the 8-0 victory over the Herd. Meanwhile, the Bisons didn't quite reach their 50 degree first pitch temperature guarantee, either.

The good news is there is plenty of baseball left for both the Herd and their fans. Buffalo hosts the RailRiders again Saturday and Sunday as part of 'Opening Weekend,' while all fans in attendance Friday can exchange their game-used ticket at the Sahlen Field Box Office for a free ticket to a future Bisons game through May 31 as part of the team's '50 Degree Guarantee promotion.

While the promise of a new baseball season in downtown Buffalo helped to warm the hearts of Herd fans in attendance, it was the RailRiders bats that heated up first. Already ahead 1-0 thanks to a Yanquiel Fernandez home run in the second inning, the first six Scranton/Wilkes-Barre hitters in the third reached base against Bisons starter, Grant Rogers.

Former Herd backstop Payton Henry led off the frame with a walk, followed by two slow rolling singles through the right side of the infield by Ali Sanchez and Jasson Dominguez to put the RailRiders up, 2-0. Three more RBI hits came in succession, as Spencer Jones doubled in front of a diving Yohendrick Pinango in left field and Oswaldo Cabrera and Max Schuemann added run-scoring singles. Paul DeJong's RBI single two batters later made it 6-0 RailRiders and knocked Rogers out of the game.

Staked to an early lead, RailRiders starter Brendan Beck kept the Herd hitters at bay. The righty struck out nine of the 18 batters he faced and allowed just one hit over five innings. Beck fanned the Bisons in order in the second and picked up three more punchouts around a single and an error in the third inning.

The Bisons best chance to score in the game came in the seventh inning when they loaded the bases with just one out. However, RailRiders' reliver Yerry De los Santos induced an inning-ending doubleplay from Herd second baseman Josh Rivera.

Buffalo hosts the RailRiders again on Saturday afternoon with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch. RHP Chad Dallas is scheduled to start for the Herd.

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International League Stories from March 27, 2026


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