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IL Buffalo Bisons

Bisons Rally Past RailRiders, 5-2, to Close the Gap in Northeast Standings

May 25, 2021 - International League (IL)
Buffalo Bisons News Release


The Bisons scored three runs in the ninth inning to complete a 5-2 comeback win over the Triple-A East Northeast division leading Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Tuesday night.

After going down 2-0 in the fifth, the Bisons battled back to tie the game with runs in the sixth and seventh inning. Heading into the top of the ninth, Kevin Smith came to the plate with one out, nobody on and chance to complete the come back, and that he did.

With a single swing of the bat, Smith launched a solo home run to dead center field to break the tie.

Later in the inning, Juan Graterol drove home Cullen Large with a ground ball double. Immediately following, Logan Warmoth scampered home on a wild pitch to give the Bisons a 5-2 lead that would be enough to give them the victory.

Both teams elected to go with bullpen games for the series opener as the Bisons' righty reliever Connor Overton worked opposite lefty Nestor Cortes to start the game.

The start was Overton's third of 2021 and the 14th of his career. He filled in for the expected starter Alek Manoah who will be called up by the Toronto Blue Jays to start against the New York Yankees on Wednesday.

Overton pitched the first three innings uninterrupted giving up two hits and striking out five using a slider, curveball and fastball trio.

Cortes, in his first start of the season and fifth appearance of the season, equaled Overton's performance, pitching four innings, giving up four hits and striking out three to keep the game scoreless into the fifth.

The RailRiders got the board first off Tayler Saucedo, Overton's replacement, with a Zack Zehner two-run double in the fifth. The pair of runs are the first Saucedo has given up this year and breaks his 10.1 inning scoreless streak to start the year.

Richard Urena got a run back in sixth with a home run to right field off of Nick Nelson. The solo shot is Urena's first of the season and his fifth hit in three games.

The Bisons tied the game in the seventh on an RBI double from Large. Large pulled a ball down the right-field line and drove home former RailRider Breyvic Valera who had reached on a ten-pitch walk.

The Bisons' righty Casey Lawrence made his first appearance since being assigned to the Bisons on May 19 taking over for Saucedo in sixth and retired the side to keep the game tied at two.

Jeremy Beasley got the ball in the eighth and struck out a pair to earn his first win of the year. Bryan Baker followed and took care of the ninth to collect his second save of the season.

With the win, the Bisons (12-7) are now one game out of first place in the Northeast division and will battle the RailRiders (13-6) Wednesday night for possession of the division lead.

Righty Thomas Hatch is expected to make his second start of the year for the Bisons against the RailRiders' Nick Green. The first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at PNC Field in Moosic, PA.

Bisons' Notes: Coming into the game the RailRiders were scoring a Triple-A East Northeast division best 6.1 runs per game and have scored a division high 111 total runs. The Bisons held the RailRiders to two runs...In addition, it is the second time in the last four games that the Bisons have scored three runs in the ninth inning in victory. The Bisons scored three runs in the ninth on May 21 against the Worcester Red Sox to take home a 6-4 victory.

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