Sports stats

IL1 Buffalo Bisons

PawSox Rally for 8-7 Win over the Herd

August 1, 2015 - International League (IL1)
Buffalo Bisons News Release


On Friday, it was the bullpen that kept the Bisons in the late-inning game and helped propel them to an eventual win. On Saturday, it was the bullpen's demise that led the Herd to its second late-inning loss in three days.

The Bisons lost to the Pawtucket Red Sox, 8-7, in a crushing ninth-inning collapse in the second of a three-game series at Coca-Cola Field. The bullpen gave up a combined seven earned runs in the eighth and ninth innings after leading by five runs at one point heading into the eighth

"That's two of the last three," said manager Gary Allenson. "If we keep doing that, we can all drive to Pawtucket for the last series of the season. That shouldn't happen. We're playing a team that has been struggling for the past month and a half or so. A nice, comfortable five-run lead just evaporated on us. Just couldn't get the last out"

The Bisons were leading by three runs entering the ninth frame and were one out from grabbing the win and a series victory over Pawtucket. The Sox, however, strung together five straight base runners, culminating with a Marco Hernandez three-run home run to cap off the comeback.

The Herd threatened in the bottom of the inning, but fell one run, and a base running mistake, short. Melky Mesa hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit in half. With two outs in the frame, Ty Kelly hit a sharp grounder up the middle, but Mike Miller made an improbable stop and flipped the ball to second base to tag out Alex Hassan, who overran the base, to end the game.

Despite the late-inning quandary, the story of the beginning of the game featured a reliever-turned-starter out of that talented Bisons pen. Phillippe Aumont, who was signed as a free agent just one week ago, has only worked out of the bullpen thus far in his tenure with Buffalo.

Aumont had problems with his control for a portion of the night, walking six Red Sox in his five-inning performance. But when he found the strike zone, he was nearly untouchable. He began the game with three free passes, but then he proceeded to retire three straight batters, two by strikeout, to end the inning in his only run-plagued frame of the night.

Aumont also had a stretch in the third inning where he retired the side by strikeouts as part of his seven strikeouts. Aumont finished his night allowing only three hits and one earned run in five innings in a no-decision for his first start with Buffalo.

"He struggled in the first part of the first inning," Allenson said. "After that, he only gave up one run. He did a good job. He kept his composure, nice job getting through five [innings]."

Recently added relievers Colt Hynes and Ryan Tepera were both in action on Saturday. Hynes hurled two scoreless innings, but Tepera's night wasn't as easy. He gave up two runs, but rebounded to work himself out of an eighth-inning jam and preserved the temporary lead.

The late-inning display also overshadowed the return of Buffalo's potent offense. The Bisons put up 13 hits and seven runs; a total more than their previous two games combined. Andy Burns continued his hot hitting on Saturday, adding a team-high three hits while extending his hitting streak to nine games.

"We can't be wasting games this late in the season ... It's disappointing," Allenson said. "But we came back in the bottom of the ninth to make it pretty interesting. We just got to forget about it and move on to tomorrow."

The Bisons will look to take the series on Sunday in the final matchup against the Red Sox at Coca-Cola Field. The day game will begin at 1:05 p.m.

Check out the Buffalo Bisons Statistics



International League Stories from August 1, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Buffalo Bisons Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central