Bisons drop pitchers' duel, 1-0
The Buffalo Bisons haven't been able to figure out the Pawtucket Red Sox's pitching lately.
After the Herd won the opener of a four-game series at McCoy Stadium Saturday, the PawSox took over the series to distance them in the International League wild-card race. Pawtucket won the last three of the set, including the finale on Tuesday, 1-0, by holding Buffalo to just one run and 14 hits combined in those games.
With the loss, the Herd fell 3 ½ games behind Pawtucket, the wild-card leader, and is now two and three games behind Norfolk and Lehigh Valley in the wild-card standings, respectively. The Bisons, who were shut out for the second consecutive game and 11th time this year, managed just five hits and couldn't get much going when they got runners on.
Buffalo was victim of five double plays and was unable to advance a runner to second base until the eighth inning, which started with promise. Down 1-0, the Herd was in a good position to tie the score after Ricardo Nanita led things off with a single and Brad Glenn followed with a walk. But Jim Negrych struck out and Ryan Goins grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, ending the best scoring chance of the night for the Bisons.
Anthony Ranaudo (2-1) started his fourth game for the PawSox, and he struck out four while giving up three hits and two walks over 6 2/3 innings for the victory. The Bisons had solid pitching of their own, nearly rivaling the Red Sox in that area. They held Pawtucket to just five hits, as well.
Drew Hutchison had his best of three starts for the Herd. Working his way back from undergoing Tommy John surgery last August, Hutchison threw the most pitches of his rehab, 85, and worked into the fifth inning while striking out a handful.
The right-hander retired the first eight batters of the game before Heiker Meneses singled in the third en route to allowing one run on five hits and two walks. The lone run of the game came on Drew Sutton's fourth-inning bloop single that fell just in front of Nanita in left field that scored Brock Holt with two outs. It came after Holt and Ryan Lavarnway led off the frame with back-to-back singles.
The bullpen continued Hutchison's promising start by shutting down the Red Sox the rest of the way, not giving up a hit in 3 2/3 innings of work. Todd Gracey relieved Hutchison, getting out of the fifth on two pitches by inducing an inning-ending double play.
Justin Germano, a regular starter, threw the final three innings and put on a dazzling performance. He needed just 29 pitches to get the nine outs, three of them punch-outs, his only blemish being a hit batter.
Wednesday presents an off-day for the Bisons. They will welcome Lehigh Valley to Coca-Cola Field for a four-game series starting Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Chien-Ming Wang (8-7, 2.72) will go against right-hander David Buchanan (2-1, 1.77) in the opener.
BISONS NOTES: Hutchison lowered his earned run average from 10.80 to 7.36 with his performance…Mike McCoy saw 20 pitches in his first two at-bats, including a 10-pitch walk to begin the game…Andy LaRoche had two hits.