Barger leads Bisons offensive onslaught in 10-2 rout of Rochester

BUFFALO, NY - Addison Barger has made an immediate impact with the Buffalo Bisons, recording clutch hits in two of his first three games for the team. On Thursday night his two home run performance lifted the Bisons to a 10-2 victory over the Rochester Red Wings at Sahlen Field.

The Herd scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the third and would not trail at any point on the night. Two wild pitches by starter Franklyn Kilome allowed Chris Bec and Nathan Lukes to score and give Buffalo a 2-0 lead. Kilome would only go 2.1 innings with Alex Troop making his Triple-A debut in the frame.

Lukes hit a lead-off home run to right field in the bottom of the fifth to extend the Bisons lead to 3-0.

Then Barger’s first blast of the day followed two batters later. His estimated 370 foot solo homer gave Buffalo a 4-0 lead. Both of the home runs came against Ronald Herrera.

Rochester tried to mount a comeback with a pair of runs against Brandon Eisert in the top of the sixth. Only one run was earned against the lefty reliever who hit a batter and allowed a pair of RBI groundouts that brought the Red Wings within two, 4-2.

However, Buffalo would send 11 batters to the plate in a six-run inning to put the game out of reach. Each of the first six batters in the frame scored. Lukes drove in John Aiello with his second RBI of the game, Rafael Lantigua plated a pair to make the score 7-2 Herd.

Then Barger hit a three-run homer into the Bisons bullpen that capped the scoring and gave the Triple-A rookie his first career multi-homer game with Buffalo. He would finish the night 2-4 with a pair of home runs, four RBIs and two walks.

Nick Allgeyer was credited with the victory, striking out six in his 2.2 innings of relief. The Bisons pitching staff combined to strike out 13 Red Wings hitters on the night.

Buffalo and Rochester will meet again on Friday for a 6:05 p.m. first pitch in game four of a six-game series.