Bisons blast their way to 9-7 victory over Lehigh Valley

ALLENTOWN, PA - The Buffalo Bisons were able to use home runs late, including a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning, to defeat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 9-7 on Saturday night at Coca-Cola Park.

The Bisons once again took advantage of walks with the bases loaded to open up a two-run lead against Lehigh Valley in the top of the second inning. Carlos Mendoza drew a walk with the bases loaded for his 10th RBI of the year and a 1-0 Bisons lead. William Simoneit followed with a run-scoring walk for Buffalo. The back-to-back walks allowed the team to enjoy a 2-0 lead through two innings.

They would increase the lead to 6-0 with four more runs in the top of the third inning. Each of the first three batters reached base against Lenny Torres, including a lead-off triple by Jonatan Clase. He scored on a base hit by Josh Kasevich one batter later for a three-run advantage, Kasevich and Charles McAdoo both scored on a Riley Tirotta three-run home run for the six-run lead in the top of the third.

However, Lehigh Valley was able to answer with four runs thanks to a pair of errors in the bottom of the third. Sergio Alcantara drew a lead-off walk in the third inning and eventually scored on an errant throw on the infield. Christian Cairo was hit by a pitch and scored on a fielding error to cut the deficit to 6-2. A Liover Peguero two-run double brought Lehigh Valley within two runs, 6-4, after three innings.

A pair of walks in the bottom of the fifth inning allowed the IronPigs to turn their two-run deficit into a one-run lead after five innings. Carter Kieboom and Byran De La Cruz drew back-to-back walks to start the inning. Kieboom scored on a Peguero RBI double, while De La Cruz and Peguero both scored thanks to an Oscar Mercado base hit. The two-run single gave Lehigh Valley a 7-6 lead after five innings.

However, Josh Rivera answered right back in the top of the sixth inning for Buffalo. He hit a solo home run off of Alan Rangel that tied the game 7-7. The homer was Rivera’s fifth of the year and 21st RBI of the season as well.

The third home run of the night for the Bisons was another multi-run homer. This time RJ Schreck hit a two-run home run to right field that put Buffalo in front 9-7 in the top of the seventh inning. The home run helped give Schreck 12 RBIs against the IronPigs for the week.

CJ Van Eyk started for the Bisons and recorded a season high seven strikeouts in three and two-third innings. Lehigh Valley scored four unearned runs against the right-hander. Yariel Rodriguez struck out four, while Tanner Andrews struck out the final two batters of the game to preserve the victory.

The Bisons and IronPigs will conclude their six-game series at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday at Coca-Cola Park. Pregame coverage on The Bet 1520 AM, the Audacy app, and Bisons.com begins at 12:55 p.m. with the ‘Voice of the Bisons’ Pat Malacaro.