Bisons down Durham, 3-2
Jose Reyes scored the winning run in his Bisons debut and the Herd won the first game of the series against Durham, 3-2 Friday night.
Reyes was on a rehab assignment for Toronto and finished his first game in a Bisons uniform going 1-for-4 with a double to go with the winning run.
"I was able to do a little bit of everything," Reyes said after the game. "I was happy that I was able to help the boys out, the ankle feels good."
"I'm just happy to go nine innings for the first time in a long time."
The Bisons took a 3-2 lead in the fifth after two doubles in a row.
Reyes hit a line-drive to right, advancing Sean Ochinko to third. Next batter Kevin Pillar, who also made his Herd debut, hit a two-run double in the gap between center and left field to put the Bisons ahead for good.
"This is what I love to do. I wasn't able to do this for a long time, two months so it was hard watching the game," Reyes said. "Now I'm able to do what I do best, just play baseball and try to enjoy the game the most that I can, especially when we're winning."
The 30-year-old shortstop was not able to test his ankle by stealing a base Friday night, but he hopes to be able to run the base paths before the weekend series against Durham is over.
"I wanted to get on base and try to steal. It didn't happen today, but I hope it happens tomorrow," he said.
Reyes fouled off seven pitches during a 12-pitch at-bat in the third inning in which he ended up popping out to shortstop.
Manager Marty Brown said that at-bat is a learning experience for his younger players on the team.
"Jose understands the grind of what it takes to put together a good at-bat," Brown said. "It's good for our guys to see that. I thought that was a big positive."
Brown emphasized Reyes' energy and enthusiasm in the clubhouse. He said Reyes brings passion and fun to the game and it rubs off on the players as well as the coaches, too.
"To just have him here for any amount of time is a positive," he said. "I think he did everything today."
Starting pitcher Thad Weber had another strong outing for the Herd on his way to his second win in three starts.
Weber battled adversity in his final two innings, but managed to get away with minimal damage, especially in the sixth inning.
The Bulls had the bases loaded after two-straight hits and a walk by Weber. The right-hander got Mike Fontenot to ground into a double-play to end the sixth with the Bisons still in the lead, 3-2.
Weber finished the night allowing just two runs on seven hits, while striking out five and walking just two batters.
Reliever Mickey Storey pitched 1 1/3 innings. He allowed just one hit and struck out two. Lefty side-arm pitcher Tommy Hottovy came in for one out in the eighth and got Leslie Anderson to pop-out in foul territory. Brad Lincoln got the final out of the inning with a pop-out to right field.
Leadoff hitter Jason Bourgeois hit a laser that hit the right field wall on the fly, giving Durham a 2-1 lead in the fifth with one out. Weber got out of the jam as he got the next two batters to ground out to end the inning.
Mike Fontenot led off the scoring for Durham when he singled in Ryan Roberts in the second inning to give the Bulls an early 1-0 lead. Roberts was not credited with the RBI because of a throwing error by right fielder Moises Sierra.
The Bisons tied the game at one in the bottom of the second thanks to a line-drive double to right-center field by Ryan Goins, scoring Jim Negrych from second.
Bisons Notes: Jose Reyes went 1-for-4 in his debut…He hit his first double of the season in the sixth inning…The double was Reyes' first hit in a Bisons uniform…Reyes ended the game with a double play at second base…Kevin Pillar had two hits in his Bisons debut…RHP Thad Weber made his third start of the season for the Bisons…Brad Lincoln got his second save of the season…Ryan Langerhans was released earlier in the day to make roster room.