Bisons unable to solve Iowa on Friday night

BUFFALO, NY - A pair of big innings allowed the Iowa Cubs to even up the series with the Buffalo Bisons thanks to a 12-3 victory on Friday night at Sahlen Field.

Chad Dallas made his fifth start of the season for the Bisons, working 4.2 innings with five strikeouts. He exited the game after being hit by a comebacker to the mound that struck his pitching hand. He was replaced by Andrew Bechtold.

The I-Cubs scored first with a solo run in the top of the second inning for a one-run lead. Bryce Windham collected his first RBI base hit of the game with two outs in the inning that scored Miles Mastrobuoni. That allowed Iowa to enjoy a 1-0 lead through two. They doubled the lead to a pair with another Windham RBI base hit in the top of the fourth. Jake Slaughter scored to extend the lead to 2-0 over the Bisons.

Cam Eden would help the Bisons mount the rally and trim the deficit in half, 2-1, in the bottom of the fourth inning. The speedy outfielder collected a one out base hit and stole second base. He was moved over to third on a Steward Berroa bunt back to the pitcher. Eden scored on an infield base hit by Spencer Horwitz that came against reliever Richard Lovelady.

Iowa was able to get the run back and add to their lead in the top of the sixth inning. Each of the first three batters of the inning reached against Bechtold, including a three-run home run by Slaughter with no one out. The third baseman’s second homer of the series allowed Iowa to enjoy a 5-1 advantage. They would pad the lead in the top of the seventh inning with six more runs.

However, Horwitz would score in the bottom of the eighth inning on a Will Robertson RBI single to the outfield. Robertson’s 17th RBI of the season made the score 11-2 in favor of Iowa. The Bisons would score a second run in the inning on a Leo Jimenez base hit to score Nathan Lukes. Buffalo trailed the I-Cubs 11-3 going to the ninth inning. Iowa was able to get one of the runs back in the top of the ninth.

The two teams will meet on Saturday afternoon for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch at Sahlen Field. Andrew Bash is scheduled to start for Buffalo in the fifth game of the six-game series.