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Walk Off Again, Polanco homers Herd to 7-4 win

Gregory Polanco homers twice, knocking in five runs for the Herd
September 24, 2021

For the second night in a row, the Bisons walked it off against the IronPigs at Sahlen Field... and on both nights, the honor belonged to Gregory Polanco. Polanco homered twice, including a three-run game-winning shot in the bottom of the ninth, and drove in five to power the Bisons

For the second night in a row, the Bisons walked it off against the IronPigs at Sahlen Field... and on both nights, the honor belonged to Gregory Polanco.

Polanco homered twice, including a three-run game-winning shot in the bottom of the ninth, and drove in five to power the Bisons to a 7-4 win over Lehigh Valley on a Fan Appreciation Night fridaynightbash! at Sahlen Field.

Polanco's second home run capped one of the most exciting nights in downtown Buffalo since the Bisons returned to Western New York in early August. Along with the outfielder's two impressive blasts, Bisons fans were brought to feet when both Mallex Smith and Forrest Wall scored on the same sacrifice fly from Cavan Biggio.

Trailing by four runs with just four at-bats left, Buffalo had their backs to the wall. In the top of the 6th, Polanco provided the power that Buffalo needed, cutting the Lehigh Valley lead in half.

Then with the deficit at 4-2, Bisons fans were treated to one of the rarest plays in baseball. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh, Biggio lifted a long fly ball to deep centerfield. The ball was not only deep enough to score Smith from third base, but the speedy Wall tagged up from second base and also scored on the play, tying the game at four.

After blanking the IronPigs in the top of the eighth and ninth innings, the Bisons went into the bottom of the ninth looking to walk it off for the second night in a row. Otto Lopez started the rally for the Herd, hitting a single to left field with one out. Biggio then walked on five pitches and before Lehigh Valley could blink the winning run was at second base. Just three pitches later, Polanco delivered his second home run of the game for Buffalo, launching the ball over the right-field wall. The clean-up hitter reached for a breaking ball and mustered up just enough power to put the ball out of the field of play, securing the win for the Herd.

Polanco was the driving force behind the rally for the Bisons, batting 3-for-5 at the plate with five runs batted in. Biggio also played a prominent role in the club’s rally, batting 1-for-3 with two runs batted in and one walk. The third baseman also rounded third and headed home to score twice for Buffalo.

The game that ended with fireworks actually started quietly, with both teams being held scoreless for the first two innings, but it was Lehigh Valley who got the scoring started in the top of the 3rd.

Darick Hall led off the inning with his 23rd double of the year, giving the IronPigs a runner in scoring position. Logan O’Hoppe then singled, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Simon Muzziotti came through for Lehigh Valley with one out, hitting a single to center field to score Hall and moving O’Hoppe to third base. Alec Bohm then flew out to center field for the second out of the inning, but the ball was deep enough into center field to score O’Hoppe.

In the top of the 4th, Lehigh Valley struck again. With no runners on base and one out, Bryson Scott homered over the right-field wall, putting the IronPigs ahead by three runs. A walk and a single later and Lehigh Valley was ready to strike again. A line drive up the middle from O’Hoppe was knocked down by Cullen Large, but the second baseman couldn’t corral the hard-hit ball for a line out, allowing Hall to score from third. The second straight two-run inning gave the IronPigs’ a commanding 4-0 lead over the Bisons.

Lehigh Valley jumped out to their early lead with Bowden Francis on the mound for Buffalo. The right-hander started the game, earning his twelfth start in Bison blue, white and red. Allowing four earned runs on six hits through five innings, Francis minimized the damage for Buffalo, dancing in and out of danger. Despite allowing the four runs, the right-hander racked five strikeouts while getting four more batters to ground out and three more to fly out.

The Bisons are now 2-1 in the MILB’s “Final Stretch” contest. The series between Buffalo and Lehigh Valley continues on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm. Zach Logue is expected to start on the mound for the Herd.