Bisons win their fifth straight, beating Syracuse, 6-3

Behind twelve hits, the Bisons won their fifth straight game in the series against the Mets at Trenton Thunder Ballpark Saturday night. Home runs from Nash Knight, Tyler White, and Kevin Smith highlighted Buffalo’s 6-3 win over Syracuse.

The Mets tied the game at two in the top of the 4th, but Knight wasted no time in taking the lead back for the Bisons. On the first pitch of his at-bat in the bottom of the 4th, Knight homered over the right-field fence. Khalil Lee, the Mets’ right fielder, attempted to bring the ball back into play, trying to catch the ball with his glove, but couldn’t make the difficult play and Buffalo took a one-run lead.

The scoring wasn’t done yet for the Herd in the bottom of the 4th. With one out, Smith homered over the left-field fence, scoring himself and Forrest Wall to give the Bisons a 5-2 lead over the Mets. Smith’s homer was his 17th of the year, good for the lead in the Buffalo clubhouse.

In the top of the 6th, Syracuse began to threaten the Buffalo lead. With runners on first and second with no outs, it seemed that the Mets were in a prime opportunity to score. That opportunity was halted by White, who caught a line drive and fired the ball to second base. The double play put a stoppage to the Syracuse momentum and the Bisons went into the bottom of the inning holding their three-run lead.

After making a key double play, White decided to change the game more in the bottom of the inning. The veteran hit a solo home run over the left-field fence, giving the Bisons a four-run lead over the Mets with just three innings to play.

Syracuse threatened the Buffalo lead again, scoring one run in the bottom of the 7th, but the Herd held the lead through the ninth. With Saturday night’s win, the Bisons have now won ten of their last eleven games.

Despite losing the game, Syracuse attacked Buffalo early in this one, and was successful for the second night in a row, scoring in the first inning.

Syracuse clearly made it a point to attack early, with Mason Williams getting a single on the first pitch of his at-bat. Taking second on a steal, and moving to third on a pass ball, Williams put himself in a prime position to score with two outs. Cheslor Cuthbert got it done for the Mets, hitting a single to left field, and Syracuse took an early 1-0 lead over Buffalo.

The Bisons wasted little time in responding to the Mets' first-inning run. After missing 39 games with an oblique injury, Wall singled on the second pitch of his at-bat. Smith soon followed, hitting a single of his own on the second pitch of his at-bat too. With no outs and two runners on-base, White doubled to center field on the second pitch of his at-bat also, scoring two runs for the Herd and Buffalo took a 2-1 lead over Syracuse.

Tommy Milone continued his rehab assignment with the Bisons, starting for the club on the mound. Milone pitched just one inning, allowing one run on two hits. The Herd decided to proceed with a bullpen game, using four other pitchers to finish the game.

Smith continued his hitting streak to twelve games with a first-inning single. The shortstop is batted 2-for-5 at the plate, knocking in two runs for the Herd. White also stayed hot, going 2-for-4 at the plate, knocking in three runs of his own. The veteran now has five home runs in his last seven games.

The Bisons (43-25) will go for the series sweep against the Mets (23-47) on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm. Bowden Francis is scheduled to start on the mound for the Herd.