Bisons outslug Chiefs in series finale

The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, were outslugged on Thursday afternoon in a 27-9 loss to the Buffalo Bisons. Buffalo scored the game's final 14 runs in a matchup that featured a combined 36 runs and 43 hits between the two teams.

The offensive barrage started in the first inning when Buffalo (8-4) scored five runs against Chiefs starter Tanner Roark. Two of the game's first three batters, Jim Negrych and Moises Sierra, tripled, with Sierra's three-base hit driving home Negrych. After a one-out RBI single from first baseman Luis Jimenez, third baseman Andy LaRoche lined a two-run home run to left field for a 4-0 lead. Catcher Josh Thole's run-scoring single closed out the inning.

Syracuse (6-7) would respond with three runs in the second. First baseman Chris Marrero started the frame with a solo home run against right-hander Edgar Gonzalez, with Micah Owings adding an RBI triple three batters later. Third baseman Carlos Rivero's sacrifice fly on the following pitch scored the inning's third run.

After a third-inning Marrero RBI double cut the Bisons' lead to 5-4, Buffalo added another five runs in the top of the fourth. Jimenez knocked in the inning's first two runs with a single to score Negrych and Sierra. Two batters later, left fielder Ryan Langerhans followed with an RBI double, before Thole's two-run single put the Bisons ahead by a 10-4 score. That ended Roark's day after three and two-thirds innings and 12 hits.

The Chiefs weren't finished offensively, however. They added a fourth-inning run on a Carlos Maldonado RBI single, slicing the deficit to 10-5.

In the fifth inning, Syracuse grabbed another pair of runs. Marrero knocked in another run with a single, driving in Jeff Kobernus. Three batters later, Owings delivered again, driving a single to left field to score Mike Costanzo, putting the score at 10-7.

But the Bisons would grab another three runs in the sixth inning against left-hander Bobby Bramhall. Langerhans launched a two-run home run to deep right field as the inning's second batter, before Negrych slammed a solo homer to extend the lead to 13-7. The home run completed a cycle for Negrych, an All-Star with Syracuse last season.

Costanzo put the finishing touches on the Chiefs' offense in the bottom of the sixth inning. He drilled a two-run home run to right field, cutting the Bisons' lead to four runs.

That score, however, was short-lived. Buffalo sent 13 batters to the plate in an eight-hit, 10-run seventh inning, pushing its lead to 14 runs. Both Langerhans and Jimenez homered in the inning, which included two hits from both Sierra, Mauro Gomez and Jimenez.

The Bisons then picked up another four runs in the ninth inning on five hits, closing out the final tallies at 27 runs and 29 hits for Buffalo.

Syracuse hits the road on Friday for the start of a four-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at 7:05. Right-hander Yunesky Maya will start for the Chiefs against Yankees hurler Chien-Ming Wang.