Herd sails past Clippers in doubleheader

The Bisons played two games against the Clippers Sunday afternoon, and while the games played out very differently, the outcome was the same in each. The Herd seized victories in both games by final scores of 9-1 and 2-1 to close out the series in Columbus.
This marks the third time this season Buffalo has swept a doubleheader. Earlier in the season, the Bisons won both games of two twin bills played against the Rochester Red Wings as part of a six-game set. With the pair of victories on Sunday, the Bisons have now claimed both series wins against Columbus in the 2018 campaign.

In Game one, just about everything went right for the Bisons as they slugged their way to a 9-1 win. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Danny Jansen both hit three-run home runs and Sean Reid-Foley's spectacular outing lifted the Herd past the Clippers. 
In Game two, the Bisons and the Clippers were even after seven innings, but in the eighth, the Bisons scored on an RBI-double by Anthony Alford. The Herd then held Columbus in its half of the inning en route to a 2-1 victory.
Game 1: Buffalo 9, Columbus, 1
The Bisons took care of business in Game one as they used a power surge to win handily, 9-1.
Gurriel Jr. opened the scoring on his fourth home run of the season in the third--a three-run blast to left field. The home run scored Tim Lopes and Roemon Fields, who each singled ahead of Gurriel Jr.  
The Bisons tacked on a fourth run in the fifth on a ground ball double play by Dwight Smith Jr. that brought home Fields. This gave the Herd a 4-0 lead.
After Columbus avoided the shutout by plating a run in the sixth, the Bisons erupted for five runs in the seventh to effectively put the game away. 
Jansen's three-run shot gave the Bisons a very comfortable seven-run advantage and later in the inning, an RBI-single from Reese McGuire added on the final touches of the frame. McGuire's hit capped off his three-hit game.
The rest of the offense also produced. As a team, Buffalo registered 15 hits and 14 of those came against Clippers' starter Myles Jaye. This was the third time the Herd faced off against Jaye this season, but Sunday was the first time Buffalo went against him as a member of the Clippers. Previously, Jaye was on the Red Wings and held the Bisons to a combined six hits and three earned runs in 12 innings pitched between two starts.
Fields was perfect at the plate, going 3-3 with three singles and a walk. Lopes and Rowdy Tellez also had quality at-bats. Each had a pair of singles. 
On the mound, Sean Reid-Foley tossed a gem in a seven-inning complete game. He breezed through the Clippers' lineup while only allowing three hits and in the process, struck out nine batters. 
He retired the Clippers in order four times throughout the game. The only blemish to his otherwise dominant performance was the one run he surrendered in the sixth inning. He allowed a leadoff double to Mike Papi and later in the inning, Todd Hankins' single scored Papi for the only run charged against Reid-Foley's line. 
Reid-Foley was well rewarded for his fine outing as he captured his first win in a Bisons uniform this season.

Game 2: Buffalo 2, Columbus 1
The Bisons took more than the scheduled seven innings to take down the Clippers in Game two, but in the eighth, Alford's RBI-double brought home the game-winning run and Buffalo won 2-1.
Five innings removed from a 1-1 tie, the Bisons struck first in extra-innings. Alford's double gave the Herd a 2-1 lead. The base hit plated Lopes, who started the inning at second base because of the new league extra-innings rule. That run proved to be the game-winning run.
For the second game in a row, the Bisons scored the first run of the game on a home run. This time it was Darnell Sweeney's solo shot that gave the Bisons a 1-0 lead in the second. 
The Clippers answered right back in their half of the inning, tying the game on an RBI-single from Papi that scored Adam Rosales, who got on base by a single.
In the sixth, the Bisons had a chance with to break the tie with runners on the corners and one out after a double from Gurriel Jr. and a single by Jason Leblebijian, but Darnell Sweeney grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Bisons got into some trouble in the seventh when the Clippers had pinch runner Drew Maggi at third base with one out as the winning run, but Justin Shafer struck out Hankins and got Yandy Díaz to groundout to escape the jam. 
Herd reliever Al Alburquerque locked down the victory in the ninth. He had a tough assignment facing the heart of the Columbus order against Bradley Zimmer, Yu Chang and Eric Haase, but he retired them in order to seal the win. 
Bisons' starter Taylor Gurrieri had a solid outing even though he pitched to a no-decision. He held the Clippers to just one run on six hits in six innings pitched. He also sat down three batters by way of the strikeout.