Wings clipped in Buffalo Sunday, 3-2
Despite four hits from Doug Bernier and a pair of RBI knocks by Chris Colabello, the Red Wings came out on the wrong end of a 3-2 decision Sunday afternoon at Frontier Field.
With Buffalo winning three of the first four games of this five-game set, the Wings have now lost their first series since early May. The Red Wings were 5-0-4 over their last nine series.
Bernier - now hitting .365 over his last 26 games with the Wings - finished 4-for-5 with a double and a run scored. He was robbed of a career-high tying five hits on a sliding backhanded stop by Buffalo second baseman Ryan Goins in the ninth inning that would have put runners on the corners with only one out.
The Bisons plated the first three runs of the game in the third inning off Wings starter Sean Gilmartin. Anthony Gose delivered a two-out RBI single and Kevin Pillar followed with a mammoth two-run blast just inside the left field foul pole that ended up being the difference.
After that homer, Wings pitching limited the Bisons to just one hit the rest of the afternoon.
The Red Wings got a run back in the fifth courtesy of a two-out RBI base hit from Colabello. Two innings later, Colabello delivered again ripping a double down the left field line that chased Chris Herrmann all the way home from first to trim the Buffalo lead to 3-2.
The Wings had the tying run at second with two outs in the ninth, but Herrmann went down swinging to end the game. Rochester went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base.
Former Wing P.J. Walters earned the win in his Bisons debut against his former team, allowing one run on six hits and two walks over five innings. Meanwhile, another former Red Wing, Bobby Korecky, picked up the save - his 9th of the year.
In his second start for the Wings, Gilmartin allowed three earned runs on four hits and a pair of walks over 5 2/3 innings.
The Wings, who have now lost 5 of 6 against Buffalo this season, out-hit the Bisons 9-5 Sunday.
The Wings and Bisons wrap up their five-game set on Monday night with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch from Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo. RHP Alex Meyer (4-3, 3.46) will make his 15th start of the season for Rochester.
WINGS THINGS: Bisons starter P.J. Walters spent the majority of the 2012 and 2013 seasons with the Red Wings going 10-8 with a 4.12 ERA in 33 career starts for Rochester…Eric Farris struck out twice on Sunday for just the second time all season and for the first time since April 18. Farris entered the day with the 2nd highest TPA/SO ratio in the IL at 11.75…Pillar's homer off Gilmartin was the 17th allowed by Wings starters in 23 June games after the rotation had yielded just 13 over the first two months of the season…The Wings are now 12-10 in one run games this season.