Bisons edge Chiefs despite Souza's homers
The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, fell to the Buffalo Bisons, 5-4, on Tuesday night at NBT Bank Stadium. Right fielder Steven Souza, Jr. homered twice in the game and singled in the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning. However, A.J. Jimenez's game-winning double in the top of the 10th led Buffalo to victory.
Syracuse (51-34) struck first in the bottom of the first inning against right-hander Deck McGuire. After the first two batters in the inning grounded out to second base, Souza crushed a 1-0 pitch from McGuire over the left field wall to put Syracuse on the board, 1-0. The home run was Souza's team-leading 12th of the year.
Buffalo (43-40) struck back in the top of the fourth inning against right-hander Josh Roenicke. Center fielder Kevin Pillar doubled off the wall in left-center to lead off the inning. First baseman Dan Johnson followed with a single to left field to put two runners on for Erik Kratz. The designated hitter hit a sacrifice fly to Souza, scoring Pillar and putting the Bisons on the board. Jimenez singled to center field and two batters later, third baseman Jared Goedert followed suit with a single of his own to center field to load the bases. After a Ryan Schimpf pop out, second baseman Jonathan Diaz sent the 1-0 pitch from Roenicke to deep left field, scoring Johnson, Jimenez and Goedert for a bases-clearing double to extend the lead to 4-1.
The Chiefs cut into the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning against McGuire. With one out in the inning, Souza smashed a 2-1 pitch from McGuire over left-center field for a home run. The homer was Souza's second of the night and 13th of the season. First baseman Tyler Moore followed and doubled to right field and third baseman Brandon Laird walked to put two runners on for designated hitter Destin Hood. Hood singled up the middle to score Moore and make the score 4-3 Buffalo.
Syracuse tied the game up in the bottom of the seventh inning against left-hander Rob Rasmussen. With one out in the inning, second baseman Will Rhymes singled to center field and stole second base. After a Zach Walters strikeout, Souza singled to left-center field to score Rhymes and tie the game up at four. Souza's now driven in a team-high 49 runs this season.
The Bisons took the lead in the top of the 10th inning against right-hander Warner Madrigal. Johnson and Kratz started the inning with back-to-back walks, before Jimenez doubled on a ground ball past a diving Laird to score Johnson. The Chiefs put two runners on in the bottom of the 10th inning against right-hander Bobby Korecky, but left fielder Jeff Kobernus popped out to end the game.
The Chiefs head to Lehigh Valley to take on the IronPigs for a two-game series on Wednesday and Thursday. Right-hander Taylor Hill will take the mound against right-hander Jason Marquis. First pitch is at 7:05.