Down to their last out, the Bisons picked an excellent time to tie their season high for runs in an inning.
Trailing 6-5 entering the top half of the ninth inning, center fielder Jorge Padilla was able to tie the game when third baseman Mike Cervenak singled to center field to drive Padilla home. Left fielder Lucas Duda then hit a two-run single with two outs to give the Herd a 8-6 lead. The Bisons then poured on three more runs in the final frame due to a Russ Adams double and Jean Luc Blaquiere single to put the game out of reach.
The six runs for the Herd in the ninth was the most the Bisons have scored in one inning since they put a six spot on the Norfolk Tide in a game back in early June. This is now the fifth time Buffalo has scored six runs in one inning this season.
Duda who sparked the rally in the ninth also hit a home run to deep right field in the sixth inning for his ninth home run of the season. Duda has been on a tear recently, hitting eight home runs in his past 12 games, including his stretch of five consecutive games with a home run back in late June to early July.
In his 23 games with the Herd this season, Duda is hitting .337 and is flashing power numbers that rival slugger Mike Hessman. Duda also has 25 RBI in his 23 contests with the Herd and is averaging a home run every 10 at-bats.
On the mound for the Herd, starting pitcher Dillon Gee was in control for most of his start. Providing another quality start for the Bisons the right hander went 6.2 innings while allowing six hits and four runs, with three of them being earned. Gee also had a point in his outing where he retired 12 batters in a row. The spotlight on Gee's start however was the 11 batters he struck out.
The 11 punch-out's was a career-high for Gee and was the first time a Bisons pitcher struck out 11 since Jason Bere did it back on May 17, 2003. Gee's total for strikeouts on the season now stands at 102. With his 11 strikeout performance tonight he has reached the century mark for strikeouts on the season and becomes the first pitcher to do so since 2006 when Hyang-Nam Choi had 103 for the year.
Gee is now also only 36 strikeouts behind Vicente Palacios for the record for most strikeouts for a Bisons pitcher in the Modern Era. With the better part of two months remaining in the season, Gee has a legitimate chance to reach the mark of 137 which was set back in 1990.
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