5/6/12

Bisons Can't Generate Runs in Rochester

After a splendid offensive effort in a nine-run performance against Syracuse Friday, the Bisons embarked on a ten-game road trip with plenty of confidence.

The Bisons made their first stop in Rochester, and left the Flower City with a bitter taste in their mouths.
 
The Herd competed gamely in a Saturday doubleheader against the Red Wings, but was swept with losses of 2-1 and 3-0. The second matchup of the two-game set was scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but was switched to Saturday night to accommodate Andy Pettitte's scheduled start for the Empire State Yankees. The Yankees will play the Pawtucket Red Sox at 2:05 p.m. Sunday at Frontier Field, and all original Bisons-Red Wings Sunday tickets will be honored for Yankees-PawSox.

On Saturday, the Bisons played decently but could not come up with the big hit when it was needed most. In the first game, the Bisons took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd on Omar Quintanilla's RBI single, but could not generate any more runs the rest of the way. Rochester starting pitcher P. J. Walters allowed the Bisons seven baserunners in the 2nd inning, but retired his last 14 batters faced to close the game.
Walters pitched a complete game for Rochester, the first such occurrence for the Red Wings this season. The Red Wings rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the third, and took the lead on Brian Dozier's sacrifice fly in the 5th that scored Rene Rivera. This was all the offense the Wings would need, as Walters would not allow a base runner the rest of the way.

The Bisons could not get the bats going in the second game of the doubleheader, either. Rochester used a revolving door of pitchers to get the job done against the herd, limiting the Bisons to four hits on the game. Red Wings starter Brandon Wise pitched three innings, giving up three hits, and a trio of relievers finished the job.

The Bisons had a solid opportunity to get back into the game in the 6th, when Josh Satin and Matt Tuiasosopo were hit by pitches on consecutive at-bats with one out.

Rochester made a pitching change at this point, replacing Deolis Guerra with Tyler Robertson. The Bisons would load the bases with Lucas May's two-out walk, but Michael Fisher popped out to end the inning.

The majority of Rochester's offense came in the third inning. The Red Wings started the inning with three consecutive singles that produced one run, and Darin Mastroianni's two-out double scored two runs later in the inning.

The Bisons have an off-day Sunday, thanks to Pettite, and return to action Monday in Gwinnett.

Bisons Notes: Valentino Pascucci snapped an 0-for-15 skid with a single in the top of the 1st of game 2...Pascucci broke bats in both games Saturday...Dustin Martin played three seasons for Rochester before joining the Bisons this year...Martin was an AAA All-Star in 2010...Game 2 was the 3rd time the Bisons have been shut out this season...Garrett Olson took the loss for the Bisons in game 2, and falls to 0-3 on the season...Dylan Owen took the loss in game 1, falling to 2-2 on the year.

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